Free to a good home...

For those who knew me prior to Ruth Ann's birth, you know I treated my animals like royalty. My cats are still in my good graces since they are so low maintenance. Shelby on the other hand is driving my nuts! Many of you have visited our house and witnessed Shelby's warm welcome...ha! Shelby barks his head off at anyone who crosses our threshold and every large vechile that drives by our house. Until this morning Ruth Ann never even batted an eye...as an audiologist I paid extra close attention to her newborn hearing screening & I have confirmation that her hearing is within normal limits. This morning she was napping peacefully when a UPS truck drove down our street which sent Shelby into a barking fit. The nap was over and Shelby was banished to the back porch for the day. He has remained on the back porch barking constantly (literally...there hasn't been a minute that he doesn't bark at me) and pawing at the door. Thankfully he hasn't taught Griff his bad habits and hopefully he will be immune to them.

Vanity

Is 7 weeks old too young to be vain? On the back of the flower that Ruth Ann is so intently gazing at is a small mirror. Most days she will contently sit in her bouncy chair looking at herself until she falls asleep. I can't blame her...I think she's too cute for words and could also sit and look at her for hours! (She almost looks like she's pleased with herself in this picture)

Cute onsie

This onsie was a gift from my cousins Lynn and Sharon. It's a very cute Dr. Suess onsie which looked too cute on Ruth Ann, so you know I had to take a picture. They also send a second Suess onsie, but it's a size 6 months, so we'll be enjoying it in a few months. Thanks Lynn and Sharon!

I love my cat

As many of you already know, I love cats. I haven't met a cat I didn't love (or attempted to love), but I especially love my cats. This love of cats was instilled in me by my grandmother who also loved cats. She gave me my first cat when I was just a year old. His name was Ernie and I loved him much the way Lennie loved mice in the book Of Mice and Men. Needless to say Ernie was rescued by my grandmother shortly after I received him, but I never lost my love for cats. I'm hoping Ruth Ann will share my love of cats and I'm so glad that I have Lacie for her to grow up with. Lacie is by far the most fearless cat I've ever had. Currently her favorite past time is chasing Griff around the house. Arch keeps commanding Griff to fight back, but so far no such luck...I think he's embarrassed his dog is getting beat up by a cat. This past week I was giving Ruth Ann a bath and Lacie decided to help out. As I bathed Ruth Ann, Lacie peeked over the edge of the tub and sat perched on the side of tub while I finished up. One day Ruth Ann is going to be big enough to pull Lacie in and I'm not sure Lacie will even mind. I already have an idea of what bath time will be like in the years to come with me, Ruth Ann and Lacie...I can't wait!

Cute PJs

For those who have seen Ruth Ann's closet in person you know I would have to devote days (and maybe even weeks) to photograph her entire wardrobe...here is one of my faves. I loved these pjs when I saw them and have been waiting for Ruth Ann to be big enough to fit in them. They're "At Home" pjs, which is really cute brand if anyone is interested. They're still a little bit big, but I couldn't resist getting a picture of her wearing them today. The bow wasn't really necessary, but it tames her wild hair on top. This girl has some crazy hair!

Ruth Ann loves her big brother

Everyone who has met Spencer and spent any time with him knew he would be a great big brother. A lot of our friends have kids and he's always great with them. Arch and I have both enjoyed seeing him spend time with Ruth Ann and help out with feedings. Spencer got the day of school on Tuesday due to snow...yep we had a dusting of snow on Tuesday and everything shut down. Here he is helping me with a feeding Tuesday morning.

Ruth Ann at 7 weeks

7 weeks old, can you believe it? It's amazing how much she continues to change...she seems to be growing up right before our eyes. I swear she looks bigger every time I pick her up from her nap. Our major objective at Ruth Ann's 7 weeks of life is to establish a feeding and sleeping schedule. I'm doing my best to follow Baby Wise and she's a great night time sleeper, but day time naps are not her strength. Oh how I miss those early weeks when she would do nothing but eat and sleep peacefully. Everyone kept telling me she would wake up at 6 weeks and boy is she awake. She typically only naps for about 45 minutes. Baby Wise describes this as the "45 minute intruder" and is completely normal for a few days...however, this is week 2 of this behavior. Do you know how much you can get done when your child only naps for 45 minutes at a time...next to nothing. I had big list of chores I wanted to get accomplished during my maternity leave...ha! My list of chores has been edited to only include make bottle, feed Ruth Ann, clean bottle, and sterlize bottle...repeated 7-8 times daily. Laundry is also sqeezed in mix, but I seem to be doing more of Ruth Ann's laundry than my own.

Here is a gift from my Aunt Jill's visit this past weekend. My aunt has always had horses and it's only appropriate that she give Ruth Ann her first horse...even if it's stuffed and on rockers. It's already been a source of enjoyment in our home...when you squeeze the ears it makes a galloping sound and a naying sound (you know, the sound a horse makes). Anyway, it's very amusing to watch the dogs response to horse sounds...Griff tucks his tail and runs...very funny.

I love how chubby her little cheeks are in this picture. During the last two weeks Ruth Ann has been on a eating kick. I was having trouble getting her to eat a 3 oz bottle, but lately she's downing a 4 oz bottle with little to no difficulty. I think she's in the middle of a growth spurt...too much more of this and she's going to be as round as she in long!


This is the dress I wore home from the hospital in 1978! My grandmother, who Ruth Ann is named after, bought it for me to wear home. Since Ruth Ann was born in December it wasn't really the right weather for her to wear short sleeves home, but I wanted to get a photo with her wearing it before she got too big.


I'm trying to decide which I like better...photo with hair bow or head band. She obviously doesn't need the head band since she has an adequate amount of hair to hold a bow, but I think these head bands are so cute.

Ruth Ann at 6 weeks

Here are some pictures from this past week. Her skin looks so much better now so I'm sure we'll be snapping pictures more frequently.

I know this looks like she's smiling...however, she was getting ready to cry and I happened to have good timing when I snapped the picture. Either way it turned out to be a cute picture.

I love the cute face she's making in this picture.

This is one of my favorite outfits for Ruth Ann to wear right now. I didn't monogram it myself, it came this way as a gift from a friend from Pottery Barn Kids. The whole outfit looks like long johns and is extra comfy on these cold days.

A visit from Aunt Jill

Today we got a surprise visit from my Aunt Jill (my mom's sister). Growing up my Aunt Jill was one of my very favorite people so I really enjoyed seeing her with Ruth Ann.

Ruth Ann meets Savannah

Last spring when we found out we were expecting Ruth Ann, some friends of ours discovered they were also expecting and were due 10 days after Ruth Ann's expected due date. Carter, Savannah's mom, and I play tennis on the same team and Michael, Savannah's dad, plays on Arch's tennis team. Carter and I knew right away that play dates would be in our future but we were even more excited when we found out during the summer that we were both having girls! Perhaps Savannah and Ruth Ann will be doubles tennis partners one day. Here they are at their first offical play date.

5 weeks old

I can hardly believe Ruth Ann is 5 weeks old...I know I say that every week, but really, I can't believe it. On Wednesday I'm having Ruth Ann's newborn pictures taken, so today I decided to have a trial run at photos with my new camera. Here's some of the highlights. I was able to get a really great shot that I'm thinking about using for birth announcements. I'm really waiting for her skin to clear up before I commit to a picture.

Is there anything more precious than a sleeping baby??

Thanks Kate and Ms. Kay for the Auburn bloomers!

Auburn Tiger in the making. Thanks Grammie for the tiny tiger.

This photo is very similar to the picture I like for her birth announcement.

Here's why we needed a trial run. Ruth Ann is a great baby, but she's most awake & alert just before a feeding. It's a fine line we walk between happiness and hunger.

Ruth Ann meets her college roommate

Ruth Ann doesn't know it yet, but she'll be enrolling at Auburn University in the fall of 2026. One of my best friends from high school married an Auburn grad and they live in Alabama with their 3 precious girls. Their youngest Julianna will be Ruth Ann's roommate at Auburn...or so her mother and would like to believe. Here is the picture that will hang in their dorm room their freshman year.

Holly and Edee are great big sisters and were very eager to help hold and feed Ruth Ann during our visit.  Ruth Ann seems to be a little camera shy in this picture.

I hope Ruth Ann will be as beautiful and sweet as these girls.  I just wish they lived closer so we could visit more often.

Ruth Ann loves her cousins

Growing up I never really got to spend much time with my cousins. All my cousins were either 10+ years older or 10 years younger than me and lived hours away. Ruth Ann is lucky enough to have cousins who live right here in Columbia. Arch's mom will be keeping Ruth Ann when I go back to work and her cousins Madison and Ethan will also be there with her. I love that she'll grow up having a close relationship with her cousins...here are Ethan and Madison getting to know and love Ruth Ann on New Year's Eve.