July 1st 2012

I didn't write the entire month of June. :(  I'm sorry.  In all fairness, we were busy, but life is great.

 Ronin turned 1 on Saturday June 16th.  He is such a big boy. We had friends and family over for a BBQ potluck.  Our wonderful friends Kevin and Kelsi let us borrow their bounce house. So one end of our yard was the castle-bounce house, the other was 2 pools, and the middle was the tunnel-tents and slide.   It was a kid free for all.  Ronin was clueless, but he got to eat cup cakes so he was happy.

 Our little Ronin (Gavin calls him Bubba Kiki....I have NO idea where he came up with that) isn't walking yet, but he will gladly walk all over the place if he can hold your pinky.  He loves doing ANYTHING his brother and other big kids do.  Loves to babble and talk nonstop, and is the 2nd best snuggler in the house. (The first is Matt, and no, I'm not joking).  He had his 1-yr appointment and took all 3 shots like a champ.  He is obsessed with eating bark, loves all dogs and cats, and could beat anyone is a grape eating contest.  I love him so much!

So whats going on in our life.  First Mr. Matthew Rudolph.  He works so hard, and works all the time.  He is such a good hubby and dad.  He gets up at 5:00 am almost every morning to teach Spartan, (look it up if you dont know what it is.  It's amazing and he co-created the whole thing) Then goes straight to work, has meetings, trainings, paper work, ect...goes to lift or workout, then comes home at night with plenty of energy for our boys so I can teach my class. Sometimes he does this with being totally allergy-faced! So, super hubby of the year award goes to my hansome and hilarious man Matt.

 

Mr. Gavin.  Where do I begin?!  He continues to amaze me everyday.  My little son is growing in leaps and bounds. We're working on memorizing the 13 ariticles of faith and right now he has the first 5 down.  He sees something once and then wants to say it, try it, do it, talk about it, whatever.  He is clever, sneaky, funny, dramatic, creative, and so sweet when he wants to be. (I love it when he says, "mama guess what?  I love you.")  One morning I was stripping the laundry from the beds and I took all the sheets downstairs while he was playing in our room.  When I can back up I heard giggeling, so I went into our bedroom to see this...

I think to myself, "you silly kid," walk over to pull the blanket off, roar really loud, and start tickeling to get him really laughing.  I walk over, grinning from ear to ear, and right before I do, I see something move in our bed. I turn to look and the little sneak has tricked me. He put his blanket on the lamp and was hiding in our bed!

Mr. Gavin also takes after his dad and has really bad allergies.  I feel so bad for them both.  This was the morning after we went for a family walk and played in a huge field.  Poor kid.  Thankfully the bath did help, along with some childrens medicine.

Gavin loves helping me bake.  Those of you who know me well know how much I LOVE baking. This "addiction" as my hubby calls it,  has me putting something together every other day. (This past week for a BBQ I made home made brownie bites,with white chocolate-cream cheese frosting, topped with strawberries and blueberries. Yummm) Gavin is right there with me, helping me pour stuff in, stir (hold the top down:)) and of course taste the end product.

As for me, I'm doing really well.  I can't complain.  I've been teaching a lot more, Club Dance and Power.  One of my instructors hurt his back so I've been subbing his classes.  I think I may have the worlds best job, staying home all day then getting paid to workout/dance.  It's also good for the little paycheck, but holy cow, by the end of the week I'm exhausted!  I think since this next picture was taken I've lost another 5lbs. I need to start eating more of what Gavin and I bake.  

We've also been taking a lot of walks as a family.  We love this, especially Gavin.  He explores and calls himself "Captain Slug Finder" because on one walk we saw a ton of slugs. Ronin just gets a kick with being together. Although, he has been teething the past two weeks which has been hard on him.  

  We are really looking forward to finally getting some nicer, consistant weather so we can go hiking, camping, enchanted forrest, the zoo, the coast, and maybe even a little road trip to Bend.  After all that family time, Mr. Rudolph and I are looking forward to some sweet one-on-one time in Cancun for our anniversary in September. We will keep you posted.

Family Time

This past week we got to celebrate our besties daughters' 1st birthday, who also happened to be Gavin's future wife.  Happy 1st Birthday Kalli. We love you, and think you're super cute.  And what  an independent little girl she is!  Loves to go all over the place.  We had a great time hanging out, eating pizza, and playing games.

 We also got the yard finished and when I say we, I mean Matt. He did such a great job and worked really hard. I'm so proud of him. He put so much time and effort in not to mention his weekend time into it. The grass, retaining wall, and bark all look great and it feels even better!

 And finally some silly family pics. We've been having a great time together as a family with this nice weather. What a lucky gal I am. I can't wait for summer to officailly arrive so we can do even more outside. I like being surrounded by 3 super cute men. My Fav is when Matt is all serious as I try to snuggle. Ha ha ha ha. So cute. He could even pull off florescent pink shirts if he wanted. (inside joke, read previous posts to understand.)

Enjoy.

What IRKS me

I decided to post on my blog without any pictures. (boooo boring! I know, I know)
But its going to be inspiring, I promise.....
Welcome to, THINGS THAT IRK KRISTI RUDOLPH

Before I start I have to say I love my life, I love my kids more then anything. My husband is sexy and rocks!  I'm really blessed and have the best family and friends in the world.  I honestly could not ask for more and feel grateful for all the gifts a loving Father in Heaven has given me.  It brings a smile to my face and joy to my life.

Top 5 Countdown, and please feel free to add any comments with what irks you.

#5. People who don't like, or get annoyed by really happy people.  Seriously?!  I'm sorry but if you  complain about  really happy people and how annoying it is that they smile all the time, they make other peoples lives better but their kindness, and take obstacles with optimism, I think you may be jealous, or just bored.  I for one love happy people and want to more like them.   So there.  If you're one of those people then feel free to complain to me about how annoying "so and so" is for always being happy, but just know I'm standing there thinking I like them better then you.

#4 Gavin sitting on the potty for a half-hour trying to go #2, only to get down, lie down for his nap and poop his pants 2 mins later.  I know he's doing it to test me, I know it. Like he's thinking, "ok., lets see how mom will FREAK out today."   He does it all the time, almost as if he waits and holds it until I finally give-up and let him down.  Sometimes I want to sit myself in the corner, rock myself back and forth repeating over and over in a hushed rasping voice, "no poopies, no poopies" but I don't.....very often.  Good thing I love my son more then anything because I really don't know any other job that could pay me to do this.  Patience Kristi, Patience.

#3 Girls who eat junk ALL THE TIME, never work out, and still look better in a swim suit then me.  Sorry this is going to be shallow but it's true.  I feel really blessed, and feel grateful when someone gives me a compliment on my physical fitness, but it's because I work my tail end off 6 days a week.  Then there's girls that seriously eat mac n' cheese, consider laughing an ab-workout, scarf on ice cream every other night, and when I see them in a two piece.....me, mouth wide open staring in disbelief. (creepy but I can't help it)  If you see me sometime this summer buying rope and bricks its because I'm about to tie them around my feet and jump head first into the river. Please don't take this as a "pity me and my body post", (that is #6 on what irks me, girls who look good and call themselves fat) it's NOT one of those. Honestly, I don't know what it is, but you get it right?

#2 People who spend precious time writing blogs about what irks them.  Really, get a life people.  Couldn't you be spending time doing other thing's, like cleaning your dirty kitchen, showering so you don't resemble to swamp queen, or reading to your kids?!  Just saying.
And the Number 1 thing is.........

#1The DAY that will NEVER end.  Why is it that everything has to go wrong on ONE day.  Is it me, or do you stub your toe, spill something all over the floor, ruin dinner, have your kids scream and fight,  run out of milk, your husband works late, and gain an extra pound all on the same day?!  I get so delusional on these days I just sit and laugh out loud, thinking could it really get any worse??  And of course, then it does.  Maybe its my attitude, sure I can take credit for that, but really, be honest, you've had those days.  Admit it. And when night finally comes and the kids are asleep, or you're home from work, all you want to do is lie on the couch and eat ice cream.  But you can't.  Cause you're not one of those skinny girls who can eat ice cream and still get away with it.  Oh no, you feel guilty and bloated, and gain 2 lbs the next morning while shoping for rope and bricks knowing you will never wear a swim suit again.

OK I'm done.  Sorry, this was pointless and now we're all dumber for having read it.
P.S.  I wore my pink shirt to club Dance last night, (boo ya, snuck it in right at the end. )

Something Wrong, Bad or Funny

I have decided to dedicate this blog post to the pictures I've taken that I'd normally erase, or embarrassing, looks weird, never post, laugh hysterically at, and THEN erase.

#1 The Easter Bunny

Yes, just a creepy in the picture as it was in person. This was taken at our Ward Easter Activity. I actually had a contest with my Primary-Presidency girls on who could take the most awkward picture with him. "That" picture wasn't taken with my camera so therefor I can't publish it. Be grateful.

As you can see Gavin will not allow me to let him down. Just look at the Bunny's face, seriously cracks me up. Creepy.

#2 The boys with Gavin's Easter present. Yes, both their eyes are shut or squinted. This is my moms worst nightmare. I thought it was fitting for the Post.

#3 Take a look and figure out why I laughed when I saw it. Is it inappropriate? Classless? Tasteless? Yes. But still funny.

#4 Ronin's little pink cheeks, button nose, and hand up reminds me of a little munchkin from the Wizard of Oz. OR, an Oompa-Loompa. I'll let you pick which one he resembles most. Secondly, I'm wearing the pink shirt Matt was modeling in the last post. I think I may have to sneak the pink shirt in somewhere every time now.....keep your eyes peeled.

#5 Oh the hair. I'll be honest this picture isn't horrible but the hair is! This is taken 6 hours after I spent 30 mins trying to do Something, ANYTHING with it. I will not be posting another picture of this horrible hair color and cut until it's fixed, which will be another 6-weeks. This is one of those YUCK moments where the hair stylist didn't do what I asked. It's just hair, no biggie, but I don't like it...at all. Breath it in bloggers, cause its the first and last time you'll be seeing the grossness that is my weird, not so brown, not so blond hair.

#6 My eyes. One red eye, nice touch.

#7. Hilarious. Made me smile and laugh when I saw this. I have no idea what is going through his mind or what he's thinking but whatever it is, it was short lived. This look (thoughtful, quiet, reserved) is not the personality of Gavin. Oh no. And so for its blatant deceit it deserves a spot.

#8 Ronin on the look out. Is it me or does it seem like he's thinking, "I know what you're doing, don't even try to put one past me, I've got my eye on you."

#9 Sorry, but its true. Gavin looks like his going potty and Ronin has the crazy eyes. Again pictures you normally wouldn't post.

So there it is folks. An insight to the Rudolph's you normally don't see. Just remember when you see pictures you think are cute or sweet, there are about 10 others that aren't so perfect!

April 2012

Club Dance. This is the class I mentioned in the last Blog. This picture was taken about 5 minutes before class started last Monday. The line goes all the way to the door. :)

Makes me happy to see so many people come out to dance with me. I love it!

Ok, on to more "cute" things. #1 This is sir Ronin. He is also known as Mr. Happy, chunk-a-monk and Moto Moto. These days he loves to watch his brother throw fits, crawl any where he can get, snuggle, and eat big people food.#2 Cute thing. Matt in a pink shirt. Hilarious. We actually took this picture to get an idea of what size he needed. So no, this is NOT his shirt, it's mine. We were using it as a reference and I kept the picture. I will say, he makes it look oh so good. ;) Love you Baba!

Little chompers and big blue eyes. Gets me every time. Oh my word I love this little boy. Sad thing, he's pretty sick right now. Has the worst flemmy-cough ever. I feel so bad when he pukes after coughing and gagging on his own mucous. Poor Baby!

One of many Superman pictures to come. We have so many clothes for Gavin, SO many. But he insists on wearing his Superman or Batman jammies everyday. He loves to pretend he's Superman and even has a deep, slow voice he talks in while he's pretending.

Happy brothers. Gavin is really good with Ronin, most of the time. Although a little rough here and there, he does love him and likes making him laugh.

Superman and Robin. (Gavin named him that) Funny, we were having our Family Home Evening, and I spent a good 5-minutes talking about being a child of God. Sang the song, showed him pictures of other kids who are "children of God," even asked if mama, dada and Ronin were children of God. He answered yes to all of them. But when it came to him, he looked at me defiantly and said, "NO! I am Superman."

Ok, so we got snow in the middle of March. LAME! But Gavin loved it. I actually started to make the Snow man with him until Dada came home and took over. (He did a way better job) He was really excited to make a snowman, jumping up and down and helping pile it on. I'll give you one guess as to what Christmas cartoon we "HAD" to watch that evening....

Bath time. Ronin loves to be in the bath. I honestly haven't found anything he really doesn't like. The only down fall is he has really dry skin so we have to DRENCH him in lotion afterwards. Poor guy. Other then that, perfect! I feel blessed to have such a happy and cute babe!

And now for your viewing pleasure, his royal strongness....Superman! He was very precise on his modeling and wanted to make sure I took a lot of pictures. And yes, he does go and get his underwear and put it on himself!

Flip! He's really into flipping these days, most of the time on the ground but an occasional couch flip. Gosh this kid is happy when he's superman.

About to blast me with his laser eyes, and yes he has sound effects that go with it.

Superman get caught in the rain?! Nope, no today . He's ready to face any enemy including the Oregon weather.

This is so funny. He posed for this and held it for like 20 seconds while I got the camera ready. He really wanted this picture taken...and I can see why. It really shows his versatile side. :)

I love my boys, they are a huge joy to my heart. Sure there are days when I want to pull my hair out, (Gavin has been testing me lately) but I can smile to myself.

Good Example: Today I pushed the cart in the grocery store with one adorable son sitting in the front seat grinning ear-to-ear at me, while the other was lying stomach-down on the very bottom, arms straight out, dressed head to toe in superman jammies, humming the superman song. It made getting milk a little more thrilling and caught the attention of no less then 10 grandmas and grandpas in the store.