everybody say jump! jump!

Ruby loves to jump with daddy!! Before I got out the camera, she was all giggles, giggles, giggles... then the camera came out. Oh Ruby, don't be camera shy!!



ps - I guess I should start shooting videos with my phone horizontally to avoid the black spaces on the sides?? Anyone know how to avoid this??

5 years!

Josh,
Happy Anniversary! Five thoughts for five years.

1. Our wedding day was magical.
2. I still get butterflies when we go to the airport - I'm so glad our days of dating via long distance are over!
3. I always knew you'd be a good dad but I was wrong - you're a fabulous dad.
4. I may mock you for your new long hair look, but your little wings that form around your ears with your baseball hat are just adorable...
5. We make beautiful babies.

just because...

fahrenheit 451

literally. in our house. right now. it is a SAUNA. I think Josh may melt.
Today I picked up Ruby from daycare, came home, turned on our little AC unit (you can see the bad boy in the pics below), and then Ruby and I left for about 30 minutes in our nice, cool, air conditioned car in order to let our house cool down. When we got back it was 90 degrees in our house. And that's after the AC ran for awhile. It's pretty ridiculous. Josh's thick Canadian blood is getting to him. Today he got home, showered, pointed the AC vent at the floor, and then laid in front of it with no shirt on and just his undies. It was quite a site. Especially with Ruby crawling around him to get to her toys.



Ruby doesn't seem to mind. She just wears tank tops and her diaper around the house and at this rate her first word will be "water" because we ask her if she wants water about every 3 minutes. Plus, with these temps her daddy busts out the spray bottle, so this is like Christmas for her! :)

ps - never read the novel with the same title as my blog post. I googled it. apparently it is about a hedonistic, anti-intellectual America that has abandoned self control. while that was not the point i was trying to make with my title, if this heat keeps up, that may be the result here at the Dunlop household.

Happy Father's Day!!

I am so in love with my daddy. I love that he is silly. I love that he chooses to tickle and play over anything else. I love that he says "I think you need a hug..." (when really I know it's him that wants the hug!) I love that he tries fun new things with me all the time - like drinking from a spray bottle and introducing me to the blow up pool in the backyard! He reads to me and sings me songs. He shows me his tools and gives me piggy back rides. He's the best dad in the whole world!!






and here's a shout out to the grandpas too! Happy GRAND-Father's Day to you too!

stair master...

Yes, I need to get on a stair master, but Ruby is the true stair master in our home. Head first? No issue. She's been managing the stair for months now, but no one at work believed me that she goes down head first. I collected evidence. Also - I love this video because you see just how THRILLED she is to be at daycare... she LOVES it. She loves Levi (the boy you see throwing balls all around) and follows him around everywhere. She loves Miss Kristin (daycare woman extraordinaire). She loves the big house to explore. She loves all the new-to-her, fun toys. And I love that she loves it. It makes my heart happy.

just the two of us...

This past week has been a single parent kinda week at the Dunlop house. And it's been exhausting! I went to San Diego for a conference from Thursday to Saturday night -then Sunday morning Josh left for a project up in Tahoe and won't get back until tomorrow. Both of these trips mark the longest we've been away from the babe and therefore the longest we have been left to parent alone... and it's exhausting. We have taken for granted the "Hey Audrey- can you watch the girl while I take a shower?" or "Hey Josh, can you watch the girl while I do dishes?" - being alone with a 13 month old that is learning to climb up on things and constantly wants to be walking around or read to pushes all personal and household duties until AFTER she's asleep in her crib. It's quite a shift after over a year of having your counterpart within a 10 foot radius...

All that to say, I'm lucky to have a fabulous husband that adores both me and our daughter. (sidenote: he recorded a video on my phone of him reading Ruby her bedtime stories. Ummm... he's fantastic.) I'm lucky to have a beautiful and fun daughter that loves to adventure and play and be held by her mama and tickled by her daddy. I'm lucky to have great friends that love Ruby (and Josh and I too :)) and are willing to come over and watch her for a couple hours so I can go to bootcamp, take a shower, or just go to the store. And I'm lucky to have BOTH the babe and the husband under one roof in a short 24 hours. Come home soon, Josh!!

Some quick pics caught on the phone...

it was an...

itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini.... er, in this case it's pink and ruffly!

Thanks for the cute swimsuit, Auntie Kim and Uncle Dave (and happy birthday, Kim!!) and thanks for the pool Auntie Lindsey and Uncle Joey!!

Traveling...

Today marks a first... My first time being away from that Ruby since she's been born for more than like 8 hours. Sad face. I'm currently in San Diego for a work conference and watching TV alone in my hotel room. I'd rather be snuggling with the babe and hubby. Obvi. BUT today also marks the first flight in over a year without diaper bags, boppy pillows, car seats, or strollers. It was pretty fabulous. I glided through security, calmly and with extra hands to spare got my Peets, and then selfishly played/worked on my phone until I boarded without having to watch after a little wiggle worm. So THIS is what it was like before traveling with children... Ahhhh.

Be home Saturday and CANNOT wait...

THIRTEEN months!!

It slipped my mind! Yesterday was the 4th! Ruby was 13 months! Ey yi yi. Well this girl is M-O-B-I-L-E! She's all over the place - pulling her self up onto anything, scooting along furniture, crawling everywhere, mastered the one step up-and-down routine (have yet to try a whole staircase, but one stair is just fine...), and overall getting into EVERYTHING. She recognizes and can point out cat, dog, nose, bird, dad, mom, and all of her common foods (especially milk!). She will *sometimes* "hug" (i.e. put her head down on your shoulder) when you ask for one, has started giving kisses, and waves hello, bye bye and goodnight. She is (unfortunately) developing some bruises from trying out this whole "walking" thing(check out her right cheek - you may be able to see a little shiner)... Poor baby! Overall, such a happy baby... we love love love her!!

Happy Birthday, Nonna!!

We love you, Nonna!! Come visit soon!! xoxo

and breathe...

Ahhh... Memorial Day weekend. An extra day to sleep in. HA. No no no. Not when you have an alarm clock that doesn't have a snooze or off button. And an extra big HAHA when that alarm clock is sick along with the husband in the bed next to you. I don't mind getting up at 6:30 daily. Really... I mean, at least it's not 5:30AM! But there's something about getting up at 6:30 on a holiday that just seems wrong... luckily, I wake up to this:



TOTALLY worth it.