Summer days drifting away...

We've had such a fun summer! Every single day has been a new adventure with little Miss Ruby. I will admit though, I am SO excited that fall is finally here! This is my absolute favorite time of the year and I plan to enjoy as much of the wonderful weather outside with Ruby as possible.

I took Ruby to "A Day in the District" here in Ft. Worth - if you're not familiar with this, a lot of museums in the Cultural District offer free admission and several performing arts groups give free performances. We braved the torrential rain and started at the Modern. There, we saw a short performance by the Fort Worth Opera of Billy Goats Gruff - it was about a 30-minute opera that was geared towards kids. And I have news, Ruby loves the opera! She was enthralled the entire time watching the people sing and dance and also trying to imitate the pianist. After the opera performance, we headed over to the Fort Worth Science & History Museum (our second time to visit). Ruby had such a big time in the Children's Museum section. She spent over an hour in there, running around like crazy.

That afternoon, she and I snuggled up on my bed (while college football was on in the background) and took a two-hour nap. It. Was. Glorious. There's really nothing better than having Ruby snuggle up to me and hearing her sweet sigh. Loved it! That evening, Kayleb and I took Ruby on a walk to Curly's for ice cream. It was the perfect end to the perfect day.

I'm sure I've mentioned this a million times before, but I have the best friends ever! I was invited to the opening of Blue Sushi (it just opened up near Eddie V's) for a complementary multi-course dinner. It was soooooo yummy! I can't say enough great things about that restaurant. Delicious food, cool atmosphere, friendly staff, and it's just right down the street! It's very reasonably priced too, so I'll definitely be back! Here are a few pics with Kayleb, me, LeeAnne, and Tom.

Last night we took dinner over to Lindsay & Paul's. I told Ruby earlier in the day that we were going to have dinner with the triplets - to say that she was excited would be a drastic understatement. When she woke up from her nap, I heard her on the baby monitor jumping up and down in her crib saying "Addddddiiiieeee, Tartarrrrr, Dack! Yay! Fun! Yay!" (Addie, Carter, and Jack). She had a fun night playing with the babies - but they're almost not babies any more! Their 1-year birthday is coming up soon!!! They are doing so great and have the funniest little personalities. Ruby really enjoyed getting to share her food with the babies. She also had an absolute blast dancing with Linds - she's a pro at marching, clapping, and doing this funny little twist move.
Check out this hair!!!!

It's been a great week - looking forward to yet another one!

Fantastic Fort Worth!

Ruby and I have been having such a great time together lately! She's getting to the point where she can communicate pretty well, so it's really fun to have a "conversation" about what she wants for a snack, which bow she wants to wear (and then promptly rip out of her hair), or why she prefers one blanket over another. She is the most affectionate child - always ready with a big hug or a kiss. I honestly love her more than I can explain!

We have been so lucky lately to get the opportunity to do some fun Fort Worth activites for free/very cheap. Ruby took her first trip to the zoo a few weekends ago! The Fort Worth Zoo is consistently rated as one of the best in the nation, and there's a really good reason for that - it is AMAZING! We lucked out and happened to go on the one day in August that it wasn't a zillion degrees. We got there right as the zoo opened and didn't have to fight any crowds. The monkeys, elephants, turtles, penguins, and kudu were a big hit with Ruby. She spent some of the time in her stroller and the rest of the time running around with her backpack on. Don't judge me when you see that her backpack is kind of just a glorified leash. You try being a single mom to an incredibly mobile (and fast) toddler who usually refuses to hold hands. I'd rather get a few sideways glances then have her running in to give the lion a hug.... :) Our visit lasted about 3 hours, but Ruby tuckered out right before we got to the MOLA (Museum of Living Art) exhibit. I happened to get a few cute pictures of our trip. It was such a fun morning to spend with my best friend. I'm definitely getting a membership next year and we're going to go all the time!

That evening I was invited to go to the Casa Manana's Annual Gala with one of my best friends, Kayleb. It was such a great evening with great friends complete with tons of laughter, fun cocktails, and lots of dancing. It was so fun to get an opportunity to get out of my pajamas for an evening and act like a civilized lady!

I took Ruby to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History for the first time on Labor Day - it was the last day to see the DaVinci exhibit that was there and I haven't gotten an opportunity to go since they renovated the museum. WOW!!! It is such a fantastic museum that has such great exhibits for all ages! Ruby had a great time in the Children's Museum part (she looooooooved the bubble tubes), and my friend LeeAnne and I enjoyed literally every second from when we walked in the door. My inner nerd was entirely too excited!

Ruby would walk in front of the bubble tubes and touch each one and count (spelled the way she says them) "One, toooo, free, fou, five, stix!" and then on the way back would count "Uno, dauuus, taes, baa-bro, tin-to, steees!" As she was doing this, another little boy who was about a year older than her was repeatedly banging a wooden toy on his head - his father was looking back and forth between Ruby and his progeny with the most defeated look on his face. LeeAnne had perfect comedic timing, as always, and started to whisper in a sing-song voice "Our kid is smarter than your kid! Our kid is smarter than your kid!" Trying not to laugh out loud was pretty difficult. In all honesty, Ruby is pretty remarkable. She can count to 10 in English and Spanish (although she can't say "7" in either language), she can spell her name, and she knows all the colors of the rainbow and can say them in order without any prompting. Also, in the bathtub the other night, she said the majority of the alphabet without any help. She is SO stinking smart! I'm not trying to brag, I'm just absolutely amazed with this little girl.

My dad took some pretty amazing pictures of Ruby the other day. He is such a talented photographer! If you happen to go to the Texas Ballet Theater's production of Cinderella this year (which you definitely should - it will be phenominal!), you might see a familiar face on some of their marketing material!

Ruby has blessed me in so many ways. I am the luckiest person in the world to be her mommy. I love her with every fiber of my body and enjoy every single second that I get with her!

Much love-

Jaedeanne and Ruby

Slight resemblance?

One of these pictures is from dinner at my parent's house last night. The other picture is from dinner at my parent's house in 1981. Hmmm.....

Summertime, and the living is easy...

We had a fabulous weekend with our besties! I am so lucky to have stayed so close to my best friends from high school - Lindsay, Allie, Andrea, and Blair. They mean the world to me and I am so blessed to have such amazing ladies in my life! On Saturday afternoon we had a swim party at Sweet Blair's house. We had quite the full house - Blair, Jacob, and Miss Ella; Lindsay, Paul and the triplets; Andrea, Robbie, and baby Hazel; Allie and Elliott; and me and Sweet Ruby.

Ruby enjoying the beautiful view

Ruby LOVES swimming now! Lindsay helped ease her initial fears with some creative techniques that she and the triplets learned in their swim lessons. It also helped that we were in a beautiful saltwater pool with water that was about 85 degrees. We swam for about an hour and Ruby didn't want to get out! :)

Getting a group picture of this bunch is very similar to trying to herd cats. Ruby is absolutely terrified in this picture because of what you can't see behind me - all of the dads were jumping up and down, screaming "HEEEEYYY, LOOK OVER HERE!" "SAY CHEESE", etc. Not only is Ruby slightly frightened of men in the first place (not much exposure), she was probably wondering why they were all screaming at her. She quickly recovered from her trauma though and was happy like always.

In the photo, from left to right, Terrified Ruby, Terrified-by-proxy Hazel (in the blue), Addie the climber, Ella who was by far the best behaved, Precious Jack, and Carter the Flirt - yep, he's flirting with the girls over to the side of the room and can't be bothered with pictures.

Ruby and I got these cute Hawaiian outfits the last time that we were in Honolulu. They've gotten some good use this summer!

Aunt Allie holding Addie, me and Ruby. Addie & Ruby were matchy-matchy and it was adorable.

Ella giving Ruby a BIG hug!!! They were so sweet together!

Jack and Carter - love those big blue eyes! They're gonna break some hearts one day!

Beautiful Hazel - she is such a happy and sweet baby and always dressed to the nines!

Here's a fun video of Ruby walking in my shoes after I got back from work. She thought that she was hot stuff!!

Night-night, sweet angel.

Ruby continues to amaze me every day - she is learning so much so quickly! She is so sweet when she's getting ready for bed. She insists on saying "ni-ni" or "bye-bye" to literally everything in the world before she goes to bed. She doesn't discriminate - she says it to me, all of her dolls, her shoes, her boo-boo's, her water, really everything that she can think of. Each night we say our nighttime prayers right before I put her in her crib. She's picked up on the words "Jesus" and "Amen" and frequently reminds me of both words during our prayers. The other night we had finished her prayers and I put her in her crib. Here's our conversation.

"Bye-bye Mama"

"Good night sweet baby, I love you"

"Ni-ni Desus"

"Oh, how sweet. Night night, Jesus."

"Bye-bye Amen"

"Hahahaha! Oh, so very thoughtful. Good night, Amen."

I snuck in the other morning and got a picture of her sleeping. This is her favorite position - arms tucked underneath her with her little tush up in the air. You can also see the back of her favorite doll - the Dora doll. She's officially obsessed.... I know it's not the best picture, I took it on my phone and then brightened it a lot so you could see her. She is just so sweet and so funny!

Dancing Queen......almost.

Ruby looooooooves watching the Wonder Pets on TV. She loves the music, loves the duck, and loves to dance while she watches it. Here's a video from this afternoon (it's also proof of our first try with pigtails). Bless her heart, she just gets so excited that she can't hardly stand it! Oh, and the snort is coming from her. :)

Ruby also started music lessons this week! She's in a summer class at the Arlington Heights Music Academy and they meet once a week for 30 minutes. She loves it! They sign, dance, play the xylophones, the timpani drums, and the keyboard. My little musical prodigy.

I love this little stinker SO much!!

Quite the conversationalist

Ruby and I had, what I believe to be, our very first conversation the other night! She had taken a bath and we were putting her into her pajamas, which were pajama pants with pink & blue hearts and a pink t-shirt with a bulldog on it wearing a princess crown. She absolutely loves that shirt (see previous posts about her love for dogs) and was a tad over-excited about her eveningwear.

Me: Ruby, what is on your shirt?

Ruby: *pause and look* DOG!!!!

Me: Good girl! What is on the dog's head?

Ruby: *pause and look* HAT!!!

Me: Very good! What color is the hat?

Ruby: *look again* PINK!!!

Me: You are so smart!! *begin to put her pajama bottoms on*

Ruby: Dog, eat?

Me: Your dog wants to eat? She's hungry?

Ruby: Yes.

Me: What does your dog want to eat?

Ruby: *thoughtful pause* Cheese.

Me: So, let me get this straight. The bulldog with the pink hat on your pajamas has let you know that she is hungry and would like some cheese?

Ruby: Yes.

She is so funny! And she is getting more and more opinionated each passing second. We also had our first fight the other day - it was regarding which bow she would wear to church. We had differing opinions, and I lost.....

I'm eagerly awaiting to see what else Ruby has to say!

Spring Catch-Up

I know - I'm the worst blogger ever. Ruby and I have been so busy lately just living life! She's such a handful now and is officially opinionated. She has very strong opinions about the oddest things - she insists on selecting her bow each morning and actually does a pretty good job of matching to her outfit. She prefers mushrooms sauteed in butter and sherry as opposed to those sauteed in olive oil and garlic. She loves risotto but isn't crazy about couscous. She'll eat grilled asparagus like it's candy. And yes, several people have commented on the fact that it's weird that she likes these things, but I'm not complaining! She hates her swimming pool (see evidence below) but loves taking a bath and cries when bathtime is over. Her favorite color is now pink (shocking) and her favorite animal is still a duck. She is absolutely terrified of school busses and loves to have her back rubbed. It's so fun to discover her little quirks as her personality is really developing. We have so much fun together and she's still the funniest person that I know.

Ruby is getting really vocal and tells me stories all day long. I catch a word or two here and there, which is pretty amusing. She knows a lot of animal noises (meow, woof, quack, baaa) and some colors (pink, yellow, bue, and green). She can say the entire alphabet with you and is able to recognize about 10 letters on her own. I have an adorable video of her in the bathtub saying her ABC's, but I'm sure that if I posted it she would potentially kill me 20 years down the line when her boyfriend sees it. But take my word for it, she's got the hang of the whole alphabet thing.

Ruby has also begun to discover her artistic talents. We did a few of these original pieces of art for Mother's Day this year and Ruby had a ball. We also made a corresponding photo book to go with the painting for Nana - she loved it and shows it off to all of her friends! Here are a few fun ones.

It's getting way too hot, way too early here in Texas. As we will most likely be confined to the air-conditioned paradise of our home I should get better about updating the blog....but no promises!

Happy June!

Love,

Ruby & Jaedeanne

Making wishes...

Anti-versary

My one-year "Anti-versary" has come and gone. A year ago, I was given the unique opportunity to start my life over again. Thinking back, it was the most heartbreaking, painful, and scary situation that I've ever gone through. Everyone would say things to me like "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger", "You'll be so much better off...", and the one that I heard the most often was "I'm so sorry." I got so tired of hearing that - I know that everyone was trying to be nice and they didn't quite know what to say or what to do. It was awkward for everyone.

I was given an option. I could let my situation define me as a person. I could be known as the sad girl whose husband left when she was six months pregnant because he had an affair. How. Very. Sad.

I chose not to select that option. I picked myself up, broken and tear-stained, and forced myself to put one foot in front of the other. I know it sounds admirable, but really I just didn't know what else to do. I've always been a relatively "obedient" individual, so I just gave myself rules to follow. Get out of bed when the alarm clock goes off. Shower, get dressed, and put on makeup. Go to work. Fake a smile. No other options. Thankfully there was a little angel named Ruby who helped me get this accomplished as well. Ruby became the center of my universe. She was my happy-place. I know that I was being a good mom by comforting her and meeting all of her needs. But the thing about it is, she was the one who was unknowingly comforting me. I would nurse her and tell her how fabulous her life would be with me. After a while, I found myself starting to believe it. I officially had a new best friend.

I bought my perfect little dream house. All by myself. This house has become so special and important to me - it not only serves as proof of my independence and success, but it is a home for Ruby and me. It is a happy, warm, loving home where we are safe and we know that nothing that happens within these 4 walls will ever be more than either of us can handle together. Buying this home has also brought me closer to my family at a time in which we all needed it. My dad was battling Stage 3 cancer, and my mom was supporting everyone else around her emotionally and physically. God doesn't make mistakes. This situation brought us together and I'm now closer with my family than I've ever been before. Ruby certainly hasn't hurt the situation either - she's not only the center of my universe, but of my parents' as well. And I'm quite certain that she knows it. I have an incredible, yet challenging career, and I honestly enjoy every single day of it. I was able to re-prioritize, re-focus, and have enjoyed several professional "wins" along the way.

Life handed me lemons. I busted out the salt and tequila for a little while, enjoyed that, and am now savoring the most lovely lemonade ever.

So, you might ask, how is Jaedeanne different than she was a year ago? I am happy. Not fake-smile, periodically happy, but genuinely and truly happy with every aspect of my life. And I'm more proud of myself than I've ever been. I know what a strong, smart, independent woman that I am because I was able to prove it to my biggest doubter - myself.

However, I've recently noticed some other changes that aren't quite so conspicuous. I'm now a contingency planner. I can literally count on one hand the number of people that I trust. Not that I necessarially dis-trust others, just don't be offended if I have a contingency plan that involves you. I was in a situation where the one true, certain thing in my life blindsided me and then kicked me when I was down. Do that to me once, shame on you. Do that to me twice, shame on me. So now I contingency plan.

Yes, I've been on dates. I have found that I am now unable to hold hands and snuggle - it makes me feel too vulnerable. So now I'm thinking that I should stop considering having a boyfriend and start work on marketing proposals for a corporate sponsorship. That seems more my style right now. If you, or any corporations that you know are interested, please feel free to contact me directly.

Another thing that I've noticed is that I very rarely cry. The only thing that I can relate it to is a chef who is constantly cooking in the kitchen, burning his hand repeatedly, day after day, year after year. After a while it stops hurting and he eventually gets to a point where he doesn't even notice it. However, the one thing that will bring me to tears every time is if I really stop to think about and feel the love in my heart for Ruby. But they're happy love-y tears and I don't mind them at all.

But the biggest change in my life is that I'm probably one of the best moms in the universe. It coincidentally works out well because I have one of, if not the best daughter in the universe. God had good planning on this one. We're a great team. No one makes me smile bigger, laugh harder, hug longer, or try harder than she does. I said it earlier - she's my angel. I can't imagine my life without her and I am so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to share this adventure with her.

So, happy Anti-versary to me! Jaedeanne, you're pretty incredible. Well done.