Thursday, June 30, 2011

First ice cream cone

While Ruby's grandparents were here, we took a trip to the Dairy Queen. And they decided Ruby needed to have her first ice cream cone. Ruby loves ice cream, but never has gotten any of her very own. Between not knowing what to do with it and trying to get over the cold, it was quite a spectacle, but she thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

It's always fun when grandparents come...

We had my parents here this last week and we had such a great time. Ruby adored having her grandma and grandpa to dote on her, sing to her, read stories, play games and just love, love, love her. And they didn't mind at all, not one little bit. We hadn't seen them since November, so it was great to spend some time with them.

Grandma and Grandpa quickly found out that we have a little beggar living in our home. Anytime anyone is eating anything, this little girl is by your side asking for some with the cutest little puppy eyes. Sheesh. You'd think we were starving this girl. Grandpa always gave in.


And Grandma was always ready for snuggles with Ruby. Ruby was right at home giving Grandma hugs and kisses from the start.


We took a trip out to a town on the coast called Rockport. It's a really cute little beach community with shops, a few attractions and fish. That's why we went. To buy fish that was caught that morning and bring it home and cook it that evening. There really isn't any food that's much better than fresh fish. Ruby had fun seeing the water, birds and the fish.


And of course we had fun cooking together. Dad was helping me and I asked him if he wanted to wear an apron so he didn't get anything on his clothes. And he put on one of my frilly, girly aprons. And then he posed for a picture. It cracked me up.


Mom and Dad, we had such a great time with you guys! Ruby misses you already and we can't wait to see you again!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

The First Mow

Well, it happened! Bobby had to break out the lawn mower and give our grass a trim. Not the whole thing, just a patch in the middle of the front yard that was getting way too tall. Like 8 or 9 inches tall. It was starting to block the water from the sprinklers. So we gave our grass a quick cut. I think Bobby felt pretty proud of his grass.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Playing the Piano

Ruby's love for banging on the ivories continues. Now she loves to sit on the bench when she does it. And the other day she did a little channeling of Ray.


Wednesday, June 22, 2011

One project down...100 to go

There is a list a mile long of projects and different things I'd like to do in our new place. It'll take me a while, especially since we're not rich *gasp* and I don't have a ton of me time with Ruby around. So slowly and surely I'll start chipping away at that list until it's done. Who am I kidding? I'm sure it'll never be done and I'll keep adding to it. I love decorating and making our home beautiful. It's always a work in progress and is never finished.

Here's the latest thing I've checked off the list: our gallery wall of family photos. We've got a massive bare wall in our living room and I thought this would be a great way of filling it. So over the last few weeks I've been gathering white and silver frames and I finally took the time to fill them and hang them. I love it.


Monday, June 20, 2011

When Ruby Plays...

...I find the funniest things. Like when she got into our empty water jugs and I found them here:

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Sprinklers

We've had to water our lawn every evening since we've sodded. Can I tell you how over it we are? We can't wait until this nightly ritual of Bobby and I running in and out of the house and moving sprinklers is done. The other evening as we started our watering routine, we brought Ruby out with us...and she saw the sprinklers. And took matters into her own hands.


Sure she was still wearing her clothes, but she was having too much fun for us to stop her. So we let her play for a few minutes before it was time to come in and take a bath. She was absolutely soaked, but gloriously happy.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Hide and Seek

Over the last few days Ruby's really developed an affinity for Hide and Seek. Maybe it's the new house with all of it's new nooks and closets and new places to play...whatever it is, she loves it. Bobby will go hide somewhere and call her name and she'll run looking for him and squeal when she finds him. And then they'll do it over and over again and it just makes me smile to see him tearing through the house to hide before she can catch him and hear her peals of laughter echoing. I absolutely love it...there are few things better than seeing my husband being a wonderful father to our beautiful little girl.


Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Visitors

We had Bobby's good friend Johnny and his wife Sarah come visit us this weekend. We had such a great time catching up and having some time to relax, since that's all there is to do in this small town. And Ruby loved having a couple more people to dote on her and give her their undivided attention. By the end of their short trip, she was already giving Sarah kisses and snuggles. Thanks for coming guys! We had a great time!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Shades

Ruby's never really worn her sunglasses all that much. West Virginia never had crazy sunny days and she's never spent too much time outside, especially since we just came off of winter and a very wet spring. But now that we're in Texas and the sun is blazing we've been trying to get her used to wearing them. And now sometimes she just has to wear them in the house.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Horsey ride...without the horsey

So we do this little song with Ruby while we bounce her on our knee. It goes like this and with each line you bounce her faster and higher and higher:

This is the way my Ruby rides, pace, pace (repeat)
This is the way Mommy rides, trit-trot, trit-trot (repeat)
This is the way Daddy rides, hoppity-gee, hoppity-gee, hoppity hoppity hoppity-gee!

Anyway, she loves it, but lately she's decided she doesn't need our knees, all she needs is us to sing it to her:

Monday, June 6, 2011

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Landscaping

We've spent many hours this week beautifying the front yard. I was getting tired of having a dirt pit and what an eyesore it was. And I'm getting seriously tired of dirt in the house. By the end of the day the bottom of Ruby's little feet are black and I'm sick of sweeping and mopping nearly every day to get rid of it.

So we ordered some sod and compost and had it delivered on Wednesday. Then we went to the nursery and bought some shrubs and plants. Bobby and I laid out and planted our flower beds Wednesday evening. A lot of work, but already the yard was looking a thousand times better.

As for the sod, we had kind of thought we'd be doing the labor ourselves (and dreaded it) but Wednesday afternoon our doorbell rang and I answered it and there stood a teenage kid. "We noticed that you had some sod in your front yard and wondered if my brothers and I could help you lay it?" Ummm...yeah! So said kid and his younger brothers came over on Thursday and spent 7 hours in the hot hot sun making a lawn for us. They were really good kids and did a great job.

So by the end of the day on Thursday, we had a front yard (and part of a back yard...the rest will come in the fall). Can I tell you how happy it makes me? We still have to finish mulching since Walmart didn't have enough, but that's easy-peasy. I can't wait to see how it grows!

A reminder of what we started with:


And the almost-finished product:



We've got a bunch of things in there that are new to me, so we'll see how it goes. We put in a few native shrubs, some ornamental grasses as well as a grapefruit tree. We're hoping it does well and we don't kill it! The bare spot is being reserved for daylilies I plan to order in the fall. I can't wait for those, they're some of my favorites!

Wife of the Year Award

And the winner is............Maggie. She made me a deep dish pizza the other day because I asked for one, she hates deep dish pizza. The pizza was amazing too. Did I mention it came with a homemade blueberry pie? She is more than I could ever have wished for in any of my dreams. I cannot possibly begin to describe how special she is to Ruby and I. Thanks babe, for everything you do.