Isn't she lovely...

I took a photography class a few weeks ago and have been playing with my camera....

LOVE THIS LITTLE GIRL!!!! 

AND I realized I haven't blogged about my sweet RB in FOREVER!!!  She's a few months shy of 3 and I'm not sure I've really given an update!  So, here it goes!!!

Ruby Belle is the sweetest big sister...but does fight over toys.  AND Beckett puts up a pretty darn good fight!  She also is turning out to be a good little swimmer...well, progressing (and something tells me that one day she'll be a little fishy - maybe it's in the genes?!)  She's got sass that can out sass a tween and looks that could kill.  She is SO strong-willed and tests her limits and us daily!  BUT we LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE our little girl!!!  She is so fun and loves to play.  I can really see her imagination starting to blossom (she has imaginary friends I think, and she often plays in bed at night, talking away to her stuffed animals and baby dolls.)  She can be SO serious though!!!  She's my silly ball of seriousness!!!

Easter 2012

Easter weekend was so perfect here in Shreveport!  The weather was beautiful and we had a lot of fun with the kids and family!!  

Ruby Belle with her Easter basket! 

 

Beckett enjoying the fun!  (This is only the beginning of what your sister is going to do to you sweet man!)

 Hunting for eggs with Pops! 

 And a little help from Aunt Steph (and baby Tilly)! 

  Beckett and Uncle Ty watching from the sidelines!  

I just loved this one...side shot of my brother and my son...and I LOVE that face that Beckett is making! 

 Bear crawling at it's finest....this boy is on the go! 

 This was most of the looks we got from this girl!!  Serious and determined to find candy.

Each time she would shake the egg and open it and scream, "my can-y!" if there were candy in it or if it happened to be empty then she would just toss it on the ground! She did use a little of her sharing skills after all eggs were found and the loot was determined!  She would open an egg and share the candy or cookies with the rest of us!  

LOVE this little man!! He had so much fun playing in the grass! 

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful day and family to celebrate the resurrection with!  

Hope everyone had a wonderful and joyous Easter!

A walk in the park

I love these kids!!!

5 months...do they look alike?

sometimes they look SO much alike...but sometimes not. What do you think?!

Halloween 2011

This is SO SO SO late!!! so, here's Halloween!!! We went over to our friends, The Taylor's house to help pass out candy, take Ruby Belle trick-or-treating on one of the busiest and friendliest streets in town and just to hang out with friends! Ruby Belle had a great time trick-or-treating (she and daddy dressed up! I just took pics!) and Beckett stayed at the Taylor's house with Uncle Ty, Aunt Stephanie and all the friends to pass out candy. Here are a few shots!!

She was a little weary at first, but daddy helped her along!

Then we ran into her bestie, Evie, and she took control and led the way!!!
SO much fun!!!

Someone is 2!!! Guess who?!?

Ruby Belle turned 2 on September 16th, 2011. and yes, this is LATE! Like I said...still trying to adjust to work /life and family balance with 2 kiddos :-)

We had a fun little get together with just our family. Justin's parents were in town so we had them, my parents, and my brother and sister-in-law over for dinner and cake and ice cream at our house. Poor Ruby Belle got sick and threw up during her party, but quickly quickly recovered enough to open presents and eat cake!!

Overall, it was a great day! I cannot believe my little girl is 2!!! I didn't know it was possible, but I love her more and more each day. She's talking up a storm now (although, it's still tough to understand a lot of what she says)! Sentences are just mumble jumble sometimes, but she usually gets her point across! She also has gotten into the habit of putting her hands on her hips and walks with a little sass sometimes!! Cute now...in a few years...maybe not so much! ha! She really is a sweet, sweet girl, who LOVES to laugh! She is a typical 2 yr old and has her moments at least a few times a day with a temper tantrum, but she's still so easy to love!!

Look-alikes?

So, do you think they look alike?!?

I know...all sleeping babies look kinda alike...

so check out the below!

they both have "mean faces"

and both are just cute...

my first day with 2 kiddos

Beckett is a little over 2 weeks old now, and this past Friday was my first day with both kiddos by myself. Ruby Belle has been going to daycare during the week and I, of course, have had Justin here to help on the weekends. But today we had a doctor's appointment for both kids - Beckett for a 2 week check up and Ruby Belle for shots. BUT, thankfully enough we had this appointment scheduled in advance because Ruby Belle came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. (I really want to show pics, but I'm saving you all from that...I'd hate to be censored for showing pics of my babies booty! just trust me...it looked brutal!)

F.U.N.

She'd had a rash on her diaper area for a few days that I thought may be just some bug bites...but Thursday night I noticed that it had gotten worse while she was at day care, so I knew it wasn't bites. At this point, I just thought it was "just a rash" and would ask the doc about it at our appointment. Well, Friday morning it was worse and I noticed it on her hands and feet. Immediately, I "Googled" hand, foot and mouth and knew that it was the real deal. CRAP! A toddler at home w/a newborn...and how was I going to prevent her from passing this along to Beckett!??? EEK!! She had already violated every "precaution" I read about. She LOVES to kiss him!!

anyway, the doc confirmed the diagnosis and we all spent the weekend plus Monday inside trying to keep our hands clean and Ruby Belle's saliva away from Beckett.

Thankfully, (crossing my fingers and saying my prayers...) Beckett shows no signs of HFM yet. Praying.

I must say, though. I have always had an appreciation for SAHM's. NOW, that appreciation is even stronger! How does a sleep deprived mom ever function w/a newborn and a toddler at home...w/only a small hope of an afternoon nap?!?!?!?

Quick Catch up: Belly Pics and more pics!!

the last few pics of my belly...

32 weeks

34 weeks

37.5 weeks

And a few randoms of Ruby Belle over the last few weeks/months...

4th of July - Firecracker 5k

Swimmin' at Uncle Ty and Aunt Stephanie's!

Ready to go swimming, eating the breakfast of champions...Caramel rice cakes!!

relaxing after a long day of swimming/playing

She dressed herself...She can't get enough of these boots!!