And BABY makes FOUR!!!

Yep, you guessed it!! The other thing I didn't mention about Ruthie turning 13 months is that she is going to be a big sister!!! Here's a picture to prove it!



Sorry for the bad lighting, but if you've ever seen an ultrasound at 8 weeks, you know they all pretty much look like the same little blob!! But, the baby's heartbeat is strong and steady at 174 beats per minute! I've waited a little while to put this up on the blog (my family and church family has known for several weeks) because we've been going through a little. To make a long story short... at about 5 weeks they thought I might be having problems with the pregnancy. So they did some extra ultrasounds and some blood work and found out that my numbers were sky high. A few more ultrasounds later and they told us we were having twins. However, it was still early and there were no heartbeats yet. We were told to wait 2 weeks and come back to see if both babies were healthy.

Sadly, when we went back, there was only one heartbeat. So, little baby B went to be with Jesus. We know that God's plan is perfect and He is soverign. The Lord is to be praised when He gives and when He takes away. For us, it happened that He did both at the same time. I wasn't going to blog about the twin thing but I decided to for a couple of reasons. One, I wanted to celebrate the little life that went to be with Jesus. Two, I wanted to bring Glory to God for what He is doing in our lives and our hearts. Together, trusting the Lord and His perfect plan, Tony and I want to always Praise the name of our Lord.

So we are SUPER EXCITED about our new addition and have already started to make plans about our little bundle and the changes that will be made in our house to accommodate another one! We are due April 3 but will have a planned C-section so I'll let you know what date that is when I know!! And for now, please pray for the little life growing inside of me. Stay tuned for more updates on the Little Bitty.

Ruthie is 13 months old!!

*** Edited to add something I forgot...***

We are late in blogging as Ruthie has been 13 months old for a week now!! But, better late than never!!!

Here's a list of what she accomplished while she was 12 months old:

*** She says "uh-oh" when anything drops. She loves saying that so much that she often "drops" thins on purpose just to have a reason to say it!! ***


* She now signs the word "please"

* She Loves fruit... but Blueberries and Strawberries are her absolute favorite. She gobbles them up!

* She says "cluck-cluck" for a chicken and "Quack-quack" (which sounds like cluck-cluck) for a duck.

* She used to say neigh-neigh for a horse, but apparently now the horses in her world say "cluck-cluck" :)

* She cut her 3rd tooth (the top left one... and the other top tooth is starting to cut through)

* She is now throwing fits. When she doesn't get her way or when you're not meeting her needs fast enough she lets you know. of course, we're doing our best job of squelching this new move. But, it's really hard to reason w/ a one year old. "I'm coming w/ your lunch" just doesn't go very far for a hungry Ruthie. Any ideas? I thought I had a least another year before this started!!

* She met her cousins once removed from CA and loved playing w/ them... especially Kate who was closest to her age.

* When she eats something that is tasty she says nice and loud, "mmmmm" it's so cute. On the other hand, when she eats something she doesn't like, she spits it out. Not very cute at all!

* she has a baby sign language book and there is a picture of cherrios. Every time she reads that book and gets to that page she always says, "mmmmm" gotta love a girl who knows what she likes!

* She said to me one day at the beginning of the month "no kisses" much to mommy's chagrin. I let her know that mommy ALWAYS get kisses!!

* As the month has gone on, she turned a new leaf and is now VERY kissy. In fact, all you have to do is ask and she'll plant a nice wet one on your mouth. With the added sound affects of "Mu-wa" She even gets into these really affectionate moods where she'll kiss anything that she can get to... your arm, leg, face. It's so cute. She just kisses over and over. She's even been known to kiss her favorite books and the dog!

* She's crawling on her hands and knees now, along w/ her own style of army crawl. That's how she gets around. She does it fast! But, she's not the least bit interested in walking. She does pull up to her knees regularly now.

* She's been doing this for a while, but she holds her books up with her foot behind the book and her two hands holding the sides so she can see it better. It's so cute.

* Said goodbye to Great Grandpa and went to his funeral.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:


Crawling w/ piggy tails


Our family in Ft. Laud in the pool


reading her book


W/ Uncle Matt!

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.

Ruthie's First Birthday, Part 3

We didn't open presents while everyone was here for the party because Ruthie started to get tired and needed another nap. So, we held off and opened them later that night with just our families present for the presents...

Here are SOME MORE PICTURES so our loving and gracious and generous friends who brought her wonderful gifts can be a part of the "presents!!"





















We tried to get a picture of everything but we inevitably missed a few. We're so sorry if your present isn't on this post. Know that we appreciate all you did and gave to our sweet little girl and that we will be thinking of you every time she uses it or wears it!! You all can be looking in the mail for your thank you... they'll be on their way in a couple of days!! :)

Ruthie's First Birthday, Part 2

Saturday morning bright and early started my day making 30 "uncrustable" style PB & J for her party later. The theme was "Ruthie's Backyard Birthday Bash!" and we invited about 50 of our closest friends and family! We had about 20 kids from church and a few cousins that were helping us celebrate along with their parents! We had baby pools filled with water and a 16 foot slip n slide for the kids pleasure (believe me when I say 16 feet sound much longer when reading on the box then when stretched outside... but they enjoyed it none the less!) We also had "the game" for the big kids (aka adults!) That is a horse-shoe style game played with these PVC stands and two golf balls attached by twine. I'll show you some pictures below.

It went off with out a hitch. All my planning and praying paid off. No Rain. That is a miracle. It's summer in Florida. It rains in the afternoon EVERYDAY. You can set your watch by the rain. But, no rain on Ruthie's party day!! Also, she napped at the exact PERFECT time. Just enough before that she would be a ray of sunshine at her party! I don't know what everyone else is talking about.. this party thing is EASY! Or at least that is what I was thinking until 15 minutes before the party!

I had the food made ahead of time. BBQ pork sandwiches and PB & J. My mom made a fruit salad, and Aunt Holly made her prize winning potato salad. My mom-in-law brought the veggies, chips, and dip! I had been collecting soda and water every time it went on sale. And I made the cookies that go in the treat bags a few days before. Everything was running smoothly.

Tony and my brother set up the outside. The pools, the slip n slide, the pop-up pavilion. Decorated with streamers and balloons... it's all set. Ruthie woke up, I dressed her in her fancy party dress, and sat her on the couch with 4 adults and a cup of juice while I ran around doing last minute things....


This is Ruthie BEFORE she took a dive OFF THE COUCH 15 minutes before the party!! Yes, she did. Yes, all the adults felt so bad. They said it was in a blink of an eye and they couldn't even react fast enough to catch her...even though they tried.

I don't have a good picture of AFTER because we were too busy trying to get her to stop crying, putting frozen peas on her forehead where this BIG red goose egg appeared, and generally trying to calm down from the traumatic experience. Although it was scary then, because she is alright now, I can kinda laugh at the thought that I had it all together... Just another reminder that the LORD has everything in His control. And, without him we are nothing...

But, other than that... everything was PERFECT. Such a wonderful day, as you'll see from the pictures below!

The food table


The party scene - along the back fence were pictures of Ruthie through out her first year. The guest had to guess how old she was in each picture!


The cookie treats!























The hubs playing "the game"




My bro playing "the game"


cooling off w/ cold water!!


Her beautiful cake!!




She picked off all the pink polk-a-dots before diving in... deja vu!








Her friend Kylie found her own private spa during the party... the juice bucket!!


Winding down...


Almost out!



We had a wonderful day. I hope you were able to enjoy it with us through this picture fest!!! (sorry about all the pictures, but I took over 200...so think of all the pictures I spared you from!! :))