Role Model

Brad decide that the best gift he could give his son this year was to be the best role model he could be, so he decided to buy him a whoopee cushion. In order to make sure that Finn understood the little nuances of using such a delightful gift, he showed him exactly how it worked. He so tenderly had the little guy sit on a chair and then gently placed the cushion under him. And the two of them had such a root-tooting good time that even Old Saint Nick would have been proud.

Love'n on the Run

While we know that Finn loves his new little sister deeply, it's been hard to capture it on film. We have two major elements working against us. One is a 21 month old that is rarely holding still and the other is a one month old whose mood changes faster than Cybill's. But against all odds, we've managed to capture just a little love on film.

Santa Says What?

Week One

We survived week one. Mostly due to the fact that we have had two experienced live-in nannies (my parents) available around the clock. Miss Harper is doing great. She was a little Jandice when we brought her home, but she is pinking up nicely and it doesn't look like we will have to take her to the tanning bed anytime soon. She is almost back to her birth weight and is becoming more and more alert everyday.

Party of Five

We are now officially a party of five with the arrival of Harper Marie Rutledge. (Poor Max has no idea.) She arrived November 29th at 7:27 pm. She weighed 8lbs 1 oz and was just 21.26 inches. She is a little darling and looks just like her big brother, but with dark hair.


When Finn was born I felt like we stepped into the abyss of parenthood totally unprepared. We have laughed and cried our way through the first 20 months and now we are starting our next parenting adventure with Miss Harper. My hope is that we have learned a little something along the way. So far, I can tell we both are better at putting diapers on and we now understand the joy that a child brings into your life.

Last Supper

We shared our last holiday (heaven help me if I don't have this baby by Christmas) together as our family of three. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Lil' miss, but I can't help but think about the changes our little family has gone through over the last 20 months. There we were two very excited but tragically naive parents-to-be on the eve of Finn's birth. It seemed like if we just got the nursery finished in time then life would be a breeze. Boy were we wrong! While the sleepless nights, acid reflux, diaper disasters, trips to the emergency room, parenting ineptness, asthma, crying spells, hospital stays, daycare trauma and bouts of insanity brought on by motherhood have been some of the hardest life challenges thus far, we are excited to try it again with number two. I can only imagine how different our life will be in another 20 months. I didn't think much beyond bringing home a snuggly baby boy and now I'm looking forward to when there will be four of us around the Thanksgiving table. Sure, there is a good chance that two of us (hopefully not Brad or myself) will be throwing food, but there will also be a family of four where there used to be two naive parents-to-be.

Halloween. It Is Scary!

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween. I can never decide on how to dress up and I think I am still scarred from being a cat in the second grade. It sounded like a great costume. I wore a black leotard and tights and my mom made me a tail and ears. I was really excited until I was changing in the bathroom stall at school and my tail fell into the toilet. It gave me real insight into why cats don't like water.










Well leave it to kids to bring you around. Finn was turtle this year. Primarily because for some reason he whispers the word turtle when he says it and I thought that was really cute. The costume turned out pretty cute too. Whenever you asked him where the turtle was he pointed to himself and when he ran the turtle shell would wiggle back an forth. But the best part of all was when he was playing and rolled over on his back he got stuck just like a turtle would. I personally admire the way the kid got into character.









So after last year when Finn spent approximately two hours in his adorable shark costume that I looked all over for, I decide we had to do more than just trick-or-treat this year. The festivities started with a carnival at Little Gym, then there was Boo at the Zoo, then wearing the costume to Little Gym on Halloween and finally opening the door for all of the trick-or-treaters on Halloween. (Approximate time in costume five hours.)

Wii or Not to Wii

We've been talking about whether or not we should get a Wii or not. Then I saw how much fun Finn was having with a basket from his room and I decided that what we really need is more imagination. He was having so much fun. He even convinced Max to get in on the action.

Finn 1.5

When Finn turned 18 months I decided to revisit his monthly pictures from the first year and add one to the collection. It's hard to believe that the same little squishy baby that couldn't hold up his head or the teddy bear is the same kid that couldn't hold still and wanted to launch the bear across the room. It seems like every day is a new day of learning and discovery with Finn. He says new words all of the time and seems to become more and more capable. Just like those during those first months we amazed by the little things. Then it was amazing when he smiled or rolled over. Now it is when he uses his spoon and fork or goes to find his own shoes. The past year and a half has been a wild ride, but we are looking to the next several years to come.

Photos Not Available

I guess my dreams of becoming a photo journalist won't come true after all. We've lost or perhaps misplaced our only working camera. So some of the cute moments missed since the camera has gone MIA have been:

1) The trip to the zoo where if a camera would have been available you would have seen Finn riding a giant wooden elephant, eating ice cream and of course lots of photos of miscellaneous live animals.

2) Gibbeny's 2nd birthday party where there would have been photos of kids and adults playing with all varieties of bubble makers in the Karcher's back yard.

3) Sophie's 1st birthday party where we would have captured images of kids hyped-up on delicious cake running laps around the Kaz's house. Finn particularly loved running around the balcony they have on the 3rd floor and playing on Lilly's bed.

Here's hoping that we find the camera soon and the photos can speak for themselves.

Family Traditions

We didn't have a lot of family traditions growing up, but one that sticks out in my mind is getting a few hair cuts from my mom. Some of them good, some of them not so good. I'm doing my best to pass on this little tradition to Finn. I just feel like it's important for ever child to have a little familial scarring. And Finn will be able to tell his friends (or counselor) about when his mom used to cut his hair. Unfortunately Finn is not my first victim. In my early teens, I tried to help my little sister by trimming her bangs. I think they measured about a half an inch when I finally got them "even." Maybe that's why she recently decided to move across the country. Anyway - good luck Finn and mommy promises to stop cutting your hair before you enter preschool.

Young Concert Goers

We recently enjoyed an evening concert at Deer Valley. Some of the highlights for Finn were running up and down the hill and sipping his juice box in a lawn chair. And to think we used to go to concerts and just listen to music.

Mexico Do's and Don'ts

After our recent trip to Mexico, I thought it would be helpful to pass on a few Do's and Don'ts that might be helpful to other travelers.

The Do's:

1. Do bring plenty of sunscreen.


2. Do enjoy fish tacos on the beach.


3. Do catch magic turtles and put them in your drinks.


4. Do take a ride on a glass bottom boat.


5. Do wear you life jacket.



The Don'ts

1. Don't go to Mexico when your 7 months pregnant.


2. Don't bring an 18 month old that doesn't sleep for the entire vacation exhausting parents to the point of delirium.


3. Don't drink the water.


4. DON'T order double Pina Coladas at the pool - Right Brad.

5. Don't worry sand bags are usually just a precaution.

Thanks Mom!

How could I resist posting this picture of Finn with his Grandma.

I also wanted to give a shout out to mom who recently helped me upholster a chair and has promised to help with its mate. (Upholstering is a huge pain if you haven't ever done it before.) And to top it off this isn't the first time I have roped her into covering furniture for me. Several years ago she helped (mostly she did) me make 25 pillows for a couch that I bought at a garage sale. Thanks a million mom! The chair looks great.

Stay Puffed

We've been trying to go camping with Finn all summer, but haven't been able to make it happen. So we decided to head up the canyon for s'mores. We had a great time and all of us somehow managed to make it home without getting marshmallow in our hair.

The Cars Meets Dire Straits

Sometimes spontaneity can get the best of you. For months we've been trying to get Finn to put on a pair of sunglasses, but he would always act as if we were trying to blind him rather than protect his young eyes. So when he finally let Brad put his sunglasses on his little face, we ran for the camera. We didn't realize until the photos were "developed" the uncanny resemblance to Ric Ocasek and Mark Knopfler we had captured. (Personally I think Both Finn and Brad are much better looking.)

Blame it on the Rain

Several weeks ago we decided to go check out the wild flowers in Albion Basin, but we ran into a little rain. We decided to go for a very short hike and get some pictures anyway. Finn had a great time with some of the highlights being throwing rocks in the stream and finding real snow in July.

To Do. Too Much!

A little voice in the back of my head keeps nagging me about blogging. Ugh! I started this for fun and now it is one more nagging voice from my to do list. So here is my excuse and my respite from that nagging voice. It feels like the past few months have been a marathon at a sprinters pace and The Rutledges are all exhausted. We put our house on the market. Sold our house. Looked at 4.3 million houses and finally found one we liked. Put an offer on the house. Found out the foundation was faulty. Withdrew our offer. Looked at another million houses. Found one we liked. Bought the house. Packed all our stuff. And moved. Now we are in the midst of unpacking. As someone who HATES unfinished projects, I am trying not to go insane looking at the numerous boxes and projects that need done. So that is why there hasn't be a post for a while and I can now cross blogging off of my list.

Drinking Problem Part 2

Finn's Independence Day

At the parade with dad.



Swimming!

Taking a cool ride.

Ice cream!

Sparklers

Taking a walk to see the fireworks.

What a day!

Escape to Idaho

Finn and I recently made an escape from the house lookers to Idaho. Finn had a great time! We went swimming, jumped on the trampoline, visited the zoo and played with the bubbles. All the while his grandma fed him a million pieces of licorice and Popsicles while I tried to look the other way.