Five Months

Beckett rounded out his first five months on this earth on the 27th. We're still having a blast as a family of four, and every day I'm amazed by how much Beckett loves and looks up to his big brother. Last night I wrestled on the floor with Maclain and tickled both boys for a long time. It was a blast. Then I put them face to face on their tummies. Maclain started making silly faces at Beckett, who then grinned from ear-to-ear and laughed. This is quite possibly my favorite picture of the two boys to date because it sums up their time together perfectly. I know it won't all be silly faces and laughs, but I'll sure enjoy them as they come!

A coworker of mine knit this sweater for Maclain because she was so impressed by the vibrant colors in Cory's hideous sweater. Of course we had to get a picture of Beckett in the sweater too! Beckett has mastered rolling over this month, and he's getting steadier at sitting up. He seems to roll every so often to make sure he's still got it, unlike Maclain who just rolled over and over and over once he discovered the cool new trick he could do. I think that's a pretty good reflection of their personalities. Here are a few of my favorite Beckett pics from the last month. We had a fantastic Christmas with 4 fabulous days of celebrating...more on that later with great pictures of course! :)Beckett's response to everything these days is "I will eat you!"He slept through much of Christmas day, though napping was hard with such a fun crowd!
Beckett has the same flat grin Maclain had at this age. I love it!

Four Months of Brotherly Love

Beckett rounded out his fourth month on this earth on November 27. I can't believe that in just four short months he's gone from this tiny little baby cuddling with his Nana...

to this smiley, giggly boy who sits so solidly in his Bebepod and lights up like a Christmas tree whenever his big brother is around! We love him to pieces!


In the last month, Beckett has started to giggle. His laughter comes out in bursts, like he's been saving the giggles up for a while. Just like his brother, he's quite ticklish. He rolled over last Friday, from his back to his tummy, and he's been trying for a repeat performance ever since. He gets pretty ticked when he gets stuck on his side, but we know he'll get there. Maclain, of course, rushes in to help as only a big brother can. I keep reminding him to be gentle, only to discover Beckett grinning from ear to ear. They can't seriously be ready to wrestle, can they???


We're marveling at the wonder of this Christmas season, trying to balance the Santa chatter with talk of Baby Jesus and the joy of giving. I'm loving the fact that for this year, at least, the Christmas tree isn't in peril! We're gearing up for an after-dark drive to check out the beautiful lights, and I can't wait to hear Maclain sharing his awe at those beautiful lights with Beckett!

Beckett's 4 month stats:
Height: 25 1/4 inches (75%)
Weight: 14lb 8oz (50%)

At 3 years Maclain weighs 29 pounds and is 37.5 inches tall, which means his BMI is in the 5th percentile. He's truly a Rutledge!

Three!

October 27 was a big day in our house! Maclain turned three and Beckett reached the three month milestone. We've done lots of celebrating with friends and family. Maclain is really into Hot Wheels these days, and he was thrilled to get lots of new Hot Wheels toys. We gave him a trampoline because he has so much energy these days, and we don't have a yard for him to burn it off. (If only the dog could also burn energy on the tramp!) The trampoline is a hit, and he's getting so coordinated now. It took him all of a day to master seat drops, and now he's perfecting his puppy drops. Did I mention he is loving soccer and gymnastics? Clearly he inherited Cory's athletic ability and not mine, which we think is fantastic. I've noticed Maclain is getting so much more confident, and at his conference, his preschool teacher shared that he is really separating well each week, which is huge! I'm so proud of him!

At three years old, Maclain is fully potty trained, even overnight. He's got a great vocabularly, and he tests out new words regularly. Right now he's working on using the word "serious" appropriately. He seems to think it's a synonym for "silly." We've got some work to do. :) Maclain is loving being a "big brover" and tells us how excited he is regularly. He's so sweet with Beckett. When Beckett gets worked up in the car, Maclain tries to soothe him by saying things like, "It's okay, your big brother is here." or "It's okay Beckett. Take a deep breath."

Maclain is also starting to ask some tough questions, like "Where is God?" Yesterday, he was hung up on why the sky changes colors at sunset. I tried all sorts of explanations from the simple, "Because the sun is setting" to the complex, "Well, when the sun moves lower on the horizon, it's rays bend and produce the different colors we see." When none of those explanations satisfied him, I finally said, "God paints the sky different colors in the morning and at night to remind us that He's there and He loves us." Apparently that was what he was looking for because Maclain responded with, "Oh, okay. Thank you God!" How sweet is that? He was satisfied with similar explanations for rainbows and the changing of the leaves this Fall.

Beckett, at three months, continues to grow like a weed! I can't believe how long he's gotten and how great his trunk control is. He can sit upright in the Bebe Pod now, and he loves being able to sit up, look around, and play with toys! Just in the last two days he's really begun grasping things and interacting with toys more. It's so fun to watch him learn and develop! He has started sleeping through the night sporadically, which I find awesome! Beckett thought the whole Halloween thing was a bit much, so he slept through trick-or-treating in his cozy dinosaur costume. He grins from ear to ear these days, and he's working on a chuckle. It's low and throaty and adorable, of course! This past Sunday was his dedication at church, and it was beautiful to celebrate that with family.

Brothers

Many of you know that I had a really hard time adjusting to the idea of parenting two boys. Cory and I have always known we wanted two kids, so this is it. After the ultrasound I grieved the fact that I will never get to shop for prom dresses, braid my daughter's hair, be the mother of the bride, and share the amazing bond that mothers and daughters share. I had 20 weeks to get used to the fact that my life wouldn't be quite as I had envisioned. Now, I'm setting my sights on being the energetic mom of two boys who cheers at all of their sporting events, takes active outdoors vacations, and plays trucks and dinosaurs.Since we first found out we'd be having another boy, so many moms have told me how much they've loved parenting two or more boys. I have heard over and over how special the bond between brothers is. I'm starting to get a glimpse of it, even at this early stage, and I'm really excited for the years to come. My life might not go just as I had planned, but then again, was it ever going to? I know I'm in for quite an adventure with these two!

Fuzzy Balls

If you've spent any time with Maclain in the last year, you've seen him holding "fuzzy balls." The rest of the world calls them something much more innocuous, like pom poms or puff balls, but in our house they are "fuzzy balls." I got them for an art project, but instead they have become sort of a security blanket. While he's not as attached to them as he used to be, Maclain still carries them around frequently and wakes us up at all hours to look for them in and around his bed. It's amazing what he can do while clutching them in one hand!

We've had some funny conversations in the last year that I had to capture and share.
M: "Mama, do you like fuzzy balls?"
Me: " Yes."
M: "As much as me?"
Me: "No, I don't know anyone who likes fuzzy balls as much as you."

Maclain: "Do you want to feel my fuzzy balls on your cheek?"
Me: " Sure."
Maclain: "They tickle you, don't they?"

Cory: "How many fuzzy balls do you have?"
M: "Two"
Cory: "What color are they?"
M: "Blue"
Cory: "Do you like to juggle them?"
M: "Yes"
(Real mature Cory)

Random quote we've heard many times: "I love my fuzzy balls."

And, to his Bestie, Myah, "Myah, do you want to hold my fuzzy balls? I will share them with you." Funny how I heard him say that and thought, that's so sweet! He really loves her!

Two Months!

I can't believe I've been a Mama of two for two months already! Time flies when you're having fun, and there is never a dull moment around our house! Beckett is one smiley, happy guy who is being kind to me by waking just once a night to eat. Maclain has started preschool, gymnastics, and soccer this fall and loves every minute of each one.

We just spent a long weekend up at Lutsen and took our first Fall hike as a family. Beckett slept through it, while Maclain alternated between hitching a ride in the backpack and romping on his own two feet. The weekend was a blast! Here are some pictures from the past month to fill you in.

Beckett's 2 Month Stats: 24 inches (He's grown 3 inches since birth!) 12 lbs 4 oz Again, we have a long kiddo with a little head. Only this time he's average weight, unlike his skinny big brother. I keep marveling at Beckett's chubby thighs because I've never seen them on a Rutledge baby before. Maybe this little guy has more of his Mama in him. :)

And So It Begins...

On Tuesday I brought up the baby gym for B. Now he can lay on the floor and swing and kick at dangling toys. Maclain laid right down next to him and started swinging at things like only a nearly 3-year-old does. I asked him to settle down and reminded him that he was playing with a toy that's made for babies so he needed to be gentle. Then, I looked at Beckett and found him grinning from ear to ear and waiting for more. He was gazing up at his big brother in eager anticipation and clearly wondering what sort of trouble Maclain would lead him into next. I saw this day coming, but I figured I would at least have a crawler before we got to this point. Instead, it only took 7 weeks. Hence the title for my blog "And So It Begins." Ready or not, I'm the mama of two sweet, adventurous boys who will give me a run for my money each and every day. My goal is to enjoy every minute of it...and try to keep up!

Intro

I'm officially joining the 21st Century parenting world and blogging. I've resisted this for a long time, but I finally concluded that blogging when I have something to share would be easier than trying to keep up with monthly email updates like I did the first time around. Plus, the picture files from our new camera are just too big to email and I don't have the time to mess with that. So, here we go...