Wow...time flies!

I apologize for my lack of blogs lately but I am swamped with work! I am taking 3 college courses right now and planning to teach Advanced Placement Biology next year, all while trying to be the best mommy I can be! Only 2 more classes and I will have my Education Specialist Degree....whoo hoo.  Here are some pictures from Jude's journey from 8 months to 9 months old. He turned 9 months old on yesterday and his personality just keeps getting better each day.  In the picture below you can see just how awesome he is!

 This is Jude on his 8 month birthday.  He loves everybody and does not meet a stranger.  He loves attention and will entertain you just to hear you laugh (I have no clue where he gets that from).  Here is is growling at me!

 This is Jude on Father's Day.  He was watching golf on tv, making Daddy proud.

 Most of you know Shane farms watermelons.  June was a very busy month and most of it was spent at the packing shed.  Here is Jude sitting in a bin of watermelons.  So sweet!

Here is my precious angel sleeping.  Why he sleeps with his arms up I have no clue!

 He loves bath time.

Here he is on July 4th, which was his 9 month birthday.  We are so blessed!

Have a great weekend!

Jude 4 months

I definitely missed my "update tomorrow" deadline! So now that Jude is asleep and he just celebrated his 6 month birthday I will upload his 4 month pictures! Jude was 4 months on March 4th and he hit a lot of milestones that month. Here he is semi-sitting up. I know he is just precious so please refrain from squeezing your computer screen! :)His 1st cousins Myles and Jackson spent the night with us and had to have their picture made with Jude Ellis. They absolutely adore him and love holding and playing with him. I remember this morning like it was yesterday. Myles and Jack woke up and crawled in the bed with Shane, Jude, and I and we played and played. Jack finally said "JJ will you fix us some cheese toast?" While I fixed cheese toast they took Jude back to their room so Uncle Shane could sleep longer and "baby sat" all by theirselves. I love those two!Mama with her sweet boy....look at those blue eyes!

Valentine's day! I can almost sit up! During months 3-4 Jude's reflux got so much better and we stopped his prevacid. He weighed 14 pounds and was 25 inches at his check up. He is almost ready for cereal but mama is holding off until closer to 6 months. He is laughing out loud and smiles constantly. He is the sweetest baby ever!

Wow..3,4,5 months!

I have officially been a terrible blogger...this is my first blog in 3 MONTHS!! I have been super busy with my little fella, work, and school. I am the crazy woman who is back in school getting my 6 year, while trying to work, and raise a baby (all while solely breastfeeding!). I wouldn't trade it for a second though.
My little Jude is 5 months old but I am going to update each night on the past 3 months. Here are some of his 3 month pictures. He started sitting "propped up" at three months and smiling CONSTANTLY! He has won our entire hearts.

Jude and Daddy on the couch Jan. 2nd. How precious!

This month mommy had to go back to work and was not looking forward to it (I will talk about that next blog). I grew so much this month and I still look like my daddy. I am still eating every 2 hours and mommy is strictly breastfeeding so sleep is a thing of the past! Here I am on my 3 month birthday...Jan 4.

I have such a cute personality and I love everybody! I smile all the time and I think my mommy and daddy are hilarious.

I have a feeling I am going to get my way a lot as long as I flash this smile to the lady with the long dark hair!

Being a mom is absolutely incredible! I can't imagine my life without my little man and I have learned to never say never! I said so many things I would not do with my child but boy does God have sense of humor!! Stay tuned for more pics and his 4 month update tomorrow.

2 months!

My little man was 2 months old on December 4th! I cannot believe how fast he is growing and how in love I am with him. We were going to put him in the chair and have him in his white onesie to take this picture but his daddy didn't want to bother him so we just propped the sticker on his chest. Isn't he adorable??
Jude, this month you have experienced a lot! You had your first Thanksgiving and met all of you mama and daddy's family. You picked out your first Christmas Tree and started smiling all the time. You LOVE to eat and are eating about every 2 to 3 hours. You had to go to the emergency room this month because of your tummy. They put you on prevacid for acid reflux and you are much better. You weighed 10.8 pounds at your two month check up and you are growing faster than average :). You got your first set of shots at two months and I don't know who cried harder you or your mommy! I was heartbroken and wanted to hurt that nurse (even though she did a great job). I have learned what love really is and I spoil you daily. You smile at me every morning and you just stare at daddy. You still LOVE bathtime and we bathe you every night. Here are some pictures of your 2nd month.
Sitting in my Daddy's lap! How cute am I?

With my Great-Great-Grandaddy Jones! He is 93 and still brings me fresh vegetables from his garden.

My first Christmas Tree! It is 10 and 1/2 feet tall. Once Mama decorated it I LOVED the lights.

Me at Thanksgiving. I loved all the attention and my Nana loved showing me off.

Mommy and Daddy with me at my first Rhodes' Thanksgiving.

My Bogey loves me and watches over me all the time.

I was dedicated to the church this month too! Whew I was busy.

I am enjoying spending every waking moment with my little man and I have spoiled him rotten. I can't wait until Christmas!

Great and Easy recipes!

Thanks to pinterest, I have found numerous new recipes to try! So far I have cooked 3 new recipes and I LOVED 2 of them (they are added to our meal rotation). For those of you who do not know my husband, he is EXTREMELY picky when it comes to food so I can't get too crazy. Here are two recipes that we both loved.

White Chicken Enchiladas-AMAZING This is a very easy recipe and can be found here: http://joyful-mommas-kitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/white-chicken-enchiladas.html.

And cheddar chicken!
This recipe can be made in a "skinny" version too, find it here: http://jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com/2011/10/crispy-cheddar-chicken.html

One month!

Today Jude is one month old! I am wanting to blog to him on every milestone so here it goes!
This is you at one month old! We ordered your stickers from etsy and they are precious. You are growing so fast and have quickly gone from 5 lbs 12 ounces to 7 pounds 8 ounces. You are staying awake a lot more during the day but still not sleeping much at night unless I put you in bed with me (which goes against all doctors orders). You are really starting to notice your surroundings and are making lots of noise. You are a pretty happy baby and I could not be more in love. Here you are at 3 and 1/2 weeks with your Nana. She loves you dearly and drives out here a few nights a week just to bathe you. You already have her wrapped around your little finger. She talks to you non stop and loves watching you have your "tummy time." She talks about how smart you are already! :)

This is you and Abbey Grace at 3 weeks. She loves you so much and calls you "her baby." She wants to hold you all the time and gets mad when someone else holds you. She wants to buy you all kinds of toys and presents and said she will babysit whenever I need her too (he he).

This is you at 1 and 1/2 weeks, you still have your umbilical cord stump. You LOVE the bath. We get one every night at 9 o'clock and you love it. It calms you down for bedtime. You HATE getting out of the bath and lotion time. I am hoping you will grow out of that but you are pretty funny when you are mad.

Daddy and I don't know what we did before you. We surely did not know we could love something this little so much. We eat lunch with Mama Judy and Daddy Rich everyday and they think you hung the moon. You are one loved little boy.

Jude's first pictures

I am very lucky that one of my good friends is a photographer. She came to visit Jude when he was 10 days old and took some pictures. Here are some of the pictures she took of my sweet baby boy.

He always has his hand propped by his face when he sleeps.

Oh I could just eat him up! I love him more and more every day and I am so proud to be his mommy. He is changing daily and I cannot wait to see what his little personality will be like. He will be 3 weeks old tomorrow and I started my workouts today. I am a little ashamed to admit this but I have 30 pounds left to lose!! I gained 50 pounds WOW! I am hoping that if I blog about my weight loss I will be more accountable. Though I will say every pound was worth it for this little booger. Stay tuned for more precious pictures...:)

It's a BOY!!

These are a hodgepodege of pics but I just wanted to get some up! Jude Ellis Rhodes was born on Tuesday, October 4 at 3:49 in the afternoon. He was 5 pounds and 12 ounces. I must say, there is no greater feeling in the world than being a mother. Here he is right after being born with his Daddy. Can you tell he was excited?? Hey Jude! Ain't he so cute??

Mommy and Jude.

His first day home!

More pictures to come soon!

Baby Rhodes....almost here!!

Just a quick post to let you guys know that baby Rhodes is almost here!! I was in hospital yesterday and Dr. said it could be this weekend or it could be 2 weeks. I am hoping more for this weekend because boy am I miserable. Can't wait to post sweet pictures of our little boy or girl. Say lots of prayers that it makes its appearance before Monday.

Lots of love,
One tired mommy to be!

The Best friends EVER!

This past weekend some of my best girlfriends threw me a baby shower and it could not have been more perfect. The theme was "ice cream sundae" and it was the most adorable thing I have ever seen! I had a great turn out and this little baby is already so spoiled. Hollie Hill is going to post some pictures of the shower tomorrow and I will post later. This party was her brainchild and I can not thank her enough. I think she should become a party planner!! Thanks so much girls! I LOVE YA'LL!!

Nursery Before

I have been slacking in the blog world here lately, but with school starting I have not had time to breathe! Here are the before pictures of our nursery room....I will post after pics tomorrow! Shane was using it as his man room/junk room.

Yes this is the closet! The woolly thing hanging is shane's duck hunting suit.

I am so embarrassed.

Starting to get organized.

Stay tuned to see after pics...you won't believe it!

Beach Summer 2011

So far my summer has been full of beach trips.....not complaining about the beach only the beach body! Here we are in Madeira Beach at John's Pass. Shane is so excited about this baby. 27 week bump....or entity or whatever you want to call it! I am definitely not the cute pregnant girl that only gains in her belly, I have gained EVERYWHERE.

Me with my mother and sister, they are both so excited.

Hope this picture doesn't offend anyone. This was taken this week at Daytona Beach with Shane's family. They have a place there and have been going every year since he was a child. He took this picture so we can show the baby its first trip to Daytona. I am 30 weeks.

Side view, the water makes it look a lot smaller from the side!

Shane wanted me to put this picture up because its his proof that I am giving the baby melanoma..he is not right. He does not like for me to tan my belly because he is scared its hurting the baby, he is so cute. We are counting down the days. I have 70 days left until my sweet baby is due.

Stay tuned..I will post pictures of my newly re-done nursery tomorrow!

11 Weeks left...and still no nursery!

I finally buckled down and ordered a crib! There are so many options and such a variety of prices. I finally decided on the Graco Sarah Crib. This crib is found at target and is actually really cheap. The safety ratings and customer satisfaction reviews are wonderful so I thought....why not save something here and splurge on something else! I love the simplicity of it. Now its time to decide on paint colors for the nursery...I am thinking I like this one the best its Sherwin Williams China Doll.

But these are some I like too.....opinions please!!!

Oyster Bar

Lattice
Oyster White

The nursery will be getting new flooring, chair rail, crown moulding, and a paint job next week so any opinions on paint are greatly appreciated! If you know of any colors you like just let me know. I can't wait to post before and after pics (the nursery has been Shane's junk room). Now we are off to get our 3D/4D ultrasound!