Week of Independence

In what is becoming an Independence Day tradition for our crew, we were joined over the holiday week by grandparents as Pappy & GJ made their way down from Kentucky. As Amy is back to work full time, the July 4 weekend represented a busy quarter close time for her at work. So Pappy & GJ agreed to come down & help out with the kids. We all ended up having a tremendous time.

The hit of the week was the swimming pool. With the weather in the low 90's and moderate humidity -- by far the best July 4th weather we have had in our 12 years in North Carolina -- the pool became a destination on several days.

Owen is definitely a natural water bug. Even the life guards were laughing as they would talk about how excited he got as he winded himself up before jumping off the side into waiting arms.

Gus was slower to get comfortable with the water and getting his face wet. You can see the progression from the first day when his apprehension level was high to the last day when he was putting his whole head under water and holding his breath.

Little Tess was very mellow in the water. Amy, Pappy, GJ & I passed her around and around as we took turns catching the boys as they jumped off the side and she didn't mind a bit. Once I took her out to deeper water where I threw her up and caught her, she found the joy that is the swimming pool. She kept putting her fingers together which is her sign language for "more." Kids, swimming pools, and summer -- quite a combination.


Once Tess finally wore herself out from the sun & water, she found happiness in Mom's arms.


Another fun part of Independence Day week is Wimbledon. This year's tournament was terrific with a Williams sister final on the women's side and an incredible five-set match on the men's side between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick.

Amy & I even got out one night and dusted the old tennis racket off up at the neighborhood courts while the grandparents hung out with the kids. As much as I tried to safety pin Roger's talent to me, I just don't measure up.


After camping in Mt. Airy the boys brought back a taste for roasted marshmallows. So one night we gathered around the fire pit and made S'mores. Just when they thought it couldn't get any better than fluffy white sugar on a stick, the boys were thrilled as chocolate bars & graham crackers were added to the mix.

A sporting goods store close to us had a great sale on tents. So I picked up a 6-person tent and put it up in the backyard. Gus & Owen immediately wanted to sleep in the tent so after devouring some marshmallows the boys & I piled in for a good night's rest. Serta mattress not included this time.


Finally our last night together we borrowed a Raclette grill from our friends the Learys and cooked up a great dinner of bread, cheese, apple sausage, pepperoni, peppers, onions & potatoes. The boys -- excuse me, Batman and Robin -- were not impressed as they quickly begged for PB&J. Oh well, the adults and Tess enjoyed the heck out of it.

Cheers!

Spring Break

After helping the Crumpton crew with the arrival of Baby Sam, GJ made the trek back up to NC to hang out with our crew until the boys' birthday. This past week was Spring Break for the boys' preschool so the extra pair of helping hands came in very handy.

Spring is here in central North Carolina as temperatures have climbed up into the 70's. It has been the perfect weather for trips to the park, Easter egg hunts, and firing up the grill. At night the adults are all pretty tired, but we did manage to break out a game of Sequence for old time's sake last night.

Owen and Gus have spent their week playing hard and watching some movies. Wall-E is the current movie de jour, with Jungle Book, Lady & the Tramp, and 101 Dalmatians following those. (Television will never raise my childr.....nevermind.)

Tessa Lou is still not walking. It's funny because she took about 4 steps a few weeks back for Amy & me. She repeated the steps several times that day, and Amy & I were certain she was about to be walking all over the place. But since then she hasn't taken a step. Why walk when you can crawl at the speed of sound or be carried by Mom, Dad, GJ, or Miss Dorothy?

So we wait patiently for her to begin her upward mobility. If it were the boys who waited this long to walk we probably would have been worried. In fact I know we would have. But given that we have been through this with the boys, Amy & I just figure Tess will walk when she's good & ready. I think she will be like Owen was when he started walking and take 20-30 steps at a time as soon as she puts her mind to it.

What Tess lacks in upright movement she makes up for in being a ham and chatting. She has really picked up sign language (all done, more, milk, "I've been in this high chair for an hour and you better get me out in the next 5 seconds or this plate's flying"). She takes after Gus in the ham department as she loves to show off by putting something on her head or around her neck and then waiting for your reaction.

So while life for us can be tiring trying to keep up with it all, it is very, very rewarding.

Have a great Easter everyone.

Cheers.


Nothing like a spring picnic in the.....garage? Whatever works.



Little Easy Rider herself decides to bypass walking for the fun stuff.

GJ & Pappy East Coast Tour - Leg 1

Taking a few minutes to catch up on some posts as last week was a nonstop zoo and the next few days are likely to be dominated by the election....

We had a great time with GJ and Pappy on their east coast tour before they headed down to Charleston to see Corinne and crew. Gus had a surprisingly tough adjustment period the first week GJ was here. He resorted back to Terrible Two Gus and threw several tantrums. The fits culminated with Gus running away from Amy at a pumpkin patch nearly running out onto the highway. There was a long heart-to-heart with a certain 3 year-old that night. I think he was acting up because he was having trouble with the fact that GJ was spreading her attention across three kids instead of the two he was accustomed to. By the second week Gus (finally) snapped out of it.

Pappy joined GJ toward the end of the visit. Luckily for him (and his back) there was no earth moving involved this trip. Pappy did give my lawn mower a makeover which should get me another year out of the old clunker -- much obliged there!


The two "Edwards" -- Charles and Gus -- pause at the park where grandson shows grandfather how to captain a ship.


Chow time...


GJ captains the U.S.S. Tess.

Summer Vacation

Just a couple of weeks of summer left before the boys head back to preschool and life becomes a bit more organized. On one hand I think Amy and I are ready for school to start so we can get the boys back on more of a schedule. As a parent it is a challenge some days to keep the boys entertained during the morning so Amy can work. On the other hand children have a lifetime of schedules and routines ahead of them so we want them to enjoy their summer break as much as we can.

The Rutledge clan was fortunate to have GJ with us the past couple of weeks to help out with the kids and visit with us. She kept the boys busy with trips to the library, the swimming pool, Hopper's House (how great a place like this is for a kid), and lunch outings. GJ also gave Gus dancing lessons to silly songs as the two of them pranced around the house, stomping, dancing and singing. Like grandmother, like grandson.

Pappy joined GJ this past Friday before driving down to Charleston to see the Crumpton crew. As always we appreciate the helping hands & nuggets of parenting wisdom.

After company leaves the boys typically have a down day so Amy and I tried to line up a "nature walk" for Owen and Gus on the American Tobacco Trail to divert their attention. We loaded up a backpack for Gus and an insect net for Owen with the thought that the walking would wear them out and they would nap hard later that afternoon to catch up on sleep. The boys really enjoyed the walk, collecting leaves, pine cones and checking out spider webs. But neither of them really napped that afternoon so Amy & I were stuck with two high-strung kids while we were dragging tired. Funny how things don't go as we parents plan them no matter how hard we try!

Tess was just incredible on the walk. I strapped her into the Baby Bjorn, and she happily tagged along checking out all the trees and smiling at the people that walked by. The little girl didn't cry once. She continues to just amaze us with her mellow disposition -- she is certainly a content little child.

Finally on Friday night Amy & I treated ourselves to a night out as one of our favorite bands, Wilco, was playing over at the amphitheater in Cary. It was a gorgeous night under the pine trees next to the lake as the temperature dropped comfortably down into the 60's. We had seats under the pavillion 20 rows back so we had a terrific view of the stage. The band treated us to many of our favorites, including several songs off the early A.M and Being There albums. What a fun night -- it was good to hang out as husband and wife and take the night off from being mom and dad.

Many of the Wilco fans were in their 30's like Amy & me, and several brought their kids to the show with them. It was funny on the way out when Amy & I overheard a girl complaining to her boyfriend that "there were too many kids and babies at the show." We could not have disagreed more. For the parents with their children in tow, they were giving the kids an appreciation of good music and the great spirit among Wilco fans. I look forward to the day when we can pack up a blanket with our three and have our whole crew singing along!

Cheers!




Hot summer nights call for ice cream in the driveway. The boys' strategy was to see if they could get more ice cream in their mouths or more down the front of their clothes. Tess has to settle for a plastic chew toy. Your time is coming for ice cream, dear.


The slip n' slide -- another tried and true method of keeping cool on hot, humid North Carolina summer days.


The 8/8/08 show at Koka Booth.



"If I could you know I would just hold your hand and you'd understand...."

Reunion

The Rutledge clan was treated to a mini family reunion as our house was filled with family the weekend before the 4th. GJ and Pappy are in town for two weeks as they graciously offered to help us out with the boys while preschool is out for the summer. The Crumpton crew -- Aunt Mel ("sometimes I call her Aunt Mel, sometimes I call her Melanie"), Uncle Dude, and Corinne -- made the trek up from Charleston for a vehicle swap and a visit. So we all piled in for a weekend of festive fun and avoided bloody competitive battles of Scattergories at all costs.

The weather is muggy and hot here -- typical July in North Carolina. So on Saturday we put the swimsuits on the kids and ventured up to the neighborhood pool. It was only the second time this summer that we have taken the boys to the pool so there is a "re-initiation" of sorts that has to take place as they discover their courage to get off the pool steps. Corinne on the other hand was in true water bug form as she happily paraded around the pool with her dad and mom before the need for nap took over.

On Sunday we all ventured to Covenant where we kicked things off with an interesting conversation about South Carolina's new religious license plate offering. Then we followed that up with Tess's dedication, in which she managed being in front of a crowd much better than her hyper brothers.

Finally on Sunday night we invited our good friends John and Jeanne White over for a summer cookout. The Whites are originally from Glasgow and have settled in Cary to be closer to their kids and grandkids on the east coast. Amy & I met them at our church one Sunday and then made the connection that they knew Jane & C.E -- small world. John treated C.E. to a day at the links in Pinehurst on Saturday and was kind enough to bring his camera along for some family shots on Sunday.

The weekend was good to reconnect with family on one of those rare occasions where all the Rutledge grandkids were under one roof. We are all so busy with the demands and routines of our own lives so we appreciate these opportunities to spend the time together. Cheers!


Tess was all smiles as Rev. Joanne showed her off and dedicated her as the boys fidgeted at their mom and dad's feet.



The promise of watermelon on a summer afternoon was made in exchange for a sit-down photo where the kids are still for 5 seconds together.


Owen's favorite shirts are the ones that are two sizes too small that Mom & Dad still haven't removed from his closet. Today, he insisted on being Watermelon Diego.


Gus is a different character every day -- including workin' man, baby dog, mama dog, and motorcycle man. He announces his character de jour each morning and we follow suit. On this day he was "racing man" wearing his 5K running shirt.

"I just know you're going to give me some of that watermelon, GJ. Gimme, gimme, gimme."


Corinne's favorite spot of the weekend was undoubtedly the wagon. Top it off with Dad feeding watermelon to her while she's in the wagon and that's pretty much paradise to an 18-month old.

Knock on Zzz Wood

Amy & I have ourselves a sleeper. Tess has slept through the night about 6-7 hours the past three nights. Oh what a difference an unbroken night's sleep makes. While this certainly is not a guarantee that the 4 a.m. feeding won't return, it is a very encouraging sign. There are two grateful, fortunate parents who are very happy with this latest development from their two month-old.

This past week Owen & Gus have been out on spring break. Yes, preschools even have spring break for toddlers. I actually saw one of the boys' teachers over the weekend at Target, and even she was seriously looking forward to getting back into the school routine. We find that the boys really get out of sync when they are out of school for a prolonged period -- or maybe it's the parents whose world is turned upside-down. Either way....

Keeping the same theme of gratitude and good fortune, GJ has been in town for the past week to help keep the boys occupied. This has been a tremendous help as we have not been able to get the boys outside as much as we had hoped due to the welcome rain that has fallen on North Carolina over the past week. So having GJ here to interact with the boys has been great. And although we have not seen the sun in many days due to the rain, the rivers and lakes are finally returning to normal levels after a really serious drought here. Tomorrow GJ heads back to Kentucky to resume life in the Bluegrass, and life returns to normal here as the boys go back to school.

Championship basketball is on tonight with Memphis & Kansas vying for the NCAA title. Saturday's semifinals were surprisingly both blowouts. Hopefully tonight will be better. My soapbox moment of the day concerns CBS's coverage of the Final Four. First, CBS won't start the game tonight until 9:30 pm so the game will not likely be over until after midnight for those of us on the east coast. Second and more importantly, why in the world CBS continues to give the play-by-play & color every year to Jim Nantz and Billy Packer is beyond me. No one can suck the life, energy and fun out of one of the world's greatest sporting events quite like the second guessing of the biggest know-it-all curmudgeon Packer. Consider what the games would be like if CBS finally passed the torch to the incredibly exciting Gus Johnson.



Cheers!

Paternity Leave

The past week and a half I have been fortunate enough to have time off from work for paternity leave. (My hat is off to IBM for that great benefit extended to dads.) Being home with the boys, baby & Amy has given me a lot of quality family time and an appreciation for all the domestic things that go on behind the scenes to make house and family operate. At times the commotion and chores are an alarming harbinger of the days to come as Amy & I come to terms with our future with three kids under the age of three. But fortunately we have had a lot of help from family, friends and neighbors who offer help, meals, and an ear for listening. We will get into a routine sooner or later and adjust to this big (and awesome) life change.

Grandparents are always a welcome sight at the Rutledge household. Nana was here for a couple of weeks after Tess was born, and her help was much appreciated. GJ arrived this week to get some grandmother time with Gus, Owen and Tess which is fulfilling for her and a helpful reprieve for us.

Amy is hanging in there trying to catch as much sleep as she can between Tess's feedings. Tess gave us a break last night by going five hours between feedings. (I should say she gave Amy a break as Amy obviously bears the brunt of the sleepless nights.) We try to wake her up & feed her during the day to get that little belly full in hopes of stretching out those post-midnight feedings as long as possible. We just have to tough it out until she sleeps through the night.

Outside our four walls, our attention has turned to the political primaries. I cannot remember a more interesting, gripping political race in my lifetime than the Obama/Clinton race for the Democratic nomination. After 20 debates and several primaries and caucuses, "Crucial Tuesday" as it's being billed could decide the race if Obama can pull out wins in Texas and Ohio next week. And the excitement is not just limited to the Democrats. Personally I think the Republicans have nominated -- or at least are about to nominate -- a quality person with integrity in John McCain. The general election promises to engage tens of thousands of new people to the political process and should be engaging to watch play out. Now if I can just contain my overzealousness for Obama to get my wife to jump back off the Clinton wagon....

Don't look now. But if Kentucky can somehow upset mighty Tennessee on Sunday, they have the inside track on the SEC regular season championship. (BTW, I did a double take writing that sentence during basketball season instead of football season.) Who would have thought this would even be within reach after Gardener-Webb?

Here are some Paternity Week scenes from our household. Happy Leap Day -- cheers!

There's nothing like snuggling up next to Mom for a warm winter's nap.



GJ's shoulder proves not to be half bad either.



"I'm milking them folks. These people don't stand a chance against me."



Bat the eyes. Dad jumps. Got it.

Tess, Day Two

Tess's birth and first two days have been such a different experience for Amy and me than what we had with Owen & Gus. With the boys being premature the doctors and nurses swept them away in an incubator the second they were born. For the first two weeks of their lives Amy & I came to the hospital every day to visit the boys in the NICU. We scrubbed our hands clean, put on hospital gowns, sorted through the maze of wires that were attached to their bodies, and negotiated the beeping monitors in order to bond with Owen and Gus. So while we certainly formed a bond with the boys, it was much more of a process to endure than this time around. From the moment Tess was born and cleared for landing, the nurse handed her back to us and said, "Here's your daughter, congratulations."

The past two days for us have been wonderful because everything has stopped. Nana, Granddaddy, GJ and Pappy are all here to help take care of the boys -- and my how Amy & I are grateful to have the grandparents taking care of under-the-weather boys. Dealing with work and the sea of unread emails is a distant worry far out of our minds. The singular focus of the past two days has been parent and child. What a fantastic way to spend the day.


Amy B cradles her bundle.

Tess and Dad share a nap.

Nana and Granddaddy get a glimpse of their new granddaughter.

Tess is no match for GJ's shoulder...

...nor Pappy's.

Amy & I so wanted the boys to bond with their new sister that we braved their cruddy coughs for five minutes so they could meet Tess at the hospital. We were very glad we did as the boys gushed over her. Owen presented his baby jaguar -- as permanent a fixture to Owen as the blanket is to Linus -- to Tess to kiss her foot. And sweet little Gus -- who lately has turned into his Mom's little boy -- wanted nothing more than to hold his baby sister.

Ah, the times to come. Cheers!

Trick or Albuterol

The boys celebrated Halloween this week as Fire Chief Gus & Fire Chief Owen. The yellow firefighters quickly got the hang of "trick or treat" and happily opened their bags for candy. Amy & I took them up & down the street while GJ, Sayla and Tucker manned the door.


Owen was exceptionally excited about the brief rush of joy that a small piece of sugary candy provides.

He insisted on more, even robbing the candy bowl at his own house.

Unfortunately he also learned that what comes up -- like a two year old on a sugar high -- must come down.

Gus was not 100% himself on Halloween. He developed an awful cough and a fever on Monday and was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia on Tuesday. His fever (and contagiousness) was gone by Wednesday afternoon so he did get to go trick-or-treating to a couple of houses. Still he wore down and had to come back for treatment with his dinosaur inhaler. Hopefully next year will be better little fella.

Not wanting to be left out, Owen developed the same awful cough and had to go to the doctor on Friday. He didn't have pneumonia, but he is still on albuterol breathing treatments, antibiotics, and ibuprofen to nix the fever.

Let's just say it has been a long, confining week. Amy and I have been to the doctor on Monday (for her), Tuesday (Gus), Thursday (Gus), Friday (Owen), and Saturday (Gus). I am going to the doctor on Monday, as is Gus again. I think it is safe to say we are lucky to have GJ here visiting to help out around the infirmary.

GJ

Over the past three weeks we have been extremely fortunate to have Jane stay with us. She has been a tremendous help to us with the boys, the house, the dog, the pregnant mom, the stressed-out dad, you name it. The fact that Jane packed up her things and departed her life in Glasgow was a sacrifice on her part (and Pappy's part) that we truly appreciate.

The boys have really bonded with their GJ -- each morning the first question out of Gus's mouth is "Where Joo-Jay go?" When Mom spends time with the boys, the teacher in her comes out. She knows from years in experience with kids how to interact with them. Amy & I watch with keen interest and try to pick up some tips.

Owen and Gus -- especially our dear sweet roaring lion Gus -- are definitely two years old right now. I don't want to call it the "terrible twos" because there are times when this stage is really enjoyable. The boys are gaining their independence, learning how to articulate what they want, and piecing their thoughts together with longer sentences. They love to read, play with their trucks, and want to be more and more a part of what we are doing. With that development though comes more challenges obviously. There have been a lot of tantrums lately -- getting out of the car, going upstairs for baths & bedtime, just in general when they don't want to do what we want them to do. So having GJ here to both help deflect some of the stress and to help Amy and me to deal with it has been a tremendous help.

When Mom tells her son and daughter-in-law that we need to get control of our two year-olds now before it is too late because the kids are starting to run the house, we listen. And she is absolutely right. As Amy & I have been trying to take as much off of Amy's plate as possible with these early contractions, it was becoming a challenge to maintain order in our house. We were letting some tantrums go that we should have been addressing and nipping in the bud. That parental wisdom that can only be gained from experience is very helpful at times like this.

Finally, even Tucker has been a happier dog with GJ here. No longer does Tucker snuggle up in Mom & Dad's bed -- oh no. A habitual early morning walker, GJ now has the dog's loyalty as she takes him on neighborhood laps and fills his bowl. Tucker will have to go back to being walked once a day -- heaven forbid -- when GJ goes back to Kentucky on Sunday.

So a tip of the glass to Grandmother Jane. We thank you for all your help, advice, and shared wisdom. Cheers!