little chiquita...

Ruby recently got this adorable ruffly, bright sweater for her birthday... and when I put it on her this morning, she looked a little like Miss Chiquita. Puffy sleeves with ruffles? Adorbs.





PS. SO into books right now. Smartypants.

because she's so cute...

... and because I can't stand looking at my mug every time I open the blog...

she's got a mean right hook...

She may be less than 20 pounds, but she can throw a punch... with her head...


Ruby and I were playing on the bed and when I least expected it, she arched back with all her might and the back of her head landed on my cheekbone. My eyes instinctively watered and immediately after the smack there was what looked like a marble under my skin on my cheekbone. Since then I've been a puffy, blue-purple mess.


There were times today that I forgot that I had this hunchback-of-Notre-Dame-look going on until I caught people staring at it. It's times like these my large Nicole Richie-esc glasses come in handy...

And if you haven't ever been to the Grand Canyon, feel free to look at the tip of my nose into one of the pores. Don't judge.

the teapot headbang...

I'm a little teapot, short and stout... So she doesn't quite have the exact hand motions down - but this girl has some hardcore moves to this little teapot's beats. Check it, yo.



and yes. she needs a haircut.

etiquette... by Ruby...

She's so proper now. Using her fingers was so last week...



And PS - she moved up in the weight ranks at her 1 year old appointment. And when you're 1, that's a good thing. Eat on, girlfriend!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

And she's officially 1!

The party made it official... She's one! We had ourselves some fun! Lots of friends over to celebrate the big day, she enjoyed herself another cupcake, and when she took a nap, we just hung out in the sun. Wonderful day all around.










Only bummer? I didn't take any pictures of the so so cute table with all the food and other decorations!! I was really proud of the work Joey, Josh, Linds, and myself did and then totally forgot to document it! Ugh. But I promise you - it was cute!!

let her eat cake!

Ruby's first cupcake! She's a natural...

1 YEAR OLD!!

What a year! What a year! My mom put together a little montage of Ruby's monthly shots...


...that's where she's been - here's her on the big 1 birthday!!

well... that didn't exactly work out... let's move this outside...

much better...

Ruby is one year old today. It just makes my head spin thinking about it. Of course it went quickly, but at the same time it was perfect. She was the perfect addition to our family and now both Josh and I cannot imagine our lives without her. She pulls herself up onto everything and she's so FAST! She loves to play the "where is...?" game - we ask her where something is, she gets a quizzical look on her face while she looks around, her eyes light up and she smiles when she finds it, and then points to the object we asked for... then applauds for herself. She pretty much applauds for herself for any reason these days. She's all about the finger foods lately and as you can see above, loves to drink from a spray bottle. She's our whole world. Happy birthday, baby!!

Dedicate that baby!

We've had a fabulous weekend! Lots of guests, lots of food, and lots of fun! The reason?? Well, this little cutie is turning ONE this week so an early almost-your-birthday celebration was in order. Plus - this Saturday we dedicated Ruby at church. She was a champ. Of course she was the cutest one on stage (I may be biased) - she clapped at the right times, looked at the lights, shouted out an "amen" when appropriate, wanted to play with the "babydoll" that the couple next to us was holding... you know, totally NOT distracting. She's a natural on stage.