Guess who’s back…

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Back again….

No it is not Slim Shady, it’s me! I know you’ve desperately missed me and are so glad I’m back. Well I’ve got an EXTRA long post with lots of pictures for you today! And because it’s Friday, I’m linking up with all my favorites!

There’s Darci, April, Natasha, and Christina with Five on Friday!

And then there is A Little Bit of Everything, Grace And Love, and Momfessionals for Friday Favorites!

So let’s go all the way back to before Christmas. Trying to wrap gifts with this guy was….interesting? He was all about the ribbon and tissue paper. But still adorable as always.

We had a wonderful first Christmas with Jude. Holidays are so much more fun with a baby! BTR and I didn’t buy too many toys because we knew everyone else would be spoiling him, and omygosh were we right! He got more toys and things than I know what to do with, we have the best family members!

He was very excited about his stuffed dog and yes that is a horse that is as big as me. And no it is not at our house and it is staying at my mom’s! :)

We only had to travel to three different Christmases instead of four (yes just like the movie) so it was almost a relaxing day. I bought BTR that sweatshirt on Etsy and I think it’s absolutely hilarious.

Jude’s favorite toy happened to be the $4 teether (on sale!) I put in his stocking. And of course within a day Addie stole it and ruined it! I was so upset. When BTR saw Addie with it he said all he could think about was the scene in “A Christmas Story” where Randy is crying and saying “daddy’s going to kill Ralphie” and that is exactly how I felt. Click here to see this clip if you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s hilarious.

Luckily I found a coupon code to the Innobaby website and was able to order all three fruit teethers for a great price. They are now here and far from Addie’s reach.

A few days after Christmas we decided to check out The Civil Life Brewing Co. We’ve always heard great things about it and we already knew they brewed good beer. We had fun playing darts and eating pretzels (again, I will ALWAYS order the pretzels no matter where we are). Jude behaved himself (he always does) but I was so bothered by a lady sitting at the bar. She kept giving me these dirty looks and shaking her head. I’m assuming she was bothered by us having a baby in a bar, but it was the middle of the day and there were kids sitting at the table before us. And it’s not like my kid was screaming or annoying anyone. Does anyone else get bothered by these judgmental people, or just me? I’ll do my best Taylor and just shake it off next time.

We had a very low key New Year’s Eve at home with Jude, and it was wonderful! Jude put on his party onsie and we made steak and potatoes for dinner. Surprisingly we actually stayed up till midnight (not Jude, he was out at his normal bedtime).

But seriously, the holidays are so much more fun with a baby!

The Friday after New Year’s Eve we headed to the Magic House for the first time!

We bought (ahem my mom gifted us for Christmas) a family membership to the Magic House because they were half price on Cyber Monday. I can already tell you it is going to be well used!

I couldn’t tell you the last time I went to the Magic House (I was probably 10), but it is huge now! There are some great baby and toddler areas and I seriously can’t wait to go back again. 

We have some friends with family passes so I’m sure we will be back many times! We went early and it wasn’t too busy, but by the time we left it seemed packed (no school!). I’m sure if we were to go early in the morning during the week it wouldn’t be as busy.

After the Magic House we went down the street and ate at Dewey’s Pizza. We both ordered calzones and they were delicious! I can definitely see us eating there after visiting the Magic House again and I really want to try one of their olive oil based pizzas. Jude sat in a high chair at a restaurant for the first time and did great! He made funny faces and watched the cars drive by on the street. After pizza we walked down the block to Strange Donuts for dessert. BTR had a maple bacon done and I had a New Year’s Done which had champagne icing, strawberry jelly and gold sprinkles. They were delicious!

BTR went back to school this week and we are trying to get back into a normal schedule with naps and everything. Not that Jude likes to nap anywhere except my arms. Which is great when you have things to do (#sarcasm). We had Jude’s nine month check up yesterday (wait he’ll be one in THREE months? #holdme) and everything went great! He is still a peanut and only weighs 16 pounds which is about the 3rd percentile. But when I told the doctor how much he eats (well drinks in bottles) he said that is more than the average so he must have a high metabolism? Sure we’ll go with that! He’s happy and healthy and that’s all that matters in my book (and the doctor’s).

And thank you for all your comments on my last few posts! I still don’t have a new computer, but my mom has been so gracious as to let me borrow her laptop while I decide what I really want to get. I’m still torn between the power of an iMac and the portability of a MacBook. But I probably need to decide sooner than later because I have a few projects coming up!

Thanks for sticking with me if you made it through this massive post! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s!