A Dream Come True Tea Party

When I was a little girl I absolutely adored the American Girl Dolls - not all the look-a-like/make-your own dolls.  Back when they had four of them: Felicity, Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly...and then Addie was added later into the group.  My best friend, Terra, who lived across the street, and I would meet up with our dolls - she had Felicity and Kirsten - I had Samantha and Addie.  We would set up our dolls in their dresses and have tea parties galore.  We probably drank gallons of Kool-Aid (I'm surprised my face isn't still stained cherry red) and ate crates of crackers - but we LOVED dressing up, dressing our dolls up, and having tea parties (I had my own little doll tea set that was used frequently).  
We got to go to a couple actual tea parties as girls where we drank herbal tea (as a kid I thought it was very watery apple juice - yuck) and thoroughly enjoyed them.

I was invited to the tea party of a lifetime recently.  A couple of my friends, Kim and Amy, are girly enthusiasts and decided to throw a tea party where we could make our childhood dreams of fancies tea parties come true.  A new friend, Nanette, hosted it in her breathtaking home. (The atmosphere is everything for tea parties I've decided.)  She gave us a tour and we all settled in her gorgeous dining room complete with appropriate tea party background music.  One of my favorite parts was that she provided Tea Party Hats - we all got to feel the part too.  

Jessica, Me, Kim, Michelle, Amy, Kendra, and Marci (I didn't get Nanette! - Boo)  Somehow all the hats fit each of our outfits perfectly - like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants style...but with lots of hats?  Haha - okay - it was a stretch.

We were trying to laugh at each other - I think Michelle and I were the only ones into it. ;)

We got a selection of apple, raspberry, or peppermint tea complete with all the treats we could hope for from cucumber sandwiches to sugar coated grapes(a new favorite of mine).  

See what I mean?  Amazing!

Yes I did have one of each - how many times is a girl going to get to go to a tea party like this?  (I mean until I'm rolling in the dough and throwing these things all the time. ;) )

My teacup.  Hee hee :)

wow - I want to eat this all over again.

I had to put cream in my raspberry tea because I could...delish.

We went around chatting about our favorite places we ever traveled and where we dream to go someday.  It was a lovely time-out from being a mom to re-energize the batteries.  I was SO happy to be invited and missed England all over again after having a lovely proper tea party.  Thanks gals!

Pinkies out!

To all our big dreams!  Cheers!

Hanging Out

Well fate has it in for us that times when we're in need of a professional it happens to be the weekend - AFTER closing times.  Whether it be needing a doctor (seriously - every time our kids get sick!), dentist, hula instructor...okay just kidding.  But we really end up having a need when everything is closed. Our car died on Saturday and we didn't realize it wasn't fixable until after 5:30 when all the mechanics close up shop.  Our wonderful friends Jed and Jen helped us out by loaning us their second car until we could get it fixed today.  5 humungous stars for them!  We'll have to concoct something to give them a big thank-you.
Today has been glorious outside so we basked in the rays for a little bit.  We enjoyed them so much I forgot about doing any picture taking - but we had a little shoot inside after lunch before nap time.  

They are SO excited I got out my camera - this NEVER happens ;)

I think Ruby is already totally over the camera - I have it in her face ALL the time.

Ross is BEYOND over the camera.  Actually this is his real stubborn face when he's telling me "no". ;)

Once mom starts getting goofy behind the camera though - I manage to steal some smiles :)

Cheese!  Look at those teeth!  His last top tooth is FINALLY coming in!

This girl sure is happy :)

Ross's lazy playing on the couch -he fell asleep in nursery the other week - I'm pretty sure this is what he was doing when he conked out.

Ross LOVES holding Ruby :)

He loves giving kisses :)  Look at my 97 percentile baby's belly - SO cute!

Getting both these kiddos to smile AND look at me at the same time - pretty much impossible.

I think this picture is HILARIOUS - random expressions on their faces

Ruby looked in that direction the entire time I tried to get a pic

Ross and Mommy

Girl picture!

Ross saw into the lens and decided it looked like the moon - he's trying to touch it now. :)

Ross wanted to look at the pictures...not have them taken!

He also wanted to put the lid on the camera :)

Silly boy

Can I just say I LOVE my children.  I know saying I have the plural form of child makes me sound old (and I suppose I am aging), but it sure comes with a lot of perks - like having this sort of love in your heart that feels like your body can't contain it because you know your kids are the cutest that ever lived.  I'm sad to be entering the disciplining stage of parenting more, but I love that I get to be one of the parents to do it so I can teach my children how important it is to be kind, hard working, dependable, service oriented, and most of all Christlike.  I LOVE that I get to do that - I think it helps me try to be more like that too.  
I enjoyed teaching and loved my students SO much, but my teaching could only reach to a certain extent.  Having the all encompassing responsibility as a parent makes me feel like I can make such a bigger impact - there is nothing so incredible as being a parent.  It's so stinkin' hard sometimes, but so fulfilling.  I just had to share how much I love it (maybe more as a reminder for me when there are days it doesn't quite feel like my favorite thing and I'd like to run away screaming). :)  The crazy life of a parent!
Ruby has progressed to being VERY interested in her hands and consciously swatting at toys.  Drooling and sucking on her hands are a norm now too.

Ross thinks peek-a-boo is really fun - but you have to SHOUT it to do it right.  It reminds me of Ice Age when the saber tooth tiger tries to play "Where's the Baby" and shouts at him...haha.  Watch Ruby's reaction.

3 Month Old Ruby and a Pouty Ross

I can't believe we're already hitting the 3 month mark.  It wasn't until Ross was 3 months that I started realizing I may be able to get some sleep at night, and it seemed forever until we got to that point.
I love the 3 month phase on in babies - mostly because it means I'm actually sleeping more at night.  Ruby's record is 9 hours - it was absolutely beautiful.  The last few nights I think she's gotten to excited to turn 3 months and has woken up at 5...but she hasn't been dying to eat then - just wants to be social.  We're going to have to have a chat about that - this is not an okay habit to get. :)  
Ruby weighs about 16lbs 4oz now - which is in the 97th percentile.  I think she's proud of her three rolls on each leg - I quite like them too!  She's 24 1/2 inches long which is the 76th percentile and her head circumference is 16 3/8 inches which is the 79th percentile.  This girl is GROWING!  
 

Can you tell she likes her food? :) 

She's pretty fun to cuddle. :)

She's extremely excited that she's 3 months old!

LOVE her smiles :)

She has such smiley eyes - I love it!

I can't get over how beautiful she is - look at those Ruby blues!

A very happy girl. :)

She is getting more and more fun as time goes on.  I can see in her eyes how happy she is all the time - whether she's smiling or now.  She just has smiley eyes I've decided, and very bright.  Multiple people have commented on that about her - that she has very bright eyes - the kind that are pure innocence and it feels like she can see right into your heart.  Oh how I love her Ruby blues. :)  She is a very well behaved baby for the most part.  Even when she gets upset, if you catch her eye and start cooing at her, she'll immediately smile - maybe even give a laugh (like why was I even mad in the first place!) and start cooing right back - side note - her cooing is SO girly - I LOVE it. 
Ruby likes to try to copy what you're doing whether it's sticking out your tongue. shaking your head, smiling, or cooing.  She wants to do it all.  She loves to lay on her play mat and play with her toys - swatting at them is a current favorite.  Another favorite pastime is watching her brother run around acting silly - she gets quite a kick out of that.  When he stops to smile at her she absolutely adores him.  
I've found Ruby is very particular about her eating/burping moments.  When she's done - she's DONE - and will very loudly let me know it.  Burping isn't always her favorite thing, but she's very happy afterwards.  I found out on our Utah trip that she's not so into the bottle anymore.  I've been working on changing that a bit so that I may be able to get out sometime in the future and not be tied to her eating times.  If she's really tired she'll give in to the bottle, but otherwise she tries to spit it out or gag on it - silly girl.
Her current eating schedule usually goes from 6:15AM, 10:30, 1:15, 5, 8:15, and 10:30PM.  I tried going to only 5 feedings, and then she handed me waking up at 5AM...so we're sticking with the 6 feeding times for now.  I was really strict with Ross's schedule, but having two kids has made Ruby's naps not so consistent, but she's a trooper about it.  The afternoon evening naps don't usually last very long, but she's pleasant so I can forgive her for that.  She gets very excited when her daddy gets home and loves having him hold her and have a chat about their days.  I love that my kids love their daddy.  He's such a good one too.

As promised - here is Ross's current face he likes to give me when he's being defiant...it still manages to be sweet doesn't it!  Though the look he's giving tells you he has such a sad life...don't buy it.  This kid picked out his lunch and then he refused to eat it...silly boy.

It starts like this... he's saying "no" in a woe-is-me tone.

It turns into this face....when he sees you're not giving in...

Now he's offended (because apparently it's your fault)...

And he's giving the cold shoulder.

It's just about nap time - this will turn into a happy face I'm sure. :)

Ross is getting more and more fun.  He LOVES running around with his dad - especially outside, or wrestling him.  We've been working on his colors some more.  This kid KNOWS his colors - but he has gotten lazy telling me what is what color - he'll just spout off "blue blue blue!" and then any other random color he can think of.  I found that the way to get him focused was with some fruit snacks....I wouldn't give him one until he told me what color it was.  I am a brilliant mom - and yes he does still know his colors, the little punk.  He still loves counting and realizes when he has two things now - that the numbers actually attach to them.  

Ross when he was 3 Months...

 When we do scripture study, we use the Gospel Art book to make it more exciting - he always wants to turn to the "Owies" aka The Good Samaritan picture.  We talk about helping people with owies and feelings when they feel bad.  He points out the camel, and we say how we want to be like Jesus.  He loves it when we sing Scripture Power, Follow the Prophet, Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam, and I Love to See the Temple.  The first three he loves doing the actions for, and he likes to fill in the blank "temple" when we sing that song.  Oh he's so stinkin' cute - I can't get over him!  He's a little clown too - he loves run around and toss himself down in a silly heap while chattering something random.  He is a COMPLETE chatter box.  I knew he would be with all the grunting he did from the moment he was born.  This kid is talking at me ALL day long!  And I am very much supposed to be focused on this constant conversation all the time - he'll repeat himself over and over until I repeat it back to him.  I am definitely not in want for someone to listen to. :)  
Recently I have come to find that Ross loves salad...actually - he loves croutons - and calls them salad - the lettuce he just calls crunchies and tosses them to the side.  He wants to eat the croutons, but apparently his arms, hands, and fork don't work - so he needs MY fork and MY crouton to be fed to him.  It's like he's a king that needs four servants to serve him his tea.  
Yesterday when I went to get him up I caught him snatching two of his trucks he left on the table next to his crib through the slats.  When I asked him if he wanted to get up he just looked at me and kept whispering "no....bye...no...by".  I think he thought it would be super cool to play with his toys in his bed.  He has so many cars and trucks, I finally went through them and put about half of them away.  He hasn't even noticed.  Figures.

Ross was invited to the photo shoot, but didn't want to smile - just play with his plane.

Just chillin'

Steve is holding out for his last month of classes...I think his brain is on it's last tank - he feels like he's found every nook and cranny to cram information in and nothing wants to stick anymore.  He's still hanging in there though.  
I've been a pretty dang good wife if I do say so myself.  The other day Steve was doing the dishes and couldn't remember where the dishwashing soap was....it had seriously been that long since I asked him to do the dishes.  I've made some pretty delicious dinners too.  So there you go - I'm tooting my own horn.  Actually I wanted to document how silly it was that Steve forgot how to do the dishes since it had been so long...that or he really can't fit any unnecessary information in his brain anymore - to the point that doing dishes no longer required his brain power. :)  

I've been attempting to keep our house up - it seems I do pretty good one day and then somehow the next day a train wreck hits again.  I don't get it.  Maybe someday I'll have it figured out - also - the sun has been out a few times.  The rule always it you stop everything and go outside if it's nice - so I blame it on good weather.  
I have also come to decide that I need a new hair style.  I saw some video of myself and thought to myself - yeah - that hair needs a change.  The sad part it is - I really want low maintenance....I'm not sure changing it can get the maintenance any lower. :)  We'll see.  Steve told me I have to okay it with him before I get it done.  What is it with men and having opinions on how you cut your hair?  I think it's hilarious!  I'll let you know if he okays though.  
In the meanwhile we're just enjoying our tricky two year old and wiggly three month old.