Video update

I don't have the energy to write, Tim and I are still recovering from a VERY fun wedding this past weekend in Holland, MI. My first race is in 5 days so I've been waking up very early to put some miles in on my bike so I don't let my teammates down :) So, here are some random videos from the past week or so. I will be doing a formal update pretty soon as my boys are turning 11 months old tomorrow. I could cry!

Here is a video from our most recent hike at Lion's Den. We took a break half way through the hike to hang out by the lake and let Frodo go for a swim.

This video is during our hike. Little Miss Sofia is a bit like her dog Frodo and prefers to lead the group.

This is from two weeks ago. Everett was feeling awful all day and spent the entire day in my arms or in the Ergo. Finally I decided to bring the swing up from the basement. Surprisingly it worked, but mainly because he got so much attention from his big sister.

This is about 3 weeks ago, the boys were taking a bath with Tim so I took Sofia on a bike ride to the nature preserve by our house.

Last video for tonight, this one is from Memorial Day weekend at Sean's birthday party.

Teething ten month olds

The boys are teething, and man oh man are they TEETHING. They slept through the night for almost 6 nights and the last week has been absolutely awful. Tim and I had two pretty rough nights where we finally decided to split up and each take a twin. We really wish we had a fourth bedroom because I ended up in the living room with Sully and Tim worked with Everett in our bedroom. There isn't enough space for an adult sized bed in the boys' nursery. Last Friday I was teaching at Messmer and of course this was after the second of the roughest two nights, so I was absolutely exhausted. While I was teaching Tim drove the kids to his parent's house. We had planned the weekend as a painting/work weekend and Tim's parents offered to take the kids to make it easier on us. What perfect timing it was, Tim and I were able to get so much done and sleep through the night two nights in a row! Tim's poor parents were up constantly for the two nights they had the boys. We are SO grateful for their help. We painted our living room, dining room/kitchen, and the hallway. We also installed new lighting fixtures in the entryway and dining area of the kitchen. Slowly but surely this house is becoming completely updated. Tim and I went out to eat, went biking and worked our butts off to finish our projects before the kids got home. As nice as it was to sleep through the night, Tim and I both thought the house was way too quiet. I actually love all of the hustle and bustle in our house. I love the sounds of Sofia singing and dancing through the house and the boys crawl/chasing each other around or chasing the dog.

The weather continues to be amazing. I forgot how much I love Wisconsin summers, after 4 blazing hot summers in Memphis this weather is just perfect. We live less than a mile from Lake Michigan so we have the "lake effect". The lake effect gives us a warmer winter and cooler summer. By cooler I mean perfect. When it's 90 and humid everywhere else in the state we are a lovely 78. The only downside was that spring was a little cool. Temperatures vary from 5-15 degrees depending on the day and the wind. This weekend we are headed to the other side of Lake Michigan for Tim's cousin's wedding in Holland. I'm excited to catch up with the extended Ruders but also sad because kids aren't invited to the wedding. A lot of new Ruder babies were born in the last year so we were hoping to see them all together but it will have to wait for another time. My kids will enjoy spending extra time with my parents this weekend who are coming to our house while Tim and I are at the wedding. Hallelujah for having family close!

I've been really bad about taking pictures lately so I only have a few fun ones to share. I didn't grab my camera in time to catch a picture of Sully participating in one of Sofia's daily tea parties. Sullivan was actually invited to one this week, it was adorable. Everett is strictly forbidden from tea parties, he gets a little wild for Sofia's taste. Sully lasted about 5 minutes before he was asked to leave.

Spaghetti is a total hit with the boys

My sweet Sofia

Sully man!

Everett

Snuggles with Everett

Preparing a tea party for Pooh & Tigger after lunch (which is why her shirt is such a mess). Her brothers were NOT invited to this tea party.

Tumbling Tots

Today was Sofia's last day of Tumbling Tots. This was her first class on her own at the Y since the kids have to be 2 to do the non parent classes. I am SO glad she did this class. Her confidence has increased so much with trying different things at the playground and being in larger groups of kids. There were 7 kids in her class and it has been so much fun watching them all grow. The other parents and I sometimes spy on the kids from the upper area. Here is a picture of Sofia with her teacher right before we left. It's pretty blurry but I accidentally took a video the first time and after this picture the boys started protesting to leave.

Sofia and her instructor

This summer I signed Sofia up for "Movin' and Groovin'" which is a music/dance class. I have a feeling she is going to LOVE this class. The great part is that this class runs while I'm in Body Pump so we each get to have fun. The boys will go to Kid Watch like normal but they love climbing on all of the different toys and objects there.

 I am also excited that I got Sofia into the Cedarburg 1 & 2 year old story time. The Cedarburg Library story times are by reservation only because they like to keep the numbers small and the kids complete a craft every week and they need to have enough supplies for everyone. Yesterday at 10am registration opened and it normally fills up within about 10 minutes. I may or may not have called at 9:57 to secure a spot for Sofia ;) My only challenge will be bringing the boys. I'm hoping my Mom can come every now and then to help out since she will have the summer off. I want to keep Fridays for beach/pool days with Tim and the boys and I like keeping one day a week free so we can do whatever we feel like. So I'm trying to think about one more fun activity to sign Sofia up for. The boys are too young for any classes but they do have their own story time at the Port Washington library so we may count that as our last activity.

Our weekends are almost entirely booked with Tim's work, weddings, triathlons, our 10 year class reunions, and camping trips. This should prove to be a busy and fun summer!

Catching up...

The past few weekends/weeks have flown by. We have been very busy biking, hiking, planting and doing housework and yard work. I'm happy to say that our vegetable garden is pretty much complete! Some of our seedlings survived the transition but others didn't fare so well. Tim and I are to blame for most of the seedling fatalities as we forgot to bring them inside one night after we had them outside for a day adjusting to the temperature change/wind etc.  We also learned that starting our seedlings as early as we did may require us to transfer them to larger pots. Many of our seedlings ran out of space to grow. Here is a recent picture of the garden. In the actual raised bed garden we are growing bell peppers, green beans, three different types of tomatoes, lots of kale, jalapeño peppers, red tamales, cucumber, cilantro, and green beans. We planted strawberries and raspberries outside the garden because we were afraid they would take everything over. Last weekend I finished planting annuals in the boxes around our porch and we need one more perennial bush or plant to fill a space in the front. I really enjoy watering and tending the garden during nap time. If I can't get all three kids to nap at the same time I strap a baby in the Ergo or Sofia helps me water. She loves to spray Frodo. Here is a picture of our garden, I can't wait to see how it looks in a month or two. Tim built the garden using the plan from this article.

Our vegetable garden, Tim built the actual garden.

One of my garden helpers

This past weekend we traveled to Baraboo to visit Tim's parents and his Granddad. I forgot my camera because we were rushing to get all of the kids loaded and packed for the drive in time for nap time. The kids enjoyed hanging out with their grandparents and going for hikes at Devil's Lake. We didn't get a chance to take them out on the sailboat this weekend but I'm sure we will soon. Then we spent a day in Janesville for our friend's son's 3rd birthday party. Charles' Dad brought over new chicks from their hobby farm and the kids just loved playing with them. On Memorial Day we slept in, our at least did our version of sleeping in which is about 7am. Then we biked downtown with the kids for the Memorial Day parade and spent the rest of the day gardening and doing some spring cleaning and organizing. Here is a photo update from the past few weeks.

Sofia notices EVERYTHING on our hikes, including tiny little insects.

Skipping rocks into Lake Michigan with Granddad

Sully taking a nap during our hike

Everett and I

Getting ready for the parade, and yes, we fit all three of those chairs plus our kids into the trailer that Tim pulled.

Our family

Everett fell asleep on the way home and Sully was ready to get his helmet off.

My garden helper who only needs a 45 minute nap in the afternoon

Visiting Dad for lunch at Waubedonia Park

Sofia swinging with her Daddy

Sofia showing Everett how to pick up the chicks, Everett wasn't allowed to hold them for long though because he just loved them too much (aka squeezed them a little too hard)

Everett enjoyed chasing the chicks around

Spring/Summer Training

I have been pregnant or in between for the past 3 years. So this summer I am so excited to actually train a little more seriously. I did complete a half marathon between Sofia and the boys but I found out I was pregnant with them the day I ran my race so I haven't been able to do anything since. I'm the kind of person that is more productive with running/working out when I have something to train for. This summer I am training for a relay triathlon, a few fun runs and a sprint triathlon. I'm doing the High Cliff relay triathlon with some of my friends from MOPS in June. I'm part of the Ozaukee Multisport Club at the Y and they wanted us to all do the High Cliff tri as relays so we could get to know people from the club better. I really wanted to do the Elkhart Lake triathlon but that happens to be the same weekend as a wedding we are attending. In August I will be competing in the Port Washington City of Seven Hills triathlon. I'm contemplating doing another half marathon this fall. Anyways, it's been a lot of fun and exhausting training.

During the week I run regularly, bike, and I take a Body Pump class. All of these are a ton of fun and have allowed me precious time to either be alone with my thoughts (running) or make friends in our new town. I bike with a friend from my Body Pump class who also has a two year old and is training for her first half Ironman. We meet early and bike anywhere from 15-25 miles.  It's nice biking early with a friend because we really hold each other accountable and we can get home in time to allow everyone to get to work. I do miss biking with Tim though, that is simply one of our favorite activities to do together. We can do rides under 10 miles with the kids but we can't go at training speed or go out on country roads with them. Body Pump has been a phenomenal training tool for me. Our instructor is so motivational and the music is great and it really is an amazing workout. Body Pump is becoming very popular across the country, the only problem is that I have to work very hard to get out of the house on time to get a spot in the class, it fills up 15 minutes before it starts. Any moms out there who are looking for an awesome class should check out Body Pump. Lately I've been adding more pool time into my routine. Last night I attended a swim workshop to get my stroke analyzed and I'm so glad I went. I got some great tips to improve my swimming and make me more efficient in a triathlon.

I think it's really important to keep personal interests and hobbies when you have kids. It's easy to get lost in your kids and their needs. I am blessed with an amazing husband who makes sure that I get out on my own regularly and doesn't mind wrangling the kids by himself in the morning when I ride. I can't wait until my first race!

10 months old!

On Mother's Day the boys turned 10 months old. There are less than two months until their first birthday, wow! I tried two different photo shoots but the boys are becoming increasingly difficult to capture for their monthly photos because they really don't want to sit still on the couch. I always have to be ready to throw down the camera and catch not one but two babies.

At 10 months old the game is changing. Everett has been getting around well for a while now but he now has the official crawl down and is even climbing some things. Sully is able to crawl backwards and scoot around. Both of the boys can get to a sitting position from crawling. Both of the boys are standing against furniture and tables and Everett has started to take a few steps when he's holding onto his walker. The boys are also very interested in Sofia's toys and whatever she is playing with. After some practice Sofia has the "taking turns" idea down and is a great big sister and makes sure everyone takes turns. We have been outside a lot lately with the nice weather finally here for good. The boys start on a blanket when we are in the backyard but Everett always crawls away. We take a lot of walks and bike rides to the park. This month we had our last MOPS meeting for the year, I think you guys will really miss the ladies there. You were well loved throughout the year. I have no idea how much you guys weigh this month, I am pretty sure you guys are still quite a bit smaller than your sister was at this age.

Everett, at 10 months you are a wild man and the happiest baby I've ever had (out of the three). At one point (I think around 16 weeks) we never would've guessed that you would be the easy going, happy go lucky guy. If I take my eye off of you for a minute you disappear. I tend to find you behind furniture, inside the shelf of the coffee table, in the bathroom, closet, etc. I have started putting you in the pack and play if I have to use the bathroom because I don't want you to hurt yourself while I'm gone. I love watching you play, you are so intensely focused on whatever you are working on. You love to figure out how things work. Once you've figured something out you scan the room for something else to work on. You seem to have memorized the sound of a crayon dropping because when Sofia drops one you speed crawl over and try to eat it. You sing, coo, giggle and laugh constantly. You still love to try to hold Sully's hand while you eat and you try to climb out of your high chair to get to Sully. You can eat almost anything we eat now and have been sleeping through the night for the past four nights, yahoo!! This month you said your first word. We were eating lunch and everyone had apple slices. Sofia and I were chatting about the apples and then out of the blue you said, "Apple". I prompted you to say it again and you repeated it several times. I told your Dad and he said it was a fluke until he asked you to say it and you said it three more times. You said dog a few minutes after you said apple. Lately, you have been the first to wake from nap time and you and I spend time reading books and I usually kiss you about 100 times after you wake up, I just love listening to you giggle and squeal when I kiss you. Everett, you are such a sweet and fun little boy. I love having you in my life.

Sullivan, my little Sully bear. At 10 months you are still pretty chill but this month you decided that you would like to be perched on my hip or in the ERGO as much as possible. You are just one snuggly little guy. This month you've been a bit fussier, mainly because I think you are frustrated with crawling. You watch Everett work his way around the entire house and I know you want to do the same. You have definitely progressed with your crawling and I think you'll be catching up to Ev in no time. You love going for bike rides and hanging out in the swing with your brother. You are an expert eater, you have totally mastered the pincer grip and you eat anything and everything. When we go grocery shopping you sit in the child area of the cart and I usually give you a bagel to munch on and you just love to sit back, eat and observe the store. You are steady as a rock when you hold on to furniture and tables. Today when I went in your room to get you from your nap you were almost standing on the edge of your crib, it's time to lower them to the final notch. Sully, you just love to be cuddled, held, and talked to. I'm enjoying this stage a lot because I know once you are on the move my cuddle time will be shortened. I love how different your personality is from Sofia and Everett, you do things your way on your time. I also see you observing very small details in life, I have no doubt that you are going to be one very interesting little boy. I love you to pieces Sully bear!

Here are the pictures from our two photo shoots.

You think you're going to get both of us to sit still for a picture? Hahahah!

I LOVE these boys!

Escape artist #2

My teeny tiny baby boys are 10 months old.

And the boys decided they were done.

Changes

We are definitely experiencing some changes here in the Ruder household. First of all, the weather has started to get really nice again. We've been doing a lot of biking, playing outside, walks, and trips to the park. Starting last week I made the decision to really curb Sofia's pacifier use. She was really not using it much for a while and then all of a sudden I noticed she had it in constantly, and it really affects her speech. I sat down with Sofia and talked about how it was hard to understand her with her nuk in and that from now on she would only be able to use it for nap time and bed time. Of course she smiled and said ok because I'm sure she thought we'd cave. It's been a week and I've held strong, thankfully my five years of teaching has given me the ability to tune out whining pretty well. Sofia still talks about her nuk during the day but I remind her when we are going to use it (but only once) and then I ignore her if she continues to talk about it. I'm SO happy I won't have to deal with this issue with the boys, they have never used a pacifier.

The other big change we have noticed is that the honeymoon period between Sofia and her brothers seems to have ended. Now that they are very mobile she has realize that they can play with toys and her things. We have been working very hard on teaching the concept of "sharing", which I know is extremely hard for a young two year old to grasp. We try to encourage Sofia to offer her brothers a different toy if she wants the one that they are playing with. Besides toys, the love between the three of them continues to grow. Especially now that Everett is so vocal. Whenever he baby babbles Sofia laughs and repeats it back to him or says something else. Sofia also loves to describe what each of the boys are doing during the day. She gets very concerned when she wakes up from her nap and only sees one brother, she always asks about the other. Sofia also loves to give suggestions about what they should be doing (eating, play on floor, walk, etc).

Tim's mom was able to come visit for the day yesterday and boy was it nice. I was able to spend the morning on a date with Sofia. We went a toy shop in Cedarburg, we actually intended to go there for a story time but I got the time wrong. This happens to me a lot since having the twins. I swear my brain is only working at 70% right now. Sofia and I got coffee together and walked around town, it was so sweet. I love my dates with Sofia, I can't wait until we can go get pedicures together and other fun girly things. This morning Tim was home and the boys weren't feeling themselves so I got to take her to another event just the two of us. We went to Cedar Grove for a kid's dance party. A bunch of moms and kids get together once a month at a coffee shop with a big community room and a very energetic story-teller/singer/dancer comes to do a program with the kids. Sofia absolutely loved all the dancing and songs, I think she really enjoyed watching the older kids too.

My boys don't have a chance of being anything but tough. Sofia is actually hugging them in this picture :)