Notes from Ruby

Oh what a busy week I've had,

Mommy started a new job,

my Grandma's came to babysit, a lot!

I ate carrots, sweet potatoes, and banana's.
Oh banana, how I love you so.

There was a big storm,
we lost power for almost one whole day!
The winds were soooo loud!

I went to the pool again,

I splashed and splashed, and kicked a little too.
I highly recommend keeping your mouth shut when splashing!

My cousin's Nate and Lucca had a birthday party,

I got to swing with the big kids,

cuddle with the family,

and sleep on Mommy!

Sunday was a bridal shower,

it's my second one,

I'm an old pro at these things!

Happy Father's Day

Kevin's first Father's Day was awesome!  We hosted a lunch BBQ for our Dad's, Mom's, JoEllen, Ray and Kaity.  Thanks to Guy Fieri for his Mojito Chicken recipe - wow was it delicious.  Well...  I had a "Mojito fake chicken" meal - but the Mojito glaze is outstanding!  All who ate the real chicken seemed to like it too!

Ruby wore a fun dress her Daddy bought her just after she was born, it's still a little big but she's such a cutie in it!  To celebrate her first Father's Day she had her first non-cereal meal, carrots!  She didn't spit it out and didn't make any crazy faces - she must have liked them!

1st Trip to the Pool

I've been dying to get Ruby into a pool and we finally got her in one tonight.  She loves her bath time and spends a lot of it kicking and splashing.  I hoped she'd like a swimming pool just the same and luckily she did!  She had a great time!

Missing J.J.

Sweet J.J. couldn't fight the cancer anymore.  We miss him greatly.  A few days ago I had Ruby lying on the floor, I was in the kitchen and when I peeked my head out to check on her this is what I saw!  At one point I think J.J. was snuggled between Ruby and Drake, although it didn't last very long, it was so cute to see.

I like to keep the happy and fun thoughts of J.J. fresh in my memory, Kevin and I talked of the things we'll be reminiscing about if a few years, and we'll remember the way he could pick out his "ball of the day" out of a pile of balls that look identical!  He could tell if you threw the wrong ball before he'd take five steps in its direction.  I remember one day watching E.R. with my Mom at her house and he played fetch for the entire episode, and then some.  He loved to roll in people's hair, he'd dive into long or short locks if you were anywhere at his level.  We would classify his gas as silent but deadly.  It seemed like once a year he'd make a doozy of a hot-spot somewhere on his body, this last one left his left butt cheek bald, I called him Two-Cheeks (like Two-Face)!  Like most small dogs, he was a great hoover and prepared to catch anything that fell from our dinner plates!  He had a great radar, a little too great!  He'd notify us of anything in the distance, anything!  He was at times known as Sir Bark A Lot.  Another one of his many nicknames was Tick Tack, because that's what we heard on the hard flooring of the hallway from his nails. 

Love you J!

A Camping We Will Go...

Ruby is a camping star!  Not only did she endure the many seasons of Chicagoland in one weekend, but she battled a thunderstorm with crazy high winds too!  Our first night was hot and humid, the morning brought a light drizzle turn thunderstorm, that afternoon turned out to be nice and fall-like, the evening was cool to cold!  We were just waiting for snow...  ha ha. 


She was great, ate her rice cereal like she was an old pro at being spoon fed, and napped pretty well too.  The nights brought out a different little girl than we're used to at home.  It's our impression that she sleeps through the night at home.  In the camper she slept in between us, slept until 1am at which time she decided it was time to sing to the racoons!  She babbled and sung for 2 to 3 hours each night!  Crazy girl!

Taking Control

Ruby seems to have gotten our independent qualities already, as you can see in the picture below - she felt the need to take control of the spoon during her very first cereal feeding!

Ruby's stats

Ruby had her four month appointment today and all went well.  She is now 13 pounds (35th percentile), 24.5 inches long (59th percentile), and head circumference is 16 inches (39th percentile).  

She'll be starting to eat cereal tomorrow!  Ruby has been talking for the past few days, even during bathtime!  We've been able to get her to laugh too, prior to this her laughs were more like an extended "ahhh" with a smile, but now she's got a giggle.

That's our Ruby!

Dainta & Jason

Ruby has heard a lot about Dainta and Jason, and now has finally met them!  To make a long story short...  Stacy = Illinois to Missouri and the Petsmart Vet clinic back to Illinois.  Dainta = Missouri and the Petsmart Vet clinic, to South Carolina back to Missouri and now to Janesville Wisconsin.  I met Dainta on what I think was her first night at the Vet clinic, we talked, and talked, and talked some more.  Don't get me wrong, we worked too!  Janesville takes Dainta and Jason away from a lot of family members, but oh so close to me!

We try to find meeting places between our two hometowns, this visit was in West Dundee at a pub called Emmetts.  It was so awesome!  Atmosphere was great, food was wonderful, and the company was as always marvelous!  Can't wait for the next meeting!

Ruby was very sad to be leaving them!  Don't worry girl, we'll see them again soon!

Family news and Ruby pictures

Family news:  J.J. has been diagnosed with metastatic neoplasia, which is a cancer that has spread to random parts of his body.  We don't know the original origin, but he has tumors everywhere, internally.  Poor guy is just slow to move around these days, won't take the stairs anymore, he's on pain killers and we're just trying to keep him happy and rested.  He did pop up from the dog bed one day and brought me his squeaky ball, didn't play for long but he played and it was great to see!

As for Miss Ruby, I love this first one of Ruby, she look so innocent and calm.  Well, let me tell you something - or maybe you should hear it from the bebe's mouth!  She is officially a storyteller.  At first they were very serious stories, but now they are occasionally light hearted and fun, but still at times they are secretive and he whispers them.  It's so much fun.  We're getting the camper ready for our first camping trip as a family!

Playing in the camper...

and some outdoor shots...