Quick update!

I know it's been....oh.....six months or so since I updated this blog....  Sorry about that!  We are still here!  It has been a crazy spring/summer.  My dad had a stroke, which in-turn made his dementia worse, and my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, had a mastectomy, and has started her chemo treatments.  Phew! Despite all of the health drama (prayers are always appreciated), we have all been doing really great.  God's timing is always perfect in everything, and it has been so fun to see how he has placed certain people and events in our lives leading up to this.  We are abundantly blessed.

Ruby started pre-k last week and absolutely loves it!  It helps that she had a built-in network of friends there already - the triplets have attended this school for a while and graciously offered to "introduce her to their people".  She now wakes up at about 2am every night asking if it's time to get ready for school..... she loves it so much.  I think it will be a great fit for her this year. 

Work is great, friends are amazing, and I'm lucky enough to be dating a wonderful (and pretty darn cute) guy.  We have plenty to smile about.

Here are a few random pictures from throughout the summer, in no particular order....

Zoo Camp - one of her favorite things to do

Ruby just being adorable

Silly selfies

Right before my mom's first chemo treatment.  All smiles!

Date night at the Modern

Road trip to New Mexico for Granny's 80th birthday party

Wine tasting in Napa

Some of my besties from college at my old roommate's wedding in Sonoma

After my first HALF MARATHON!!!

A trip of a lifetime

Last year I got an email that I honestly almost deleted.........

"Congratulations, Jaedeanne, you are our grand prize winner!" the email began.  I was like most rational people and was immediately skeptical.  Well, after some additional communication, notarized forms, tax forms, and some additional paperwork, it was confirmed.  I had indeed won a prize from Embassy Suites. 

The prize enabled us to take the trip of a lifetime.  It was a dream of mine to be able to take Ruby to Disney World, but I never knew, as a single mom, if that dream would turn into a reality.  God is SO good, y'all.  Talk about answered prayers.

I took Ruby, me, my mom, and my Granny to Disney World for a week.  Four Generations in the Happiest Place on Earth.  We had such a fantastic time.  We made memories that will last a lifetime.

Here are just a few of the over 700 pictures that I took during the week.  Every time I look at these pictures, they make me smile.

Ruby and Merida singing a song from "Brave" together. 

Four generations at Epcot

Ruby and Princess Aurora at the Perfectly Princess Tea Party

Four Generations at Magic Kingdom
(yes, we are wearing matching t-shirts that I made, as well as Minnie Mouse ears.)

Ruby and I ran in the Royal Family 5K

I'd say that this was a successful vacation.

Happy 4th Birthday, Sweet Girl

I had Ruby's 4th Birthday party a bit early this year.  Her actual birthday is December 22, so if we want any friends to be able to attend a party, realistically we either have to have it in early December or early January. 

In related news......I'm about to have a FOUR YEAR OLD...... How did this happen so quickly???

This year, Ruby wanted a Ballerina Birthday.  As I've mentioned before, we have several dear friends at Texas Ballet Theater and that is where Ruby takes ballet lessons.  What more perfect of a party than to go to see a ballet performance?! 

 

Even though I try my hardest to really separate Ruby's birthday from Christmas festivities (I want her to feel special - I've grown up with the same issue as a Jan 4th b-day), I got second-row tickets for the group to see The Nutcracker. 

 

 

I woke up that morning, and it dawned on me.....what on earth was I thinking???  I'm taking a group of 3 and 4-year olds to Bass Hall to see a 2+ hour classical ballet and we are sitting front and center.  Smart thinking, mama.

 

 

Guess what - the day was PERFECT.  The kids were absolutely mesmerized by the goregous performance (by the way, TBT's Nutcracker is probably one of the best in the US).  Everyone was very excited but they were so well behaved.  Ruby recognized our friends on stage and would wave at them "Miss Angela!  Hi, Miss Michelle!"  I tried to explain that they couldn't stop their performance to wave back at her, but she did get a few winks from some of the girls.

 

After the performance, Ruby and her guests were given a back-stage tour where they got to say hello to some of the dancers (Robin Bangert and Carrie Judson are pictured here).  Ruby got to take a special photo with Ben Stevenson, the Artistic Director of the ballet. 

 

Then the kids were allowed to go out on the stage of Bass Hall and help George, the Production Manager for the ballet, collect handfuls of snow from the performance. 

 

 

 The birthday group on the stage - from L to R - Addie, Ella, Frances, Ruby, Isaac (notice the hand-holding action going on there!), and Hazel

 

Ruby giving George a thank-you hug

 

 Collecting snow

 Some of my best friends, Andrea and Lindsay with their sweet girls Hazel and Addie

 Ruby's boyfriend, Isaac, and his goregous mama, Stephanie

 Addie and Hazel

 Before the ballet, we made a quick stop (and wardrobe change) to see Santa in downtown Fort Worth.  I think that Ruby is part elf anyway, she sings Christmas carols all year long and I've never seen a level of enthusiasm for Christmas quite this high.  She was so excited to see Santa - when it was her turn, she ran up to his sleigh, climbed in his lap, and hugged him like a long lost friend.  After a long conversation regarding what a good girl she had been all year and a verbal submission of gift requests, the pictures were taken.  Santa gave a big ho-ho-ho as she walked away and said "Bye, Santa!  I love you!"

Happy birthday to my sweet angel.  I am so proud of you and I couldn't possibly love you more than I do.  You make my heart smile and I am so blessed to be your mommy.

Happy Fall, Y'all

Well, we are still here!  I normally would apologize for my lack of blogging, but it just hasn't been a priority for me lately.  Between ballet classes at Texas Ballet Theater, zoo school at the Fort Worth Zoo, Bible study, and trying to get every single ounce of happiness out of our time together, I just haven't had much time for this. 

Ruby is doing well - she is extraordinarily smart (she has begun reading, can write her name, and uses words like "extraordinarily").  She has quite the witty sense of humor.  And she is just the sweetest child ever.  I'm a lucky mama.

Photos above are by Paige Walker Photography.  She's a sweet friend from my Mom's Group at church, and is a very talented photographer!

Happy Summer

Hello friends! Yes, we are still here. I’m sure that you’ve all been eagerly sitting on the edges of your seats waiting for this blog update. You can take a big sigh of relief - your wait is over.

Honestly, life just got in the way. In re-reading my last post, I mentioned that there was a big life change for me and then I never followed through to let you know what it was. I am sure that this is not new news to any of my family or friends, but for posterity’s sake, I’ll post it here as well. Drum roll, please……..

Ta-Da! I now work at Alcon in a Training role. I am just over the moon about it. Many of you know that it has been my dream to work for this incredible company and now my dream has come true. I am just thrilled about the career growth opportunities that are in front of me and I am truly excited to drive onto campus every morning.

However, with my new role comes some additional responsibilities, so between work and spending every free second that I have with my little mini-me, I haven’t had much time for things such as this blog.

Let me catch you up on our lives so far this summer, via Instagram pictures.

We have had our girly days.

We have been swimming. Lots.

We have gotten brain freezes.

We saw a few movies.

We sat front row to see Annie.

We also saw the Wizard of Oz.

We went to Ballet Camp at Texas Ballet Theater.

We went to Kid’s Kamp at Christ Chapel Bible Church.

We were silly at the Fort Worth Food Truck Park

We loved each other.

Hope you're enjoying the summer as much as we are!

God Bless Texas

It's officially Blue Bonnet season here in Texas.  I love this time of year and it makes me love this great state even more.  My sinuses don't share my same affinity for the lovely blooms though....

Ruby had a great time romping in the flowers yesterday. 

You might also notice a new addition to my pictures - my name.  No, I'm not incredibly narcissistic....I've decided to start watermarking my photos after hearing several horror stories from friends about where their blog pictures ended up being used without their consent.  I know that this won't prevent it, but hopefully it will make it more difficult for them to be used elsewhere.  I hope that it's not too distracting for y'all!

Spring has Sprung

Spring has Sprung, as they say, here in Texas.  If only the weather would stay this glorious throughout the rest of the summer.  Alas, it will be well into the triple digits before we know it.

Ruby and I took advantage of the wonderful weather and spent some time at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens last weekend.  I brought my camera with me and snapped a few fun pictures.  When I was picking out my favorite pictures from the day, it struck me as to how quickly she is growing up.  I am cherishing every single second with her, but am also secretly wishing that I could somehow figure out a way to prevent her from growing up so quickly......  It's all so bittersweet.

Little Miss Ruby is entirely too chic in her sunglasses. 

The Rose Garden in the Botanic Gardens is one of our favorite spots.

We had to fit one self-portrait into our pictures.  What you couldn't see at this point was that we were both sweaty messes, my arm was shaking because that camera is darn heavy, and we (both of us, not just her) had just finished drinking the rest of the water out of her pink princess sippy cup.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, folks.

Along with the changes in foliage and weather, there has been a pretty significant life change for us too!  I'll share more in a week or so, but let me assure you that I haven't stopped smiling about it since I found out.....

Looking forward to more fun weekends of this beautiful weather with my little mini-me!