Busy Days...

I can't believe I've neglected our blog for so long. But I have a good excuse, we've been traveling and living life to the fullest lately which means we are way to busy for blogging :) We also found out that we are expecting TWIN BOYS to join our family late this summer! The weekend of Sofia's birthday we welcomed Tim's parents into town for her birthday party. It was a small group because SCO's spring break started the day before her party and most of our friends left town. Even though it was a small group for the party, I think it worked out well because she didn't have any stranger anxiety and we had an excellent first birthday party. I decided to plan her party around the book "The Very Hungry  Caterpillar". This is the book that Tim read to Sofia almost every day while she was in my belly. We still read it all the time now, Sofia loves flipping through the pages. The theme was also appropriate because we have a very hungry caterpillar on our hands, our sweetie is in the upper 90th percentiles for both height and weight. We have one healthy little girl! We were blessed with beautiful weather for her party and here are some of the highlights from the weekend.

Most of the food from the story...notice we are missing one plum (there is an avocado in it's place) You can ask Tim's mom about the missing plum :)

The caterpillar cake! I found some designs online and I was quite proud of the final product. I am not a very artistic person and I was very pleased with how the cake turned out.

Family picture, you may even be able to see my baby bump...

Sofia was fascinated by her cake, Tim brought her close to blow out the candles and she actually stuck her hand in the flame. Thankfully, no injuries were suffered.

First taste of sugar and frosting.

She had a lot of fun digging in the cake but ate very little of the actual cake. 

A few days after Sofia's party we took a family trip to Florida. With the boys on the way we wanted to have a special family trip with Sofia before things get wild. With such a busy year we all needed some fun, sun and relaxation on the beach. We were lucky enough to be able to stay with Tim's Aunt Peg and Uncle Russ who spoiled us all rotten. We even got to spend a few days with Tim's cousins who came in from Orlando to see us and let all of our kids spend time together. I think Sofia was meant to live in a warm climate on the ocean. She absolutely loved the beach. She just sat in the sand, sometimes in the shallow water and played with a bucket and shovel. She was as happy as can be splashing around in the water. Here are some pictures from the trip, actually a lot of pictures. It's hard to choose when there are so many from a great trip.

Sofia loved being able to swing in the sun. This swing was tied to a very high tree which made it a ton of fun for Sofia. I think she is definitely a little thrill-seeker like her parents.

I love this picture, Tim is giving Sofia a pep talk to walk into the pool. She hadn't been swimming since September.

As soon as she got in she was all smiles, Sofia LOVES swimming, bath time, anything associated with water.

LOVE them!

Wading in the water.

Tim built a sand castle and put Sofia in the middle. She was not pleased and quickly broke out.

This was one of those vacations where I get so caught up taking pictures I hardly get any pictures with me in them, here is one Tim took from one of our days at the beach.

Our happy girl playing in the water.

Family picture

Is there anything cuter than baby thighs/legs? I love her determined look while she walks.

 Finally, a few days after we returned home from Florida we left for Baton Rouge, LA. My sweet husband was an angel and drove from 3am-7am while I slept and I drove the rest of the way. We didn't want to spend money on a hotel the night before the conference and driving at this time of day works best for Sofia. Baton Rouge was hosting the 2011 SCOLT Conference for foreign language teachers and I presented at the conference. We made a quick stop in Baton Rouge so I could present and then we decided to spend a night in New Orleans since we were so close and have never been there before and have no plans to return to that area of the country. We enjoyed waking around the French Quarter, Bourbon Street and along the water. The city was nice and definitely had some great food.

About to enjoy some beignets at the fabulous Cafe DuMonde

So good that we came back for more...the same day :)

Beignets make a pregnant lady very happy.

Sofia in the BOB while we walked through the city.

Reading books in the hotel room after a long, busy day.

12 months of Sofia Lorraine Ruder

We tried our best to take monthly photos of Sofia in the same position with her teddy bear and a sign. This became increasingly difficult as she got older and wanted to eat and rip the sign. We also forgot to bring her teddy bear up to Wisconsin for Christmas so that's why one picture is so different. Enjoy the progression!

A few minutes old.

One month old.

Two months old

3 months old

4 months old

5 months old

6 months old

7 months old

8 months old

9 months old

10 months old (in Wisconsin without the teddy bear)

11 months old

12 months old and can't sit still for more than 5 seconds :)

She has definitely outgrown the teddy bear!

Happy Birthday Sofia Lorraine!

What a wonderful weekend! Tim's parents arrived around 3am Friday to spend the day with Sofia. I planned to come home straight after work but I was having some odd pain during the day and after talking to the doctor they asked me to come in and make sure everything was ok. They did an ultrasound to check on the babies and thankfully everything was fine, there is just one little issue with one of the baby's placentas that will hopefully correct itself. We also found out that the twins are both boys!! Tim and I were shocked but so excited. We were expecting a boy and a girl or two girls. Two boys will be awesome, I always wanted a brother and I'm very excited to have sons. Tim and I both agreed we are so happy we have our sweet Sofia since our house will now be outnumbered with boys and there is just something so special about girls. I'm sure we will find the same thing to be true with boys but we love our sweet girl. We went out to Central BBQ for some Memphis bbq to celebrate the good news and having family in town. I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

Saturday was Sofia's official birthday. We started out the day with a gorgeous hike out at Meeman Shelby State Park. Tim's mother and I baked Sofia's cakes the night before but still needed to decorate them. Sofia's birthday theme was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". We used to read this book to her almost every night when I was pregnant with her and we still read it a lot now. Sofia's cake was the caterpillar and we had almost all of the food the caterpillar ate during the story. The party was very small since the SCO spring break began the day before and most of our friends were out of town and my family was unable to make the drive. Sofia definitely enjoyed herself. Grandpa Jim blew up a ton of balloons for her to play in and she received some awesome gifts from her grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, and Tim and I. She opened one gift but wasn't really interested in the others, she was glued to the puzzle I ordered her from the Melissa & Doug toystore, I love that company! She received a few more Melissa & Doug toys from other family, lots of books (Sofia loves to read and actually has quite a long attention span while reading or being read to), a neat chair, a rocking chair that Tim sanded, stained and is personalizing for her, and some awesome dining wear. She is a lucky girl! After her party we chatted with Uncle Christopher on Skype (he's currently in Alaska) and then we soaked up the last hour of sunlight playing at the park. Sofia was laughing and smiling the entire day and was completely exhausted by bedtime. Sunday morning I was snuggling with Sofia and noticed two more teeth poking through, Tim and I were amazed she was in such good spirits all weekend while she was cutting two teeth.

Here are some pictures from the day:

Reading one of her favorite books with Grandpa Jim

Sofia's birthday cake and the caterpillar's food

Fun with balloons

Totally obsessed with the puzzle.

Sofia's rocking chair to match the one Tim had when he was her age.

The whole family (plus the twin boys :))

Checking out her cake and candles

Blowing out the candles, she actually grabbed the flame at one point.

She definitely enjoyed her first cake experience.

Bath time!

To my sweet Sofia:
Sofia, I can hardly believe you have been with us for a year already. I will never forget the day you were born and I felt a new kind of love for the first time in my life. You are such an amazing little girl. Your Dad and I love your adventurous spirit, sense of humor, and sweet loving ways. You love to be read to, danced with, and chased around the house. You have brought so much joy to my life. It's amazing how much you've already done in your first year. You flew to Mexico with me and traveled around the ruins of Teotihuacan (you were in my belly), flew to San Diego with your Dad and I (another trip while I was pregnant) and once you were born you went camping in the Smoky Mountains, visited the Outer Banks and swam in the ocean, traveled to Wisconsin, Arkansas, and all the states in between, jogged all around the city while I trained for my half marathon, and you've experienced some of the best restaurants in Memphis and Wisconsin. I love your smile and the look you get in your eyes when we dance or play a game together. I love the moments when you are tired and you hug me while I hold you tightly. I love your laugh and how excited you get when you hear the bath water running. I could go on and on, there isn't much you do that I don't love. You are a very special little girl and I can't wait to see what the next year of life brings for you. Your Dad and I will be there to support you along the way and guide you in your adventures as a one year old. You aren't aware of it yet, but there are two more people who already love you very much, your little brothers. I think you are going to be a great big sister and I can't wait for you to meet your brothers.

4 days away!

I can't believe my sweet baby girl is going to be a year old in just four days. The last year has absolutely flown by. Tonight I'd like to remember the beautiful day in which Sofia Lorraine entered this world.

After weeks of little to no progress and other factors, my doctor scheduled me for an induction. Tim and I were like little kids before Christmas in the days leading up, nervous but so excited to meet our sweet baby girl. We were also quite busy trying to unpack and make the new apartment feel like home. We sold our house in January and moved into an apartment two weeks before Sofia was born. I even worked the day before she was born. I wanted to save every possible day for my maternity leave.

We left for Germantown Methodist Hospital at 5:15am on February 26th, 2010. It was a cool morning but I didn't really need a coat, you've got to love February in Memphis. Germantown Methodist opened a brand new part of their hospital two weeks earlier so we were among some of the first patients in the brand new wing. We were pre-registered so within a matter of minutes I was in a really nice room being hooked up to monitors and pitocin. I had mixed feelings about inducing and pitocin prior to birth but after hours of discussion and debating Tim and I decided to go with our doctor's recommendation and what we felt was right. I was already having mild contractions before the pit began but things sped up slowly with pitocin. Tim kept telling me to sleep but I was way too excited. Between contractions I spent the morning working on graduate school homework, playing cribbage and Carcassone with Tim, and watching some of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Tim spent a lot of time reviewing for Part I of his optometry board exams. He is also the kind of guy who can sleep anytime/anywhere so he definitely took advantage of the opportunity to get some rest.

I was still progressing very slowly around 1:30pm so my doctor broke my water. It was a strange feeling but it also really increased the intensity of my contractions (along with the pitocin). About an hour after my water was broken I had my epidural put in. I felt much more relaxed after that. Tim sent update emails to some of our friends and family every few hours so we were constantly receiving text messages and emails checking in on us. It was a little sad that we didn't have any family close enough to come to the hospital but God has blessed us with an amazing set of friends in Memphis. Two of those friends (who are practically family to us) are Sam and Lea Winston. I could write an entire blog post on our friendship with them. Sam and Lea were also extremely excited about Baby Ruder throughout the entire pregnancy and joined us around 5pm in the hospital to visit and check in and bring some dinner for Tim. We actually were able to play a few games of euchre before a nurse asked to check me. This was one of several checks throughout the day and things had been moving so slowly that I wasn't expecting much of a change. To our surprise, she said I was ready to go.

My doctor had been called away to another hospital for an emergency c-section so for the first hour we had the attending physician who was awesome. Germantown Methodist was an outstanding hospital to deliver in, all of the nurses, doctors and staff were so friendly and helpful. I started pushing around 7:30pm. After 2 hours of pushing, at exactly 9:38pm, Sofia was born and I heard the most beautiful, sweet, strong cry. She was immediately placed on my chest in what can only be described as the best moment of my life. I would say love at first sight but my love for her began long before the day she was born. I will never forget the first time our eyes met and we just stared at one another. Tim was right next to me sharing in this moment and in absolute awe of our daughter. The rest of the medical staff in the room seemed to disappear as the three of us just stared at each other and whispered sweet "I love yous". After about 5 minutes they took Sofia to weigh her and measure her. She was a very healthy baby weighing in at 8lbs 3oz and 20.75 inches long. I had two tears, one first degree and one second degree that needed to be stitched so Tim was able to hold his daughter for the first time and keep her close to me. Honestly this part was probably the most painful of the whole surgery, especially because I had to wait about 25 minutes to hold her again.

When everything with me was repaired I was able to try nursing Sofia. Nursing definitely was not easy at first but our nurse was so helpful and the next morning I was able to meet with a lactation consultant who really helped Sofia and I figure things out. Tim and I were moved to a recovery room and our friends Sam and Lea brought us dinner, it was now around midnight so the hospital cafeteria was closed as well as most restaurants but I hadn't eaten anything since 7pm the night before so I was starving. We had a really nice and big recovery room so Tim was actually able to sleep on a full bed. We had Sofia room in with us during our hospital stay, the only time she left us was for her bath and nursery evaluation. The first night was exhausting but beautiful. I was so tired after 13 hours of labor but I just couldn't take my eyes off of Sofia. I finally was able to rest for a few hours but I woke up every 2-3 hours to try to nurse Sofia. We spent Saturday trying to squeeze in a few naps while Sofia was napping but it's just so hard to sleep with a beautiful newborn in your arms to stare at. We also welcomed many friends who came to meet our sweet girl.

We took Sofia home Sunday afternoon. I can't even explain the feelings I had taking her home, I was so extremely protective of her, I still am but now but I'm a bit more reasonable :) The day we took her home I felt as if the roads should be cleared just so we could safely drive home with our precious bundle. I think part of the feeling also stems from my experiences with the horrible drivers of Memphis who have no regard for the speed limit and apparently aren't aware that most people use a turn signal when they are about to change lanes. Anyways, we arrived safely at home and settled in. For the next few weeks we welcome many friends and family in to meet Sofia. Many of our friends were amazing enough to make sure we had hot meals every day. Thanks especially to the Winstons! I'm sure this was more than anyone wanted to read but it's nice for me to reflect and remember this amazing day. Below are some pictures from the day.

Just a few minutes old.

Our first family photo.

Tim and Sofia with Dr. Carney

Our sweet girl.

Sofia and I spent a lot of time doing this for the first few months of her life.

I am so proud and grateful to be Sofia's mother.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tim and I officially celebrated Valentine's Day on Friday but today was just as sweet. I'll be the first to admit that the next few paragraphs will be very sentimental and a tad bit corny I'm sure. First off, a topic you're not supposed to really supposed to talk about but hey, this is my blog and I need to vent. Sometimes it gets a little tough with Tim being in optometry school for the past four years and trying to survive on my salary plus Tim's student loans. Tim goes to school with a lot of very fortunate people who have houses paid for by their parents, nice cars, tuition paid for, no undergrad loans, and parents who will pay for just about anything/everything. This year has been especially hard for us with the cost of all of Tim's board exams and paying for Sofia's childcare which was an area where we were not willing to settle for something cheap that we didn't feel comfortable with.

With me being the bill payer and what Tim calls his "sugar mama" for the past few years I have to admit I sometimes find myself wondering why everyone else seems to have it so much easier. Tim and I struggle to make car payments on the cheapest car Toyota makes and when we bought a second car last May so we could both get to our jobs, we bought a 12 year old used car  :) It's stressful to think about how much we will be paying in loans each month for the next 10-25 years for both of our undergraduate degrees, my Master's degree, and the biggest ticket item of all, Tim's four years of optometry school. We hope that all of this money, hard work and sacrifice will lead to Tim getting a good job that he enjoys and hopefully one day a better future for our kids. My point is that it's really easy for me to let myself become consumed in fear and worry about our situation but this morning I had a nice little reminder to be thankful for what I do have. I have a handsome, loving husband who is an incredible father. We are both blessed with a healthy, sweet, adventurous and happy little girl who is the light of our lives. To quote one of my favorite sappy songs that is sort of an anthem for Tim and I, "Even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with you honey". We will probably be broke for a long time with all of our school loans but we have enough to get by.

I woke up this morning to kisses from my husband and daughter before enjoying the morning chaos of trying to get three people and a dog ready to go before 7:00am. I couldn't wait to pick Sofia up after school today. I absolutely love picking her up. As soon as I walk in she gets the biggest smile on her face and then speed crawls over to me to give me a hug. Today she even had a Valentine and balloon for me. The balloon provided a lot of entertainment tonight. We picked up a very romantic pizza dinner that I had an old "Groupon" for and went home. For memory's sake I ordered one of the only pizzas my husband and I could ever agree on when we first started dating. He isn't a big fan of veggies and I love vegetables, olives and strange cheeses. So in college and after we would usually settle on a Hawaiian style pizza. Ironically we don't actually order it much anymore because we usually get pizza with other people who will generally split veggie/meat pizzas so both Tim and I can get our fix of what we like. The pizza definitely brought a smile to Tim's face. This was probably one of the most low-key Valentine's days we've ever had but one of the best. I love nothing more than eating dinner with my family which usually includes lots of laughs from Sofia, crazy bath time, and then winding down with some cuddling and reading books to our daughter. Tonight, Tim and I will play Carcassone (a game we love) and probably cribbage. We are both extremely competitive and have been playing those games for years. To some people our life may seem boring, but I feel pretty darn lucky.