Ruthie goes to DANCE!!

Ruthie had a wonderful morning at her first dance class. Her teacher, Ms. Jane, is fantastic. She's the right combo of encouraging and clear with her expectations!! Ruthie was SO excited to go. She loves to "dance" around the house! My sweet little girl did a great job... although she made me chuckle at her spunk, individuality, and her love of "RUNNING"!! I know she will love this even more as the year goes on.

She goes once a week, and is in a Combo class, Tap, Ballet, and Acro!!

At home before we head out:




Super Excited!!


Her w/ her teacher, Ms. Jane, and her other classmate!


Walking into class, on her own... what a big girl!


Ruthie doing a summersault w/ Ms. Jane's help!




All done!! She had sooo much fun and worked so hard!! I'm proud of my little dancer!

Build A Bear- Birthday Weekend!

Ruthie's birthday fun continued the next day! After church we went to Cheesecake Factory to eat lunch... I love that place! And then on to Build A Bear to use the gift cards Aunt Mardi and Uncle Jack and Aunt Judy gave her. She's been eying this horse there for weeks. Every time we go in she goes RIGHT for the Horsey! She just loves it. And, each time we walk out without the horsey and say, "bye bye horsey" and she does so well with out throwing the littlest of fits.

So- finally for her birthday- we walked in and she got to make her own horsey and take it home. Ya' all she is in love. When we got to the area to pick a name we gave her several choices. Buttercup was top of my list. But, my daughter has a much better sense of naming stuffed animals and so her animal will forever be named, "Horsey Pony". I thought it was very original!! :)


She picked out some clothes complete with panties... we're in the potty training mode... and some accessories for the beach. I mean- what is a horse supposed to do w/ out a towel and sunscreen at the beach? :)

As tired as she was (no nap) she had so much fun and completely soaked in the experience. She loved making her Horsey Pony. And now, we have a third child, named Horsey Pony. She takes her everywhere!! :)

In the mall on our way to Build A Bear


Finally able to pick out the horsey!!


Kissing the heart before she put it in!


Stuffing Horsey Pony


Bathing Horsey Pony


Dressed, named, and paid for... now it is hers... and she's not letting go!!


Completely worn out and ready for BED... Mommy even gave in and gave her the binkie....


Totally happy after a wonderful, full, fun birthday weekend. Ruthie and Mommy with ALL 3 Ming Mings and her Horsey Pony!!

Ruthie's birthday party!!

Ruthie's party was held on her actual birthday because it fell on a Saturday!! The thing Ruthie most loves is WONDER PETS!!! SO, we had a Wonder Pet pool party!! We planned it down to the very last detail... it started at 2 perfect timing for Ruthie to take a nap PRE party. Of course, she had other ideas... I guess she could tell that there was a lot going on and so she didn't sleep!

We started out on Friday night at my mom's house preparing for the big day. Uncle Matt and Aunt Rachel came for the party and were there Friday night to help! After Ruthie went to sleep, we started working on the capes. You know, all wonder pets have to wear their capes. We (Rachel) made them out of plastic table cloths... and they turned out perfect! Uncle Matt was put to work blowing up all the pool toys... and he got a little dizzy from the lack of air (although he usually never lacks in the hot air department!!) Tony was put to work getting art work off of the internet for various projects and for preping the PHONE!!! (as in The Phone, The phone is ringing!!) That was going to be our art project- making the phone out of cans and string! Mom and I were helping everyone and also working on the food. We didn't get home until about 2 am... we were a little tired to say the least!

What I forgot to tell you was that BEFORE all of that hard work started- Ruthie decided we would take a trip to Pediactric after hours emergency. She was running in my Mom's house and fell... and hit her forehead on the corner of the wall. A HUGE bump immediately formed and protruded from her forehead about 2-3 inches. It was so scary. Tony had to hold her down so that I could put ice on it. We decided to play it safe and get her looked at to make sure she was ok. By the time we got there and the doctor came in she was as bubbly as normal and it was as if nothing happened. But the evidence of her little accident is ALL over her b-day pics!! (Anyone remember what happened last year?)

The morning of her birthday we woke up to Thunder... not a good sign for a day at the pool. But the Lord was gracious to us and the rain and thunder held off until after the party. We got to my mom's at 10 am. I made the frosting and decorated the cake. We put Ruthie down for a nap (a.k.a. playtime in the pack-n-play) around 11 and Tony and Matt set up the tables and covers outside.



Once the guest started to arrive they went right to the craft. The kids chose a cape color (Ruthie wore green for Ming Ming, of course) and then they sat down to make the PHONE!

First group of kids making their "phone"


Ruthie and Patrick, her cousin


Abby and Bell (cousins)


The birthday girl


With Luke and Bailey (cousins)


Me with my sis in law, Rachel


Rachel and Bryan (Tony's bro and his wife)


Aunt Holly


Grandma and Paw-Paw Z and Aunt Judy and Sandy! Smile!


Family pic minus the birthday girl who is already in the Pool w/ aunt Rachel!!

We had tons of great food (hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, mac and cheese, watermelon, chips, drinks, and of course, birthday cake)!!!

Uncle Matt bringing some yummy food off the grill!! (Matt and Tony were manning the hot grill!)



Once they were done with that they headed to the pool!!

All the kids swimming!! By the end of the party the Big Kids (aka ADULTS) were taking over the pool and the fun!! Good thing we had beach balls to play with for the adults!! :) I'm so glad everyone had fun!
Pictured here are many of her friends from church: Gracie, Abby, Kylie, Adian, Victoria, Alex, not pictured is Patrick and Lucy!!


Singing Happy Birthday


Ruthie swiping the icing!! :) She took, "it's your cake" literally!


At the very end, when all our guests except family had gone home, a huge storm cloud rolled in. In about 5 minutes flat we had to tear everything down, clean up the pool area, get it all to my mom's house and try to keep all the non-wet things dry. We almost made it. When we came racing in.. this is what we found:


My mom hadn't made the other pictures because she was so busy working behind the scenes. But, with out her it would not have been a successful party. She volunteered to take my kiddos in for naps around 4:30-5:00 when Ruthie had fallen asleep on the pool deck!! I guess grandma was tired too!

Sweet Emma


Daddy and Ruthie going through all of her gifts... she got a lot of things to use in her new kitchen, build a bear gift cards, and MING MINGS!!! :)


Ruthie LOVES Ming Ming


After her nap she got up and opened her present from Mommy and Daddy! A Kitchen!! (She says, "Chicken")


We put the girls to sleep again and then the adults played the game PIT!! It had us laughing so hard our tummies hurt and we were literally YELLING across the table to be heard!! :) IT was so much fun!

Happy Birthday my sweet girl. I hope you loved your Wonder Pet Party. You are a joy to be with and Mommy and Daddy love you very much!! We pray this year is even better than last!! (It will be hard to beat!!)

Happy Birthday, Ruthie!!!

My sweet Ruthie,

Happy birthday, my love. I am so blessed and honored to be your Mommy. There are so many things that I love about you. I love your giggle. You abandon yourself to fun and LOVE life. Your giggle makes my day a good day no matter what has happened! Your sweet, "I wuv you, much" makes my heart melt. That started when I started saying, "I love you very much". I love how silly you are... how you love to twirl, which you call "whee" and then you get "busy" (dizzy). I love how much you love others. You are so tenderhearted and loving. You especially love your sister. You hold her, kiss her, hold her hand, and burp her with mommy. And she makes your day when she is "smi-in" (smiling) at your!! You also love your dogs. Bissy- Grandma's dog is your favorite!

You love to talk and repeat everything we say. Which means we should watch what we say a little closer... you now say, "shut your mouth" when your playing with your baby doll and "I mean it" which is your daddy's line when he's disciplining you. You do need quite a bit of direction these days, but you take it well and put yourself in time out sometimes!!

When we are driving, you consider it a very good drive if you see a "diggo" (digger- excavator) and as always you love planes. When you see one in the air you blow kisses to it. You also are super smart!! You know your way around town. There is no tricking you. You know if we are driving to a friends house by the roads we are taking!! And you get very upset if we don't stop!! You also know where we get lunch... we can't pass a McDonalds or Chik fil A without you asking for "unch".

You are almost potty trained. Mommy wouldn't have started this early, but you decided it was time when you sat on your potty and went pee pee before your bath about 3 weeks ago!! Since then you haven't been in diapers except for when you sleep. You pretty much go without any accidents if Mommy gets you to the potty in time. You haven't begun to tell mommy that you have to go pee pee... won't that be a blessed day!!

You love to play. And hate it when mommy interrupts that play. You often run away and say, "I hiding". And then you giggle and say, "I funny". As much as it aggravates me if we're in a hurry, it is so stinking cute. I have to smile.

Wonder Pets is still your favorite show and you start your day out with at least one episode each morning with your milk. You love dinosaurs and know we're going to pass them on the interstate when we go a certain way. You love to sing. You sing "shine" (this little light of mine) and Jesus Loves Me. You like to sing If Your Happy and You Know it. You love clapping your hands. You also sing The B-I-B-L-E and shout Bible and Happy at the end of the verses. You've started to make up your own songs and put your pointer figner and your thumb together at your mouth to make a microphone or you use your juice cup. You get this look on your face when your making up a song. It is a look of total concentration and seriousness and it makes my heart melt and my face smile.

Ruthie Grace Zeller. I love you so much words just don't do it justice. I am so proud of you. This year has been a big year full of fun discovery and growing up. Your my little girl now. I am so excited to share the next year with you. I can't wait to see what we get into while you are two. Most of all, I pray that Jesus will fill your heart with His love and a desire to always search after Him. I love you, my special girl. I hope your day is very very happy!! :) I love you, MUCH!!

Love,
Mommy

Blog Hop Pics!!

Hello! Welcome to my Cup of T!! This week's MCKlinky blog hop is all about pics... so I'm sharing a great one with you! Actually, I have to share two because my two girls under two are hard to photograph together!! :)

Out of the mouth of Babes... or toddlers

When putting Ruthie to sleep Tony and I always pray with her. So far her input has always been a loud "amen" at the end. Tonight, I prayed first. Then she said, "daddy pray". So Tony prayed too. Then she said, "more prayer". So I said, "what would you like to say to Jesus?"

Then Ruthie said:

"I love you much Jesus."

The tears welled up immediately. I love her tender heart. Please Lord, guide us and give us wisdom to cultivate a heart that loves YOU in our girls. Amen!

An Ode to Ms. Tracey

Ms. Tracey is our fantastic Physical Therapist who was a total answer to prayer! She is first of all a Christian- which did this mommy's heart good! She is loving, kind, knowledgeable, and talented! And, and major plus she is a good runner- which is helpful because she spends most of the time running after Ruthie who has seen another fun and exciting thing to get into...

I swear, that Pedi Rehab is like a kiddie playland on steroids. There is something fun to get into around every corner. When Ruthie started out she wasn't walking, she was about 16 months old and she was just cruising while holding on to furniture. Tracey determined that she has low muscle tone and needed PT two times a week until her muscles stregthened enough to allow her to walk. Meanwhile, we were visiting the neurologist and he ordered an EEG and an MRI- both which came back normal! Praise Jesus!

Today, I am proud to say, was our last evaluation!! Ruthie has graduated and is no longer in PT on Ms. Tracey's case load. While I am super proud of Ruthie and very excited that she's made this progress... she's now running and kicking, and right on track. I will miss our PT appt. because God used them to teach me. He put a wonderful friend in my path that encouraged me, loved my child, and gave my child the gift of being able to walk. And, a major plus- Tracey is hysterical. She had me in stitches with her stories most of the time! It was like a coffee play-date minus the coffee!!

Here are a few pics of Ruthie last offical PT session- right after Emma was born.
These are called "ker-plops" Ruthie has to "ker-plop" on her back and then sit up. She has to use her abdominal muscles to do this and those core muscles are what helps her keep her balance and be able to stand up w/ out holding on. She started every session out w/ a bunch of these!


This is the next step... up on the knees. She didn't start doing this until later


Going up the ramp... at the end is a slide!! At first she started out pushing a kids grocery cart filled with weight balls up the ramp. Actually she wasn't able to push it more than 3 steps the first several times. But, as she grew stronger she'd push it farther and Tracey would add more weight. Then she would take her up the ramp! Now she can run/walk up and DOWN the ramp w/ out any help!! :)


Going up the stairs also builds those muscles and allows her to practice an important skill! She would have to take puzzle pieces up the stairs and complete the puzzle. One piece at a time... that would give her a purpose for going up and down other than just "working out"!!


Ms. Tracey w/ Ruthie and Emma. We love you Ms. Tracey, and we will be eternally grateful that God placed you in our life!!