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?