Achtung all Nanas & Poppas!!!

Look out you Nanas & Poppas - I'm coming!!!!

Yep, that's right, Team Thomas are heading your way. Put all your breakables away and even the stuff you would never dream could be broken... Jude will get it.

We are off to Hamilton tonight and then Rotorua the next day for Daddy to do a bike ride to Taupo. Then it's a few days leisure (yeah right) in Rotorua before heading back to Hamilton.

Jude enjoyed his day with Great Nana & Poppa Baron yesterday - as you can see from the photo, Jude thought he was a little tiny baby again and demanded to be bottle fed on Great Poppa Dick's lap. Poppa Dick didn't seem to mind too much. But look at those loooooong legs - do they go all the way up? (Jude not Poppa Dick).

Adios amigos (for now).
Team Thomas

Please lift your Kaftan

Well hello everybody,

Here I am outside at my new house. I quite often come out here to inspect the rocks. I pick them up, check them to ensure they are the type of rock that is worthy of being in my garden and then I throw them away. You may ask why I do this, well the answer is obvious and if you can't figure it out without me telling you then you are obviously an idiot.

I am getting pretty adventurous with standing by myself. I can now stand unaided for about 30 seconds. The problem is that when I realise that I am standing it becomes very hard and I fall over. You may think that this is a strange phenomena coming from a person as bright as what I am but I bet that you have never tried standing and thinking at the same time. Give it a go sometime and see how long you last!!

Some other exciting news...... I have learnt a few new words. That four legged grey and white beast that taunts me is called a tat, the plastic thing full of water that Mum and Dad throw me in is a bar and those crazy dudes in the glass box that talk to me are the gggggg's.

I guess I had better go now as Mum wants to get on the computer. She always wants the things that I have, for example, I can't go for two hours without her stealing my nappy.

Anyway, I am going to go and sleep now, you bore me.

J.E.T

I am not an animal...

...I'm a human being.

This lovely photo was taken of Jude yesterday while he was having a right old good-time playing peek-a-boo with Mummy and the security gate at the top of our stairs. I think he thought he was pretty clever in "locking" Mummy out.

Well, Jude is now finally over his gastro bug (which incidentally took about a week to clear up totally and was kindly passed on to both Mummy and Daddy - Daddy actually said the words "I think I'm dying"). Jude decided that he didn't want his tea at all last night, which is completely unheard of for our little piggie. Needless to say, he awoke at the ungodly hour of 5.57am this morning screaming for milk and his weetbix.

Jude loves the new house. He loves climbing the stairs, playing in all the kitchen drawers and chasing the cat (who, for some reason, has got quite brave around him and will tolerate being in the same room as long as her tail is left alone - highly unlikely!!).

Jude has a new passion in his life - BATHS!!! No longer will Mummy & Daddy be allowed to get away with "oh, he won't need a bath tonight" - oh no - Mr Jude MUST have his bath every night and every chance he gets, he's in the bathroom throwing his toys into the bath in the hopes that Mummy or Daddy might just give in and run one for him...

Jude also has 9 teeth now - the latest being a bottom molar. Still no signs of walking yet - well, that's a lie - there ARE signs of walking, he just doesn't want to do it yet. He will stand for seconds not holding on to anything until he realises and then promptly sits down with a bump.

Well, that's all for now folks. Here's another photo of our cutie for your viewing pleasure.

Absolute Rot

After some of the previous blogs that I have posted, Mum said that I wasn't allowed to write anything that was absolute rot. Everything that I have to write has to be informative and factual so as to give my fans something interesting to read.

Well just like most days, I am going to defy my mother. Today I will write about my perfect world.

In my perfect world Mongie would stay still long enough for me to "pat" her, I would be able to throw my food wherever I liked, all of my food would be made of chocolate, I would be allowed into whichever drawer I wanted, no-one would ever be allowed to eat in front of me, Stephen Hawking would choke on a mushroom and die, Cameron and I would take over the world, it would be legal to beat the crap out of my parents, the Wiggles would be real people not just strange pictures stuck in a glass cage, I would never have to go to bed, Daddy would let me drive the car, people would stop sticking plastic boxes that flash in my face in front of me and Nathan from hi-5 would stop taking himself so seriously.

Anyway I am going to go off and squeeze off a length in my nap.

J.E.T

PS. I am not well today - I spewed twice in my bed last night and have a tummy-bug according to the doctor.

It's my Birthday

This is me on my Birthday proper. For those of you that don't remember, this is me after I came out of Mummy's tummy.

As you can see I am a very smart little boy as I have been able to get really big in a short period of time. No one else can do that (apart from Uncle Jason).

I enjoyed my birthday a lot, I had all of my friends and family around on Saturday and on my birthday proper Mummy and Daddy took me to the beach. I crawled around the whole beach, found lots of shells, studied them and then threw away the ones that didn't meet my standards.

I was very impressed by the fish cake that mummy made me, it looked like a real fish. I was also really impressed by the presents I got. I got lots of clothes, lots of toys and lots of money.

Now to more important things. I am planning my year ahead, this year I will do some magic tricks for you. I will walk on two legs, I will use some real words, I will grow loads of blonde hair, I will write a three thousand word novel and I will probably be signed up as a young professional at Everton Football club.

Anyway, everyone can buy me lots of things...... its all about me me and more me.

Jude

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...

Relaxin' in the Park

This photo was taken the other day when Jude and his Little Friend from playgroup went to Cornwall Park. Jude decided that chasing pigeons and trying to eat someone's old chewing gum was VERY tiring and "took five" to recharge his batteries.

Look Uncle Jez & Aunty Debs - he is wearing the Welsh rugby jersey that he got for Christmas from you. Doesn't he look so cute in it?

The latest on Jude's development is that he can stand quite steadily against stuff, cruise furniture, stand in his cot (and get himself down again - thank goodness) and he loves to stand at the french doors looking out at Mongie the cat and anything else of interest outside.

Also, the posting of stuff through the cat flap has reached an all time high - he has learnt how to unlock the front cat flap and post his toys through. He still prefers the recycling to go through the back catflap and an empty milk powder container was rolling around the backyard for about 2 days before I discovered it.

I am a Giant Ratbag

Here is me with my Pop Art. He will not like me very much after putting his photo all over the internet. I'm willing to take that risk.

My Mummy says that I have turned into a giant ratbag. I am not sure what she means as I believe I am a very helpful little boy. I tidy up by putting all the recycling through the cat flap - this means Mummy doesn't have to take it out to the rubbish bin. This is helping.

I must admit that do I get myself into terrible predicaments though - like the other day when I wanted to watch a DVD - well, I went to the cubbyhole to get one down and then my head got stuck. I yelled and yelled for help and all I could hear was laughter... when Mummy finally rescued me, I decided I didn't want to watch a DVD anymore. Then there was the time I was in my cot and I decided I needed to stand up and sing for a few minutes. Then I forgot how to sit down again. Quite the kefuffle!!

Noddy is my new best friend. He gets kisses and cuddles from me all the time. My parents want me to kiss and cuddle THEM but I just remember all the times that I have heard laughter and I go and hide Daddy's remote just that little bit better.

Well, better go and create more mischief - I might go and pull the head off my "The Simpsons" Stephen Hawkings figurine...

Jude

Idle Youth?

I like to play Playstation with my Daddy - I wish he'd give me the controller. We like to play all sorts of games together. On playstation we play boxing, on the ground I use him as a jungle gym and with mummy my favourite game is peekaboo (not peeboos) and being swung around by my arms.

I also like to spread all of my toys around the lounge. For all of you babies out there wanting tips on how to go places you aren't allowed, here is my suggestion. Push your favourite toy towards the place you aren't allowed to go, do a pseudo uncontrolled swipe at the toy so that it goes into the area where you aren't allowed to go then just be a good baby and collect your toy. Simple.

I have figured out the debate about who ate the snail. It is obvious, there are only two real suspects..... the French and Stephen Hawking. Now I can't imagine Stevo (as I call him) hopping out of his electric carriage and using his little frail arms to pick up a snail. That leaves only one solution. Neither Kerri or Jeremy ate the snail...... the French did it, they do everything. I do believe that they also created the question mark.

I have had lots of visitors this week, Nanna & Poppa Thomas, Nanna & Poppa Baron, kind of Uncle Dean & Aunty Shona and my buddy from play group (Mr X). They all wanted my autograph but Mum hid all the pens which I thought was a bit cruel. Speaking of hiding things, I have done something really funny. I have hidden Daddies TV remote. He has been looking for it everywhere but he won't find it, I am far too clever for him. I find it quite amusing when he is searching high and low for it, he better think twice about taking things off me again.

I am going to go now as there is a smell wafting up for the depths of my nappy and whilst I would like to keep it there, I think that Mum wants to remove it.

Jude "The Animal" Thomas

And it's all go!!!

Whew, it looks like that Stephen bloke has finally gone... so now on to more important things...

Here is a photo of Cute Jude having just pulled himself on to the couch. There will be no stopping him now - he's all go and can pretty much cruise around at will. I caught him completely ripping apart my magazine yesterday (hadn't even read it yet).

Unfortunately he has also learnt how to pull himself to standing in his cot, but hasn't quite managed how to get down again. So he will just stand there clutching the sides of the cot and yelling for someone to come and help him. It would be pathetic if it weren't so funny.

We took him back to Orewa beach on Sunday and he actually went in the water with Daddy first and then Mummy - by the time Mummy took him into the water he was quite used to it and would sit down every time a little wave came. He even ate some sand - gotta be done I suppose but the worrying thing is that he actually seemed to like it.

Well that's all for now folks - I've had to put him in his exersaucer to keep him out of trouble - he's just discovered how to open kitchen drawers and how to kill ants. Lordy.

Surprise Surprise

Who is this Cute Jude anyway?

The 5-Trick Pony

Jude now has a few more tricks to add to his repetoire. He can now (on demand):-

1. Clap hands
2. Touch his nose when asked to
3. Pull himself up to standing on furniture/vaccum cleaner/mummy
4. Say "Mama"
5. Wave good-bye

Jude looks pretty pleased with himself in the above photo. He is having his first ever swing at Hamilton Lake and he even managed to get the swing going by himself. We think he looks like a little old man in his polo shirt, sandals and towelling sun-hat. He is the spitting image of Great Poppa Baron... well he looks like an old man anyway.

The Furber method is working for Jude after being spoilt rotten at his Nana & Poppas' houses over the Christmas break. We are happy to say that he is now back into his sleeping routines and does NOT require milk at 4.30am!!!

We took Jude for his first swim in his new paddling pool (thanks Nan & Pop Thomas) the other day. He didn't like being dunked under too much and it was a bit cold, but all in all he enjoyed it even though he had shrinkage.

We bid you adieu.

X-mas is over time to excercise

Thank you everybody for all of my x-mas presents. I have had a lot of fun playing with them already. My favourites at the moment are my balloons, caterpillar, lego blocks and deedle dudes. I am a very spoilt little boy with all of my gifts (am still waiting for one from you Mr Hawking). I have also been spoilt with all the new food I have tried. Dad has said that I have to now go out and excercise to get rid of the weight that I have put on.
As you can see I have decided to take up soccer as my chosen sport/excercise and Everton have already signed me to a contract bsaed solely on how cute I look in this oufit. Apparently Wayne Rooney used to wear this exact same shirt until he turned into a traitorous pig.

The only problem with how spoilt I have been is that now I am a little out of my routines, 4am seems like a totally appropriate time to wake up. Mum and Dad are using the Furber method on me which is starting to work..... damn them and their mind bending powers. Mummy can bend spoons with the power of her mind.

I have also realised that Mum and Dad sometimes eat in front of me. This is totally unfair so I asked TUFOB (the union for oppressed babies) what I should do about it. They suggested that if they are eating and I am not then I should yell loudly at them until they give me some food. I have taken up their suggestion and it seems to be working a treat.

Anyway I need to go and have a sleep to dream about all the places I have been in the last week (Hamilton, Rotorua, the Lake, th zoo, the botannical gardens).

Love Jude

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

As requested, here is the last blog before Christmas... Jude and Daddy are posing for the camera as usual. Note the matching stances and smiles upon their faces? Also, they both have the same amount of hair. (Sorry, there is no santa hat, as Daddy took it to work with promises that he would bring it home and failed to do so).

Jude ate dirt out of a pot plant the day before yesterday. I was out of the room for 1 minute and "sensed" something was not quite right - sure enough there was Master Jude with dirt smeared all around his mouth, a handful of dirt still in his little paw and happily munching away on some brown crunchy substance.

He also has ANOTHER tooth now - that's 6 in case you had lost count. He gets to brush his teeth every night with his very own miniature tooth brush before bed time.

Oh by the way - Nana & Poppa D - good luck bathing the boy when he's at your place. I'll let you discover the "joys" of Jude in the Bath for yourselves. Hint - you might want to invest in some PVC wet-weather gear and a back brace.

And look out Nana & Poppa T - Jude STILL has his eye on those Toby Jugs... but this time he might actually succeed in getting to them - he's very very wily.

OK, that's about it for now - so wishing everyone who reads this blog a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

Lots of love from
"Team Thomas"
xxx

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree...

Please let there be an end to all this talk about Stephen Hawking. The mere thought of him gives me the trots.

Here is a photo of Jude basking in the delights of the Christmas Tree. He absolutely loves it and I have to sing him "oh Christmas Tree oh Christmas Tree" everytime we pass it. He is looking forward to ripping into those presents (even if they are for other people)!!!

Last Sunday we took Jude to the Zoo. He loved the fish (Koi?) in the pond and the tropical coloured fish in the aquarium. Everything else could have been a large plate of cooked brussel sprouts, because he couldn't have cared less. Even the Howler Monkeys didn't phase him - he just looked at them as if they were idiots for making so much noise. I think we'll have to wait until he's a little bit older before taking him again.

Jude had his friend from playgroup over again this morning. Needless to say the bullying continues. It is actually quite embarrassing to be the mother of the child who is always stealing toys off other children. Perhaps that "white haired old man" won't be coming to visit Jude after all?

Jude just wanted me to tell you all (he can't type this himself as he was up all night penning replies to his fanmail and has writers' cramp) that he is looking forward to seeing all you Nanas & Poppas, Great Nanas & Poppas, Aunties and Uncles at Christmas and would also like to remind you all that he likes chocolate...

Who's a cheeky monkey then...

Don't ask me why every photo taken of Jude lately has his eyes shut. Obviously the flash is too much for our little monkey's sensitive retinas.

Here is Jude drinking from his sippy cup - he thinks he's pretty cool to be able to do it himself now - it is negligible how much water actually makes it into his mouth.

Jude went to his first Christmas Party yesterday. He got to feed a baby goat and a piglet. He got to pat a calf and see a pony (he is still a bit little to have a ride but don't tell him I said that). He was VERY VERY excited about the baby goat - he yelled and flapped his arms a lot.

Jude had another tooth pop through mysteriously - I am not sure when it broke through as I only noticed it yesterday and it was already quite big. He now has 5 teeth and will soon look like that grinning fool from Sesame Street.

I love chocolate

Hello to all my adoring fans.

I have been very busy answering all of my fan mail recently. Many people have been reading my website and then writing to me to tell me how gorgeous I am. Of course I am vey good looking but I get much more satisfaction from the fan mail I receive from people who have read and enjoyed my book on quantum astro phyiscs. For those who have not read it I suggest you do, it is entitled "Stephen Hawking is an idiot, I have proof". It focuses on the singularity theory as the basis for the creation of the universe and its interactions with the chandrasekhar limit.
For those of you who are a little more simple than me ...... this means I have an irrefutable theory for creation and I also prove that Stephen Hawking is no match for my intellectual ability.

Anyway, now onto the real topic of today. I really do love chocolate. Please don't let the picture fool you, I do get most of the chocolate into my gob. I love the sugary rush it gives me after I have shovelled it in. This then gives me the energy to crawl madly around the house seeking out all cords and doors. This has lead me to my new mantra. Say it after me now.......

Close all doors!!! Close all doors!!! Close all doors!!! Close all dorrs!!!

Mum and Dad have said that if I am really good then a white haired old man will come and give me presents in about a week. I don't really understand this because I was naughty and Poppa Art gave me presents anyway. Parents, can't live with them, can't crawl away from them.

Nothing much else has happened in my world recently, just the same old stuff. I crawl, I talk, I smile, I try to rid the world of comic book super heroes..... same old, same old.

Anyway by for now. I hope to see you all real soon.......... except for you Stephen.

Love Jude

Caught on camera

...and here is our little escapee caught in the act trying to get out of his cot. It's a pity he fell asleep before he made it to freedom.

Jude had his 9 month check on Tuesday and now weighs 9.5kg (a hefty wee laddie) and measured 75cm long (the same as last time - we reckon the nurse got the measurement wrong). But the nurse reckons that he is probably due for another growth spurt so that could all change soon.

Jude has just been participating in some rather rough "play" with Mongie the cat. Mongie made the fatal mistake of getting too close and Jude grabbed aforementioned Mongie's tail from which his little fingers had to be prised loose and then proceeded to man-handle her and grab great hunks of fur from her poor little body. The funny thing is he starts off patting nicely and then gets overwhelmed with excitement and just goes too far. She's just paid us back by bringing a still-living bird into the house.


I put the Christmas Tree up today (which I was a bit loathe to do as I knew it would involve lots of "no Jude don't touch that") but I decided to anyway and he absolutely loves it - all those shiny baubles no doubt!! I will have my work cut out for me keeping him away, but it IS his first Christmas and I want him to enjoy it. I think he is going to be VERY VERY spoilt this year.

Dad: you will see in the above photo that Jude has a blue patterned quilt at the end of his cot - that is the one that Grandma Johnson made for him (not that you can see much of it - but it's really cute).