Ruby's First 4th of July!

Ruby had a very fun 4th of July! We went over to Aunt Lindsay & Uncle Paul's house for a cookout. They live in our neighborhood and have the best yard for watching fireworks - we could see three really good shows from their front yard. Ruby had a blast spending time with everyone. She made a new best friend - Milton the Bulldog. She was hysterical with him - she was absolutely infatuated.

Ruby got to give the "Stretch Limo Stroller" a test for Aunt Lindsay - she's pregnant with TRIPLETS! Check out her blog - "Hat Trick" - the link is to the right. Ruby is very excited to meet her new friends.

Ruby also danced to some George Strait with Lindsay's dad, Doug. She didn't stop smiling all night long.

She loved the fireworks, but didn't last through the first show. She fell asleep in her carseat watching them. She wasn't scared of the loud noises at all!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Six month pedi appointment

Ruby had her 6-month pediatrician appointment today, which meant more shots. Boo. I hate to see my baby girl cry, but at least thist time I cried less than she did. Her physical exam was perfect (as if we'd expect anything less). She's in the 55th percentile for head circumference, 75th percentile for weight, and 95th percentile for height!!! She's a tall girl!

What a month!

It's been quite an eventful month for Ruby, who is now officially 6 months old! She's now sitting up on her own and is very close to crawling. Her favorite thing to do is bounce. And bounce. And bounce. And bounce. See video below to witness how dang happy my baby is - I wish I got that excited about anything!

Ruby not only started on rice cereal this month (yes, the look on her face is one of sheer terror)......

But she also had her first food! We tried squash for the first time on June 28th. She helped me pick out the exact one, we talked about it, and she was very excited about it! Yay Ruby! She's very proud of herself here.

But unfortunately she didn't like it either. I'm not sure if it's the taste, or just the fact that it's on a spoon. I've heard that we just have to be persistent, so squash it is until she gets the hang of it! In her defense, I tried a bite and I would've hated it too...

Ruby also took her first out-of-state trip! We went to Madison, Wisconsin, for a week for my work. My mom and Ruby came along and enjoyed the slightly cooler weather up north. It was Ruby's first time to fly and, I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous. I've heard such horror stories and I know that feeling of defeat when you realize that a mother with a small child is sitting next to you on the plane. I didn't want to be "that lady". Well, lucky for everyone, Ruby is a champion flier! I nursed her on take-off and landing, she slept most of the way, and was just smiling at everyone the rest of the time! She makes friends quite easily. In fact, on the flight home, a woman stopped us as we were boarding and said "Hi Ruby, have a good flight!" She was on our flight up to Madison and remembered Ruby! Everyone at the hotel in Madison just loved Ruby. She even got some gifts from the hotel management! Shameless plug - if you're ever in that part of Wisconsin, stay at the Concourse Hotel - it's wonderful! Here's a picture of Ruby and I at dinner at the Old Fashioned in Madison next to the capitol - and of course, we had to have fried cheese curds - yum!Ruby had a big play-date on that Friday morning too - she got to play with her new friends Emily, Zander (who was one week old!), and Oliver for the morning. Here's a cute picture of Ruby and Emme. I wish we lived closer together - Ruby had so much fun with her! Big thanks to Teresa and Kacey for baby-sitting her that morning, and congratulations to Kacey on her new baby boy!!

The worst blogger ever....

After receiving numerous complaints and some downright threats for not updating my blog in over two months, here it is! I'm going to fit a lot in this post, so I hope it keeps you interested. Sorry to everyone who has been checking in on us only to be dissapointed that there wasn't an update. I promise that I'll start to do a better job again.

So much has happened in the past two months. We said goodbye to our house in Carrollton and moved into our new home in Fort Worth! My divorce was finalized in early April and I'm moving on with my life. I really don't remember the last time that I was this happy. Work is going great - I'm beginning to travel more and Ruby and my mom are my travelling entouage, so they go with me everywhere. I'm having such a fun time with Ruby, with my wonderful friends who have been there for me through everything, and with my new friends that I have made here in Fort Worth. I'm a very firm believer that everything happens for the best.

It's the sweetest home - it was built in 1926 but has been completely updated on the inside. It's the perfect house for me and Ruby - lots of character with hardwood floors and the sweetest nursery you've ever seen. It's a really great neighborhood and I just love all of my neighbors. If you're ever near the Arlington Heights area in Ft. Worth, stop by and visit us!
Ruby is doing really well - I can't believe how BIG she is getting! She is very sassy - she always crosses her little legs in her carseat and really only gets angry if you remove any accessories such as bows, etc. She is still just a rediculously happy baby. I think that she is starting to teethe so she slobbers like a bulldog right now. So she always has this big drooly grin on her face. She is the sweetest little girl and is my absolute best friend. We have so much fun together! I think that she'll be sitting up on her own any day now and she has started to roll over. She loves her exersaucer and can spend an entire teleconference in there, which is great when I get to work from home!

Like I said, I'll start to do a better job of updating our blog! Ruby and I love y'all!

Three whole months!

Ruby is three months old! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I started back to work last week - I cried the entire way to work last Monday. It broke my heart to leave my sweet sleeping baby. Thankfully I've been so busy trying to get caught back up that the days seem to go by quickly! Ruby has been having such a good time during the day with Nana. I am so thankful that she has been here to help me (and very appreciative of the packing that she's been doing)! Here are a few pictures of the sweet girl. She's still such a good baby - hardly ever cries, sleeps relatively well, and is always ready with a big gummy smile and a giggle.

Ruby's playdate

We spent the rainy afternoon yesterday up at Jonnye Bower's house - we ordered Chinese delivery (Jonnye and I) and had a fun playdate (Ruby and Alina). If you remember, Alina was born within minutes of Ruby on December 22. Ruby's first-ever playdate was with Alina during her newborn photo shoot. It was great to get to sepnd time with Jonnye - I always leave so much more knowledgeable than I was before. My big take-home from this last visit was that everything isn't always life-or-death with your first born, contrary to the new mommy instincts. I had a great time, as always, and can't wait to do it again!

Here are a few fun pictures of Ruby and her friend Alina. So cute!! Any new moms out there, check out Jonnye's blog and website (link to the right of my page) - she's an amazing photographer and the sweetest person in the world!!

Other big news!!!

We got an offer on our house! I couldn't be happier about the whole situation. The couple that is buying it is so sweet - they've been married 2 years and this is their first home. It's such a small world and it turns out that I met her mother at a church in the area last year! We're supposed to close on the house on April 6th.

Also, I put an offer on a house in Fort Worth yesterday too! Say some prayers for me - that the sellers accept an offer that I can live with! The house is soooo sweet - it's a bungalow-style home that was built in the 1920's, complete with hardwood floors and stained-glass windows. It has been completely renovated, so the kitchen has granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. I think it would be the perfect house. We will be so much closer to my parents and Damian's parents so that they can help with Ruby while I'm at work. It will be nice to get a fresh start for myself.

I don't know how I deserve to have such amazing friends. My roommate, Ashley, is going to be moving with me! She's one of the biggest blessings in my life and I'm literally in tears when I think about what a wonderful person and friend that she is.

Finally, I'll post and update and some more pictures!

I know, I know. It's been entirely too long since I updated my blog! But in my defense, if given the opportunity of typing on a computer or spending time with sweet little Ruby, can you blame me?

So much has happened! We took Ruby for her 2-month pediatrician's appointment and shots at the end of February. One of the vaccines is oral, and due to her 'overly-sensitive gag reflex', she ended up throwing up all over one of the nurses. But she managed to keep most of the vaccine down, so that was the main point. Ruby is so sweet and trusting and innocent - she was smiling SO big at the nurse, she thought that she had made a new friend. When out of nowhere the nice nurse jabbed a needle in Ruby's thigh - the look on Ruby's face just broke my heart! She only cried for a minute though and was back to smiling in no time. Here are Ruby's 2-month stats:

Height - 24 inches (95th Percentile!!!)

Weight - 12 pounds 2.5 ounces (90th Percentile!!!)

Head Circumference - 39cm (60th Percentile)

She's still a tall baby!!! I've been saying that I can't believe how big she has gotten, but I really can't! At the time she was close to outgrowing her 3-month clothes!

Ruby's Baptism was the next weekend. It was a beautiful ceremony - she was baptized by Father Matthew at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Carrollton in a private ceremony after mass on February 22 (Ruby's 2-month birthday). Ruby has 7 Godparents! Grandpa (my dad) is our token Catholic Godparent, and the others are Allie & Elliott, Lindsay & Paul, and Andrea & Robbie. Ruby is going to be so very blessed to have these people in her life. I honestly don't think it's possible for a Grandpa to love his granddaughter more than my dad loves Ruby. Ruby's face lights up every time she sees him - it's so sweet. Allie has promised to teach Ruby about grace and to make sure that she is an accomplished dancer. Lindsay is responsible for Ruby's athletic development (if anyone knows where we can find a toddler-trailer for a bike, let me know!), and Andrea will make sure that Ruby has an incredible sense of style! Their respective husbands will prove to Ruby that there are good men in the world. Paul is already researching the tournament schedules for Ruby's golf career, and Elliott and Robbie will be able to teach her how to manage her finances, or at least her allowance. The preist kind of chuckled when he saw the group of Godparents heading up for the ceremony, but it was clear to everyone how special that Ruby was and how loved she is by everyone.

Here are a few more fun pictures. Daddy bought me and Ruby matching pajamas - they're just adorable! Ruby is growing like crazy! She still won't take a bottle (Little Miss Drama always gags and screams when we try to give her one). I go back to work in a week, so I'm sure that the first week back is going to be rough on poor Ruby - but probably even more rough on poor Nana who is going to be watching her!!! If anyone has any advice, please let me know! We've tried all of the typical "tricks" - having someone else give her the bottle when I'm not around, giving it to her when she's not fussy, we've tried 3 different types of bottles, etc. Nothing works. She's stubborn (I have absolutely no idea where she got that!).

Kisses from Ruby!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Here's a picture of my little sweetheart. Waking up on Valentine's Day knowing that I was loved absolutely unconditionally by someone was such a great feeling, and one that I haven't felt in a while. It's crazy how a little smile from this baby can completely melt your heart. We had a great day with the family - it's wonderful to spend the day with people that love you. We wanted to wish Gramps a Happy Birthday as well!

Ruby sends everyone big hugs and kisses!

Visiting Nana and Grandpa

Last weekend we went out to Aledo to visit Nana and Grandpa. It was Ruby's first overnight-visit! I quickly realized that packing for me and a baby is not nearly as easy as it sounds. We had my car filled to the brim with swings, extra clothes, and anything else that we could possibly need. We had such a fun time!

Grandpa is really getting into photography and here are a few of the great pictures that he took of us.