Easter

We celebrated Rutherford's first Easter with lots of firsts :) It was our first family dinner using our new (vintage) dining room table and it was perfect! Neddie and I had been searching for a cool 60s-ish dining table for some time and we finally found it. Gorgeous teak, six chairs and enough leaves to make it ten feet - woohoo!
We also got to use our new outdoor furniture for the first time and it was the first time we made a layered birthday cake from scratch. (Easter just happened to fall on my birthday this year!) We made a lemon-vanilla cake with raspberry filling and lemon-cream cheese frosting. Um... I had three pieces. It was so good!
Neddie made a turkey for all of us - my parents and Chad, Esther and Sylvian joined us, too. Rutherford didn't get a basket this year (I totally would have eaten all of his candy), so instead he got some cute books, a new ball and a super cool monster hat from the Pasadena Hemuses:
Earlier this month Ned and I bought him a new kiddie pool, I sort of counted that as his Easter gift:
Bonus: I also bought some plastic balls (like in those big ball pits) off Amazon, and filled the pool with them so he can play in his own little "mini" ball pit. He loves it!

Cheerios + Balloons

Today at the grocery store, Rutherford got his first balloon from the nice produce guy, Nacho. I tied it to his stroller and we zoomed around the store while he batted at it and laughed. At home I hooked it up to his saucer and he was giggling at it.

Then we had a little break for some Cheerios, R gets very chatty when he has a snack.



Finally, before his bath this evening, Papa and R invented a new game. Fun day!

Nine Months

Our little man turned nine months old today. We celebrated with a walk at the lake and lots of good family time. Rutherford is now able to pull himself up onto the coffee table, chairs, the sofa, etc. It's a little scary as he's super wobbly and sort of just falls over once he's done it, but man does it make it seem like walking is just around the corner.

We've noticed R is very attentive when it comes to affection. When Ned and I hug or give each even just a quick peck, R is watching us closely. It's morphed into a part of our nighttime routine: Ned settles into the glider with R's bottle, and I deliver a freshly pajama-ed and moisturized baby into his lap. Before the bottle, Ned and I give each other a few kisses, then we both kiss Rutherford and tell him how much we love him. He seems to be getting the hang of it and enjoying it more each night.

I love that he's learning to be sweet by watching us. I try really hard to stay in the moment with R, not to focus too much on the "Oh, I can't wait for this to happen," etc., as all of "this" is actually happening right now and I want to appreciate who and what he is at this moment - but man, when that little boy starts passing out hugs and kisses I don't think I'll be able to stand the cuteness, it might just kill me.