picking blueberries

Well, the leaves are turning and I'm reminded that it's time to finish up some summer posting. I suck at blogging, seriously. If you've stuck around, bless your heart, and thank you :)

Since I fall short of logging all of the stuff we do, I've decided to only expect myself to post happenings that fall within these categories:

1. Amusing (to me) stories, usually involving the short and stout people who live here
2. Major (to us) events in our lives
3. Photos I can share quickly with only a few words
4. Traditions I'm starting that will hopefully weave themselves into the fabric of our family
5. Posts that give me an excuse to list things

The perfectionist in me can calm down about the fact that there is no way to log it all, nor is it a necessary part of life. As long as I take some photos and video now and then, and dust off this blog once in awhile, my family members will not resent me as adults for not documenting anything. There will be plenty to read and look at, let's not ruin the moments we're having by salivating over making sure they're forever captured.

Just a little self-pep talk there.

On to one of our new traditions: a little blueberry-picking expedition to Post Farms!

I don't think Jude could quite believe that there was an entire field of blueberries that no one was eating. He wasted no time.

Whose pail is whose?

Theo's usual mode of obsessively watching what Jude is doing.

Grass in the face. Thanks, bro.

They both have old man hats now. Jude actually wore the blue one Theo has on, but probably at eight weeks old rather than eight months (the child has a huge gourd).

One thing I recall happening as we left... Jude was walking ahead of me down a blueberry row to the car and suddenly yelled, "QUESADILLA!" (Kids.)

We plan to pick these every year, freeze them, and use them in our oatmeal and smoothies all year long. Nothing like freshly picked food, even if you're eating it frozen in January.

Duuuuude.

He thinks it's the coolest thing in the universe to wear Jono's cap backwards and crawl around like he's the shiz-nit. Which he is.

Wait... was that "Jude in Hat"?
You're welcome.

Making a Comeback...

Just for this week, Jude in a Hat is making a comeback. This is almost my favorite one so far. Jono's Aunt Kathy found it at a garage sale, and I call it his "old man hat". He is scrumptious in it, don't you think?

Jude in a Hat (@Tulip Festival)

Though I've received a hat or two since my last post, this one is truly the last Jude in a Hat installment (unless I find myself rolling in hats again in a few months... then it might make a comeback).

This is Jude in a little Dutch hat. Yes, I finally caved and owned up to part of my heritage. I honestly never thought I would be dressing my progeny in Dutchy things, but here I am doing it. I have a weakness for squeezing Jude into outfits that make him look fatter/shorter/koosier, so there you go.

My parents are now living in their third town that annually holds a Tulip Festival, so of course we had to partake in the festivities. (And yes, as a result of this Dutchy hometown-hopping, we love to play Dutch Bingo.) We went to the "kinder parade" to watch my dad and his fifth grade class march. They all dress up in Dutch costumes and each class has a gimmick. One section was "Dutch Art" and they walked with banners of paintings by Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Vermeer. (One thing I'm proud of being Dutch for is how meticulous they are, which has produced some serious artistic genius.) Another section dressed up as pigs and carried vats of fake cheese around. My dad's class pushed themselves along on scooters and did scooter tricks. It's all very quirky.

The teachers take up the rear of each section to make sure no one goofs off or falls behind and gets trampled by a marching band. Dad had been begging me for a week to let him carry Jude in the parade, but I balked at first because I thought he might go deaf from the drums and trumpets and what-not. Dad assured me there were no bands marching behind his class, so I agreed.

What followed was hilarious. My mom and I ran alongside Dad and his class, so we witnessed the crowd (especially the above-60 set) flipping out over the baby in the Dutch costume. Old folks got up out of their seats, screamed and clapped hysterically as they passed. It was like the crowd was doing the wave as Rose Park's fifth grade made its way down the route. Dad had the biggest grin on his face and kept pointing at Jude and saying "This is my grandson!!" to anyone who glanced in his direction. Hee hee!

Anyway, I'm sure you're chomping at the bit to see pictures and video of this (I mainly refer to Jude's extended family), so here are some.

To wrap this one up, I need to tell you what our new Friday installment will be. It's called Jude Makes a Discovery. Here is the first one:

Jude Discovers a Yellow Tulip

(see elbow dimples)

J to the U to the D to the E...

...in a H to the A to the T. This hat is a little big on him and looks like head gear at the moment. But sadly, it is Jude's very last hat. I will have to start a new installment. (No, this is not a plea for everyone to go out and buy him a gazillion hats. But if the spirit moves you...)

Please vote your preference:

Jude About Town
Jude in a Tank Top
Jude in Booties
Jude Doing Grown-up Things That Are Funny When a Baby Does Them
Other Ideas?

You

Someone told me something about you. They told me you want to see Jude. They said you're feeling picky today, because you don't just want to see Jude. You want to see Jude in a HAT. I get it.

Well, here you go then.

Yes, I know how unbelievable this is. And it's time they took me to the nut-house, because it's putting me over the edge.

Yep.

Not on a mat, not with a cat. But in a hat.

Seen here with Uncle Tyler. Thanks for the hat and mittens combo Aunt Kathy :)

He's Crafty...

...He's just my type.

Foxes are crafty no? I think it's a fox. A quirky one. It says "Aladdin" on the tag, but I don't remember any foxes kicking around in that flick.

This hat was found by Jan and Dad (aka Grandpa and Grandma K) at a second-hand shop. Yay for weird thrift store finds!

Does anybody know what time it is?

It's time for a little Jude in a hat.

(He's flashing the peace sign in that last one.)

It's Friiiiidaaaaayyy...

That's right, it's Jude in a Hat. In typical proud-mama style, I couldn't pick just one.

And then this super fat one:

Rachel Dieleman made this hat with her own two hands

Jude in a Hat (BOGO)

I went to the grocery store and found a two-for-one deal on pumpkins and tomatoes. Couldn't pass it up.

.

.

.

P.S.

Jude in a Hat

Here's your Friday "Jude in a Hat" fix. I'm so grateful to whoever invented balls on top of hats. Bon appetit my friends!

Jude in a Hat

I'm starting a Friday installment of "Jude in a Hat*".

Here's the first one:

*He got the hat from Kristen and Annie (I think). It's made of bamboo!