School Carnival

The Pioneer School Fall Carnival was this evening.  Both kids were excited to wear their costumes.

Johnny is dressed as "Ben 10 Alien Force" which is his favorite television show, toy, concept, game to play, thing to think about about, think to talk about, thing to draw, etc... He was very excited for his costume to arrive.  His mother was also excited as his other costume ideas involved me sewing something from his imagination and I'm not entirely sure my sewing capabilities are up to that!

Maisy was Dorothy.  Ever since Bailey was a baby I have had my eye on this costume.  I offered to make it for Bailey, but she had a mind of her own at this age.  Thankfully Maisy does not!!!  (and her mother never gave her the option!) 

Unfortunately I forgot to hand Maisy her little stuffed Toto dog for her picture!

Some of our friends (Maria, mother to Haven and Morgan and Carina, mother to Helena and Andreas) taught Maisy has to make this face, and Gabe has given it a name....if you ask Maisy to make her "funny face" this is what you get!

Here are Maisy and Johnny together...and Maisy and Johnny making funny faces at each other.

Johnny won this cake at the cakewalk.  2nd round even!  Last year we probably played the cake walk 15 times before he won and selected the cake we brought.  This year he found a cake that fit him perfectly.  This person obviously made this cake with Johnny in mind.

Next weekend, we will be attending the birthday festivities of Bailey and staying to trick or treat and have a sleep over.  Bailey told Momo that Johnny, Treetree, and Maisy were all going to spend the night in her room in her extra bed.  It's a twin bed, and Johnny's bringing everything he owns, so it should be really really...um...comfortable.  Bailey's extra bed is a trundle bed.  Johnny's wondering if he can sleep in the "cave" section.

Below are 2 pictures of Maisy.  Each snapped as she said a word.  In the first picture she said "No".  In the second she said "stop".  I thought I did a pretty good job of capturing the exact feeling she was having.

Grammie made Johnny a new spider pillowcase.  He insisted on me taking a picture of him with it.  The pillowcase couldn't be more fitting...Johnny favorite color of green and spiderwebs and spiders on it.  I think he probably slept well that night!

I washed his hair and told him we needed to make sure and wash it good ‘cuz the school told us to make sure and be on the lookout for lice and one of the ways to prevent lice is washing. He asked what lice was and I told him they were bugs that live in your scalp and make your head itch. He said “can they control my brain?”.

We got the proofs back from school pictures.  Remember he told us he smiled like a vampire....I chose not to order that picture.

We may have a front tooth in soon.  Remember Johnny knocked it out 2 days after his 5th birthday?!?!  It might arrive!  Unfortunately the gum is not looking good and he will be visiting the dentist on Monday, but I'm hoping this means it may be here for christmas.  The funny thing is that everytime we look in his mouth we are reminded of possibly the most terrifying day of our life since he was born.  Being called and told that you need to get your child from school 'cuz they've had an injury isn't my idea of a wonderful memory.  Johnny, on the other hand, doesn't even remember how he lost that tooth.  He has no memory of it at all.

Maisy enjoys playing in the water and Bailey loaned her this tower.  Unfortunately she's still too short to reach the water, but she still finds a way to dump it on the floor...and tells us "no wa-wee" while she's spilling it all over the floor.  It's a huge mess to clean up, but it means I can cook dinner without being interrupted!

It's October!

It is Fall at the Rutledge house! 

Maisy is learning new things every day.  She learned how to climb up the couch and sit on the window sill, just like Johnny.  Thankfully she forgot after this one time!

She also gets tired out easily and crashes wherever seems to work.  She has attached herself to this little blanket that I knitted her, after attaching herself to a scrap I had made while learning to knit years ago.  Johnny nicknamed it her "fuzzy"; but Maisy calls it her "FUDDY".  When she's tired she runs around saying "BOPPY?  FUDDY?".  Which is "paci" and "fuzzy" meaning she's ready for "night night" as she will tell you.

Johnny LOVES to jump off everything and loves having his picture taken while jumping.  He has many alien battles to fight in our house and does so on a daily basis.

Maisy got very offended when I did not include her while mopping the kitchen, so I got the swiffer out for her  Uncle Joel helped also, only he didn't realize it.

Momo knitted Maisy a poncho.  Whenever I put it on her she won't let me take it off.  It is very warm and soft like a blanket and Maisy loves all things snuggly.

Our front porch is finished and Johnny has totally enjoyed decorating it for Halloween.  This is Johnny's holiday.  He LOVES spiders and this is the only time of year that is filled with spiders.  We have a web out front and Johnny has collected all the spider figures he could find and put them inthe web.

Maisy continues to harrass Don.  He's so tolerant of her.  I love to hate Don, but really appreciate how gentle he is with Maisy.  Also, I am working on a new creation for my Maisy Cakes store....a Tutu Tie shirt.  (Also a plain old Tie shirt for those wishing to go tutuless.) 

As usual Maisy is my model and guinea pig for all designs and creations!

Momo showed us her cat's Halloween costume and I tried it on Don.  I'm pretty sure he LOVED it and wishes he had his own.  She also got Maisy this furry coat and Maisy thought this was an opportune time to go for a ride on Don.

Johnny is doing great in 1st Grade.  He's enjoying it and working very hard.  We had his conference today and his teacher said that he is always willing to answer questions, always does his work and tries his hardest.  Wow...I wish we could move into the school and have him act that way around us!

If you remember Johnny begins planning his Halloween costumes in November.  After last Halloween he wanted to be a spider.  But, during the summer he changed to wanting to be something that I really never understood what it was.  Then he changed to wanting to be a character from Teen Titans that was on the screen for probably 30 seconds one time...and a costume that would be impossible to create.  Then he decided he wanted to be a Spider King.  (I even bought the fabric for this one)  And then he decided he wanted to be a spider king that turned into something else that I have no idea how that would work or what it was.  And finally, I convinced him to be Ben 10 Alien Force.  Which has been his favorite tv show for years.  I've purchased the costume, ½ price even!  And he is very excited so I think this one might stick.

Maisy is going to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.  She even had toto in a basket.  I'm pretty certain she's very excited about this!

On Halloween we will be going up to baby Bailey's birthday party and then staying to trick or treat and spend the night.  Johnny is going to sleep in Bailey's room.  This is a big deal!  Last summer I asked Johnny if he wanted to have his friend Haven spend the night and he said "ok...but he can't sleep in my room".  When I explained that a "sleepover" involved sleeping in the same room together he said "I guess he could spend the night, but he can't talk".  (we decided to wait for a sleepover)  I will be spending the night also so it will be a safe place for Johnny to experience sleeping in a room with someone else.  (Have I mentioned that Johnny is VERY set in his sleep routines?!?!)  He's pretty excited and has listed about 200 items he wants to bring to sleep in bed with him.  (I'm assuming that Aunt Kim and Uncle Adam are giving up their king sized bed for this endeavor!)

Johnny LOVES to make videos of himself playing with his toys, with hopes of putting them on youtube someday.  Recently he made one and Gabe was the camera man.  Gabe sang along to some of the songs.  When we playedback the movie on the TV Johnny said "daddy, the camera makes you sing really bad".

Johnny lost another tooth.  He was pretty excited about a visit from the "pretend tooth fairy" as he calls it.  He's got alot of space in his mouth right now.  I have been hoping his front tooth will be in by Christmas, but I'm not too hopeful.  (This is the one he knocked out when he was 5!) I actually had hoped it would be in for school pictures, but it was not.  This will be his 3rd school picture missing a front tooth!

Maisy's development has exploded.  She's used the toilet a couple times.  (I remind you her brother was almost 5 before this occured)  She is sleeping all night.  (PHEW!)  She talks a ton and it is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!  She will burp and say "CUSE ME".  (I never realized how much she burps) 

She still loves shoes.  She likes to paint and color at the easel and I think we are pretty safe in saying that she is probably a lefty.  She loves to kick the ball and loves climbing...everything.  She's also quite assertive with her buddies Brynn and Murphy and often (almost always) steals their toys.  Sometimes she pushes, she's also been known to bite and hit and sometimes even kick, and more recently spit.  As she's slowly learning that hitting isn't acceptable she will hit the air near her friends while looking at you.  She LOVES to tell on herself.  She has a certain voice she uses when she is doing something she knows she shouldn't and can't wait to come show you.  (Usually this is when she has broken into Johnny's room and is either coloring on something she shouldn't or eating a crayon or marker.)  She gets super excited on Sundays when Grammy and Grandpa and Uncle Joel come to visit and she runs around yelling "bee paw"; which means Grandpa.  She sometimes tries to get Joel to move where she wants him to go and will try to push him and then look at us and say "stuck".

Johnny and her absolutely LOVE each other.  When he's at school we spend most of the day saying "Johnny cool".  She gets so excited when she sees his bus coming.  He loves to hear about her playdates with her friends.  Maisy tried out a gymnastics class a few weeks ago and Johnny was so sad he couldn't go and watch her.  That is the best part.  Since they are so far apart in age I never thought  they'd be as close as they are.  It is wonderful watching their relationship....even if Maisy does spend a fair amount of time harrassing Johnny!

Both Maisy and Johnny are in really great places right now.  I wish I could freeze time.  As someone in our household (who shall remain nameless...GABE) thinks we are done having babies; I find myself sad that Maisy is getting older.  This evening I was reminded of a Dr. Seuss quote I've heard before need to my mantra..."Don't cry because it's over.  Smile because it happened".

He Swims!

Johnny has been terrified of swimming lessons since he was 3 years old. So, we've avoided them. Until this summer. We finally decided it was time to force the issue! Johnny tried to convince us that he really does know how to swim, since he's quite proficient in the bath tub, but we knew better and signed him up.

This week he has made a breakthrough. Gabe and I think he may actually swim on his own someday. Even better, he's loving it!

This is Johnny swimming to the wall after his teacher gave him a shove.

Jumping into the water.

Note - he's the only child in his class who makes sound effects as he's jumping into the water

Maisy loves shoes. She brings you her shoes, sits on the floor and says "Hep SHOOS". I found these cowboy boots at a garage sale...she's in love! She's carrying Johnny's pajamas. A favorite past time is breaking into Johnny's room and stealing his clothes from his drawers. I guess she figures he's not wearing his clothes so someone should find a use for them!

A monumental event has occurred in the Rutledge house. Johnny is now riding in a booster seat. Even though he could have ridden in one when he was 4 years and 40 pounds, his mother is quite the carseat nut and kept him in a 5 point harness carseat as long as she possibly could. So, at 7 years and 2 months he has finally outgrown his carseat. Personally I think he can stay in his booster seat until he's 18, but I suspect he may not be allowed to take his drivers test while riding in a booster seat. Much support and hand holding has been given by my equally carseat conscience friend Tracey as I release a little control over Johnny's car safety.

Maisy enjoys trying on Grandpa's hat

But it was a little too big

So she decided to make Uncle Joel try it on

And he couldn't get away quick enough

Silk and Linen

Today is our 12th Anniversary....Our Silk and Linen anniversary.

Below is a picture of us on our honeymoon. We are posing with at the Churros stand. It's a traditional honeymoon pose enjoyed buy newlyweds throughout time!!!

When Gabe and I got engaged we were in Disneyland. We experienced our first taste of Churros and fell in love...with Churros. We were already in love with each other! I'm pretty sure we ate nothing else but Churros during our trip. We felt like it was such a monumental part of our engagement that we decided we needed a picture on our honeymoon. The boy in the picture looked at us like we were insane when we asked to pose for a picture, but politely obliged!

Check out this picture! Look how young Gabe looks!

(I'm sure you'll notice that I, on the other hand, look petty much the same!)

We got engaged at Disneyland. Gabe and I went to Disneyland one evening and went to Sleeping Beauty's Castle. We looked over the water and Gabe said "I want to talk to you about something and I don't want you to talk until I'm done". He began by talking about our relationship and eventually said "We've been through some good times and some bad". Ignoring his original statement I broke in and said "Are you breaking up with me?". Exasperated Gabe asked me to be quiet and eventually asked me to marry him. He had put the ring in a zippered pocket in his coat and had some trouble getting it out, but eventually he did and we kissed and hugged and....

out of nowhere a woman came running over to us excitedly yelling "you just got engaged! Congratulations! Hey everyone they just got engaged!". She was crying and hugging us and telling us that she'd watched the whole thing. Gabe and I were both looking at each other trying to figure out who this crazy person was. She proceeded to blubber for another couple of minutes announcing to everyone that we were getting married and how excited she was and then she left. No one we told matched her level of excitement.

We celebrated by going out last night. In true Rutledge fashion we (and by we I mean Kristi) lost the invitation to the party we were invited to. After searching online for the address I found it and "thought" I remembered seeing that the party started at 4:00 pm. So, we decided to be fashionably late and arrive at 5:30 pm. We found the location and drove by only to see the hosts unloading stuff from their car and realized that we had the wrong time. We did a quick drive by turn around, short of ducking down below the dashboard and went out to dinner. We eventually went back to the party to say a quick hello before going back to relieve Grammie and Grandpa of their babysitting duties. On a positive note, Johnny enjoyed making a secret potion at Grass Lake with Grandpa! Don't tell him I said so, but his secret potion is kind of smelly!

Johnny has recently learned that he can't marry Maisy and he's pretty upset about it. He doesn't understand why he can't marry Maisy and have babies with her since he loves her so much. To see how much Johnny loves his sister makes me so happy. Even if in 5 years he'll deny this statement!

Happy Anniversary Gabe.

(maybe next year I'll share with you the conversation that occurred when Gabe asked my mom if he could marry me!)

Ear Tubes....CHECK!

No Rutledge child is complete until they've received their ear tubes.

Today Maisy had Bilateral Myringotomy; or - ear tubes. (Her brother Johnny had two sets, hopefully this will be Maisy's only pair.)

In December I uttered the famous last words, "Grammie, Maisy's almost 1 and has not been on antibiotics once!" (Johnny was very sick the first year and on antibiotics often) The next week she got her first ear infection. Since then she has had 4 more.

Surgery was this morning and we had to be at the surgery center at 7:10 am. Unfortunately Maisy was not allowed to eat after midnight. When her 5:00 am feeding came around, Maisy was less than pleased to learn she was not getting milk and chose to stay awake and express her opinions rather than going back to sleep.

After we got checked in they gave her something to relax her so it would be easier to take her back to the operating room. Unfortunately the surgery before hers was cancelled so the medicine was not really in her system when they took her back. She was very very upset when the nurse pried her off of me, leaving Gabe and I with a memory of the saddest face ever as they ushered us back to the waiting room. 10 excruciatingly long minutes later the dr came out and told us that everything went well and Maisy would be in recovery shortly and we could be with her.

Maisy had a hard time waking up from the anesthetic and was pretty groggy and had very little control of her body. It was like holding a 19 pound floppy newborn. But, she got some milk and enjoyed cuddling and calmed down very quickly.

Maisy slept when we got home and woke up in a much better mood. She's had a low fever off and on during the day, and has no interest in being away from mommy, but is doing well otherwise. By this evening she was back to stealing Johnny's toys and hitting him.

Here is Maisy riding in the wagon at the surgery center, before she knew what was about to happen!

11 months

Maisy is 11 months!

(i know...she's almost 1, but sleep is rare around here and it actually takes brain power to type these and i find that i have very little when i don't have much sleep!)

Turn your back for a second and you are liable to find her like this

She got all bundled up in her snowman suit and watched me deck the halls!

She is donning her gay apparel, and her Grinch diaper cover in honor of the holiday spirit!

She visited Santa for the first time and was mostly very confused by him.

Her hair is getting longer and I am having a great time fixing it. I'm pretty sure she's enjoying it too!

Johnny and Maisy had a great time looking through all of our Christmas toys.

I'll admit it, I made her a new Santa hat!

We bundled up Maisy and Johnny and took them to get our Christmas tree.

Johnny got right to work decorating.

Maisy got right to work undecorating.

Don went to sleep.

Eventually we did get the task completed.

(with nothing on the bottom half of the tree)

Johnny posed on a tractor at the farm.

Johnny still enjoys taking many many baths. At least one a day, usually more. Bathing is not a quick activity, lasting sometimes for hours at a time.

Santa came on a firetruck to Grammie and Grandpa's house. Johnny was too nervous to go see him. Just as I snapped this photo, Maisy started to cry. I guess she finally decided she's had it with being passed to strange men with big white beards.

Johnny is eagerly awaiting Christmas. This year he would like "The Ben 10 Alien Force Alien Creation Chamber and all of the 'Each Sold Separately's"

Johnny has been quite emotional recently and has many fears. We currently have an ongoing discussion, and crying session, around getting blood drawn and when you might need to have blood drawn. Johnny is terrified of the thought of having blood drawn and at any moment may breakdown over the issue. (Johnny has not had blood drawn since he was 12 months!)

The other day Johnny began crying because he was scared that he might have a beard when he is an adult and wouldn't be able to get rid of it and it might make his voice sound funny. After much discussion we realized that sometimes Daddy grows a Christmas beard and his voice sounds the same as when he has his shaved face.

At Bailey's birthday party Johnny announced to me that someone must have had gas because it smelled like "lots and lots of poop". I explained to him that it isn't polite to comment on smells. Weeks later we were in Target, browsing toys, and I became aware of an odor. Trying to figure out if I was going to need to change Maisy's diaper or take Johnny to the restroom, I asked Johnny if he'd had gas. He looked at me and said "remember mama, it isn't polite to comment on other people's smells". Lesson learned!

Johnny is really in the spirit of giving this year. High on his list to buy for...his blankets. Johnny has informed us that he would like to buy his blankets a Christmas present. What do blankets want for Christmas? Initially he thought they may enjoy something to snuggle with, like a stuffed animal. It quickly became clear to him that he loves snuggling with his blankets and why not buy his blankets something to snuggle with as well, like a blanket. So, he is shopping around to find the perfect blanket to give his blankets for Christmas. (I am confused by this on so many levels that I haven't even hit the point of being worried that my son wants to buy a present for his blankets!)

Maisy is doing great in every area, except sleeping. She still doesn't sleep well. She's sleeping better compared to the waking every 45 minutes, but I personally feel sleeping longer than 2 hours at a time sounds even better.

She's starting to talk and repeat what we say. This is all new to us. Johnny talked very very late (starting around 2½) and he never repeated us. He didn't say a word until he could actually say it and know exactly what he was saying and how to say it. Which is probably why we spent months upon months in speech therapy with Johnny never speaking to the therapist. (Finally she heard him talking to us in the waiting room and released us from therapy.) Johnny was about to jump off the couch onto Maisy and Gabe yelled "STOP!". Since then Maisy has been walking around yelling "OP!" very loudly. Anytime you say Johnny's name she begins saying "OP!". She also sat in front of his door one morning, while he was still sleeping, pointing to the door saying "don-ah" over and over again. I finally realized she was saying "Johnny" and I thinks he wanted to see him. It was very sweet.

Johnny and Maisy have a wonderful relationship. He has far exceeded my expectations as a big brother. He loves her so much and wants to spend as much time with her as he can. He can't wait to play with her and is always looking out for her. She lights up with excitement when she sees him. Honestly, this is probably my favorite part of having Maisy. The bond they share is something I had never expected to see and I feel like it's such a gift to have the opportunity to watch it develop.

On a sadder note, Don the hermit crab has passed on. I should clarify, Don, the larger of the 2 hermit crabs; the 2nd Don the hermit crab to join our family; who originally joined us in a rainbow colored shell and we called him "Rainbow Don" but quickly moved out of his shell becoming "Big Don" the hermit crab. He will be missed. Kind of. Actually probably not at all. He was like a pet rock that you have to put in water once a week. Don't worry, we still have our other hermit crab, also named Don. (not to be confused with Don the cat!)

Johnny has informed us that his teacher told him that hermit crabs get lonely and we need to get Don a new friend soon. Also to be named Don. (we have never really known exactly why Johnny likes the name Don so much. After we went to Hawaii in 2006 Johnny began naming everything Don. For a while he called our car Don)

Don the cat recently jumped in the car while I was loading up the kids. We were going to dinner at Grammie and Grandpa's. Almost to their house a small "meow!" comes from the back seat. Don the cat was in the car. Worried that he might jump out at Grammie and Grandpa's house I exited the freeway and took him home. Unfortunately he has not learned his lesson and still gets in the car every chance he has.