Happy 4th of July

You're a grand old flag, you're a high flying
flag and forever in peace may you wave!

30 Days Shy Of A Birthday....

i can't believe it, today your eleven months old! one month from now we'll be hosting your first birthday party in the backyard and you will be experiencing the joy that is cake for the first time. You have been a handful this past month, testing your boundries more than ever. You touch EVERYthing, even after we say "NO!" You look at me as if to make sure i mean it, and then you do it anyway, you just can't help yourself. Your latest trick is dumping over broccoli's water bowl and flooding the kitchen. Even when we put it up on the table, you pull yourself up and try your darndest to slide it off the edge. You definately love the water, though we have yet to get you in a pool. i look forward to taking you swimming this summer, you only have three bathing suits waiting to be modeled!


In the last month you have developed a love for pointing, it cracks me up! You point at everything with this dainty little index finger and your wrist bent. Sometimes you point with both hands at two different things, your favorite items of interest being lamps and cieling fans. You continue to jabber all the time, but still no real words other than "hi" though you seemed to have lost interest in that. You said it non-stop for two weeks, and then it was gone as as fast as it came! In place of actual talking you enjoy clicking your tongue and smacking your lips, very chic! You just figured out how to feed yourself finger foods. You've been able to pick food up for a couple months, but you just figured out how to get it out of your tight little fist. :) You finally popped your first tooth, bottom right...i say finally because you have been teething here and there since you turned five months, thank the Lord for teething tablets.

You climbing in the fridge trying to reach your bottle!

You're still tougher than nails, you rarely cry because something hurts, in fact both your daddy and i were beginning to wonder if you felt pain at all. Though you cried when you popped your shoulder out, it wasn't more than a minute or so, and when the chiropractor popped it back in, all you did was wince. Though your high pain tolerance (which you got from your dad by the way...he once had his jaw out of the socket for a month before he decided it might be a good idea to see a doctor...sorry, sidenote!)is good, in that your not a wimpy kid and your not afraid to try things on your own, it does make discipline a bit of a challenge. When we tap your hand you look at us as if we just shook hands, only to continue trying to do whatever it is that earned the little "love tap" in the first place. And although you aren't afraid of us, you have developed to very interesting fears...yup, you're looking at em', the vacuum and your big red ball, the vacuum i can understand, but i almost think your fear of the ball is worse! You are one funny girl!

Home Again, Home Again...

This past weekend was quite a busy one. On Saturday Daniel & I attended our eleven, yes, I said eleven year high school reunion. It was small and uneventful, but a nice afternoon brunch spent on "The Wild Goose", a yacht formerly owned by The Duke himself, John Wayne. It was on the way home that the real excitement came about. As we were driving down PCH, out of the blue I asked Daniel if we could stop by this cute little shoppe Cottage White . As we got out of the car I jokingly said "Let's go spend some money!" Well, I couldn't have been more on the money, pun intended!

I have been scavenging the flea market for some time for a dining room table and chairs, for over a year in fact; and I had recently given up & resigned myself to buying a table from Pottery Barn for which I had been saving and scrimping. Now don't get me wrong, I love PB, but there's just something about owning furniture with a little more history, and on the whole I feel that older things are made with far better quality and craftsmanship. So, when I walked into the store and discovered this precious little table and chairs & a china cabinet to boot, all for less than the price of the dining room table I was about to order from the afore mentioned Pottery Barn, I was elated! It's funny the things that bring you joy as you get older, I was like a kid in a candy shop, over furniture. We ran home and got the cash to pay for everything (making our bargain an even better bargain) & returned to the store in a matter of minutes. My only lack of content came from the fact I would have to wait till Monday to have my treasures delivered! If you know me at all, you know that I HATE waiting, I like to do things NOW and take care of business! I put some of that energy into rearranging and getting rid of furniture to make room for my new purchase.

On Sunday my mom, Ruby and I drove out to San Marcos for my Cousin-in-law-to-be, Katie's Bridal Shower. This helped to distract my mind from the anticipation of my new furniture being delivered, and it was nice to visit with family. Monday came and so did my new dining room set, even earlier than I was quoted. The title of this post, is Home Again, Home Again... and that was chosen for a reason. I know it sounds funny, but even though we have lived in this house for over a year, it has never really felt like home. Now don't get me wrong, I was NOT a big fan of apartment dwelling; CRAZY neighbors, thin walls, no washer/dryer hookups...the list goes on and on, but, I LOVED our apartment itself. The style suited me perfectly, more old fashioned, huge sunny windows, a big tree that gave us privacy and all my stuff just fit perfectly! I am so grateful to be in a house, with a garage and a big back yard, washer & dryer, TWO bedrooms, etc, etc. BUT, our house just never felt as "homey" as our apartment did...until we got our dining room set.

Other than Ruby's room (we had her furniture custom made), nothing in our house is matching in the formal sense. Everything has been collected and refinished (mostly by my dad) over a period of time and I wouldn't have it any other way; but I wanted smething a little more put together for the dining room and some how, it just pulled the look of our whole home together. No more meals in front of the television, we actually have a place to sit down and enjoy a meal together as a family. I have yet to complete filling up the china cabinet, and I intend to find some pretty fabric to reupholster the seats and make matching curtains, but other than that, I am in love with our dining room, I was even inspired to hang up a few more old pictures . In short, I am in love, and I finally feel settled!



Two of my favorite family pics: my dad on his first holy communion and the cutest picture ever of my grandma's sister and cousins!

I've got it filled with random odds n' ends for now, but I've got my eyes on a set of antique China that I just might have to buy!

Memorial Day BBQ

Ruby spent her first Memorial Day at Marina Park with all of the softball peeps from Daniel's Wednesday night league. After much debate we decided to bring the dogs (broccoli & our part-time foster dog Summer) along. It turns out we weren't the only ones with that idea because all together there were eight dogs in our gang. The dogs were in heaven and Ruby was thoroughly amused. Daniel let her ride side saddle on Munch, the ginormous dog she is pictured with and she especially loved our friends dalmatian Pongo. I wish I had taken a picture of all the dogs together, but alas, I did not! :( I also failed to get a picture of Ru with her friend Clara, but the girls had a good time playing on the blanket together and I look forward to them chasing each other around when they get older. It was a fun day spent with friends...I'll let the pictures say the rest.

me and my little tomboy...she reminds me of my grandpa in this hat.

first time eating watermelon...yum!

she loves to point...think she's going to be bossy?

this dog is just a little bigger than the one at my house...

Ten Months...

Is that even possible? Today my baby is ten months old! This past month has been a big one, packed full of milestones. You have finally learned to crawl and you are quite happy with yourself. You made your very first crawl on our fifth anniversary and it was the best gift ever. It's such a bizarre feeling seeing this little creature who for ten months was totally reliant on us for transportation, who can now get around all by her big girl self! You "say" ma-ma, da-da, and na-na, but there is absolutely no correlation to anything as of yet. You understand NO, but you generally choose to acknowledge and then ignore it...i have come to realize in the last month that i am going to have a very strong-willed little girl on my hands! You love to wave now, and just today you started "talking" as you wave, and it actually sounds like your saying "hi-eee" but I think it's safe to say your just mimicking the high pitch we use when trying to elicit a wave from you. You have also learned to clap your hands, though you rarely do so empty handed. You prefer to clap with a ball in each hand, usually obtained from your toy train, which you have also figured out how to turn on all by yourself. You're able to pull yourself up with no assistance, although sometimes I think you forget how to sit back down. :) You are getting over a nasty cold right now and I feel so bad for you, that hoarse little cry is so pitiful. There's nothing I wouldn't do to keep you from feeling so miserable. Get better little one, I love you tons!

on the move!

Swings & Cinni's

We had quite a busy weekend at the Green residence. On Friday Ruby decided it was finally time and started crawling. I think it was her little anniversary gift to us as her lack of mobility was becoming a MAJOR source of frustration for her and thus a major source of frustration for us...you can only carry around a 21 pound baby for so long!


Friday night my mom picked Ruby up so Daniel & I could celebrate our fifth anniversary. We had a lovely evening out at La Creperie and enjoyed a delicious dinner/dessert and great live music. Afterwords we cruised around Second Street and ducked into a little restaurant for a nightcap. Well, to be fair,Daniel had a nightcap and I had a cherry coke! ;)

Napoleon Crepes(fresh strawberries & creme brulee)Dee-lish-us!


Sunday morning I attended the Child Dedication Class at church,(Daniel stayed home with poor Ru who is battling a cold and teething) so Ruby can be dedicated on Mother's Day. We started today off with some warm Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls, which we refer to as Cinni's at our house. It was Ru's first time experiencing this tasty treat & it was definitely LOVE. This afternoon she decided to repay us by taking a THREE, count em' THREE hour nap. During this time Daniel & I worked our behindess's off in the yard. I weeded for entirely too long (and have the sunburn and tight muscles to prove it) pruned a bunch & planted LOTS. Our yard isn't the prettiest, but after four years of apartment dwelling, I'm happy to have a yard & I'm trying to add to it's beauty little by little. So in our efforts to improve upon it's appearance, we cleared out the entire side run and planted seeds which will hopefully yield beautiful vines soon. In the back yard I planted two packets of wildflower mix that I got at the dollar section of Target. Hopefully they too will bloom and cheer up the giant, dreary planter box that has yielded nothing but weeds thus far.

To finish off a lovely day, we walked to Hole Mole for a yummy Mexican dinner. On the way home we stopped at the park and let the beebs have her very first swing ride. As you can tell by the video it was quite a success! There is nothing better than that laugh, it makes me smile just writing about it. So that's it, our weekend in a nutshell...hopefully all the hard work will pay off and I'll be posting pics of a yard in bloom sometime soon!

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