May.

May was a ridiculously crazy-busy month. 

Hence, no blogging. But it was such a fun month it deserves to be documented! I figured out that I was home for like 10 days in May. It was a fun month. 

Here is a smattering of what we did based on Instagram photos. Can I just say that I love Instagram? It's so convenient to just whip out your phone and take a photo. 

And thank goodness for Instagram or I'd have forgotten a lot of the stuff that happened in May! 

massachusetts = land of dunkin * there's no place like grandma's home * hanging out with grandma* little girl in a little chair
little girl with a big cookie * our hair loves humidity * ruby's first time walking on the beach * my all-time favorite ice cream
lawson tower * ruby and her grandma * brewstah stowah * sushi for the first time
love the beach * ice cream stop * pie stop * lousia may alcott's house

boston temple * lazy afternoons * ruby is the cutest * grandma and uncle sam
we spent a lot of time stuck in traffic * ruby channeling the little mermaid * summertime crafts * beauty
more summertime crafts * carrot cake * great gatsby * kissing the ducks in the public garden
this girl makes messes * love love love thrifting * american cookie history * ruby's first carousel ride

ruby turned ONE * and slept through her birthday * sold my first etsy painting * more time in the car
elephant fountain * slurpee run * family dinners * viva las vegas
got my hairs cut * reading * ruby's amazingly mobile for not being able to walk * swings!
ruby's very cute birthday cake * bridal shower for britty * dan's new do * love these two
neon graveyard * raising cane's * beatles love * ruby's such a trooper

Ruby - Twelve Months

Well...We made it to a year, folks! And my goodness, I am so glad I don't have to do these monthly updates anymore! Even though I love looking back at the pictures (see below) it grew more and more difficult to actually get the pictures and post done! Not to mention the fact that Ruby no longer cooperates during a photo shoot where she's supposed to be still on her back. Hence the sitting up picture. The headband also does not fit her head anymore. And to think it was so big that first month! It's crazy to see how much this little girl has grown in just a year. I can't imagine a happy life without her. 

also, who knew the same blanket could look so different in this many photos! 

Monthly Stats: 

Weight - 17lbs 8oz. She is really feeling a lot heavier lately! I know most babies are heavier by this point but she is getting tough for me to heft around! I no longer can hold her when she's strapped in her carseat. 

Diapers - Size 3 (she'll be in this size until she's potty-trained I'm sure) Also, have you heard of Overnight Diapers? We used them when we were traveling last month because she kept leaking all over me. That's another story though. 

Clothes - She's all over the place but that's pretty normal by now. Yesterday she wore a 6Month dress and it kind of looked like a romper. 12-18 Month clothes still are pretty big on her but I am excited for her to fit into them because she has A LOT of cute ones waiting for her! 

Likes - creeping along the furniture, dogs, working on blowing kisses, taking walks with mom & dad (it's summertime now!), playing with toy cars, hugging her dollies, playing peek-a-boo with her feet (see below)

Dislikes - getting shots, getting her teeth scraped for tartar, falling over, and accidentally eating rotten egg jelly bellies. these things all happened on one very bad day.

peek a boo

ruby roo on the lawn

dan was weeding in the planters and i brought ruby outside. she'd just woken up from a nap - hence the super pink cheeks. she was so cute. i don't know if you can gather it from the pictures, but she loves clapping and waving. i love this girl so much it's not even funny. 

Ruby - Eleven Months

Ruby Roo. Look at You. You are almost ONE!

 I really can't believe how fast this year has gone by. 

Monthly Stats:

Weight - She had an ear infection this month and when we took her in to the doctor, she was 16lbs 8oz. Ruby had a rough couple of weeks with ear infections :(

Diapers - Size 3. But, I'm afraid that they're actually too big..

Clothes - Still all over the place but she is definitely more towards the 12 Month sizes. She is so long that she needs the length, but so thin she is usually swimming in the larger sizes. I'm not sure what is worse - short clothes or wide clothes! 

Likes - waving at everyone, dogs, brushing her teeth, cookies or anything chocolate (she looses her mind over costco chocolate muffins), playing peek-a-boo, "that's not my puppy" book, sitting on the lawn and amoxicillian. 

Dislikes - ear infections, getting her diaper changed and getting strapped into her carseat. 

Love you little Roo! 

dandyroo designs

recently, i've been making a lot of these little temple watercolors. they are so fun. 

i've been getting more and more requests for them so i finally decided to open an etsy shop. 

it's called dandyroo designs.

(which is a mash-up of dan, candace, and ruby)

come on over and see the shop! you can purchase any temple paintings through the etsy shop now. 

(or you want to do an art swap...just email me!)

here are some of my paintings:

the sound of music

picture from here

I've talked about it before, but I LOVE The Sound of Music. 

I think this movie is perfect. I love the costumes. I've still got to recreate some of the costumes for either me or Ruby. They are beautiful! I love the scenery of Salzburg and the VonTrapp Estate is beautiful. Not to mention the Hills! Oh, and The Captain! Really, this movie is wonderful. If you haven't seen it in a while, add it to your list! 

I couldn't find the source for this collage - but isn't it fun!?

Ten on Tuesday

picture from here

1. Have you read Gretchen Rubin's "Happier at Home"? I enjoyed her first book, "The Happiness Project" but am really loving this second book. I am about half way through, and it's great! I'm also reading a book for April's Book Club: "The Shoemaker's Wife". I'm only one chapter in and it's like 450 pages so it will take a while...

2. We had grass installed in our yard a couple of weeks ago and I cannot believe how much of a difference grass makes.  We painted our front doors and I potted some flowers in two identical pots. I love spring. I love our house.

3. Ruby pretty much has all four of her front top teeth in. It amazes me how grown up she looks. And it makes me sad. My little girl is growing up way too fast! Also, she has discovered that she loves brushing her teeth. Like, I can't take her in the bathroom without her whining to brush her teeth.

4. We are supposed to get some family pictures taken soon but it keeps raining! I'm so excited for them though - my friend is a really talented photographer!

5. Lately, I've been really wanting to go to the Thrift Stores in Salt Lake and finally went today! I've said it before: I hate shopping in Utah. But, I found some good things and am excited to go back! Does anyone else like Thrifting? Am I weird on this one?

6. In an effort to watch less TV, the Simon & Garfunkel Pandora Station has been on pretty much non-stop.

7. Dinner was a total bust tonight and that made me sad. I made Chicken and Rice Soup because it was really rainy and cold. It was supposed to be good but it was awful. Dan was a trooper and ate two bowls - after he added Barbecue Sauce (!)

8. I probably really need to start running again. I really don't want to, but I probably need to. So I guess I'm in the market for a jogging stroller or something.

9. One of my Spring/Summer Bucket List things is to go to the Sweet's Candy Factory Tour in Salt Lake. I love Candy. I love Factory Tours. Perfect.

10. General Conference was this past weekend and this was probably my favorite talk. Dan was taking Ruby on a walk around the block so I was actually able to sit and listen without distraction. I loved everything she said and felt such a greater sense of responsibility towards the little daughter I have. I need to read the whole thing again.

easter 2013

Ruby's First Easter was a success! She had a cute dress, a fun basket and a pair of bunny ears. How could you go wrong?!

we have 9am church, so ruby got her basket after the 3-hour block! that's why she's in her easter dress!

 

this picture melts my heart. she pulled out peter rabbit and immediately hugged him. sooooo cute.

 

holidays are so much fun with kids! next year, we will definitely do an egg hunt and it will be awesome!

Ruby - Ten Months

We've reached double-digits, people! Ruby is getting so big! It is a good thing she's almost one because these monthly updates are hard! I am pretty good at taking the pictures right on her birthday but getting it up on the blog is another story! 

I would say the big thing with Ruby this month has been teeth! Over the last month she's had *four* top teeth come in. Pretty much all at the same time. She's been a sad, slobbery, snotty mess. But those teeth look really cute. 

This month, Ruby has also discovered her love of dogs. I am not a dog lover. But we've been to four pet shops just in the last week and on countless walks to look for dogs around our neighborhood. Ruby makes this little growling noise whenever she sees a dog or we talk about one. I really should try to get that on film...

Ruby still isn't crawling. At all. She is pretty good at supporting herself by standing against the ottoman and seems to enjoy it. I half-expect her to just take off running one of these days. 

Ruby has got "dadada" down! We will walk into Dan's office and I'll say "Ruby say 'Hi' to Dada!" and she'll wave and say "dadada" and then try to get all of the knick-knacks and stuff he has on his desk. Dan jokes and says that Ruby doesn't really like him, she just likes all the stuff he has. Whenever there's something she wants she'll point and say "ba". She says "ba" a lot.  

Monthly Stats: 

Weight - At her 9-Month Check Up, she was 16lbs 3oz. 10th percentile. (Told you she was little!) She's getting a bit heavier, I think (and looking way too grown-up). 

Diapers - Officially in Costco Size 3. 

Clothes - Still all over the place. She wore a 0-3 Month dress as a top this week (which was a good thing because she never wore it as a dress). I've been dressing Ruby is a lot more skirts and dresses during the week now that it's getting warmer. I love little girls in skirts! I'm thinking of sewing her some skirts because they're so simple. 

Likes - DOGS, books (especially touchy-feely ones), strawberries, peas, marshmallow peeps, going outside, bathtime, anything in daddy's office that she's not supposed to touch and waving. 

Dislikes - getting grown-up sized hats put on her head (seriously screamed like someone was pulling her teeth out), being in her car seat at all and anything coming in contact with her nose/nostrils. 

Ruby stop growing up so fast! Where has my little baby gone!? Like, seriously: