Overdue! Oma and Nancy Pay a Visit

This is a long, overdue post.  But, there are lots of pictures....enjoy!

It was a great visit with Oma (my mom) and her BFF, Nancy, here visiting for a week from New England.  

Almost every day, we went somewhere new and fun, like lunch at Tea Room in Port Gamble.

Did I mention we got to wear some crazy hats?  I think mine wins for being the biggest.

Although it was cloudy out, Port Gamble was beautiful and as cute as ever.  We made sure to grab some pics by the water.

We went to another tea room in Port Orchard, but only after visiting Debbie Macomber's yarn shop.  Nancy is a talented knitter and picked up a few patterns.  Both of them have read Debbie Macomber books, so it was a fun stop for them.  I longingly looked over the beautiful yarns and patterns, but unfortunately I have no talent for that kind of handiwork. 

We also rode the ferry into Seattle, which is always a fun adventure.  And for once, we didn't have to run to catch it! Ruby was in a great mood and enjoyed hanging out with Oma.

In the city, we mostly toured Pike Place Market, which was busy, but not unmanageable.  I like having the stroller, actually, because I can easily push my way through crowded areas.  Plus, most people are pleasant towards a baby.  Ruby was not lacking in attention while riding in style. 

PPM is always so full of life.  My favorite booths are the flower stalls.  They always make me so happy.  As you can see, the tulips are now in season and come in just about every color imaginable.

I had to take a self portrait by them.  Yes, I know....I'm kind of a dork.

Nancy treated me to a bouquet, which I gladly accepted.  It was hard to choose, since they were all so fun and full of personality.  I ended up choosing a bouquet with vibrant pinks, purples, and yellows.  They looked perfect in the entryway at home.

I took this pic of Ruby while the grandmas were buying some smoked salmon for dinner.  She was so happy during our outing.  I think she liked all the excitement around her.

We snapped a mother-daughter pic at the ferry terminal.  Wow...do we look related or what?

 On Saturday, it was gorgeous out, so we toured the Poulsbo Farmer's Market.  We went home with locally raised beef fillets and basil plants.  It was a perfect day to be outside!

Mom and Nancy also helped me with some garden projects.  Look at all the new flowers!  My back porch area is looking so colorful now. 

In fact, some of our best times were at home.  I'm glad that Ruby got to spend lots of time with Oma and Nancy.  Since we live across the country and don't get to see family very often, it's important to us that Ruby get lots of quality time when they are here.  Thankfully, she did.

Ruby didn't shy away from hamming it up for the camera.

Of course, neither did my mom.

Here we all are after church: Julie, Noa, Ruby, mom (Oma), and Nancy.

We now have three generations of women in our family.

Thanks for the wonderful visit, mom and Nancy!  We had so much fun with you both.  We can't wait to see you again this summer!

5 Months!

Ruby is now 5 months old!

Age: 5 months

Weight: 11 lbs, 5 oz

Length: 25 inches

Sleep: sleeps in her crib now, wakes about every 3 - 4 hours, but has had one 5 hour stretch; typically takes 2 - 3 naps each day

Eating: breastfed with supplemental formula

Appearance: blue eyes, blond hair (still has that bald spot on the back of her head!), still skinny, but is a little more filled out, dimples, wearing 3-month and some 6-month size clothes

Life is exciting around here with Ruby getting older.  She seems to learn something new every day!  This past month Ruby has found her feet and they have become her favorite plaything.  She will swing them up towards her head, grab them with her hands, and shove her toes in her mouth.  It's adorable.  She is gaining great hand control.  She can now hold her own bottle and pass a toy from one hand to another.  She's always reaching out to any hanging toys or pretty much anything hanging near her.  Ruby started sleeping in her crib this month and we are working on a sleep training program in order to get her to sleep longer at night and stick to a daytime nap schedule.  There's also much debate in my house as to whether Ruby is laughing or not.  I say she gives squeals of delight, but Noa, my mom, and others count it as laughing.  Hopefully a good hearty belly laugh is not too far behind.

Ruby's a lucky girl - look who's here on her 5 month birthday!  Mom (Oma) and her BFF Nancy!

Her eyes are still very, very blue.  I just love how they look against her quilt.

She loves her toes!

But, she still likes her toys.  This ball was a favorite during our photo shoot.  

Ruby and Sadie are about the same weight right now, although Ruby outweighs her by a few ounces.

She is such a happy girl and it's so fun to see her personality blossom more and more with each passing day.  It's also fun to take her out and about and watch how she takes in everything and smiles at people who talk to her.  She truly is a doll.

Happy 5 months, Ruby!  We love you!

Toonzee

I don't think I've mentioned my newest office-mate...Toonzee.

As you may recall from former posts, Laura (my co-worker) and I often have shelter animals in our office.  They are there for a kennel-break and a chance to interact with people.  It's a great opportunity to get our long-termers out of the kennel, especially since kennel stress can play a role in the life of a shelter animal.

Anyway, our newest guest is Toonzee.  Toonzee is an orange tabby that has been at the shelter for several months.  She is probably around 4 years old.  She has a "funky" (for lack of a better term) eye, is missing one of her canines, and sheds like crazy.  Oh, and she also tends to play bite.  Sounds like a project, huh?  Funny thing is, we are smitten with her.  Which doesn't make any sense, because both Laura and I are dog people.  And then this cat, who is loud, messy, and coats our desk chairs in orange fur comes in and wraps herself around our fingers.  As annoying and temperamental as she might be, we can't help but like her.

And then she does really cute things like sit in her bed and purr for hours....happy to be hanging out with people.  It makes you pray that someone comes and adopts her soon*.  She just wants to be with people.

She loves treats.  She'll even eat them straight from our hands.  Quite an adorable trait, I must say.

  

In the meantime, we'll give her lots of attention, deal with her eccentricities, and allow her take residence in our office as long as she needs.

Whoever thought I'd become a cat person?  Shhh...don't tell my dogs....

* For adoption information for Toonzee, click here.

Scenes from Easter

We had a quiet Easter this year, mostly because Noa had to work and Ruby is in the midst of sleep training and needs to get those naps in!  Still, we had a lovely holiday with a beautiful church service, gorgeous spring weather, chatting with family, and a visit to the hospital (to visit dad, not receive care).

I took this a few days before Easter, just in case the sun decided to hide on on Easter Sunday.  Ruby can definitely sport rabbit ears...she didn't mind them a bit!

Her Easter "basket" was pretty simple this year, especially since it was simply a re-used container from the coat closet.  From the looks of it, the Easter Bunny is an avid reader and wants to encourage Ruby to become one too.

She didn't seem to mind.

She enjoyed playing with the bunny.  It's the bunny from the book "Guess How Much I Love You."  I'm a sucker for buying the plush animal that goes with a children's book.

This is probably my favorite photo of the day: Noa and Ruby.  Ruby is wearing her Easter dress and bonnet that she wore to church in the morning.  I'm glad we got to see Noa.  We even got to take a short walk outside the hospital and enjoy the beautiful weather!

Hope you had a blessed Easter too!