Pollen, Dolls, and Four-Letter Words

Pollen season is here in North Carolina. All the pine trees are in full bloom which means the return of the thick yellow haze that lingers in the air like fog. We need a good rain to wash it all away -- off cars, houses, and a little boy's nose.


Amy took her second attempt at the Elmo birthday cake for the boys' upcoming birthdays in a couple weeks. This one turned out much better than the first, in which Elmo's eyes and face stuck to the pan and would have scarred two little boys for life had we presented it to them. I don't know who is going to be more excited about birthday #2 -- Amy in making the cake and the birthday preparations or the boys.



"Hello, my name is Derek Rutledge and I am coming to terms with the fact that my son happily enjoys playing with my neighbor's dolls..."



"...and strollers." Maybe I've pushed too hard on the trucks, tractors, and basketball, and the boys are rebelling. ;-)



Other goings-on at la casa de Rutledge...

• We took the boys to Target on Saturday night (Amy & I lead exciting lives, let me tell you) and put the boys in separate shopping carts. Normally Amy takes the boys by herself but they are together in the stroller or in a jumbo shopping cart that seats two kids. So Saturday's separation from each other was quite a departure for them as Amy & I took the divide & conquer approach to shopping. For little Owen, the separation was too much as he continually shouted all over the store for his brother, "Gus!! Gus!!" I always knew what aisle they were on by following the calls for brother.

  
  

• Owen has entered the repeat phase where he starts to repeat everything he hears. This past weekend he made his parents accutely aware that they will have to watch the four-letter words that come out of their mouths. After I noticed a tick on my leg from working in the yard and uttered a quaint, little phrase, Owen responsed with "Oh chit" over and over. As a result, Amy & I should re-appear in public with the boys in 2012.

  
  

• In hoops news Florida repeated as national champions last night. I honestly have to wonder if Florida fans really realize the feat that their basketball program achieved last night by winning back-to-back national titles. That just doesn't happen too often, and I get the feeling Gator fans see it as a pleasant headline between spring football practice stories. Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart will make the pitch this week for Billy Donovan to leave the program he has built at Florida and lead UK. But my gut tells me Donovan will leverage the UK offer for a massive pay raise and stay in Florida. Barnhart is a smart and capable guy who will have his ducks in a row if this happens. My prediction: Be prepared for plan B (and C and D).

  
  

• Finally, I fixed the video of Gus going bananas over Amy's tongue and Owen taking swan dives in his crib. We checked the wrong box on YouTube, but it's fixed now.
  

Cheers!