Just another WordPress weblog
The drive keeps getting longer, and the time I get to spend there keeps getting shorter, but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see the boys this weekend.
Evan and Alex playing in the Tractor Grandma Rutledge gave them via Michelle's kids….
Playing with foamy bath soaps…
See more at http://www.erutledge.net/album2010/index.html
The drive keeps getting longer, and the time I get to spend there keeps getting shorter, but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see the boys this weekend.
Evan and Alex playing in the Tractor Grandma Rutledge gave them via Michelle's kids….
Playing with foamy bath soaps…
See more at http://www.erutledge.net/album2010/index.html
The drive keeps getting longer, and the time I get to spend there keeps getting shorter, but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see the boys this weekend.
Evan and Alex playing in the Tractor Grandma Rutledge gave them via Michelle's kids....
Playing with foamy bath soaps...
See more at http://www.erutledge.net/album2010/index.html
Alexander is growing up more and more everyday. I swear he weighs as much as Evan. This is a little video of him giving the all done sign after eating for mom:
This is a Video of Mom finally getting her Christmas present. I had intended on finishing before Christmas, but, well, it was a little behind schedule:
This is a video of Evan at his first Karate class. I couldn’t help but cheer him on and laugh; but he seemed to really love it:
Evan Christopher Rutledge First Karate Lesson from Steven Rutledge on Vimeo.
and finally this is a timelapse video of me working on the painting linday’s got today:
I guess it was a busy day!
Alexander is growing up more and more everyday. I swear he weighs as much as Evan. This is a little video of him giving the all done sign after eating for mom:
This is a Video of Mom finally getting her Christmas present. I had intended on finishing before Christmas, but, well, it was a little behind schedule:
This is a video of Evan at his first Karate class. I couldn’t help but cheer him on and laugh; but he seemed to really love it:
Evan Christopher Rutledge First Karate Lesson from Steven Rutledge on Vimeo.
and finally this is a timelapse video of me working on the painting linday’s got today:
I guess it was a busy day!
Evan has a new invisible friend, his name is Optimus Prime.; which is pretty darn cute. Almost as cute as his last invisible friend – a mouse that lived mostly in his pocket.
From Mom: “optimus is eating dinner with us this evening and, FYI, you don’t want to eat baby doggie tonight (Evan says)
and I got Evan to eat his veggies by telling him they would make him strong like Optimus. Only after he asked for more chicken and I said only if you eat all your veggies and he says “I can’t it hurts”
Evan has a new invisible friend, his name is Optimus Prime.; which is pretty darn cute. Almost as cute as his last invisible friend – a mouse that lived mostly in his pocket.
From Mom: “optimus is eating dinner with us this evening and, FYI, you don’t want to eat baby doggie tonight (Evan says)
and I got Evan to eat his veggies by telling him they would make him strong like Optimus. Only after he asked for more chicken and I said only if you eat all your veggies and he says “I can’t it hurts”
Evan has a new invisible friend, his name is Optimus Prime.; which is pretty darn cute. Almost as cute as his last invisible friend – a mouse that lived mostly in his pocket.
From Mom: “optimus is eating dinner with us this evening and, FYI, you don’t want to eat baby doggie tonight (Evan says)
and I got Evan to eat his veggies by telling him they would make him strong like Optimus. Only after he asked for more chicken and I said only if you eat all your veggies and he says “I can’t it hurts”
I decided to start posting what I call “Evan-isms”, little conversations or sayings from Evan. Because sometimes the things that come out of Evans mouth crack me up or swell my heart, I just have to share them! So here’s the first one, from tonight:
Me: What should we have for dinner Ev?
Evan: Ummmmm…PRETZELS!
Me: Hmmm. That doesn’t sound like a very good dinner.
Evan: Yes, yes it does! It sounds like a beautiful dinner!
Me: (cracking up laughing on the inside)
I decided to start posting what I call “Evan-isms”, little conversations or sayings from Evan. Because sometimes the things that come out of Evans mouth crack me up or swell my heart, I just have to share them! So here’s the first one, from tonight:
Me: What should we have for dinner Ev?
Evan: Ummmmm…PRETZELS!
Me: Hmmm. That doesn’t sound like a very good dinner.
Evan: Yes, yes it does! It sounds like a beautiful dinner!
Me: (cracking up laughing on the inside)
Where did the time go? Months are flying by, I can hardly keep up!
Alex is still such an amazing little guy. He is still very laid back, and very sweet. Among his newest tricks he does what I call “the finger”. He takes his pointer finger and just touches things. It’s so cute, I could just eat him up. He does it to his food, his brother, his toys, or in the morning when we’re laying in bed and he’s trying to get me up he touches my nose, my mouth, my eyes. It’s too cute.
“The Finger”
And he is definitely turning into my animal kid. He loves the dogs, they motivate him to move across the room. He is drawn to Isa when she’s sleeping on her bed in the living room. She is, shockingly, very good with him so far. She’s growled a couple of times but not nearly as much or as bad as she did with Evan. Not sure if that’s because I “trained” her with Evan or if she’s just chilled out. Today when he crawled onto her bed with her she looked at me (and I gave her “the look”) and she turned back and licked his face which he thought was a total riot. Then she started wagging her tail and licking him more, which for her is a really big deal. And the horses, oh how he loves the horses. They come up to him and blow in his face and he giggles and smiles and kicks his legs. The cats, of course, are a hit still. They seem to be drawn to him. They always want to be snuggling with him.
Getting acquainted with Isa
Serenity enjoying the morning sun with Alex
Safety First! Daddy likes to start the tool/safety training early.
Alex is also moving. He isn’t crawling, he’s scooting on his bottom. We call it the “Gorilla Crawl” as he kinda looks like a little baby Gorilla. I guess it is more comfortable since we don’t have carpet in the house, crawling would probably not be very comfy on the wood floor. So he just scoots along on his bottom and he’s fast!
Scootching along on his bottom and blowing raspberries at the same time. Talent! This scootching is Alex’s way of crawling. I’m sure it’s much more comfortable than crawling on the wood floors. We call it the “Gorilla Crawl” because he looks like a little baby gorilla pulling himself alone with his arms. It’s the cutest thing ever, and he’s FAST!
He is now pulling himself up on anything and everything, starting to furniture surf and can go one handed, very tricky!
He loves his blankies. Melt my heart!
We are trying all sorts of new tastes and textures. Here it’s celery, he actually really liked it. He didn’t eat it, of course, just chewed on it a bit. Other things we’ve tried: cottage cheese, avocado, peas, sweet potato, pears, bananas, pasta, cherrios, egg, carrots, apples, and pretty much anything else anyone within eyesight is eating. If someone else is eating and he isn’t, watch out! You will have a very unhappy little guy until he gets a taste!
Kisses. Alex loves giving out kisses. To his brother, grandma, mom, dad, his stuffed animals. I love it! We went swimming a few days ago (Alex’s first real time swimming) and Alex got a splash to the face from another kiddo right as we got in. Normally he takes that kind of thing in stride (his brother does it all the time in the bath tub) but for some reason it was rather upsetting for him this time. He turned to me and started giving me kisses. I think it’s a reassuring thing for him.
And of course there are the ear infections. I am fairly certain the only reason the little guy had two bad ear infections back to back is 1) because we decided to get an HSA account, and 2) because right before his first ear infection I had told a friend of mine how I hadn’t had any ear infections in either of my boys. I should have knocked on wood. Regardless, the poor little guy is one tough cookie. He was a bit cranky, and definitely had some trouble sleeping, but nothing that would indicate a perforated ear drum!
Where did the time go? Months are flying by, I can hardly keep up!
Alex is still such an amazing little guy. He is still very laid back, and very sweet. Among his newest tricks he does what I call “the finger”. He takes his pointer finger and just touches things. It’s so cute, I could just eat him up. He does it to his food, his brother, his toys, or in the morning when we’re laying in bed and he’s trying to get me up he touches my nose, my mouth, my eyes. It’s too cute.
“The Finger”
And he is definitely turning into my animal kid. He loves the dogs, they motivate him to move across the room. He is drawn to Isa when she’s sleeping on her bed in the living room. She is, shockingly, very good with him so far. She’s growled a couple of times but not nearly as much or as bad as she did with Evan. Not sure if that’s because I “trained” her with Evan or if she’s just chilled out. Today when he crawled onto her bed with her she looked at me (and I gave her “the look”) and she turned back and licked his face which he thought was a total riot. Then she started wagging her tail and licking him more, which for her is a really big deal. And the horses, oh how he loves the horses. They come up to him and blow in his face and he giggles and smiles and kicks his legs. The cats, of course, are a hit still. They seem to be drawn to him. They always want to be snuggling with him.
Getting acquainted with Isa
Serenity enjoying the morning sun with Alex
Safety First! Daddy likes to start the tool/safety training early.
Alex is also moving. He isn’t crawling, he’s scooting on his bottom. We call it the “Gorilla Crawl” as he kinda looks like a little baby Gorilla. I guess it is more comfortable since we don’t have carpet in the house, crawling would probably not be very comfy on the wood floor. So he just scoots along on his bottom and he’s fast!
Scootching along on his bottom and blowing raspberries at the same time. Talent! This scootching is Alex’s way of crawling. I’m sure it’s much more comfortable than crawling on the wood floors. We call it the “Gorilla Crawl” because he looks like a little baby gorilla pulling himself alone with his arms. It’s the cutest thing ever, and he’s FAST!
He is now pulling himself up on anything and everything, starting to furniture surf and can go one handed, very tricky!
He loves his blankies. Melt my heart!
We are trying all sorts of new tastes and textures. Here it’s celery, he actually really liked it. He didn’t eat it, of course, just chewed on it a bit. Other things we’ve tried: cottage cheese, avocado, peas, sweet potato, pears, bananas, pasta, cherrios, egg, carrots, apples, and pretty much anything else anyone within eyesight is eating. If someone else is eating and he isn’t, watch out! You will have a very unhappy little guy until he gets a taste!
Kisses. Alex loves giving out kisses. To his brother, grandma, mom, dad, his stuffed animals. I love it! We went swimming a few days ago (Alex’s first real time swimming) and Alex got a splash to the face from another kiddo right as we got in. Normally he takes that kind of thing in stride (his brother does it all the time in the bath tub) but for some reason it was rather upsetting for him this time. He turned to me and started giving me kisses. I think it’s a reassuring thing for him.
And of course there are the ear infections. I am fairly certain the only reason the little guy had two bad ear infections back to back is 1) because we decided to get an HSA account, and 2) because right before his first ear infection I had told a friend of mine how I hadn’t had any ear infections in either of my boys. I should have knocked on wood. Regardless, the poor little guy is one tough cookie. He was a bit cranky, and definitely had some trouble sleeping, but nothing that would indicate a perforated ear drum!
We are moving through the list of “first foods” slowly but surely for Alex. A couple of weeks ago we tried some egg. Evan LOVED eggs, still does if they’re hard boiled. I’m not so sure that Alex likes them too much…what do you think? It’s been a couple of weeks since that picture was taken, and he still has moments where that face emerges again. We introduced cottage cheese last week–you should have seen the face for that one!! Very interesting textures.
We are moving through the list of “first foods” slowly but surely for Alex. A couple of weeks ago we tried some egg. Evan LOVED eggs, still does if they’re hard boiled. I’m not so sure that Alex likes them too much…what do you think? It’s been a couple of weeks since that picture was taken, and he still has moments where that face emerges again. We introduced cottage cheese last week–you should have seen the face for that one!! Very interesting textures.
…was a huge disappointment. We decided to go because we had to take Mommy’s boss to the airport, it had been super cold outside for about a week so everyone was going crazy and we needed something to do! So the Childrens Museum in Denver seemed like a great idea. Now you have to understand that Mommy grew up going to places like OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) which is one of the coolest places to go if you have kiddos. Well, this is nothing like OMSI at all. It only had a few things to do, we could have blown through that place in about 15 minutes. We did a complete walk through when we first got there because Evan kept running from one thing to another trying to find something cool to do. Well, now we know where not to go when we are in Denver. However, here are the highlights of our trip:
They had a real fire engine right as you walked in. It took Evan at least half an hour before he’d play on it, but then he really got into it. They even had jackets and hats the kids could wear.
And they even had a freaky stuffed dalmatian. A little too freaky for me, but the kids seemed to like it.
The coolest thing there by far was the “backyard experience”, or something like that. It was kinda cool. There was a “hill” when you walked in the room with trees on either side. The roots of those trees ran across the hill so the kids could use them as footholds to climb the hill. When you got to the top there was a little rabbit hole the kids could climb down and that lead to a series of tunnels that ran underneath this hill. Evan enjoyed it.
Climbing down the rabbit hole
And through the tunnels…
“Mommy!! Come here! Come here!” He liked the tunnels, can you tell?
And that’s it for the Childrens Museum. The other rooms they had were an art room, a train room, a basketball room, and a fake grocery store. Nothing Ev hasn’t seen before. In fact everything with the exception of the grocery store he has and does at home. Like I said, I am a bit disappointed. It’s no OMSI!
…was a huge disappointment. We decided to go because we had to take Mommy’s boss to the airport, it had been super cold outside for about a week so everyone was going crazy and we needed something to do! So the Childrens Museum in Denver seemed like a great idea. Now you have to understand that Mommy grew up going to places like OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) which is one of the coolest places to go if you have kiddos. Well, this is nothing like OMSI at all. It only had a few things to do, we could have blown through that place in about 15 minutes. We did a complete walk through when we first got there because Evan kept running from one thing to another trying to find something cool to do. Well, now we know where not to go when we are in Denver. However, here are the highlights of our trip:
They had a real fire engine right as you walked in. It took Evan at least half an hour before he’d play on it, but then he really got into it. They even had jackets and hats the kids could wear.
And they even had a freaky stuffed dalmatian. A little too freaky for me, but the kids seemed to like it.
The coolest thing there by far was the “backyard experience”, or something like that. It was kinda cool. There was a “hill” when you walked in the room with trees on either side. The roots of those trees ran across the hill so the kids could use them as footholds to climb the hill. When you got to the top there was a little rabbit hole the kids could climb down and that lead to a series of tunnels that ran underneath this hill. Evan enjoyed it.
Climbing down the rabbit hole
And through the tunnels…
“Mommy!! Come here! Come here!” He liked the tunnels, can you tell?
And that’s it for the Childrens Museum. The other rooms they had were an art room, a train room, a basketball room, and a fake grocery store. Nothing Ev hasn’t seen before. In fact everything with the exception of the grocery store he has and does at home. Like I said, I am a bit disappointed. It’s no OMSI!
Evan had his first school play for Thanksgiving. It was more of a little song actually. And he didn’t really sing it, mostly just looked at the other kids. BUT, he was very proud of himself as he should be! Too cute!
Before they started singing he waved at me, and so I waved back. He turns to his friends and (rather loudly) says “That’s my mommy!” Melt my heart.
Evan had his first school play for Thanksgiving. It was more of a little song actually. And he didn’t really sing it, mostly just looked at the other kids. BUT, he was very proud of himself as he should be! Too cute!
Before they started singing he waved at me, and so I waved back. He turns to his friends and (rather loudly) says “That’s my mommy!” Melt my heart.
Evan had his first school play for Thanksgiving. It was more of a little song actually. And he didn’t really sing it, mostly just looked at the other kids. BUT, he was very proud of himself as he should be! Too cute!
Before they started singing he waved at me, and so I waved back. He turns to his friends and (rather loudly) says “That’s my mommy!” Melt my heart.
Well, Alex officially has his first boo-boo. And it’s a big one. Bigger than anything Evan’s ever gotten so far, which is shocking. Evan and Alex were taking a bath together when Evan jumped up and landed right on Alex’s ankle. Sigh…Poor little guy. He recovered from the incident pretty quickly (less than a minute of crying) so we thought he was alright. However we began to notice that whenever we bumped his leg he would cry, and his ankle also became swollen and we could see a bruise forming. So off to the doctor we went. The doctor was concerned about a possible break because Alex refused to put any weight on that leg and it was obviously painful. So we put his leg in a splint in the office (not a fun experience) and shuttled everyone over to the urgent care for x-rays.
Alex was a rock star for the x-rays, but wasn’t too happy when we had to put his splint back on again afterwards. We went home and everyone was taking a nap when the radiology tech called me and said she forgot to take ONE view that Dr. Schmidt ordered and could we come back in to take that. I have to be honest here, I really wanted to reach through the phone and strangle that radiology tech right then, but instead I just sweetly told her we’d be in right after they woke up from their naps. I was very disheartened that not only did we have to go back into town (3o minutes each way), but we also had to take off the splint again, meaning we had to put it on again which is upsetting for Alex. Just read the radiology order the first time, while the patient is there! Especially when it’s a 6 month old! Oh well, I certainly know everyone makes mistakes.
So the official word according to what was seen on the rads is there isn’t a break. The doctor said it is most likely just strained and bruised. We have to keep it in the splint for a few days, then re-evaluate Alex’s pain. Sounds good, right? Lets hope so! I am a little skeptical only because Dad told me that a break would be hard to see on rads in a baby this age. So if he still has pain after a few days then we may need to get a CT scan. And that sounds expensive…I was just thinking about how we didn’t have enough medical bills! 
Stay tuned
Well, Alex officially has his first boo-boo. And it’s a big one. Bigger than anything Evan’s ever gotten so far, which is shocking. Evan and Alex were taking a bath together when Evan jumped up and landed right on Alex’s ankle. Sigh…Poor little guy. He recovered from the incident pretty quickly (less than a minute of crying) so we thought he was alright. However we began to notice that whenever we bumped his leg he would cry, and his ankle also became swollen and we could see a bruise forming. So off to the doctor we went. The doctor was concerned about a possible break because Alex refused to put any weight on that leg and it was obviously painful. So we put his leg in a splint in the office (not a fun experience) and shuttled everyone over to the urgent care for x-rays.
Alex was a rock star for the x-rays, but wasn’t too happy when we had to put his splint back on again afterwards. We went home and everyone was taking a nap when the radiology tech called me and said she forgot to take ONE view that Dr. Schmidt ordered and could we come back in to take that. I have to be honest here, I really wanted to reach through the phone and strangle that radiology tech right then, but instead I just sweetly told her we’d be in right after they woke up from their naps. I was very disheartened that not only did we have to go back into town (3o minutes each way), but we also had to take off the splint again, meaning we had to put it on again which is upsetting for Alex. Just read the radiology order the first time, while the patient is there! Especially when it’s a 6 month old! Oh well, I certainly know everyone makes mistakes.
So the official word according to what was seen on the rads is there isn’t a break. The doctor said it is most likely just strained and bruised. We have to keep it in the splint for a few days, then re-evaluate Alex’s pain. Sounds good, right? Lets hope so! I am a little skeptical only because Dad told me that a break would be hard to see on rads in a baby this age. So if he still has pain after a few days then we may need to get a CT scan. And that sounds expensive…I was just thinking about how we didn’t have enough medical bills! Stay tuned
How did that happen!! Alex is 6 months old, already! The little man is growing and changing so fast it’s hard to keep up. We are just trying to enjoy it and not take for granted this wonderful gift we have. Here’s what we know:
- Weight: 20 lbs (88%)
- Height: 29″ (95%)
- Can sit up on his own
- Is trying to pull himself up on furniture, people, whatever is close
- Watches Evan’s every move (oh I am in so much trouble…)
- Is very frustrated that he can’t crawl, but is able to get up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth when he gets there
- Is still the happiest baby I know
- Is eating solid foods: avocado, pumpkin, banana, pear, cereal, and is testing out broken up cherrios although he isn’t sure if he’s a fan of those quite yet
- No teeth yet, but they are sooooo close!
He got FOUR shots at his 6 month appointment…bummer
Showing off his skills. He likes to pull himself up on the toy basket. He
gets up onto his ankles, sounds odd, but he hasn’t quite gotten all the way up onto the soles of his feet yet.
He gets very excited about this new skill!
How did that happen!! Alex is 6 months old, already! The little man is growing and changing so fast it’s hard to keep up. We are just trying to enjoy it and not take for granted this wonderful gift we have. Here’s what we know:
- Weight: 20 lbs (88%)
- Height: 29″ (95%)
- Can sit up on his own
- Is trying to pull himself up on furniture, people, whatever is close
- Watches Evan’s every move (oh I am in so much trouble…)
- Is very frustrated that he can’t crawl, but is able to get up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth when he gets there
- Is still the happiest baby I know
- Is eating solid foods: avocado, pumpkin, banana, pear, cereal, and is testing out broken up cherrios although he isn’t sure if he’s a fan of those quite yet
- No teeth yet, but they are sooooo close!
He got FOUR shots at his 6 month appointment…bummer
Showing off his skills. He likes to pull himself up on the toy basket. He
gets up onto his ankles, sounds odd, but he hasn’t quite gotten all the way up onto the soles of his feet yet.
He gets very excited about this new skill!
As mentioned in previous posts, Evan has always been Daddy’s little helper. And mommy’s, and anyone else who will let him. He’s just a helper! Here is Evan helping Daddy split wood.
Normally I would suggest using safety glasses to protect your eyes. Evan, on the other hand, wanted his swimming goggles. Whatever works!
Daddy promised me the splitter was turned off when this picture was taken.
When working hard, one must always remember to take breaks and stay hydrated.
As mentioned in previous posts, Evan has always been Daddy’s little helper. And mommy’s, and anyone else who will let him. He’s just a helper! Here is Evan helping Daddy split wood.
Normally I would suggest using safety glasses to protect your eyes. Evan, on the other hand, wanted his swimming goggles. Whatever works!
Daddy promised me the splitter was turned off when this picture was taken.
When working hard, one must always remember to take breaks and stay hydrated.
As mentioned in previous posts, Evan has always been Daddy’s little helper. And mommy’s, and anyone else who will let him. He’s just a helper! Here is Evan helping Daddy split wood.
Normally I would suggest using safety glasses to protect your eyes. Evan, on the other hand, wanted his swimming goggles. Whatever works!
Daddy promised me the splitter was turned off when this picture was taken.
When working hard, one must always remember to take breaks and stay hydrated.
Forgot about the Treatsylvania trick-or-treating event at The Farm. We went with Cathy and Caitlin and Evan really got into it. Alex even dressed up as a dalmatian–perfect to go with Evan the Firefighter!
Local businesses that chose to participate each had a “booth” with a door on it. The kiddos knock on the door and say trick-or-treat just like the real thing. They had these booths set up all over The Farm, this one was down in the arena.
We even got to go on a hay ride pulled by a tractor. This was Evan’s reaction to getting to be pulled around by a tractor. Such a farm boy!
Forgot about the Treatsylvania trick-or-treating event at The Farm. We went with Cathy and Caitlin and Evan really got into it. Alex even dressed up as a dalmatian–perfect to go with Evan the Firefighter!
Local businesses that chose to participate each had a “booth” with a door on it. The kiddos knock on the door and say trick-or-treat just like the real thing. They had these booths set up all over The Farm, this one was down in the arena.
We even got to go on a hay ride pulled by a tractor. This was Evan’s reaction to getting to be pulled around by a tractor. Such a farm boy!
We all know that Evan loves to “make it” , as he says. GrandMutti thinks he’s going to be an architect. I agree with that, and with anything in the construction category. He’s a maker! I just had to share this picture, I absolutely love it! He was so into whatever this creation was, and I think it really shows in this picture. My little inventor!
Not sure what this one is either. It’s a pvc pipe with a plastic wheel duct taped to the end and a coke bottle stuck on that wheel…I don’t know…
This is the best one yet. Evan said it was a waterfall. He piled all of these random things into the bathroom sink, then turned on the water. Inventive little man!
We all know that Evan loves to “make it” , as he says. GrandMutti thinks he’s going to be an architect. I agree with that, and with anything in the construction category. He’s a maker! I just had to share this picture, I absolutely love it! He was so into whatever this creation was, and I think it really shows in this picture. My little inventor!
Not sure what this one is either. It’s a pvc pipe with a plastic wheel duct taped to the end and a coke bottle stuck on that wheel…I don’t know…
This is the best one yet. Evan said it was a waterfall. He piled all of these random things into the bathroom sink, then turned on the water. Inventive little man!
Evan wasn’t really feeling Halloween this year. He liked the candy part of it, don’t get me wrong. But the dressing up? Not so much 
Oh well, maybe next year.
We went to the Halloween party at Evan’s class where he had a total melt down and refused to put on his outfit. I tried really, really hard to get him into his pirate costume before I stopped and asked myself why I was pushing him so hard to wear something he really didn’t want to. Reality check mommy! So, we gave up and just tried to have fun.
Playing some sort of pumpkin pushing game. Not sure what it is, but the kiddos loved it. Notice the lack of costume on Evan, next to him is Caitlin as cute as a *bug*!
The class costume parade. Evan was willing to wear his pirate shirt, but not the hat or the pants, for the parade only.
We also went trick-or-treating with James and his dad in town. This was Evan’s first real trick-or-treating and he LOVED it! Evan compromised on a firefighter costume, and James was an awesome Ghost Buster.
Evan was ecstatic to find out that if you knock on someone’s door and say “trick or treat!” they’ll give you candy! Wow!
So cute. Evan was insistent that James hold his hand when walking from house to house.
Evan wasn’t really feeling Halloween this year. He liked the candy part of it, don’t get me wrong. But the dressing up? Not so much Oh well, maybe next year.
We went to the Halloween party at Evan’s class where he had a total melt down and refused to put on his outfit. I tried really, really hard to get him into his pirate costume before I stopped and asked myself why I was pushing him so hard to wear something he really didn’t want to. Reality check mommy! So, we gave up and just tried to have fun.
Playing some sort of pumpkin pushing game. Not sure what it is, but the kiddos loved it. Notice the lack of costume on Evan, next to him is Caitlin as cute as a *bug*!
The class costume parade. Evan was willing to wear his pirate shirt, but not the hat or the pants, for the parade only.
We also went trick-or-treating with James and his dad in town. This was Evan’s first real trick-or-treating and he LOVED it! Evan compromised on a firefighter costume, and James was an awesome Ghost Buster.
Evan was ecstatic to find out that if you knock on someone’s door and say “trick or treat!” they’ll give you candy! Wow!
So cute. Evan was insistent that James hold his hand when walking from house to house.
Me: “Honey, I am going to give Evan a bath. Can you watch Alex? He’s sleeping but the cats keep trying to climb in his crib.”
Steve: “Sure, no problem.”
Give Evan a bath, come back about 20 minutes later and check on Alex. This is what I find:
Me: “Honey, have you checked on Alex?”
Steve: “Ya, why?”
Me: “Um, the cats are in there with him.”
Steve: “Ya, but they look so comfortable, and they aren’t near his face…”
Me: Sigh, walk away.
Me: “Honey, I am going to give Evan a bath. Can you watch Alex? He’s sleeping but the cats keep trying to climb in his crib.”
Steve: “Sure, no problem.”
Give Evan a bath, come back about 20 minutes later and check on Alex. This is what I find:
Me: “Honey, have you checked on Alex?”
Steve: “Ya, why?”
Me: “Um, the cats are in there with him.”
Steve: “Ya, but they look so comfortable, and they aren’t near his face…”
Me: Sigh, walk away.
Just another example of Evan, the best big brother a little man can ask for
Just another example of Evan, the best big brother a little man can ask for
This post is a little late, better late than never! A few weeks ago we took a little day trip up to Estes Park for the fun of it.
We stopped at the “Dam Store” on our way up, just because we never have so we thought we’d see what it was all about.
The view from the top of the tower. If you look really, really, really close you can see the dam…not very big. At least by our standards. Maybe big for Colorado standards? Not sure…
Evan and daddy at the top of the tower. Evan wasn’t a huge fan of the tower, may have been a little too high for him!
We stopped at the Cherry store too, because how can you not? The cherry juice is oh so yummy! And Evan confirmed that. Side note: Alex is naked because he had a little accident and mommy forgot to bring extra clothes. Lesson learned.
Evan and daddy “climbing” the mountain. Evan always talks about going up to the mountains, he loves our little trips up there. On this trip he said he wanted to climb the mountain so we found a little spot where they could have a little adventure. Alex was asleep in the car so we stayed behind and took pictures…and sometimes I turned around so I wouldn’t have a heart attack. My little dare devil.
Daddy picking cactus pokies out of Evan’s hand. Lesson learned here: thou shalt not grab a cactus while climbing a mountain.
Evan taking the easy way down the mountain: the Daddy Mobile
The roads in Estes are not used for just cars, Elk use them as well…
…and the soccer fields.
Elk on the soccer fields at sunset. Gorgeous.
Evan playing at his favorite park in Estes Park
It was a teensy bit chilly
But that doesn’t stop a three year old from playing!
Taking a moment for a family pic at sunset…missing a family member (Evan) because he was waaaayyy to busy to stop playing!
This post is a little late, better late than never! A few weeks ago we took a little day trip up to Estes Park for the fun of it.
We stopped at the “Dam Store” on our way up, just because we never have so we thought we’d see what it was all about.
The view from the top of the tower. If you look really, really, really close you can see the dam…not very big. At least by our standards. Maybe big for Colorado standards? Not sure…
Evan and daddy at the top of the tower. Evan wasn’t a huge fan of the tower, may have been a little too high for him!
We stopped at the Cherry store too, because how can you not? The cherry juice is oh so yummy! And Evan confirmed that. Side note: Alex is naked because he had a little accident and mommy forgot to bring extra clothes. Lesson learned.
Evan and daddy “climbing” the mountain. Evan always talks about going up to the mountains, he loves our little trips up there. On this trip he said he wanted to climb the mountain so we found a little spot where they could have a little adventure. Alex was asleep in the car so we stayed behind and took pictures…and sometimes I turned around so I wouldn’t have a heart attack. My little dare devil.
Daddy picking cactus pokies out of Evan’s hand. Lesson learned here: thou shalt not grab a cactus while climbing a mountain.
Evan taking the easy way down the mountain: the Daddy Mobile
The roads in Estes are not used for just cars, Elk use them as well…
…and the soccer fields.
Elk on the soccer fields at sunset. Gorgeous.
Evan playing at his favorite park in Estes Park
It was a teensy bit chilly
But that doesn’t stop a three year old from playing!
Taking a moment for a family pic at sunset…missing a family member (Evan) because he was waaaayyy to busy to stop playing!
Yes, we got our first snow in early OCTOBER! It’s crazy. We don’t usually get our first snow until Halloween or after, that’s kinda the been the generality for first snow since I’ve lived here. I think this may be a rough winter, not ideal for people who just got laid off! However, we had some fun with it, as usual. It was about 13 degrees outside, so we could only go out for short stints.
Ready to go!
The monkey bars
The fort
Look at that face! He was cleaning off the slide with his bum
Climbing up to the slide
Snow always invigorates Isa. She jumped the fence a good ten times that day. Stinker.
Evan cleaning the snow off the tree. Apparently this was a very important step.
Helping daddy clean off the back porch
Sitting by the fire trying to get warm, look at those red cheeks!
Yes, we got our first snow in early OCTOBER! It’s crazy. We don’t usually get our first snow until Halloween or after, that’s kinda the been the generality for first snow since I’ve lived here. I think this may be a rough winter, not ideal for people who just got laid off! However, we had some fun with it, as usual. It was about 13 degrees outside, so we could only go out for short stints.
Ready to go!
The monkey bars
The fort
Look at that face! He was cleaning off the slide with his bum
Climbing up to the slide
Snow always invigorates Isa. She jumped the fence a good ten times that day. Stinker.
Evan cleaning the snow off the tree. Apparently this was a very important step.
Helping daddy clean off the back porch
Sitting by the fire trying to get warm, look at those red cheeks!
I think this is so cute. Ozzie has never really had a playmate since we lost Domino in 2005. Isa isn’t really best friend material, she’s kinda a loner with eyes only for Steve. But now it looks like Serenity and Ozzie are becoming friends. The pictures might not look good, but Oz was being really gentle, Serenity not so much. They play like this all the time. Serenity is always the instigator by running up and attacking Ozzie’s legs. Stinker.
(Just ignore the dirty house 
I think this is so cute. Ozzie has never really had a playmate since we lost Domino in 2005. Isa isn’t really best friend material, she’s kinda a loner with eyes only for Steve. But now it looks like Serenity and Ozzie are becoming friends. The pictures might not look good, but Oz was being really gentle, Serenity not so much. They play like this all the time. Serenity is always the instigator by running up and attacking Ozzie’s legs. Stinker.
(Just ignore the dirty house
At five months old Alex is now sitting up! He is getting better and better everyday, at a frightening speed really. He is always very excited to have the chance to sit up, just like a big boy He squeals and flaps his arms in excitement, so cute. Occasionally he does a slow fall over to the side or down onto his face, but it doesn’t seem to bother him too much. He just uses it as an opportunity to practice his crawling skills. Such a happily motivated little guy.
We get together with Evan’s friend Caitlin (and mommy’s friend Cathy–it’s a win-win deal for all!) a couple of times a week. The kids can play and Cathy and I can talk. To adults. It’s something you don’t realize you treasure until you have nobody to talk to but a 5 month old and a 3 year old all day. Not that I don’t love talking to them, I just have a desire to talk to someone who won’t drool or puke in response to my questions. Call me crazy.
Evan and Caitlin have always had a love hate relationship, since the very beginning. Last week Cathy and I were talking when we realized it had suddenly gotten very quiet. Any mother will tell you this is generally known as a very bad sign. So we went searching for the kiddos to see what kind of trouble they were getting in to only to find this:
They were in Caitlin’s room, sitting in the chair together taking turns reading a book to the cat (who is in the chair with them, to the right of Caitlin, being smooshed a bit It was so sweet and cute. Just reminds me that a good friend is hard to find. Sometimes you have to search long and hard in order to find a friend you can read a book with.
Well, to start off with my kid is sleeping on his stomach. Again. Secondly, yes I did have a blanket on him. I know. Third, what the heck is that stinkin’ kitten doing in the crib AGAIN! Can’t keep her away from him! (Don’t worry, threw the cat out of the crib, turned the kid over and removed the blanket. I am a good mother, I promise).
Evan had his 3 year check up today and passed with flying colors, and no needles in sight!! Yay!! I was shocked at how well Evan did compared to last year. He wanted nothing to do with the doctor or nurse last year, and was actually a bit difficult to get the exam done. There were tearing involved. This year he was like a whole different kind of guy. He got on the scale a bit reluctantly, but pulled down his hat over his eyes and somehow that seemed to give him courage. Whatever works.
The nurse let Evan pump up the blood pressure cuff himself, which I think he thought was pretty cool.
While waiting for the doctor he even sat on the table reading “Scientific America”. He picked it out himself. I’m not kidding. He looked like such a grown up!
I talked to the doctor about Evan’s speaking abilities as we are a bit worried that he isn’t progressing as well as he should be. When we finally got Evan to talk to the doctor I couldn’t even understand what he was saying, which of course immediately worried the doctor. I explained that he is not normally that bad, I think he was really tired and that always makes his speech worse. So I’ve been ordered to keep a journal of Evan’s speech patterns, what letters/sounds he seems to be having trouble with, when he seems worse/better, etc. And if he doesn’t seem to improve within the next couple of months we will be referred to a speech therapist.
Evan’s Stats:
Height:40″ – 89%
Weight: 36lbs – 81%
BMI: 15.8 – 46%
Note: did you know that they are now doing BMI’s for toddlers? What does that say about the state of health the children in our country are in? Sad…
Overall, we have one healthy, active, fantastically charming kiddo who is growing up way too fast!
Because we needed another mouth to feed. Actually, when we lost Karma in April we didn’t really think we’d get another cat. BUT. The mice, they are out of control!! They took over Steve’s shop, it was disturbing. So when Steve called me from work a few weeks ago saying his boss’s barn cat had kittens we decided to jump on it. And did we get one? Oh no, we got two. I am actually very happy we got two, they are entertaining eachother very, very well. They are both calico, and they are so very funny and entertaining, as most kittens are.
Serenity (seriously thinking about re-naming her Velcro!)
Serenity loves to climb my leg. Her favorite time to do this is when I’m doing the dishes. She will climb my leg, up my back and sit on my shoulder. She also climbs the screen door, which makes Steve cringe as this is the third screen we’ve put in the door (thanks to dogs and small children:) Serenity also enjoys coming into our room at 2am to bite my hands and/or feet, whichever is available to her. She is in love with Alex, to a fault. She is constantly trying to climb in his crib to snuggle with him. She will climb into his carrier when he’s in it if given the chance. She even snuggles up next to him when he’s on the floor (above). But don’t be fooled, she will not hesitate to bite him too!
Lola
Lola is the sweetheart. She is very laid back, very snuggly. Unfortunately, she loves to chew up (and eat if given the chance) Alex’s pacifiers. I can’t tell you how many we’ve gone through because I’ve had a moment of weakness and left the pacifier in the crib. What was I thinking! I really did think we were going to have to take her to the vet the first time she consumed a pacifier. But she’s a trooper!
Both the cats love to play in Alex’s toys– the exersaucer, the bouncer, his play mat. Sometimes while he’s in it too!
Okay, so this post is a little late too
Alex had his four month check up in the beginning of August, a little early but it was the only appointment they had anywhere near his four month date. So, we learned that he really is a big guy. No joking. He was in the 96% for everything (head circumference, weight, height). He weighed 17lbs and was 26″ long. He was a superstar for his shots, he recovered very quickly.
What our BIG guy is up to these days:
- Rolling over from both directions and from front to back, and back to front
- Tummy surfing like a champ
- Getting up on his hands and knees, but no actual crawling yet
- Scootching himself all around the living room floor to get to where he wants to be
- Talking, his favorite sound is “Da”
- Grabbing everything in sight, including water glasses, plates, paper, computers, pens, and much more!
- Sleeping pretty good, mostly on his side and sometimes on his stomach (this last one scares mommy to death)
- Is now fighting sleep….bummer
- Laughs hysterically at his brother and the kittens
- Gives me “kisses” when I ask for them (Alex’s version of a kiss: Open mouth and smile, wait for mommy to kiss you, then giggle)
- Is eating cereal and LOVING it! He’s getting pretty good at keeping it mostly in his mouth Daddy thinks he’s ready to move on to other foods, but we are going to wait until 6 months as is recommended
- Loves reading books
-LOVES baths!! He slaps his arms as hard as he can against the water to get maximum splashing, and kicks his legs as hard and fast as he can. I always think he’s going to start crying because water gets all over his face, but he LOVES it! This is the total opposite of Evan who can’t stand even a drop of water anywhere on his head. Go figure!
- Is grabbing his feet and sticking his toes in his mouth — I love this age! That is so cute! And no, I’m not kidding
- Loves playing with Evan’s toys (However, Evan doesn’t love this so much…we’re working on the sharing concept)
First, Gather all your supplies. You will need a pair of pliers, a spray bottle with soapy water, a hole ream, a plug, and plug needle. It is also handy to have several brightly colored funnels because they are cool.
.
.
.
Second, spray the entire surface of the tire. You will find bubbles coming out of the hole, so when you find it giggle a couple of times and spray the heck out of it.
.
.
Next, dig the nail out. You may need to get daddy to do this part if it is really stuck in there good. Once he gets it started you can grab it with pliers and yank it out. It will make a neat rushing sound as you run to show mom the nasty nail you found yealling “We Fixed it!
.
Now you need to make the hole bigger, take your hole reamer and jam it in the hole. Twist it, turn it, pull it in an out, until it slides pretty easily.
.
.
Now thread the plug into the needle and push it into the whole. Turn the handle once, and pull straight out.
.
.
.
Double check the new patch by spraying it with soapy water again. No bubbles? No problem. You are now your mommies hero.
That’s right, they all stopped in on for a little visit while driving across country moving from Missouri to Washington. Uncle Christopher and Evan got into a pretty good light saber duel.
Grandpa dropped off some cool toys for the boys, including this little wooden rocking horse that was Lindsay’s when she was a little girl.
Evan helping daddy put the new brakes on the truck
A special thanks go out to the Johnson family for the newest addition to our family, two new little callico kittens. They were the offspring of their barn cat.
I think this one is Lola
and this one is Serenity
These are sisters and were about six weeks old when we got them. Lola is our attack kitty, and serenity likes to take long naps. Evan loves them both, perhaps too much. Alex is fascinated by them, and likes trying to grab their fur. Both kitties are very friendly and very patient with our little guys.
Raeanne and her children came down from there mountain home in Craig to visit. We had not seen them in a long time so it was fun to get to hang out with them, and for me, very rewarding to see the play set and sand box getting so much love. It was a beautiful day, and fun to be outside. We have lots of great pictures here.
The website was down for a couple of weeks, then Lindsay got a nasty virus on her computer (actually, still has it!), and we’ve been super busy with Evan’s birthday and family in town and everything else that comes with life! SO, we will be updating the website with lots of good stuff over the next few days. Stay tuned!
Okay, this post is obviously a little late, but can you believe it? Evan is three years old…tear…It was a great birthday party, although we did miss a few of the “regulars” this year. Raeanne and her family, Aunt Bee, Grandmutti, Grandma Tamme and Uncle Christopher were all tied up this year–we missed you guys! Well, I think it’s safe to say it was a good one. Evan got a new sandbox and play set that daddy worked hard to set up. Thanks daddy!
Swing set and slide in the foreground, sandbox and fort (with monkey bars going from the fort to the slide) in the background.
Logan and Grandma Rutledge were able to make it. Evan was practically joined at the hip with Logan the entire time she was here. Thank you Logan for spending so much time with Evan, he LOVED it!
Evan holding Logan’s hand in the car
Logan did manage to sneak in some time with Alex!
We even had a virtual Grandmutti at the party! We got mom on the webcam and set the laptop on the table so she could watch the presents being opened and the candles being blown out.
Thank you Miss Cathy and Caitlin for the awesome fire fighter costume!
This is the ride on excavator that mommy and daddy got for Evan to use in the sandbox
We went to the City Park Pool the next day:
Where Alex slept…
…and Evan played with the boat Uncle Mike got for him. Thank you Uncle Mike! (he sleeps with the boat every night;)
It’s hard to believe, but Alexander is now 3 months old! Time flies when you’re enjoying your family. Alex is changing and growing every day. He is an incredibly happy baby, always quick to give you a smile. Two weeks ago he began rolling over from his back to his tummy, and he even gave me an awesome belly laugh. His newest trick is sticking out his tongue (see picture above). In addition he likes forming his own “bubble factory” as we call it when he blows bubbles over and over until his entire mouth and chin are covered in bubbles. Tricky little guy!
My beautiful boys, can you tell they’re related?
Lately he has started “playing” with his toys, that is he purposefully grabs for certain toys and when he gets them in his hands you should see his face! His eyes get big, he kicks his legs with excitement and you can tell he’s proud of himself! His hair is starting to grow in a little thicker, and it’s dark unlike Evan’s light colored hair. As of the date of my 2 month post he has been completely sleeping through the night–wow! He is an awesome sleeper. He goes to bed at the same time as Evan (which makes bed time a little hectic) and doesn’t wake up until around 6:30-7am, and he’s HUNGRY! He is still wearing size 6 month clothes, but just jumped up to a size 3 diaper. He loves his older brother, always smiling when Evan comes over to talk to him or “help” him. Today Alex rolled over on his play mat and decided that is not where he wanted to be and so started crying. I started to walk over when Evan said “I got it Mom, I got it, I got it” as he runs over and helps Alex roll onto his back again (not so gracefully). He’s such a helper!
Evan showing Alex how to count, in this case using money as the object being counted.
GrandMutti bought a laptop and we are now able to Skype her. The first time we did it Alex just stared at the screen for a while trying to figure out what it was, then started smiling and talking while kicking his legs and swinging his arms around. So cute!
Alex is also a super star in the jumper. He is actually getting enough muscle strength to start holding himself up and jump around, instead of just sitting in it.
That’s right, we didn’t have enough going on in our house so we added another member to our clan. We adopted Rascal a couple of weeks ago. We have been talking about getting a mouse for Evan for almost a year, and Rascal popped up needing a new home so I jumped, maybe a little too quickly. Evan has been pretty good with him so far. Ozzie, on the other hand, has not. Oz has been watching the cage a bit too closely. When I was cleaning Rascals cage last weekend we put him in his exercise ball in the living room. I banished Ozzie outside but between Evan and Alex I somehow forgot to actually shut the door–duh! Half way through the cleaning I went to check on the little guy (Rascal that is) but couldn’t find him. Starting to panick a little bit I went looking for Ozzie…only to find the little bugger outside with Rascal. He had picked up the ball in his mouth and taken him outside to investigate the contraption. Don’t worry, Rascal was still in his exercise ball, shaken up a bit but otherwise unharmed. I really need to get that dog a squeaky toy. Welcome to the Rutledge household little fella.
I have found it increasingly harder to shell out money for Evan’s haircuts when they only take ~15 minutes to do and it seems (by observation) like it is so easy. Call me a cheapskate. So I spent less money than it costs for one haircut on a decent pair of clippers and went for it. The first time I cut his hair I used the scissors. Those just weren’t cutting it (pun intended), so we moved on to the clippers. This is super easy, and it looks decent. I am hoping that I will get better with more practice. Watch out Steve, you’re next!
Dr. Suit came out and removed Glin’s nasty tumor today- which has grown significantly over the past couple of weeks. Glin was an amazingly good boy. Dr. Suit’s technician had a scheduling conflict, so I got to have a flash back to my tech days today with a lot of mommy thrown in there as well. Alex was good for most of it. He hung out in his bouncer that I brought outside with us. The rest of the time he was in the front pack “helping” me. Evan ran around doing all sorts of different things (as usual), but it was most challenging to keep him from getting too close to the heavily sedated horse. Evan also provided some comic relief as he kept stripping all his clothes off and running around stark naked. I re-dressed him three times only to turn around minutes later to see his little naked bottom running across the yard. Luckily Dr. Suit has three kids of his own so he understood. Glin seems to be doing well, we ended up removing the tumor, using a little liquid nitrogen to try to ensure we got all of the tumor and anything else within the near vicinity, then had to tie off about three blood vessels that were making a huge mess for us–that part we got to do with Glin wide awake and he was a ROCK STAR. Didn’t move a muscle. He is on his way to feeling much, much better. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that we don’t get anymore of these cancerous tumors popping up.
So in our quest to become as self sustaining as possible, I have learned to make our own bread. I am no Susy Homemaker, so this is quite a feat for me. Evan has had a great time helping me perfect our bread, and I think together we have come up with the best looking bread ever! This coming from the woman who used to ruin spaghetti…We have even made homemade pretzels. Next challenge: homemade pasta and bagels!
Whew! It was a busy one for the Rutledge boys! We started out the morning getting ready to go up to Estes Park for the Arabian Region 8 Sport Horse show. Evan was so excited to go up to the mountains, he’s been talking about it for a week. He insisted he was going to “drive in grandma’s car”, and was very bummed when he realized that grandma wasn’t coming this year. It was a typical beautiful sunny day in Colorado, so the drive up the mountains was awesome. We even got to see some mountain goats IN the road. Alex and I spent some time watching the horses while daddy and Evan explored a bit. After a couple of hours at the show it started pouring–seriously, pouring–rain. Lighting was striking the lake that is right behind the show grounds and rain was starting to create little rivers in the roads, and we did not come prepared for that weather. So we packed everyone in the car (it was nap time anyway) and decided to head down the mountain because the weather forecast was calling for thunderstorms all night. Bummer!
We spent some down time at home before packing everyone up in the truck again to go see the fireworks in town. As we started driving into town it started pouring, again. We decided to go for it because Evan has been talking about fireworks for two weeks, and as it generally goes in Colorado if you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes. So we put the boys in the stroller, put a blanket over the stroller so they didn’t get wet and cold and treked to City Park. We got there early enough that Evan was able to play on the playground (because the rain stopped–told ya) for a while and then take a bus ride on the buses that were running for free taking people to and from City Park for the fireworks. He loves riding on the bus, ever since we rode the buses for First Night (New Years Eve celebration in Ft. Collins). Right as daddy and Evan returned from their big bus adventure the fireworks started–couldn’t have planned it better. Evan stared in awe for a while, then tried to “get them” with his “mini light saber” aka a glow in the dark stick that someone had given him, then he turned around backwards in the stroller with his head buried and his bottom sticking out. I’m not sure if he was scared or if he was just totally exhausted. Maybe a mixture of the two. And the whole time Alex just slept, through all the boombs, all the noise. He was a trooper.
This is our little rain proof get-up for the kiddos. Kids with their coats and hats on safely and warmly tucked into the stroller behind a blanket that was shielding them from the rain.
This is what Evan looks like when he is very, very tired–believe it or not.
Alex is now two months old, and he has three band aids on his legs to prove it! We had our two month doctors visit, complete with four vaccines (three shots, one oral)! Here are his stats:
Height: 24.2″ – 91%
Weight: 13lb 5oz – 86%
Head Circumference: 16.5″- 91%
He’s our big guy! Here is what he’s up to these days:
-He is rolling over onto his right side as of last weekend- it was actually his fathers day present to Steve
-Wears size 6 months clothing
-Sleeps like a champ! Only wakes up once to eat during the night (didn’t wake up to eat at all last night!)
-Will sleep half the night in his crib, the other half with mommy
-His hair grew back (yeah!), and looks like it’s going to be dark
-Has started grabbing things (toys, mommy’s shirt, blankets)
-Is proving to be the sweetest, happiest, most patient little guy I know!
Evan has been a “guy on the go” since the day he was born. I remember spending hours upon hours of my day just walking with him when he was a baby. Taking walks in the front pack, in the stroller, just around the house. To this day he’s the same way, he never stops until he eventually just collapses from exhaustion (usually in the form of a wild little two year old running around laughing like the mad hatter). So this is what Sunday looked like for Evan:
Climbing on the bookshelf and then jumping off it- this picture is of him in mid jump.
Helping daddy plant cherry seeds that Steve’s mom sent us from the cherry tree that Steve planted for his dad for fathers day 15 years ago. Pretty cool.
“Fixing” the roof on his house…in his underwear…and one sandal and one boot. Gotta love it!
“Building it” with the supports for our greenhouse. Not sure what it is he was building, but it’s interesting.
Happy fathers day to the two best dads I’ve ever known! My dad- I love you and thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Steve- thank you for being such an amazing father to our two beautiful boys. I couldn’t have dreamed of having a better father for my kids. Thank you for working so hard for us, and playing so hard with us.
This is one of the most exciting things for me since Alex’s birth! Well, maybe not that exciting, but pretty darn close! Our new double jogging stroller finally arrived! Thank you Grandpa Biermann for the beautiful gift! It gives me a new sense of freedom. Evan helped me put it together and then promptly demanded we go for a walk. I didn’t protest! StrollerFit here we come!!
Yes, that is a bucket Evan has in the bathtub. What can I say? He likes to make things! We aren’t really sure what it is he made with the bucket and the hose that was in it, but it was very interesting to say the least!
The boys all took a bath together for the first time the other night. Mommy was very, very nervous about this, but overall it went very well. Evan was very gentle, and even gave Alex kisses. But this is how Alex felt about it:
The little guy looks just a little worried about the situation!
Evan’s “lovey” is a little stuffed blue (or at least it used to be blue…) doggy. His name is Baby. I think Evan is teething again (the back teeth this time) because all he’s been doing lately is chewing on poor Baby’s nose. It’s a little gross, but Baby is taking the hit for us. Evan is often found to have fallen asleep while chewing on Baby. Kinda gross, kinda cute.
…because you never know what might happen while taking a bath, it’s best to always be prepared with your safety goggles.
Daddy got this shot of Alex relaxing on the bed. Doesn’t it look like he’s posing?
This is a combo coo/smile.
I told you I’d make a concentrated effort to get a picture of Alex’s beautiful smile. Now this is especially difficult because when you whip out the camera the little guy stops all activity and just stares at the facinating device you are holding in front of him. So, I tried to get a little creative with my angles in order to have him looking at me instead of the camera, as a result some of the pics are a bit blurry. I think I got a couple of good ones. Enjoy!
This one is less smile and more coo, but simply just too cute to not include here!
That is hail floating on top of water that has completely flooded the field. And this made the horses very, very unhappy.
This is what our weather is looking like lately….It is June, isn’t it? We have had very wet weather lately, which is great since we had a very dry winter, but very unlike Colorado this time of year. But I can say that my lawn is looking better than it has in a very long time!
Yes, that is hail bouncing off our lawn.
More bouncing hail. This is about the time Steve and I were wondering if our garden was ever going to make it through this storm…
…And this is what we found. Our rhubarb was very droopy and looked like someone took a shotgun to it. All the baby plants were totally obliterated. Gone. The bigger plants seem to be alright. We could see our breath while walking around assessing the damage after this storm. Once again, it is June isn’t it?
Evan is ready to go outside and check out the hail. Notice the mismatched gloves. I love it!
The whole family took a little trip to Regionals in Denver last night. We went to watch night classes and visit with mommy’s friend Zane who she used to work with at the Equine Orthopaedic Center at CSU. Zane now works on the Sports Medicine trailer which travels to different shows all over the country. Evan was interested in the first class, and then he was done and spent the rest of the time walking around with Daddy (and sometimes mommy) and drawing pictures. Alex was facinated with the gold stars that were hanging from the ceiling of the arena, I think he had a pretty good time. Mommy was excited to see show horses again, but a little disappointed in the quality of horses, number of horses (only a few horses in each class), and the lack of spectators. There were maybe twenty people in the stands, if that. Zane said the show was down by 250 horses this year. Despite all that, it was still fun to see show horses and old friends!
Checking out the gold stars on the ceiling
Evan did watch a class…here’s the proof!
Mommy and Alex talking to Zane and watching the western class while Evan was drawing at the table
Alex and daddy hanging out
Running up and down the ramp to get that two year old energy out! We never would have done this if there was more people around…but it was almost totally empty in the stands (and we were really far away from the horses)
I am very happy to announce that Alex has slept through the night for the first time on Wednesday night. Yeah!! He slept from 10pm-6am, then ate and went back to sleep until 8am. How happy am I? Super excited!!
Alex has just a little bit of hair left on the top/back portion of his head. When it’s lying down it looks a bit like a comb over. I like this spiked look as an alternative to the comb over (I know it’s a dark picture, but look closely and you can see the spike!) Plus the chubby cheeks are just too darn cute!
We went for a little impromptu hike on Sunday on some trails overlooking Horsetooth reservoir. Evan had a great time, and I think Alex enjoyed it as well. The above picture was a really big really cool rock that some people were practicing climbing on. I couldn’t really get a great picture of it because we forgot the camera and we were using Steve’s phone to take the pictures.
Alex is now one month old. What this guy is up to now:
-taken his first bath (and loved it!)
-loves his older brother
-has been smiling since he was one week old (especially if his brother is near him)
-is cooing
-is starting to lose his hair.
-sleeps like a champ! (for his age at least)
-is wearing size 3 month clothing and size 2 diapers
We can’t imagine our life without this little guy. Our little family feels more complete with him around!
Logging some time in the front pack with daddy while doing some family gardening.
Evan helping Mommy re-plant the seedlings. Once again, such a good garden helper!
We were doing a little work in the garden the other day, the first time mommy has really had a chance to do any this spring, been a little busy doing the baby thing! Evan was helping (as always, such a good garden helper!) and Alex was supervising from his blanket spread out on the grass. We love spring!
This is how Evan looked when he woke up this morning….guess it’s time for a haircut! It’s kinda a cute look
Long gone is the time when I was able to keep tabs on Evan every moment of the day. When I am feeding or changing Alex he is able to get away with a lot more than he used to. He is a little bit like a flea, all over the place faster than you can keep track of! So far he hasn’t really figured out that he can get away with whatever he wants while I’m busy with Alex. This is what I found yesterday when I was checking on him after feeding Alex. Now how can I really complain about this?! He had managed to open the packaging on a new disposable toilet cleaner head, put it onto the handle and was cleaning his potty. He is such a helper!
Alex’s umbilical cord fell off long ago, but it was kinda oozing for a couple of weeks after that (eewww, I know!) so we held off on the bath until it cleared up. So a couple of days ago we went in for the first bath after Evan went to bed. He loved it! Another water baby He only became unhappy after I took him out of the water and wrapped him in his monkey towel. Gotta love the monkey towel pictures!
Couldn’t resist, Alex is just so darn cute here in his little shorts and polo shirt
Cooking for Miss Missy
Evan hasn’t been in class for a couple of months becuase I dropped the ball on enrollment and the class was full, until April. So Evan started going to class again about a week before Alex was born. Now Evan used to love class, he would walk into class without so much as a backwards glance at me. All that has changed, I am sure due to the little change in our lives named Alex, and also because his friend Caitlin is no longer in class with him. This past month he has taken to attaching himself to me like a little piece of velcro. There were many times that I was in class with Evan and Alex was strapped into the front pack. I brought the camera yesterday to take some pics of Evan in action in class since I’ve been going in with him, and of course he walked right into class like an old pro. So Miss Missy and Miss Lisa were kind enough to grab the camera from me and shoot some candid photos Evan in class. Enjoy!
Free Play Time
Circle Time
This is one of the common questions I have been getting. The answer is remarkably well. He is mostly very gentle with his little guy. He doesn’t always understand why he can’t do certain things, but more or less he is handling it very well.
I have had some complaints about a lack of pictures of Alex (you know who you are!), so here are some new ones! Love you all!
I am happy to report that Alex is starting to make little cooing sounds, and smiles a lot when I talk to him. I haven’t been able to get a picture of that beautiful smile because he gets very distracted by that strange camera in his face whenever I bring it out! I’ll keep trying
…because you never know what could happen when holding a newborn one must always wear their safety goggles. As Evan would say “Safety first!”
It’s hard to believe it, but Madison has turned 5 years old! We went to Madison’s birthday party yesterday at Bounce in Loveland. Evan had a fantastic time and followed Madison around the entire time calling “Madison! Madison!” Alex spent the entire time sleeping and so missed his first birthday party experience.
Evan is proving to be a very good older brother. We have had our moments, but that is to be expected and they are not nearly as bad as I envisioned them being. Evan has been very gentle with Alex, giving him kisses and talking softly to him when he’s upset and helping me feed him when he’s hungry. Yesterday he was showing Alex how to do tummy time correctly and this morning Daddy and Evan demonstrated proper light saber techniques- all of which completely enthralled Alex.
We are very happy to report our umbilical cord has fallen off, and that nasty smell is gone with it! Yeah! (it looks a little nasty in this pic because we hadn’t cleaned it up yet and the red around his belly button is from a band aid the doc put over it to keep it from being tugged on)
We went for our one week check up on Wednesday and everything looks great! Alex is back up to his birth weight already, he certainly loves to eat! His jaundice is almost completely gone, and that nasty smell coming from his umbilical cord was nothing to worry about according to the doctor. Hopefully it’ll fall off in the next couple of days and the smell will go away (hopefully sooner rather than later!). Alex is becoming more aware of his surroundings, startling at some of the loud sounds his older brother is making and he seems like he is seeing things a bit better these days.
During one of our many trips to mommy’s doctor Evan discovered a building type toy in the waiting area that he couldn’t get enough of. So mom and grandma took a trip to the toy store to see if they could find it. Lo and behold, we found it! It’s called Marble Run, and Evan can’t get enough of it! He plays with it during the majority of his waking hours, and even brought it to the hospital when mommy and Alex were still there. He builds it up, runs the marble down it, tears it down and starts again. Thanks grandmutti for the awesome toy!!
Alex has a little badge of courage on his right arm today after having to have a venous blood draw for some tests his doctor ordered. He voiced his protests, but was a brave little man all the same. Today his bilirubin level is down to 14 and we were given the go ahead to discontinue using the bilibed and recheck his level again tomorrow.
The doctor said I was going to have Alex within a week of the date she examined me, which was April 17th. So I asked Mom to come out and help us with Evan while we were in the hospital. Mom came…A couple of days go by with no progress…a couple of more days go by, no progress…Two weeks later Alex joined us, on his due date ironically. So we would like to take a moment here to tell Grandmutti how much we appreciate the time she took out of her life back in Washington to help us out here with our little family. We couldn’t have done it without her!
I couldn’t resist posting this picture. Headed out of the hospital with all our stuff, notice the little passenger on the bottom of the cart.
