life with our sweet girl

time sure seems to be flying since ruby kay joined our world. flying in a good way. each day she grows more and more alert and interactive with us, and we are just loving it.

a good friend once described the first few months of parenting as a challenge because of the one-sided relationship you have with your new baby. your world revolves around their every need- nursing, burping, diaper changing, spit-up cleaning, bathing, dressing, bouncing, holding, soothing, kissing, and overall loving of your little one. in reply, you receive poopy diapers, spit-up stained clothes (theirs and yours), sleepless nights, and cries upon cries. basically, it's a one sided relationship. but, it's not all bad--- the older they grow the more they love you back. starting the beginning of ruby kay being a month old, she started intentionally smiling at us. and now that she is almost two months, the smiles come overflowing from her. it's such a joy to start to receive her love, even in the small form of smiles and baby-coo's. 

a peek into the nursery

since we are currently living in an apartment, ruby kay's nursery is shared with our guest bedroom. there are many pros to living in a small space- keeping all our baby supplies in one place (pacifiers, changing station, hair bows, etc), being able to hear her cry when i am in another room, and living like a minimalist. 

we had such a fun time putting ruby kay's room together before she came and tried to keep everything gender neutral. people often would ask what our nursery "theme" was- and my only answer was navy, yellow, gray, and red. i think ruby kay fits so well into her nursery now that she is here. some of my favorite parts of her nursery are:

-the pom pom cluster made by my baby shower hostesses originally for the shower, now on display for ruby kay to admire from her crib

-the books on the shelf from my work's "book shower" they threw for me. it was hard to choose from all the great books ruby kay has!

-the homemade quilt i made for "baby seiler" before i knew that she was ruby kay

-my diy elephant mobile

-the sweet print gifted to us right after ruby kay was born with all her birth details

and now to show the star of our show: miss ruby kay, herself! i love how tiny she looks in her big bed. she is such a sweet girl, and i'm so proud to be her mama.

1 month with Ruby Kay

to our sweet ruby kay,

you are officially one month old and have changed our lives. both your daddy & i can't imagine life without you. you are the sweetest baby, and have made our transition into parenthood so easy. you are such a good baby- sleeping 6+ hours through the night (the record has been 9pm-5am), rarely cry, and are almost always happy and content. our love for you grows deeper each day- so much that we can't imagine loving you more. one of the first nights with you was pretty sleepless due to many feedings, but i woke up with a stronger love for you because of sacrificing my sleep for you. it is so humbling to realize how dependent you are on me for food, warmth, and love. i am so thankful that God chose me to be your mama.

already over this short month, you have grown so much. especially in the last week you seem to be changing before our eyes. your growing is bittersweet- i love how interactive with us you are, but don't want you to grow up so fast. everyone says that their kids grow up too fast, so i'm trying to savor each moment i get to spend with you.

some sweet things to remember from our first month with you are:
-how you love to be swaddled, especially at night and how well you sleep when swaddled tight
-how well you sleep when you are close to mama's chest, and how you fall into a deep sleep every time you are in the beco carrier
-how you wiggle your arms and legs as soon as you are free from your swaddle
-your sleepy hints are when your eyes cross, then you smile and then you slowly drift off
-how you hold your head up while i burp you after nursing and our cheeks touch
-how often you have the hiccups and how much your tiny body shakes from them
-how much you love your pacifier
-how you fall asleep every time we put you in your carseat, and almost always stay asleep during our outings
-how well your eyes focus on us when we talk to you
-how you are beginning to smile when we speak to you

your daddy and i love you so much, ruby kay!

 

ruby kay visits the farmers market

family of three!

this past saturday we braved the farmers market with some good friends of ours. my recovery from my c-section has gone really well, and have been ready to show ruby kay our favorite things to do in fayetteville. the weather here has been really hot lately, so we attempted to go early in the morning to avoid the heat. our kind friends greeted us with breakfast from ricks (my favorite!). we enjoyed an easy going morning at the farmers market just walking around and catching up with our friends.

each day gets better with our sweet ruby kay. she is such an easy baby, and we just love her. i already feel sentimental about her growing up, and find myself just staring at her and all of her expressions. i get so excited for her to get bigger and more interactive with us, but then i don't ever want her to grow up and want her to stay teeny tiny forever (she is still in newborn clothes, and her 0-3 month onesies are so baggy on her)! we have so much to look forward to- but also so much to enjoy now!

life with ruby kay

ruby kay is now ten days old. i can hardly believe that we have been parents for ten days! we have enjoyed life with our little one so much. it was so great to have our families here for her birth, and for a few days after. both of our mom's were so giving and servant-hearted. it was so nice to come home and have everything in our house taken care of- all i had to worry about was sweet RK. the past two days i have been on my own with her, and enjoying settling into "normal" life. 

ruby kay is such a sweet baby. she has been sleeping so well (typically only one night feeding), and each day its gets easier being a mama. she loves her pacifier, and nurses well (and often!). she rarely cries and only gets fussy ever so often. even in these short ten days, we already feel like she is changing so much! if you haven't noticed, ruby kay has captured our hearts.

our little GIRL is here!

on july 9th, benjamin and i welcomed a beautiful girl into our family, and named her Ruby Kay. our little one's name was chosen after ben's great grandmother ruby, and both of our moms: judy kay and susan kay. she arrived via emergency c-section, and weighed 8 lbs and 2 ounces and was 20 inches long. 

we are head over heals for our ruby kay, and have spent the past 4 days cuddling and getting to know our sweet girl. both sets of grandparents have been here to visit too, and we have been blown away by the support and encouragement of our friends and family.

rodeo of the ozarks

my dad arrived this past saturday, and we decided to welcome him to arkansas with a trip to the rodeo! ben and i went last year with friends, so it was fun to see it all again. saturday was the final night of the rodeo, so we were able to see the best of the best. 

 the boys tried a fried snickers, which looked awful- but tasted not too bad.

my feet got so swollen (and dirty), and have been swollen ever since! im ready for this baby just to be able to have my feet back!

our emcee really hammed up the american pride since it was the day after the fourth. they played the Superbowl commercial "god made a farmer" and then brought out these cute kids and eventually this soldier. i may be hormonal, but will admit i shed a few tears. he said that this is what america is- kids who are our future and soldiers who defend our country.

it has been so fun to add my dad to the mix. he gets along so well with ben, and their interests are pretty identical. it's so great to never have to worry about ben getting along well with my family- sometimes i wonder if he likes them more than i do- just kidding!

if you haven't ever been to the rodeo, you are missing out. good, wholesome fun can't be beat. hope to see you next year, rodeo of the ozarks!

our local art museum

ben and i finally went to our local art museum- "crystal bridges" and took my mom! after living in northwest arksansas for the past two years, it was really pitiful that we hadn't been before so we were happy to right the wrong. crystal bridges is a local art museum sponsored by the walton family and walmart. the admission is free, and turned out to be a great outing. 

here are a few pictures of my favorite pieces of art!

this man was really creepy until we realized that he wasn't real!

ben with dolly, by andy warhol.

ben's favorite

we are still awaiting the birth of our little one and just completed day #3 of being overdue. this adventure of being "patient" has really been teaching me a lot about my need for control in life. i want so badly to begin this new phase of life, but the Lord's plan is for me to wait. everything is completely ready for this baby, but he/she seems to need to bake for a bit longer.

my dad arrives today, and we are thrilled for the addition of his company. originally, we had thought that this visit would be to meet our baby- but now he will hopefully be able to experience the birth of our little one. our fingers are crossed! :)

happy 4th!

the fourth came before our baby, so we decided to still celebrate america's birthday! it also just happens to be ben's favorite holiday, ever. ben, my mom, and i packed up and headed to west fork, ar to enjoy the sun, creek, and good ol' arkansas.

 

after the creek, we came home and recharged for a bit before heading to a friends house to grill out. i made a blackberry-blueberry pie, which felt all-american.

the boys played catch while the burgers were on the grill

 and lastly, here is a clip from my instagram of me jumping on the trampoline trying to get this baby out!