I'm a little bit behind, but here's my journal entry from the night of July 26 and July 27, the day Jude turned three.
The sweetest family moments always seem to happen when everyone is piled in our bed. That's where we were last night when we started sharing funny stories about Jude, remembering his life and thinking about his Birthday, how he's turning 3. Here are some memories we shared.
Ezzy remembered standing on the sidewalk with Jude at our house in Granadilla, waving at cars and shouting, "HONGA!" because Jude couldn't make an "L" sound, so that's what he said instead of "hola!" silly!
Then I remembered how he would stand on the balcony at our house in San Francisco de dos rios and shout at the guard, "GORDITO!" because that's what the guard called him everyday as he rolled by in his stroller. And also how he would hear the lottery man coming down the street and would echo his call shouting, "LOTERIA!" in a funny, deep voice just like the loteria man! And the way he would zip down the stairs on his belly so fast!
Everyone cracked up laughing remembering these moments.
Jude's First Birthday
Jude's 2nd Birthday
Today he's turning 3 and Kai says, "Now he can talk good when he plays. And he doesn't destroy everything anymore." He's learned how to play with his brothers.
This morning I woke up and Jude had snuck in the bed in the middle of the night. He was right behind me hugging my back. I woke up before him with Koa and we watched him sleep. So peaceful. When he opened his eyes I said, "Happy Birthday, Jude. You're three years old now."
He looked back at me and said, "But I'm still a boy."
"Yes. You're still a boy."
Then he rolled off the bed to go find his brothers to make sure he's not missing any fun that might have started without him.
...Singing happy birthday, three candles sparkling atop a Mickey Mouse pancake. Blow the candles, Jude! Jude attempts to blow, but Ezzy blows them out. Ezzy and Kai have hardly been able to contain their excitement all morning. When can Jude open his presents??? After his pancakes... it's so hard to wait, it's just so exciting!
"How old are you Jude?"
"I'm 6!"
"No, he's three," says Ezzy.
"I'm 3!" Big smile!
For his birthday Jude received a xylophone, a Mr. Potato Head and a kickboard that he calls his "sufboard." He opened his presents this morning after his pancake breakfast and it touched my heart how he immediately shared with his brothers without a thought or a fuss.
Jude....
Your name means "praise" and your life does bring praise to God. You are so joyful, silly, friendly. Your smile lights up a room. You love people, you're outgoing. You love to play and you love to make people laugh. You love your brothers so much. Your smile, hugs, kisses and love fill my heart with warmth. You are a joy. You're a treasure. I'm so glad you were born 3 years ago today, my little gordito. You radiate love.
Jude had a lot of fun with this. So what else have we been up to? Well....
We played in the rain.
I made spaghetti for dinner and dyed it different colors, just for fun.
They just thought this was the greatest thing ever. I have never seen three boys eat spaghetti so fast.
Ezzy painted his face red- that was a surprise.
