Ruby's Baby Blessing

So we went to Utah for Spring Break.  We were counting down the weeks and days until we were going, and it seems like it flew by WAY too fast.  Although - when I look at the pictures I took and the memories we made - we did an awful lot with the measly week we had.

The whole reason we went was so that we could have our family around when we blessed Ruby.  We were going to do it here in Oregon, but it seemed to make more sense for us to go down to Utah when we had the time.  
Ruby's blessing day was wonderful.  We woke up, scrubbed ourselves clean, and headed to church.  
The grandpa's happened to be too far apart from each other so Ross kept darting across the aisle to get to each grandpa to hang out during the Sacrament meeting.  Also - I found there is a reason why we should have Sacrament meeting first - for sanity's sake!  Steve's parents' ward has their other two meetings first and ends with Sacrament meeting.  Ross was pretty much done for by the time we got into the chapel.  Unfortunately I had to take him out (as in out of the chapel - don't worry he's nice and safe :) ) while Steve went up with his brothers, my brother, our dads, my grandpa and my uncle to bless Ruby.  He was crying "Daddy hold you!" thinking Steve was leaving.  This was one of those times I wasn't loving how obsessed Ross is with his dad. :)  I got to listen to the blessing outside though.  
Ruby is so special.  I've noticed (as well as many others who have commented to me) that she has especially bright eyes.  She seems to take in her surroundings so deeply - especially if it's a person she's looking at.  She has that innocence and newness about her that I LOVE in babies.  She is so incredibly alert as well.  I feel like she can see right through me - there's no hiding anything from her.  She is such a happy baby too.  She loves to smile and is laughing so much more.  She's pleasant to be around and has turned into SUCH a good night sleeper  (8 1/2 hours last night!!).  She likes to coo and talk and has recently taken a liking to sucking on her right hand.  She's just so fun to cuddle and coo at.  I love having a girl!

She is the most beautiful thing EVER!

We had to adjust her blessing dress because she had gotten just a little too chubby for it. :)  This blanket she's laying on was made by my friend Pam's mom - from Wales.  We used it for Ross's blessing and for Ruby's baby pictures. :)

Happy girl. :)

Her beautiful bracelet and headband were made by my friend Kristen who is so talented!

These were my sister Rachel's shoes she wore when she was blessed. :)

I love the ruffle bum!

Her blessing gave me a lot of comfort.  I know she's going to become a strong woman who will be confident in who she is and know the right from wrong.  There are so many issues today with how the world portrays women and what it expects of them.  I worry so much about her being happy with who she is and not following the bad trends in the world.  I know she will do great things with her life.  I'm so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Priesthood that is on the earth to help guide and direct us to know the right path to follow to find our true happiness and purpose.  I know this is Christ's church and that my life will always be blessed by following our Savior.

After the blessing we went to my parents' and grandma's house for a little luncheon.  We were so blessed to have so many family members be able to come.  I wish I would have had lots more time to visit with them all.  Ruby did really well to with how many people were holding her and me taking seven thousand pictures of her too.  We had delicious food organized by my mother and lots of visiting.  It was a beautiful day and I'm so glad we were able to share it with family.

Uncle Dallas holding Ruby for the first time.

Yummy food.

Lots of fun family here!

My Grandpa and Grandma Grenny were so nice to take the time to come.  Love them!

My Uncle Joe, Aunt Celia, and cousins Aislinn and Cara.

My Aunt Renee and Cousin Amber (who's expecting soon!)

My cousin Ashely and her husband Tyler who are adopting a little girl in April!  So happy for them!

Grandpa Stan finally got some quality time in with his new granddaughter. :)

This little guy tanking in some strawberries and playing with a blue ball.

"Eating!" is what he's telling me. :)

My  Grandma Staheli got some time in with the babe too. :)

Suzy, Maren, and I who served in the Young Women program together in our old ward.  We had SO much fun! (and insanity) :)

We started out as newlywed couples.  Now were starting to expand!  By children I mean. ;)

Uncle Garrett holding Ruby for the first time - her hand looks like she's telling me she needs some bling on it. ;)

LOVE this face :)

Auntie Janae holding Ruby for the first time with Uncle Dallas.

Our best family picture - can you tell Ross wanted to get down?  Steve did a pretty good job keeping a good smile while strapping him down.

My family :)

Steve's family :)

Ross is slowly losing it...

Grams and Gramps with the babe

Her face is classic!  She was NOT happy without her binky by that point - my parents look amazing though. :)  They are so gorgeous!

Some more Grams and Gramps :)

Uncle Nate and Auntie Beka

So Ross and Gramps have the SAME facial expression here :)

Ruby relaxing after the big day with gramps :)

  

Ross's Official 2nd Birthday

When Ross was born, we had no idea what we were in for.  He has been the best kid for us to learn how to be parents.  When we found out we were pregnant with him, I just knew he was going to be a boy and he was going to be adorable.  He definitely is adorable...so stinkin' adorable!  He has had us laughing since he was born from his talking in his sleep (he gets that from his daddy - side note - this morning we had to wake him up, and with his eyes still closed and still half asleep he was chanting "wheaties...wheaties") to how hilarious he thinks the phrase "yucky poop!" is.  He has the best facial expressions and is very determined to make his desires known - and how he feels about it when you don't/can't/won't fulfill those desires.  Right now we're working on NOT throwing toys when we don't get what we want (for Stephen too - he has a problem ;) ).  He is a charmer though...it's hard to not want to fulfill his little desires - especially when they are are easy as "Play!" :) 

Ross as a newborn

Ross's 1st Birthday

Ross's 2nd Birthday - he picked this shirt out to wear for his birthday - little Love Bandit!

I can't believe how fast two years have gone and how big Ross is getting. Ross is now a whopping 29 1/2 lbs - leaving his 75 percentile range to the 63rd.  I think it's because he loves running around so much now.  That kid likes to move. :)  He's 33 1/2 inches tall - 20th percentile range too.  I remember wondering what it would be like to have conversations with him when he was older...and here we are - sitting on the stairs - talking about why we don't throw toys (after which Ross always pops up, says sorry, gives a hug, and with a big smile on his face shouts "Thank - youuuuu!"...we're still working on understanding that time out is a bad thing).  I LOVE the conversations he and I have - usually it's about housework, Ruby, or playing trucks, but I love that we're talking more.  Family scripture study time is becoming more meaningful to me now that Ross is understanding so much more.  I LOVE teaching him about Jesus and what it means to be kind and Christlike.  This is the best kind of missionary work I could ever ask for.  Ross has such a sweet, sharing, loving spirit.  He loves to be helpful and friendly.  He's a bit sensitive to new things and surprises, and he likes to always feel safe.  Ross is very informative whenever we pass any cars or trucks to tell me what kind they are.  He likes to do things as a family and wants everyone to be included.  He dislikes confrontation.  I notice when a kid takes his toy from him, he watches very discreetly until the moment they leave it and then darts right in without a word and takes it right back.  When he gets mad he likes to throw toys of course, or get mad at whatever happened to him e.g. if he trips on the sidewalk - he's mad at the sidewalk.  We're still exploring our feelings and how to show them appropriately. :) He likes to be the one to make the decision so sometimes we have to get creative to get him to comply.  He loves the swings at the playground and digging in the wood chips.  If he remembers a fun memory we had, he loves to recreate it over and over.  We have so much fun getting to know his personality more and more.

Some of Ross's favorites:

Firetrucks

Garbage trucks

Tractors

School Buses

Okay ANY sort of vehicle

Fruit Snacks

Pretzels - especially the rod kind

Pot Pies

Bagels

Pizza

His fire truck sweat jacket (thank-you Grammy Joanne)

His monkey (thank-you Uncle Dallas and Auntie Janae)

His blue blanket

His Cars blanket (thank-you Auntie Rachel)

His crocs he can slide on himself

Playing "Ashes Fall Down" or the "Hugs" game when he runs at full speed and tackles you with a hug.

Lining up his cars and trucks on any flat surface - especially high ones.

Watching home videos of himself - especially with Grandpa Don on the swing and with Grandpa Stan on the lawn mower.

The books No David, The Gruffalo, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Bedtime for Bear, My Big Truck Book, Pete the Cat, The Hiccupotomus, and Goodnight Moon.

The movies Cars, Dumbo, and Stuart Little 2

The TV shows Mighty Machines, Shaun the Sheep, and Mater's Tall Tales

His dad - they are best friends - Ross is obsessively attached...seriously.

Giving his sister Ruby kisses and holding her

Being a helper in anything.

We spent his birthday taking dad to school and getting a birthday bagel - yum!

His choice for breakfast...pretzels - not in a cup - he wanted the bag.

I asked him to say "Cheese!" :)

Birthday bagel - fresh - yum :)

Then we played with his best bud Wesley before having lunch - a quesadilla and crunchies (sugar snap peas) - his choice.  A birthday donut was called for afterwards.

Having a few laughs (and a few goldfish) with his best bud Wes.

Playing a little ball...Ross's turn

Some friendly competition

Now it's Wesley's turn..

This entertained them for a good 15-20 minutes.

Did a little review of the alphabet too

Delish!

All Done...a little sugar overload...

This little lady loves to dress up for birthdays. ;)

A Happy Birthday Smile for Ross :)

After a birthday nap (Happy Birthday to him and me) we went to feed some ducks with some friends...I think the ducks had already been fed or something because they weren't so interested when we showed up.  Oh well - as least we got to see them!

These ducks are not doing what we want!

I think he wants more bread...or leftover green pancakes in our case. Note - he began throwing it to the ducks, and ended up eating the rest himself.  Good thing those pancakes were dyed green and not moldy.

Wes is going to be gone in the summer for a few months - I think they may be planning on how to stay in touch here.

Wes had to go in time out for a minute...Ross thought it looked fun (I've got to figure out how to make time out not fun...).

Ross wanted Pizza for dinner so we picked up Daddy and grabbed a Papa Murphy's.  Ross got the A to Z Learning Zoo from us for his birthday which we have had fun exploring.

Getting some much needed dad time in.

Look at all those teeth!

Keep us laughing buddy!  We love you!

We finished the day off with skyping Grandma and Grandpa Staheli, Great Grandma Staheli, and Uncle Dallas and Auntie Janae.  (We had skyped Grandma and Grandpa White the night before.)    It was a very fun day!

Our lives wouldn't be the same without this amazing little guy.  We love him so much and can't get over how insanely fun he is in our family.  Everywhere I go I get compliments on what a cutie he is and how they want to take him home with them.  I love that I always get to take him home with me.  Happy Birthday my 2 year old little buddy!