Early Winter Chill

 This morning, inspired by beginner tutorials from Pinterest, I dusted off my DSLR and decided to use it.  We bought our camera mostly for the purpose of taking quality pictures of our kids, but alas, it has been sitting on the shelf ever since baby Jude was born.  Learning to use the manual settings seems a bit overwhelming, but right now is the perfect time to learn and this little boy is an adorable little practice model.  Jude's favorite thing to do lately is to go outside (it is my go-to trick for his fussy early evening time) and so I bundled him up this morning for some backyard pictures.

Living right by Liberty Park here in Salt Lake City has been such a fun thing for us.  We meet friends there for walks or to hang out at the coffee shop on the corner.  Brian and I take Jude there in the evenings and on weekends to put him in the baby bucket swings or to get some exercise after dinner.  Baby boy doesn't mind the cold at all when he is all bundled up, and it feels really good to get out of the house.  We sit on the benches and people watch.  Sometimes Jude falls asleep and most of the time he stares up at the trees going by.  I think that living right by the park will always be a special memory from his first year.

 I knitted the blanket that he is laying on.  It was my very first "real" knitting project and definitely took me about six months to finish because I kept forgetting about it, but now that it is finished I really love it.  Jude thinks it tastes pretty delicious and likes to get it nice and soggy during walks.

Little sweet pea has tons of blonde hair growing in.  It is soft and furry and sticks straight out like a baby chick.  He has started babbling all the time and I wake up in the mornings to his private concerts in his crib. When I come into his room to get him, he gets all excited and kicks his legs really hard on his bed.  He thinks his daddy is super funny and has even started giggling sometimes when he plays with him.  We try to get him to do it all the time, but he only laughs when he's in a really good mood, usually in the mornings and for his last, late night feeding before bed.