Open ceremonies at the new pool

I know we all think our grandparents treated us better than our parents when we were growing up. I know I do. Don't get me wrong, I grew up knowing my parents loved me very much...but I could do no wrong in my grandparents eyes. I have memories of my grandma reading stories to me at my bed side until I fell asleep. My mom sent me straight to bed...no stories...but I can't blame her...Ruth Ann is a fantastic baby, but when it's bed time, that means I get some quite time...and that quite time is priceless.

Now let me say Ada and Ruth Ann are very lucky little girls. They have a Grammy (& Grumpy) that love them very much and desire nothing more than for both of them to spend days (if not weeks) at their house. Last summer when I found out I was having a girl making Ada & Ruth Ann almost exactly 1 year apart...my mom went a little "Grammy Crazy". First she joined the Disney Vacation Club so we will have family vacations together for the next 50 years. This means Toni and I will be vacationing together even when we're grandparents ourselves!

Next came the announcement that Grammy & Grumpy would be breaking ground on a new swimming pool complete with slide & diving board!! The ironic thing is that this pool sits in the exact location where I use to lay out in the sun when I was still living at home...oh how I wish this pool had been there 15 years ago!

Here is Spencer breaking in the sliding board...





When do you think Ruth Ann will be sliding with Spencer down the slide??



Grammy and Ruth Ann



The diving board looks like it works too.



I think Ruth Ann is saying "Spencer, are you crazy?? The water is still too cold for me."



Crazy boys...the water temp was around 75 degrees...still to cold for me, but they said it actually felt pretty good. I'll jump in when the temp hits 80 degrees!



Instead of lounging in the pool, Ruth Ann spend some time indoors. This was one of Ada's favorite toys. It's a stationary jumper. Although Ada had hours of fun in this jumper, I'm told it leads to some very messy diapers! So far, Ruth Ann seems to have enjoyed it...we'll just have to make sure she gets in here with a clean diaper!

Our very own BC Bearcat

This spring we were very excited at the McCarty house to find out Spencer had made B-team baseball. When I first met Arch he was the father of an 8 year old...now Spencer, or Spence as he likes to be called socially, is 14 years old and playing high school baseball. Here is Spence in his uniform...doesn't he look grown up??



Here is Ruth Ann...she say's "Put me in coach, I'm ready PLAY!". But how will she ever catch a baseball with her fingers in her mouth??

Do you remember these babies??

Do you remember these two babies?? This is Griff and Ruth Ann at the end of January...


Here are the same two babies tonight...at the end of April. I can hardly believe how much they have both grown and changed! Although Ruth Ann has gotten much bigger, I don't think she'll ever catch up with Griff!

My favorite t-shirt

010, originally uploaded by taramccarty1978.

This is my favorite t-shirt...but I love anything with a kitty on it. When Anna came home I bought anything that had a cat on it to give to her. Andrea and I have lots of things in common...our love for our furry feline friends is just one of many things that we share in common. Our hope was that Anna would also love kitty cats if she had lots & lots of cat stuff...it's working on Anna, so we're attempting it with Ruth Ann. Ruth Ann's name sake (my Grandma) was also a big lover of kitty cats. I know she would LOVE seeing Ruth Ann is all things kitty. Now I buy anything I see with a kitty on it and Andrea is doing the same. We came home from Auburn with several cute kitty items...but this is my favorite!

Ruth Ann goes to Samford Hall

065, originally uploaded by taramccarty1978.

I love this picture. I can't wait to take more pictures of Ruth Ann on future trips to Auburn!

Ruth Ann takes a road trip...

This past weekend Ruth Ann and I made our first road trip together...some of you may be saying "Yikes!! Has Tara lost her mind??". Ruth Ann had proven herself to be a good passenger on a long day of driving a few weeks ago, but a 4 1/2 hour trip would be the true test of her passenger abilities. She was great...I think she was good passenger because she knew we were Auburn bound...I'm always happy when I'm headed to Auburn!

So what prompted this trip?? My friends Amanda (my first friend at Auburn) and Candi (one of my college roommates) had not met Ruth Ann. Candi was driving in from Texas for A-day (Auburn's spring football game) so I organized a trip to Auburn with a stop in Columbus, Ga to visit Amanda. Ruth Ann also needed to visit her future college campus!! Candi's youngest child ended up getting sick so we didn't get to see them...we were all very disappointed, but glad to hear Landon is feeling much better now. There will be other trips when we can meet up in Auburn...now we'll just look forward to seeing them on another visit...I see LOTS more trips to Auburn in Ruth Ann's future!

So here is Ruth Ann ready to roll out of the driveway on Thursday morning. With her belly full she was asleep about 15 minutes into the trip. She started to wake up by the time we got to Atlanta and napped a little bit more between there and Columbus. All in all she was an excellent passenger!

Here is Amanda's little boy, Asher. Both our little criminals are in their striped pj's so Amanda and I couldn't pass up the chance to get their picture together!

I love how they're checking each other out! TOO CUTE!



This is Asher's Jack in the Box...it's much less frightening than the one I grew up with. A sock puppet doesn't have near the scare factor as a clown!



We got to Andrea's house on Friday afternoon. Here is Andrea, Anna and Ruth Ann chilling out & watching TV. Andrea had a lap full between the girlies and CJ (her cat sitting right below Ruth Ann).



Anna enjoyed Ruth Ann's Bumbo while we were there. She may have sat in it as much as Ruth Ann did!



Here are the girlies spending Saturday morning in their pj's. Anna was very sweet to Ruth Ann...I know they're going to love each other very much.



You may be asking yourself....What could Ruth Ann be watching so intently??



Anna introduced Ruth Ann to Dora the Explorer. It won't be long now until Ruth Ann is speaking Spanish!



The two little princesses. Anna briefly shared her crowns with Ruth Ann so we could get a quick picture.



Ruth Ann may not quite be ready to wear a crown...she doesn't know what to think about it in this picture!



Here are my favorite pictures...Ruth Ann at Samford Hall.



Thanks to Andrea I was able to get these pictures. Unfortunately picture time was also nap/lunch time...Anna had a small melt down which left Andrea with her hands full.



Gosh....I love this place...Samford Hall is such a beautiful building.



Here's my very favorite picture...



Thanks again Andrea for all your help! Poor Anna...what do you think will make you feel better??



Ruth Ann's pacie...you got it girl! Anna missed out on the some to the simple pleasures before coming home from Guatemala. She's been eyeing Ruth Ann's pacie for some time. I promise we fed her and let her nap after we took this picture. She spent the afternoon in a much better mood.



Saturday night we visited my cousins. Here's Caroline with Ruth Ann...when I was in graduate school Caroline was 3 years old...she's growing up so fast!



Here's Jack and Caroline with Ruth Ann. What good looking kids! My family obviously has excellent genes!



What a fun trip! I'm looking forward to lots more trips with my baby girl. I hope she continues to be a good passenger because I had a lot of fun having her with me.

Yummy

I think a debate could be made for Easter having the best candy of all the holiday seasons....Reese's Eggs, Peeps, Cadbury chocolate...there's no doubt this holdiay provides me with a lesson in self control as I cruise the candy isle at Target. I promise I could eat my weight in Cadbury chocolate! Alas, this candy season has come and gone and I must bid all these fabulous treats a fond farewell...Goodbye old friend...see you again next year!

HE HAS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN INDEED!

Last night I got online to check out Facebook. Many of my friends and family were wishing everyone a Happy Easter. One of my friends from high school, Allison, left a very sweet message that I've been thinking about ever since I read it. Her younger sister, Carla, passed away last year due to a sudden illness. Carla was 28 years old and left behind a husband and young child. I know Allison and her family have been dealing with the same feelings of grief and loss during this last year that my family and I have been feeling these last few weeks. Here is what Allison had to say... "This will be Carla's best Easter...with a total understanding of Christ's resurrection and a perspective that I pray I will see a glimpse of tomorrow." This morning as I sat in church celebrating Christ's victory of death, I kept imagining Adam worshipping this morning in the presence of our risen Savior. As sad as we are now, Allison is right, Adam got to have his best Easter ever.

Here is Ruth Ann on her first Easter Sunday. Grammie bought Ruth Ann this beautifully smocked dress...I wish I could take credit for smocking it...maybe next year Ada & Ruth Ann can have matching Easter dresses hand smocked by yours truly! This was also Ruth Ann's first day in the church nursery. I think she had the biggest bow in the room!



I can take credit for this cute top...I appliqued it a few weeks ago. Ada has a matching shirt (the bunny on her shirt is much larger than Ruth Ann's). I hear it was the hit of the egg hunt she went to yesterday. I know you're thinking "Can this shirt get any cuter???" Oh, yes it can...



I think the back of it makes it one of the cutest Easter tops I've ever seen. I know Ruth Ann and Ada will have many dresses with this pattern appliqued on them for years to come!



I debated about whether or not to make an Easter basket for Ruth Ann. I grew up having an Easter basket waiting on me Easter morning and it is something I want to do for Ruth Ann too, but honestly, what would I put in it??? Hair bows, diapers and pacifiers?? We'll wait until next year to start this tradition. Instead of pictures with her Easter basket I decided to get some pictures of Ruth Ann with me and Arch.



Ruth Ann and Daddy...I love this picture...I love them both so much!

Ruth Ann, meet rice cereal

At Ruth Ann's 4 month check up we were given the go ahead to start trying rice cereal. Although she's been eating rice cereal in her bottles for weeks, she hasn't tried eating it from a spoon. Our doctor assures me it's just practice for the real stuff she'll start eating at 6 months...thank goodness...Ruth Ann isn't very good at keeping her food in her mouth!

This pic was taken before we got started...her bib is on and we're ready to roll...

The cereal goes in....but, wait for it...



It comes right back out...is this normal??



At least she's happy, but a McCarty is always happy to be eating!