Dress Up

I think one of the best thing about being a mom to a little girl is dressing her up! This week we pulled out a bunch of new size clothes from Ruby's closet that she can fit into now. This is a hand me down dress from Ruby's friend Lily. Sorry that Brian's eyes are closed. Oh, and notice that I figured out how to hyperlink!

Sunday stroll

A couple of weeks ago Brian and I were thrilled to find a new park to go to. It is not new to the city but new to us. It has a beautiful walking path and all the other park benefits (playground, shelter houses, and tennis courts). Ruby loves being outside and this was her first time on a swing at a park.

Trip to BG

Last weekend we took a trip to visit Brian's parents and brother down in Bowling Green, KY. We decided to take a walk down to the river the first day we were there. Here are some pictures from our walk.

 

 

A very tired Ruby

 

 

Brian and his mom showing Ruby the sunflowers

Also, one year ago today I was put on bedrest in the hospital for pre-term labor. It is good to look back and see how God provided for us during that time that could have been very very stressful. We now have a beautiful 10 1/2 month old girl who God continues to take care of. I would put a link to last years post at this time but I don't know how yet. :)

Who is out there?

If you notice I have a little icon on my page that says "site meter." This little thing tells me who is looking at my blog. It tells me the city they are in and sometimes how they got there. Most of the time I know who it is that is looking but sometimes I am not sure. So, leave me a message and say hello! I could call some of you out by name but I won't...I do appreciate my faithful message leavers (Lorie, Kathleen, Sarah, Aunt Mary, Grandparents). I would love to know who else is out there.

More fun with picnik.com

Office Work

For the past couple of weeks I have been helping my Dad out in his office. Ruby goes with me for a couple hours a day and plays on the floor with her toys and this box. She really does well and I get a lot done.

I made this picture by using picnik.com thanks to my friend Kathleen's recommendation. It is so fun to edit your pictures with this free website. This one is supposed to look like it is from the 1960's. What do you think?

Ruby and Lily

This week I babysat my friend Hollie's little girl Lily. Ruby had a blast being around a little kid and Lily loved being around Ruby. Lily is already very nurturing and motherly at the early age of 2. She enjoyed helping feed and burp Ruby.

Cloth Diapers

The week we got back from Michigan we started putting Ruby in cloth diapers. I have actually been doing research on cloth diapers for about 3 months now...about the time when our free diapers ran out and I had to start buying diapers. Cost was definitely an issue but I also wanted to do my part to keep the world a little cleaner . So, after talking to a few friends and trying out some diapers we decided which ones we were going to use. For those of you that have never looked into cloth diapering, let me tell you, it is not as simple as it once was. There are many many different sizes, shapes, material, and accessories that go with them. I was pretty overwhelmed but decided to go with the kind that we tried out and also had a few friends recommendations for that specific kind. So far so good. We actually really like it. They are softer on little Ruby's bum and super easy to manage. Doing the laundry depends on how many diapers you have and how often your baby "goes." We wash our diapers about twice a week. We still put Ruby in disposables at night, at church, traveling, or out and about for a long time. The above pic's are Ruby in her diapers. The bright colors are actually the wraps or pants that go over the diapers. The below pictures are the actual diapers we use (Kissaluv Contours) and the snappis that we use to hold them together (no more pins). A lot of people who do cloth diapers also do cloth wipes but we haven't tackled that yet. Maybe that will be on my next to do list.

I know this is turning into a long post but I have one more thought. One thing that I have learned about myself since becoming a mother is that I often take a lot of pride in how I parent Ruby whether that be making homemade baby food, getting her on a schedule, or cloth diapering. I have realized that I am finding my worth in what I do at times rather than who I am in Christ. Realizing this doesn't make me stop doing what I am doing for Ruby but rather it has stopped me from thinking that I am some great person or some awesome mother because I do these things. I like to make baby food and I like to use cloth but I know that doesn't make a difference on an eternal scale.

Update on summer goals

Of course I couldn't write a blog without posting a picture of Ruby. Here she is watching the construction men on the roof of the house across the street.

Now is as good of a time as ever to re-visit some goals that I made in May. Here we go:

Go for walks at least 5 times a week Most weeks I am accomplishing this

Read a book all the way through The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears (highly recommend)

Send more snail mail Done

Volunteer somewhere with my church In the process of signing up to work with kids

Cook More This one needs some work but it is so stinkin hot

Go to Michigan in June to see friends! Done

Send birthday cards on time (Tina, Heather, Alex, John III, Logan, Megan, Smith, Julie, and Dad) John and Logan's were on time

Spend more time with other new mom's slowly I am doing this. I have attended a friday mom's lunch group with some girls from church 2x now

Visit Sara and Oskar Fox in June! Done and was awesome

Keep my herbs alive the oregano and cilantro didn't make it. we still have basil, dill, sage, and mint

Take more pictures yep

Learn a little bit of sign language to start using with Ruby we are working on the signs for "more" "please" "dog" "drink" and "down"

Mayyybbbeee...just maybe switch to cloth diapers....maybe believe it or not we have officially made the switch! I will post more on this later.

Sailing in St. Joe

Our last and favorite stop in Michigan was St. Joe's. We loved this city and wanted to stay longer than the 2 hours that we were there. It had a beautiful beach within walking distance from the downtown shops. A major bonus is that my friend Julie just moved back there so hopefully we will spend more time in this city in the future.

 

 

 

Grand Rapids Gretchen

Thought we were done with the Michigan photos? Not quite. We were able to spend a day with my friend Gretchen from my days at Anderson University. Ruby enjoyed playing with Isaac who was about 5 1/2 months at the time.

Isaac and Ruby. Notice that they look close to the same size but Ruby is about 5 months older.

 

Ladies and their babies

 

Happy 6th Birthday

Happy Birthday to our nephews! I can't believe these 2 guys are already 6 years old. They were born when I was living in Philadelphia. Because I was so close to New Jersey I was able to see John when he was just a few weeks old. I was able to visit with Logan in Florida when he was a few months old! Happy Birthday Guys!

Logan's Birthday was yesterday

 

John's Birthday is tomorrow

 

Here are both of the boys at Grandma's on New Years Eve

 

10 months old today!

Happy 10 month birthday to our sweet little Ruby! Things certainly have changed in the last month. Ruby is now crawling all over the place; her hair is long enough to wear barrettes and actually has to wear them now; she is babbling more (mama, baba, gege, dede, dada, yaya); she seems to get happier and happier every day; she is now playing little games at night such as crawl away from the dog and giggle or acting silly with Daddy; and she is drinking from a sippy cup.

Sick in Saugatuck

 

 

 

 

The next stop on our Western Michigan tour was Saugatuck. We were there for 2 days and for the first day I spent most of the time in bed sick. Thankfully I was able to get up on day 2 and hang out with our good friend Julie. It was a cute little town on the lake with lots of art galleries, shops, and restaurants.

Wedding

5 from my Mission Year team (Me, Lorie, Mary, Titus, Jon & missing Jeff at the wedding)

Our first stop on our Western Michigan adventure was Holland and Muskegon. We stayed with our friends Jeff and Dee in Holland and went to our friend Mary's wedding in Mukegon. I lived with 5 strangers (Jeff, Mary, Lorie, Titus, and Jon) in 2001/2002 while doing Mission Year (www.missionyear.org) in West Philly. It is amazing to all of us that after 6 years we are still in touch and still good friends. The original 6 has turned into 12 with 1 on the way (Jon and Tess). All 6 of us were able to be together last weekend for the first time in 5 years. We however, didn't take a picture of the 6 of us. We had such a good time catching up, playing games, reminiscing, and playing guitar hero.

Here are a few pictures. The wedding was a renaissance theme as you will notice when you see pictures. They even included a real sword, dragon, and a little fairy as the flower girl. We have a lot of pictures so prepare yourself for a few days of Michigan pic's.

Mary's father walking her down the aisle

 

The wedding party

 

Titus and the sword

 

Tess and Ruby became good friends

 

We're back

 

We are back from Michigan. More too come...after we sleep, unpack, and clean