Five Years Ago Today...

I was on my way to First United Methodist Church, with my mom, while trying to get my nose ring back in my nose. Of what significance is this random tale you might ask. Well on Saturday the first of May, 2004 I was on my way to church to be married to Daniel. I had pierced my nose three years earlier with my mothers blessing under one condition; that I would take it out for the wedding unless I wanted to pay for it myself! My mom eventually got used to the piercing and even grew to like it and I was now allowed to wear my extra bling for the ceremony, so I had taken it out, as I did most days to clean it and give it a little extra sparkle.

There was just one problem...I couldn't get it back in, and I can assure you, however much you dislike piercings, a void hole looks so much worse than a tiny little rhinestone! I had no pre-wedding jitters whatsoever, but for some reason or another, in the rush to get ready I could NOT get my nose ring back in. When I got to the church, I figured I could trust Monica to get the job done as she had "re-pierced" my nose more times than I care to remember (a story for another time). Monica however, had no better luck than me, until...wait for it, she swapped nose rings with me, and wa-lah, it went right in! True friendship! :) That was the only "big glitch" on our big day (well that and Daniel and his groomsmen inadvertently chasing down a relative and accusing him of pickpocketing...again, a story for another time). After all that, it was down the isle in my green suede heels to meet my high school sweetheart and say I DO.

It was the most exciting day of my life and I had dreamed of it for so long. It only took a few months before I knew I was going to marry you, and after six years of dating I knew everything I needed to know about you. You were definately THE one! You are my bestest friend and you balance me out. You tolerate my crazy and you're even able to laugh at it to keep from loosing your mind. I love you and I'd be nothing without you. Thank you for being my hubband and Ru's daddy, you mean the world to me. UNDERLINE, UNDERLINE,UNDERLINE!

My Happily Ever After

Nine Months!

Waiting to go in for your nine month checkup...

Today you are nine months old! You had your nine month "well visit" yesterday, and you weighed in at 21 pounds even (no wonder my arms hurt) and you are 28&1/4 inches long. That puts you at 90th percentile for your weight and 75th percentile for your height, not too bad for a preemie! You have finally started holding your own bottle, but only if we lay you down, and you prefer momma to feed you your last bottle before bed. I think the Good Lord let me have that because I couldn't bear the thought of you not needing me to feed you as I still hold you in my arms everynight until you fall asleep. Other than that, no major milestones this month. You still aren't crawling, but you are finally getting up on all fours and rocking back & forth until you lunge forward and pancake out! Even though you aren't able to get around on your own yet, I can already tell you are going to be pure trouble when you can & NO is going to be a very popular word in our home! You are the nosiest child I have ever seen, you want to touch everything! You have yet to meet a food that you don't like and you eat at lightning speed. You love your "dolly bear" as daddy calls it that you got for Christmas and it has definitely become your security blanket. I love you monkey bear and though I miss my tiny little five pound baby, I love watching you grow!

p.s.
you have also taken to kicking (with quite some force i might add)when you don't like something, usually when you're in your crib and you would prefer to be in someones arms! ;) Some might refer to this as a tantrum of sorts...

self portrait "photo shoot" while waiting for Dr. Mcfarland to come in.

Eight Months Old!

Are you cereal? Yes it's true, today you are eight months old! No huge developments in the last month, but you have come up with a few new things worth mentioning. You LOVE to bounce, and you do so whenever you get the chance. Still no teeth, and absolutely NO interest in crawling, but you love to stand and will walk, with us holding your hands of course. My favorite new development is when you see us coming to get you, you put your arms up...not as if you are going to put them around our neck, but in order to grab onto our fingers (or "handlebars" as daddy calls them) so you can pull yourself up from a sitting to a standing position. You enjoy sitting on our bed and squealing/screaming with delight for ridiculous amounts of time as you explore your voice and its ability to light up the baby monitor. So I guess that's you in a nutshell at eight months! I love you my little monkey bear!

Ocho cosas sobre me!

The rules are as follows:
1. Each player starts with eight random fact/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.

1. I still have a blankey & must have it to sleep at home & especially when i travel. I was known to take my blanket to class in high school when I was tired...gotta love the satin trim. I had the same one forever but now I am forced to replace it every few years do it's pitifulness...

2. I keep a "list book" filled with lists of different things...the most important being my list of names. I have a list of potential pet names as well as baby names, one for boys, another for girls.
3. I am a complete sap for lost animals & have been known to pull over on the side of the road to rescue dogs. Doesn't matter what time of day, or how late I'm already running. What goes around comes around & I hope if one of my pets was ever to run away, someone will be kind enough to at least try & rescue them. I have also been known to take in disabled cats, maimed birds & other various wildlife.

4. I have an infatuation with Catholic &/or Mexican art and decor as well as a slight obsession with the Virgin Mary/Virgin Guadalupe & I am always scoping the flea market for a new addition to my growing collection. So much so, that when our apartment manager came over to check on something she asked Daniel if we were Catholic.

5. I save text messages & voicemails for an obscenely long time before deleting them, and I ALWAYS save my most recent messages from Daniel if I know he will be flying. My weird rationale, should you be curious, is just in case something happens to him, i can always listen to his voice again. Does this make me strange...

6. I collect rocks and have done so since I was in preschool. Everyday I would come home with my pockets full of carefully selected rocks. My mom has a glass jar full of the ones she deemed worthy of saving. I don't come home with pockets full of rocks anymore, but I do look for a good rock whenever we travel to remind me of our trip. When we were in New York I found a pile of cobblestones and took one that I made poor daniel carry around for the rest of the day. After all that, we couldn't even take it on the plane with us, because it could be considered a weapon, forcing me to wait an entire year before our friend drove my cobblestone across the country. It now sits on my porch & makes a fine doorstop!

7. I am ever so slightly touched by the OCD gene...clothes must be hung/stacked in color order, bottles must have the coordinating color tops & bottoms...none of this willy nilly randomness. ALL cupboards/drawers/closet doors MUST be closed shut, close enough it not acceptable! Mini-blinds must be closed in the down position & I absolutely hate dishes in the sink, dirty or clean...makes me CRAZY! now you know...so start prayin'! :)

8. I could easily live on fast food, candy & soda pop for the rest of my life if it wasn't for my WONDERFUL husband! I wouldn't feel guilty & I am completely okay with admitting that nine times out of ten, I would prefer fast food to a homemade meal. I don't feel better when I eat healthier & I always want to laugh when I here someone say that they feel gross when they eat to much fast food. I know...I'm gross!

okay, that's all you need to know for now! I am tagging Jen, Amanda R., Monica, Geneva, Moms, & Jessica....get to it girls!

Pay My Automo-bills, Pay My Telepone-bills...

Okay maybe not yet, but paper is the latest and greatest around our house! I have always been a firm believer that kids with too many toys that get everything their hearts desire don't learn creativity & how to use their imagination. I also lean towards the idea that no matter how many fancy things you buy for your kids, they tend to be the most amused by the cheapest thrills, such as a bargain found at a garage sale, or a fun hand-me-down. Last night I was trying to pay the bills and the little missy was NOT having it! We tried lying down, sitting up, playing with toys, but she wanted my FULL attention. She kept trying to get to the reciepts as I reviewed our credit card charges, so when I was done, I gifted her will all the reciepts that would be making their way to the trash....BRILLIANT! She entertained herself for a good thirty minutes, just long enough for me to finish all the bills. Tonight, paper was our friend yet again when we went to Buca De Beppo's for dinner with Danny's parents. She was lovin' her some paper menu's and all the noise she could make with them. Just goes to show you, kids can entertain themselves with just about anything, if you let them!

One of her new favorite things to do is chew on her bottom lip!
Ru & her best good friend(broccoli)

Seven Months Old!

Clearly even Ruby can't believe it! My little Valentine is seven months old today & I am seeing her little personality grow more and more each day....and by personality I mean sassyness! ;) The biggest new trick you've learned in the last month is how to sit up, as you can see in the picture above. You still do the occasional suicide bomb & fall over, but you've mastered this skill rather quickly. You have also finally discovered your feet which you haven't found to be nearly as interesting as your hands, but you do enjoy holding onto them while I attempt a diaper change, making the afore mentioned task quite the challenge. You love it when we hide from you and reappear, it gets quite a belly laugh. You also love to be tossed up in the air now, but you aren't so sure about being hung upside down. You have started rice cereal and LOVE it, you chow down like you've been eating forever. You have definately gained a bit of an attitude in the last month, you don't like it when we leave you in a room by yourself and you let us know by yelling and or whining. Speaking of strange sounds you also enjoy gurgling quite a bit & find it thoroughly entertaining. Your grams claims she has taught you to wave, and by wave I mean you move your entire arm in a machete like motion, but only with a lot of high pitched. encouragement and demonstration each time & even then, it's not a sure bet. Still absolutely no signs of crawling, but you do scoot a bit and you love to stand. So that's you, my little ru, at eight months, in a nut shell! i love you lots my little lemon!

a little lingering christmas cheer...

i LOVE christmas...EVERYthing about it, the baking, the carols,the decorations, finding just the right gift, my nativity sets and most especially the lights...i don't know why, but the lights are especially wonderful to me. anyway, i had hoped to be as on top of it as some of my fellow bloggers and to do my christmas post perhaps the day after, or at the very least in the same week...however, as usual,i am about a month behind, but i have chosen to look at this as an extension of christmas rather than it being belated. Much as i love recieving that one last birthday gift you had coming from that friend you hadn't had time to meet up with till a month later my "christmas" post is delaying the close to the most wonderful time of the year, at least in my head it is. So anyway, without further delay i shall post some pics....

the tree...it was my year to pick & even daniel had to admit, she was a beauty!


roo in her christmas hat...

Ru Bears first Christmas ornament, a baby bird almost as cute as her!

her first dolly...i haven't named her yet, any suggestions?

all the goodies in her stocking...

cute little book i found at roger's gardens

precious little onesie, i can't wait for her to fit into!

our christmas dinner, doesn't look like much, but this was actually the most enjoyable christmas we've ever had as a family...we had to stay home due to ruby being sick, so daniel's mom brought us dinner and we watched elf and enjoyed the lights on our twinkling tree...no hustling and bustling about as we usually have to do.

some of my bottle brush tree collection, surrounding one of the most thoughtful gifts daniel ever gave me. i have always wanted an advent calendar and thought it would be a fun thing to do with ruby when she gets older, but had never found one that quite matched my style...when this one popped up at target in early november, i was all over it, i mean who would have thought i would find one in a shade that close to aqua. I thought it was a sign from God that i needed to purchase it immediately, however, daniel told me not to get it and we would think it over, which generally speaking is translated "you don't need it and we aren't getting it!" much to my surprise, he had gone out and purchased it on his own as a christmas gift for me, but after one VERY bad day at work, he decided i needed a pick-me-up and gave it to me as an early surprise. i was so excited and i got to enjoy it for the entire Christmas season! CHEERS to bad days!

these might not look like much, but ruby LOVED the dangling pom-poms i randomly decided to hang from the fan! she would stare at them and just spontaneously crack up! i almost left them up, but eventually decided to take them down with the rest of the decorations.


one of my favorite vintage inspired decorations...

this little beauty is original vintage and once hung on my dear friend miss julie's christmas stocking when she was a little girl... i think she is precious and every time i see her it reminds me of a dear friend...