Thursday, March 31, 2011

One Year Checkup

Ruby had her one year exam today and she's doing great! Despite three pesky shots and some poking and prodding, she did just fine and even gave some smiles on her way out. The funniest moment was just after she had her shots, she was crying bloody murder and the nurse was leaving the room and turned to say good bye to Ruby. Ruby, her face streaming with tears and scrunched from crying, waved bye back. Poor girl, she was just trying to be polite!

Her stats:
Weight: 18 lb, 10 oz...5th percentile. Her growth curve has finally established itself! Every appointment she has fallen in her weight, but this time she's kept right on the 5th percentile. Go Ruby!
Height: 28 1/2 in...30th percentile.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Bluebonnets

The wild flowers were all in bloom when we went to Texas. The drive from the airport to our new home was gorgeous. Flowers in blue, coral, orange, white and pink were everywhere. The Huckman's back yard had a little patch of bluebonnets and so we planted Ruby right down in the middle of them and took her picture.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Our New Home

Our trip to Texas was a mixture of lots of fun and lots of frustration. It was so nice to bask in the sunshine and warm weather. The wild flowers were in bloom and everything was beautiful and green. The frustration came because there's a huge oil and natural gas boom in the surrounding area and there are absolutely no rentals available. Bobby and I were planning to rent for a year or so and get a feel for our new town and then build or buy. No luck. All rentals big or small were gone. Unless we wanted to pay $1500 a month for a little dump that we'd hate. No thank you.

On Friday, after dealing with me being very bummed the day before about our prospects, Bobby went driving and came home very excited. He had walked through a house which was almost done being built and was a great price and very cute. So Ruby and I went back with him. It was like a ray of sunshine! For the first time that week I felt like I had found a place I would love to live, that would be great for family coming to visit and that Ruby would have fun in too.

Here it is:


I brought the camera fully intending to take pictures of the inside. Sorry. In all my excitement I totally forgot. You'll just to wait until we move in to see it. It's 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Should I tell you what I love about it? Here's the list: it has a big dining area that when we have company we can actually all eat at a dining table instead of in the living room on TV trays; our master bedroom has a walk-in closet, no more having our clothes split into two tiny closets in different rooms; an actual laundry room instead of a closet; more than the mere 3 feet of kitchen counter space we have to work on now; a two car garage; floors that don't creak! I really could keep going but I think I'll stop now. I think you get the point, though, this new little home is going to be great for us!

Our move to Texas is now filled with more hope.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

A little change....


Between me never doing my hair anymore and the idea of the insanely hot and humid Texas summer, I decided it was time.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Another Nice Day


I think Ruby's loving that the weather is getting nicer and nicer. I sure do. And it gives us something to do other than go grocery shopping, since we can get out and enjoy the sunshine. Now I just need to prepare myself for the crazy Texas summer that we're going to experience in a couple months.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Her Dinosaur

One of the gifts we gave Ruby for her birthday is this dinosaur. It's a push toy when she's learning to walk and then a riding toy for when she's a little bigger. And she. loves. it. Majorly. She gets a huge smile on her face when we bring it out and ask if she wants to play with it. We just wish our house was a little bit bigger so she could go a little farther before crashing into something.

Monday, March 21, 2011

A New Seat

I ordered Ruby's new car seat this week. Talk about a hard decision! There are so many choices and price points to consider. And with me being so cautious about Ruby's safety and Bobby experiencing major sticker-shock with all things baby related it was a tough call to make. But in the end I bit the bullet and decided on the Britax Marathon. It has so many great features and my sister has loved hers (as do most people who have gone the Britax route)and I think Ruby will like it too. As shown by these photos:



We haven't installed it in the car yet; she can still fit in her bucket seat but it was on sale so I decided to get it now and save a buck. I think she's going to enjoy riding in her "cadillac" as Bobby calls it.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Bathtime Cute

Just a little gratuitous Ruby cuteness to brighten your day...

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Balloons

We got some balloons for Ruby's birthday and she loved them. We could have done nothing else but gotten her balloons and she would have been perfectly content. You would have thought there was nothing better in the world than a helium balloon.


And then we took a little video. Just wait until Ruby realizes we're filming her. You'll crack up. We did.



Bobby and I were talking later that night about how much wonder and joy Ruby gets from the world around her. He expressed some concern that as we grow up we lose that. I told him I don't think that's entirely true; we just don't allow ourselves to feel it. The world is such an amazing, beautiful place and I think that everyday. But how many times do I see something beautiful or awe-inspiring and I think, "That's cool" and then go about my business? I need to enjoy the moment and give myself permission to bask in all the incredible blessings around me. Life is too short not to recognize everything we've been given. So there.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The First Birthday

Ruby had such a great time on her birthday, and we had fun watching her try new things. We sang happy birthday and had cupcakes and ice cream.



Then we opened presents. Ruby got a cute card from her Great Grandma, and a fun toy from Grandma and Grandpa, and a couple things from us.





We had such a wonderful time spending the day with our girl. We can't wait for more birthdays to come!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Dear Ruby,

Today you are one year old! I can't believe how fast this year has gone! It seemed like just yesterday your daddy and I were at the hospital welcoming you to this world. We were sleep-deprived and a little loopy, but we knew immediately how much we loved you. You are our most precious gift and we thank Heavenly Father every day that He entrusted us with you. You are our little angel and we marvel in all you are and what you will become.

You have grown so much and we love spending all our time with you and watching you grow and learn. Your energy and joy make us smile every day and we can't imagine not having you in our lives. Our little family is so happy and it couldn't be that way without you. You've stolen our hearts and turned us into babbling idiots, but I wouldn't change anything. Not even if it meant I could sleep in whenever I wanted. Being your mommy is the greatest thing I could ever do and I cherish every moment I spend with you.

Let me tell you a few of my favorite things about you:
-your fun hair...it's in your eyes, makes for great bed head, and is so fun to play with.
-your sense of humor...you make funny faces, sounds, dances, everything you do makes us laugh and we love it.
-how happy you are to see Daddy and me when we come to get you in the morning.
-how much you love to eat...and yes, "eat" is your first official word. You do say, "dadadadadada" and "mamamamama" but the word that you've got down cold is "eat". No surprise there.

This list could go on and on and on but I'll just stop there and save some for another day. We'll be moving to Texas and trying all sorts of new things this year and we'll have so much fun experiencing them together. I love you so much, Ruby, and I can't wait to see what this next year will bring.

Love,
Mommy

Friday, March 11, 2011

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

On the outside looking in...

Here's the view you would get if you were walking by our house and happened to look at the front door:

Monday, March 7, 2011

Catching Ruby on Camera

I try so hard to take videos of Ruby when she's playing. She is so so cute when she's playing by herself and doesn't realize we're watching her. The trouble is, she knows when I'm taping her and looks up and sees the camera. Then it's all over. She does the exact same thing whenever she notices the camera: first, she looks up and sees it; second, she gets a huge grin; third, she squeals, "ahhh!"; fourth, she rushes over as fast as she can and tries to grab it. Every. single. time.

My case in point:



Oh well. I guess I'll just have to settle for videos of Ruby being cute when she sees the camera instead of Ruby being cute when she's playing. I suppose it's a win-win.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

One of my favorite parts about being in the bishopric is sitting up at the front and looking at my family. Now don't get me wrong, I would rather be right next to them, but I love the feeling I have when I look at my wife week after week and think," wow, she is such a babe." I am a very very lucky man. I have a wonderful family and Heavenly Father blesses us so much.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Dental Formal

We had the dental school formal this weekend. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed a nice night out and getting dressed up. Last year I was hugely pregnant with Ruby so we weren't able to go out and dance, although we did have dinner with all of Bobby's friends from school. So it was nice having a date night.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Bubble Bath

Ruby had her first bubble bath a few days ago. She didn't know quite what to think of it at first, but after a few minutes she started having a great time! She especially loved when Daddy gave himself a bubble beard and she got to wipe it off. I love seeing her experience all these new things!