Jude the Dude & a Quotable

Jude is Mr. Independent. Every morning he runs to the bathroom, takes off his dry pull-up and gets himself dressed. Everything ends up going on backwards, but he's not quite three and a half. He has been toilet trained since around his third birthday. It took many months of training like it did with my other two, but I don't consider them trained until they go on their own. Having only one child in diapers makes life much simpler.

I said in a recent post that Jude is miserable! I am wondering if his irritability has something to do with a gluten allergy? He is generally happy, but there are times when it is very hard to snap him out of his grumpy mood. We are planning to get him tested this year (on one of our trips back home) It would just be a simple blood test to see if his blood has anti-gliadin antibodies  After this you can do a biopsy or DNA testing to determine a gluten allergy, but with Tiana we simply put her on a gluten free diet.

He has a defiant streak which rears it's head multiple times a day. We deal with it and he is repentant. These are tough days in a three year olds life (and his parents) He feels like he has zero control over his circumstances and tries to have some bit of control. We try to mold him and train him in the fear of the Lord. If he can't or won't submit to his parents how can we expect him to submit to God's holy law later in life?

I still put Jude down for a nap every afternoon. Alone time is good for everyone. Sometimes he falls asleep and other days he just reads or plays in bed. He cries every time, but he actually craves that quiet time and after a few minutes I hear him reading happily.

He comes up with the silliest things. It is his age.
In the van Caleb said something about Jude's age and Jude replied with "I am three, you know da rule!"
Right now he just told me he is drawing "another take heed to his wills" Do you remember memorizing but not understanding Psalters as a kid? I do. I think I will explain it to him now.....