It's hard to believe we are already twenty weeks into my pregnancy. I'm over half way done since we are having twins. I haven't blogged a lot about it partly because I'm superstitious and I like to wait a long time before mentioning such a major thing in public, but mainly we have just been very busy and Sofia tends to be on my mind a lot. So let me rewind a bit. Tim and I always wanted our kids to be close in age, he and his brothers are all about 18 months apart and they are all still close to this day. My sisters and I are further apart but we are still close, just in a different way. We also like the idea of Sofia having people to play with and learn to share with all the time. Finally, we figure we'll have a few hard years with diapers and whatnot but then we can be done with diapers and move on. I actually found out I was pregnant the day I was running the St. Jude half marathon. I thought about not running but I was in great shape and running regularly so I knew everything would be fine. I actually didn't tell Tim right away, I wanted to surprise him. Initially I was thinking of waiting until Christmas but I wanted to be able to have a private moment together so I just gave him his Christmas present early and put a positive pregnancy test on a card for him. Tim was thrilled!
We had our first ultrasound right before we left for Christmas in Wisconsin and all three of us went to the big show. We were shocked to discover that we were expecting twins. A few weeks ago we found out that the twins are both boys! We were very surprised by this, we were expecting a boy and a girl or two girls. We are excited to welcome boys into our family and I know Sofia will be a great big sister. I also know that there will probably be a tough adjustment period for her. Along with twins on the way, we are planning to move back home to Wisconsin at the end of May. We are so excited to be closer to family and old friends. I can't tell you how much I'm going to miss our Memphis friends and little things we have come to love in this city. It's hard to believe we have less than two months left in this city.
The twins official due date is August 13th but that is based on 40 weeks gestation, our doctor thinks we will likely deliver before or at 38 weeks. This brings me to the things that have been stressing me out lately. Tim is flying home next week to interview for some different jobs (he currently has 6 interviews in 2 days, he will be one busy boy), none of the jobs are in the same cities as our families but being in the same state will be better than the 11 hour drive we currently have. So we will have to pack up and move when I am 29 weeks pregnant. We plan to live with Tim's parents while we wait for Tim's licensing to go through. Then we will move wherever Tim takes a job. It's a bit stressful to not know where I'm going to deliver, who will be my doctor, and where we will be living. We don't have the means to buy a house and trying to rent in July or August may prove to be difficult since many of the jobs are in our old college town and housing is snapped up early before school starts. I also am excited to stay that I will finally be able to live my dream of staying at home. It was so hard for me to go back to work when Sofia was born. Luckily we had a lot of help and she didn't have to go to daycare until she was 5 months old. I am excited to stay at home but also nervous about taking care of three children under the age of two. One of my great friends reminded me today that if God wouldn't have given me these children if He didn't think I could handle it. I know I need to just let go and trust that things will work out. I'm excited to see what God has in store for our family.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Big Decisions!
Another week has flown by. Sofia is completely back to herself and just a ton of fun. She learns and changes so much every day! Tim has been very busy working late, coming home to play with Sofia and then he spends his evenings studying for boards and working on emails, etc with prospective jobs. All of his hard work has paid off and he is flying up to Wisconsin in a few weeks for 5 interviews in two days, and one more interview will possibly be added to the list. Not only does he have a lot of interviews, but they are all over the state so he is going to be a very busy guy. One of the job prospects we are considering is in a very small town that is a bit of an oasis in the middle of nowhere, Viroqua. The community is home to largest number of organic farmers in the country, and the company Organic Valley. This is all well and good but I'm not basing my city choice on organic food, it's just a bonus. They have an amazing Waldorf school (with all the drama with public schools Tim and I are strongly considering Waldorf schools for our kids). Tim makes fun of me for looking into schools so early but I've always been one to be prepared. Looking over the materials for Waldorf Schools makes me wish I would've had the opportunity to attend a Waldorf School. The community in this small town seems to have everything we value, a nice food co-op, great restaurants, entertainment, and full of people who care about the environment, raising their families and living as an actual community. The city is in the region of Wisconsin know as the Driftless Area. The city is also part of the 8,000 acre Kickapoo reserve which is a favorite destination for hikers, bikers, kayakers, and fisherman drawn to the legendary trout-fishing in the area. I grew up in a town of about 64,000 so it's exciting and scary for me to consider living in a town of 4,400. Tim grew up in a town of 5,000 so it's not a big change for him. We see this as an opportunity to slow down, unplug, and raise our family in a beautiful and safe community. Housing is cheaper and we could become a one car family again. With all of the school loans from optometry school this could be a very good thing!
We are also considering a few bigger cities and our college town, La Crosse! Honestly, our biggest fear about moving home is putting up with Wisconsin winters after being in Tennessee for the past four years. We were and still are slightly considering some options in Colorado but with the twin boys on the way Tim and I agree that we are going to need some family support/help and moving to a town 20 hours away from our parents where we don't know anyone may not be the smartest idea. Anyways, we have been talking and praying about the decision and we'll see where Tim's interviews put us. I wish I could go with him to check everything out!
Alright, time to wrap this post up. Tim and I use our REI credit card to pay for gas and utilities and we earned enough of a rebate to buy a bike trailer so we are going to go try it out today on the beautiful Shelby Farms green line!!
We are also considering a few bigger cities and our college town, La Crosse! Honestly, our biggest fear about moving home is putting up with Wisconsin winters after being in Tennessee for the past four years. We were and still are slightly considering some options in Colorado but with the twin boys on the way Tim and I agree that we are going to need some family support/help and moving to a town 20 hours away from our parents where we don't know anyone may not be the smartest idea. Anyways, we have been talking and praying about the decision and we'll see where Tim's interviews put us. I wish I could go with him to check everything out!
Alright, time to wrap this post up. Tim and I use our REI credit card to pay for gas and utilities and we earned enough of a rebate to buy a bike trailer so we are going to go try it out today on the beautiful Shelby Farms green line!!
Monday, March 21, 2011
We live for the weekend!
Tim and I have always been people who work hard and play hard. I'm happy to say that our lifestyle hasn't changed all that much with Sofia in the picture, she just joins us on our adventures. The biggest difference is that we try to be home by 7 from wherever we are to get her to bed. This weekend was great, we enjoyed seeing the Wisconsin Badgers advance in the NCAA tournament and lots of time with friends and lots of time outside in the gorgeous weather!
Tim had mock boards Saturday morning so we stayed in and watched a movie Friday night. Mock boards were a chance for Tim to be evaluated on his clinical skills before he actually takes part III of boards. After mock boards Sofia and I picked Tim up and went straight to the Memphis Botanical Gardens for Sofia's one year pictures. I bought a Groupon for a photo shoot deal with a local photographer. I can't wait to see how the pictures turn out. Then we went home for a quick nap for Sofia. We spent our afternoon brewing beer with friends. A few weeks ago Tim and some friends brewed a Wit beer (similar to Blue Moon) and this weekend we helped our friend Dave use his new kit to brew a Bock beer. As soon as we got home we did a little bit of speed cleaning because our dear friend Grace was spending the night. She was on her way home to Nashville from Texas and is also pregnant so she needed to rest for a bit. We're glad she gave us a call, it was so nice to catch up. We became good friends with her and her husband Cody during our first year of living in Memphis. We had some great times watching Packer games, playing cards and of course the unforgettable experience of Sunset Symphony which is a story in itself. We are so excited to meet Spriglett (their baby)! We took Grace to YoLo and planned to pick up pizzas to take home. With my pregnancy half brain I called the wrong location of Memphis Pizza Cafe so we ended up ordering from a place near our house. I still feel bad that we didn't eat until almost 8:30 because of my goof.
On Sunday Sofia woke up with a nasty diaper rash so we decided to skip church and let her roam diaper free to try to heal her rash. We were expecting to be cleaning up a lot of accidents but Sofia always seemed to pee in very cleanable locations. We did have to put a diaper on her for a little while when we went for a hike in Meeman Shelby State Park. After our hike we were all exhausted and spent the night grilling out, reading books, and gave Sofia her second bath of the day to try to heal her rash.
Tim had mock boards Saturday morning so we stayed in and watched a movie Friday night. Mock boards were a chance for Tim to be evaluated on his clinical skills before he actually takes part III of boards. After mock boards Sofia and I picked Tim up and went straight to the Memphis Botanical Gardens for Sofia's one year pictures. I bought a Groupon for a photo shoot deal with a local photographer. I can't wait to see how the pictures turn out. Then we went home for a quick nap for Sofia. We spent our afternoon brewing beer with friends. A few weeks ago Tim and some friends brewed a Wit beer (similar to Blue Moon) and this weekend we helped our friend Dave use his new kit to brew a Bock beer. As soon as we got home we did a little bit of speed cleaning because our dear friend Grace was spending the night. She was on her way home to Nashville from Texas and is also pregnant so she needed to rest for a bit. We're glad she gave us a call, it was so nice to catch up. We became good friends with her and her husband Cody during our first year of living in Memphis. We had some great times watching Packer games, playing cards and of course the unforgettable experience of Sunset Symphony which is a story in itself. We are so excited to meet Spriglett (their baby)! We took Grace to YoLo and planned to pick up pizzas to take home. With my pregnancy half brain I called the wrong location of Memphis Pizza Cafe so we ended up ordering from a place near our house. I still feel bad that we didn't eat until almost 8:30 because of my goof.
On Sunday Sofia woke up with a nasty diaper rash so we decided to skip church and let her roam diaper free to try to heal her rash. We were expecting to be cleaning up a lot of accidents but Sofia always seemed to pee in very cleanable locations. We did have to put a diaper on her for a little while when we went for a hike in Meeman Shelby State Park. After our hike we were all exhausted and spent the night grilling out, reading books, and gave Sofia her second bath of the day to try to heal her rash.
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| Sofia seemed to really enjoy spending the day diaper free. |
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| Somebody stole Dad's hat! |
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| Yes, those are rosy cheeks in March. It was about 80 degrees when we went hiking. |
Friday, March 18, 2011
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.
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.
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.
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| 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 :) |
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| 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. |
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| Family picture, you may even be able to see my baby bump... |
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| 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. |
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| First taste of sugar and frosting. |
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| She had a lot of fun digging in the cake but ate very little of the actual cake. |
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| 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. |
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| I love this picture, Tim is giving Sofia a pep talk to walk into the pool. She hadn't been swimming since September. |
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| As soon as she got in she was all smiles, Sofia LOVES swimming, bath time, anything associated with water. |
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| LOVE them! |
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| Wading in the water. |
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| Tim built a sand castle and put Sofia in the middle. She was not pleased and quickly broke out. |
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| 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. |
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| Our happy girl playing in the water. |
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| Family picture |
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| Is there anything cuter than baby thighs/legs? I love her determined look while she walks. |
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| About to enjoy some beignets at the fabulous Cafe DuMonde |
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| So good that we came back for more...the same day :) |
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| Beignets make a pregnant lady very happy. |
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| Sofia in the BOB while we walked through the city. |
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| Reading books in the hotel room after a long, busy day. |
Monday, February 28, 2011
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!
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| A few minutes old. |
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| One month old. |
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| Two months old |
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| 3 months old |
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| 4 months old |
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| 5 months old |
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| 6 months old |
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| 7 months old |
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| 8 months old |
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| 9 months old |
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| 10 months old (in Wisconsin without the teddy bear) |
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| 11 months old |
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| 12 months old and can't sit still for more than 5 seconds :) |
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| 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:
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.
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:
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| Reading one of her favorite books with Grandpa Jim |
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| Sofia's birthday cake and the caterpillar's food |
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| Fun with balloons |
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| Totally obsessed with the puzzle. |
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| Sofia's rocking chair to match the one Tim had when he was her age. |
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| The whole family (plus the twin boys :)) |
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| Checking out her cake and candles |
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| Blowing out the candles, she actually grabbed the flame at one point. |
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| She definitely enjoyed her first cake experience. |
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| 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.
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