They're Here!

Our family pictures came in today. I know I recently plugged Koni Frost's photography business, but I feel like I should do it again. She's a great artist and we really love her work. Here are some of my favorite pictures (choosing them is quite the ordeal, because there are so many good ones):



Ruby looks like a Baby Gap model in this one. Too cute!



Notice the Vivace pink sequenced headband? I couldn't resist...



I'm thinking about enlarging this and hanging it over our fireplace.



This is my other choice for our enlarged family portrait. I'm torn...



Typical Ruby and Scout-- poke and avoid.



I love the look of pure joy on Ruby's face. She's a real Daddy's girl.



Look at that sweet toothy grin-- precious!



My baby is looking so grown up.

Sneak Peek

Just in case you're like me and you can hardly wait to see the pictures we took last Saturday, here's a sneak peek. (Isn't Koni Frost AmAzING?!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her work-- totally worth the splurge.)

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home

On Friday night Brandon got home from a 10 day business trip. Needless to say, he was anxiously greeted at the door by Scout, Ruby, and myself.



We had a great time together this weekend.



On Saturday afternoon we took family pictures. Later that evening we called our favorite babysitter and splurged on a nice romantic sushi dinner (in honor of Valentine's Day, of course).




Sunday the weather was so beautiful that we were able to go for a walk and play outdoors with Ruby and Scout.





She is attempting to walk on her own and usually gets around the house by cruising or scooting (which she has found is much faster than crawling).





Since yesterday was President's Day Brandon didn't have to work-- lucky for us!

We celebrated by spending some time at the aquarium, which was the perfect size for Miss Ruby.





Daddy insisted that he hold her through out most of the aquarium. She loved every minute of it and repeatedly made the sign for fish.





Admission includes a ride on the train (that goes through the shark tunnel), ferris wheel, and carousel. Ruby was surprisingly brave. She didn't cry on any of the rides, but approached each adventure with a stoic little face-- just like Daddy when he's unsure about new things...too cute!



BTW, our trip downtown was also the inaugural use of her new "big girl" car seat. She looks very grown up, doesn't she?

I got it from my mama

When Ruby was first born everyone thought she looked just like her daddy.

Here's a picture of newborn Brandon:


Here's a picture of newborn Ruby


Now that she's growing up I think her resemblance to her mama is much more apparent, but I'll let you be the judge...

Me on my first birthday:






Ruby on her first birthday:






And, just for fun...

Celebrate the little successes!

Ruby ate about 5 goldfish crackers yesterday! When I say ate I mean she actually chewed and swallowed them. Yay for progress! Maybe she will come around to eating table foods in the near future...

Body Image

Disclaimer: If you don't like reading long, picture-less, some-what personal posts skip this one.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about body image. For those of you who aren't aware, I have struggled with weight related issues for the majority of my life. I was a chubby kid and when I was in high school I lost a lot of weight (in a pretty unhealthy way). Since then I gradually gained back the weight I lost (and then some). For years it has been a consuming issue for me-- constantly in the back of my mind-- making me anxious, depressed, and even hate my own body.
Not long after Ruby was born I had an "a-ha" moment (to borrow a phrase from Oprah). I remember looking at her and thinking how beautiful she is. I was struck by the thought that someday she'd turn into a teenage girl who hated her body and it really hurt me. I started to cry and said a prayer that she'd always remember to see herself as I do, as her Heavenly Father does; that she'd be grateful for her 10 fingers and 10 toes; that she'd find joy in walking, and running, and playing; that she'd feel good in her own skin; and that she'd see her body as a gift from God to accomplish great things.
Not long after that I found myself on my knees asking for the same thing for myself. How can I teach my daughter to appreciate her body and have a healthy self-image if I don't?
So, here I am trying to live a healthy lifestyle. I don't like to talk about it much; partly because it is such a deep-rooted issue for me and partly because I don't want to jinx my success. Since August I've lost about 30 pounds and made exercise a weekly habit. I still have at least 30 more pounds to lose before I'm at optimum health, but I try not to think about it much because this is about so much more than losing weight. This is about taking care of myself, enjoying the beautiful gift of health before I'm too old to crawl on the floor after babies and hike 10 miles with my family. This is about setting an example for my daughter. But this is also about learning to love and accept who I am. Let's face the facts: I will probably never fit into those size 5 jeans (that are hiding under my bed) again; and even if I do I will always have pregnancy stretch marks. My skin will start to wrinkle in the next few years and the girls will continue to go South (if you know what I mean). But, I refuse to spend the rest of my life looking in the mirror hating what I see. It seems like such a miserable way to exist.
This is a journey--it will probably take me a lifetime to figure it out, but for right now I like where I am and I like where I'm going.

12 Month Stats

Today Ruby Roo had her 12 month well check. Here are her stats:
weight- 20 lbs (30%)
height- 29 1/2 inches (70%)
head- 18 inches (75%)
I guess she got the long and lean Linford genes, which sounds like a good deal to me!



She still doesn't believe in eating table foods. We give her everything under the sun and eat at the same time as her to encourage not just tasting, but also chewing and swallowing. She hasn't caught on... She tries almost everything we give her, but spits it out or pulls it out not long after it ends up in her mouth. Apparently, this is normal behavior for babies. The doctor says that some kids will eat pureed baby foods until they are 24 months. At that point we should worry about it, until then we're supposed to keep doing what we've been doing. If we're still concerned at her next check up we can have a therapist come to the house to perform some tests and watch her eat, just to rule out a speech disorder. Hopefully it won't come to that.



In other news, she is really coming into her own. She loves to climb (in boxes, on chairs, on piles of laundry, etc) and rummage through the paper recycling box. She also LOVES to play catch and throw the ball for Scout (he isn't as thrilled about this as she is of course). She gets really excited about the stuffed animals in her crib, so we typically wake up to the sound of her playing instead of screaming (awesome improvement). One of her favorite activities is to bring Mommy or Daddy a book and "read" it with us. She especially likes the touch and feel book her great aunt Carol sent her. Every week or so it seems like she picks up a new baby sign. This last week she started to make the sign for baby (usually when I sing or play the baby signing time song). I don't know if I dare say it-- I might jinx myself-- but she has actually become a decent napper. She typically takes a morning and afternoon nap every day (each last between 1.5-2 hrs). I hear that most one year olds give up a nap soon after their birthday...that will be a sad day for Mommy.



We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful, healthy baby. She really is our little ray of sunshine and we feel incredibly lucky that Heavenly Father sent such a sweet little person to our family a year ago.

Party Animal!

Wow, Ruby Doo is one year old! We can't believe that it has been a year since we first held her in our arms.



Since she has been such a wonderful addition to our lives it was only fitting that we celebrate-- twice!



Ruby's first b-day party was a combined play group party. (Ruby has a group of baby buddies who were all born with in 10 days of each other last January.) Instead of a normal play group we decided to have a family bbq.



Carrie (Benson's mom) made adorable decorations, Rose (Lily's mom) made the cakes and matching onsies for the babes. Cameo (Eli's mom) helped out with the food and drinks and somehow we got lucky and only had to host and grill up the chicken.



It was so much fun to watch the kiddos dig into their cakes, crawl around the house (except for Benny-- he's walking), and visit with our friends. It was a great way to celebrate a year of friendship.



Then last weekend my mom flew down to visit and we hosted a "family" b-day party.



Since my mom was here we went all out and made adorable decorations and mountains of food (yumm...cafe rio style taco salads!).







I even stayed up until 3:30 the night before perfecting a dvd slide show of pictures from the past year. It was totally worth it, though-- so fun to look back on!



Unlike the week before, Ruby didn't get really excited about her cake. In fact, she cried when my mom smashed her hand into it.



I guess we should have planned the party around her nap time instead of right in the middle of it...(note to self for the future!) Other than the cake situation she had a great time.





Her little buddies helped her unwrap her presents and play with them. It was fun to watch the kids interact and visit with the adults.







As I looked around the room that evening I was reminded of how blessed I am-- a beautiful healthy baby girl, awesome family, and great friends...life doesn't get much better than that. It was truly a reason to celebrate!