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

Emma Kate

Emma Kate is here!! She has graced our family and we all are in love!! :) Here's a photo gallery of our day- ONE week ago!!

The night before we went to the hospital my mom came to stay with us so she could watch Ruthie. We went to Outback to celebrate the new member of our family- which is becoming tradition since that's where we went before Ruthie was born!

We came home and still had to pack- all our laundry was done thanks to my great mother in law who did it ALL for me the day before!! And then we went to bed... not before having a snack at 11:56 (couldn't eat after midnight!) We woke up at 4:00 so we could get ready and pack the car as we had to be at the hospital at 5:30 am!!

This is me 39 weeks pregnant and the last preggo pic w/ Emma...


Tony and I before we left!


Once we got to the hospital they give you a cell phone- weird huh- and when it rings you go back to pre-op. I got my IV and answered all sorts of questions and waited a little. Once that was done they let Tony come back with me until the doctor was ready.

Once we left Pre-op, Tony went to the "dressing room" and put on the scrubs and I went to the operating room. The worst part of the whole experience was the darn spinal block. It hurts - really bad- and I'm not that much of a wimp with pain. I would do almost anything to avoid another one... although the end result is totally worth it! Once I was getting numb Tony was allowed back in the room and they started to scrub and prepare my belly...That's a lovely feeling everything hanging out for all to see... and there is like a million people in the room. We even had a student watching... It took quite a while for the doctors (Dr. Dill delivered Emma and Dr. Brown assisted) to get through the old scar tissue and get to Emma. Before they were even getting to Emma I started to feel tingly again. This meant that I was coming out of the spinal block. That was a little scary. Tony told the nurse and she gave me more meds. But, I was able to wiggle my toes during surgery... I kept thinking, HELLO!! THIS IS NOT GOOD!! But, the Lord was there and they worked fast and I felt NO PAIN!! Praise God! Soon we heard a little cry and then it got louder. That is such a big moment in life- from no children to being parents in one split second. From one child to two- in one split second. Soon we saw this:

Dr. Dill holding Emma Kate for us to see. Isn't she beautiful! It is immediate LOVE washing over my heart.


Here's a closer look w/ the baby nurse...


Emma getting weighed... she weighed 7 pounds and 1 ounce and was 20 inches long. She was born at 8:09 am on March 27, 2009.


Finally Mommy gets to hold and love her!!





After a while they took Tony and Emma to the recovery room- finished cleaning me up and stuff (whatever it is that they do...) and soon I was headed to Recovery myself. Meanwhile- Tony was holding a SCREAMING baby- I guess she wanted to eat.. and calling our parents, siblings, and pastor to tell them that we were doing well. Everyone said- Is that Emma? All Tony could do was chuckle and say- yep- she's here!!

Once I got to recovery the nurses asked if I could wiggle my toes... and I said yep- and proceded to BEND MY KNEES AND LIFT MY LEGS!! I think they were a little surprised by that!! I also remember telling Tony that I felt more pain at that moment than I did through out the entire labor and delivery of Ruthie. The nurse who was standing at my head kept telling the one at my feet... "We need to get her some more pain meds". I remember feeling like I was totally beat up- every muscle in my abdomen hurt- badly. But soon I was a happy camper with my meds and I started to nurse Emma. That is such a magical time too. She was quite- the first time since she was born!! I was only in recovery for about 30 minutes they wheeled me up to the room and I got to hold Emma the whole time. Once we got to the room the nurse took Emma to give her a bath...



When all that was done we finally got to rest... this is Emma so sweetly resting after a very traumatic morning (at least for her).

Grandma's 90th

Well, it's been a while... this month has been a whirlwind.. we've experienced many things... some good, some bad... all will be blogged about in the next few days... so check back often so that you can keep up!! This is a long one... don't say you weren't warned!!


At the end of July all my family (from CA and NC) met in Ft. Lauderdale to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday. This is the Grandma that Ruthie is named after!! We were all so excited to be together as it was the first time my extended family was able to meet her!! We all stayed at a beautiful hotel on the beach (can we say NICE!!) for an entire week!!! I'll walk you through w/ pictures!

This is our view!! Our hotel is a beautiful suite! We have a full kitchen (w/ granite counter tops) a king size bed, and a whirlpool tub!! Plus, the living room w/ a flat screen TV!!! Talk about luxury!


Meeting cousins for the first time (from L to R) Chloe, Ruthie, Kate, and Claire


Ruthie and Great Grandpa- Who stayed in the hotel all the time we were there. We would all meet in their room to eat and to hang our at night!


Grandma ready for the Beach (her favorite thing)


The cousins (really all the cousin's kids) ready for the beach (from L to R) Amanda, Chloe, Ruthie, Lauren and Claire (Kate is napping in the hotel & Colin already at the beach)


Daddy and Ruthie playing in the sand


Uncle Matt and Aunt Rachel


Ruthie HATES the sand! But LOVES the water!! She didn't mind the salt water or the waves at all!!


Under the umbrella away from the sun!


Napping on the beach!!


Amanda the sand monster and the culprits all around


All of us in front of the church on Sunday morning - except Grandpa who stayed at the hotel w/ a nurse.


Grandma and Grandpa


All of our immediate family w/ Grandma and Grandpa


Gotta love the Piggy Tails!!


Grandma and Ruthie at Grandma's Big Birthday dinner. We went to the Sea Watch- a lovely seafood restaurant right on the ocean!! It was beautiful and delicious!


Grandma and Her birthday dinner!


Grandma putting Ruthie to sleep


Me, Melissa (my cousin) and Rachel (my sis in law)


Cousin Shelley reading to Ruthie!



We all had a wonderful time together. We were able to spend quality time loving on each other- and loving on Grandma. Although it was Grandma's birthday, Grandpa got a lot of attention as we all knew that he was very sick and we wouldn't have much time with him on earth. He ended up falling the last morning we were there, going to the er, and coming home w/ fused vertebrae. (That is very painful) At home, they had everything he needed including a hospital type of bed and he ended up staying in that bed until his last day on earth. This was the last time our family was w/ him. Such a sweet time that the Lord gave our family.