Jude is 2!

How do I have a 2 year old?  Truly a baby no more.

We are having a joint bday party in a couple of weeks with Lyla, so besides cake and presents tonight with Dad, I wasn't stressing out too much about today's activities.  I do have a newborn, after all.  But some magic happened and this boy went from one Jude-approved activity to the next.  First, my Dad texted me this morning asking if he could take Jude on a "toot" (adventure/jaunt/errands).  By 9:15 they were on their way to Home Depot, where Jude got to push the cart himself, and check out lawn mowers and stacks of wood.  At 10:45 when they got home it was straight to the park with the Gharrings.  10 minutes after arriving home from the park, Amber and Violet waltzed into the house with Chick-Fil-A.  Violet and Jude exchanged about 17 smooches and squealed and laughed (almost) the whole time.  Then not long after they left, Mimi came over to play.  A nap was had, and then I took Jude to the park/on a walk again while Mimi stayed home with Graham.  Afterwards, Mimi gave Jude a bath since he was expressing intense disapproval of me nursing Graham and unable to party. And then Dad came home.  Mimi left, our friends brought dinner over to be awesome and helpful, and we had cake and presents.  We knew we had winning presents: train tracks, coloring books and crayons, and a book that Jude had swiped off the shelf at Target yesterday (Richard Scarry's Things That Go book) and refused to let go of.  I picked it up for him because I have a hard time saying "no" to a book, especially the day before his bday.  Jude flipped over the cake, blew out the candle himself without being coached, and dug in happily.  Then he flipped over his presents, especially the train tracks, and did several "throw your hands in the air and growl-scream for joy"s.  

What does one say about one's Jude?  He is full of high-octane enthusiasm alllll the time.  He surprises me with new tricks and interests daily.  He's got a big, phatty heart and a clever, sometimes sneaky brain.  I feel like the world's leading expert on Jude but sometimes I look at him with a bit of trepidation, knowing that he could pull any sort of crazy, previously unheard of stunt on me at any moment.  :)  We love him, and that will never change. 

Happy birthday, Jude.