Mandy's Makin's

Beckett - 6 months!

2012-01-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

Beckett turned 6 months on January 19, 2012! I can hardly believe it's been 1/2 a year already, but it's been SUCH a wonderful 6 months. This boy brings more joy to my heart that I could ever have imagined! He is all smiles...seriously! (except when he's hungry or tired). Here's the updates:

6 month stats:

Wt: 18lbs 8oz (75th percentile)

Ht: 75th percentile (Justin took him and can't remember his exact height)

trying SO SO hard to crawl...but just really good at "push up position" and "down dog"
when he does "crawl" it's usually backwards
sitting up, but only for a short bit at a time...
eating SO much! loves "real" (baby) food and can eat a 30 yr old man portion!
FINALLY sleeping through the night!!! like from 8pm to 6 or 7am!!! it took some "sleep training...aka. "crying it out." but once we committed it only took a few days!
takes 2-3 naps a day (usually less than an hour each...esp at day care...he seems to only nap 20-45 min at a time there?
has had an ear infection at each doc appointment for the last 3 months (4 months, 5 months, and 6 months), but you'd never know b/c he never "complains!"
Still has only 2 teeth
wearing size 3 diapers
wearing 6-9 month clothes
cradle cap is finally getting better! not all the way, but definitely better!

getting SO close!

Down dog at it's finest!

2012-01-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

2011...A Year in Review

it WAS a year! wow. SO many changes, trials, tribulations, celebrations, and praises!!

here we go...cliff notes version.

Dec 31st, 2010 - moved to Shreveport from Bella Vista, AR (about 10 weeks pregnant - i think...i can't exactly remember!). Moved in w/my brother and sister-in-law...in their "above garage mother-in-law suite"
Jan 2nd, 2011 - Justin and I both started new jobs (duh...)
Feb (mid month) 2011 - We closed on our house and then went up to Arkansas to finish moving all of our stuff...just 2 days after the biggest snow storm in years and just a few days before Justin headed to Baton Rouge to take the LA bar exam.
Feb (mid month) 2011 - Justin took LA bar exam
Feb 22nd, 2011 - I quit my job at the nursing home...yep, walked out (after working a few days of my 2 week notice!)
Feb 28th, 2011 - I started my new job at LSU-HSC.
April 15th, 2011 - Moved into our new house!!!
April 2011 - Justin found out he passed 7 out of 9 parts of the LA bar exam...must pass 7, but can only "fail" one in each "section" - the 2 he "failed" were in the same section! CRAP...redo.
July 19, 2011 - Beckett arrived weighing 8lbs 6oz at 10:08pm!!! What a joy and blessing!!! perfect, easy delivery...just 2 weeks early, but a healthy baby boy!!
July 25th, 2011 - Justin sits for the LA bar exam again!
September 5th, 2011 - back to work after a 7 week maternity leave
September 2011 - Justin found out he passed the LA bar!!
September 16, 2011 - Ruby Belle turned 2!!!! We celebrated with both Justin and my family!!
September 20, 2011 - Justin sworn in as an official Louisiana attorney!!!
October 2011 - found out my grandfather had prostate cancer. He started treatment and thankfully doc said something else would get him before the cancer would.
November (mid month...just about a week before Thanksgiving) 2011 - found out my mom had cancer.
November (day before Thanksgiving) 2011 - Found out the cancer was Stage 2 and had not spread! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!
November 2011 - Ty and Steph found out they were pregnant!!! CANNOT wait for this baby!!!!
December 5th, 2011 - my mom started chemo and radiation for her cancer. All very hopeful and positive!
December 25th, 2011 - BEST Christmas ever...well, so far! Lots of praises...healthy babies, good amount of time off work, mom was doing well w/cancer treatments, no traveling anywhere (that was NICE!), in-laws came to celebrate, then Christmas w/the Jordan's at our house. SO much fun!!
December 31st, 2011 - celebrated the New Year w/friends.

SO SO SO many other things to be thankful for. We LOVE living here. We may not LOVE our jobs, but we love just about everything else! It has been hard transitioning to a "new" life. We don't have many "close" friends yet and that will take time. But it sure is hard to leave the old ones in Arkansas and to not miss that part. Otherwise, I LOVE LOVE LOVE being around family!! and Justin is enjoying it, too, so far. Thankfully his parents have been to visit a few times, so we have gotten to see them as well, but we do miss seeing his side of the family that we were able to see much more often when we were in NW Arkansas. Either way, we're both happy with the decision we made to move!

We have a few things coming up this next year, like a "Smith family vacation" to Florida in May for a family wedding and just vacation. A Jordan baby to arrive in August! and praying for good news from my mom's 3 month follow up post chemo and radiation treatment, which she completes next week. Truly, my mom is a fighter. she has done SO well with this!! She is such an inspiration and strong woman! I feel SO grateful to have been down here through this time, as well. I can only be there so much for her, but I can't imagine being in Arkansas while she was having chemo and radiation treatments. We both also, hope to find either happiness/contentment in our current jobs or other jobs that we like better and can blossom in. Job satisfaction has definitely been a struggle with us this year. BUT all in all, we are beautifully blessed by God with what we have and I am amazed daily with how big HE is. We pray that our relationship with Him will grow this next year and wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Blessed 2012!

Christmas #2 2012

2011-12-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas with the Jordan's

We did Christmas #2 in 2 parts. Christmas Eve we went over to my aunt's house in Stanley, LA. It was a good time because all the cousins were there and my grandparents were able to make it, too (after a 2 hour detour...in other words, they got lost!) Really, being real, my grandparents aren't getting any younger, and it's tough to watch them grow old. I know we're all going to be there (well, we all probably hope to grow old with our families as opposed to the opposite), but it's hard to watch the circle of life sometimes. I have to watch it though, knowing they've lived a good life, and that they will someday be much better off in Heaven than we are here on Earth! ok, enough...here are some pics from Christmas Eve.

Not sure where she learned this?!?

Then Christmas day came and we had a blast!!! We had my family (mom, dad, ty and steph) over for "Brunch after lunch." We cooked a brunch, but ate at more like lunch time since some folks went to church (we didn't make it!). Then we opened presents! It was SO. MUCH. FUN! Really. I had no idea that it could be this fun! Ruby Belle loved it all and got a ridiculous amount of gifts. Truly, it's a good thing she won't remember the amount of gifts she got for years to come because it may not ever happen this bountifully again!!! Family read: DO NOT spoil her with such amounts of gifts next year!!! ;-) Beckett enjoyed the fun, too, even though he had no idea. he's a happy baby, so he at least Looked like he was having fun!! All in all, it was fairly the most special Christmas to date for me! I cannot wait for next year!!!

Ruby Belle and her cool new house from Aunt Sep-an-ie and Uncle Ty

opening the mounds of gifts!!!

more opening the mounds...Ruby Belle helping show Beckett how it's done!

5 months...do they look alike?

2011-12-25T18:06:00.000-08:00

sometimes they look SO much alike...but sometimes not. What do you think?!

Christmas #1 2011

2011-12-21T17:42:00.001-08:00

Christmas with the Smith's 2011

So, Christmas #1 was with the Smith's this year! And we all had so much fun!!! Justin's parents came the weekend after Thanksgiving (first weekend in December) for 4 days. they spent 2 nights w/us (slept on an air mattress in the living room!) and were such great help with the kids and around the house!! Ruby Belle loved playing with Grandma and Papa and Beckett was, of course, spoiled with love! AND I don't think I had to wash a bottle or clean my kitchen for 4 straight days!!! A.MAZ.ING!!

Do you think she liked opening presents?!

Showing off her presents!!

Beckett and Papa

While they were here we got them to help us take our Christmas card pic...

Beckett - 5 months and more firsts!!

2011-12-19T13:54:00.002-08:00

Beckett turned 5 months on December 19th, TODAY...he's getting SO big so fast!! but I love it!

5 Month stats:

Not sure...no updates here

sleeping stil 4-7 hours at a time. usually goes down around 8 and is up anywhere between 12 and 4, but usually between 2-3. SO ready for him to sleep 8-12 hours!!!
starting feeding him rice cereal and oatmeal. He didn't like it much at first, but now he would rather eat than drink a lot of the time. He's a growin' big boy!!
have tried bananas and sweet potatoes. liked the sweet potatoes better.
wearing #3 diapers
wearing 6-9 month clothes (and even some 12 months, but those have GOT to be wrong!)
STILL has serious cradle cap...going on 2+ months now!! I SO wish it would go away already...it's really pretty gross :-(
working on sitting up unassisted. not quite there yet.
likes his tummy time and usually rolls over to his tummy shortly after placing him on his back. I can't even keep him on his back to sleep all of a sudden. almost every time we put him down he rolls over right away.
Got his first tooth and then another one right after!!! 2 teeth!!! oooh...and he's not a terrible teether...but NOT a good one either!!
Such a happy, smiley baby!! He LOVES his sister and loves to watch her. He just lights up and she can make him giggle like no one else!!

WARNING! Picture overload...I just could not decide which ones I liked best!!

4 months - Beckett

2011-11-27T06:16:00.001-08:00

Another post that's a little late!!! Beckett was 4 months on November 19th and here are the updates

4 month stats:

Wt: 15lbs 9oz (50th percentile)

Ht: 25.5in (75th percentile)

just starting baby foods (rice cereal, applesauce, sweet potatoes
wears size 2 diapers, but about to out grow them
wears size 6 month clothes
sleeping ok. just 4-6 hours a night mostly. goes down around 8 and is up usually between 2-3...give or take!! ;-)
smiling and laughing a lot!
loves his sister the most ;-)
rolling over both directions!!
still on reflux meds
been a little sick lately, but just a cold
learning to sit up...slowly
a bundle of fun!!
BOY oh BOY are 2 sweet babies harder than 1!!! but SO much fun!!!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-27T06:12:00.001-08:00

This is SO SO SO late!!! so, here's Halloween!!! We went over to our friends, The Taylor's house to help pass out candy, take Ruby Belle trick-or-treating on one of the busiest and friendliest streets in town and just to hang out with friends! Ruby Belle had a great time trick-or-treating (she and daddy dressed up! I just took pics!) and Beckett stayed at the Taylor's house with Uncle Ty, Aunt Stephanie and all the friends to pass out candy. Here are a few shots!!

She was a little weary at first, but daddy helped her along!

Then we ran into her bestie, Evie, and she took control and led the way!!!
SO much fun!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-30T18:33:00.001-07:00

Pics from our pumpkin pickin' outing a few weeks ago...

Beckett - 3 months & a FIRST!!!

2011-10-26T06:22:00.000-07:00

Beckett turned 3 months on October 19, 2011 and he's a growing boy!

Stats:

Wt: 14lbs 3oz

Ht: 24.5in

He's "sleeping through the night" meaning he's sleeping about 5-7 hours. We usually put him down around 8 and end up getting up to feed him around 2-3am. SO, WE'RE not "sleeping through the night," but he is based on what I called "sleeping through the night" with Ruby Belle...and what most liturature calls "sleeping through the night," I think.
He rolled over just a few days before his 3 month "birthday." AND it happened the same time Ruby Belle hit the same milestone!!! How crazy is that!! http://mandysmakins.blogspot.com/2009/12/first.html
he is eating about 30oz a day of breast milk/day (sometimes more, sometimes less...but usually leaning toward more!)
I'm exclusively pumping (6 times a day...ugh!)
He's wearing #2 diapers, and cloth ones on the weekends (usually)
likes his tummy time and doesn't love his Bumbo time, but we're still practicing
He's smiling a lot and laughing a little!!! I LOVE IT!

Someone is 2!!! Guess who?!?

2011-10-18T01:24:00.000-07:00

Ruby Belle turned 2 on September 16th, 2011. and yes, this is LATE! Like I said...still trying to adjust to work /life and family balance with 2 kiddos :-)

We had a fun little get together with just our family. Justin's parents were in town so we had them, my parents, and my brother and sister-in-law over for dinner and cake and ice cream at our house. Poor Ruby Belle got sick and threw up during her party, but quickly quickly recovered enough to open presents and eat cake!!

Overall, it was a great day! I cannot believe my little girl is 2!!! I didn't know it was possible, but I love her more and more each day. She's talking up a storm now (although, it's still tough to understand a lot of what she says)! Sentences are just mumble jumble sometimes, but she usually gets her point across! She also has gotten into the habit of putting her hands on her hips and walks with a little sass sometimes!! Cute now...in a few years...maybe not so much! ha! She really is a sweet, sweet girl, who LOVES to laugh! She is a typical 2 yr old and has her moments at least a few times a day with a temper tantrum, but she's still so easy to love!!

Beckett's 2 month check up

2011-10-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

We had Beckett's 2 month check up appointment September 19th...and yes, I'm just now blogging about it. I went back to work on Sept 5th and life's been a little busy since then. I keep telling myself that one day I'll figure out how to balance 2 kids, work and life, but until then...I'll just keep trying!

So, here's where we are:

2 month Stats:

Wt - 12lbs 11oz (50th percentile)

Ht - 24 in (75th percentile)

Head Circumfrence: - 15.5in (50th percentile)

Beckett is much more laid back than Ruby Belle (maybe because I'm more laid back this time around!)
He's eating 6-8 times/day
He's sleeping 5-8 hours a night, but we put him down around 8, so we're still getting up once to feed him
He's wearing size 1 diapers (but really needs a 2...we're just trying to get rid of the 1's)
We are going to start doing the cloth diapers while at home (day care won't do them) this month
He's in day care...has been since he was 7 weeks old (RB didn't go until she was 4 months - work didn't allow me that long off this time)
He's smiling and is SO much fun!

Adventures in Potty Training

2011-09-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

We have been "sort-of" potty training for a few months now. What I mean by "sort-of" is that Ruby Belle showed an interest a few months ago by telling us that she wanted to "go potty." so, we bought the toilet and got started. She was SO SO SO excited at first. I couldn't get her off the potty. but that died down. and we just weren't THAT into it as parents. I think we just had a lot going on and I was very pregnant and just not into putting much effort into it. So, we've kinda been half-assing it for a while. Which gave us a half-ass potty-trained child. Anyway, now the timeline is blurred since we now have 2 children, but somewhere along the way, I found this.

and then this the next day...

Guess at least she was getting the point!...on the 2nd try!

Now we are being a little more aggressive and do a decent job. I won't give all details, but we still have a ways to go. We just tackled sleeping all over again with Ruby Belle (she's been a TERRIBLE sleeper since Beckett came home)...one thing at a time.

back in the swing of things...

2011-09-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

do you think my boss will excuse me???

because i'm back at work today, sitting at my desk for the first time in 7 weeks and i can't remember most passwords. Therefore, I can't do much. So, I'm blogging. I've cleaned my office enough where I can now see my desk again. (It looked like a tornado hit it when I walked in at 6am this morning...NOT a pretty sight for drowsy eyes! who knows what went on in here while I was out! whatever it was, it wasn't pretty!) I've rearraged chip racks (yes, simply that...individual bagged chip displays...you know, like in the gas stations. I have a HUGE fetish with these being exactly how I want them, and I'm sure they haven't been "correct" in weeks...7 to be exact). And I've done a few other things that I can correctly remember how to do, but now, I'm taking a break. Mainly because I don't feel like being 100% back in the swing of things just yet. AND it's a holiday, business is slow, and no other managers are here. So, I feel like I have a little freedom.

Truthfully, I'm very anxious and nervous about this "returning to work" thing. It's been easy so far today (except for the part where my alarm went off at 4:45am!!) I got about 6 hours of sleep which has been pretty standard for most of the last 7 weeks...give or take on any given day. 6 hours is about average. NOT fun, but most moms know that this comes w/the territory...and worth every bit of that new little baby you get to hold, and smell, and feed, and burp, and change, and bathe and do it all over again and again 24/7. It's SO worth it! Really and truly. That first smile makes your heart melt and then the cooing and all the little noises (even the VERY loud grunts my little man lets out regularly) put a smile on a mom's face and make every mom want more and more.

Anyway, now that I'm about to cry cause I miss my little man, back to my work anxiety. Last time it was fairly easy. I'd been off 4 months and was ready for some adult interaction. 7 weeks is SO different! and I was the "boss" the last time I went back so I had a little more freedom on a schedule, etc. Not so much this time...we'll see how it goes!

a few new pics...excuse the iPhone quality...

Ruby Belle LOVES her little brother!!!

Look-alikes?

2011-08-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

So, do you think they look alike?!?

I know...all sleeping babies look kinda alike...

so check out the below!

they both have "mean faces"

and both are just cute...

Beckett's one month catch up

2011-08-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

My sweet boy was a month old last week (Aug 19th) so here's the catch up.

Stats:

Wt: unsure - no doc appt at 1 month - i estimate somewhere around 10-11 lbs!!!

(Ruby Belle was only 8lbs 1oz at 1 month!)

Ht: again unsure

Beckett is quite different from Ruby Belle...and SO am I! ha! I've become a little more relaxed (i would classify myself as CRAZY and OCD with Ruby Belle)

He's just more laid back.

*eats 8 times a day (was eating almost 6 oz at some feedings until i realized that this was NOT normal, so I did some research and think we were "over-feeding" him). SO, now we're at 4-5oz usually 7 times a day.

*getting breastmilk, but i'm exclusively pumping (i only let him nurse for 2 days! I loathe breastfeeding, so pumping is best for both of us!)

*has reflux (diagnosed at birth) so takes meds for it, but doesn't spit up anywhere close to what RB did!

*already outgrown his newborn clothes

*wearing size 1 diapers

*sleeps anywhere from 3-4 hrs at a time at night

*naps several times a day (like all babies!)

*practices tummy time at least once a day...not our favorite, but not terrible either...normal for all babies!

*he's a strong boy!! and a big boy!! I predict he'll be doing a few things a little sooner than Ruby Belle did...but WHO knows?!

So, far we are loving every sleepless minute of him!! (and are looking forward to that first night he sleeps more than 3-4 hrs!! ha!)

Whoo Pig Sooie!

2011-08-10T14:35:00.001-07:00

Beckett is 3 weeks old and we celebrated in true Arkansas spirit and went a little "Hog Wild!"

Another "photo shoot"

2011-08-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

I've been having fun w/my dad's Canon...and took advantage of having Ruby Belle home for a few days.

Sweet, sweet boy

And sweet sweet big sister!

Saying "CHEESE!"

Just like a woman...can't put the phone down!

Kinda getting bored w/the photo shoot...

Feeling better and ready to head back to daycare!!

my first day with 2 kiddos

2011-08-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

Beckett is a little over 2 weeks old now, and this past Friday was my first day with both kiddos by myself. Ruby Belle has been going to daycare during the week and I, of course, have had Justin here to help on the weekends. But today we had a doctor's appointment for both kids - Beckett for a 2 week check up and Ruby Belle for shots. BUT, thankfully enough we had this appointment scheduled in advance because Ruby Belle came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. (I really want to show pics, but I'm saving you all from that...I'd hate to be censored for showing pics of my babies booty! just trust me...it looked brutal!)

F.U.N.

She'd had a rash on her diaper area for a few days that I thought may be just some bug bites...but Thursday night I noticed that it had gotten worse while she was at day care, so I knew it wasn't bites. At this point, I just thought it was "just a rash" and would ask the doc about it at our appointment. Well, Friday morning it was worse and I noticed it on her hands and feet. Immediately, I "Googled" hand, foot and mouth and knew that it was the real deal. CRAP! A toddler at home w/a newborn...and how was I going to prevent her from passing this along to Beckett!??? EEK!! She had already violated every "precaution" I read about. She LOVES to kiss him!!

anyway, the doc confirmed the diagnosis and we all spent the weekend plus Monday inside trying to keep our hands clean and Ruby Belle's saliva away from Beckett.

Thankfully, (crossing my fingers and saying my prayers...) Beckett shows no signs of HFM yet. Praying.

I must say, though. I have always had an appreciation for SAHM's. NOW, that appreciation is even stronger! How does a sleep deprived mom ever function w/a newborn and a toddler at home...w/only a small hope of an afternoon nap?!?!?!?

Beckett's unprofessional photos

2011-08-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

I've been trying out my photography skills...I LOVE a good photography session with a real professional, but can't afford them as much as I'd like! who can, right?! I realized that's why so many stay at home mom's turn to photography as a "hobby" or "hobby turned business!" Thankfully my dad has a great Canon that he lets me borrow...and it makes me feel like the pics I take are a little more "professional" (for lack of better terms)! ha!! I'm NO professional, but here are a few point and clicks I took over the last few days!

One day I'm going to follow through with that Photography Class I've been planning on taking!! Until then...my sweet boy is cute enough for "point and clicks."

Another day in the hospital

2011-07-26T06:32:00.000-07:00

Note: Post written Saturday, July 24, 2011

So, Beckett and I are back in the hospital. :-( Beckett was a little jaundiced before we left the hospital initially, but they let us go home and told us to see the doctor the next day. well, we did and his jaundice was a little worse, but he was pooping like a champ, so she just wanted to watch it still and check it again the next day (today). Still pooping like a champ, but bilirubin levels were not so much champion like. They were more elevated so we were sent to check back into the hospital. poor little man! He's a little golden child. (sounds better than being "yellow," right?!) So, here we sit...he under the bili lamp and I watching from this wonderful hospital bed. They will check his bilirubin again in 6 hrs to see if it's getting any better. If so, we're just here until tomorrow most likely. If not, it's IV fluids for Beckett and then maybe a little longer stay.

Either way it's frustrating...and a little sad to watch your newborn wimper under the bili lamp with the cool shades on...

Note #2: We were able to leave Sunday around noon!!! A little less than 24 hours after our arrival! We just have strict instructions to feed on a regular basis and spend some time in indirect sunlight to help continue to get rid of the bilirubin. AND we made it home in time to see Daddy off to Baton Rouge and wish him good luck on his test!! SO happy to be home, but sad to see him leave! Thank goodness for mommies who are here to help!!! My mom is staying with me while Justin is gone to help take care of Beckett and Ruby Belle!!

Welcome to the World, Beckett King Smith

2011-07-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

Beckett King Smith made his arrival Tuesday, July 19, 2011! Exactly 2 weeks early and not exactly the way I expected, but it was just as well. I was supposed to work through Friday, July 22nd, but was off Tuesday, July 19th because I had worked the weekend. So, I thought I'd take advantage of my day off (maybe this was my form of "nesting"), clean a little, and cook/prepare some meals to freeze before Beckett arrived. I spent a couple of hours digging through some magazines, websites and my all-inspiring sister-in-law's blog (Stephanie) to find some good "starter" easy, freezable recipes! And after my morning walk, I met my mom at Target to do a little shopping/grocery shopping prepared with a list and all, I managed to begin to tackle one of my fears...shopping to actually COOK. What a concept!

I don't cook.

I'm a dietitian and I don't cook. Yes, it happens to the best (or worst) of us! My poor (not really) husband has only been honored with about 3 meals in the 4 years we've been married! Such suffering, I know!

anyway, in the middle of preparing the first 2 meals I was attempting, I thought I was feeling what may be my water leaking. I won't describe it, but it's different. I mean, you lose a little control of a few bodily functions when you're pregnant, but this was different. I didn't want to believe it though. I was in denial, but again, thankful that I had my 38 week doctor's appointment that afternoon. So, continued on...I got 1 meal prepared and ready to freeze and left the other in the crock pot while I headed to the doctor.

And I never got to go home!... The visit with the doctor confirmed that my water was leaking and they wheeled me to the hospital, admitted me and hooked me up to IVs immediately! EEK!!!

I had secretly, excitedly anticipated each day that my water would break and I would go into labor, but at the same time was SO torn on when exactly when I wanted this to happen. AS IF, I got any say in the matter! HA!! I had beat my inner self up with "when is the best time/when do I want to/when does Justin want to/when is a good time to have the baby" scenarios! Most of this because:

1) i had planned to work until the 22nd, and was going to be off work for a good solid week before my due date - and THAT I was looking forward to. Maybe there would be some R&R and some planning and prepping before I actually had the baby!

2) Justin was leaving Sunday, July 24th to take the Bar exam...in Baton Rouge...and would be gone until Wed, July 27th!!

Ok. You see the dilemma?! My husband would HAVE to be gone for 4 days with about a week until my due date!!! YIKES!! a whole set of issues!!

1) will I have the baby while he's gone?

2) will he lack focus for his exam if he's worried about me

a) having a baby while he's gone or

b) at home w/ a baby

3) if i have him early, will he still be able to get some final studying? ...the list got endless in my mind!

(did you catch all of that...crazy thoughts in my head don't always make sense on paper!)

so, God took care of it all and Beckett arrived safely, smoothly and as easy as anyone could ask for! I was in labor for about 9 hrs and only pushed for 4 minutes. yes, 4 minutes!!

So, meet Beckett King Smith!

Born: 10:07pm, 8lbs 6oz, 20 in (not a small man!)

Ready to head home!!

Quick Catch up: Belly Pics and more pics!!

2011-07-24T06:52:00.000-07:00

the last few pics of my belly...

32 weeks

34 weeks

37.5 weeks

And a few randoms of Ruby Belle over the last few weeks/months...

4th of July - Firecracker 5k

Swimmin' at Uncle Ty and Aunt Stephanie's!

Ready to go swimming, eating the breakfast of champions...Caramel rice cakes!!

relaxing after a long day of swimming/playing

She dressed herself...She can't get enough of these boots!!

Showered with love!

2011-07-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

Note: this post is WAY late...like a month or so late!

Again!! I remember writing a similar post almost 2 yrs ago...and to think I would get to write another is just amazing!!! on 2 levels...1) we've got another little miracle on the way and 2) we have sweet sweet women around us who care so much!

I cannot be more blessed!! We have only been (back) in town for a few months (6 to be exact) and really haven't had a chance (or made a lot of time) to get out and make friends. But, to my disbelief 13 wonderful women showed up at Beckett's shower! My sweet, sweet sister-in-law and her friend (well, my friend, too) LJ, threw me a perfect little get together at a wonderful restaurant, the Olive St. Bistro. It was quite perfect. Cute and delicious restaurant, lovely details (baby blue/periwinkle hydrangeas and some REALLY great cookies) and wonderful ladies! I could not believe this many folks whom I’ve only just met showed up to shower Beckett and I with Love!!

Here are a few of the pics… J

Nancy and LJ...kinda fuzzy :-)

a few of the ladies! Amanda made it out just 3 days before she was being induced!!

my mom, my sister-in-law and I...with my FAVORITE gift!!! my sis-in-law got me this awesome baby book for Beckett!!

1/2 of the group

kinda creepy how much we look alike, huh?!

the torture chamber

2011-06-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

warning: some moms may think this is awful. (please don't judge!)

and let me tell you from first hand experience...it is!

so, we've had Ruby Belle in her "big girl" bed for over a month now. But, we started out laying with her until she fell asleep, and again laying w/her until she fell asleep if she woke during the night. so, about 2-3 weeks into it, i decided maybe this way of putting her to bed wasn't the best idea considering we have another little one on the way. I mean, really?! how will I ever get any rest with a newborn and an almost 2 yr old we have to lay with for 20-30 min to get her to bed?! I don't know how parents do it? so, i read a little on the internet from other moms, you now "expert advice" and found a few different ideas. so, this is the one i went with. put her down, tell her you're going to read ___# of books (we do 2), read them, tell her good night and leave. so, we started doing that most night (first problem is MOST). anyway, we kinda got out of the habit after just a few days, and she really was doing well with it. so, tonight i decided we had to get back on track...i mean, Beckett will be here SO soon and we must get this down before his arrival!! so, we were on track, but she wasn't exactly showing signs of sleepiness (those are the nights when it's really easy). needless to say, when we left, she screamed, and screamed, and then figured out how to open her door, we put her back down, then she screamed and screamed as i held the handle (with force i may add...she's strong and persistent!) for exactly 10 minutes. it was TORTURE...on her end and mine!! i felt SO bad! (thank goodness for Smart phones. i kept myself entertained - read tried to keep my mind off the torturous thoughts that were going through her head as she screamed "Mommy, daddy!" - for the 10 minutes of torture). but at exactly 10 minutes, i felt her let go of the handle and heard her quiet down. i left and came back to check on her a few minutes later and this is how i found her...

so sweet and peaceful...but an accident waiting to happen! so, i left her there for about 30 min then we moved her to a more comfy and a little further from the edge! now it's off to sweet slumber!!

It's Official!!! FINALLY!!!

2011-06-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

y'all may not be as relieved as I am, but you may be after reading 30 posts on baby names!

finally, after many (some heated) discussions with my husband...(he even asked me just 2 days ago if he could have 6 more weeks to think about the name!...um, I am due in 6.5 weeks!!)

Beckett King Smith

Beckett I can credit to my best friend Holli...we were talking baby names one night on the phone and she threw this one out at me. and King, it's Justin's dad's name. so, there you have it! i've talked enough about baby names...

now the countdown to Beckett's arrival can begin!!! oh, and so can the monogramming!!! yippee!!

Last and Final name list - promise!!!

2011-06-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

so, we've been going round and round at my house over the last several weeks about names. I, of course, wanted a name about 2 months ago...but we just can't agree. I thought we came to an agreement about a week ago, but after sleeping on it for a few nights, I wasn't satisfied. i'd compromised too much and it just wasn't a name I really wanted. So, we're at a stalemate. and I'm sticking to my guns. This may sound harsh, but he's my baby, too and i'm the one who's been carrying him for 8 months and will give birth to the sweet nameless boy! My husband laughs when I claim I get most of the naming rights because of this, but really?! Men just don't get it! I haven't had a horribly awful, hard pregnancy, but really ladies, even the "easy" pregnancies aren't THAT easy! They are fun (at least i think so), but they come w/ups and downs. I would have to say the ups outweigh the downs, but you know I'm gonna pull the "I'm-carrying-and-giving-birth-to-this-big-hairy-baby" card as much as I can! Needless to say, it's not working. So, here's where we stand on names:

1. I'm not going to be the only one who compromises.
2. I want us to both be happy. (this may be impossible)
3. But, I'm not naming my baby something that I'm not in love with.

so, here are my top 5 (and only 5 at the moment) choices that I've made known to my husband.
(in order of most liked to least) Y'all may think I'm crazy, but how can you NOT like at least one of these!?!

1. Rhett (what a great one, huh?! sounds great w/Ruby Belle and it's a southern classic, manly yet gentlemanly name!!)
2. Reid (kinda popular, but I like it w/Ruby Belle)
3. Sutton (sounds good w/Smith and not too popular)
4. Beckett (like it, but he only wants to use Beck. he doesn't like to name the baby something and then call them by a nickname - i.e., Beckett = Beck. WHATEVER! Justin is SO weird and hard-headed!)
5. Lewis Payton (both of our mom's maiden names)

I did tell him he was welcome to continue to come up w/names and maybe he'll find one I like, but for now, he needed to sleep on my list. I also told him he could choose the middle name, except for on #5 (I SO did not want to give up this right, but would rather do this than have a first name I don't like)

So, we'll see. I'm going to put more pressure on soon. I mean, how's a girl to finish preparing for a baby w/out at least SOME monogramming!! we NEED A NAME!!!

A big, hairy baby!!

2011-06-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

now doesn't that sound cute and sweet?!

Don't answer. let me explain.

Over the last week I've been not feeling well. first, Ruby Belle was sick a bit over Memorial Day weekend. just a touch of a stomach bug. then I caught it. and then the heartburn set in. a friend described it as "liquid fire"... and she's right! and it won't go away. Tums are a new staple in my purse. But, the old wives tale (and lots of my friends) says that heartburn = a baby with a full head of hair! So, I went to the doctor yesterday for a check up and ultrasound on baby boy and the ultrasound tech said she thought she saw a good amount of hair! maybe I'll prove the old wives tales to be true!!

As another note from the ultrasound tech, I have a big baby! yep, he's measuring in the 86th percentile! and 10 days ahead of schedule! eek! Eek! EEK!!

good news is, he was breech and now he's head down!!! i'll take heartburn and a bigger baby (as long as he's not TOO big) to know that he's head down and not a guaranteed c-section. c-sections terrify me. I know they're done every day, but still...scares me! so, hopefully, this baby boy won't be TOO big!

he sure is cute though...here's a pic from the outside and inside!

It started with a "thud"

2011-05-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was an eventful one...at least in my "mommy" eyes. We had a few "milestones," did some house work, some birthday parties, and just some running around! Needless to say, we didn't make it to everything we planned to make it to, but still I need a weekend from my weekend!

Friday night started off with a thud! Yep, my baby girl climbed out of her crib for the first time...and it will be the last. Thankfully, we had already planned to go buy a twin mattress and start the transition beginning Saturday night! We had been dreading this transition (she's such a good sleeper in the crib at night and we just weren't sure if she was ready!), but after Friday night's fall, it couldn't come quicker!

She was not ready to go to bed Friday night and cried in her crib for a longer amount of time than usual. Justin and I just sat there listening (while watching tv) and waited as usual because she usually quiets down after a little bit and drifts off to sleep. But, I tell you what! The "thud" that came next rocked my little world! I ran (literally) through the house and found her sitting up on her HARDwood floor crying. I really don't think she was any more hurt or upset or scared about crawling out of the crib and falling (ok, maybe a little), than she was with just having to go to bed that night, truthfully, but it scared my heart out of my chest. The crying ended quickly and she spent the next hour or so with us on the couch in my arms and then fell asleep watching TV. Of course, a million worries went through my mind about concussions, etc, but all was well in the end.

my sweet angel after the fall, asleep on the couch

So, after that event, a mattress was the one thing on my mind on Saturday!! But first, we had not one, but two 2 yr old birthday parties to attend! It was a busy start for our Saturday morning. Justin went garage-selling while Ruby Belle and I went for a walk then got ready for the parties. We went to a party for a day care friend first at Gymboree (that was SO much fun for Ruby Belle, we may have to go back for a visit!) and then to another friend's Elmo-themed bash with all the stops including a "jumpy." Believe it or not, it was a little chilly outside, but Ruby Belle had fun! All of that plus a stop by the grocery store by 12:30pm. wheew! (not sure how you do it with 2 or more kids, but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough!)

Then it was off to work on projects for the house. Justin was busy working outside and running errands and my mom came over and helped (basically she did it all) sand a bed frame down to paint for Ruby Belle, and then we (unsuccessfully) shopped for bedding for Ruby Belle's new bed. The bed was more of an adventure (mostly for Justin and my dad) because we couldn't find bed rails, etc, but after much discussion and running around we worked it out.

We were supposed to go to a friend's house for a cookout, but I was whooped and we were still immersed in house projects by the time it rolled around. Also, I knew I needed to gear up for the night ahead!

Ruby Belle's first night in her "big girl" bed made me question why we were having another baby (only for a minute!). We read and read and read until I was tired of reading. But, she would not tire. Then I tried just laying her down, laying down with her, etc. nothing worked. Justin took over after about an hour and she finally became too tired to keep fighting. She slept in her bed from 9 until about 1:45am. Then it was over. She woke up and ended up in our bed for the rest of the night because she was not having it in hers! So, Sunday, we skipped church for rest and more house projects. My mom and I went on a mission to find "cool new bedding" for the new bed in hopes of getting her excited about sleeping there. We finally succeeded!

Here's her while we're putting on the new bedding! Maybe you can tell through the horrible picture quality of the iPhone, but believe me, she LOVED it!

But, didn't love it enough to make the transition totally smooth!! :-) That night, she went down in about 30 minutes instead of the hour, but somehow managed to end up under the bed in the middle of the night! YES, it was like the scene from the "Wizard of Oz" where they find the witch with her toes hanging out from under the house! I heard her rumble, and cry a bit, then she got really quiet. I was sure she had gone back to sleep, but I still had to check on her!! I wish I had my camera, but I was afraid to wake her! I found her lying on her stomach all the way under the bed (her toes were hanging out), sound asleep!! and if you can't see it in the pic, the bed is pretty low to the ground. I had to pull her out by her feet (I could not let her sleep there!) and put her back in bed. BUT, she really didn't wake up!

In the end, all nights have been fairly smooth...relatively speaking. She takes an hour at least to get down (this is the part that really, really tests my patience - we haven't figured out how to make this happen any better yet) and stays in her bed all night for the most part. She usually wakes up 2-4 times, cries, gets up and then as long as I go lay back down w/her in her bed until she falls asleep, she goes back down easily. We don't have bed rails so there are pillows lining the floor in hopes that she doesn't fall. Not that she would hurt herself badly with a 6 inch fall, but I would rather her not be any more startled. Bed rails would have been a good option, but we just haven't made them happen yet. We'll see how long this transition takes! It's definitely a new one for me!! Can't wait to potty train...that's next (sarcasm should be noted) !!!

All in all, that was a really LONG post!!! Sorry for the novel!! Hope everyone else had a good weekend!!

Ruby Belle - 1 1/2 yrs old!

2011-05-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

So, i never gave an update on Ruby Belle and how wonderful she is at 1 1/2!! (i'm almost 2 months behind). She truly is a blessing to have in our lives and it's amazing that every day is more fun and more fun!

1 1/2 yr stats:

(Justin took her to the doctor since I was out of town and he doesn't remember the measurements)

BUT, basically, she's 25th percentile for height, 10th for weight and 50th for head circumference. She ain't big, that's for sure!

*She has adjusted well to her new home state, city, and now permanent residence!!! (she LOVES the new house and the wood floors! she runs all through the house all day long...i think just to hear her feet pitter-patter)

*loves to play (of course!)

*loves even more to play outside!!!

*loves to run more than walk (she RUNS everywhere she goes! and in circles around the house a lot of days!)

*can say only a handful or 2 of words (that we can understand), but has MANY conversations with lots of inflection, etc. I'm going to make more of an effort to start working with her on really saying words though.

*eats well most days, but well is relative.

-we are down to almost no veggies (the most she gets is the tomato sauce she eats w/lasagna and the ketchup she eats on chicken nuggets! I know, I'm a dietitian - she should eat better, but since she turned about a year old or so, she has been refusing all veggies on most occasions. She ate broccoli the other day and will eat green beans every once in a while. sad, but i count on the ketchup she eats by the spoonful sometimes! it's ridiculous, i know!!!

-she would LOVE to eat the raw carrots I snack on, but I am deathly afraid of her choking on them, so that's a no-go right now!

-loves carbs. Just like her mamma and most women ;-)

-likes most fruit

-supposedly she eats well at school...veggies and all sometimes...?!?! I sure hope so!

-has a new habit of chewing a spitting things back out...especially melons. so, i have a 1 1/2 yr old with an eating disorder!

-likes to feed herself mostly

*Breakfast - 9am (sometimes a snack before day care), Lunch - 11am, Snack 2:30 pm, Dinner 6pm). Weekends may vary!

*still wearing some 12 month clothes...she's not exactly big or tall!

*getting ready to move out of the crib (to make room for Baby Boy!)

*getting ready to potty train!!! (hopefully)

*goes down easily at night and usually sleeps well

*bed time is 8-8:30pm and she is usually up around 7am

*takes 1 nap a day usually (usually 2 hours - give or take)

*just brought the cloth diapers back out again (did not mess w/them during our move and stay w/my brother!)

Here are just a few pics from the spring and Easter!

more of the name game

2011-04-24T06:38:00.001-07:00

Boy, oh, Boy are names hard!!

revised list:

My favs:
*Riser (I know it's out there, but I love it with Ruby Belle and Smith)
*Lewis Payton (my mom's maiden name and his mom's maiden/his middle name)
*Kingston (I know, it's Gwen Stephani's kiddo's name, but Justin's dad's name is King...so I'm throwing it out there for sentimental value)
*Rowan
*Tyce (but doesn't work with Smith...runs together)

Justin's favs:
*Cal
*Finn
*Brigg

I'm sure this will be revised 18 more times...

Leaving on a jet plane...

2011-04-18T06:41:00.001-07:00

Again...

I don't know how folks who travel regularly with work do it! I'm headed out this afternoon to Atlanta for more training for work. (I should be SO well trained by the end of all of this!) and again, I'm SO sad to leave! Leaving my daughter and husband (and doggie) is hard!! Secretly, I should be excited because I will hopefully have a few low key days in a hotel room & training room to relax without all the other responsibilities that come with everyday life at home/work. And I am secretly a little excited...a teeny, tiny bit excited. Because I'm exhausted!!

We moved into our beautiful new house this weekend!!! It has been a whirlwind of a move (even though I didn't "move" anything since I had to work and am pregnant). My mom was SO much help to me I can't thank her enough! My patience was thin all weekend, hers...it was immense! I don't handle moves well. Mostly because I'm a perfectionist. I want it all moved, everything put in it's proper place and I want it to go smoothly and seamlessly. Yep, I know, that's asking a WHOLE lot for a move! How many moves ever go exactly as planned?!? Needless to say, it's not perfect yet...surprise, surprise, right? ;-)

Really, our move went well. I can't say enough about my husband and his ability to just buckle down and do things. He and a few guys moved all of our stuff in just about 1 day. AND without one ounce of complaint. He's SO patient and laid back it kills me! Really, that's where all my stress comes from. I know, it makes NO sense...but it does to me and I'm not going to waste your reading time explaining! :-)

Anyway, credit to my mom and husband! My mom spent all day with me on Saturday and part of the day on Sunday helping us clean and unpack! She's a work horse! and Justin...he's a patient, hard-working man (when he wants to be, of course! - and he was this weekend!).

We did take a few breaks over the weekend to have some fun...not that a new house isn't fun (cause it IS!!! I LOVE OUR NEW HOUSE!!). We headed to some friends house on Saturday night for a crawfish boil and then to Palm Sunday service Sunday morning. Both were a lot of fun and between the 2 days, I've never seen Ruby Belle have such a blast! I'll post more on these when I return!

Either way, the weekend is over, I'm totally exhausted, we're "kinda" unpacked, I'm packed and ready (with my heels in the ground) to head to Atlanta after work today and will return to more unpacking late, late Thursday night. Hopefully, I'll be recharged on Friday morning to get started!

I forgot one...

2011-04-05T18:06:00.001-07:00

oh, I forgot to put Rowan on the list...so, it's on the name list.

Corporate Training lessons

2011-04-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

What i've learned over the last week...

1. Professional training is good, but...boring at times, redundant at times, elementary at times, and overwhelming at times. In the end, though, you learned something, right?!

2. Look behind you 8 times before backing out of a parking space.

3. Speak up if you don't think the car accident is your fault! and especially speak up if you KNOW it's not your fault. You'll regret it if you don't. (yes, i got in a car accident...in the company car!!! one of the worst moments ever...as if being away from 2 weeks wasn't bad enough. wasn't my fault, but either way, cop decided we were both at fault. Thank goodness the company was understanding and made me feel better about it!)

4. Eating on the company tab can be fun (even if you are pregnant, can't have an adult beverage, and are dining by yourself...with room service)! Experiment! (within reason, of course!)

5. Always check the amenities at the hotel before traveling (believe it or not, some hotels, still don't have "business centers" or fitness centers.

6. Time flies...sometimes even when you're not having so much fun. Cherish every minute.

7. It's nice to sit outside on a sunny day, eat frozen yogurt, and just watch the world pass by...even if you are by yourself.

8. BUT, nothing's nicer or better than being home. With family and friends.

3 more days...

pictures from home

2011-04-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

My parents have been helping Justin out a lot while I've been away. Really, they're just taking advantage of me being gone and have picked Ruby Belle up from day care every day so Justin can have some time to stay at work or just enjoy a few minutes without being a single dad. I think they've even managed to feed him dinner a few nights. I'm thankful that they are eager to pick her up and have some play time, but even more thankful that they've been sending me pics all week!! Just to share a few...

This one said "Making her earn her keep." She LOVES to hang out outside at my parents, and almost always wants to have a broom and dust pan in her hand!! Let's hope this desire to help sweep lasts through her teenage years!

So, after all the hard work, she needed a bath. She LOVES bath time at their house!!

Playing dress up after bath time!

getting into the spirit of the Easter season...

Boy, oh, boy! Name poll #1

2011-04-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

Boy names are so hard!!! We're so thrilled to be having a baby boy, but boy, this name thing hard!!! I know we have quite a few more weeks (17 to be exact) to talk about this, but it's so much fun to think of baby names!

So, here's what we've come up with. Nothing is just jumping out at me and I'm reaching to all names (you may think some are way off the wall) to try to find the perfect name for our baby boy. I'm very open (and won't be offended) by your thoughts and want to hear them!

-Briggs
-Nash
-Beck
-Tate (love this one the most so far, but have some friends in Arkansas with a son by the same name...so, struggling)
-Riser
-Cy
-Lewis
-Butler

Middle name to come later, but that one will be a family name probably.

Help!!!

one week down...

2011-04-01T18:52:00.001-07:00

one week to go... ugh.

i'm in South Carolina with my new job. they sent me here to train...for 2 whole weeks!!! 2. whole. weeks. double ugh!!

Highlights and Lowlights of the trip so far.
Lowlights:

1 . I miss my baby....TERRIBLY!!

2. I miss my husband...TERRIBLY!

3. The training proctor is SO getting on my nerves. (Don't they all?!) I'm not sure he's cracked much more than a slight smile even twice.

4. I spent the first week without any computer access. (there's not even a computer center/business center in the hotel!) Sad, I know, but we're so connected with the world via internet, that it's been rough!

5. I only have about 4 decent television channels...thank goodness TLC is one of them, but I hate to say it's not as good as HGTV would have been.

6. There's no fitness center in the hotel.

7. We have 1 car to share.

8. I'm pregnant (yes, a blessing) and can't drink at least one cocktail to get me through some of this pain!

9. I'm missing my brother's 30th birthday party :-( it's sure to be a blast!! I moved to Shreveport so I wouldn't miss this kind of fun! ugh

10. I'm stuck at this training 5 days a week with 3 guys and that's it. Just me and 3 guys I didn't know until now. Kinda awkward, but kinda in my favor...

Because the #1 highlight is that we were supposed to share rooms., but I got lucky and don't have to since there are no other girls! No, not your regular hotel room, but a suite. you know, 2 separate bedrooms each with their own bathroom, but a shared living/kitchen space. Still, it's sharing a room with a perfect stranger! SO, lucky me! I have a room all to myself! Sadly, this "room" is larger than the "Smith Suites" my family and I have been living in for the last 3 months! and I'm all alone!

Here's my home away from home.

the "shared living space"

it even has a washer & dryer in the room!!

2. My sweet husband and mom sent me our laptop per my request and it just arrived today!! So, now i'm connected, can blog, and can even catch up on some TV I've missed over the last few months!! Cheap/free entertainment!! Yippee!!

3. We have access to a gym...it's just about 2-3 miles down the road.

4. We just have 1 more week!!!

I cannot WAIT to get back to my family!!! I'm praying this weekend and next week fly by!!

It's (almost) ours!!!

2011-03-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

here it is!! our new home!!! well, not yet. we close on April 15th, THEN it's our new home!!! I don't think that day could come any faster :-) we are super stoked about this place! mainly because it's ours, but also because we love it, we feel like we've waiting and played the house bidding game for TOO long (really it wasn't THAT long, but it felt like it), it's in a great neighborhood, and it's going to be just perfect for our little family!! We put offers in 3 different times (on 2 other houses and this one) before we scored on this one! 4th times a charm! the house is not as big as some we looked at and a little more pricey per square foot than some we looked at, but it's NOT a "fixer-upper" like some we looked at either. We like to fix things up and were a little hesitant on this house because there's really nothing to "fix up," but I think in the end it was the best deal. The bonus is that we won't have to fix much up and really that's probably smart considering we have a 1 1/2 yr old and a new baby on the way soon!! Praise God for knowing what's best!!

check out the pics below! The current owners have great taste!

The front. You can't really see it from here, but it's got a pretty good front porch to just hang out on.

The kitchen! I can't wait to hang out here! it's so cute and open!! and it's really inspiring me to start cooking!!! The den. There's also a formal living room, but this will probably get the most use while the kids are young!

The backyard! I love it!! I can't wait to watch our kids play here!!

Baby boy belly pics

2011-03-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

so, i said i would post them...and i'm regretting it. Maybe i'm a little more self-conscious or a little more modest this time around, but i think i'm going to regret posting these. here it goes.

16 Weeks

20.5 weeks

I feel SOOO much bigger than this!!! and starting to get uncomfortable.

really, i can't wait to be oh, 30+ weeks pregnant where i look pregnant, can embrace having a big belly (hopefully nothing else will get TOO big this time around), and have a full wardrobe of full out maternity clothes instead of the "not-big-enough-yet-for-maternity-clothes-yet" clothes. Still trying to wear your regular clothes and not being able to button them is not as comfortable as "everyone who has advice for you when you're pregnant" may say. really, it's not comfortable...and neither is the Bella Band. really.

and really, i remember enjoying being "big belly pregnant" last time...hoping that i remember that in about 10-12 weeks!

Total Package

2011-02-25T07:24:00.001-08:00

I'm a little late with this post...we only have a little bit going on around here...see previous post. We had our "sneak peak" dr's appointment a little over a week ago and got to find out the sex of baby #2! Much sooner than my previous doctor let me find out (4 weeks earlier to be exact!) and as all you mommies who like to find out the sex, one of the most exciting pre-natal appointments you have. Except, of course, when you find out you're pregnant, you hear the first heartbeat, you see the baby is healthy, etc...who am I kidding?! it's all exciting!

it's a BOY...we'll now have the total package! (iPhone pic, but still you get the picture!)

What I always wanted! A girl and a boy! But really, although, I kinda hoped Ruby Belle would get to have the sister I never had, we're SO blessed to be having a healthy (so far) baby boy!!! We are a little nervous about a boy because we've gotten so used to our little girl and girlie things and pink things! Now Justin will get to do "boy things" while Ruby Belle and I have girl time, though! And we'll have a little more testosterone in the house...good for Justin, of course...the jury's still out on whether it's good for Ruby Belle, Maggie and I!

So, now that we know ... Let the naming begin!!! Of course, I started the naming LONG ago, but now we can narrow it down to boys and now Justin will participate! - he refuses until we know the sex...no fun! (not that he's been sitting around doing nothing lately. he IS off in New Orleans taking the last day of the Louisiana Bar Exam as I type and has been studying for the last 3-4 months! Prayers welcome!)

will keep you posted on names!!

RE: "Talk about a To Do List"

2011-02-23T06:52:00.000-08:00

After reading this blog post by my sweet sister-in-law i feel like i must respond.

so here it goes:

1. I am so thankful that my brother and sister-in-law agreed to let my family and i occupy their mother-in-law suite for a couple of months. I LOVE living so close, but am always terribly afraid that we're driving them crazy...you know, the feeling you get when you have house guests...you love them, but sometimes they make you feel uncomfortable in your own home. that's how I think we make them feel sometimes. (ok, maybe i'm just this way sometimes...and with certain house guests!...but it makes sense to me). Anyway, this living arrangement has made our life a lot less complicated during this "transition process" and we're so thankful for them opening their home to us!

2. that picture of Stephanie and I is terrible of me!!! She's a blushing bride and i look like a pretty p.o'd bridesmaid! I swear, I'm NOT. I loved every minute of being her bridesmaid and it's that darn half smile that comes out sometimes (especially when squinting for pictures in the sun) that makes me look like i hate life. I DON'T and the picture just didn't capture me at my best :-).

3. I am 17 week pregnant as Steph stated...(post on the sex of the baby to come VERY soon!) and my clothing choices are getting smaller and smaller. I have a select few pairs of pants I can fit in. The maternity pants will be coming out SO soon...like today! also, i'll be posting belly pics soon...so sorry if my bare belly offends some of you! just close your eyes. you know, like your parents use to make you do!

4. Overwhelmed is an understatement! I am SO there with this to-do list!!!

On a serious note, though, I'm so blessed and happy to be back in Shreveport and close to my family!! they make all of this transition a lot easier!!!

moving day #2...

2011-02-12T19:11:00.000-08:00

We sold our house!!! yippee!!! such a relief! well, really the relief comes Feb 25th when we actually close and the deal is done!

but for now, we have to move! ... the rest of our stuff. we only moved the necessities when we moved to Shreveport so we had to move the rest. and it was a lot. well, it seems like a lot while you're packing and moving, but when you see your life packed into a 22 ft moving van, it does seem a little sad maybe. First though, we had to get through the snow! NWA got 20-24" of snow in various sections of the area just 2 days before we headed up there. I believe the last time they got anywhere close to that much (I think it was 15-18") was back in 1968. crazy stuff!! we only got to see the remnants when we arrived on Friday and here are some pics from Saturday...melting was well underway, but still there was SO much snow!! we got stuck a couple of times, but made it out alive :)

actually the packing went very smoothly....thanks to my wonderful packer of a husband and our amazing friends who helped us get the entire house packed in less than 12 hours (excluding sleeping time!). special thanks to my friends who came over to help me with the final packing and Justin with the moving since i'm pregnant and couldn't be a whole lot of help! i can't believe we did it! exhausting!

Another on the way!

2011-01-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

Yep, you guessed it! we're having another baby! (in case you didn't catch it in my previous post 15 weeks). We are super excited! I am 12.5 weeks along now and can no longer kinda keep a secret. Most folks know, but i haven't "officially" announced it to the world! (i know, everyone is waiting on their seats) so, officially, it's announced...i'm pregnant!!

so far, things have been fairly par for the course with the pregnancy. I thought i was further along, but went to have an ultrasound right before we left Arkansas and the doc moved my due date back 2 weeks! from July 15th to Aug 2nd! kinda of a bummer, but really, it's all ok. it's just that when you're pregnant, nauseated 24/7 and have the usual 1st trimester jitters, you get excited when you think you're almost out of the 1st trimester. so, when he told me i was 8 weeks 5 days instead of 11 weeks, i was slightly bummed. but now, i'm back (well, past) that point and will officially be out of the first trimester next week. the nausea is mostly gone, but i'm stil pretty tired a lot. either way I'm so thankful that all is still well and baby smith #2 is looking good!! next step, can't wait to find out the sex! (Feb 16th!!)

Here is one of the ultrasound pics from my new doctor here in Louisiana. I love her by the way, so thanks to all the gals who recommended her (thank goodness my brother has LOTS of friends who have babies or are with child and can give great recommendations!) Baby Smith was moving around like crazy this day! Looks like we've got another busy bee on our hands!!! Ruby Belle will be so excited (after she gets over the jealousy part!) to have a full time playmate!!

And this is how we broke the news to my parents! We weren't living here yet, so i made this silly shirt and texted it to them...now, they're getting old, so even on their fancy iPhones they had a hard time seeing the shirt, but finally caught on and were so excited!! Now they'll have 2 to spoil!!

(again, sorry for the iPhone picture quality!)

The Perks of Work

2011-01-15T14:37:00.000-08:00

if any of you have read any of my previous posts, you may know how much i LOVED my job in Bentonville, AR. and how i was SO excited to be moving home to Shreveport, but SO, SO, SO sad to leave my job that i loved so much! it was like leaving family.

but, i was hoping to find something of the same sort (though i knew it would take years to match what i left) in my new job! I know, some of you are thinking...foodservice is foodservice...it's all kinda crappy and lunch lady-like. well, in NW Arkansas it wasn't quite like that. yes, still lunch ladies, but a different world from deep south foodservice. just drive through McDonald's in Shreveport and then in Bentonville...you're in for a treat!I knew it would take a while to get adjusted, and that going from working in a nice, newer hospital foodservice in NW Arkansas to an older nursing home (somewhat in the sketchy part of town) foodservice department in Shreveport, LA would be a drastic change.

but i had NO idea...

my new kitchen (i SO wish i had pics of my "old" kitchen in AR so you all could see the differences...my "new" kitchen in LA meets EVERY stereotype you can imagine...continue on with the pics to see!)

This is the chair I had to find and make myself for the 1st 2 days.

And the desk that was being shared by 2 people (Also, I didn't get a pic...because I quickly killed them...but I was also greeted by a spider and a roach in the first 2 minutes I was there!)

On the 3rd day, I was granted these 2 fine pieces of furniture.

My new chair!...

and my desk...yes, there is a scary looking Jesus (i love some Jesus, but this one is posted on several walls in the kitchen and throughout the nursing home...apparently a resident drew him. yes, pretty good drawing, but i can't help but think it's a bit creepy! guess I will constantly be reminded that he's always looking over me!)

and a typical lunch.

The ladies so proudly serve this to you! and actually after the first few days (which also included liver and onions for an entree one day!...who still eats that?!?) the food has been decent on most days. you have to give it to the African-American cooks who have worked there 20 years...they know how to cook soul food...it's just not always what i'm hoping to have...especially after seeing the roaches! (4 in the first week! the pest control has come since then, and i haven't seen one since...but there's always tomorrow!!)

OH, how i miss Northwest Medical Center - Bentonville foodservice! I LOVE being here in Shreveport, but me trying to improve this kitchen is, as my boss called it, like polishing a terd!

now if that doesn't inspire you, i don't know what will!!

our 2nd Christmas!!

2011-01-12T18:43:00.000-08:00

and Ruby Belle's 1st Christmas in Shreveport!!

Since we weren't able to celebrate Christmas with my family on Christmas, we celebrated on New Year's day. the day after we moved in. it was small, sweet, and fun! I think we all had fun, but as you can see...Uncle Ty and Aunt Stephanie stole the show (and this little one's heart!) with this great present!! (and how precious is that cute little crown from Aunt Stephanie!!!)

Road warrior!!!

Yes, that's my daughter...texting while driving and carrying a baby in the front seat!!

Overall it was a great 2nd Christmas!!! and better that we were all setteled into our new place!...now to adjust to our new life!!!

Moving day

2011-01-08T07:27:00.001-08:00

Moving day has come and gone, but now we're all setteled in, so i thought i'd catch up on blogging. SO much has happened in the last few weeks and it's been a bit crazy.

really though, i can't think of much to say. we moved. it was fun, crazy, busy, hectic, not fun, etc. like moving always is. it was pretty successful...except the grill flew out of Justin's truck on the way down, but otherwise, successful. My parents came up to help us pack and move. they were a ton of help! we (my mom and I) packed the first day while my dad played w/Ruby Belle all day, then justin, my dad, and mom all moved the stuff into the appropriate truck. We borrowed a motorcycle trailer, had my dad's truck, justin's truck and my car, loaded them all up to the top and headed south! that's pretty much how it went.

(sorry for the picture quality...iPhones only do so much!)
My little packing warrior...yes, that bow has only been worn once and here it is!

playing in the empty (and no longer child-proof) cabinets!

then we immediately unloaded all we had...which was a much quicker process especially since we had Ty and Stephanie to help unload.

and we only had so much to unload since we're staying in Ty and Stephanie's mother-in-law suite. we'll now call it the Smith's Suites.

it's actually pretty cozy! it's 2 rooms...one for us and one for Ruby Belle. our room contains the living room, bedroom, and kitchen complete with a mini fridge. then there's also a nice size bathroom. really, it's cozy...but not in a terrible way. i have only been here a week officially, but i really do enjoy it. it's SUPER easy to clean such a small space (and also easy to destroy just by walking in the door) and it's kinda nice to walk down stairs to see my brother and sister-in-law. they have already entertained twice since we've been here and i think we have the best room in the house! we can come down for the fun, and then go back up when we're done! no driving, no clean-up (yes, Stephanie, i promise one day i'll stay up long enough to help you clean up!!), no packing the kid up to go somewhere and even better, we can just put her to bed upstairs and head to the fun downstairs!! oh, and to top it off, they cook often...and we have reaped the benefits a few times!! i must say it's a pretty nice treat for folks who rarely cook!! ;) we're gonna have to take them out to dinner soon!

our 1st Christmas this year

2011-01-02T17:57:00.000-08:00

Our 1st Christmas this year was a little crazy. the weekend before Christmas we went to Branson to visit Justin's parents and for his dad's side of the family Christmas. It was nice to see that side of the family and our brother and sister-in-law, Brandon and Jamie and their 2 kids, Mason and Mallory. Ruby Belle had such a good time playing with them, and I think they had a great time playing with her!

the cousins at a nativity display in Branson

Then Justin and Ruby Belle went back for Christmas weekend (while I was working) and had more fun with the cousins and playing!

And apparently she LOVED sitting here and watching the fishy screen saver! it is pretty fun to watch, I must admit!

help!

2010-12-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

does anyone know how to get my "header" or title to show up on these types of blog backgrounds?

15 months

2010-12-25T10:02:00.000-08:00

again, it's been a while since i've given a Ruby Belle update! she turned 15 months on Dec. 16th, so i'm a little late, but here you go!

15 months stats:
20lbs 6oz
29.5 inches

other updates:

*still sleeping great. goes to bed around 8 and gets up around 7. takes 1 nap daily for 1.5-2 hrs

*eats 3 meals and 2 snacks daily, plus a bottle before bed

*yes, i said bottle. We REALLY need to break her of that!

*good news...doesn't use a paci or suck her thumb and never has

*love to feed herself. usually that's the only way she'll eat (unless she's STARVING)-she's really showing her independent side

*still won't eat much protein. but she will if it's mixed with spagetti/tomato sauce (lasagna, chicken parmesean, spagetti)

*much pickier about veggies - will usually only eat canned green beans...and she'll eat LOTS of those, but rarely she'll eat some bits of other veggies

*can say "more" in baby sign language...working on others
*she has LOTS of conversations with herself, i still can't understand any of them!

*she sometimes says "thank you," "dog," "cat," "mama," and "dada"

*cries when told "no"

*cries and stomps her feet when you take a toy (one that's not supposed to be a toy...like a wire - she LOVES wires) out of her hand

*has learned to throw temper tantrums with the best of them (see earlier post)

*giggles all the time...and is especially ticklish

*has gotten much better at giving kisses, but still only does them when she wants to :)

*loves to pet and chase the cat and dog

*has had 2 "accident reports" at school...both involving fights over a toy

*loves to climb on anything she can reach

*plays well independently (but loves attention!)

*loves going down slides

*loves to clap when you say "yay!"

*has several teeth - 12, i think

*still using cloth dipers at home

*is going to be a BIG SISTER!!!

She just gets to be more fun each day!! It's so fun interacting with her and watching her grow up! i can't even put it into words! she definitely has an attitude, though! it's been challenging trying to learn how to parent and discipline. we're still trying to figure that out. and i'm sure we'll be trying to figure that one out for the next 20 years at least!

pic while we were waiting for our shots at the doc's office!

that sweet smile! this one was priceless!

like i said...loves to climb!

and more climbing

Success!

playing with Meme and Pops

the Magic of Christmas

2010-12-25T07:25:00.000-08:00

i woke up alone this morning...Christmas morning.

first because i couldn't sleep at 4:30 (pregnancy insomnia), then at 6:30 because work called, then just on my own. As i lay there, deciding on whether to get up or not, i couldn't stop thinking about how i missed being there to see my sweet 15 month old daughter's reaction to Santa Claus. and, of course, i was sad. but i knew she was in good hands and having a great time. She and my husband went to Branson to stay with his parents, brother and sister-in-law (Brandon and Jamie), and their 2 kids (Mason and Mallory) because i'm on call and have to work.

i worked all day yesterday and will be working from noon until 6:30 or so tonight. sad about this because i missed my favorite church service of every year...the candlelight Christmas Eve service. But, all of that is ok with me because i DO love work (well, it's kind of a love/hate relationship), and i do love my staff. so, spending Christmas with them isn't so bad. it's quiet, easy and someone's got to spend Christmas serving those who are in the hospital on Christmas! I've tried to remind them over the last several days, that although they may not want to be at work during the holidays when everyone else seems to be off, neither do the patients. and that's who we're here to serve and the least we can do is smile and make their day a little brighter. not sure how much that worked, but most of them seem to be in good spirits.

again, i'm sad...because it's the last Christmas i'll be spending with them. yep, the move is SO upon us. T-6 days and counting. you think i need to be packing? um, yep, but instead i'm sitting her reminiscing, listening to Christmas music, and blogging! (and just finished the huge pancake i cooked for myself!)

as i was also laying in bed, thinking about the reason for the season and thanking God for his Son, i opened my eyes and saw white! ... just a little bit of white, but enough to call it snow flurries, and have a dusting on the ground! a nice, and seemingly magicaly, treat for my last (lonely) Christmas in NW Arkansas.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season! Merry Christmas!!

(Ruby Belle is!! enjoying an Oreo at her daycare Christmas party!)

the countdown is on...

2010-12-23T17:36:00.000-08:00

so, we're all set.

It's been a while since i've posted about our upcoming move...well, really i only posted the initial celebratory post. so, update:

1. official move date - Dec 31st

2. we have not sold our house here yet, so we'll be living with my brother and sister-in-law, Ty and Stephanie (we can't thank them enough for allowing us to be live-in roommates in their "MIL above garage studio apartment"...i mean, really, they JUST got married and even agreed to this!)

3. we are praying we sell our house within the next 2 months so we won't over stay our welcome and so we don't have to get into a lease/rental contract at another place.

4. justin and i both have jobs...and we start Jan 3rd! (poor planning on our part...why move on a Friday and plan to work on Monday?!? i don't plan on up and moving my whole life again, but i would definitely do a few things differently!)

5. Justin will be working at a local law firm and is set to take the LA bar in Feb.

6. I will be working with a contract foodservice company (different from the one i work for now, sadly), and will be working with nursing homes. (currently i work as the Director of Foodservice in a hospital) The plan is to work in a nursing home until we aquire a few more in the area and then i will be the manager over the foodservice in a couple nursing homes within driving distance.

7. Ruby Belle is all set for new daycare...not our top pick, but this is the story. i called 34, yes 34, day cares/Mother's Day Outs before finding one that could take her in January!!! I've been on the list at 3 day cares since September, but started calling again at Thanksgiving b/c the waiting lists were still...waiting. 34!!! (apparently i need to go ahead and get her on a list for preschool somewhere!) Anyway, we're staying on the waiting lists at the top 3 picks and will move to one of those in the Spring/Summer when supposedly they will have an opening!

8. Maggie (my dog) is set to move with us.

9. Keek (justin's cat) is hoping to be adopted! we hate to do it, but i'm allergic to Justin's cat, and we've decided that this was a good time to part ways. (man, that sounds so heartless!) I think we found a home, but nothing is set in stone.

ok, i think that covers it.

in the meantime, there will be lots of tears. well, there already has been...and there will be more. it's really exciting to move closer to family...and what i've wanted for a while, but it's also really hard to leave a life you've built in a place you've lived for the last 13 yrs! (wow...i'm getting old!) really hard.
tear...

our first public temper tantrum

2010-12-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

it was a doozie!! really, she's not quite 15 months old and i'm experiencing things like this already! someone should have warned me! (ok, they did, but i don't care and it's all worth it!)

this is the story...
i picked up Ruby Belle after day care on Wednesday. she was fine, but i was a little fussy. i'd been sick for 3 days with what the doc seemed to think was strep throat and so, we stopped at Walgreens to get another perscription filled. of course, it was prime time to stop at Walgreens, so we just had a little wait (15-20 min) for the Rx. Ruby Belle had fun for the first 10. she would go stand in front of an aisle and just look and giggle. it was SO cute!! then she started picking stuff up, putting it on the floor, stacking it, putting it back, just to do that all over again, you get the picture. so i picked her up and that was it. she was MAD. I headed to the baby snack aisle and thought i could appease her with some of the wonderfully over-priced Gerber cheez-its. that worked...for about 3. so we headed to the pharmacy as she was crying, arched back and all in my arms. we quickly got our Rx, all the while she was still crying and wiggling in my arms or stomping her feet and crying on the floor. and then all the way outside. as soon as we hit the door, i put her down, hoping she would be happy she could walk. NOPE. she started with the foot stomping, the the body shiver, the silence-with-the-ugly-cry-face look, arms shaking, and then laid on the ground. the hard, cold, dirty ground right outside the Walgreens entrance.

i was dumbfounded! i had NO idea that kids did this at such a young age. and, of course, i thought that this would never happen to me! so, i just stared. then realized that wasn't doing any good, so i picked her up and carried her, arched back and crying, to the car. put her down by the car, and she wouldn't even put her feet down, so she again, laid on the ground. crying. people staring. some laughing, some just staring. it took all my might to get her in the carseat (i think the "arched back" is the strongest muscle in the body).

fun stuff. can't wait for more! looks like we're in for a fun ride!

i hope they got what they wanted!

2010-12-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

was having a GREAT day today... found my work keys that had been missing for 2 weeks in the couch cushion! of course! where else would they be! and why didn't i look there sooner?! well, you would have thought i'd won the lottery by my reaction. Ruby Belle was even dancing. so, i was on a high and decided to hit the gym. got a good work out in...went to my car and what do you know! 2pm on a Sunday, and my passenger side window was broken out and my purse...GONE! UGH! it had my KEYS IN IT!!! and my wallet, of course. i cursed.

really?! why?! and how!? broad daylight, nice side of town (i mean, really...NWA only has SO many "not so nice sides"). yes, i left my purse on the seat, in plain sight. DUMB. i know. but we're not in Shreveport yet!

needless to say, it quickly ruined my day. i drove around and looked in hopes of finding a purse tossed to the side of the road (last time someone stole my purse, they threw my make up in the parking lot), but no luck. so, all credit cards have been cancelled, and my keys are for sure lost this time.

2 things to note though:
1. it could have been worse (i could have been hurt, my baby could have been hurt, we could have had a wreck...you get the picture)
2. there was no cash! ha! too bad for you, robbers! Merry Christmas to you, too!

a few new pics

2010-11-14T15:59:00.000-08:00

a friend of mine let me borrow her Pentax K100 camera for a week to try out the "real" cameras, as i call them. you know, not the point and click, silver, little digital things. the big, black, professional looking ones that have always scared me because they look complicated. Well, i've been thinking of getting one and even taking photography classes because i feel like i am going to want LOTS more professional pics of Ruby Belle and am going to go broke (or get divorced b/c my husband hates to spend the $$) trying to get them! so, here they are, some taken by me and some by my mother in law...and all we did was point and click.

Domestic Goddess in the making...watch out!

2010-11-14T15:37:00.000-08:00

yep, that's me!

ok, really?! NO WAY! I don't know how stay-at-home moms do it!?! I am whooped today!

here's what i did:

6am - wake up and let the dogs out (we're babysitting a dog for my mom. a YorkiePoo who's super cute, but wakes up screaming at 6am - and that's on a good day - ready to go out!)

6:10 - back to bed (while listening to the YorkiePoo wimper in her crate)

7am - wake up to crying baby (normal wake up time is anywhere from 7-8am) and am up for good.

7:15 - begin to make coffee, but then try to feed fussy baby...this is a failure, milk it is.

7:45 - cook breakfast!! YES i did, folks!! Bisquick pancakes. Not what a real domestic goddess (aka super stay-at-home mom) would do, but it's the first breakfast i actually had to turn something besides the microwave on for in years!!! maybe EVER!

8:30 - clean up breakfast

9:00 - play with baby and try to watch a little boob tube while waiting for it to get a little warmer outside

10:15 - baby grouchy and hungry (b/c she didn't eat any breakfast) so the only thing that appeases her is cheerios...Cheerios it is!

10:45 - baby down for a nap. I do a little more cleaning/laundry

11:30 - head out for a 6 mile run!!

12:30 - back from run, but baby still sleeping!! it's a miracle!

12:45 - baby up from nap, time for lunch!! she refuses everything except for the carrots i'm cooking for me, and only will stay in the high chair for 2 minutes at a time before screaming. (this is NOT her favorite place, but today is unsually strange...but it's part of being a mom, right?! :) and again decides she'll eat pretzels as long as i feed them to her NOT in the high chair. i MUST NOT GIVE in!! that's what i'm thinking as i'm trying to be super mom and teach my baby to behave and act like a sweet, responsible, polite little girl. surely she'll have to be starving at some point and eat, right?!

1:30 - give up on lunch and clean up.

2:30 - head out to work (i'm on call and have to run an errand for them)

3:45 - return home and start to cook dinner.

4:30 - dinner is in the oven! Begin washing dishese and cleaning up

5:15 - Dinner is served! and best of all, my husband and baby BOTH like it!!

here's the proof...i really did cook this. got the recipe from a Kraft Food & Family magazine. i've been getting these for years, but rarely use them! anyway, recipe is Undone Stuffed Pepper Casserole. and really, it was easy and pretty good!

5:30 - clean up dinner

5:45 - sit on couch and wonder if i HAVE to give baby a bath?! ;) write this post instead while i relish in my 2 meals, fairly clean house, and clean laundry! YES, i think....just for a moment...

I'm a DOMESTIC GODDESS!!

6:00 - finish post b/c baby wants to type and it's getting harder for me to fight her off...back to reality. time for baby's bath!!!

I shed a tear...

2010-11-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

AT WORK! IN FRONT OF MY STAFF!!!

yep, i did. i annouced today that i was leaving. moving to Shreveport. and it (well, i) was sad. (YES, I'M STILL HAPPY I'M MOVING!!!) BUT, really, it was hard. i love that place. and i love to hate that place. it's what's been keeping me here...it's one of the hardest things to leave. really, it's hard to leave my friends....and hardest to leave my best friend, Holli. but it's secondly hard to leave my job. i have worked at the same hospital for 8 years. i've kind of "grown up" there. i have "moms" who check in on me, "dads who pester me," and "kids who give me hell, but make me proud." i've come a long way professionally since they all met me, but because of them, i'm where i am. because of them i am who i am. and because of them, i love that place!

boy am i gonna be sad (and full of tears) when i leave!

Ty and Steph's wedding - belated post!

2010-10-24T06:16:00.000-07:00

i am SO late in posting this...well, over a month late. but it's been a busy month between trying to get ready to move, work, baby showers for friends, etc...you know how it goes!!

so, my brother got married Sept 11th, 2010. finally, right?! :) (don't tell him i said that!) the wedding was beautiful! and FUN!!! and HOTTT!!! :) just like any good southern wedding!! it was a hot party!! I have to give all the credit to his beautiful wife, Stephanie! she did a bang up job! not a detail was missed!!!

i was a bridesmaid (such an honor!) and had a great time hanging with the girls!! we had a beautiful luncheon at a bed and breakfast that was really nice and very fun. i knew a couple of the girls, but others not so much. this was a very fun first meeting of the bridesmaids to start the celebration!

After the luncheon, we had the rehearsal dinner. it was out at Hill Country THAT was fun! really, it was very nice. it was so fun to hear literally, EVERYONE in the room stand up and say something nice about Ty & Stephanie! i can't even say how emotionally amazing and touching it was to listen to these folks! if anyone doubted they weren't meant to be, they definitely didn't after that! and if you were a fly on the wall, you'd want to be Ty & Steph's best friend after all the nice things folks had to say!! i teared up too many times to count!!

the it was WEDDING DAY!!! i hung out with the girls all day...and at this point we were all friends! we got our hair and makeup done and just relaxed, ate, and had a cocktail or 2! Wedding pics started at a balmy 3pm and then the wedding was at 6pm. i don't have many shots at this point, but here's one i stole from Stephanie. Hopefull i'll have more soon to post because this one doesn't do justice to the venue, Hill Country Village, the bride or the event!!

like i said, it was HOT (so hot that we, the bridesmaids, took scissors to our dresses about 1/2 way through the reception and cut our dresses above our knees!! i think we all got our 2nd wind then!!), but FUN and BEAUTITFUL!! the heat can never keep southern partygoers down!

the reception was fun...outdoor and in, there were tons of people that i had fun seeing (people i haven't seen in years since i live in AR), and lots of great music and food!

I think everyone had a blast and it will be a wedding to remember!!!

Glowing!

2010-10-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

no, i'm not pregnant! :)

but i think i may be addicted to the "Glo."

Orange Glo.

I LOVE that stuff. i have used it every weekend for the last 3, and now i'm out! i went 2 places today trying to find more, but then decided my addiction needed a break.

Why am I addicted? well, the scent is intoxicating, of course!

BUT, actually, i've only become so addicted because we put our house on the market!

SO WE CAN MOVE TO SHREVEPORT!!

can you tell i'm excited?!

Neon skies are in our somewhat near future!!

More to come on the move soon!! :)

12 month pics!

2010-09-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

hoping to have some professional ones made soon, but until then, here are the 12 month pictures!!!

Second 1st Birthday Party!!!

2010-09-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

Another birthday party!!! We went down to Shreveport for my brother's wedding. Ruby Belle and I went down the Sunday before the wedding, then Justin came Thursday night. We had a birthday party with Mimi, Pop, Uncle Ty and Aunt Stephanie.

First we opened presents

Mommy and Ruby Belle

She shoveled it in!!

Hangin' w/Aunt Stephanie...claiming to be 1!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Ruby Belle!!!

2010-09-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

one year ago today at 3:05pm we were blessed with a beautiful little bundle of joy!!

I cannot believe it's been a year already!!

i think about this day one year ago ALL the time! it helps that i work at the hospital i delivered at! everyday when i'm driving in, i can't help but think about Sept 16th, 2009...(except i don't go to work at 3am!) and reminisce about the feelings Justin and I both had that day! it's all so unbelievable! and unbelievable how fast they grow up! i never believed they grew up so fast until i hit 3, 6, 9, and 12month marks. those are such milestones where they become more like little adults and more self sufficent! she's now a walking, babbling, giggling bundle of joy! I know she still needs me for A LOT and always will, but it seems like just yesterday that i was swaddling and carrying her around all the time hoping she would smile.

Now she smiles all the time!!

12 month stats:

19lbs 4.5oz (25th percentile)

29inches (50th percentile)

Walking!!! yes! she took her first steps on Aug 28th! and she's unstoppable! she gets around great and even tries to run...but falls pretty quickly
giggles a lot
plays well independently
claps when you say "yay!!"
can give high 5's
said her 1st word the same day she took her 1st steps! we're calling it her first word at least! it was "uh-oh" and she said it with conviction and purpose! now she says it all the time.
love to pet Maggie and Keek (Keek is a little more patient with her than Maggie. Maggie runs)
points to animals and objects and says "tat"...i thought it was "cat" at first b/c she would do it to the cat, but she now does it for a lot of things! maybe "that?!" :)
says "ma ma ma..." and "da da da..." often, but she doesn't know what she's saying still i don't think...maybe she does, but she doesn't always say it like she means it :) one day...
started becoming apprehensive about strangers or people she's not around much lately. it's kinda cute b/c she'll bury her head in my shoulder, but SO opposite of how she is at home!
feeds herself mostly, but
getting to be pretty picky about foods
SOMETIMES eats small pieces of cooked veggies (broccoli, peas, corn, green beans,
but sometimes will eat the pureed ones better
RARELY eats meat (they even told me at day care she picks the cheese off the cheeseburger and only eats the cheese)
sometimes eats cheese...it comes and goes
transitioned to whole cow's milk...a few days were rough, but now she drinks it w/o a problem!
would NOT drink formula, so i switched to cow's milk about 2 weeks shy of her 1st birthday (i stopped pumping on Labor day!!! i feel so free!! and SO weird not having to carry that thing everywhere and do it morning noon and night!)
wearing #4 diapers (could wear #3s, but daddy likes #4s)
still cloth diapering at home
wearing 12 month clothes and can still wear some 9 months.
getting more hair!! i love it! it's light brown/blonde with a red tint sometimes in certain light
eyes are mostly hazel, but still have some blue in them
seems to me to have short legs and a longer torso
continues to be the light of our life!!!

our first 1st birthday party

2010-09-05T07:03:00.000-07:00

CAN you believe it?! Ruby Belle is almost 1!!!!

this weekend Justin's parents came in town to visit so we had an early birthday celebration because they won't be back before her birthday on Sept 16th!! here are a few pictures!

big bite with ice cream!!! SO cold!!

Feeding daddy!

Family fun!

All done!!!

it was fun to watch her stuff it all in!! she's got a sweet tooth like her mommy, that's for sure!!! however, daddy gave her another birthday present right after this!! he took her straight to the tub and she pooped in the tub for the 1st time!!

She also got a new toy for her first birthday!! Thanks to our dear friends, Kim and Jay for giving us such a good deal, and Grandma and Papa for the present!!! She loves it!

Happy early 1st birthday, Ruby Belle!!!

we'll be celebrating again this Wednesday at my parents house - i'll be down there for Ty's wedding, so we'll be having 1st birthday party #2!!

the last few weeks in pictures

2010-09-05T06:49:00.001-07:00

i just can't get enough of this picture taking. i got a new iPhone (it's just the 3G), but it's so handy and easy to snap quick pictures. i'd really love a new camera, but for now it's just the phone. so, anyway, she's so much fun to watch these days that i can't get enough photos. here's a few to share.

(most are water pictures...she LOVES the water!!!)

Bathtime fun

Pool fun!

our first trip to the local pool here in Bella Vista. there was a kiddie pool so we thought we'd try it out...she had more fun staring at the other kids, though, so it got boring for Justin and I real fast!!

much thanks to the sweet mommy who let us borrow this toy!!!

Reading her book!

and she's off!!!

2010-09-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

Ruby Belle started walking!!! SOOO exciting and such a fun milestone!! she figured it out last saturday (Aug 28th - 11.5 months old). we were just playing in her room and she found the sit up/yoga ball (it's in her room b/c i hardly ever use it!! ha!) she was walking with it and pushing it and it got away from her...so she chased after it, hands free!!! she made it 2 steps and then 3 more. and now a week later, she can walk ALL over the house!!! it's SOO fun to see her walking! she's SO proud of herself! and, of course, we're the proudest parents ever! now we'll be childproofing a little more!

here's a video!!!

11 months

2010-08-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

Once again...I can't believe it!! another month has flown by and Ruby Belle is 11 months old!!! She's such a good baby, and getting so big and fun! I just pinch myself everyday!!

Here's what she's been up to:

still trying to "walk" - walks well with push toys...practically running through the house! (yes, i mean it!)
stands on her own pretty often
moves SO fast!!
starting to open drawers and cabinets (thank goodness for safety latches!)
LOVES her baths - could stay there all day!
LOVES playing in the kiddie pool in our yard
just learned how to clap sometimes on command
loves to wave...sometimes at the appropriate time :)
will give kisses...when she feels like it!
enjoys going on walk/runs w/Mommy
has 4 teeth now!! 2 bottom almost all the way in and 2 top ones - 1 half way and the other barely there
still wearing #3 and #4 diapers, BUT still doing cloth diapers at home
wearing 9-12 month clothes
naps 2 times a day for a total of 2-3 hours
eats last bottle at 7:30 and then goes down to bed
gets up around 7am
eating more of a variety of foods, some still pureed - not pureed: broccoli, beans (black and baked), watermelon, canteloupe, grapes, blueberries, carrots, noodles, hard boiled egg, green beans, yogurt, Cheerios, and various Gerber baby foods (these are so expensive we don't buy them often)
drinks about 22-28oz/day
i'm still pumping...just went down to 3 times a week last week and will soon taper that to 2 times a day in the next few days - plan to be done by the time I leave for Shreveport to go to Ty's wedding

(the only way i could keep her confined to take the pics this month!)

Adult Vacation

2010-08-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

Justin and I recently (last week in July) went on an "adult" vacation...yes, we left our sweet girl behind! I thought it may be on of the hardest things for me to do...and it was. Handing her off to my parents was the hardest part (they LOVED baby sitting for a week!!!), even though I knew she would be in good hands...and probably wouldn't miss me a bit! Thank goodness we were headed to sunny and beautiful San Diego with some friends! We stayed in a great condo right on the beach and it was SO nice!!

(The view from our room)

we hung out, layed on the beach, shopped, ate, drank, and enjoyed the scenery. Justin and I even went to the "famous" San Diego zoo also, one day!

Overall we had a great time!! Though I didn't miss changing diapers or washing bottles, we were so ready to get back to Ruby Belle!! (as you can see, she had a great time with Mimi and Pops!!)

she is SO talented ALREADY!!

2010-08-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

She rides,

She swims,

And she plays the piano!!!

I think she's going to be well-rounded :)...not that I'm partial or anything!!

CRaZy HaiR!!!

2010-08-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

It'S wILd!!!

10 months

2010-07-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

once again, time is flying!! (and i'm a little late on this post because we went on vacation!! - will post about that later)

Ruby Belle is now 10 months old and growing SO fast. she continues to delight us more and more each day!

she is BUSY!!
loves to laugh and giggle
understands "no" (yep, she's mischievous! and likes to play with wires and outlets - thank goodness for outlet covers!)
still not saying anything i'll call her 1st words, but babbles and "talks" all the time!
still not very good at clapping or waving "hi/bye" on command
has reverted and will only sometimes give "kisses"
loves to crawl up on everything
crawling like crazy
walking with assistance (push toys) - she LOVES to do this!!! and gets SO mad when she gets stuck on something, but is quickly learning to maneuver around furniture better
got another tooth...her first one on top so now she has 3 teeth
is becoming much more of a pickier eater...but not terribly picky. (see previous post "feedin' time"
i think her picky eating habits are really a result of wanting to be more independent. she is really liking self feeding
likes watermelon, canteloupe (both take forever to eat...it's like she sucks the juice then leaves the rest in her mouth)
will take some bites of stuff we're eating, but nothing consistent
wearing 3 and 4 Pampers diapers...but she poops out both sizes - this is kind of new
still wearing cloth diapers! NOT pooping out of these!
have not mastered or even doing really well at the sippy cup....think i'm gonna try straws next (i read where they are better for babies anyway...we'll see how that goes!)
eating 4-5 times a day still (usually 4 bottles of 6-7 oz and then maybe one of about 3-6oz, eats fruits, veggies, cereal and some bites of whatever we can find that she'll try that day)
LOVES Cheerios and any kind of puffs always!
wearing 9-12 month clothes
taking 2 naps a day
still sleeping great through the night! goes down around 8pm and gets up around 6:30-7
i'm pumping 4 times a day still...thinking of going to 3 times...and will quit at the beginning of September!!! (i can't wait!!)
does not want to sit still for pics!! (excuse the quality...taken w/my iPhone this month)

feedin' time

2010-07-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

about a month ago, i attempted to make my first baby food. i have been meaning to do it for about 3 months now, but just now got around to it. (i had to go buy a food processor first...i didn't have one or even a blender) i made green peas and sweet potatoes. i was SO proud. however, Ruby Belle is less impressed. it's like force feeding at it's finest...and that doesn't go so well with a 9 month old! i think i probably should have tried this a month or 2 ago!! why Gerber sweet peas and water is better than mine??? who knows!?! guess i'll keep trying since i have a lot in my freezer!! until then we've moved on to finger foods. MUCH more fun for her and hours of entertainment!! easy, confined entertainment...messy, though! i think she's just becoming more independent and wants to do it herself. unless it's Gerber #2 baby food (nope, she won't eat #3's on most days either!) then she puts her hand up and shoves the spoon away!!
so, it's mostly play time these days when it comes to trying new foods but that leads to bath time!!! that girl could play in the bath for hours!! she LOVES the water!!! maybe she'll end up a swimmer!!! (i don't think she has a choice, right?!)

WonderLOVE

2010-07-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

I have never felt something so amazing before. i just LOVE her more than anything i could have ever dreamed of. today we had just gotten to church and were in the middle of the opening singing and i just lost it. i couldnt' stop crying! i just pictured her beautiful, fun, sweet smile and i couldn't imagine life without her. or anything bad happening to her. so, i prayed and prayed that she would just have the most fruiful and wonderful life...and cried and cried just because i love her so much! really...it hits me at least once a day how much i wish i could hold her, cuddle w/her, kiss her, squeeze her, just love her! it really makes my heart melt more than any other thing has before, and i love it. and i love her more and more everyday! along w/that comes the wonder...

what will she look like when she's 5, 10, 18, 25, 30??

what will her interests be?

will we get along?

will i ever get any sleep once she starts driving?

will she love me as much as i love her?

will she like to hang out w/me as much as i love to hang w/my mom?

I just love her so much and am SO excited to have a lifetime of learning about her and loving her!! I am SO blessed!

(trying on our new shorts...shirtless redneck style!)

Payton family reunion & 9 month photo shoot!

2010-06-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

so we had a family reunion last weekend in Branson. Justin's mother's side (we did his dad's side back in April). the reunion was fun...LOTS of people! there are 6 sisters on that side. they were all there, plus their kids and their kid's kids! there were 2 other babies to hang w/Ruby Belle, but plenty of 3-12 yr olds (and all the adults) that were always willing to give Ruby Belle plenty of attention! it was a hot weekend, so we spent one day at the pool and the rest of the days just hanging.

here are some photos

i was also able to sneak in a photo shoot with my sister-in-law. she's an awesome photographer! here are some shots!

exercise...where have you been?!

2010-06-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

i've missed you SOO much!! i've just realized this week how much i miss you! i exerciseed all through my pregnancy and even after, but once i went back to work, it became a once or twice a week thing instead of a 4, 5, 6 day a week thing. now it's warm out and i LOVE it!! it's even better when it's 95 outside because i love to sweat! so, lately work has been more of a 40-50 hr/week instead of 45-55 hr/week. (yes, those 5 hours make a BIG difference when you're choosing b/t exercise and your child!) and i've been getting back into the swing of regular exercise. truly it hasn't been terribly important to me b/c i lost all of my baby weight plus some within 5 months (the plus some was probably muscle i lost since i wasn't really exercising much!) AND i wanted to spend the time i had with Ruby Belle. However, i do feel a bit guilty b/c i have lost most of my cardiovascular abilities. so, i'm trying to get a little back on the wagon, aiming for 3 days a week instead of my "before-baby" 5-7 days/week. besides, i've got to get back into the swing of things before we start thinking about trying for baby #2!

9 months

2010-06-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

9 months...seems so significant since that's about the time it took to bring this little baby into the world (well, 40 weeks!!...that is NOT 9 months!) So, we had our 9 month doctor's appointment and everything still looks great!!

9 month stats:

weight: 17lbs 13oz (45th percentile)

height: 27 1/4th inches (50th percentile)

Ruby Belle is getting SO big. and SO much more fun and shows more and more personality every day! (right now she's playing by herself and i just looked up and she's chewing on a toy and spinning around in circles on her booty...something she just apparently learned how to do and thinks is fun b/c she's been doing it all morning!)

smiles more than anything
laughs/giggles at herself and when tickled
loves to play peek-a-boo and giggles like crazy
can wave..not exactly on command though
just started giving kisses back when you get close and act like you're going to give her a kiss. she just leans in and puts her mouth on yours. (sometimes!) SO CUTE!
puts everything in her mouth...caught her with a dead spider...YES, A DEAD SPIDER!! in her mouth a few days ago! SO gross!!!
speaking of putting things in her mouth...i think we're going to really have to start watching her...she's a bit mischeivious!
knows the word "NO" when you tell her, but it doesn't always stop her!!
crawling everywhere
pulling up on eveything...and when she does she often looks around to find you and then sort of waves and smiles
busy, busy, busy!
i think she may be a show off :)
can take a few steps if you guide her
still has only 2 teeth
still wearing 6-9 months...can wear some 12 month
still wearing #3 diapers and also cloth diapers
eating 5 times a day - eats about 30-32 oz of breast milk and a fruit, a veggie and some cereal each day
i'm pumping 4 times a day
she takes 2 naps usually a day...one around 9 or 10 and the other around 1pm. sometimes falls asleep on the way home from daycare , too

a few new pics

2010-06-14T18:19:00.001-07:00

traumatic events

2010-06-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

yes, apparently they happen. and you feel like a terrible parent when they do. here they are:

Ruby Belle fell off the bed while i was watching her and ironing...a stroller she hit broke her fall and she was perfectly fine. still i felt like a terrible mom!

I was watching her last Saturday morning and she was playing in the living room while I pumped. I cleared the floor except for toys and let her play only to look up and see her make a funny face and realize that she had soemthing in her mouth. so, i quickly jumped up and did the finger scoop and pulled out a DEAD SPIDER!! SO gross, it shocked me and i slung it down and let go of her and she fell back and hit her head on the wood floor. She was fine, but again, i felt like a bad parent!

the VERY next day, Justin and I were getting ready for church, so we were all in the bathroom. justin in the shower, RB playing on the floor and me just getting ready. so, i walked in the closet, thought justin was watching her, and she quickly pulled my CHI down from the counter and burned her foot in 3 places!! this one was AWFULLY TERRIFYING! i felt SOO bad! SO bad. all day i was distraught. really, it was much more traumatic for me than her.

so, this is just the beginning i'm sure...of feeling like a bad parent! and trying to be a better one! i must say thanks to all my friends for all the "bad parent" moments they've shared w/me to make me feel not alone!! :)

our favorite new undies

2010-05-25T03:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks MiMi for making these for us!!!

8 months

2010-05-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

so here we are at 8 months and loving life!
Ruby Belle gets so much more fun and is showing much more personality each day!! here's what it looks like at 8 months...

crawling everywhere! She loves to crawl around and chase Maggie...Maggie doesn't like it so much and runs away
pulling up on anything and everything!
super curious and loves to play, even plays well by herself
Loves to chew up magazines!
babbling w/the best of them, but only at home really...she gets shy around people she doesn't know.
now experiencing a little separation anxiety...often when i walk out of the room at home she screams (even if daddy is around)
Holds her own bottle
loves to eat baby foods: cereal, sweet potatoes, green beans, green peas, some fruits
doesn't like to eat: lasagna, some fruits
eats 5 times a day now: 8:30am 7oz breast milk and some fruit at daycare, 11:30-12, 7oz milk and some rice/oatmeal cereal, 3:00pm 7oz of cereal, 5:30-6:00pm, 7oz of breast milk at home and some veggies or sweet potatoes, 8pm 7oz of breast milk
bedtime: 8:15-8:30pm
wakes up between 6:30-7:30am (of course, it's 6:30 on the weekends!)
still wearing cloth diapers and size 3 Pampers
still wearing size 6-9month clothes
has 2 teeth!

as you can see, these pictures are getting harder and harder to take because she is SO active!! so, action shots it is!

another first!

2010-05-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

Ruby Belle officially has her first tooth today!!! it seems like she's been teething since she was 3 months old, but never was it bad. i'm not sure all teeth will be this easy, but there's always hope! ha!

and now that she's been crawling for a month she's gotten really good at pulling up on stuff! she's SUCH a busy girl these days! and SO many milestones lately!!

here's the run down of where we are:

- Laughs when tickled and when you make funny noises with her
-loves to babble...especially "dadadada" :) we're working on "mama"
-likes to sweetly scream when she wants you to watch her play
-still loves her exersaucer...wishes it would bounce, but doesn't love the jumper thing yet
-smiles all the time
-crawling with the best of them
-pulling up on waist high items and in the pack 'n play
-and SO proud of herself when she does all of this!!
-likes to go for walks (and i love my baby jogger!)
-SO intrigued with Keek (cat) and Maggie (dog), smiles and laughs when she sees them and wants to pet (grab) them...they aren't quite as interested in her. :(
-LOVES to stand up while holding onto our leather ottoman/"cubes" and chew on the leather (our dog doesn't chew, our daughter does!)
-we think she has allergies (like her mom and dad)
-wearing 6-9 month clothes
-still doing cloth diapers...but only at home (day care won't do them), so we do size 3 Pampers (Huggies don't cut it)
-eats 6 times a day, has cereal (rice/oatmeal) once a day along w/a bottle and has veggies once a day when she gets home from daycare (snack before dinner)
-loves green beans, green peas, squash.
-will eat sweet potatoes
-won't touch carrots or the peaches/banana/rice cereal mixture
-still thinking about making my own babyfood, but just haven't made it happen
-last bottle (breast milk - have been exclusively pumping and bottle feeding since about 3 months) is at 8pmish and then straight to bed
-she goes down almost always w/o a peep
-best baby ever!! (we're kinda partial!)

7 months

2010-04-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

7 months and counting!! Ruby Belle is SO much fun these days!! i just LOVE her!!! she's officially crawling as of April 1st and officially 7 months old as of April 16th! and still somewhat "sick" at least once a month it seems ... poor girl!! (oh the joys of daycare)! I will say that she handles not feeling well VERY well, though. she really is just a great baby! and she's almost always happy...smiles ALL the time and just loves to laugh!! she's very curious and loves attention...of course! I just can't express the amounts of love and fun that are happening these days!! (i know you other moms understand!!)

here are a few 7 month shots...HARD to take because she's SO BUSY these days!! i couldn't get the camera ready before she would crawl across the bed to grab the blocks and put them in her mouth!

7 month stats:

16lbs 8oz

In my Easter bonnet...

2010-04-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

for Ruby Belle's first Easter, we didn't actually make it to chruch. yep, terrible, i know! but, we Skyped w/my parents and then went over to Mike and Nikki's house (friends from our small group) for a cook out. lots of kiddos there for RB to hang with and great food!!

a few of my favorites

2010-04-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

our friend Kaity at www.thephotolove.com came over a couple of weeks ago and took some great 6 month photos of our sweet girl. (daddy didn't want to be in any of them...party pooper). here are a few of my favorites!

6 months!! can you believe it!?!

2010-03-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

Ruby Belle is 6 months!!!

Stats:

15lbs 9oz (50th percentile)

26 inches (50th percentile)

i can hardly believe it! she's now starting to sit up...she can do it for about 20 or 30 seconds, then it's over, but she loves to try! and loves to scoot around on the ground, but not close to crawling yet (thank goodness, right?!)

haven't been to the doc yet for the 6 month stats...will post next week! :) here's our little fun, always smiling girl!!

(i also had some "professional" pics made last week and i'll post some soon!!! they are great!)

the double name game

2010-03-09T17:08:00.001-08:00

it's so frustrating. maybe those of you w/double names can help me out here. we named our daughter (first name) Ruby (middle name) Belle. but we'd planned on calling her Ruby Belle. we were undecided for a couple of months before her birth, but decided that we'd call her both names by the time we'd had her. so, why doesn't everyone else do that? why don't they get it? who knows?! i call her Ruby Belle...why can't they? do i need to start correcting people? i don't want to be pushy, but maybe that's what i need to do? or do i need to get over it...i mean, she is only about 6 months old.

maybe one day it will sink in. then again, one day she'll be old enough to decide for herself which she likes better.

daycare...gotta love it! (really)

2010-03-09T16:53:00.001-08:00

so, today i finally figured out why i love daycare. and yes, i feel guilty for saying that. i don't really "love" it, but it does have it's benefits! like today. i was up all night after going to bed at 7pm because i had food poisoning. i've never had food poisoning before...in all 31 years. i can now say it wasn't cool. so, this morning when it came time for the working world to get up, i decided it wasn't time for me to get up. i was not going to work. and then i got a quick guilty feeling that i should let Ruby Belle stay home w/me, but there was no way i could take care of her. so, ahhhh!! day care!! yep, it does have it's benefits. and speaking of benefits, i'm not sure what they do at daycare, but whatever it is it's good. Ruby Belle is always SO happy when i pick her up. i mean, really. i can't even begin to ask her to be that happy on a regular basis at home, but everytime i pick her up from day care she just smiles and smiles and giggles and giggles! i LOVE it!! and maybe i'm a bad mom for it, but daycare does have it's benefits!

i almost forgot!!! 5 months

2010-03-06T13:12:00.001-08:00

oh, wow! i just realized we're quickly approaching 6 months and i forgot to post the 5 month pics!!! here they are...3 weeks late!

Our first night away

2010-02-14T18:20:00.000-08:00

So this weekend we had our first night w/o Ruby Belle...fun, but boy did i miss her!! Our in-laws (mom, dad, brother, sister) got us a night at the Hilton at the Branson Landing, dinner out, and FREE baby sitting (by Granma and Papa, of course!...i think there were alterior motives here! ha!) for Christmas and booked it for us for Feb. 13th in celebration of our engagement night! So sweet!! we decided to upgrade our room to the King Suite (or something like that) and it was SUPER nice! i love sleeping in style! The Hilton is right on the Landing (kinda like the Boardwalk in Shreveport), so we literally walked out of our hotel and were in the middle of all the shops and restaurants! we started the day off by dropping of Ruby Belle at Granma and Papa's and then headed out to tour 2 local winerys. then off to check in and then a nap!!!...much needed after a long week (or month) at work! then we headed out to dinner at Macaroni Grill (we don't have one here so it was "different" for us) and then to a pub all conveniently located less than a block from our suite! we had a great time and survived our first night away from our daughter. i even asked Justin if he was missing her at dinner and he replied, "i haven't even thought about her!" if only we could all be that laid back! ;) we, of course, missed her, but she had a blast w/o us i'm sure! all in all, it was a great getaway!!

thanks so much to Martha Jean, King, Brandon, and Jamie!!!

it's about time!!!

2010-02-12T18:40:00.000-08:00

he finally did it!!! Ty popped the question Wednesday night to his girlfriend, Stephanie!!! we are SO excited to have her joining our family soon!! i think they're talking about a wedding in July/August and i'm SUPER stoked! (i'm really gonna try hard not to be the annoying sister-in-law, but i really love weddings!) we love Stephanie and are excited she's becoming part of our family!!

(p.s. thanks steph for letting me borrow this pic from your blog!!! i couldn't find any of the 2 of you :( but i'm sure i'll have more soon!!!)

Rolling over...again and again

2010-01-31T08:31:00.000-08:00

Ruby Belle has just learned to roll over from her back to her tummy. she started doing this a week ago and hasn't stopped yet!! she LOVES it!! I think she did it about 15 times the first day she learned how! She doesn't love to roll from her tummy to her back even though she first did that over a month ago. so she rolls from her back to her tummy now, and is SO proud of herself, but then gets frustrated because she doesn't want to roll the other way and gets tired. funny thing is that as soon as I help her back to her back, she rolls right back over again! now, it's time for her to learn to get back herself! she's even been sleeping on her tummy a couple of days in the last week because i can't get her to stay on her back even in her crib! i know this is terrible, but if i roll her back to her back she eventually makes it back to her tummy in the night. so...i've had a few sleepless minutes (because i can't stay awake any longer) worrying about her, but what am i supposed to do?!

4 months

2010-01-22T18:54:00.001-08:00

4 month stats:

12 lbs 8 oz

24.5 in

our first cold

2010-01-22T18:33:00.000-08:00

Ruby Belle had only been at day care for 3 days when we got a note saying a kid in her class had Bronciolitis. nope, not bronchitis, bronchiolitis. either way, some lung thing. and a few days later, the cough and runny nose began. then the phone call from day care. she had fever. my poor baby. I hated to hear her cough and not be able to do anything. she was in pretty good spirits throughout. had her eyes not been red, you may not have known she was sick, but she's feeling better now. and that makes us all feel better.

Our first big trip

2010-01-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

We went to Colorado Springs for New Year's to visit my husband's brother and sister-in-law, their 2 kids and my mother and father in law. and we drove. 14 hrs there...only 12 back. long hours. we drove through the night in hopes of making it easiest on Ruby Belle. and it was...but wasn't easy on us! on the way up, it snowed for about the first 5 hours and wasn't fun driving. and neither of us got much sleep in the car...just something about sleeping in a Honda Civic that isn't easy! :) but we made it. and we had a great time! Ruby Belle did great on the drives...she does nothing but sleep in cars. and she adjusted fairly well on the time change, etc. besides she had her grandma and grandpa and cousins to all take good care of her!
a few pics from our trip!

New Year's Eve

Mallory and Ruby Belle

Brandon and Jamie at the Nuggets game

Justin and I at the Nuggetst game

The 3 grandkids

hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work i go! :(

2010-01-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

the day has come. it's been a little over 4 months. and a little under 4 months since i had Ruby Belle. and the time has come for me to head back to the "working mom's" world. i really enjoyed the "stay-at-home-mom's" world. i am looking forward to more consistent adult interaction and i DO love my job, so i am somewhat excited. I'm just not excited about being away from my daughter so consistently and indefinitly. the "part time working mom's" world sounds like the best of both worlds. i'm sure there are down sides like there are to everything, but really, i can't think of them right now. i'm kinda blinded though. anyway, it's sad. i was just feeling like we had a routine. i was actually getting housework done (some days) and she's becoming SO much fun to play with! and i have to ship her off to day care. so they can have the fun and watch my daughter do all her firsts and grow up. :( (ok, so i could NEVER work in a day care b/c i know it can't be THAT much fun to have SO many kids ALL the time, but still!)
needless to say, i'm becoming very sad, very quickly. i didn't know it would be this hard and that i would have such mixed emotions! so, Monday, here i come with pump in tow!

cloth diapering...it's been so good to know you, we'll keep in touch

2010-01-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

yes, we cloth diaper. AND we disposable diaper. a little of both. we're only "kinda" hippies. really, i've got a little hippie green in my heart, and my husband will do anything to save a dollar (actually our friends, Nick and Sarah, talked him into it - thanks guys!!), so we have been cloth diapering from the beginning. and really we like it. most of the time. the first diapers we got (bought them used from a friend) were great...at first. then all of a sudden, they started "leaking." only pee, but leaking. i don't know, but maybe she just got bigger and so did her waste and the diapers just couldn't hold that much...i have no explanation. so, we started putting her in disposable diapers at night and when we were out to save on MANY clothing and bedding changes. and then we switched to the cloth diapers that Nick and Sarah recommended. and I really do love them! we use the Bum Genius ones. they're great! we still use the disposables sometimes at night (just a habit i'm slowly breaking) and if we go on trips (no one wants to let us do diaper laundry daily!) But, it physically pains me to buy disposable diapers...i just can't imagine how much we would spend if we used them all the time!

so, it's coming. day care. and they don't do cloth diapers. so, here we are. looks like we'll be drastically increasing our diaper budget.

my wonderfully talented sister-in-law

2010-01-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

we went to Colorado Springs last week to visit my husband's brother and sister-in-law, their 2 kiddos, and my mother and father-in-law. My sister-in-law is an amazing photographer...http://www.jamiesmithphotography.com/blog/ and luckily she wanted to take a few pics of Ruby Belle while we were in town!

2009-12-26T08:55:00.000-08:00

check out my back dated post..."3 months" below

hi my name is mandy...

2009-12-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

...and i have the "itis."

MASTITIS that is.

and it's NO fun.

i thought i was coming down w/the flu, so i guess i'm thankful it's not that and i'm not contagious, but it sucks. it feels like someone punched me in my boob, made a knot, and bruised it. oh, and the body aches/headache are like none i've ever felt before. then there's the 101 degree fever that makes you think you have the flu, until you look down and realize your boob is red, and possibly swollen on one side. fun, right?!

i thought the body aches were over after i recovered from pregnancy and labor, so this one hit me by surprise.

BUT, i LOVE her and am feeling mostly better just 36 hours after coming down w/the "itis."

isn't she cute?!?

3 months

2009-12-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

She's 3 months now and here are

some of Ruby Belle's favorite things...

my mommy

(in my "snow suit")

my daddy

my playmat

my hands in my mouth

making faces

and smiling!

a first!!!

2009-12-15T16:49:00.000-08:00

she rolled over!!! 4 days before her 3 month birthday (i don't really think it's called a birthday, but whatever) she rolled over!!! i didn't see it the first time. we were in Branson for a Christmas celebration and my in-laws were watching her while Justin and I shopped when she first decided to show off her skills. but she decided to give it one more whirl the next day for Justin and I. it's not a daily thing yet, but twice is good enough for me to celebrate and document!!

and she's laughing now, too! Justin is really good at getting her to laugh! it's SOOOOO cute!! i just love my little girl!

more pictures

2009-12-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

monkey legs

bath time

12 weeks old and all smiles

practicing sitting up