Aunt Amy, Fun Pics, and Something to Look forward to!

We were SO thrilled to have my sister Amy come visit us this past week!!! We had fun exploring the city and playing together with Jude! But when we left we were SURE worn out! We stayed up PAST midnight EVERY night she was here!

Jude didn't sleep while she was here either. He woke up several times a night and at or before 6am every morning! He just wanted to play with Aunt Amy!!
It was so fun how Jude seemed to remember her. He just knew she was kin! They connected instantly and laughed and played and laughed and played and laughed and played....Here are some VERY fun pics of our time together!!

After a few blog posts, you may begin to notice that we aren't far from the Mediterranean! Here's Amy & Jude by the water.Trying SO hard to get a good picture!!! But this child was in all out rebellion to the camera!!
Too bad this is so far away (I was keeping an eye on our purses!)! Jude is looking up at Amy with delight and she's telling him some sweet thing! As you may notice in the background, that's right ladies and gentlemen...a real life Dodge Ram Truck! That is surely a rarity around here!Near the water there's a yummy Lebanese restaurant! Mmm!

Not only did they play, Amy & Jude read and read and read and read and read!! Amy sat down with Jude in our new hammy-down GLIDER (check it out, it's bright orange...don't ask me why) and I handed her (the norm) four books to read to Jude. She was like, "FOUR??" Haha. Then Jude kindly welcomed her into the book-a-minute world of Jude!!

So, you may think it's weird that we ate sushi in Tunis with Amy, but you must know that she came not only to love on Jude, but also to bless us! So Amy treated us to sushi TWICE! Amy and I had a date there, and then Jon wanted some too! It is a bit pricey, but it's nice to have some food that's familiar! The year before we left the states sushi became a regular treat for Jon and I...esp since you can buy it at HEB!
Amy & I on our date! After months of talking on the internet, it was a great time of sharing...in PERSON. It's amazing what a little eye contact can do to enhance communication! What a gift!

It's so nice to have someone with us to take family pictures!!!
This is the clock tower in the center of town. It was a quick shot out the window of a taxi! Woohoo!! (although I don't remember who took it)

And, I know you've all been wondering if the blue doors ACTUALLY exist in this country or if it was just my advertising! Well, here's proof!
After long days of play and travel, Jude was finally pooped. For the first time in almost a YEAR this child fell asleep in my arms! What a special treasure!!

This was the night Amy left. Jude sat on her suitcase like he didn't want her to leave!!

I was really surprised at how MUCH it hurt when she left. I guess I didn't see it coming, I was just enjoying the time together! She also left two surprise notes from my parents on the bed in Jude's room for us. Oh my. Jon took Amy to the airport (cause I can't travel alone at night here) and I went to put Jude to bed. When I walked in the door and saw those notes I literally fell apart. There were no words. I was already a wreck, but then those letters!! So Jude sat, quite perplexed, with me as I cried on the floor. It was a hard, hard night!!

While Amy was here, I gave Jude (and Jon) a haircut! This is the "before" pic (opening our special gifts from Grammie, Pops, and Aunt Amy!)And, well, you'll see the "after"s in a sec.

I definitely prefer it long (ok maybe not as long as in the first pic (he was starting to look like a precious little girl!)) but this new cut saves me from having to cut it for the next four months!!

After she left I realized we'd been depriving grandparents of some fun photos! So I pulled out the camera and decided to catch Jude in action! Here he is doing a few of his favorite things!

Um...reading.

Who needs toys from Target??
It's amazing how a little bit of water will entertain an 18 month old! This was my first experience with this Mom trick because it's been too stinking cold here (and without a heater) to let him get all wet! But he sure did enjoy it! At first he cried when the water spilled, but then, you know, he got used to it and even spilled it on purpose for fun!!
You can see his very "focused" look (JUST like Jon's).
I just love how this (very out of focus) picture shows the precious shape of his eyes and his flat Asian bridge. He's the perfect blend of TWO! (but he totally has my lips)

No words!! Haha!! There are tons of captions I could put with this picture!!
One of the only times my son is still enough to look almost picturesque!

We're so excited about sharing Jude with Jon's family (uncle Jeff too!!) in a week and a half!!! It will be a tight squeeze getting us all into this two bedroom place, but that's how we like it!! We CANNOT wait!!!Look closely and you'll see that Jude is looking at pics of Grandpa ("Paw-Paw"), CeCe ("Tce-Tce"), and Uncle Jeff ("Jetf")! We're getting ready!!