Bethany Got Arrested

Just kidding. I just wanted an interesting Post title. So once again, flu season is upon us. Jude brought it home from Day Care. He passed it on to Grandma, Grandpa, and Dad. A few days later Mom got it. Then, on Thanksgiving week, Dad go the flu for the second time. This week we are finally healthy. We only are passing around a severe chest and head cold.

Enough small talk...Jude is doing great. He recently advanced to the Toddler 1 Room at Day Care. He was getting too big for the Infant 2 Room. The transition has been pretty good. He has been a bit more tired. The new room is more structured with activities and rules, so it wears him out. His teeth are really filling in. I think he has a half set by now. Just like Dad. He has been biting at day care. Apparently the girls tackle him and he gets frustrated. Again, just like Dad.

The communication gap is closing quickly. Between his signs and words, we are able to talk to him pretty well. This does not mean he listens or even cares what we have to say, just that he can understand us and we can understand him. He is starting to play pretend. He will push cars, talk to his animals, etc. His favorite toys are cars, footballs, soccer balls, and cooking utensils. We still have to play keep up all night and day, but he is giving us glimpses of some self reliance.

I have a lot more, but I guess I'm just going to get some pictures in here. I'll get a bunch more in after Christmas I'm sure.

Merry Christmas!
-Thayers

Happy Halloween

Not too much to write about for now. Just wanted to give you a few pictures. Jude was a Gnome. Mom and Dad were Prom King and Queen Zombies.

See you soon!

-Bennett

Babies and Pumpkins!


It's a girl!!! My brother Jeff and his wife Amy are proud first time parents of a BEAUTIFUL baby girl, Elise Violet Whittington. She was born October 1st weighing in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 21 inches long. She is adorable and I just love her to pieces! I apologize for the lack of pictures, in all of the excitement I did not get even one in focus picture. But, go to this link to see a slide show of the newest addition to the family: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXgjKT38Wyc


Jude is changing and learning so much everyday. He is trying so hard to talk to us. He is constantly talking and singing and repeating everything we say, in his own little toddler way. He is testing us often but overall is so much fun right now!


The leaves are changing, the weather is cold and it's pumpkin time! Ben and I took Jude to Hidden Creek Farms in Galena, OH last weekend for some family fun and pumpkin picking. I haven't been to a pumpkin patch in ages and I have been missing out! This place was so much fun. There were animals, slides, a corn sand box, a peddle tractor track, games, a hay bail maze, a hayride, pumpkins and more! Jude loved it all. He took a minute to warm up to the hay bail maze but once he did I thought we were going to lose him in there. Then, he had no fear of the animals. The cow licked his hand and Jude just thought it was so funny. It wasn't so funny to him when he stuck his fingers through the fence with the chickens and he got a little peck on his finger. He recovered and then began taunting them by sticking his finger in and pulling it back as the chicken came to him. We played for a while and then headed out on the hayride to pick our pumpkin. He was a little frustrated when he couldn't pick up the first pumpkin he saw but quickly settled for a small gourd. All of the excitement of the day took it out of him and he passed out on the hayride back to the barn. Ben was the photographer that day so there are plenty of great pictures. . .

Thanks for checking in!

Two Months Gone By

Two months is a long time to wait. Sorry about that. And a lot has been going on. I don't even know where to start.

Jude is 15 months old now and is no longer an infant by any means. He is completely mobile, eats real food, and talks to us. The words he knows are momma, dadda, more, uh-oh, moon, banana, and a handful of random ones that he will repeat on a one time basis. He is also a very effective signer. He knows more, please, eat, all done, milk, juice, fan, light,and change diaper. He can nod yes and know, fist pump and high five. Any time you ask him where something is he says uh-oh, and anytime he is excited he fist pumps. In the mornings he turns on his light and waits for you to get him. Then he leads you to the fridge and asks for milk or juice. Then points to the toaster or to the cereal cupboard. He loves to dance, play ball, push his truck, and explore outside. Gotta keep an eye on him when he explores. He only like dangerous things like traffic, knives, fall hazards, and fire.

He follows us around and mimics everything we do and say. He tells stories to us in his own babble, and shows a lot of emotion. He laughs a lot, but also is very stubborn. We are at the testing the parents phase. We have attempted a few timeouts as a means of discipline and it seems to be effective. So far though, our best strategy has been to reward the positive. Throwing food, bathtub splashing, and hitting things are his best efforts at showing aggression. A good dinner gets a Popsicle, a good bath time gets a few extra minutes of toys before bed, and being gentle gets hugs and high fives. I think he is starting to get it.

To brag...at daycare he seems to be the leader of the pack. Every time I'm there it's like all the other kids are just watching him be the center of attention. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. Likely not. Also, he is quite the athlete for his age. He has a good throw with both arms and he can kick very well. Must have the Whittington soccer gene. He is starting to anticipate the next page with his favorite books. He is 90th percentile in height, weight, and head. He recognizes pictures of family and friends....I want to go on and on to show all of his development here...but enough is enough. Time fore some pictures. I have included some from our recent vacation to the outer banks. It was great. He had no fear of the ocean or the pool. Dunked himself and everything.

Go Browns!
-Bennett

Hello Everyone! This has been such a busy month with so many fun things going on that I thought I should give dad a break and post for him. Let's see. . . the last post was Jude's birthday post. Since then we had Father's Day. Ben was not fully recovered from his sinus surgery and urged Jude and I to join the rest of the family out at Grandpa Whitt's to celebrate Father's Day so he could get some much needed rest. I did catch a picture of Ben and Jude on Father's Day. As you can see, Jude was not at his best that day either.



This year was the 1st annual "Cousin's Day" with the Whittington family. What a blast! We spent the day out at Johnny and Patty's house with three generations of Whittington's eating, swimming, fishing, and catching up. No doubt this event brought memories of the days spent up at the cottage in Marblehead. It was so great to see everyone and to spend some time catching up. I am looking forward to the Fall family get together out there and for many more "Cousin's Day's" to come.

We spent the 4th of July in Salem. Ben and I got to go visit our dear friends Erin and Eric for a night while G-pa and Mimi took care of Jude. Then we spent the day at the Country Club swimming, eating and playing on the playground. It was a great holiday!

Early in July we took Jude to his first Indian's game. Ben sure was a proud papa carrying his boy into the stadium. And to our surprise, Jude really seemed to enjoy himself. There was so much to look at and great things to eat. And I think we now know that we don't have to worry about peanut allergies as we discovered him chewing on peanut shells sometime in the third inning.

Monday evening Mimi, G-pa and Aunt Whitney (aka Aunt Weej) came to stay with us for the week. Ben and I are taking on some projects this summer and G-pa came to help us with one. We put in a paver patio! While this looked like it was going to take forever and a day to finish we were completely amazed when we came home from work Tuesday and G-pa had moved 6 tons of gravel by wheelbarrow from our driveway to the back yard and leveled it all by himself! The project moved quickly with Ben and I helping as much as we could in the evenings and by Thursday night we were relaxing out on the completed patio! We just need to finish some of the landscaping around it and the back yard will be complete. We can't thank the Thayer's enough for all of their help last week!

Just a quick update on Ben, he had his sinus surgery in June and he seems to be getting a little better. The full recovery is taking longer than an anticipated but I am staying optimistic that in just weeks he will be better than ever. Thank you to everyone for the prayers and concern. We love you and are truely blessed. Thank you for checking in on us! Hopefully we'll post again really soon!