10 Months Old

Backyard Bonfire

I was going thru some old footage from when Ryan and I went to Florida to visit Aaron and Tracy and I came across this video.

This is what happens when two boys who love fire hang out for multiple days in a row.

Swing baby Swing

Ruby had a big day today! It was her first trip to the park and her first time in a swing! She loved it... makes me excited for all the fun we will have this summer exploring outside activities with her.

I didn't have my camera with me, but my friend Heidi snapped this pic with her phone. Thanks Heidi!!

Same Kind of Different as Me

I love love love to read. I've read 4 or 5 great books in the last few months, but I just tore through one book that I simply cannot keep to myself! It's on the NY Times Best-Seller list... and it's a true story to boot! I loved it. I read it in 2 days. I couldn't put it down.

Same Kind of Different as Me

The rumor is that this book will be made into a movie soon - with Samuel L. Jackson playing the role of "Denver". If it's true, I'm pumped.

Lawn Baby

Yesterday the ground was dry, so I decided to see what would happen if I introduced Ruby to the grass in the front yard. Apparently, she loves it!

And of course, she ate some...

Can you see the single, green blade sticking out of her mouth?

Movement

It's only a matter of time before Ruby won't sit by the fridge like this without crawling or walking away. Right now, she loves to play with the magnet man while I make dinner or do dishes.

I'm thankful for this "stationary" phase... and I can tell it's almost over! AHHH!!

Something to think about...

ht: Jeff

Mom Confession

The batteries in Ruby's exersaucer are running out... and I'm not going to put new ones in.

Also, she's been doing a lot of babbling lately. She says "Da Da" constantly... which means she hasn't really made the connection with Ryan as her Da Da - but he loves when she says it just the same. I'll ask her, "Say Mama" and she'll look at me and say "Dada" then act very proud of herself.

Some other milestones include:

• eating finger foods (especially sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, pears, peas and carrots)
• I think she knows what I mean when I say "don't drop that" or "give it to me".
• standing up while holding onto the coffee table or couch (she can't move sideways yet, she just stands there)
• pulling magnets off the fridge while she sits on the kitchen floor
• rolling her hands when we sing "patty cake" (speaking of patty cake, I am still unsure of the right words to that song... )
• She'll try to mimic the sounds that Ryan and I make - especially laughter, which makes us laugh even more.
• She has 2 bottom teeth and thinks its fun to bite her spoon when she's eating.
• She cracks up laughing whenever Ryan plays peek-a-boo with her.

Today after her bath (while her hair was still wet) I managed her first ponytail... it was really hard work and will probably fall out within the hour. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!

Weekend in Boyne

Sometimes a spontaneous weekend trip is needed, so this weekend we went up to Boyne to see our friends Joel and Sarah and their boy Jamus. The weather was chilly, but sunny and gorgeous! Lake Charlevoix is ridiculously beautiful. We also went to Petoskey for an afternoon and walked around downtown. Northern Michigan is really something special. You should get up here sometime!

Ruby and Jamus are friends, friends who like to poke each other in the face. They're 4 months different in age, but weigh the same. We think these pictures will be fun to show them when they're both students at Hope College.

Joel and Sarah are on the verge of owning a beautiful new house, so we tied my camera to a tree in the front yard and took this picture of all of us on the porch.

Such a fun time with dear friends! We're so glad we made the quick weekend trip!

Fantasy of a Future Home Owner

Ryan and I will be first-time home buyers when we're in our 30's. I know, it's kinda sad ( that we're almost in our 30's). We have been renters since we got married - because we've had to move every 3-4 years. After Ryan's fellowship is over, however, there's a great possibility that we'll actually become full-fledged adults who own a home! 5 years away, but very exciting!

Something happened during all of our recent travels... I spent time in hotel rooms watching HGTV while Ruby napped. Let me tell ya, if I got the HGTV channel at home it would not be good because I would spend all my time watching it. I love it!

On our drive from Columbus to Pittsburgh I asked Ryan, "How would you feel about you and me being on the HGTV show "Property Virgins" or "My First Place" when we buy our first house?" His response was all about how those shows won't even be on the air in 5 more years... but that wasn't my point. My point was, "Would you be on an HGTV show with me when I'm on a show?" Seriously! What's it gonna take for me and Ryan to have HGTV's help when we're ready to buy our first house?! Ryan thinks I'm funny for thinking we can just sign up for something like that. I think it makes total sense and I'm going to spend the next 5 years figuring out a way to do it! Talk about a show full of shenanigans!

Don't get me wrong, being a renter comes in really handy when squirrels live in your laundry room...

My other current fascination is with the "YoungHouseLove" blog. It's this newly married couple who are 27 and have fixed-up/updated their first house. Their stories are funny and interesting and help people with Do-It-Yourself tips. They're about to have their first baby (can you tell I feel like they're my friends) and their blog is raking in the dough as their only income, so I feel like I'm helping them out whenever I read. You should check it out too! You can even write in with your design issues and they'll help you figure out a solution. Also, if you are a blogger, you will be inspired to be a better blogger and maybe even do it professionally as your full-time job someday!

For now, I'll be here in my rented house jotting down my ideas for when we own a home someday... and I'm going to paint it and make it real pretty and you can come over and we'll sit on my porch and drink pink lemonade.

HAPPY EASTER!

After church this morning we met up with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Fisher for Easter lunch with the Cox family. Chris and Amanda were there too - but we missed Kyle and Sarah!

Ruby was all dolled up for church, so of course, we had to take some pictures!

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Butterflies... another try

Mom and Dad came up for a visit yesterday, so we headed over to Meijer Gardens to enjoy the best weather in the history of Michigan... Seriously, it was 79 degrees on APRIL 1! It felt like the middle of summer!

Ruby got to see the butterflies again, but it was a much better experience than when we first went to see them... at night... while they were all sleeping. One landed on dad's arm - Ruby was very excited about it.