Mr Independent

Here is Jude at Orewa Beach - he is wearing speedos.

Jude went to his friend Cameron's birthday yesterday and was far more interested in the helium filled balloons and stuffing whole marmite sandwiches into his mouth than he was in playing with Cameron.

Jude now has 8 teeth - they just keep popping up!! He can also stand for a couple of seconds without holding on to anything. I think that walking is still a few weeks away yet, so sadly I don't think he will be toddling around for his 1st birthday.

Jude likes to feed himself now. He MUST have a spoon in his hand at all times, which sometimes gets dipped in the bowl of food or sometimes it is just rubbed through his hair or flicked onto Mummy. Feeding time is soooo much fun now.

Oh-o!!!

Jude just couldn't resist getting his little paws on a shiny can - shiny cans that Mummy and Daddy drink out of all the time, so I guess he's wondering why can't he? Probably because he needs to wait another 17 years before he is allowed to have a shiny can of his own... and don't worry Nana Vic - the can IS empty!!

Well, update time - Jude has had a 7th tooth come through with minimal fuss. His 1st birthday is now only 19 sleeps away. But the birthday PARTY itself won't be held until the following Saturday 4th March. He is going to his Little Friend from Playgroup's 1st birthday party on 19th February to get him "in the mood".

Jude likes to "feed" Mummy and Daddy stuff - like blocks, pieces of his own munched up and spat out food and his feet. Of course Mummy and Daddy refuse all offered items (although the little chubby feet are pretty tempting...). He has also become increasingly violent - if you happen to be lying on the floor, he will come along and sit on your head while pulling your hair and giving out "love pats", which in fact, are incredibly painful.

He absolutely LOVES his Wiggles DVD and we watch it about 20 times a day... Mummy knows all the songs by heart now. Very sad. In the morning Hi-5 is very popular. He especially likes to dance and I believe Nana & Poppa Dromgool have video footage of this dancing. I think we have a rock star in the making.

I took him swimming at the local pool yesterday. He absolutely loved it. He was kicking and splashing like a pro and laughing and yelling for all to look at him. I will try and take him once a week from now on and perhaps do some swimming lessons with him at some point.

Cutie-pie

Here is Jude at his cutest. He's hiding down behind the sofa trying to play peek-a-boo with Mummy and her camera.

I found Jude "head down, tail up" with legs waving in the air in his toy box yesterday - unfortunately I had to rush to help him to avoid permanent abdominal injury, so sadly no photo was taken. It was pretty funny though.

Not much else to report other than that he is definitely getting more and more confident on his feet and I don't think it'll be too long before he is actually walking (if he isn't too lazy). I've been encouraging the use of his walker, which he does manage to push along the ground - but only on his knees.

Also, some more teeth could be making an appearance soon and we think he also says "Dada" relatively often.

The countdown is on to his 1st birthday - only 28 more days to go...