Month Three of Ruby

Ruby's third month was an exciting one! She had lots of firsts and got to meet a lot of people who love and care about her.  

This post is extremely picture heavy, but we just had so much fun...

First hoodie...she rocked it. 

First time in the Ergo. Definitely a favorite baby product!

Lots of snuggles with Banjo

First Creole Creamery experience

Another fave baby product....wubbanub!

First time in the bumbo...not a fan. 

celebrating homecoming from afar

First visit to Texas: 

Met lots of friends!!

First Christmas jams

first time to meet Sarah!!

First Halloween!

First sunglasses

Fun at Dano & DDs

First time to the farm

First Thanksgiving

And that rounds up month 3! 

It's amazing how much fun can be packed into a short period of time. We're blessed and grateful!

Thankful

We're wrapping up a very special season in my life, my maternity leave.
As we go into the Thanksgiving holiday I am trying to be very intentional about keeping a happy heart and a grateful spirit even though I have a lot of sadness about the upcoming transition. I am constantly reminding myself that I am so blessed to have had 12 weeks at home with my girl. It has been such an incredible time to get to know her and enjoy her sweet, perfect, delicious babyness. I wish so badly that I could stay at home with her full time and get to witness every smile and coo. I feel guilty leaving her in a daycare where she wont be the center of attention. I feel envious of the mamas who get to stay home with their babies. I feel sad that for the first couple of weeks, when she cries her teachers aren't going to know what's wrong and how to soothe her like I do. It's HARD to leave your baby. Period.
However, with all of these hard emotions there are also feelings of thankfulness for a job that can provide for our family, a job where I get to help people and make a difference every day. I know that by going back to work we are going to be able to save money so that someday we can pay for Ruby to go to college and hopefully make it so she won't have to have thousands upon thousands of dollars in loans like I do. I know that me going back to work is 100% the best option, it's just not the easiest. I am thankful for a husband that has been able to provide for us during these 12 weeks and has been so gracious and flexible with me wanting to take so much time off. I'm thankful for a job that has allowed me 12 weeks off. I'm thankful for the wonderful daycare where Ruby will spend her days. The ladies there are SO excited for her to be there and I know she will be well loved, cared for, and SPOILED (she is going to daycare at the church where Andrew works, so daddy will be available to check on our girl during the day, too...another thing to be thankful for!). I'm thankful for an easygoing baby who I'm sure will handle this transition ten times better than I will. I'm thankful for the fact that I get to come home to family that I love.

As I sit watching football with my sweet husband with my cuddly, sleepy, adorable baby laying on my chest, I cannot help but be completely overwhelmed with thankfulness. I'm soaking up these moments knowing that just because I'm not going to get every second of every day with my girl, doesn't mean every second I do get can't be just as special...dare I say it will make it even more special?

No matter what, I have a crazy amount of love in my heart and it makes me insanely happy...

...and thankful. 

Happy Thanksgiving. 

Halloween Fun

We had a blast celebrating Halloween this year.
We had a few of the boys and some of our friends over for grilling out, trick-or-treating, and s'mores. It was so great. We are very thankful for a great community of friends that love us. We have such a great time together.

Ruby was a baby skeleton. I searched and searched for a cute halloween costume for her and everything was just way too big for our girl. So, we went with a skeleton carters sleeper from Andrew's mom. It ended up being perfect because we also found a skeleton costume for Banjo that was on clearance at Target. Our little skeleton babies were just plain adorable!

Ruby slept pretty much the entire time trick-or-treating, which really ended up being chasing the boys from house to house making sure they didn't get run over or steal too much candy from those people that put the bowl on their front porch with a "please take one" note.

Someone told me once that holidays are so much more fun and exciting when you have children, and it's true!! This year was so different than last year when our group of friends met up at our place near the French Quarter and walked down to Bourbon Street, but it was also so much sweeter. I know it's just going to get more fun from here on out, too!

Family photo attempt #1

Attempt #2...and it's a wrap. 

The babies trick-or-treating. Next year will be more fun and less confusing, babies! 

J'shawn showing off his loot

The Crew...our sweet New Orleans Family

CJ drinking mountain dew on his mountain of candy

More attempts at a family photo...this was the best we got. 

Nolan roasting his first marshmallow 

Some of the guys 

Ruby snuggling with Rachel

Next Holiday...Thanksgiving! Can't wait.

Dear Daylight Savings Time,

You have taken my baby who was sleeping from 11:30-5:30 (yes...SIX hours), and turned her back into the baby that wakes up every 1.5-2 hours.
I find it particularly rude that you just waltz on in and mess up the perfectly good schedule we had going for us.
My poor girl can't catch a break. First the shots, then the trip to Texas, and now YOU.
The whole "gaining an hour" thing just doesn't work when you have a baby. It's actually like loosing about 4 hours if you ask Ruby.
If it was up to me, I would have you fired daylight savings!
You are mean, and I don't like you.

Sincerely,

A sleepy mom