Christening Gown

I have been so bad at making time to take "staged" pictures of Rutland. With Caroline, I would dress her up in something, and then "pose" her around the house in cute outfits. Well, first of all, Rutland does not like to dress up OR pose for pictures, and second, there never seems to be a good time to do it. So, when Rutland was baptized in January, I never got around to taking some pictures of him is the GORGEOUS christening gown that Christopher's grandmother made and has been worn by every child in the family. The other day it was finally warm enough to go outside so I decided to give it a shot. Let's just say I have a new respect for child photographers b/c it was impossible to get Rutland to sit still in that long gown and I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to get him to face the sun to prevent shadows, but also have him keep his eyes open. The shots were not great, but at least I have some pictures of him in the beautiful gown.

Bond, James Bond

O.k. so we knew that Rutland was probably going to give us a run for our money once he started walking, but I was definitely not prepared for his "James Bond" like tricks that he has now started to pull. He climbs on ANYTHING he can find: on top of the coffee table, up the magazine rack onto the chair, fireplace was an obvious choice, on top of Caroline's little table so he can jerk the plantation shutters a million times, on top of piano bench and up the piano, attempting to climb out of crib and getting skinny leg caught in rails, etc.... He will even climb on something low like the stools at Sikes shoe store just so he can try to jump off. There is no fear in this child and by the number of cuts, scrapes, and bruises, you would think he is either beaten daily (which he is not) or has been in a cat fight with Cesar, our cat that hisses and paws at everyone (don't worry, she is de-clawed). Christopher tells me all the time that we need to make a dry run to Children's hospital in preparation for the day we really need to take Rutland (knock on wood). He is so sweet and I could eat him up with a spoon, but scares me to death about 50 times a day! There are many days when I kiss Caroline and thank her for just sitting still, although we all know that even though she may be still, her mouth is constantly in motion at about 90 mph! Bless them both and thank God for their daily protection!! Here are some recent pictures of Caroline and James Bond!

Caroline is in LOVE with pigtails these days. She hates to sit still while I put them in, but she loves to look at her pigtails in the mirror!

I WISH I could post more of these, but there was no way to "crop" them. Rutland was running around with Christopher turkey call before bathtime.

Rutland wanted to eat breakfast at Sissy's table. He did well for about 5 minutes. Then he was off again. This is the same table he likes to climb on and rattle my plantation shutters - so BAD!

1st Mani-Pedi

I gave Caroline her first mani/pedi tonight. Her daddy has fought this day for a long time and I finally got her in the bathroom while he was on the phone and the damage was done before he noticed we were missing. She loved it needless to say, and think she's ready for some hot pink this summer ;) We just need some super cute sandals and some hot weather to show them off! Come on sun...

Trying on Wedding Dresses

Since Ashley's engagement I have had the PRIVILEGE of going with her and my mom to try on wedding dresses. She is gorgeous in them all, but there was one special dress that I was able to get some pictures of...

You guessed it - my mom's dress. Look at the smile on her face!!

Ash with mom's bridal portrait - they look like twins!

Although I don't think Mom's dress is going to work for her (it would need about 6 in. added to length) it was fun to get the old girl out of her tomb.