Stop this train!

A typical morning in the Ruder household

I can't believe how time is flying by. This weekend we were already wearing jeans and hooded sweatshirts/sweaters, my favorite kind of weather. My boys are already 2 months old, Sofia is 18 months old and Tim has a big birthday next week! Life right not is busy but sweet, Tim and I are constantly telling each other how lucky we feel to have these three amazing children in our lives. This weekend was exciting for several reasons. On Friday the boys had their hip ultrasounds and everything looked great, healthy hips and nothing to worry about. Sullivan has his heart check up at the end of the month. After the boys' appointment Tim's mom watched the kids so we could do some car shopping. We have been borrowing Tim's parents' minivan but now that things have settled down a bit we are ready to get a vehicle that can fit our entire family. We weren't able to fit three car seats in either of the cars we already had. We will hear more later this week about exactly which car we will get. Friday night was fun because Tim and I got to play our favorite dorky game, Settlers of Cataan, with my sister Kathleen and Tim's mom.

On Saturday a big group of us from my family and Tim's mom went to the Cedarburg Wine and Harvest Festival. It was a gorgeous fall day and Cedarburg is an adorable town about 8 miles from us. Tim's Aunt Pam and Julie were at the festival too and came to visit us at our new house on Saturday. It's amazing how much more we are able to see family now that we're in Wisconsin.

After all of our visitors and guests left Saturday night Tim and I had some time to relax and take a deep breath. We both feel like we are constantly on the go and rarely have time to just sit and relax. On Sunday morning we actually went back to Cedarburg so Tim could check out the festival, his work schedule is a bit strange and he has Fridays and Sundays off but has to work every Saturday. Just as we were leaving the festival it started to rain, perfect time to head inside and watch the Packers. After the game Tim took Sofia and Frodo for a walk and I had some time with my boys. Then Tim and I switched and I took Sofia to the grocery store to pick up a few odds and ends. I can't believe how grown up my sweet Sofia is. She actually pushed her own child size cart the entire time, it was adorable. Everyone at the store was watching her and smiling at her. She actually did pretty well, she followed me for the most part, the biggest problem was when it was time to put the cart away and leave the store. 

Sofia is becoming more and more of a little girl. Her vocabulary grows daily, and she still uses a few Spanish words from FLICC and the little bit that I speak to her in Spanish. She is very athletic for an 18 month old. She can run, climb, kick a ball and even throw a ball into a laundry basket. One of her loves in life is dancing/music. She sings from sun up to sun down (just like her Dad) and loves to dance, either by herself of with Tim and I. She is a very sweet and empathetic little girl. When either of her brothers starts to cry she says "uh oh" and grabs a bottle or blanket or runs over to hug and kiss them. It blows my mind that she does all of this completely unprompted. One of her other loves in life continues to be books. She spends a lot of time reading books on her own or to her brothers. She still loves to bring books to me and sit in my lap and read, I cherish these moments. Sofia was weighed at the boys' last appointment and hasn't gained any weight but she is continuing to grow taller. She looks less like a toddler and more and more like a little girl which is adorable but also makes me want to cry or just freeze time. 

2 months old! Sully on the left and Everett on the right.

The boys are already two months old. I gave their exact measurements in my last post so I will give you an update on other things. They have started to smile and giggle, we are all enjoying this. This past week Everett was laying in the play gym and Sofia was holding toys above him and he smiled at her and giggled. It was such a cool moment to observe between siblings. The boys are extremely strong and actually really seem to enjoy tummy time. The boys seem to switch personalities on a weekly basis.

Sullivan

Everett