Bridal Shower for Justin and Allie

A couple of months ago, myself along with Justin's family hosted a bridal shower for the soon to be married couple!  We did a tropical theme, since Jamaica was where they would be married!  We had a great turnout, I wasn't sure my parents' house would hold everyone and they were truly blessed with lots of great gifts!

We did brunch and had lots of yummy food!

 The soon to be married couple!

 Some of the MANY friends and family who came to celebrate.

 Miss Ruby got a rare treat and came alone with me to North Carolina.  John Thomas was finishing up swim lessons, so we let him stay (he didn't know where we were going!) with Daddy for the weekend so I could help with the shower and reception planning!

I am so grateful to have been raised in a community who celebrates and shares milestones like these!

Ruby Caroline - 7 Months!

Some new milestones this month:

• Toys, Toys, toys!  You can find them and love to play with them!
• Still some night waking this month, I think maybe due to all our travel.  You went on your first trip out of the country and did great!  We also went to NC for Aunt Allie's wedding reception. 
• We started on solids!  You were a little unsure at first, but after the second meal, you are a great eater.  Like John Thomas, we skipped baby food and went straight to table food, using the BLW approach.
• You started pushing up on all fours.  Not quite crawling, but pushing up and rocking back and forth. 
• Laughing, you belly laugh all the time!  Especially when playing with your brothers!  Sometimes you even snort! 
• You love playing "ball" and laugh so hard when John Thomas rolls it to you!
• You are signing "milk" all the time, and associate it with nursing.
• "Da-da" is your first word and you say it all day long, everyday!  I try really hard to get you to say "Mama" but no luck!
• You can sit unassisted for as long as you choose, and will stay entertained for short periods of time sitting with your toys.
• With adding solids, you can usually go longer than 3 hours between nursing, so depending on what we have going on, you eat every 3-4 hours.  We are down to two naps a day, a really long one in the morning as long as we aren't out running around and then a shorter one in the afternoons.  Sometimes if you are really tired you may "cat-nap" in the middle of the day or late afternoon.

We are still in size 2 disposable diapers and on the lowest rise setting in cloth.  You are wearing some 3-6 month clothes, but mostly 6-9 month.  

Your hair is blonde/reddish and all the brown is gone!  We can't tell if it will be curly yet, sometimes it is a little fuzzy in the back, but the top is straight!  

I am not sure on stats, we do not go back to the doctor this month, but you are gaining lots of weight from eating solids!  Still much smaller than your big brother was!

Ruby Cakes, 

Your little personality shines through and you brighten every room you are in!  I never get tired of your big toothless grin!  When you smile at us, your whole face lights up!  Every day you change before our eyes and do something new and exciting!  We are trying hard not to miss anything!  We love you, sweet baby girl!

First Broken Bone

I am finally getting around to posting about our first broken bone!  I am honestly surprised it took over two years to end up at the doctor for an injury! A couple of months ago John Thomas was playing before bed and fell into the cabinet that the fish tank sits on and immediately started crying and holding his right wrist/hand.  We couldn't see any major swelling or bruising and he could move his fingers so we put ice on it, gave him some pain reliever lots of kisses and went on as normal.  He went to bed and woke up around 5:00 am crawling into our bed saying it hurt again.  He went back to sleep and the remainder of the day we just assumed he had a bad sprain.  Fast forward two weeks (including going through swim lessons, jumping in bounce houses, falling on it over and over) and I asked him to give me a high five and after he did big tears welled up in his eyes because his wrist hurt.  At that point I called Kris and we both agreed we should probably take him in to see our pediatrician.  

Waiting Patiently to see the Pediatrician

I made an appointment for that afternoon and we saw the nurse practitioner who recommended we have X-rays taken at the local imaging center.  We packed up and headed there to get X-rays made where they confirmed it was a fracture and we would need to see an orthopedic doctor as soon as we could get in.  By this point it was after 5:00 so I wasn't able to make an appointment the same day.  I felt horrible that I had let him walk around for two weeks with a fractured wrist! First thing the next morning, I made an appointment with the orthopedic doctor and we headed in. Trying to keep him entertained and Ruby content in a sterile doctor's office that is not kid friendly was no easy feat.  I finally got him to settle down by blowing up a latex glove for him to play with while we waited!

 After looking at his images the doctor said he would have to be in a cast for 10 days.  I begged for waterproof thinking how I would keep a cast dry for 10 days, but he denied our request putting him in a cast all the way to his armpit!  He said that kids who are that small can wiggle their way out of casts that are only on the lower part of the arm. 

He chose orange for the color and was super excited that they also let him pick out two stickers!  

After leaving with his new "arm sticker" (that is what we told him his cast was so he wouldn't freak out!) we were supposed to go to a small swim party with his buddies from school, so since that was out of the question we took the rest of the morning doing some of his favorite things.  We first went to Starbucks to get him a special drink (Vanilla Bean Frappachino) then onto Pet Smart to see the animals, and finally to the Dollar Tree so he could pick out some new prizes to keep him entertained!  He chose lots of random items, his favorite being garage sale stickers which are still a huge hit, he lovingly named them his ball stickers and is nothing short of obsessed!

We spent the entire day being silly and playing together!  All in all, the 10 days went by quickly and he did really well only complaining when he would get hot and it would itch.  After the 10 days he was able to get the cast off and the doctor declared him as good as new.  He did, however, encourage me to grab his card on the way out claiming that this would not be the last time we saw him!  We got a little laugh out of his comment, knowing that he was most likely right!

Swim Lessons

We chose to do swim lessons a little differently this year.  After a fun, but not productive, series of lessons last summer I spoke with a friend who recommended ISR and I registered immediately last spring. They focus on survival swim lessons and a "swim, float, swim" sequence.  Lessons are typically 4-6 weeks, 5 days a week for 10 minutes.  After the first couple of lessons I could see a huge improvement in John Thomas' confidence in the water.  He cried a little, but most of the time loved lessons and was asking to go back before we would get back home! (he even added his swim teacher, Ms Michelle, to his prayer list :))Within days he was swimming and floating in the pool on his own!  He has always loved being around the water, never scared, but after lessons I can say that he is confident to swim short distances on his own! With my sister planning a wedding in Jamaica, it was a huge relief to know that John Thomas would be safe around all the water!  I can say he did great, and even with a set back (broken arm) mid lessons he learned a ton and showed off his skills daily on our vacation.

Picture to celebrate the last day!  He finished swim school!

Tiny Town Scrapbook 2013-2014

At the end of every year, John Thomas' teachers compile a scrapbook of events, holidays and everyday happenings from the previous year.  I loved getting his last year, and this year was no exception.  We are sp grateful for Tiny Town and how they pour into our little ones.  John Thomas had a great year and cannot wait for school to start back so he can see his "friends!"  It makes my heart smile knowing how much he loves going!  I wanted to scan and publish his scrapbook so we will be able to look back and see how much he grew up over the course of the year!