Testing . . . 1,2,3 . . . Testing

Well, the long awaited (and dreaded) week has finally arrived. The reason for our stay in California is now here. Spencer checked into his hotel this afternoon and won't return until Thursday night when the Bar is over. I'm completely confident that Spencer will do awesome and pass his first time, but he tells me that I have NO clue what this test is like. He says he's trying to be optimistic but that he won't be totally surprised if he has to retake it in February. He's described it as maddening- just too much information, one cannot possibly retain and apply all of it. And the crazy thing is that I've never seen someone study for so long and so hard as I've watched Spencer study these past 9 weeks. I'm my opinion, he's as ready as he'll ever be. But I know he'd appreciate the added thoughts, prayers, and best wishes. So for any of you reading this Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday- send good vibes Spencer's way.

Best of luck babe- we're thinking and praying for you!

Week 7

It was a quiet week here at my parent's house. Mom left for Utah on Sunday, but due to Bobby and Amy postponing their wedding, the girls and I changed our trip for after the bar- so that Spencer can come too. I'm so looking forward to our many upcoming family vacations.

It was nice to have a calm, quiet week. Spencer studied in dad's office while the girls and I frequented the parks, played in the water, and relaxed here at home.

Two highlights of the week were:

#1 Going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with Papa. It was a super fun day trip- just the 4 of us.

Elle's first visit to the aquarium was over 6 months ago. This trip was alot more fun! It was cute to see her fascination about everything.

Highlight #2- Elle's first steps- with support of the stroller- so it doesn't really count, but that didn't stop my excitement. I love watching babies learn how to walk- those first steps on their wobbly little legs are so adorable.

ONE!!

My baby turned one on Saturday! It always amazes me how much changes in the first year of life. Since my last update just a month ago Elle's now walking along furniture, climbing up stairs, standing completely on her own (for a few seconds at a time), and into everything! As exhausting as this stage is, Elle is seriously the most happy, loveable little girl. She's full of hugs, kisses, snuggles, and giggles. I love how easily I can make her laugh. But on the reverse, she's also very sensitive. If I have to get after her for something (like throwing food off her tray or hitting), she instantly becomes upset. Hearing me say, "NO" immediately brings out the bottom lip, quivering mouth, and her soft little heart-breaking cry. It's actually kinda funny how quickly it happens following a reprimand. The funniest was a couple weeks ago when Elle was being especially crazy during church. Spencer takes her out and tells her she's being naughty. In response to his comment, Elle puts her head down and says, "Awwww...."

At one years old some of Elle's favorite things include: Mommy, Daddy, Madi, playing chase with Madi, snuggling with her giraffe blankie, splashing in the water (she's much more brave and adventurous than her older sister), books, and babies.

Things I want to remember about Elle at the stage. . .

Her current typical schedule is:

Wake up 6am

Nap #1 9-11am

Nap #2 2-4pm

Bedtime 7pm

Her many nicknames include: Elle, Ellie, Ellie- Nor, and "sweet little baby girl" (Madi's favorite)

Elle nursed her entire first year of life and will officially be done at the end of this week. I introduced whole milk at the beginning of July- she wasn't a big fan of it (water continues to be preferred drink of choice), but is liking it more now.

She's still a pretty good eater- fruit is definitely her favorite food (any type- she loves it all). She also loves PB&J (can eat almost an entire sandwich in one sitting), cheese, lunch meat, Nutri-Grain bars, and banana muffins. I'm just amazed at how much she eats having only two bottom teeth. When she eats PB&J I just hand her a half sandwich. When she eats apples I give them to her in slices. And we've never had a chocking incident yet (Madi was our choker and I even cut her food up into much smaller pieces).

Elle's become quite the talker this month. She's always jabbering away about something. I love listening to her read her books. She'll sit and "read" for a good 5 minutes at a time- and a total of probably 30 minutes a day. I've gotten lots of cute videos of it, but all too long for posting. They're just too cute to trim down. The clip below is the shortest I have and I actually cut out a minute or two of her quietly flipping through the pages of her book- just looking at pictures. Still cute, but it's her voice that I love having documented.

Her new words this month were: ball, map, and backpack (the last two as a result from watching too much Dora with Madi).

She's knows where her head, eyes and mouth are and will usually point correctly when asked. She'll also blow kisses when asked.

Elle's a great sharer, but it has to be on her terms. She won't allow anything to be taken from her grasp without putting up a fight. And she definitely knows what's hers. I bought her a bathtime baby at the beginning of the month (as an early birthday present- but also as an incentive for Madi to share her toys) and it was funny to see how quickly Elle understood that it was her baby! The first time Madi picked it up to play with, Elle had a fit. Luckily it encouraged Madi to share her toys and babies which quickly fixed the problem.

As for birthday celebration- we celebrated Elle's birthday here at home. I scratched our plans for the Oakland Zoo (deciding to wait until after the Bar so that Spencer can come too) and instead walked the girls over to the animals at the Dainty Center in the morning. Then the rest of the day we did all of Elle's most favorite activities (swimming, eating, playing, and napping).

In the evening we held our joint celebration for Elle (July 17th) and Papa (July 18th). Elle had a little bit more fun with her cake than Dad had with his though. She was awesome to watch:

After a delicate beginning . . .

She quickly got comfortable for the feel of it.

And the taste of it! Yummm . . .

So then she decided to dig in with both hands!!!

Oh ya! That's what I'm talkin about!

Madi was feeling a bit left out. So near the end I let her jump up and help Elle out! It's just funny to see my girls different personalities. On Madi's first birthday she wouldn't dare touch the cake for fear of getting her hands dirty. Elle was more interested in playing with the cake than eating it (which also surprised me).

Cake eating was followed by present opening.

Elle now has a "pink baby" just like Madi's "purple baby". Thanks Gram and Papa!

Yay for more "Little People" to add to our collection. Thanks Gram Rox!

It was great first birthday celebration! Elle really is our "sweet little baby girl". I love everything about her- her big blue beautiful eyes, her gorgeous head of dark hair, her contagious laugh, her infectious smile, her squirmy body, and her loving heart. It's been such a fun first year- I can't imagine our family without her. Happy Birthday Eleanor!

Madi's a big kid- look what she can do!

I'd kinda lost patience with the whole name writing thing. Madi would always get silly for me and just write letters all over the paper. Luckily Spencer's got more patience. He's been working with Madi in the mornings while I'm at the gym. When I got home today Madi was bursting to show me what she wrote- all by herself!

It was taking the picture of it that was the hard part. She wouldn't hold her paper still so I finally grabbed it and snapped fast!

Two weeks to go!

It's now been a little over 5 weeks since we arrived in California and have been living at my parents' house. Bar preparation consumes Spencer, and I can honestly say that it's by far the worst test EVER! If I were to combine the intensity of studying Spencer did in years 1, 2, and 3 of law school- this tops all of that! I find myself longing to have a "real" husband again. His short breaks are never long enough and I'm dying to take a family vacation! Luckily this torture will be over in just two weeks! Crazy! It really has flown by though. I know Spencer gets a little stressed when I do the count down, but how can I not be excited that he's only got two weeks left?! While Spencer feels like it's finally coming together, he says he could study for another couple months and still not feel totally ready for the test! His flash card pile is now about 8 inches high and I'm the lucky one who gets to help quiz him at night. I don't know how he remembers all this stuff- after just an hour of flash cards I'm usually falling asleep.

At least it's motivation for Madi to work on her flash cards.

While Spencer's been cooped up inside everyday- rotating his studying from my mom's office, to my dad's office; the girls and I have been playing outside, taking walks to the park, swinging, swimming, laying out, having picnics, eating lots of yummy food (summertime fruits and veggies are my favorite), going to story time at the library, reading, watching Dora the Explorer (yay for finally finding a show that Madi will watch- is that bad that I've celebrated this?), getting together with friends, and having an overall pretty relaxing summer.

The splash park!

Half Moon Bay beach with the Terry cousins

Sink baths are the best!

Mmmm. . . Brentwood corn!!

Mmmm. . . raspberry pretzel jello salad!

Relaxing with Papa

Only 2 more weeks of studying! Go Spencer GO!!!

When I get Bigger

Madi's got a list going of all the things she's gonna do when she gets bigger. She adds to it daily so I figured I better start recording before I forget. In Madi's words:

When I get bigger. . .

- "I can chew gum" (she always swallows it so I told her she has to be a little older).

-"I can drive to the beach."

-"I can wear a bra."

-"I can make a cake."

-"I can study really hard and take a big test." (hmm. . . . sounds familiar)

-"I can build a big sand castle."

-"I can go to the temple and I'll get a ring. " (she thinks going to the temple is gonna get her a wedding ring)

On another note- I hear that 3 is the "why" age. While Madi hasn't started all the "why" questions yet, she has become very inquisitive about everything- always pleading, "tell me more" and "I want to hear all about it".

Yesterday after church, during dinner, Madi asks: "So Dad, how was your class?

Spencer: "It was good."

Madi: "What'd you learn about?"

Spencer: "Solomon"

Madi: "What did he do?"

Spencer: "He was very talented but he did some bad things."

Madi: "Tell me all the things that he did that were naughty."

She continued like this for quite awhile- asking probing questions about King Solomon, and being genuinely interested in the discussion.

Totally random pics in this post- I just felt like I should include at least a couple of pictures.

Discussions with Madi are one of the highlights of my day. My favorite discussion is at the end of each day- while sprawled out on her bed, I ask Madi what her favorite part of the day was. Then we'll talk about the exciting things we have planned for the next day. Madi loves doing this, always begging for me to "tell more about all the things we're gonna do." Makes being a mom the best job ever!

A Simple 4th

Our 4th of July celebration was a little weak this year. Spencer's study schedule hasn't allowed for many distractions. In his words, "I don't want to go anywhere. I don't want to hang out with anyone- not until after the bar" (sorry Trisha about us being party poopers). Then along with Spencer's study schedule, mom decided to completely redo the downstairs bathroom this weekend, which has...surprise!!?...become quite the project- what is it about wedding receptions that makes my parents want to rip out toilets, strip the walls, paint, put in new sinks, faucets, mirrors, etc. etc. Always craziness at the Rudd house! :)

Even though we didn't have any big 4th of July plans, I made sure our attire was very patriotic!

Spencer changed out of his church clothes minutes after getting home (Although I was a little annoyed, I guess I don't blame him-it was a scorcher-over 1oo degrees!) so he doesn't really match the rest of us. A blue shirt will do I guess.

I forgot to wear my red heels for the picture- but check out Madi and I's blue toes! Ya, I went all out this year!

Our firework display involved watching, "A Capitol Fourth" on mom and dad's tv. It was actually really nice- a great view while getting to see and hear all the entertainment on the steps of the Capitol. We sat and reminisced about our home in DC and how its the best place to celebrate the 4th of July. Aside from the humidity, Spencer and I really miss DC. Luckily we get a real firework show this coming weekend at the Brentwood Cornfest!

Despite our low key day, we did eat good food: Brentwood corn (the best corn on the planet); tri tip, watermelon, red, white, and blue m&m cookies...

Madi had a blast throwing the "poppers" that Gram Rox brought! We also got in lots of swim time on Saturday and Monday.

Even Madi's new "Gram Baby" had a patriotic outfit to wear!

Thanks Aunt Lindsay for the yummy treat!

Memory Lane

The girls and I spent all last week at my grandparents house in Ontario, OR. It had been almost 2 years since Madi and I'd seen them and they'd never met Elle, so it was a much needed trip. It was super fun watching my girls develop relationships with their Great grandparents- who Madi lovingly referred to as Grand Papa and Grandmother. It was nice to relax and just enjoy my grandparents company. It was fun chatting with Grandma, listening to her share stories that I always rememeber hearing about, but that mean so much more to me now as a mom. I loved watching and helping Grandpa out in the yard, garden, and in his shop. At almost 84 years old I'm amazed at all that he accomplishes every day. My grandpa is an incredible wood worker and builds the most beautiful pieces of furniture. I was the recipient of a gorgous cedar chest as a wedding gift 6 years ago- hand crafted and designed by grandpa, but he also builds tables, desks, dressers, beds, headboards, etc etc. I put my name on the list for bunkbeds while I was there, so hopefully I'll have at least one more hand crafted piece of furniture to remember Grandpa by.

Grandpa spent most of his day outside and Madi was quite the little sidekick. She followed him around, asking questions about what he was doing and wanting to be a part of all of it. And Grandpa always made time to stop and play with Madi.

Aside from Grandpa's soft, lush grass, beautiful flowers, and carefully manicured yard, he also had a garden to die for. Many a meal we ate came directly from the fruits of his labors. The broccoli below went directly into a chicken broccoli casserole I made while there (one of the only dinners Madi will eat).

I mostly loved watching my girls share moments with my grandparents that as a young girl I still vividly remember having.

-Cooking with Grandma in the kitchen (her trying to get me to try new foods). . .

-Working with Grandpa out in his shop . . .

Here's the "violin" Madi and Grandpapa constructed out of woods scraps:

-Going to the school playground, standing outside the fence watching the kids play, trying to get noticed by the recess ladies, and then run away when they'd blow their whistle at us.

(The second part was only done by my siblings and I- with school out for the summer, Madi and Elle didn't get to experience the above mentioned thrill)!

-Playing outside- having Grandpa and Grandma loving our company. . .

-Playing out on their deck- enjoying the nice breeze and cooler temps the shade brings:

(Madi insisted I take a picture of her with her "alphabet rainbow")

-Rocking in the chair- or I guess when I was older it was watching Grandpa fall asleep and and then laugh at how loud he could snore! :) Don't worry grandpa- our kids now do the same thing to my dad!

-Snuggling with Grandma and hearing all her stories:

-Being pushed around the yard in this very wheelbarrow.
It was fun being back in Ontario- reliving several of the memories I had as a little girl. It was fun taking Madi to the aquatic center I remember taking swimming lessons at, sleeping in the "blue room" I always slept in, bathing in the blue bath tub (that got Madi thinking how much she'd love to have a pink bath tub and a pink toilet in her bathroom:), walking my girls through the the streets I spent many a Thanksgivings running with Tisha. And the reminiscing didn't stop in Ontario. The girls and I were able to sneak away and spend a day in Boise. Ever since my parents moved away (the week after I graduated from HS), it's been weird for me to go back to Boise. Thank goodness we've still got lots of great friends and their families that live there. I was thrilled that our trip worked out perfectly for us to see Scott, Heather, Reina, and Ivy before they flew back to Japan. It was a nice visit and great to get our girls together. Madi, Elle and I spent the night at the Leavitts which was also a fabulous visit. It's great having a family in Boise that feels like family. Madi was especially excited about seeing my old house. We walked over there the next morning and when I pointed the house out to Madi she tells me, "I want to go in and see your bed." I told her my bed wasn't in there, but she still wanted to go knock on the door. She wasn't brave enough to knock by herself though, so I still don't know if anyone was home. After 24 hours in Boise, the girls and I headed back to Ontario for one more day of fun. We left Sunday morning to get home in time for Madi's birthday.

We were sad to say goodbye, but look forward to seeing Grand Papa and Grandmother in Utah in just a couple weeks! Love you Grandpa and Grandma! Can't wait to see you soon! And let's not forget to get a four generation picture then- I'm still kicking myself that I didn't hop into this picture.