Zoo Boo!

This past Friday night we went the Zoo Boo at the Detroit Zoo with my mum, her coworkers, and their daughters. It was a trick-or-treat through the zoo at night. They had lots of cool pumpkin displays, the reptile house was open, and there was a Zoo Boo Revue. We even saw the vultures sleeping on a log and a camel. Jude was a trooper and stayed awake through the whole thing, and of course loved the music and dancing in the Revue. He even had some candy and loved to play with the wrapped candy in his treat basket. On to the pictures!

I just had to include the polar bear pumpkins, for obvious reasons.

Really?!

The court hearing about child support was yesterday. It wasn't very hearing-like. I went downtown to the friend of court office. Waited about an hour before they called Chris back. He didn't say anything or even look at me in the waiting room and I didn't sit near him or say anything to him because, honestly, I felt like I would say something bitchy and I'm trying to tone that down. Luckily, they were playing Star Wars in the waiting room, so that kept me entertained. There were no clocks, it was frustrating and disconcerting. Anyway, they called him back, he went back, eventually he came out, walked right past me to the elevator and left. A few minutes later the woman called me back and said, before I even sat down,
"He has the right to genetic testing and he chose to do that. All I need from you is to answer a few questions."
"OK..."
In my mind I wanted to ask her what he had said and why, but I knew better and that she wouldn't tell me.
"What's your phone number, date of birth, and social security number?"
I give it to her.
"Where do you work?"
"I'm unemployed right now because my baby is having surgery in June."
She didn't write down the surgery bit, just unemployed.
"Where and when was your last place of employment?"
"McDonalds. April '09."
"Give me your ID and sign here."
She takes my ID to the scanner to make a copy and I sign the paper.
"The test will take place within the next 30 days. You'll get a letter in the mail with the appointment date and time. If you don't come you'll lose the Medicaid."
Then she gave me this awkward look as if I was supposed to stand up and leave 3 minutes ago.
All in all. She was a bitch, but maybe it's just the context and/or situation.
It has to happen in the next 30 days, or else I cannot go. Jude's surgery is on the 9th of June, which is in 7 weeks and one day. If they schedule it anytime after that, there's no way I'm doing it. I'm not putting him through that stress after his surgery. As if the stress from the impending surgery wasn't enough, now there's this.
Typical guys, only thinking of themselves, which this makes no sense because it's only going to fuck him over more in the end. He's going to have to pay for the test and it's not cheap at all. I really wish he'd talk to me, this is such a craptastic situation. If I had known then what I know now, I would have never dated him, to be honest. I hate admitting it, but it's true. I don't understand how someone can be so selfish and uncaring for such an amazing person like Jude. Chris has already missed out on so much. I worry he's going to try to get custody after the paternity test comes back. I don't think it's a good idea because Jude doesn't know him at all. They haven't bonded and Chris would be completely clueless as to how to take care of him.
When we left the friend of court, I punched my hand in the elevator instead of the wall then my dad & I walked down to Ben & Jerry's for some ice cream.

On the brighterish side of things, Jude & I went to the zoo with my friend Nicole last week, I wish I could share the pictures but I lost my camera sometime after I got home. It's been MIA for the past week and it's so frustrating. I've looked everywhere 400 times.

7 months!

Jude is 7 months now. It's hard to believe it's been that long since he's been born. I think it's actually just now fully sinking in what it all means - a lifetime of smiles, tears, and probably tons of mischief. He's a little trouble maker sometimes.

Quick stats:

- Still mostly breastfed.

- He's working on perfecting his sippy cup skillz.

- He loveloveloves smooshed veggies & fruits. This kid is going to be a foody, he hasn't spit out a single food I've fed him.

- He's getting ready to crawl. He can sort of get on his hands and knees, and he just kind of rocks when he does.

- He wiggles around the floor. Backwards and in circles. He usually scooches backwards until he gets stuck under something.

- He added "m" to his babbling so he sits there and goes "mamamam." I'm not sure he quite grasps the meaning and concept of it yet though.

- He has more than doubled his birth weight, he's almost 17 pounds!

- He's still a shorty, but he's always going to be a shorty.

- Everything still goes in his mouth.

- He still doesn't sleep through the night.

- He has started the ever exciting "I'm going to drop this" phase.

- He has also started the stranger and separation anxiety phases. He gets all shy and snuggly when we're around other people that he doesn't see on at least a weekly basis. He also cries when I leave the room.

Yesterday I took him to the zoo for the first time! We went and visited one of my best friends, Kelsey in Bowling Green and the 3 of us and our friend Adrian went to the Toledo zoo for a few hours. He had fun, strollering along and fell asleep eventually. A lot of the animals were out, lazing about. One of the hippo's was walking outside to his water hole and the giraffes were inside but the baby was licking the window right in front of us. It was a lot of fun, and of course really awesome to be able to spend time with my friends, even if Jude did cry most of the hour and a half drive home.