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.