12 Months

When you have a newborn people love to tell you how quickly time will pass & how you should enjoy every fleeting moment because one day you'll look back & wonder where the time has gone. That day has come which will be followed by many more & the only way for me to really describe it is bittersweet. And the thing is, no matter how much you enjoy those moments, the time still flies. It seems as if in a blink the baby Ruby is gone forever. There are so many things I want to teach this daughter of mine & I thought every year on her birthday I would write down some things that I want her to know.

1. Be a strong & feminine woman - these two characteristics blend beautifully.

2. Always write thank-you notes. Feeling gratitude is good, expressing it is better. 

3. Paint your nails. It will make you feel good & it leaves a solid 10 minutes where you are incapacitated. 

4. Your story is miraculous & that is no accident. You have great things in store for you so be ready for them.

5. Marry someone like your dad, it will make for a happy life.
It's unbelievable how at the moment Ruby was born she stole our hearts forever. That child of mine will never fully understand what she has meant to us. She healed my heart & filled a void that for a long time seemed like it would never go away. This has been the best year of our lives & every day we feel so incredibly lucky to call her ours. Happy Birthday baby girl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

iPhone Photo Update

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



It's Good to Be Ruby

If you ever want to have your faith in humanity restored, just take a baby out in public with you. Grown men will fawn, women will play peek-a-boo during a long wait in line, children will stop to say hello, & people will ask you questions & will be genuinely interested to hear your response. They will come out of the woodwork equipped with baby talk & endless compliments. A while back Tyler came home from the grocery store with Ruby & he told me that an elderly woman in line who couldn't speak tapped him on the shoulder & handed him a dollar while pointing at Ruby. Sometimes I'm just in awe of the kindness of total strangers. And sometimes I worry that little girl of ours will be spoiled absolutely rotten with all the endless attention she gets. But it is nice to know that Tyler & I aren't the only ones that are complete suckers for that baby.

 

Ready to Adopt!

Check out our adoption profile here. Please help us spread the word & put our adoption button on your blog or a link on your facebook page. We'll take any & all of the help we can get! When I looked at our profile online for the first time a flood of memories came back to  me. Our first experience with the process of adoption was a little rough & I felt like we would often get our hopes up only to be let down. But we were absolutely overwhelmed with the love, support, & prayers we received from friends, family & total strangers. So this is me asking for help, which I absolutely hate to do, but I'll do just about anything to get our next baby home. And this is me saying, "thank you" in advance. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. 

The Small Stuff

Tonight as I was busy in the kitchen with Ruby on my hip I noticed her eye kept catching the kitchen faucet. So I took her over to have a better look & sat her on the counter & turned the water on. As I ran my hand under the water she looked at me with widening eyes & then decided to try it for herself. She giggled with delight every time the water touched her hand & before long both of us were laughing. She kept looking at me like this was the most amazing thing I just taught her. By the time I turned the water off we were both pretty wet as well as the counter & kitchen floor but she had the biggest smile on her face. I think the little things like this might be my favorite thing about being a mom. Small moments like when Ruby & I were in the store recently & something struck us both as being funny & we both just looked at each other & started laughing. That little girl still takes my breath away & reminds me of the beauty of living in the "now".

That girl is trying to climb everything right now.

Life Lately

I leave the piano open now so Ruby can crawl over whenever she wants & pull herself up to play. She's so proud of herself & looks at me for approval every time she presses a key. She is so mischievious throughout the day & is into everything & starting to climb but it's funny how something like this makes me forget about all that. Motherhood is anything but boring.



Almost There

We're just about ready to put our adoption profile back up and begin the process again for our next baby. Our friend came over yesterday and took some pictures of our family for our profile. I love that they were taken at our home & it all feels very "us". I'm trying not to even think about another baby because I know the chances are we'll wait a while before getting one. But every now & then I let myself entertain the idea & it makes me a little giddy. I love babies more than about anything & the thought of having another one in our home seems almost too good to be true. Almost.