Happy Halloween!

As if getting a two-year-old to hold still for a Halloween picture isn't hard enough, Jude wasn't exactly keen on the idea of wearing the custom stuffed turtle shell I made this year, after weeks of reassurance that he wanted to be a turtle. The sketch was promising and the final costume turned out great, for the minutes we could convince him to wear it.

Sometimes, bribery does the trick! Here Jude is concentrating on his gâteau so I snapped a picture of the front of the shell.

His friend Hugo was rocking a super-hero costume, customized with a felt star and "H est super."

We couldn't celebrate Halloween without a costume, so I had to think on my toes. Luckily I had some scrap metallic silver fabric at hand, resulting in the fastest costume transformation yet - a dragonfly!

The wings were a big hit and Jude is ready to hit the town. Oh, the joys of toddler-hood. Hope you all have a very happy and safe Halloween!

Jude's Picks: Cookies, Tunes & Reads!

In today's post, Jude offers up some cookie, music & book recommendations. We tested out this chocolate chip cookie recipe from the New York Times over weekend - they were delish, though tough to call whether the dough or the finished cookie was the most tempting...

Jude has always been big into singing and dancing (circle time goes against his rebellious nature, but throw on a good tune and he's there, with bells on!). Current favorites include I Was Made for Sunny Days by the Weepies (favorite dance move with this one is the alternating shoulder shrug)...

Rihanna's (also known as "Ri-Na-Na") What's My Name and Rude Boy are often a favorite for post-bath dancing and in car sing-alongs...

Ça Plane Pour Moi - awesome punk rock tune from the 70's by Plastic Betrand (accompanied by 80's metal-style head thrashing and occasional fist pumps)...

Another huge favorite is Price Tag by Jessie J featuring BoB - also an excellent karaoke number...

Jude's top story time story these days is Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty, a hilarious, irreverent book about doing your own thing...

Other faves include Eric Carle's ABC (to date read about 1,538,585,192 times)

"Leo", by Robert Kraus (also available in English as "Leo, the Late Bloomer") - this was one of my favorites as a kid too...

And, of course, "Les Oeuf Verts au Jambon" otherwise known as "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss.  I'm hoping if we read this one enough times he might start eating something other than apples, blueberries and pasta - or, at the very least, might contemplate eating something, anything green.