Grape Harvest and Stomping at Delaney Vineyards

This past weekend Alex, Ruby and I met my friend Lori, her husband and daugher Maddie to help with the grape harvest at Delaney Vineyards. This was where Alex and I were married several years ago.



I sewed Ruby a dress just for the occasion. Doesn't she look beautiful here?!?








Ruby and mama.





Ruby did NOT like stepping in the grapes AT ALL.







Ruby and her friend Maddie had a blast playing with the grapes.

Visit from Aunt Mollie

My sister Mollie came to visit this past weekend. She got to spend some time with Ruby.







And we went out to a movie and dinner with our baby group for our ladies' night.




Lots of fun!

Lunch date and ICE CREAM!

After our playtime at Paradise Pond, Ruby and I went to lunch with Nicole and Kaylee. The girls were treated to mac and cheese and chicken tenders (Ruby never eats this kind of stuff usually!!! Normally it is lots of veggies and fruit...but what are you going to do when you spontaneously decide to go out for lunch?!?) She gobbled it down.

After lunch, Nicole asked if I had ever given Ruby ice cream. I haven't. So, I got Ruby a small cone with a (very) small scoop of ice cream. She absolutely loved it!





Now that is a happy kiddo.

Paradise Pond

Ruby and I met Nicole and her daughter Kaylee for playtime at Paradise Pond. It is a neat play area with all kinds of separate centers and play equipment. Ruby loved it! She was so worn out from exploring and playing!

Shayne's birthday

Ruby and I went to Shayne's first birthday party at a local pool splash park. Again, her favorite part of the festivities was the balloons.






Looking as cute as can be in her tutu bathing suit and crocs.

Pajama and Pancake Playdate

One of the gals in our baby group hosted a pajamas and pancakes playdate. All the babies wore their pajamas and she made yummy buttermilk fruit pancakes. Here's the host, Preston, showing Ruby how his car works.

Ruby is now 15 months old

Ruby is now 15 months old. This is my absolute favorite stage so far! She's walking and talking and just becomming such a fun and silly little girl. She has started waving hello to strangers and saying bye bye even when someone leaves the room. She loves to climb on anything and everything and is starting to test me by trying to dangerously balance on the arm of the rocker recliner chair. She enjoys carrying things around, especially her little pink teacups. I've introduced her to my old hot wheels car collection and when playing with them she makes a vroom vroom sound, usually says 'wheel' while spinning the tires and then rolls them on her head (which is what daddy does with the cars). Ruby can follow some basic directions (like hug/kiss the baby doll, go get your kitty cat, or go look out the front window to see the doggy outside) and can point to where her bellybutton, eyes, nose, ears and head are. She knows several words and seems to be adding a few every few days...'Wow' is one of her new favorite words and just I love hearing her use this expression when I take her on little mini-adventures (which might be as simple as a trip to the shoe department at Target).

According to the Dr., Ruby is now 21 pounds and 11 oz. and is 32 inches tall. So, she is tall and skinny! She is a pretty good eater, but is just on the move so much. Everywhere we go people comment how tall she is and how long her legs are. She has just moved up to size 5 shoes, size 5 diapers, and is now wearing size 24 month pajamas. Her eyes are still blue and each day her hair grows a tiny tiny bit more.





I like this picture because I can see a bit of Alex in her face. And, Alex says he can see a bit of me in her.

I sewed a pillowcase dress for Ruby

Alex gave me a sewing machine for my last birthday. I recently took a sewing lesson and have been practicing with my machine.

This is my second attempt at a dress.


I am quite pleased with how it came out! I think Ruby might even be able to wear this out in public.








It is made out of a bandana.








I think she likes it!

Neighborhood gettogether at our house

Some friends in our neighborhood take turns hosting the group for bbq once a month. It was our turn this month and we made pulled pork tacos for everyone.

Spinach or pepper tortillas?

Ruby got to play with her buddies. Here she is with Hudson.





Alex dressed festively for the occasion.

Date night

Alex and I had a date night last weekend. This is such a rare occasion! We enjoyed a nice steak dinner, complete with caviar. I had some fun cocktails including one with cotton candy and one with a stick of rock candy mixed in.

It was a luxury to eat dinner in peace, without juggling Ruby, a highchair and her mess!


Afterwards we went to one of our old favorite casual hangouts - the Gingerman. We listened to some live music on the patio.





They have lots of great beers on tap.




Enjoying a pint with the hubby. We had a great time. Thanks to the Macnabs for watching Ruby for the evening.

Michelle's Shower

This past weekend Jessica and Lauren hosted a shower for Michelle. I helped with a few of the preparations.





I made this mother-to-be corsage for Michelle.






As my shower gift I created a few hair bows.











Ruby enjoying the festivities.

Playdate fun with friends

Last week Ruby and I went to the Little Gym with Erin and Lauren. Ruby loved climbing in and out of this ring tunnel. She was so excited to run and explore independently!




One of Ruby's favorite things right now is stairs. She thinks they are some kind of game. So, when she saw there were padded steps at the Little Gym (that were approved for climbing), she was thrilled.






Ruby and her buddies enjoy some time at the pool.




Nicole and Kaylee invited us over for a playdate. Ruby and Kaylee had so much fun together and you can tell they really enjoy each other's company. Look how sweet Kaylee is - feeding Ruby cheerios.

Ruby Vocabulary update - Video

Ruby has really been expanding her vocabulary lately.

Words she can say (at least to some extent, speaking the first sound or two, while motioning toward the object intently) include:

Mama, Dadda, duck, (ba)nana, nigh(t) nigh(t), ball, book, bird, balloon, blueberry (said as 'buh buh' excitedly), belly button (sounds like buh buh buh as she points to her own and mine), bye-bye, baby, bow, wheel, (f)ish, sh(oe), peek (a) boo, meow, moo and ee-ii-ee-ii-o.

Here she is saying ee-ii-ii-o...



And then, you can tell here I'm trying to get her to finish old mac donald, but she just started playing with the cars saying 'wheel.' (She loves my old hot wheels collection!). I find it strange that she chose to learn the word 'wheel' over many other words. I think she picked it up from singing 'wheels on the bus' which is one of her favorites!

Dinnertime

Here's Ruby eating her dinner. I know it is a bit mundane, but one day she will be a big kid sitting at the table with us and I want to remember these everyday images of her at this age.

I have to serve her strategically...first, what I want her to eat but what sometimes gets pushed aside (veggies), then something I know she will eat (meat, bread or cheese), usually followed by some fruit (which is a sure thing!)

As you can see from the picture we are at the first stage (a bit of spinach and peas). Because she is hungry, she will eat it!








After dinner, it is bathtime then upstairs to bed. Here's Ruby in her cute PJs climbing the stairs. She dives out of my arms because she wants to climb the stairs herself. So independent!

Ruby in a red chair

I went over to my friend Kara's house so we could visit and so I could learn some sewing tips from her. While I was there Ruby got to play with her daughter Shayne. Kara has these beautiful chairs in her living room. I couldn't resist snapping a pic of Ruby in her red outfit in the red chair. So cute!

Learning to make bows

I'm taking a bow and tutu making class with a few girlfriends. It is so much fun!

Here is a sample of what I made in the first week.

Now all I need is a baby with hair!

Roadtrip to Northpark mall

Ruby and I took a mini-roadtrip into Dallas to meet Sarah and Verity at Northpark Mall for lunch and music time.







We watched the turtles and ducks inside the mall.




Ruby walking through the mall, looking like a runway model.







Enjoying the music and singalong at the library.