Fearless

 

Yesterday we went and helped my parents (Paca and PacaMa as

the grandkids call them) finish building a rain catchment

 on their cow permit. You drive and drive until you think

that surely no one would run cows this far out- and then

you drive some more and you've almost made it. I use to think

they were a little crazy to run this permit (some days I think they

would agree) but maybe it's more of a special kind of courage.

How brave do you have to be to run a herd of cows where

you can ride for days and never see a single one? Where

you have to dynamite a hole in the ground and cover it in a

gigantic piece of rubber (that I swear weighs a billion pounds) so that

if you're lucky and it happens to rain you might have a little

water for your cows that you hope are still there?

Pretty brave I would say.

 

Paca found this big spider.  We told Judd

that the only reason Paca got to hold it was because

he had gloves on and it could bite....  

Next thing you know, Judd has found Scott's gloves

and wants to hold it too. (Thanks a lot Crocodile Hunter).

I can't believe my little boy who is still afraid to go

down the big slide at the park by himself would love

holding a spider this big.  Go figure...

Little Scotty thought the whole thing was

 grand as long as I carried him

everywhere and kept his belly full.

I guess life is an adventure no matter what

way you look at it. :)

 

3 Years Old

 

Judd just turned three!  It's hard to believe.

I've heard it said, that all you have to do is bring

home a new baby and suddenly your toddler, who seemed

so small, grows up overnight. I'm afraid it's true... 

 

He loves "scoops" and tractors.

Sometimes he gets lucky and his Dad

lets him drive a real one. It's like little

Judd Heaven.

He loves to be outside and be involved

in everything.

My yard wouldn't be the same without him-

good or bad...

I'm pretty sure my lawn will never get

a chance to grow back in this spot.

Some honeysuckle vines were lucky enough

to get watered by his water cannon,

but the really lucky ones got to have this statue of Jesus

with the little children help water them.  :)

 

I don't think Foxy thought it was nearly as cool as Judd did

that he could get the little bear to stay in her thick coat.

They say when you look back you will miss

these days.  I really try hard to appreciate the

moment- but sometimes I have to give it a few days to

truly appreciate some of the things he comes up with.

Such as: Toilet paper race tracks.

(FYI- if you use my bathroom

there might not be any toilet paper in there...)

His fascination with eggs??

"I be so careful, Mom"

First it was just one or two that he carried

around in his pocket but we have since moved on

to egg trains and such.  So far, we have had only

one casualty so I count myself lucky.

Also, his ketchup phase. 

"What would you like for breakfast, Judd?" I would ask.

"Ketchup."

He would pack it around the yard and I even

caught him licking a pile off of the picnic table.

I promise I do try to feed him.

Speaking of food- Judd is very picky.

I'm pretty sure it's my fault but I don't know

how to fix it.  We are in a yogurt, corn dog, and chicken nugget

phase with a few random things that strike his fancy such as

 cheese slices.  I did break out the big guns on his birthday and

introduced him to Spaghetti O's and that was a big hit.

Needless to say, I started giving him a daily multi vitamin.

He likes anything to do with guns and hunting.

He likes to tiptoe and sneak up on wolves and dinosaurs.

Apparently, we also need more bushes (or weeds in this case)

 in our yard to hide behind.



 

He is a super cool ninja or something

with his toy saw tucked in to the

back of his shirt..

(I have no idea where he gets half of the

stuff he comes up with.. Mulan maybe?)

We finally kicked the binky habit. I don't

know if it was me or Judd that didn't want

to give it up.  He always had to have two

binkies and he would have one in his mouth

and turn the other one upside down and put

it on the tip of his nose.  Weird but cute. 

 

We have been working really hard on getting

potty trained.  Much to my dismay, this

picture shows what Judd thinks about that.

Our success rate for the day totally depends

on how bad he wants a marshmallow.

Usually he finds a way to get into the cupboards

and find treats on his own. Today

I caught him throwing a stuffed animal at the

candy on the high shelf.  And every time he

would miss he would say, "just keep trying..."

I guess he is listening after all, just maybe not the

application I had in mind.

 

 

Judd is experiencing a lot of firsts.

He had his first major injury.  He found

my razor and quickly learned that it's not a toy..

 

He also went to his first movie at the theatre. We

watched Monster's University from the door for a

while. He didn't want to walk into a strange, dark

room very badly. 

 

Judd reminds me of myself in a lot of ways.

Trying so hard to be  brave but some things

are just scary.

 
This summer we also raised some tadpoles
(only one made it to froghood...)

when it was time to let him go, Judd

wasn't sure if that was really what he wanted to do.

Finally, he picked the little frog some leaves and

told him to go find his family...

 

 

So proud of the feather he found out in the yard.

I'm not sure if arming him with a

croquet mallet is a good idea.

"Look Mom, I'm a fisherman cowboy!"

 

Happy Birthday, my sweet Judd boy.

Just so you know: it doesn't matter how

old you get- you will always be my baby.

 

Spring 2013

After almost three years I thought I was doing pretty good as a mom and that maybe I could handle another one....  If I weren't drowning in laundry, dirty dishes, potty training, and a newborn I would laugh at myself-- or cry. (There is a very fine line between the two emotions right now.)  Needless to say, I am behind on documenting our wonderful but crazy life.  (Is doing a 4 month summary against the rules? Prepare for a long and slightly random post.)

Easter was fun this year because Judd is

old enough to get involved and know what is

going on.  I have to practice relaxing and

not stressing so much about things like

whether or not egg dye comes out of kitchen tables.

 

Judd is at the age where he wants to do

everything by himself. 

We celebrated Easter at the Ranch and it is a little boy's heaven.

There are tractors, old cars, dirt, and more treasures than

anyone could ask for.

 

Judd figured out how to look for eggs this year

and more specifically the plastic ones

because they have candy in them...

We also got to hear some family history and
go see where Great- Grandma Finicum's
homestead use to be.  This car marks
the spot where the dugout was.

Scott was giving Judd a ride on his blanket

so the next morning he had to give his

fire engine one too. 

Not exactly sure why he is licking the window....?

(ignore my laundry hung out to dry)

 

He thinks that Paca's really fine blasting

sand is wonderful to play in.

 

Dads make the best playing buddies.  :)

 

I came home to find to my surprise (and dismay)

that Judd was on the roof helping fix the swamp cooler..

Here Scott is showing Judd how to trim

branches on a tree in our yard. If you

look closely he even has his plastic saw to help.

Checking the bird's nest to see if the

eggs have hatched.

Going to church is a little more enjoyable

if he gets to bring power tools.

(the nursery leaders are probably relieved to

know that the tools have to stay in the car.) 

He saved a little moth that fell in his bath water.

He was so proud of it and was very careful the

rest of his bath so that he could show his Dad

when he got home from work.

 

 
Judd loves to be a cowboy but refuses to wear any cowboy
hat except this bright, fuchsia one. Oh well- I guess it goes
better with the frog jammies....

Tying Otis up to his tractor.

Good thing Judd has Paca to help him with the real thing.