1 Month!



Olive is 1 month old!

Olive is 1 Month old!  Here she is posing with Olive, The Other Reindeer!

It has been a fast month! 
Olive is eating well, sleeping....as well as a newborn sleeps, and seems to be getting bigger!  Her hair is growing in quickly as well.  I'm pretty sure she'll need a hair bow pretty soon!  Just like Maisy and Johnny she has Reflux.  But is managing well with the help of her medicine.

She can roll over from her stomach to her back and is working on going from her back to her stomach.  Hopefully she won't get too crazy and get moving early like Maisy.

I think she looks like she is going to punch someone in this picture

Sister's napping together

Loved by her brother and sister

And...as usual, I have a gift for taking cross-eyed pictures of babies.  Here's another of Olive:

Cross - Eyed, but oh so cute!  Look at that full belly!

Unfortunately Olive is not the only one in the house gaining weight.  Don, the cat, is up to 19.2 pounds.  In April he was 16.8.  He really needs to get on a workout plan.

Olive Kristine Rutledge

Did you wonder what that yelling was on Saturday?

Don't worry, It was just Kristi giving birth to

OLIVE KRISTINE RUTLEDGE!

After an easy, yet painful labor, Olive arrived at 4:15 pm on Saturday May 7, 2011.  She weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 19 inches long.

Olive's birth was quite dramatic.  She was so active while in utero that she tied a true knot in the umbilical cord.

She aspirated meconium and ended up with pneumonia.  We had to stay in the hospital for 7 days so she could be treated with antibiotics.

 

 

While at the hospital we stayed in the "Turtle" Room.  If you ever have to stay in the hospital, I highly recommend the Special Care Nursery at St. Peter Hospital.  The nurses there are AMAZING.  They were so kind and compassionate and knowledgeable.  Seriously, the nurses there are just about the best people on the planet. The level of care we received was absolutely astonishing.

Olive's arrival home was eagerly awaited by Johnny and Maisy.  They were both very worried and confused about why she didn't get to come home right away, but they adjusted nicely.  Thankfully we have an amazing support system who stepped in to help and we are very grateful.

Olive is doing great and adjusting to life in the Rutledge house.  Maisy has decided that SHE is Olive's mother and I am still Maisy's mother.  (I guess this makes me Olive's grandmother) Johnny thinks it's funny that she laughs in her sleep.

As you can see, the majority of her weight is in her cheeks!

(The pajamas Olive is wearing were worn home from the hospital by all of the Rutledge babies!)



The Countdown Begins

Submit your vote for Rutledge #3's Birth Stats!

Rutledge Baby #3

(this is an amazingly awful picture of all of us!!!)

Rutledge #3 is due in exactly 1 month!  The atmosphere in our house is excited (Johnny), confused (Maisy), worried (Gabe) exhausted (Kristi), and looking like he's having a sympathy pregnancy (Don).

(Johnny pouring himself a "small" bowl of cereal!)



Johnny can't wait.  He was pretty bummed when he realized that the baby would not be sharing his room; he really wants #3 to sleep in his room sometime while she's still cute and tiny and not bossy like Maisy.

(Maisy decorating cookies)



Maisy's just confused.  Sometimes she thinks the baby is her stuffed toy, sometimes she thinks she has the baby, most of the time she has no idea.  She has accepted that the baby will be coming to live with us and doesn't want to send her off to Elmo and Papa's.  Also along the lines of acceptance, Maisy has finally admitted she's 3.  She was refusing to be 3 until just this month and told everyone she was 2.

(The Academy Awards, 2011)



Gabe is worried.  He has alot of shows scheduled at various times and is hoping that the baby cooperates with his schedule.  Maisy was not quite as cooperative and Gabe had to call in his back up for a Christmas party he was supposed to preform at.  Let's hope #3 is more thoughtful!

Kristi is exhausted.  I had no idea it was possible to feel so tired!  So Gabe is able to be at home for an extended period of time after #3 arrives, he's had to do alot of traveling.  Being a million months pregnant, by myself, with 2 kids who do not grasp the concept of "mommy wants to sit" is shocking!  With Johnny, I was terrified of giving birth and having a new baby.  Even though he was 15 days late, I could have gone longer!  With Maisy I was eyeing her due date and ok with waiting and hoped she came a little early so she wasn't born on Christmas.  With this one...I'm ready now.  I have no sleeping places set up for her, no car seat in the car, no bags packed, but I'm ready.  (by this point I know, you only need the carseat in place, everything else is a luxury!!)



And Don....Poor Don is suffering from the horrible northwest weather.  We had a wet, cold summer last year and Don didn't spend nearly enough time running around working off his "winter weight".  Then he added "winter weight" from this winter and his looking huge.  People keep asking if our cat is having kittens.  I prefer to think that he is having a sympathy pregnancy right along with me!

We'll keep you posted!

Talent Show 2011

Johnny performed in the talent show tonight. 

He sang "On My Own" by the band Three Days Grace.

We were a little nervous.  Prior to the show he told me that "I only like the main part of the song, so that's all I'm gonna sing".  Which means the rest would be standing around doing nothing.  Also, he refused to practice the song because "I've been listening to it since August, so I think I know it by now".

Gabe and I were pleasantly surprised.  He sang loud, and he really did know all the words.  I give him credit, he certainly is brave.  If you know Johnny, he's actually quite shy.  But, he wants to be in the talent show, so he's willing to put that aside.

For your viewing pleasure..

Johnny, performing "On My Own"...

When we got home, Johnny said "Jokes get a bigger hit.  Maybe I'll do those again next year.  OR...I haven't danced yet.  Maybe I should dance".  (Gabe pointed out that Johnny is what the entertainment industry calls a "triple threat".)

It's a...

Can't you tell?!?! 

We had the 20 week ultra sound this morning.  The kids were very excited.  Johnny could hardly sleep last night and awoke very early this morning with anticipation.

It's a GIRL!

Maisy didn't seem phased by the news.

Johnny was a little disappointed.  He was hoping for his last chance at a brother.  I also think he's a little worried.  The sister he lives with now harrasses him.  I'm sure he's excpecting the worst!  The ultrasound technician was very nice and made this picture for Johnny with a little message from his sister.

The name will be revealed when the baby arrives!

Something to Show You

Yes....you are seeing what you think you are seeing.  Another Rutledge is on the way.  Due May 8th.  Johnny couldn't be more excited and is expecting me to bring him his baby brother he requested.  Maisy thinks we are having a baby tiger. 

I'd post more about our life, but I'm far too sick to sit in front of the computer too long!

13th Anniversary

Today is our 13th Anniversary.  It is our "Lace Anniversary". 

(I've promised Gabe some lace doilies that he's had his eye on.)

As promised last year, I will write about one of my favorite memories from our wedding / engagement period.

Gabe decided to ask me to marry him and put the plans in motion.  (We were all of 22 years old and wasting away so it was high time he got on it!)  He called my mom to ask if he could marry me.  (aaaahhh...isn't that sweet?!?!?) 

The conversation went something like this:

BBBrrrriiiinnnnggggg (telephone ringing)

Sandy: Hello, this is Sandy

Gabe: Hi this is Gabe.  I have something to ask you.  I want to marry your daughter.

Sandy: Can you hold on, I have another call....

Obviously she eventually came back and said yes.  (If you know my mom, you can picture this scene perfectly!)

I feel as though I should apologize for my lack of blogging updates.  My health hasn't been at it's best this year and it's left me extremely exhausted and not much energy to do much more than take care of the kids. 

the kids are great....and fighting...A LOT.  Maisy is quite feisty and harasses Johnny every chance she can get.  Johnny tries to reason with her, which never works with a 2½ year old, and gets frustrated with the situation.  This repeats itself throughout the day.  The good thing is, Maisy is absolutely adorable and it's hard to be too annoyed with her.  Johnny loves his sister so much and takes his role of "big brother" so seriously, I understand why he's frustrated with her.  They are adorable together.

I hear Music Everywhere!

Johnny and his class performed at the school assembly today!

They were supposed to bring an instrument to play, Johnny chose to play the zipper on his jacket.

Stay tuned until the end of the video to see his dramatic finish!

First Sleepover!

This evening Johnny had his friend Haven over for a sleep over.  This is the first time Johnny has had a buddy spend the night! 

Last summer I asked Johnny if he ever wanted to have Haven spend the night and he said "well he can't sleep in my room".  When I explained that the fun of having a friend over was having them sleep in your room he said "well, he can stay in my room, but only if he doesn't talk".

Haven is currently sleeping in Johnny's bottom bunk, and I believe he talked a little before they went to sleep.  And Johnny did not kick him out....success!

Maisy LOVES "Hay-man".  (that's what she calls him)  At dinner we were discussing our day and Haven said "Maisy, what was your favorite part of the day?" and she looked at him thoughtfully and said "Umm...Well Hay-man.." and began babbling about something that we couldn't understand.

Tomorrow morning should be interesting as Johnny still won't get out of bed on his own and yells "it's morning time" when he wakes up.  Haven may not appreciate that wake up call!

Scary Ghosts!

Since Halloween, Maisy has been interested in "Scary Ghosts". (Pronounced "Skuh-Whee Gh-OH-st!")

She got a Halloween book and there was a picture of a ghost on it and Johnny enjoyed teaching her the sound effects for ghosts.

I was finally able to get video of her making her scary ghost sounds.

She's just about the least scariest ghost ever!