Afterbirth

Ha! Don't worry, this post is not actually about afterbirth. Ew. It's about the weeks after Jude's birth. Get it? After. Birth. Afterbirth? See what I did there?

March was crazy. This baby did not slow down the partying momentum we had going around here. Not one bit.

My mom was here for the birth, and my dad flew in to join her the night after we came home from the hospital. Those two do not get to come out to Chicago much, so they wanted to make the most of their trip. There was no time for weeny little moms to recover from surgery or catch up on sleep. No, that would be a ridiculous use of time. We made a big Target run on the way home from the hospital and hit up the Children's Museum on Navy Pier the next day. (I borrowed a wheelchair for that little outing, thank you very much. The walk from the parking lot to the museum entrance was enough to bust my hump.) 

That week, we went out to eat a bunch -- Giordano's, Portillo's twice, Ed Debevic's, and Dunkin Donuts no less than three times with my mom. (Vanessa was right; their white chocolate hot chocolate is amazing!) 

Notice how both my parents are on their phones? Yeah, it's pretty much like that all the time now. The question is, are they addicted to technology or just really ridiculously slow texters?

One day my dad took Josh on a special little walk and guess where they ended up...Mcdonald's...where Josh thoroughly impressed his grandpa with the number of chicken nuggets he can eat in one sitting.

We actually didn't spend all our time out and about. Eventually I got a nap in, and when I came out of the bedroom, I saw this:

Yes, Matt took that golden opportunity of alone time with my parents and decided to teach them how to play RockBand2! They were not very good. And I can say that here because neither of them reads my blog.

On Jude's one week birthday (I think), my dad took some really cute pictures of him on the bed. I love these.

Eight days after the birth, Matt's mom came to take over. Since she has come out to Chicago several times before, she was not anxious to get out and see the sites. This visit was about helping with the boys and giving me plenty of opportunities to rest. It was lovely! She gave a lot of baths (which Josh loved to help with), got up with Jude in the night, and introduced Josh to the classic movie Bambi. Did you know there are only like five minutes of dialogue in that whole movie? Strange.

 Still, we took advantage of some nice days and got out of our little apartment here and there.  We had a last minute St. Patrick's Day party with our friends...

 and enjoyed a rare day of sunshine at the zoo!

Our little monkeys

Josh is starting to get a little friendly with Leah. (They are betrothed.) I don't know where he learned it! Luckily Leah knows how to deliver a good slap on the head when she's had enough. And sorry Carina, I just couldn't crop Carson out of this picture. It was too funny.

After all the parents left Chicago, I had a good cry before giving myself the "I-can-care-for-two-kids-without-my-parents'-help" pep talk. Then we moved on with our busy lives. And March Madness did not make our lives any less busy. We had a few people over to watch BYU's last game, for which Mark made a lovely little cake all by himself. (Notice I said Mark, not Matt. See...other men bake too.)

And here is a mishmash of other pictures that were taken in March. In the top right corner you see Jude with Amber's new baby William. Both were due the same week, and both ended up coming early. Jude is eight days older, still catching up in size.

In the bottom right is Jude in his make-shift tanning bed. He was a little jaundiced when we brought him home from the hospital, so my mom said to lay him in the sunlight by the window as naked as possible. We made him a little eye cover so he could sleep nice and comfy-like. I think the picture is hilarious. He looks like he could be relaxing by the pool waiting  for someone to put a cold drink in his hand.

A few weeks ago we hustled around Schaumburg to get a passport for our new little man so he can accompany us in the Bahamas next month. (Yeah, it's gonna be awesome! You'll hear all about it.) It's a little difficult to get a two-week-old to take a good passport picture. They have to be looking straight at the camera, eyes open, no hands in the picture (so I can't hold him), not crying, with a white background. Almost impossible, especially when newborns are only awake for a few random hours each day. So I took my own pictures the night before, when he was awake, laying him on the bed with a white T-shirt behind him. It was really tricky, but we got a few good ones.

They ended up using the one in the top right. It will be on Jude's passport until he is five and looks completely different. Crazy, but that's how it works. His passport also says his hair is "red", just for fun.  Hopefully there isn't a worldwide ginger purge, or we'll be on the run.  The funny thing is, the picture on the left is how his face usually looks -- always very concerned and old-man-ish (like Josh was).  

And finally, to wrap up the month of March, we took a trip back to Midland! We left Josh with some wonderful friends for a night and drove up to Michigan to check on the progress of our house. Did I mention we're moving back to Midland after Matt graduates this summer? Because he got the job at the place he interned? And we're building a house? I feel like I haven't mentioned it. Anyway, here is a little preview of the progress so far. We'll post something soon telling you all about it. We feel so blessed to be able to do this. For now, just know that it is BLOWING MY MIND with excitement! 

That's all for now. Still not caught up yet. Jude is 6.5 weeks old now and this post only covered his first few weeks. I'll make a post about April soon and then we'll be current. Too many pictures and too little time around here!