Rutherford Reading!

Last night Rutherford read Ten Apples Up On Top almost all by himself! I have noticed him reading words here and there and being braver sounding unfamiliar words out so I thought he may be close to putting it together. I opened the book and thought he could read a lot of the words - and he surprised Ned and me by reading everything! He only needed help on a few words - "their," "must," and some higher numbers like "eight" and "seven". We couldn't believe how well he did! I was so excited for him and he was so proud of himself. He slept with the book right next to him :) What an awesome, big world he has opened up. Congratulation Rutherford!

Rutherford's Summer Blog: Outdoor Fun!

We've been having a great summer! Aunt Cyndy gave R a slip-n-slide for his birthday and it was a big hit with both kiddos! Picnics and fun outdoor activities for everyone - yay! Here's R's thoughts:

 This is me and MC slip-and-sliding. My slip-n-slide has a pool at the end and two lanes!

  This is me getting my hair cut with Papa. We hunted Pokemon afterwards!

This is me and my sister watching the America's Funniest Home Videos when Papa was gone. I like the piñata videos.

  Here's MC sleeping. I don't want to write much about that. (Sis: haha!)

This is me hunting for Pokemon at SDSU. We got to walk all around the college. We also saw turtles in the pond.

Last night we had a picnic all together. We had a lot of yummy things to eat and also there was some cool music.

This is me and sister running around last night at the park. I was showing off my special agent moves.

Rutherford's Summer Blog: Fifth Birthday!

Last week we celebrated R's fifth birthday! We had a Lion Guard birthday for him with a cute ice cream cake, monkey piñata, some little friends and lots of fun. Perfect weather too - we were super lucky! Here's his thoughts on his special day!

This is me eating my clown cone and it was delicious. The nose and the red frosting tasted different from the other frosting. (This was the day before his party, on his actual bday)

This is me playing the donut on the string game with all of my friends.

This is me and my friends playing the sponge game. We throw sponges and whatever circle they land in has a number on it and that number shows how many points you get.

This is me hitting my monkey piñata. It had candy and goodies inside of it.

 This is Mary-Charlotte hitting my monkey piñata.

 This is me after my party with my tinker toys, I made a robot named Keeber.

 This is my monkey face piñata, we kept the head for some reason I don't know why.

Rutherford's Summer Blog: Palm Springs Vacation

This summer Rutherford will be posting pics he chooses from our activities and I'll be transcribing his thoughts! First up, our family vacay to Palm Springs!

 This was our second day in Palm Springs. I especially like my new outfit I have on.

 This is me roasting s'mores. I liked them except mine was burnt a lot.

 This is Mary-Charlotte after eating her s'more. She looks funny.

 This is me going on a pool noodle - but one time I fell off. 

 This is MC drinking her first milkshake. Mama and her split the doughnut that was on the straw. I had a chocolate fudge milkshake, Papa and I split it! I had the doughnut all to myself.

This is all of us having breakfast. I liked going on vacation with my cousins Madison and Samantha.

The Week in Pictures

MC is able to do so many things now and communicate so well - it really makes it possible for us to adventure around town and include her in so many more activities. R is enjoying her more every day and I love watching their relationship grow. Yesterday they were splashing each other in the tub and then later zooming around the house with their butterfly wings on! :)

 Last week we had a bit of rain and R and I went puddle stomping!

The fam checked out Nickel City, a fun little arcade. They had this miniature whack-a-frog game that was fun for everyone.

 MC got the hang of it quickly!

 The next day was beautiful and we picked up a few plants at the nursery - and LADYBUGS! R let them loose in the yard.

 It was a double Ranch day this week and R and MC got some baby yoga in with my parents. 

 One of our new plants, called a monkey flower. Hopefully it survives.

 MC loves to hide! I pretend I can't find her and she giggles and wiggles under the blanket.

 Music class! We missed a few weeks due to colds; she was so happy to go back.

Snacks at Playtown! We just discovered this indoor playground and the kiddos love it. Slides, seesaws and all sorts of fun toys and climbing equipment :)

MC Talking!

MC is talking so much more, all three of us love hearing her little voice. She is saying two- and three-word phrases now. Some things we have heard are:
"Silly Audra"
"Funny Mama"
"I love you" (!!!!)
"Boo inside!"
"Boo outside!" (she really likes to yell at Boo)
"Let's go"

It is soooo cute! R loves hearing her say new things. He even says "Awwww Mama! She sounds so cute!"

Christmas!

This was our best Christmas yet! MC was all up in it and R was super into all the celebrations - from decorating the tree to singing carols and making gingerbread. I know I have said it before but I'm so stoked I have given him my insane Christmas joy energy! It was the best time of year when I was little and I love making these memories special for him. Here's some pics from our holiday:

 We all had a great time at the annual Hemus Family Party - I brought led finger lights and R, MC and all the cousins played pretend snowball fight for hours! MC loved being a part of it and hanging with her older cousins, Madison and Samantha. 

 R and I made gingerbread! I decorated these and was proud to have used a pastry bag properly. Ha.

 We spent Christmas Eve at the Ranch. Had a chill afternoon, just us and my parents. Was nice to celebrate in their new living room!

 R got his first watch!

 MC got into the present opening spirit this year.

 Christmas morning at our place - new old Little People garage was a hit!

 Babies!

 MC looooves her dolly. We have since named her "Clementine," since she loves those oranges so much. She calls her "Tine! Tine!"

Nerf crossbow. Christmas just isn't the same without Nerf.