swimming with ruby kay

pool days are a whole new level of fun with the addition of our ruby kay. she is such a curious little girl, and it is so fun to experience new things along side her. we have easy access to a pool, which is a plus for living at an apartment complex. this past sunday we went to the pool for the second time, and i brought my camera to help remember her at this age.

here are a few from our afternoon together:

 daddy's hands close by in case ruby kay decided to jump in!

memorial weekend camping trip

this past weekend, we went camping in theodosia, missouri to celebrate memorial day. each year, we spend the weekend together with the Ellison family, which is Ben's Mom's side. the family. it's fun to look back through the archives of my little blog at the past years of our camping trip: here is 2013, and 2011, not sure what happened to 2012 though.

this year we had extra fun due to ruby kay's addition, and a surprise visit from two good college friends (katie and michael eichner!). we played cards, enjoyed a plethora of flavored wings and popsicles, and enjoyed the lake. ruby kay did great the whole camping trip, and we are so thrilled to have such an easy-going baby. she got to sleep in her poppa and mimi's camper, and we slept in a tent. 

hi!

not too sure about the sand. but looking extra cute in her sun hat. 

we are already excited for next year!

an afternoon at the strawberry patch!

today we went to the strawberry farm with ellanora and aunt bethany. we had such a good time, and the girls loved the sweet berries. us mama's decided that taking babies to pick strawberries is hard work- especially at their ages. we started off carrying the babies on our backs, but got tired of standing up and leaning down to get the berries. our end solution was to let the babies play at the end of the row on a blanket, and take turns picking. by the time we left, the girls were covered in berry juice, but i think we all had a good time.

thanks aunt bethany and cousie for the great memory!

10 months with ruby kay

dearest sweet girl,

happy 10 months to you! i can hardly believe how fast time is flying, and i'm in disbelief that you will be one full year old in two short months. you are such a joy to be around. your da-da and i can't get enough of your sweet smiles and giggles, your adorable mannerisms, and your curious personality. 

this past month we found ourselves in a big transition, moving out of apartment and packing almost everything we own up for storage for the next few months. you were a great baby, and made the most of our situation, climbing on boxes and providing opportunities for me to re-pack a box after you unpacked them :) 

some sweet things to remember from our tenth month with you are:

-you are now taking steps! your balance is still a little shaky, but soon we know that you will be a walking machine. you are very fast at walking around the coffee table, and have good balance when you have one hand resting on something. 

-you love to blow bubbles with your lips, and make the silliest face while doing so

-you are now nursing just twice a day, when you wake up and go to sleep

-you are a good little eater, and love blueberries, bananas, chicken, noodles, yogurt, and whatever mama is eating

-you are starting to drink really well out of your straw sippy cup, and your favorite choice is juice.

-you crawled up steps for the first time at mimi and poppa's house. you were slow the first time, but by the second you were pretty speedy.

-you love your cousin, ellanora and have been best buds with her for the past two weeks while we are their house guests. after being apart, you two crawl towards each other with excitement. you two play so well with each other, and love sharing pacis.

oh girl, we love you so much. we can hardly wait to see who you grow into, and pray that you continue to be a sweet girl who is kind to others, and loves the Lord with your whole heart.

{9 months}

{8 months}

{7 months}

{6 months}

{5 months}

{4 months}

{3 months}

{2 months}

{1 months}

leaving apartment seven

with a huge move on our horizon, i decided to take a few pictures of our little apartment. we have almost lived here for three years, and this apartment will always be special to me. it's where we first settled our belongings and made a home, where we came home after working long days, where we brought our sweet little girl home to, and where we made the decision to join staff with cru! we will be moving around for the next 6ish months, so that means almost everything we have will go into storage at the end of this month.

this apartment started out so big. i remember sleeping our first few nights on air mattresses, and thinking that we would never have enough stuff to fill a 2 bedroom apartment. over time we have collected so many fun things that our 'massive' apartment now seems teeny tiny. the thing i love most about apartment #7, is that it has taught me to be content with what we have. everything in our apartment has a story- and it's bittersweet to see this chapter close...

walking in, you can see the bunk bed ladder i painted and distressed to hold our quilts. all our quilts have either been made by ben's grandma and mom, or me. you also can see my grandparents tall bookshelf that my grandpa painted white, and has become distressed over the years. my collection of milkglass has grown over the years too. the milk bottle on the top of the shelf are from my great uncle's dairy farm.

the small, white table was purchased at a garage sale in anticipation of our move to the apartment. i painted and distressed it with a good friend in Branson (remember, Lauren?). the wire basket was purchased on our first sisters trip to Tulsa and began my love for wire baskets. the blue painted pot was my first auction win from a trip to Iowa to see my Mom.

this little nook separates the two bedrooms. this lamp was purchased at a goodwill in colorado before we moved to AR. the books were gifted from my sister, and the coral cabinet was a garage sale find that I painted and distressed.

just to the right, is this bookshelf ben made me in college. i love blue mason jars, and have collected a few over the years. our coffee table was a garage sale find, and the side chair was found and at a flea market outside of branson. the mirror was found a little boutique here in fayetteville, and has the best blue chippy paint. i'm not sure how much longer having a white couch will practically be, but for now we have enjoyed it.

next to our couch holds ruby kay's toys on a bookshelf painted and made from crates. toys seem to be overtaking our apartment! some of our favorite toys are from ikea (stacking blocks, car, and hammer/peg toy).

before we upgraded to a bigger tv, our old one fit in this cabinet, which was my favorite. i love hidden tvs. inside it now, is all of my sewing supplies. above it houses my little collection of globes, and my favorite rooster lamp that i won at an auction.

the plate wall above our dining table, has plates that our guests signed at our wedding, and also a few milk glass plates i won at an auction. we don't have a "highchair" for ruby kay, but this booster chair has worked out perfectly for our small kitchen space.

our plant shelves hold a lot of our wedding decorations, bushel baskets and crates.

i am so excited for our future, but have loved living at our little apartment. i know this photos will be appreciated in the years to come. i'll probably laugh at what i loved, but also feel sentimental for the "good ol' days"... 

9 months with ruby kay

dearest ruby kay,

what an eventful month we had! you are getting so big and strong, and life with you continues to be such a joy. it is so fun to see your little personality budding, and I pray that you continue to grow to be a sweet girl. you are still very curious, and always want to be in on the action. you also are pretty good at playing on your own, and often i'll find you entranced by the smallest toy. you play best when mama is in the same room as you, and sitting next to you.

it's so crazy that you have been out of the world for the same amount of time you grew in my belly. it seems life you have been here for so long, yet nine months is still so short.

some sweet things to remember from our ninth month with you are:
-you are starting to say "da-da" and i really think you know who dada is!
-we took you on your first hike! you rode in the beco the whole time, but did such a good job.
-we took you to the zoo for the first time, and you met a giraffe!
-we celebrated your daddy's birthday, and had the best weekend. we went to the farmers market, hugos (with mimi and papa!) and a razorbacks baseball game!
-you pretty much only eat finger foods. ever so often i'll try to feed you pureed food, but you much prefer to feed yourself. your favorite foods are fruits (who can blame ya), and also love chicken. whenever i am eating, you are very curious and spit out your paci to taste some too.
-you still love your paci. today you found the bin that keeps your pacis, and spent a good 10 minutes playing with them, rotating one in your mouth after the other. not sure how much longer we will keep your pcais.
-the "separation anxiety" phase is starting to show a bit. while we were visiting a church out of town, i got called out of the service to pick you up. i think you realized your daddy and mama weren't around, and decided you wanted us to be.
-your nina bought you some blocks, and we have been having a fun time building (me) and knocking them over (you).
-you are just starting to stand up on your own, and move from coffee table to couch. still no steps on your own, but we are getting closer!

your daddy and i sure love you, little charmer!

{8 months}

{7 months}

{6 months}

{5 months}

{4 months}

{3 months}

{2 months}

{1 months}

phone pictures

it's no wonder that taking pictures on my big camera happens much less than before ruby kay joined our lives. although I love taking regular pictures- my handy phone has recorded so many of my favorite moments. I have tried lugging my camera around, but it often ends up in the way since i already have a certain 8month old's things to tote around... I go back and forth with the pros/cons to our social media- fueled culture. on one hand, social media is addicting and I too often fall prey to zoning out on my phone. but on the other hand, I love staying connected to friends near and far, and keeping records of RKs life so far! instagram is my favorite, and it has been so fun to look back on our life through the quick pictures I have snapped. 

here are a few updates from Instagram of what we have been up to lately...

yesterday and today we celebrated Ben's birthday. his parents visited yesterday, so we went to the farmers market (girls) and football practice (boys) and ate at Hugo's. last night we met up with friends at the razorbacks baseball game. today we went out eat and went on a special birthday errand! 

my mom and oldest sister, marisa, visited us in march. we had the greatest time which included a sisters weekend at the lake. lots of memories were made!

we visited the zoo on a trip to OKC a few weekends ago. it was ruby kay's first time!

life at home with ruby kay continues to be such a blast. she is such a silly, curious, and loveable girl! I'll continue to take pictures, in hopes that she enjoys looking back on our lives with fondness! these are the days...

hiking in arkansas

this past saturday, we visited hawksbill crag, one of the best hiking trails in arkansas. ben and i had been there before, but it was our first time to bring ruby kay. in fact, it was our first time to going hiking with her. i can't tell you how great it was to be outside on such a beautiful day. even though the scenery still looked like winter, it was such a nice day.

 heartmelt...

 and finally, the point itself! can you spy my two favorite people?

8 months with ruby kay

an extremely belated monthly post...

dear ruby kay,

what a sweet girl you are. you are such a good mix of being chill, but you also are still very curious. you are such a good baby, and you make your daddy and i so happy. i am so excited to see who you will grow to be, and i pray that you stay the same sweet girl as you grow up.

right now you are napping, and i am so ready for you to wake up. you are typically pretty cuddly after your naps, which i just love. we finally started a schedule for you, and it has "normalized" life so much. our life has been pretty busy with work right now, but we are so thankful for your presence in our lives.

some sweet things to remember from your eight month with us are:

-you now have two bottom teeth that came through at the same time. your daddy felt them first, and i was so surprised. luckily, teething didn't phase you at all.

-you love your mama, and always want to be by my side, or in the same room as me.

-you are an expert crawler, and getting really fast. we "baby-proof" our apartment by closing our bedroom doors and letting you wander in the living room and kitchen.

-you just started to wave "bye bye"! 

-you had two very special visitors from Thailand- Nina and Aunt Marisa. you love the extra attention!

-you still love peek-a-boo, and are slowing starting to play it with me!

-your hair is just starting to thicken, and your mama is so excited to put bows in your hair instead of headbands!

-your nicknames are RK, rubesies, and sweet girl

-changing your diaper has become quite the task, and i have to pin you down to keep you still

-your favorite book is "my farm friends" and you especially love it when i make the animal noises.

-you now eat three meals a day, and are slowly starting to eat what we eat, just chopped up and softened.

-you are nursing four times a day (8,12,4,8), and take two naps (10,2), and sleeping through the night (8-8)

-we stayed in a hotel for the first time, and you swam in the pool on your eight month birthday. 

your daddy and i love you so much, sweet girl!

{7 months}

{6 months}

{5 months}

{4 months}

{3 months}

{2 months}

{1 months}