The Pig Roast!

Jude's First Birthday!
E Ben, Greg, and Danel prepared the pig to roast.

For Jude's first birthday we threw a little party. We invited 50 people up to my mother's house in Vancouver, picked up two kegs of beer, and roasted a 60 pound pig in the ground. I wanted Jude to have something to remember.

Apparently, on my first birthday my parents (Terry and Danel) threw such a big party that they totally trashed their house. According to legend, the next day they put it on the market for sale. We were just following after our ancestors.

This is about noon, with guests set to arrive at two. Do I look nervous? Actually, I had just tapped the first keg.

The pig was a big hit, and came out perfectly cooked after 8 hours. We asked guests to bring a salad or dessert, and they all brought desserts. Some folks had to go home early, on account of high blood sugar.

To all who attended, THANK YOU for ringing in birthday number one in grand style. This was really a party for Linden and E Ben, whose lives were changed forever last August when Jude came into the world. To those of you who tried valiantly, with me, to finish off the two kegs of beer - you have my gratitude.

Morning Video

Today is Jude's birthday! Here's a quick video from this morning. More to come, later.

More Walking

He's getting better every day!

New Shoes

A pair of shoes arrived for Jude yesterday, so we tried wearing them today.

He seems to like them!

Jude is already a size 6.5! This means we had to buy the 18-24 month size of Robeez for him (he's not even 12 months old at this point). Luckily there is some room to grow... I think Jude actually enjoyed wearing these shoes. Usually, when we put anything on his feet, he immediately tries to pull them off or just acts like they are bothering him. But he basically ignored these shoes, and crawled, stood, and walked pretty much the same as he does with his usual bare feet.

Sixth Anniversary

*this post was written by E Ben*

The Cornett and Company is rapidly expanding its influence into future markets.

At a shareholders meeting on August 8th, the president and CEO made encouraging remarks to the board of directors.

"This could be our best year yet. We are constantly developing new resources, which can only give us the competitive edge as we head into 2010."

Analysts have long marked the rise of the Cornett and Company as an indicator that the stock market bottom is probably behind us. The board of directors celebrated with dinner out on the town.

Early the next day, investors flocked to a bull market, eager to reap the bounty of high volume trading. Specific interest in children's toys and nursery decorations gave many investors confidence in future projects.

August 9 marked the anniversary of incorporation, which included many prominent Cornett and Company traditions. Most specifically, corporate leadership sponsored a travel junket to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens. This annual company picnic was the first in which new membership was invited to join the company soccer game.

"We see a lot of potential in our newest Junior Member," commented Linden, CFO and founding board member. "He has a real talent and ability to produce."

Some analysts have been less than enthusiastic with newcomer Jude and his ability to 'produce.'

"All I see him producing these days is a bunch of crap," agreed the company president.. "But he has an uncommon persistence. I think we'll see him up and running on his own two feet before the end of the next quarter."

Visit to the Park

We took Jude to the park down by the Rose Gardens last weekend for the first time in a while. He is finally old enough to get something out of a trip there.

Jude wasn't sure about the swings. I bet that someday he will be like Lucia and want to swing all day long!

Woah, a big plastic bubble!

Jude's favorite toy was the abacus. He worked on his math skills for quite a while.

And he always loves to drive anything with a steering wheel. Even if it is way too tall for him...

The walking videos are coming. Soon!

Cornetts at Baekeland Camp

This summer we were lucky to have a large contingent of Cornetts during our week at Baekeland Camp. Here is a photo with the full group (Liz, Allison, Fred, Jude, E Ben, Linden, Steve, Kathy):

Fred takes a group of Cornetts across the lake in the motorboat.

Allison and Liz working in the kitchen while Fred supervises...

Dinner in the Main House dining room.

We had lots of fun hosting our West Coast family. We hope to see Cornetts at Baekeland Camp again soon!

Walking, Talking, Trouble

My boy is exploding. Since our return from the other Coast, he is vocalizing, pointing, moving, expressing extreme preference, pulling up, chasing, exploring, and generally developing his independence.

This is Jude wearing shoes for the first time ever. It lasted about 2 minutes.

The Boy will be faced with elemental questions of right and wrong. As a father, I want him to make his own decisions. Just after this, he started chewing on Obi-wan's head. I don't know what this means.

Jude finally discovered the toilet paper game.

This is about the best example I can give of the whirlwind nature of our life these days. On Wednesday I left the room for a minute and returned to find him playing in a puddle of hot coffee that he'd pulled off the counter.

What's next? Can this get any more fun? Up next: Jude Walks! (Sort of.)

Canoe Trip

We had one day of fabulous weather while in the Adirondacks, and we took advantage of it by taking our yellow canoe out to stretch its legs. Aimee and Presto rounded out our flotilla and performed admirably.

I just like this photo of me - this is before we left on the trip.

E Ben paddling his baby.

Aimee and Presto on the Marian River.

I had to try carrying the canoe. E Ben just about fell over when I managed to pick it up and take a few steps.

Ogunquit Kids

We were on the road for a month this summer, visiting Long Island, the Adirondacks, and Maine. Of the three, Jude had the most fun in Maine. We decided that Maine was really Jude's vacation. There were lots of kids for him to chase around and so many new toys!

Jude and Theo played "cell phones".

Jude played with Conrad's toys, even though Conrad was not really interested in sharing.

Jude was a little jealous of Tigerlily. Any time I held her or played with her, Jude would follow me around and try to get me to pick him up.

Alice was very nice to Jude and fed him some Cheerios.

We're missing a photo of Jude and Adam, for a couple of reasons. First, I'm limited to four photos per post, and second I didn't get a good photo of those two together. But he was there! And cute!