The Dude abides...

Though I haven't seen the Big Lebowski, this seems ridiculously appropriate for Jude.  Maybe because we always called Milo, Milo Man, so when Jude came along he needed a label too, so it was naturally Jude the Dude.  Before we knew anything about his personality, he was The Dude.  And he abides.  As he has grown in his personality, it works.  He abides.

Mostly, he's not terribly worked up about anything, which for a 1-year-old who doesn't really speak, is pretty impressive.  You put him on the floor with a few toys or interesting things to check out, and he just chills.  Put him in a room full of strangers, and though he'll recognize my absence, he'll flirt his way into the hearts of anyone interested.  We've started to use baby-gates to block the downstairs, mostly because I don't want him to meander over there and just fall down, not because I worry about him trying stairs on his own; he's totally happy seeing the blockades and playing within the boundaries.  We've never had a hard time dropping him in nursery at church, and aside from trying to recover him from his journey up north with Grammie and TomTom, he's happy with whomever he's with.

When he does recognize something he wants, he rubs his belly, his version of rubbing his chest, the sign for "please."  He used to sign "more" for everything, but now he's more civilized, and I think recognized that people though "please" was cuter than "more" and thus responded more promptly.  His sign for "thank you" and blowing a kiss are very similar, but really, the meanings aren't too far off.  

 He's started scooting in the last couple of weeks, vastly delayed on the developmental charts at the doctor's office.  He's thinking about pulling up, but has no interest in taking any steps, and mostly I think it's because he's pretty happy where he's at.  He abides.  I observe younger siblings everywhere trying with great frustration to keep up with big brother or sister, and Jude really doesn't seem to care.  Don't get me wrong, he loves Milo, thinks he's hilarious, and does generally want whatever Milo has, but more so because I think he's tuned into what big brother does and wants to take part.  Not because he wants to keep up with him, but because he wants to be a part of the fun.

When I tucked Milo in tonight, Jude was still awake.  I told Milo to be quiet and not rile Jude up, but I could already hear Jude giggling: he knew Milo was there, and that's great.  He shares the space of their bedroom with his brother; he gets to take part.  And though Milo doesn't always see things the same way, I know he feels it too.  When Jude was with Grammie and TomTom, as much as he liked having Mike and me to himself, he told me he missed Jude, especially at night when "who was going to sleep with him?"  I'm so glad that my boys are already friends, I literally prayed for this while waiting in a delivery room at the hospital the morning Jude was born.