Friday, April 11, 2008

Best Friends

It is so fun to watch as Cameron enjoys Brooklyn more and more. She will always smile for her big brother, and he never stops trying to make her smile and laugh! He is always asking to hold her, or telling me where to put her so he can play with her. I know one day they will start to fight, but I hope they will also stay good friends! I have captured some fun pictures of the two of them together lately...

The other day Cameron asked me to sit Brooklyn in the chair and he got some books to "read" to her. Look how interested she is! :) The best part was that he was reading her his "Potty Time" book - it's good to get an early start, right?

We usually put Brooklyn in her little bath, but a few nights ago Cameron asked if Brooklyn could take a bath with him. So here is their first bath together! Cameron loved holding her and even helped wash her hair! What a good big brother! In the last picture he is giving her "zerberts" (blowing on her tummy) - she really wasn't sure what to think!

Anytime Brooklyn is in her crib and makes a single noise Cameron asks, "I go get her mom?" This morning I said yes and then finished getting her bottle ready. A few minutes later I went in to find them having a great time together in the crib! I had no idea he would be able to climb into her crib - boy are we in trouble!

What great kids and a very lucky mom!! This picture makes them look a lot alike, doesn't it!?

Wow! I can't believe my internet connection lasted long enough for me to finish that! It has been terrible this week, usually only lasting for a few minutes at a time! Hopefully the Comcast guy who comes tomorrow will fix it! I feel like I lose my connection to the world when it is gone!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

3rd Times the Charm

I have now been tagged with this one by three different people! Guess it's time to get going...

Where Were You?

20 Years Ago: I was almost 6 and in Kindergarten at Orchard. How sad is it that I can't even remember my teachers name? I remember liking her a lot, but apparently not enough. I used to walk to school with my brother Aj and Tamara Silver. Tamara and I were also little league cheerleaders about this time and I remember practicing our moves in the middle of the street between our houses. That couldn't have been too safe...I guess I am lucky just to be alive! :)

10 Years Ago: Almost 16!! I had absolutely no desire to drive (I still don't enjoy it), but I was definitely boy crazy. I had already had my first kiss, and been "together" with and "broken up" with Adam once - Oh dear, I hope Brooklyn never reads this!! :) I think about this time I was flirting with both Adam and his best friend Adam Mills at the same time - that wasn't very nice, was it? They used to ride their bikes to my house - even when it was freezing weather. I didn't find out until later, but they used to have "challenges" where they would ride back home in the snow with only their boxers on! The weekend of my sixteenth birthday Adam Mills to me on my first date, and a few months later when my future husband Adam turned sixteen, I took him on his first date! Good times! :)

5 Years Ago: "Utah State, Hey, Aggies All the Way!!" I was just about to graduate from USU and I think had already been offered my first teaching job - 3rd grade at Summit Elementary. I was having a blast coaching figure skating at good old Eccles Ice Center, dating, and of course waiting for Adam on his mission. I remember being pretty scared...I was terrified that Adam wouldn't like me anymore after his mission, and I felt totally unprepared to have my own classroom of 30 kids! Luckily, both turned out great!! Adam and I went ring shopping two days after he got home, we were engaged two weeks later, married two months later, and I absolutely loved teaching!!

3 Years Ago: I was finishing up my second year of teaching, absolutely loving married life, and getting baby hungry. Adam and I were also planning our trip to Russia that June. It was such a great trip! For those of you who don't know the story...not long after Adam came back from his mission in Russia, my parents were called to the exact same mission. We saved every penny we could for the first two years of our marriage so that we could go "pick them up". We spent almost a month traveling around Russia - Rostov, Volgograd, St. Petersburg, Moscow. I was incredible! I'm pretty sure Cameron joined us in St. Petersburg, so we got some great news when we got home!

1 Year Ago: Last year at this time we were making some pretty huge decisions. Adam was just about to graduate from USU, we were selling our home in Logan, and would then live with Adam's parents for a few months before leaving to go...??? I think Adam had been accepted to a few optometry schools at this point and had interviews scheduled at a few more, so we were trying to decide where to go. We were also trying to decide if we were ready for another baby. Or, maybe I should say I was ready for another baby and trying to talk Adam into it! :) After a ton of prayer we decide on Memphis, and obviously Adam agreed with me about baby number two, as I was pregnant with Brooklyn a few months later. Wow, that was a pretty big year for us!


So Far This Year: It has been a busy year for us already. Adam is kicking butt in his first year of optometry school and I am keeping busy with two kids. When I think back like this, it seems like just yesterday I was about to turn sixteen - how is it possible that I am married with two kids? Anyway, life is fantastic. I love living in Memphis and I feel so lucky to have a fantastic husband and two absolutely wonderful kids! It is fixin' to be another great year!!

Yesterday: For me, yesterday was a pretty awesome day! We have been stuck at home this week doing the potty training thing, so I just hung out all day with my kids. Cameron and I played with blocks, puzzles, and playdough. We were coloring when Cameron decided he didn't want to color on paper anymore and started taking off his shirt. So, I put him is the tub and let him go crazy with the washable markers. He had a great time coloring his tummy, arms, and even the bottoms of his feet. He also enjoyed the bath afterward to get clean. Brooklyn is such an easy baby she just follows Cameron and I around smiling whenever I even look at her and laughing when Cameron screams "peek-a-boo" in her face. An noon we went though the messy crazyness that is getting two kids fed and in bed, followed by two blissful hours of quiet. After I did some laundry and took little nap of my own, Cameron woke up and we played a game of "tag" - i.e. I chase Cameron around the house. Then, we raced around picking up toys and doing a little cleaning so it would look like we had been very busy when Adam came home - boy did we fool him! :) The best part of the day was that my big boy was "cean (clean) and dry" all day - No accidents!! So far, he is doing great at this potty training thing - way to go Cameron!!! Okay, so maybe not too exciting of a day, and it involved a lot more "work" than it sounds like...but I still think being a stay-at-home mom is the greatest job ever!

Today: Yea for Conference weekend! We hung out in our PJ's all day today watching conference and spending time as a family. Cameron had another good potty training day. And, between sessions of conference I cut Adam's hair all by myself!! We were both pretty scared, but it actually turned out really good! We have been so spoiled with his mom cutting his hair for free, we just couldn't stand spending money on it every month! Hey, maybe I should start charging for this! :) Okay, maybe not, but I think it looks pretty good, don't you?


Wow, I can't believe you stuck it out and read all of that! I had a great time reminiscing and I hope it didn't bore you all too badly.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

New Growth


I was excited find out that we have tulips in our planter out back! It is our first spring here in Memphis and we are enjoying it! There has been lots of rain this past week, but everything is green, blooming, and beautiful! We are also experiencing some new growth as a family. Here are a few new things going on in the Rudd household...
  • Potty Training!! Cameron has shown interest in potty training for almost a month, so I finally got brave and started this week. He has done pretty good so far. He is so excited about his "unnerwear" - he chose Shrek, Cars, and Elmo. I am excited to have him out of diapers, but I will also be glad when the learning stage is over!! Cameron is very sweet though, the first thing he says after an accident is "I sorry mommy!" :)
  • Preschool! I finally got my act together and made some things for the preschool I will be starting in our home this fall. I miss teaching, but I love staying home with my babies, so I am really looking forward to doing both!! I wanted to have the kids call me Miss Tiffany (less formal than Mrs. Rudd), so I named the preschool Miss Tiffany's...That is until I realized that Miss Tiffany's sounds like something else - something not as reputable as a preschool! :) Anyway, I settled on Miss Tiff's. We have an empty bonus room upstairs that we will be converting into the preschool and I already have a few students! For those of you who live around here, help me spread the word. You can check out my website at www.freewebs.com/misstiffspreschool and tell everyone you know who would be interested! Thanks!
  • Laughing! Brooklyn has been working on this one for a few weeks now, but she is finally really laughing! You can imagine the kind of laugh that comes with that huge smile of hers! I need to try and get it on video because it is the cutest thing!

I couldn't resist putting a few pictures of Cameron in his new underwear! We was so excited, he was jumping on his bed, flexing his muscles, and saying, "I strong as an ox!" (He says this line from he book Quick as a Cricket all the time and flexes his muscles - it is too cute!) Is he a studly little boy or what!? :)

Saturday, March 29, 2008

The Doctor Says...

No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Me: Cameron, we need to hurry and get ready because today we are going to the doctor.
Cameron: The doctor says, 'No more monkeys jumpin' on the bed!' :)

This week I took Cameron and Brooklyn to the doctor for their well checkups - Cameron for his 2 year check, and Brooklyn for her 2 month check. I was terrified to take them in at the same time by myself, especially since they would both be getting shots, but it went pretty well. They are both healthy (except for a nasty cold that Cameron, Adam, and I got this week) and doing great! Here are their stats...

Cameron: 31 lbs (75th percentile)
34 in (5oth percentile)
Brooklyn: 13 lbs (75th percentile)
22.5 in (50th percentile)

Cameron was so cute after getting his shots. To help calm him down I said, "It's okay Cameron, you're done." So, for the rest of the visit he kept saying, "I'm done mom?" Then on the way home he was telling me all about the experience and saying things like, "My skin hurts," and "My skin's done, I don't like it anymore!" :( Poor kid. Brooklyn was such a trooper - she barely cried. She has been a little grumpy for the past few days, but I'm sure she will be back to normal soon! I'm just glad to have that visit over with!


This is how we found our little monkey the other night about an hour after bedtime. His books were all over the room, his bed was a mess, and he was on the floor tucked in nice and cozy under his rug. :)

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Just a little bit of Easter fun

As I am writing this post I am feeling terribly guilty! I have to admit that we are not great at celebrating holidays in our house - especially since moving away from family. We pretty much forgot about St. Patrick's Day, and we didn't even color eggs for Easter! We did however enjoy our ward's Easter party. They did a great job putting together an activity with the easter bunny there to take pictures with the kids, a petting zoo, games, and an easter egg hunt. Of course I forgot to check the batteries in the camera before we left, so we ended up with about six pictures before it died - yet another thing to feel guilty about! :) My favorite picture is the one of Cameron alone out in that huge field. All the kids were lined up ready to go get all the eggs that were out in the field. Cameron was so excited that he took off before the whistle and was so fast that he was way out there before any of the other kids took off. Adam and I just laughed and yelled loudly so everyone could hear, "Who's child is trying to cheat?" It was pretty funny! :) I also love the ones of him with the slightly scary looking easter bunny! Thanks Janna for taking those for us! :)




I can feel good about the fact that we had a great Easter Sunday celebrating the real reason for the holiday. Adam taught in priesthood and received many compliments on a presentation he did with music and pictures of the Savior. I helped teach in young womens and we had a great hour talking about Christ, singing, and of course crying. After church we went to a baptism and had a little family home evening with Cameron about Jesus. We did enjoy a small basket of toys and treats thanks to Adam's parents. Cameron's favorite was the bunny Pez dispenser and Adam and I loved the Cavanaugh's chocolate eggs! Thanks! Hope you all had a Happy Easter too!!