ten months

and just like that, our little girlie girl is another month old.

and cuter and sweeter than ever.

clapping is her party trick.

she loves to clap and does it a lot. 

she claps if you smile at her, claps if you sing to her, claps if she's happy, claps if you're taking her picture. . . .  the girl claps. :)

ruby started crawling when she was 9 1/2 months old.

she gets around really well but she doesn't go far. 

she likes to be around people. always.

in fact, she cries like you broke her heart if you walk out of her line of sight. 

she's getting more hair and now weights a whopping 16 pounds.

ruby's a contented baby girl and is easily entertained with a few little toys.

she loves her family and gives us hugs & squeezes a lot.

she's also started patted my back when i pick her up.

precious. 

i am soaking it up.

it's a photographic miracle that she has a bow on in these pics.

typically she starts grabbing the bow to pull it off the very second i put it on her.

then she gives me a look like i am nuts for having put it on her in the first place.

break my heart, little girl.

somehow she was distracted and didn't really notice the bow {flower} this time.

whew. crisis averted.

she still sucks her thumb when she's sleepy.

sweetest little thumb sucker i ever saw. 

ruby jane. . . 10 months old and as yummy as ever. . . 

:)

Pin It

hello, wednesday.

hello.
i'm taking this week in slowly.
obviously, since it's already wednesday.  ;)

i'm trying to get back in the swing of things after a fun weekend camping with friends.

our dear friends who live in north india are here for a short visit.
so thankful we made a plan to go camping together so that we could have some intentional, uninterrupted time together.

i love camping.
the boys love camping.
it was so, so great.
also so, so hot.

we made great memories.
the boys loved getting to spend all morning fishing and swimming in the lake.

aj and i don't really know what we're doing when it comes to fishing, but we try our best for the boys.

avery seemed to enjoy it the most.
he sat out there for hours trying to catch one.
he was in his element for sure.

uncle dave taught fin how to clean a fish.
we were enthralled.
fin loves gross stuff and i wanted to learn how to do it for future reference.
i think i could do it. ;)

i love swimming in a lake.
always have, always will.
it's so beautiful and peaceful.

and if you don't have a raft, you can just throw your queen sized blow up mattress in the lake and go for it. {that is not our group with the mattresses, btdub}. {only in arkansas}

i love camp food....s'mores, hobos, roasted hot dogs, anything that tastes like fire really.
there was a burn ban in effect so we couldn't grill out like we planned, but we made the most of it and had a blast.
we even made s'mores in the oven and they were really good!

the kids {especially avery} were obsessed with climbing up the chimney.
they spent a lot of time climbing around those rocks.

i love camping but i also love the feeling of getting home and getting clean and sleeping in my own bed.
also, i've never been so thankful for my ac!


happy weekend....happy memories....yay camping. :)



Pin It

instafriday

hip hip hooray it's friday!
what a weird week, with a holiday in the middle.
i'll take it.

friday means it's time for my weekly round up of camera phone pics.
i have over 2,000 pics on my phone.
i keep deleting apps to make room for all my photos.
i think it's time for an upgrade.....

this is from last week, but i had to include at least one swim lesson pic from this year.
the boys were in the same lane this year at swim ranch.
they worked so hard.
we always love our swim lesson week.

grammy bought ruby her very own floatie.
she loves it and my arms love it. ;)

i bought a couple of living social deals for the sno cone place.
best money i ever spent.
snow cones are my love language.

oh, you know, just a little girl and her super heroes.
this little sister is growing up playing with boy toys.
seriously, she is the cutest little girl i have ever laid eyes on.
we are over the moon, crazy about this little girl.
we can't get enough of her.

it thrills my heart to no end that my midwestern husband now drinks sweet tea out of a mason jar on a regular basis.
you've come a long way, baby.

before, during & after.
oh mercy, i love this kid.
and i love a summer buzz.


what are you up to this week?

link up your phone pics with jeannett @ liferearranged . . .




happy weekend, friends!


Pin It

happy birthday, 'merica.

we had a wonderful, relaxing, perfect fouth o' july.

in the morning, we sweated our faces off at lake fayetteville trail.

we spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing in the pool.

then we hosted a fourth of july party at our house with about 30 friends.
we had ribs and chips and baked beans and potato salad and cake and everything you want at an outdoor pool party.

nothing says partay like a giant blow up slide in your yard.

right after this picture, sawyer started drumming jamaiya's booty with his hands.
i guess it was just irresistible.
and what else are you gonna do when you're waiting in line for your turn on the slide?
not appropriate, sawyer. not. appropriate.

we ended our sweet night with fireworks on a hill overlooking our city.
it was perfect.

so thankful to live in this country and so happy to get to celebrate it with some of our favorite people. :)

Pin It

freezer jam

do you guys make this?
AJ loves his mom's jelly.
she serves it at every meal . . . with fresh homemade bread.
yes, she is amazing.
she makes all different flavors.
lots of strawberry but she does peach and apricot and whatever else she has on hand as well.

it's not hard to make....honestly i just forget.
it's not on my radar.
sorry, honey.
after spending the better part of a week at AJ's parents, {you know when he was in the hospital?} i was reminded how great her jelly is.
and she reminded me how easy it is.
like seriously.

you buy a box of sure jell and a quart of strawberries and follow the directions on the box.
it makes five jars.
it's a good value. :)

you basically just smash up the strawberries....

add a whole bunch of sugar . . . 

don't worry about it....it's going over five jars, remember?

cook the sure jell with water and then mix it up with the strawberries and sugar......

dig around your cabinets and find whatever jars you can find.
i had some leftover canning jars and a cleaned out pesto jar.
you don't have to know how to can or anything like that.
you just pour the jelly in the jar and twist the lid on.
the end and amen.

you can keep it in the fridge for three weeks or in the freezer for a year.
it won't last that long, i can promise you that.

it's so yum. way better than store bought.
:)


happy day, friends! have a happy fourth! 






Pin It

monday rambling.

happy monday morning friends!

hope you all had a lovely weekend.
we had lots of family time.
so thankful for that.
after several really busy weeks, i have been craving some down time.

we pretty much swam the entire weekend.
there's a good chance we are all going to be dark as night by the end of summer.
and that is with spraying each other down with sunscreen every time we swim.

yesterday i started reading tim tebow's book, through my eyes.
i got it for AJ for father's day.
he finished it and put it on my nightstand.
ooooh, it's good.
i'm already hooked.

i just finished reading for women only by shaunti feldman.
that wasn't the most fun read in the world, but really, really good.
if you're married, i recommend reading it.
there's also one called for young women only that looks really good for teenage girls.

we've decided to go back to providence for school next year, fyi.
in case you care.
i'm pretty excited about it.
i'm also gonna have to take some other things off my plate which is hard.
but i'm pretty pumped about having more time with my sweet boys.

are y'all looking forward to fourth of july?
i am.
a day for AJ to be off work is a good day in my book.
ours will be pretty low key.
i'm wondering how ruby is going to handle the fireworks.
plus the fact that she will be up four hours past her bedtime.
we shall see. :)

okay, wanna know who the winners are for the dayspring giveaway?

congratulations to . . .

Renata : redeemed pillow

Jennifer: vintage vase

Cherie: chalk board

okay girls...look for an email from me! 

thank you everyone for entering.

didn't win?......

DaySpring is offering ten of their top selling items at 30% off through July 31^st! Stock up on a few of these great gifts. Use this code at checkout: TOP10SUMMER

okay friends....let's make this a great week!

happy monday!

Pin It

instafriday.

happy friday, friends.

we have had a wonderful, sunshiney, summer week. 

have you joined instagram yet?
it's such a nice little community. i like it.
it's quieter than facebook and twitter.
unless you accidentally click on the popular page.
don't do that. it gets weird.

this week has been pretty low-key.

sooooo nice.

i need weeks like these.

i crave these relaxed summer days.

it's good for my soul. :)

little sister is 10 months old.
hopefully i'll get her 10 month pics done this weekend.
she's ever so slightly starting to accept solid {not pureed} foods.
she had her first blackberries this week.
she mostly just played with it, but i'm pretty sure that some of it got down the hatch. :)

we have a garden!
we don't really know what we're doing but we're trying.
it is so fun to see our seeds become real plants.
i lovelovelove tooling around in our garden.
finley loves it too and gets just as excited about every little bit of growth.

there is a moment every afternoon when i get the little ones down and the big ones situated for quiet time and i take a deep breath and a sigh of relief.
like . . . i made it to nap time.
it usually feels like a marathon up to that point.
always a fun moment.
the boys have been doing alone time every afternoon for an hour right when the littles go to bed.
mama needs alone time too.
and bonus, we're knocking out the summer reading list!

i just love these sweet girls.

we all love the water.

ruby is a splashing fool.

meliyah is going to be a fish by the end of the summer.

she is coming along so well with getting comfortable in the water.

happiness.
new flavor of la croix.
taco salad.
valentina.
yummmmm.

j.o.y.
those cheeks.
i die.
ruby has been such a trooper hanging out in the 105 degree heat during the boys' swim lessons.

he's growing up.
my first born has seemed so mature this week.
nine and a half. craziness.
i'm crazy about him.

what are you up to this week? 

any big plans for the weekend?

i'm planning to get $1 flip flops from old navy. exciiiiiiiiiting. 

join the instafriday partay over at jeannett's! 

Pin It