the ruth's...

baby # 2 update

2012-01-26T09:13:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I will be 21 weeks...seriously where is the time going?! more than halfway, that is if baby doesnt come early! which fingers crossed he doesnt because i'm suppose to be a maid of honor in Key West Florida come 36 weeks into this pregnancy! (Like I said, total unplanned pregnancy). I'm sure the wedding pictures will be fabulous with big preggo me in them, but really isnt that one of the brides worse nightmares... that none of her bridesmaids are pregnant at their wedding, specifically the maid of honor?! Oh how will I ever be able to repay my sister?!

Anyway, at 21 weeks I have now gained a grand total of 5 pounds...whoop whoop. However, from the looks of me you would think i'm lying due to the expansion of this belly. I still can wear my regular jeans, though they are quite snug and by dinner time they are extremely snug, to say the least.. but i have to get credit to my hips, or lack there of I guess you could say, they my friends are not what you call "child bearing" hips... but with the Grace of God they are getting things done =).

My next doctors appointment is next week where they will do a thorough sonogram. I dont remember doing this with Hudson except for the couple of times I was in the hospital with him. This will be my 5th (or 6?) sonogram of baby # 2, should I be concerned about all these sonograms?!

Besides the gender reveal the next project at hand for baby ruth #2 is figuring out the color scheme of his nursery & crib bedding. This is has been extremely difficult for me and I really have no idea why. I know what I like, but I cant seem to envision it in my head, thankfully ww.pinterest.com has been a big help in organizing all my thoughts. A few things I know for sure is that i do want a nursery with color (unlike hudsons neutral nursery),but not bright colors, more like a pastel or faded look, i want to use the chevron/zig zag print, I want to use the colors gray & red...somehow and i do not want a "theme-ish" room. Now not a lot of red...just some. Heres why, after already having one boy, i know where this room is going, meaning i better have room for baseballs, fire trucks, trains and wagons... all of which have red in them.

Heres a few pictures I have "pinned" to try to help me put all my thoughts together...if any of you are decorators your suggestions would be great! I'm trying to pick which fabric should be on the bumpers, the crib sheet and then an accent fabric for pillows, ties for the bumpers...and maybe a curtain or diaper holder! And yes...danny's mom is the master seamstress at hand once again, and no you cannot have her business card unless you are having one of her grandchildren ;)

above: pictures that originally inspired my ideal room for baby # 2 (just need to do away with the pinks ;)

that time we went to the pumpkin patch

2012-01-24T08:38:00.000-08:00

so back in october, we made a trip out to a pumpkin patch! we had a really good time! I remember this day very well, mainly because it was the day i told danny I was pregnant with baby # 2. So the whole day was a little surreal for the both of us! This pumpkin patch was huge, with a tractor hay ride, a small riding train for kids, a huge pumpkin garden where you could pick your own pumpkins and a petting zoo of all their farm animals! We got food to feed the goats, sheep & cows (longhorns whatever they are called) & even a hot dog & chips for us! Hudson really had a good time loved looking & petting the animals. Here is some pictures I took with my phone! And yes I promise my christmas post will happen before Valentines Day.

mornings meant well

2012-01-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

Every morning between 7:30 to 9, Hudson & I have the house to ourselves. Danny & his dad have gone to work and danny's mom is usually out walking. Our mornings between this time are almost always the same & very routine. After Hudson wakes up & gets his diaper changed we head downstairs for breakfast. While I'm making his breakfast he either plays in the toy closet, the pantry or clings to my leg signing "more" because its been 13 hours since he last had food. While hudson's oatmeal is cooling, he munches on blueberries while I make myself some warm tea, knowing it wont be drinkable until after he's done eating. Once his oatmeal or whatever else I'm cooking is ready for him to eat,we sit down together, bless our meal & have breakfast. After breakfast is usually our "guided play" time. This is when hudson actually sits down with me and we look at books, practice pointing at picturs & naming objects. We try to work on puzzles or learn something "new" to do with the toys we play with every day. We work on problem solving skills & a lot of communication skills. This usually last for about 20 to 30 minutes, which I think is a very long time for a 13 month old. The last 30 minutes before nap is usually "free time" hudson does a lot of exploring during this time. He crawls under the table, opens up cabinets, plays with his toys, throws his ball around the room, pretty much makes a mess. This 30 minutes is one of my favorite times a day. I usually am curled up on the couch, drinking a warm cup of tea, wrapped up in my robe and i just become in awe of my son. I use this time to really observe Hudson & the little toddler he is slowly becoming. I use this time to think about my quiet time, which is really kinda of ironic...haha i use a quiet time to prepare for my quiet time (which takes place during his first nap). Hudson has really figured this little routine out and for the most part does great! I'm amazed at how well he cooperates with our "teaching" time and then how well he does just playing on his own.

Today I started thinking how between 7:30 until about 9:30, I really do not get that much accomplished, but I realized that is simply a lie. That 2 hours is very sweet to me & i look forward to that time every morning. And though that first two hours is at the top my list, i have to admit that the next 2 hours (nap time) are even sweeter for this momma. ;)

our time at the state fair

2012-01-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

way back in september, or was it october? we made a couple visits to the state fair while it was up & running! Both times we went we really had a great experience, however i do not recommend the fried corn on the cob or the fried snickers...very much a disappointment but the fried cheesecake & fletchers traditional corn dog was enough to satisfy! Hudson & i went one day with just my mom, it was so nice because during the week it wasn't very crowded! We also got to go to the Dallas Children's Museum thats inside the state fair grounds for like $2! It was so much fun & there was so much for Hudson to do. They even had a special area for crawlers & children under 2! Here are some pictures i took from both out trips...oh and all these pics are taken with my phone so sorry for the quality...or lack there of! ;)

above: pretty much when we first go to the fair! Hudson loved just looking at everything & was totally content in his stroller the whole time!

above: me & the stud, fletchers corn dog stand (i shamelessly love corn dogs!!), and then the other 2 pics are the start of our time in the museum!

There was a lot of pretend play things for hudson that included a fire truck to play on and even to dress up as a firemen, a farm/barn area & then a musical area with all kinds of instruments!

above: hudson's favorite was the "water" area...he loved splashing around and playing with those oversized ducks! There in his firemen outfit he was about to go down the slide from the fire truck! Then the other two are from the "construction site" and the hollywood station, you cant see the mirror but it was big with a lot of bright lights & they had tons of dress up clothes!

these last 3 pictures are from when we came back with daddy! hudson could of crawled around in this little gym area forever! he loved it!

I love going to the state fair & hopefully it will be something we do as a family every year!!

a boy mom

2012-01-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

so remember that time i said i was going to blog everyday? ha. we sort of all new that wouldnt happen right? but in my defense i only missed 2 days. ;)

Today Hudson is 13 months old and on Friday I will be 20 weeks pregnant! so crazy all this happening, still mind is boggled & somewhat in denial that there will be another baby ruth here in June!!

In case you missed the overload on my facebook page, we are having another boy!! I was actually very surprise by this but then totally expected it as well. does that make sense? When I first learned I was pregnant, I had always had this feeling that I was just destined to be a "boy mom," you know the kind I'm talking about, the mom who brings the orange slices & mini gatorade bottles to the soccer games? The mom that wears a button of her kid on her shirt at his pee wee football game, the mom that makes mud pies & goes on a hunt outside to look for worms & lighting bugs, that mom that builds forts out of boxes & of course the mom that pours peroxide on cuts from all the tree climbing and ice packs on bruises from wrestling. I'm destined to be that mom. I think mainly bc i was that kid. I was 100% tom boy and not by my mom's choice, but simply from my nature & maybe my dad's desire to have a little boy (or so i believe). I loved going on scavenger hunts in the "woods" looking for "treasures." I loved climbing trees (and falling), I loved almost any & every sport you introduced to me...except for ballet & dance (but are these even sports?). I had a cross over in basketball that was merely unstoppable, a right arm that was made for 3rd base, and legs that could run for days. Though I never had the tom boy look, I sure played the part well. Its hard to have the tomboy look when your blonde & blue and with the the most fragile boney looking body. If you were to meet me now...you wouldn't know any of this though. I am 100% girl. I love shopping, romantic comedies, baking & decorating! I love a cute pair of heels & and getting dressed for the day is strangely one of my favorites times of the day.

But a boy mom is what I am & what I will be. And I simply adore it & love it! However, I do think the Lord will give me a little girl some day...but if not it seems that I will have plenty of nieces to live vicariously through! and....were not done having kids till we have a girl!!

so the cats out of the bag...another boy for the ruth family!! What great leaders I will soon have on my hands! Prayers for this next sweet boy are always welcomed! =)

Granola Thursday

2012-01-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

One day last week, while I was sitting in the recliner researching double strollers online & "pinning" on the side, Hudson was just below me playing in his toy basket. I kept hearing some crinkling going on & just assumed he was playing with a package of baby wipes that I keep in his toy basket for convenience. After about 2-3 minutes of him silently playing, I thought to myself, "he sure is being quiet." So, I leaned over and saw that my 12 month old had his mouth stuffed like a chipmunk with caramel popcorn with his hands reaching in for more. I had forgotten that we had a tin can of popcorn that we had gotten for Christmas sitting next to his basket & I never thought he would be able to get into it. I sort of freaked out to say the least. I immediately grabbed him, shoved my fingers in his mouth to empty it & took him to the sink to wash his sticky little hands. He was not the happiest to say the least. I'm not sure what mattered more to me, the idea he was stuffing his face with this highly processed covered in sugar "treat" or the fact that he could of choked due to his lack of being able to chew crunchy things very well with only having 2 teeth.

I have told some people this story in the past week and most responses have been "well, a little popcorn isn't going to kill him." I totally agree with them. But my thoughts & ideas on how I feed Hudson are a little different than most. Not right or wrong; just different. But with it being granola thursday, I thought I would do some explaining on why I've chosen to be such a stickler on how we feed our son & try to eat as a family!

I look at Hudson's tiny little body that is only 12 months young. 12 months. so young, so tiny, so fragile. Everything I put in his body, in my opinion is so very vital. His little body has never been, "contaminated" (i know thats an exaggeration) so you could say and for right now I have the power that can control everything that goes into his mouth which then effects his whole body & mind. I know there will be a day that Hudson will eat whatever he wants but my hope is that he learns good eating habits from his ultimate teachers, me & danny. I read in a book this morning, by Dr. James Dobson about parenting, it says " heredity does not equip a child with proper attitude; children learn what they are taught." That phrase just jumped at me, pretty much sums up with proverbs 22:6 says, "Train a child in the way he should go, so when he is old he will not turn from it."

So I'm rambling about my opinions & beliefs... so i'll stop and just give the facts now! =) What is processed food? Seriously a lot of people do not know the answer to this. Processed foods are foods that have been altered from their natural state, mostly for the reason to maintain shelf life. Key word in that definition "altered." Some foods have been altered for safety measures according to the FDA, but for the most part its for shelve life...meaning more money for those who are producing it & selling it. Heres a little clip from an article about processed food: "Have you ever wondered why a pre-packaged food stays fresh for months, when the same food made from scratch grows moldy in just days? It's because food manufacturers use man-made ingredients that prolong a product's shelf life. Unfortunately, they may have the opposite effect on peoples' health.

I could probably go on & on but I'll spare you, because I'm pretty sure that the people who are interested in it all...already know all of this bc you've done your homework ;)& the ones who aren't... could care less! haha! But i will provide some links to some really good articles at the bottom that explain all so much better than I ever could!

To never feed your child one ounce of processed food would be nearly insane in this time & day and in this country...even Hudson gets frozen (although organic lol) chicken nuggets & cherrios from time to time but I try my absolute hardest to eliminate & minimize it as much as I can at least for now, with him being so young. I feel as though the most important job/duty/responsibility the Lord has blessed me with right now is raising our children...and I want to do my absolute best at it and part of that is keeping him healthy! I hope that more parents start challenging themselves to give their children unaltered food more & more and to stay away from food that has a long list of ingredients that you've never even heard of, I wonder what our obesity rates, mental illness statistics & cancer numbers would look like.... can you tell i'm a little passionate about what we are feeding our children?! haha

Heres the links to some articles in case your interested!
http://www.healinghq.com/health-articles/health-hazards/273-badbabyfoods.html
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2010/June/How-to-Avoid-Processed-Foods-in-a-Healthy-Diet-/
http://www.losethattyre.co.uk/ten-reasons-not-to-eat-processed-food/
http://www.rd.com/health/4-most-harmful-ingredients-in-packaged-foods/

Hudson's Birthday Party

2012-01-11T13:57:00.000-08:00

On December 18th, Hudson turned one! I know, crazy! One years old! I still havent officially done his one year old photoshoot! But I think me & my step mom (who happens to be camera savvy as well) are going to try to tackle it soon. Taking his photos by myself is just wayyyy to challenging now and its hard to find good help at the right time of day ;) i seriously need an assistant...any takers?

Anyway, hudson's birthday party was very much a success! As much as i stressed out and planned...I couldn't of asked for better results! My mom was that backbone of it all though, so thank you momma!! His party was at "The Grove" in the shops of Allen, we rented out a train caboose, where the food & presents went. The area was big enough to where kids could run & play and adults could have all the free space they wanted. I knew the weather might be a risk, but thankfully there were heaters & a fire places if needed...however, the Lord blessed us with amazing weather that day!

The area was all decorated for Christmas and if wanted families could go see Santa who was just around the corner. And from what I gathered, he's one of the best Santas in the metroplex! Score!

I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted, especially of all the food preparation and decorating but it all turned out so cute in my opinion! I pretty much incorporated items from Hudson's nursery to decorate the food table, so it somehow would represent him! The Menu consisted of: donut holes, homemade blueberry muffins & zucchinni muffins, bananas, cherrios & "oops all berries" cereal! Beverages consisted of: coffee, hot chocolate, orange juice, milk & bottled water!

For the "cake" i made pumpkin muffins with a cream cheese frosting! This was the first time for hudson to have anything this sweet so I'm glad I made it, knowing what ingredients were in it! yes im crazy. dont remind me. He really didnt know what to do with it, but once he tasted it, of course he liked it. However he probably wont have it again, until his next birthday haha!

Hudson got tons of gifts and we sort of have been in toy over load, with his birthday & then christmas! We have so many toys that we haven't even opened, but I like that...save them for a rainy day! =) I'm not a fan of just toys being everywhere anyway, I like for him to have 3-5 things to play with at a time and not be so overwhelmed! So right now, we have a closet, book case & under our bed filled with toys! haha!

Hudson wasn't in the best of moods, but definitely not the worse. I wasn't there with him that morning to really get him to nap or to even nap in the car so, once the party rolled around my sleep deprived child was a bit clingy & not so smiley. But all in all, he did great! Heres some pictures I snapped, and sadly I didnt get everyone who came either =(

just another manic monday

2012-01-09T10:06:00.000-08:00

do you ever feel like your every move is being watched? i've sort of been feeling this way since this whole boy or girl thing arose. i'm getting phone calls, text messages, wall post, tweets...from so many people just dying to know if baby ruth #2 is a boy or a girl. i'm honestly not telling to cause any anxiety attacks, i just want family & close friends to know the big news in a creative yet subtle way. Like i said in my last post, I'm just trying to do something to where I feel like I'm making this pregnancy somewhat special! so bear with me people, by next week you will all know. Does this mean no one is going to read my blog now?

did you notice i didnt blog yesterday? well, sunday, ahem, is the day of rest...so no blogging will occur on sundays :) just FYI if there was anyone trying keep me accountable for my daily blogging.

I can't believe were already in the second week of January, where is the time going?! i'm so behind with posting pictures of whats been going on in our lives! did you know that we went to the fair? yah...in OCTOBER! so my goal for post this week is to catch up on pictures so be prepared for photo over load!

So today, its raining, boo, i'm not a fan of the rain... unless for some reason it involves some romantic gesture that could also pass as a movie scene, then by golly put me in the rain. But the rain can just put a damper on things dont you think? pun not intended by the way. cant go on a walk, the dogs dont wanna poop on the grass, the mail gets wet bringing it inside, your hair goes all kinds of flat. but like i always say, if you want the rainbow you gotta put up with the rain! typically on mondays i see my mom but she gave hudson & i the boot today so were on our own ;). So plan B will involve, a trip to the library to check out some books, walgreens to pick up some pictures i had printed off 2 weeks ago (dont judge me, walgreens has already called 3 times), and then maybe a trip to walmart to get some spaghetti for dinner tonight. I'm thinking were gonna have chicken spaghetti, so hopefully my nana will read this and send me her amazing chicken spaghetti recipe...if not allrecipies.com here i come. =)

okay time to go get snack ready before the lil munchkin wakes up.

gender reveal

2012-01-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

once i learned i was pregnant i made the decision pretty quick that i wasn't going to find out the sex of the baby. i was very confident with my decision about not finding out and loved the idea of being surprised the day the baby was born. But, 18 weeks later the night before the sonogram, my husband had a change of heart. He wanted to know. So i opted to meet him halfway, the plan was to have the doctor write down the sex of the baby and we would have a gender reveal party/cookout once it warmed up, like the end of April or so. I wanted to get onsies (pink or blue) that spelled out boy or girl and hang the right ones up like on a clothesline with a sheet over it & when the time came pull the sheet down! Wha-La!! Great idea huh?!

So i had my doctors appointment, she put the sonogram picture that revealed the gender in an envelope and sealed it for me. I called danny to let him know what i did and he disapproved of the whole thing. Again, he wanted to know and he wanted to know now!! This was so strange to me because this whole time he hadn't even seem interested. So the wheels in my head started turning on what to do. I still didn't know want to know but the fact that my husband did started to weigh on me. So I started thinking and really thinking of reasons why we needed to know...

For most part as much as i say i want a gender neutral nursery, that my friends is a big fat lie. If this baby is a girl, "gender neutral" will not do. She would need pink of course. and ruffles, lots of ruffles, and a chandelier to top it all off. So obviously pink, ruffles and a chandelier just would not cut it if baby #2 was a boy. Some people suggested I could just do the nursery after the baby comes, but that wouldn't happen either, not with two under 17 months and not with my procrastinating personality. It took me pretty much the whole 9 months to get hudson's room done & honestly theres still things I was "planning" on doing that I never got around to. Another reason I didnt want to wait to do the nursery after the baby comes is because we plan on baby #2 sleeping in their own crib, in their own room, the day they come home from the hospital. This is what Hudson did and it has been fabulous. So his/her room would need to be done, with crib & bedding all put together.

In my blog yesterday i mentioned that this pregnancy hasn't gotten as much attention as the first did. i know this is very common with second pregnancies but once i saw that sweet baby on the monitor this past friday, i felt like i just had to know in order to connect with it. I wanted to be able to think about what he or she would look like, what it's name would be, how the Lord would use them. These past couple of weeks I have even felt some guilt creeping in on the matter of not making this baby out to be such a big deal as hudson was. Which is why I considered having a gender reveal, something special and different just for this baby! But I didnt want to wait until april or may for it to get warm here in Texas and I didnt want to spend money to throw a big party, after just having hudson's birthday & christmas...

so last night close to 7, right before hudson went down for the night, we opened the envelope! i could hardly sleep last night! thinking of names, nursery ideas, what the birth announcement will look like, praying for & thanking the lord for this sweet addition to our family!

today i felt a little regret for finding out, but now that i know, all my concerns of not knowing are no longer existent. so that gives me a little bit of peace. now we're just trying to think of ways to announce to all of our friends & family on what were having! =)

oh and i promise a post with pictures is coming soon...

18 weeks

2012-01-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

so yes, i'm still pregnant in case your all wondering. I'm pretty sure by the time I was 18 weeks pregnant with Hudson I had probably already blogged 18 times. Mostly about throwing up, crying, not gaining weight, feeling like "pregnancy" wasn't for me and I'm pretty sure I had already taken at least 6 pregnancy pictures...with an actual camera, a good camera for that matter. However, this time around has been slightly different. I sort of forget I'm even pregnant, that is until someone points out my "popped" belly...then its all back to reality and I remember i'm already wearing my "stretchy" pants, as i like to call them. And I'm not gonna lie...my white pregnancy tank top has been worn for 2 weeks straight and has only been washed once. Pregnancy tank tops=amazing. Everyone should own one, even the non pregnant people. They are so comfy, and long! Who doesn't love a long undershirt?! Anyway, so besides my wardrobe changing a bit, all other signs of pregnancy are non existent.

but with my convenient little new years resolution to blog everyday, that should be changing. So today I'm 18 weeks along & feeling great! I had a doctors appointment this morning and finally gained some weight! 2 pounds to be exact! Baby's heart rate was 135 and everything looked great! I had a gender reveal sonogram today as well, but only had the doctor put the results in a sealed envelope! I still haven't decided if I want to know or wait & be surprised! The hubs wants to know... so i may end up "submitting" to his wishes and just give in! I made a couple of onsies this afternoon that say "lil sis" or "lil bro" they turned out pretty cute!

I've had a lot of sonograms in the last 18 weeks and another one in 4 weeks. 4 total so far. Having a lot of sonograms makes me a little nervous, but i'll save all that for one "granola thursday" post. I've mainly had to have so many because I switched doctors and of course each doctor wants to have a gander at things. i really am liking my doctor now, even though i really was wanting to go the mid wife route, but due to our insurance that just couldn't happen, unless i wanted to deliver in Sulphur Springs- which was not going to happen. My doctor now is still very "by the book" but respects my wishes on certain things & likes that i've done my own research! I'm starting to believe that most doctors just come across so many women who just are unaware of their options when it comes to childbirth, so doctors feel like they have to tell us what to do & how to do it...and so every pregnancy is treated so routinely & so unoriginal. i want my pregnancy to go the way God has intended my body to handle pregnancy, not how a doctor assumes my pregnancy should go based on statistics. But really you cant blame the doctors for our lack of knowledge can you?! nope! they are just doing their job!

Well, i hear a certain someone squirming around from nap... ;) until tomorrow!

New Years Resolution(s)

2012-01-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

So I'm finally around to deciding that maybe i should make some goals for the year. Danny & I typically make goals together but I'm pretty sure we can all agree that our goal is to get a house for our family of 4.

1. Read the entire bible Chronologically and thankfully I have already started this =)
2. Be under 120 lbs (duh, you have to have a weight goal thats just socially acceptable)
3. Still be nursing baby # 2
4. become an owner of a new camera lens, photoshop & business cards
5. Start collecting something ex. cute bowls, serving spoons, cards etc just something
6. Read 12 new books this year (recommendations start now ;)
7. Have an all natural birth
8. Read to Hudson everyday, several times a day.
9. shop more consignment, goodwill, second hand stores
10. Start school/more constructive-guided play with Hudson
11. blog everyday.
12. Make more time & more trips to see family & friends
13. Send birthday cards!
14. Learn to sew (ahem...susie ruth ;) hehe
15. Visit a new state
16. Pray. This year I'm really going to focus on prayer. How to pray for my husband, my children, my church, my country...myself. I believe its in my genes to be a prayer warrior (thanks to my grandmother) and its time I take advantage of that!

pointless really.

2012-01-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

new years resolution: blog everyday.

this was something i was seriously contemplating on challenging myself too. However here it is january 4th and I've already missed 3 other days. blah.

well, i think i still may make it a resolution but we will see how it goes. I have a lot and I mean a lot to blog about with pictures included! but for now, I have errands to run & nap #1 has just begun so this means its time to shower & get some jesus time in. ;)

I'm coming back i promise, dont forget about me. =)

settling in

2011-12-06T17:35:00.000-08:00

well, we've finally, some what, sort of, have gotten settled into our new residence for the next couple of months. I can already tell that December is going to go by very very fast! with christmas, hudson's birthday... just crazy busy already! Danny's parents have been so gracious to us, for us basically taking over their house! Hudson is already becoming accustomed to nana & pop's routines and has especially enjoyed getting 2 breakfast's each morning. =/ And to my surprise he has adjusted quiet nicely, sleeping more even better here than he was at home. It took hudson about 4 nights to finally just go to sleep on his own which was a lot quicker than I was expecting.

I knew things would be a little different once we got here, but now since i'm not taking care of two babies, its really amazing how much free time I have. I've been able to keep up with our laundry, christmas shop, plan hudson's birthday party, edit tons & tons of pictures, get completely dressed from head to toe, & once the weather gets somewhat warmer i'm looking forward to taking the lil stud on walks & to the park thats just around the corner! =)

This morning, I attended a play group through our church and absolutely loved the moms! It was smaller than most play groups are but I liked it that way. Hudson was so cute and just as i expected...exactly like his daddy. He stayed very close to me, played with only a couple of toys and did a lot of people watching ;) Never said a word, but never cried. I did get a couple of laughs & smiles from time to time but overall he was a little shy. The other moms were like "he's so chill!" haha my son...cool, calm & collected. I'm really looking forward to our next meeting! Not having another baby to keep during the day has given me the freedom to do more things with Hudson outside the house such as joining a play group! I've also been wanting to join MOPS so, I'm hoping I will hear back from someone this week!

Well, I just wanted to post a little update on what we've been up to lately! By the end of the week I plan on posting a update the pregnancy and maybe even start those dreadful yet memorable preggo pics! =)

packing

2011-11-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

After finding out we were pregnant, we knew right away we would need to make changes in our pocket book... even more than what we already had. And since were still waiting to know if were going to be moving to Austin or not based on Danny's job, we came up with the decision to move in with danny's parents for awhile. Our goal is to save up for a couple or so months and buy a house!! and hopefully we will know by then if we will be in Dallas or Austin. Moving in with Danny's parents really is the most logical out of all the places/people we could of possibly moved in with. They for one have the most space/rooms, it is sort of in accordance to danny's job (at least the closest out of all the other locations), and is already 100% baby proof (times 7;). I hardly need to bring anything for Hudson bc they already have everything, cribs, high chairs, bibs, toys, goats milk, etc. So after discussing with them it soon became official and as of today...the moving begins.

I've somewhat been in denial about the move. My heart is a little heavy, my eyes getting a little more misty by each box packed, and my head wandering like crazy. Will hudson sleep okay? Will he stay on his schedule? Will my schedule stay the same? Will danny & I only be alone when we sleep? How will meals be(we all know i'm the world's pickiest eater, even more so when pregnant)? Will we still see our friends? Will we be able to find a house in 3 months and get moved in before baby # 2 comes?! Will I have time to decorate a nursery & "nest?" Will we still have net flix? Will we even need net flix?

I told you "crazy!" All these things are so pointless that keep wondering in my head and i know all these things will work themselves out, but for someone who is constant "thinker" i cant stop thinking about all the "little" things. But I think its because I know little things can become big things.

I hadn't packed one thing of Hudson's until this morning, until just now, which is why I had to stop & blog before i completely lost it. Packing up all the letters from his alphabet wall, that I worked on the whole 9 months I was pregnant with him, really started to sadden me, really started to settle in that were not going to be in our home anymore. I didn't even rock Hudson last night before putting him to bed, and I'm sitting here totally regretting it, bc now i dont even remember the last time i rocked him to sleep, in his rocking chair, listening to his sound machine, shushing and patting him. His first house, his first nursery, the place we brought him home from the hospital, we all be in a box in a storage building somewhere. I know people move all the time, but it really isn't something I'm accustomed to. I lived in 2 houses up until I went to college. We weren't nomads to say the least. My parents found us a home and we stayed there, home was always home & I liked it that way.

So moving, packing and settling in some place different is challenging for me, but i know for a fact that it will be great for us in the end & i'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us. Hudson is doing surprisingly well, I thought & was even told, that with him seeing all the boxes & what not could cause him to get a little anxious, but I haven't noticed anything different in his behavior. The same with Murphy, no weirdness going on with him either. I guess I'm the only one who is acting a little coo-koo, can we blame it on the pregnancy hormones?! =)

Wow, all tears dried. blogging really is great therapy.

11 months

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm about to head out the door to go to the grocery store in order to prepare for thanksgiving! sooo exciting! But before i go, i thought i would post hudson's 11 month photos! These were technically suppose to be last month photos (for halloween) but i never got around to doing it but it worked out well for his 11 month ones! =) I have a feeling the Ruth family is really going to enjoy these ;) Oh and by the way, Hudson was "Babe(y) Ruth" for halloween.

at 11 months hudson is pretty much doing all the same things he was doing last month! But some new things include:
-finally wearing 12 month old clothes (sort of haha)
-will let go and stand alone for very short periods of time
-will say "du" for duck
-i feel like he understands everything!!
-goes and stands by hair chair when he's hungry
-loves "helping" mommy type, do the dishes and laundry. All of which sometimes ends up being double work for mommy. ha
-is well aware that crying could possibly mean he is going to get whatever it is he's crying about

weighs: 19.5 lbs length: 27 in

a christmas sneak

2011-11-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

yesterday we took our family christmas pics! my step mom has a pretty fancy camera similar to mine...so she was able to do our pics for us! i'm in the process of editing them right now and trying to pick just ONE for our christmas card but i thought I would post a lil sneak of whats to come in the mail! =)

umm 10 months.

2011-11-19T13:15:00.000-08:00

i know, hudson is 11 months, but i took these pictures a few days before he turned the big 11 so technically these will be his 10 month pictures! A glimpse in Hudson's life as a 10 month old:

-cruising along anything he can reach & get his hands on. he loves pulling up on furniture & tables; especially if there is something to grab off of them.
-he absolutely loves playing catch with his ball, and will do it all day if i let him!
-eats 5 times a day, breakfast-lunch-dinner, and 2 snacks.
-sleeps 12-13 hours at night, with two 2 hour naps during the day.
-his favorite foods are: banana, almost any type of bean, & sweet potatoes!
-is wearing 9-12 month old clothes!
-will say "ba" for ball
-dances every time he hears music
-follows mommy everywhere
-loves playing with daddy & pretending he is a jungle gym
-and gets in trouble on a daily basis for getting into murphy's food.
-new foods we tried this month: hummus, watermelon, & grapes!

Announcing the Pregnancy!

2011-11-19T12:40:00.000-08:00

When I first learned I was pregnant, I really wanted to think of as many creative ways to announce it, and even try to do something a little different for each person we told. I searched, google, & thought for weeks on different ideas and thought I would share them with you guys and also let you know which ones we used and the reactions we got! =)

Children's Book with message & sono picture- This is how we told my mom! I got a baby book and on the inside wrote "Gigi, I hope you will read this book to me sometime in June or May if I'm early!" Love, Baby Ruth #2. Below the message was the sonogram picture. Her reaction:

the book, its a little hard to see the writing....

my grandma, her & my mom had the exact reaction...haha =)

A Picture with a Message on it: my dad is always really good at knowing when somethings "up" i knew surprising him & my stepmom would be a challenge! My stepmom likes taking pictures so after much thinking I came up with this idea:

my sister knew it was coming, thats why she looks so calm lol. Cali & Donna=shock! haha

Say "We're Pregnant!": For Danny's parents, surprising them would be pretty easy. We first told them, like everyone else, that we wanted them to see Hudson in his halloween costume ,"babe ruth!" We met them after church on a Sunday and I told them I wanted to get a picture of Hudson in his outfit with them. Danny's parents are really big on family photos, so i knew this idea would work perfect! After a couple of pics of going "say cheese" on the third take, Danny said "say were pregnant!!" and this was the look:

A Poem: This may sound a little cheesy & mushy but this is how i decided to tell Danny, I wrote him a poem, framed it & put it out on the table for him to read while having breakfast. After he finished reading it, I showed him the positive pregnancy test.

I once was just 1,

but then the Lord gave me you...

and I became "we"

soon after, with 9 months of waiting...

our "we" became 3

such a sweet family...

you, him & me

& now we’ve been blessed once more...

in june will be a family of... 4

it looked a lot better printed out but I cant get it to line up right in my blog!

I didnt get a pic of danny's face bc I was too busy being nervous about his response! 2 under 17 months is def going to be a challenge but I think were up to...at least we have to be I guess haha!

Some other ways we thought of that we didn't use:

-Dressing up like an oven by decorating a box & placing a bun in it, let your hubby dress as a chef!

-Pretend like your sick & have your "temp" taken, act like you cant figure out how to read the thermometer and hand the surprise-e the positive pregnancy test instead!

-Make a pregnancy video, you can search on Utube for some really cute ones!

-The classic big brother/big sister t-shirt

- Put a hamburger bun in the oven, have someone go "check" it..."why's there a bun in the oven?" hehe

-Get a piece of fruit that matches with the size of the baby and be like "this is currently the size of the newest addition to the Ruth Family!"

well i think thats was all my ideas for this pregnancy, hopefully if we ever have more, i'll be able to come up with some more!!

Well, Monday I head to the doctor for my 12 week appointment & will be taking my first pregnancy picture! =)

power blog. (like power nap)

2011-11-17T08:14:00.000-08:00

I was just in the middle of blowing drying my hair, when bam it hit me, "i want to blog, i need to blog, i should blog." For the past couple of months my blog has been slacking due to the newest addition growing in my tummy. you see, i'm not a good pregnant person at all. i ache, i whine, i throw up (a lot), i cry, i complain and i'm exhausted. i told this to my husband the other night, "i'm just not good at being pregnant." and in my hopes of getting some your the greatest mom ever & doing so good, his response was "i know." So its true, pregnancy is not my strongest attribute but that doesnt mean i'm not totally excited about this little bean making its arrival in june! And despite my low pain tolerance, i might even be crazy enough to do it all again in a ~~couple~~ few years.

So this past weekend, Hudson took me on a date to North Park mall for some Christmas shopping. we had the greatest time, despite the fact that i threw up 6 times, twice in his wet bag. we had lunch at Corner bakery, looked at the christmas decorations and did a lot of window shopping. At one point, i was in desperate need of finding a bathroom, to of course up chuck the corner bakery, and the department store i was closest too was Neiman Marcus. Now, we by no means shop in Neiman Marcus, in fact i dont even know if i'm spelling it right because right at this moment spell check has it underlined in red. So confident and casual and with my best "maybe she'll think i'm famous" i went in and asked the first sales lady where the nearest restrooms were. She proceeded to say "oh go right past the Fendi shoes & take a left. Was she serious? Fendi shoes? how am i suppose to know where the Fendi shoes are. I'm wearing Converses lady. but luckily we did find the Fendi shoes and the bathroom.

I'm really ready to christmas shop for Hudson, but honestly, in all cheapness, I think its a total waste to buy him brand new things that in less than a year could possibly be in our garage sale going for $1. I've really been searching on craigs list, ebay, amazon, and resale stores for the specific items i am wanting to get him. Its really amazing the deals you can find! Almost all the toys we have right now are hammy downs or second hand, and they are all in such good condition!

I'm getting really excited about Thanksgiving and I cant believe its only a week away! We have 3 Thanksgivings to go to all on Thursday, you would think someone could do it on Saturday, but no...thats never happened and i dont think it ever will happen. Thanksgiving is Thursday, the Macy's day parade is Thursday, the Cowboys play on Thursday... the turkey will be cut on Thursday. at least we are pretty much set for all three meals that day! My favorite dish is mac n cheese, I know nothing fancy or new but i love it! Also love the rolls & mashed potatoes! I pretty much wont eat anything else unless i'm just being polite and have too. The desserts are obviously a favorite, and you better believe if i'm feeling the love for food that day, there will be no holding back at that dessert table.

well, tomorrow i'll be 11 weeks pregnant! one week away from the 2nd trimester! The last 2 days I have been feeling a lot better, i have my moments of weakness of course, which usually are either first thing in the morning and closer towards dinner time. I head back to the doctor on Monday and admittedly am a little nervous. I have a new doctor this time around, not by choice, but by insurance. I'm scared she is going to lecture me about gaining weight, taking my prenatals, keeping fluids down, being low in vitamin D, the importance of folic acid blah blah blah. If this happens, my plan is to cry. Tears always help in an awkward situation.

While I will be 11 weeks pregnant tomorrow, Hudson will be 11 months old! One month from being one!! I know a couple of blogs ago i said that I would have his 10 month pictures up, well i lied. i never took his 10 month pictures due to being pretty much worthless the last 8 weeks. hope you can all forgive me. I really would love to get his pictures done in the next couple of days but its something I just cannot do myself, do to the fact he wont stay in one spot, so hopefully danny can sacrifice 20 minutes of his evening to help me take the stud's pictures! =)

Well, the boys are about to wake from nap, so I must go finish what I started before I came to blog...did you forget already? i was blow drying my hair duh! =) I may even curl it! oh la la!

Missouri Trip Part 3

2011-11-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

While in Missouri, Hudson got to go to his very first pumpkin patch! While on the way to the pumpkin patch we got to stop and take some quick family pics as well!

maybe by christmas i'll have up all our pictures! Can anyone believe how close to Thanksgiving it is?! crazy! Happy Wednesday!

its official

2011-11-11T14:14:00.000-08:00

i guess i should announce on my blog that yes, we the ruth family of 3, will be a ruth family of 4 by June! June 8th to be exact. Which would be perfect since Hudson's birthday is December 18th. Do you see how that would be easy to remember? Half December (12) and you get June(6) and well, both would have the numbers 8 in the date...anyway.

i've really been dying to announce my pregnancy for well...about 6 weeks now. some of you might not know this about me, but i'm a little weird when it comes to my body. my last doctor use the words "really in sync" with my body. in other words, i'm a freak of nature. Once again, as with hudson, i knew i was pregnant before i knew i was pregnant. does that make sense? Meaning i knew i was pregnant before the positive pregnancy test, before the missed period, before the vomiting, before the cravings for chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream & cheeseburgers (more on that later), before the mood swings...i just knew. I knew so quick, that the morning after our "romantic night" (sorry dad) i texted my friend kelly and said something along the lines "well i'm probably preggo." And about a week or so later, i decided to take a test. I had an extra one under the sink, my period wasn't due for another few days so i figured the test wouldn't even really work, but that positive pregnancy test was as clear as ever. I was shocked but not. If that makes sense. I think I even said out loud, "are you serious? again?!"

i had a lot of mixed emotions when i saw that test and weeks later. there were many tears, smiles, prayers and fears. being pregnant & actually having a baby...is very much still real & fresh in my mind. I didnt have the easiest pregnancy with hudson, throwing up everything I put in my mouth until about 24 weeks along. I only gained 19 pounds, while still managing to grow a 7 pound baby. I was hospitalized twice, once for dehydration and once for either a kidney stone or bladder infection (never really knew the problem). I was back in the hospital a week after hudson was born due to my episiotomy not healing correctly causing me pain that was literally unbearable. I pretty much needed the entire 6 weeks to actually heal & even had to go to "womens physical therapy" trust me you dont want to know. So, my point being...being pregnant wasn't something Danny & I had planned, it definitely wasn't something I was wanting to go through anytime soon again and sadly all for selfish reasons.

But on a lighter note, i look at that little boy, whose napping so peacefully in his crib right now, who brings more smiles to my face than i ever could of imagine and I seriously would do it 100 times again if thats the reward. Loving him, protecting him, teaching him, guiding him... has being the greatest task the Lord has ever given me and I'm so blessed & grateful that He is trusting me & danny to do this all again.

more to come on how im feeling, dr. appointments, how far along i am, how far apart the kiddos will be and the big "move" =)

missouri trip part 2

2011-11-10T14:32:00.000-08:00

while in missouri we visited the St. Louis Zoo! Danny & I love going to zoo's! I've always thought it would be cool to be able to visit every zoo in America! The really cool thing about this zoo is its FREE! Which made this the perfect family activity! The girls, Ately & Avery were at preschool so they werent able to come but it was fun having all the boys together!

haha isn't champs hat the cutest?!

he really did love the slide!

my favorites!

i'm really trying to teach hudson to smile without putting his hands in his mouth =)

what handsome boys right?!

haha again the cuteness of the hat! love it!

this might be the best picture i got of him the whole trip! he's a cutie for sure!

showing hudson where his milk comes from ;)

I cant believe I'm even posting this on my blog, considering i'm terribly afraid of penguins, but they were so close to us!

tgif

2011-11-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

i am always always always so thankful for fridays, fridays at 5:00pm to be exact. call me a crazy in love newlywed but i always look forward to my husband walking in that front door to spend the next 2 and half days with us! This weekend is going to be crazy busy for us! Tomorrow morning we are having a garage sale and then tomorrow night we are headed to a wedding in Fort Worth at Bass Hall. Should be a really fun time! Sunday will be church & then I have a photo shoot that night and then its monday morning again. wooh. i'm tired just thinking about it.

speaking of tired. i have a mom question. my child, also known as Hudson, has been sleeping A LOT lately. For instance, this entire week he has been going to bed at 7 then wakes up with 2 sneezes at 7 the next morning. Instead of going in there, I just kinda of wait for him to call for us, also known as cry. Well he hasnt done that. He just lays in bed sort of talks to him self and then falls back asleep until 9 sometimes 9:30. He then has breakfast, plays, gets dressed and is back to sleep around 10:30sh, sleeping until almost 12:30. Is up, has snack & lunch, plays and is back asleep at 2:30 sleeping until 4:30. Has snack, then dinner, plays, bath, and bed by 7. isnt that a lot of sleeping?! Almost 14 hours at night and then at least 4 during the day. Does that seem like a lot? Could it be a growth spurt?

well danny ruth just informed me were putting my dresser in the garage sale & that i need to get it cleaned out. i'm really not sure where all my clothes are going to go now but i'm assuming this means i'm going to get a new dresser eventually. so high five! and by new i hope you know i mean vintage flee market new ;)

since we've been getting ready for this garage sale in the morning i have learned something about myself. I, amber michele henson ruth, am not a an organizer. which makes sense, i dont even match my own socks. but oh i wish i could organize. i envy those who can. i wish there was like a way i could get good at organizing, but i personally think its just a gift and i have not received it, maybe i'll register for it someday.

well, part 2 of our missouri trip is coming up along with hudson's 10 month/halloween costume pics. so be on the look out!

Missouri Trip Part 1

2011-11-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

So remember that time we drove to Missouri to visit our family, The Hunters? Well here is part one of that visit! They took us to the greatest ~~ice cream~~ frozen custard place ever! Ted Drewes! Apparently it is really famous, which explains why there is always a crowd regardless the time of day! I personally recommend the Heath Bar Concrete!

Atley diggin in!

Champ, Avery, Canon, Atley & Hudson (my child & his sensitive eyes)

(seriously she has 4 kids! raise your hand if you hope to look like this 4 kids later)

long time no write

2011-11-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

oh hey... forgot i had a blog there for a while. i have tons and i mean tons of catching up to do. And I have little time to catch up due to all the changes that are going in our lives right now! Good changes, so no worries! I seriously havent even had much time for Pinterest lately! And if you dont know what Pinterest is your seriously out of the loop of life.

Right now, like right this second I'm taking a break from preparing for our garage sale that we are having this Saturday, by watching episodes of Greys Anatomy from season 7. Thank you NetFlix! So yes we are having a garage sale this Saturday, which is clearly my husbands idea since i personally think alley garage sales are always a bust. But im being the supportive wife and if selling my Pier One pillow covers for $.50 cents a piece & my pottery barn lamp shades for $3.00 helps pay for Christmas this year then so be it!

We booked Hudson's birthday party location the other day! And i'm really excited about it, as long as the weather cooperates! I really wanted to do a Bow Tie theme party but i dont think thats going to happen, which isn't too disappointed, bc who am i kidding? I'm really not a "theme" person. i mean have you seen his nursery?! It will be somewhat outdoors but there will heaters & a fire place. I'm wondering if I'll need to put "bundle up" on the invites? Speaking of, I'm going to attempt to make my own invites. I think figuring out how & what to print them on is going to be the tricky part.

Well, I just wanted to give my blog a little love before I start unloading hundreds of pictures on it. Seriously its going to look like my Canon D50 threw up on it, along with my point & shoot, and iphone instagram snaps.

on a side note: i'm watching the greys anatomy episode where its basically a musical the whole show? did anyone see this? I remember seeing a lot of people complaining about it on facebook but personally i'm really liking it. Mainly because they are covering a lot of "The Fray" and if you know me at all... i absolutely love The Fray. Regardless if they havent had a hit since 06.