Nice evening drink with our next door neighbors

We are so lucky to have Wayne and Julie as next door neighbors. Over the past few months we've had dinner at each other's houses and they have babysat for us. Earlier this week we had a drink at their house and they played with Ruby for a bit.

Ruby enjoys her first purse

Last week we met John, Sabrina and Ben for lunch in Huntsville on our way down to Beaumont. They gave Ruby a neat purse toy for Christmas. She loves it!





Now she knows how to reach inside and pull out the trinkets like the little plastic bracelet, lipstick, money, and keys.





And as you can tell from the photos, she even knows how to put lipstick on!

Cute Ruby in a Santa hat

I've been putting the Santa Hat on Ruby when we go out shopping...so cute!

Video - Dadada etc!

Ruby has been babbling for a bit, but now she is becoming more and more verbal!

Here she is chatting away in her carseat...Dadada is the most popular, but we often hear some bababas and mamamas too!

Allan's Graduation

This past Saturday my brother Allan graduated from SFA.



We were glad we could be there to help him celebrate!





After the graduation my mom whipped up some of Allan's favorite foods and hosted a small feast at Allan's house for other visiting friends and family. Here she is in action with the chicken and deer sausage gumbo...



And she also made one of my favorites - PIZZA ROLLS! Yum!



Congratulations on graduating Allan!

Early Christmas with the Goodells

Last Friday we drove down to Beaumont and celebrated an early Christmas with my parents.




My parents gave Ruby lots of beautifully wrapped presents (Ruby loved the wrapping paper and bows almost as much as the contents!) I'm so glad Ruby was able to spend some time with her grandparents on her FIRST Christmas!







My parents gave Ruby this neat snail rocking horse!



And lots of cool educational toys!



Thank you mom and dad for making it so fun for Ruby. I loved seeing her face light up!

Christmasy evening - Galleria and Highland Park Christmas Lights

Late this afternoon we went to the Dallas Galleria for a hot chocolate and a stroll around. We had a nice supper at the La Madeleine near the ice rink and then drove around Highland Park to look at all the Christmas lights.