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.

The Week in Pictures

 R attended a birthday party for a schoolmate. There was lots of inflatable bounces plus this awesome levitating t-ball setup!

 Ned treated us to a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and we finally broke it in with some homemade brownies. He and R love to bake together. 

 MC, our little early riser, enjoys some Mickey while I try to get some extra sleep at 6am.

 R diggin' up rocks at the Ranch!

Sister loves preschool dropoff/pickup. She walks right into R's class and sits down to play with the big kid stuff. R has taken to holding her hand sometimes when we walk, it is the sweetest thing in the whole world.

Legoland!

We took R and MC for a mini staycation a few weeks ago. We spent a couple nights up in Carlsbad and went to Legoland and the beach! The kids had a great time but I think their favorite thing was eating dinner off paper plates in the hotel room while watching TV. Such a luxury!

 MC played in the fun Lego cars for a while.

 A cool explorer's tunnel had lots to look at and touch.

While R and Papa rode some bigger kid rides, MC and I played in the baby fun pit. She didn't want to leave :)

Oma's Pumpkin Patch!

This week I got to take Rutherford on his first field trip of the school year - Oma's Pumpkin Patch. He was stoked and he had an even better time this year (I think being a little bigger/older he was able to do more of the activities).

We went on a hayride, played with the water pumps, ran through the haybale maze and more. Here's some pics of our guy:

 They had this huge field with bouncie balls and inflatable horses to wrangle!

 Water pumps were his fave.

 He was disappointed he couldn't start the tractor :)

 Farmhands.

 Maze!

 Sitting with Miss Aly, one of his teachers, on the hayride!

 College Park Preschool represent.