Labor Day Hike

Every year the Klooster family goes on a long walk down a stretch of Lake Michigan beach. It's called the Labor Day Hike. We walk out to the pier and back, it takes maybe an hour each way, and it is lovely. (Yes, that is Jude's chubby, sandy foot.)

The Hike started hundreds of years ago (or maybe 40) with Jono's grandma Leona and her sister Elsie. They are both feisty and smart, and were found bickering over who had the cutest great grandchild. They have one each now: Jude, 9 months, and Elijah, 2 months. (Apparently when Jude exited the car following a lengthy debate between the two of them, Leona said, "Now Elsie, isn't that the cutest child you've ever seen?" Elsie replied simply, "No.")

Anyway, the tradition spread to extended family and now the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren come along too. We always have a potluck afterward and know about half of the people there on any given year. But it's fun to see strangers that are somehow related to us, and to catch up with the people we do know.

Here are some pics. This is probably the first time Jude actually dipped his toes into Lake Michigan. He had "discovered" sand before, but back then the water was too cold.

Can anyone guess what Jude wants in that second shot?
He is a subtle child ;)

Tree Hugger

I don't know about you, but our weekend was fantastic.

On Saturday we went to the farmer's market for opening day of the season. Jude wore his spiffy knit mukluks (Thanks Aunt Jessie ;) The Schnitz Deli is on our way over there, and there was a couple sitting at a table out on the sidewalk. As we passed the guy said, "Look at that." His girlfriend said, "Oh my gosh." Then they both started laughing. We have to be careful. He may cause car accidents in these.

We went for our first Spring hike together on Sunday. We even skipped church to do it (shhh). I promise you we did not brain wash him into this, but it's official: Jude is a tree hugger. Now that he can face forward in his baby carrier, his new thing on walks is to reach for everything we pass and try to grab it.

He also has taken to sputtering with delight on every walk. It's hard to describe what sputtering is, but he gets so excited that he starts making a "pbbthhhht" sound with his lips. Spit starts flying everywhere, the droplets airborne and glistening in the sunlight. After a good sputter he gets a sloppy grin on his face. You can hear him doing it for a second in Part I of the video footage (below).

Here are a few pics of our tromp through the woods at Seidman Park.

See that green stuff? What is that?

Jude is looking in the river.

Tromp tromp tromp...

Tromp tromp tromp...

See, I told you!

I took some video footage out there too. You can probably guess what my subject was.

Hike Part I:

Hike Part II:

Hike Part III:
(Turn up the volume on this one.)

Spring II

I'm posting even more pics of Ty's visit because they turned out so dang lovely.

We went out to the lake for sunset one night, then went home and ate chocolate cake to celebrate both of our birthdays (tyler: march 31; me: april 11). I spent the next day hanging out with my parents in Holland.

(Yes Grandpa K, there are shots of Jude in there too :)

Spring!

Tyler was in town over the weekend on his way home from a show in Minnesota. He's got a good eye for photography is obsessed with getting just the right shot; hence the plethora of photos to follow of Jude and I together.

I feel kind of bad because Brett was here a couple of weeks ago but we didn't take many pictures and he didn't stay overnight here like Tyler did. So anyway, we loved having him around too even if it wasn't "documented". Sorry Brett. Next time we'll get a bunch of extreme close-ups of you and Jude together too :)

This and That (but Mostly Poo)

We went for a little walk this morning so that Mona would poo. I needed a stool sample for her vet appointment. She didn't provide, so after the walk I puttered around the backyard for awhile looking for a sufficiently fresh-looking deposit. Hers isn't the only poo I must look at on a daily basis. My life revolves around poo, it would seem.

We enjoyed being outdoors anyway even though the weather continues to be total crap. Jude went face-forward in the baby carrier for the first time and looked pretty hilarious, so of course I had to capture the moment. (We needed to wait until he could hold his head up well to do this.)

Mona gets excited when we go to the vet because she gets treats from the receptionist in the lobby. However, during her shots today she needed three people to hold her down and me to stand by her head speaking to her in soothing tones. She threw a big fit about it and wasted one of the shots by smacking it out of the vet's hand. She also made a huge racket with her husky "yowls", and the vet said, "Huskies are wimpy." (Exact words.)

"Get away...."

Anyway, she's all caught up on her shots now and was quite pleased with herself on the car ride home. She continues to maintain her weight of 43.5 pounds, which is almost exactly how much she has weighed since we got her over four years ago. It's like she's counting calories or something. It would seem so: her habit is to take a few pieces out of her bowl at a time and move them to a different location in the house where she chews each piece individually. It takes her about 30 minutes to finish a bowl. We're constantly stepping on pieces of dog food that she left in the kitchen, on the living room rug, in the entryway, EVERYWHERE - where they turn to dust and grind themselves into a powdery mess. Super annoying.

In other news, Jude rolled over last week at four months. I didn't even see it the first time. I was sitting on the floor next to him while he was having tummy time, but I was talking to Jono instead of looking down at him. While I was in mid-sentence, the top of his down-covered head brushed against my wrist. When I looked down he was on his back with a surprised look on his face. He did it again a few minutes later. Very impressive :)

I haven't spoken of this much on the blog, but I've been back to work part-time since Jude was about 2.5 months old. I get to work from home, which is pretty ideal, except it's all I can do to find more than 15 minutes straight in which to work uninterrupted. However, I'm very spoiled on certain days when our dear, dear Aunt Kathy (that's great aunt to Jude) takes him every Monday for at least three hours. We love love love her. Jono's mom Jan comes most Fridays for awhile, and Jono's step-mom Jan plans to come every other Tuesday now to watch him all day while I log some hours. These people are true blessings and I can't thank them enough. XOXO. You're saving me some serious headaches (and now we can go on vacation sometime with my earnings - woot!) My mom feels bad she can't come more often, but she works 50+ hours a week and still manages to spend time with Jude on weekends so that I can catch a break (thanks Mom ;)

I felt it was time for a quick update that wasn't just photos of Jude, so there you are. More photos of Jude will ensue.

Baby Wearing

Jude is already a wee bit spoiled. He's so used to being held by everyone that he doesn't want to be put down. For a couple of days last week I was feeling exasperated because I couldn't get anything done. He would fuss in his carseat, fuss in his buzzy seat, and fuss in his swing. The only place he didn't fuss was in my arms. And as cute as he is, sitting around all day holding him was getting a little boring.

My saving grace: BABY WEARING. Wearing your child involves wrapping him up close against your body using a long bolt of cloth. I wrap the cloth around my hips, across my back and shoulders, and then tie it tightly around my waist. Then I form a pocket out of one of the sections of cloth and put Jude into it. I wrap him up tightly using the surrounding sections. He's snug as a bug, and we both love it. Jude because he is swaddled, secure and warm against his mom, and me because my hands are free and I can do things, plus I know where he is at all times (and can occasionally nuzzle the top of his down-covered head.) He usually zonks out within minutes of being put into the wrap, lulled to sleep by the warmth, my heartbeat, and the rhythm of my footsteps going up and down the stairs.

I think it's more hip than your typical baby carrier. (I told my friend Kristen it's really important I look hip while I'm home all day with the baby and the dog). I highly recommend these things to all new parents. Even guys look cool in them, trust me. I can't wait until it warms up a bit and we can actually venture outdoors in this thing. I plan on taking him on lots of hikes around town and through the woods in it.

Meanwhile I'll tromp around the house and look out the window occasionally. It was so cold last week that I literally did not set foot outside with Jude for about six days straight, except for one time when one of my feet touched the back deck as I took the trash out. Jono thought that was pretty funny. And it's definitely a first for me.