Merry Everything!!!

Jude had fun on his first beach trip! He giggled at the seagulls and waves.

Happy Halloween from Jude the Lion!

Jude is 7 months old!

We are finding it hard to believe this sweet baby boy is already 7 months old! I am posting a few recent pics including his panel shots. Jude is sitting up really well, eating great, and still a very happy boy. Watching him learn new things, and develop is really fascinating! He is very aware of every single thing that happens around him, very observant...which really isn't much of a surprise since he came out eyes wide open, looking around! He is weighing in at 22 lbs. He is absolutely the joy of our lives.

Happy 6 months birthday, Jude! He is now 19 lbs 12 oz.

Jude's in Conceive Magazine!

Cami & I had the good fortune of blogging for Conceive Magazine. They are honoring our success story this month, complete with a picture of Jude! You can access it online, by following the link to July/August digital issue, and scrolling thru to page 10. The photographer is the excellent Mandy Johnson, located here in Nashville. We have the same pic in 16X20 over our fireplace; we love it!
http://conceiveonline.com/digital-issues/

Jude has been very busy at 4 months! He has learned to grab his feet, reach for things (specifically Mommy's hair), grabbing, eating cereal from a spoon, and as of last night, rolling over! At his 4 month checkup he weighed 18 lbs. 1 oz. He laughs a lot, and generally seems really content and just happy to be here!

Jude at 3 months

My sweet friend Andrea took these amazing photos of Jude!

New Jude pics!

Jude & cousins Eli & Ruby 5/01/09

9.5 weeks!

Yesterday was beautiful! Jude & I had our first "picnic" in the front yard, with a bottle of formula and a glass of chardonnay. You can guess who drank what ;) Anyway, I was looking down at him, looking up at me smiling, and I broke down crying pure tears of joy. So happy that he is here with us, so thrilled he exists!! It was amazing watching him take in the beauty of the blue skies, green trees and grass. Oh to view the world thru the eyes of an infant...So when Daddy got home he took some pictures.

For those readers of this blog who are not on Facebook, here are some recent pics of our handsome boy. And yes....he is sleeping thru the night at 7 weeks ;) We are blessed!!!

I am SO glad I didn't know just how incredible, awesome, magnificent having Jude would be because I wouldn't have been able to bear it, to bear the burden of the wait. He is a life-changer, and I realize how lonely the days were before he arrived. Now I have a buddy to hang out with all day! And he's really chilled out, happy to be held, and God has blessed us.

I am looking at the sweetest thing I have ever seen: an 11.5 lb. baby with a twinkle in his eye, happy, healthy, content, and I still cannot believe he is here! Here is a link to his "first date" with the lovely 8 month-old Stella Rose Jordan. http://theyoungjordans.blogspot.com/
Also, his newborn photos were taken by Mandy Johnson when he was 6 days old:
http://mandyjohnsonphotography.com/blog/
Her work is simply amazing, and I cannot recommend her enough! Jude will be featured in an upcoming issue of Conceive magazine also ~
Suffice it to say, I am head over heels in love with this boy, and I am so glad we didn't miss out on this...all our love and gratitude to Cami!

Happy 1 week birthday, baby Jude!

Jude - one day old

Here is sweet baby Jude at 1 day old, adjusting to life in front of flashing cameras, which I am sure to him seem nonstop ;) He is a really good baby, sleeping for 4 hours at a time now, eating 3 oz. every 4 hours. He seems pretty "chill" as nurse Brenna said, and only gets frustrated during clothes/diaper changes, or when hungry. Quite simply, Jude rocks. He has rocked right out of his Newborn clothes, as all 10 lb. babies do, and I have already consigned them. Emotionally, all I know how to express in words is that Jude is the greatest gift, and we cannot imagine how we existed joyfully before him. I was telling Mom that if I had "designed" him, I couldn't have made him any sweeter, any cuter, any better.

Aunt Cami & Jude

Welcome Jude Helton

Jude Richardson Helton, our greatest blessing and miracle, arrived Monday night 11:54 pm February 23. Aunt Cami took castor oil, and Jude came 11 hours later! He is absolutely gorgeous! He weighed 10 lbs. 10 oz. and is 20.5 inches long. He's perfectly adorable, and no, I am not biased in the least ;)
We thank Cami, again, over and over for this most amazing gift.

Where is Jude?

So...it appears that Jude is really enjoying his current home, warm & cozy, and prefers to stay, much to Aunt Cami's chagrin. He was due 2/19, but is not budging. I told Cami she must have a wonderful uterus that babies don't want to leave! She will be induced Tuesday 2/24 unless he decides to come beforehand. That is only 3 days from now! We are ecstatic, living on adrenaline, having our handyman finish up all of our house projects, so everything will be ready for baby. Emotionally it feels as if our race is nearing the finish line. We are blessed. We have been thru the ringer, and waited a long time, and our answered prayer is 72 hours away. Thank God for happy endings (and Cami!)

36 weeks!....but who's counting?

We are on the homestretch now! 36 weeks down, 4 more to go! Dave & I are in baby-mode, baby-prep, baby-showers, baby-central and we are having a blast getting ready for our little boy to arrive. Cami is doing great, though I feel bad that Jude is apparently kicking her quite a bit! From now on, we have weekly Doctor Wingo visits, and he is always a riot and makes us laugh. As far as obstetricians go, he has our highest praise. He has literally been with me through over a decade of drama, surgeries & miscarriages alike. He has also been with Cami through Eli and Ruby's deliveries, and now Jude's. You get the feeling that he really cares, and I can't think of a better trait for a physician to have.
Cami & I did a live interview for Conceive Magazine this week. While I feel like it went very well, I did forget quite a bit of specifics from our infertility process. Cami was her calm, cool, and collected self...I was concerned I sounded too country! We go Feb. 4 to Metro Juvenile Court to officially adopt Jude! I cannot wait until he's older and we can tell him all of the things that had to happen to get him here. I'm posting a couple of pics of his nursery, which has been so fun to prepare!

Cami is 34 weeks pregnant! We are 34 weeks pregnant! Jude is approximately 4 pounds now, and moving around a lot. When Dr. Wingo listened to his heartbeat yesterday, he said he could also hear him in motion. Cami looks beautiful and has a cute little basketball bump! It is hard to believe Jude will be here in only 6 weeks. We are ready to meet this new little guy. I can't wait to see what he looks like, what his personality is like. I just can't wait to hold him. His room is ready though we are still waiting on his window shades. In every corner of our house, there is baby gear, whether a stroller, swing, car seat, bouncy seat. Cami is still debating whether or not to be induced. She had Eli & Ruby naturally, and prefers to do that with Jude since her body knows that routine. Some say induction increases a chance of C-section, and that is not a route she wants to go, understandably. This baby has acquired so many gifts, clothes, and we are blessed with four more showers before his birth! Jude is very wanted, very anticipated, and very loved.