Sick baby

What a week it has been...these pictures were all taken on Monday afternoon...little did we know what Monday night would hold for us...



She's so close to walking I can barely stand it! She has times where she'll let go, but in a matter of seconds she drops to the floor and takes off in a sprint like crawl.



One of Ruth Ann's favorite past times is pulling all of the magazines out of this basket pictured to her left and tossing them all over the floor. Please know that we have supplied her with ample toys (as seen in the background) and books, but she continues to pick out dated magazines as her choice reading literature.



Thank goodness for graham crackers...that's what she's stuffing in her mouth...it's the only nourishment she's had all week. As I said, these pictures are all from Monday afternoon. I started to notice she had a wet cough as the day wore on...however, she woke up at 11pm barking like a sea lion. I woke Arch up, made him listen to it, then called my mom, woke her and my dad up, and asked her what she thought we should do. She suggested we call the on-call nurse, so I did and we were told it sounded like croup. Arch stayed home with her the next day to take her to see the doctor. He confirmed this diagnosis and put her on a steroid. That was the worse her cough ever sounded, now it's back to a wet cough, but it's just not going away. Her nose has also run like a faucet all week and I'm convinced I will now be spending the next 10 years of my life holding a tissue to a tiny nose and asking mini-Arch to "Blow". Ruth Ann also threw up on me for the first time...lovely...she wasn't a baby who ever really spit up much so this was new for me...if I didn't feel like a mother before, believe me, once someone throws up on you and you a) don't throw up in return & b) still love them...you know you're a mother!

Gift from Toni

I know most of you who follow my blog never got the chance to meet brother. My sweet sister-in-law, Toni, gave me a very thoughtful gift for Christmas but for you to realize how much it means to me you need to know a little bit about Adam. Adam loved being outside...I mean LOVED being outside. He spent the better part of his childhood (and adulthood) dirty from playing outside from sun up to sun down. As a little kid he was always in the process of building a fort and as a big kid he built the log cabin he and Toni would call home. Adam, my dad and my uncles regularly camped in the mountains of North Carolina where Adam developed fishing skills my dad and uncle just couldn't compete with. During the family visitation prior to Adam's funeral my Uncle JR told us that had it not been for Adam's fishing expertise they would have gone hungry on a few of those camping trips. But Adam wasn't just a good at fishing with a rod & reel...he enjoyed fly fishing which I think is an art if you've ever seen it with your own eyes. For Christmas this year Toni gave me a framed picture of 2 fish and dry flies Adam had tied. I had expected Christmas to be really difficult this year and I made it through tear-free until I opened this gift. I can't tell you how much it means to me to have a gift like this that is so "Adam".

Ruth Ann chats...

So Arch and I got a fabulous new camcorder from Christmas from my mom. It records in high def...so now I need a Blue Ray player and computer that will let me record to blue ray discs! In the meantime, I wanted to try posting a video for you to hear what Ruth Ann has to say these days. YouTube took FOREVER to download...does anyone have any suggestions on how I can make this a faster process??



I think it's so funny when I'm trying to help Ruth Ann with the sound the lamb makes...I was mouthing it to her and she mouths it right back at me...so cute!



Now that we've expanded our memory keeping technology you'll be able to see (& hear) a lot from us!

Happy 40th Rex!!

Arch's best friend growing up was his neighbor Rex. If you haven't had the good fortune to meet Rex let me tell you he's one of the craziest guys you'll ever meet. His wife Dawn and I have known each other my whole life...Dawn's sister Donna worked with Arch and she and Rex were who set Arch and I up on our blind date many years ago...we're a close knit bunch, but don't get to visit with these friends often enough. Tonight Rex's wife put together a surprise party for his 40th birthday...



Ruth Ann and Rex's youngest daughter (Eva) got to play together a little bit...









Ruth Ann wore the cutest outfit...I got it at the Junior League Holiday Market a few weeks ago. My sewing teacher has plans of helping our class recreate this outfit...it's so cute...Ruth Ann's is still a little big but will look so cute when she starts walking...



I can't wait to start making one out of every cute fabric I can get my hands on!!!

The McCarty's Christmas 2009

Okay, get settled in...this is going to be a very long post full of dialog and plenty of pictures for your enjoyment...

Our Christmas celebration began on Christmas Eve. For those of you who don't know, Arch & his Ex share 50/50 custody of Spencer. The rule for Christmas is that if we have him on Christmas Eve, then he wakes up at our house Christmas day and goes to spend Christmas day and night with his mom...and vice versa...this year he was with us on Christmas Eve, so we did all our family celebrations on Christmas Eve.

We started our day bright & early at the McCarty's for a breakfast of waffles and sausage patties. I did take a few pictures of the grandkids, but they didn't turn out great, so I'm choosing not to post them!

Then we went home to rest and I took the opportunity to wrap a few more presents before heading to my parents for the afternoon to unwrap gifts galor!

Here are the girlies before we dove into all the gifts! It was so much fun to see the two of them play together during this visit. It's amazing to see how much each of them has changed. When we went to Disney this past summer Ruth Ann wasn't mobile yet, but Ada was begging Ruth Ann to come and play here and now Ruth Ann joins in on the fun and even says Ada's name! They're both growing up way too fast!



Opening presents was a bitter sweet time, I'll share more of that in a blog post later, but I do appreciate all the kind words and thoughts from friends during the last few days. Having Ada and Ruth Ann helped to take our minds off Adam's absence. Have you ever heard the phrase "When God closes a door, He opens a window."? That kinda sums up how a I felt about Christmas this year. As much as Adam's absence was missed, seeing two little girls enjoy Christmas took away some of that pain. Thank Heaven for little girls!

Ada helped her momma open some gifts...



Ada needed very little help this year. We got Ada a Baby Stella doll just like one Ruth Ann has, which confused Ruth Ann a little bit and she may have thought it was still her baby. Luckily, Grammy bought a new infant Baby Stella for Ruth Ann so her attention was diverted.







Last year my mom decided to make all Christmas decorations at her house kid friendly. What that has come to mean is that all decorations within a child's reach is plush and sings a song and maybe even does a little dance. Here are Ada and Ruth Ann playing with one of their favorites...





Ruth Ann also got some really great books with matching storey book characters from Aunt Toni & Ada...Fancy Nancy and If You Give a Cat a Cupcake.





Spencer also had a very exciting and profitable Christmas. He's pealing a $100 bill from this hat and many more of his gifts from my mom had a variety of dollar bills taped to them.



There are head lights on the bill of this hat...very clever!





Arch also scored big this Christmas. Here's a little bit of information you should know...I hate recliners. I hate the way they look, I hate what they do to a living room and I have vowed to never have one in my living room...however, I ate those words this year. Arch does a lot to make sure I can spend a few extra days at home with Ruth Ann. I took a pretty big pay cut to work part time and I value every minute I get to spend with this sweet girl, so I wanted to do something special for Arch to thank him for what he does to allow this to be possible...so he got a recliner from Christmas. It will not be delivered until next week, so I wrapped a picture of it in a tiny little box...here he is opening up his surprise...





That tiny red box in his right hand was what the paper was folded in...very clever if I do say so myself!

We opened presents for hours....here's Ruth Ann climbing over some of the presents...





No one uses the Bumbo seat at my mom's house, but it's still a fun toy to play with!

But all this fun really took a toll on Ruth Ann and it was time to go home...here's the proof...



Then Christmas morning we were visited by Santa!

Ruth Ann woke up at 6:30am...about 2 hours earlier than her usual wake time...she must have known what was waiting for her. But I brought her to bed with me where she slept until 9am...that's more like it! However, we both eventually got up and she got to check out her goodies!



Here are a few of my favorite things for jolly old Saint Nicholas...



Santa must know Ruth Ann needs to learn the basics before she starts working on her application to Auburn!



I have all the Holiday's Barbie from 1988-2000. That was when we were told the Holiday Barbie line had ended...however, a few Christmas's ago I noticed it had returned. I was a little disappointed I had missed a few years, but now Ruth Ann can look forward to receiving her own Holiday Barbie every year...it was always at the top of my wish list!



And this farm is similar to the Fisher Price farm set I had when I was Ruth Ann's age. I had my hopes up that it would be exactly the same, but it's really not as great as the one I remember. When the barn doors opened on mine they "mooed" and the barn was actually part of the toy. The barn with this set is kinda like a lunch box, but she did enjoy the tractor.

Here are some pictures of Ruth Ann getting into her toys...



Ruth Ann loved her new kitten...but doesn't her real life kitty look a little bit sad about this turn of events...take a look over Ruth Ann's shoulder. She and Lacie have become buddies in recent weeks...I think Lacie thinks she's found a new kitty to love and her heart is a little broken.



Check out Ruth Ann's rooster tail/bed head!







This picture fills my heart with pride!



Ruth Ann is great at taking puzzles apart...



Not so great at putting them back together...yet...



Later that day my family came over to what has become a traditional chili dinner. It rained all day long so we couldn't take the wagon out for spin, but Aunt Toni rode the girls around the living room instead...





Ruth Ann had just hit Ada in the head with her book...Ruth Ann doesn't look too sorry about it...



Ada looks like she's in complete shock...but she was okay!

I can hardly believe Christmas has already come and gone...now it's time to start planning our summer vacation!!

SoHOHOHO much better!!

If you recall my soap box ranting from a few weeks ago I was highly disgusted with the Santa at Columbiana Centre & you're if wondering, I did call the following morning to report said disgust. The person I spoke with explained to me how they out source this job and use a company who apparently employees Santa's for the holiday season. She offered to contact the company and perhaps they would offer me so coupons for future visits. I declined and stated I would never be having pictures taken at their mall again.

I complained about our awful experience to anyone who would listen, sorry if you had to hear the story more than once and that you're reliving it again now. In my rantings, I complained to one of my co-workers who recommended Richland Fashion Mall...or whatever it's called now, if you're a Columbia native you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to find out she is an actual photographer whose studio is in the mall, but during the holidays (Christmas & Easter) she uses a vacant space in the mall to take seasonal pictures.

It was FANTASTIC! The day we went was "Santa's Workshop" and is designed for kids who are afraid of Santa...there are also traditional days to visit too. Santa was behind the scenes when we arrive and were ushered into Santa's Workshop. They had me place Ruth Ann on Santa's work bench and stand behind her (distracting her) while Santa came in while in stealth mode...Ruth Ann was completely unaware of the jolly old man watching from behind...



Then I slowly removed myself from the pictures...



Ruth Ann got to work on some painting...don't worry, the paint was dried on the brushes...completley harmless & messless!



Still clueless there's a man in red standing behind her...



Ruth Ann: "Wait a minute...do you smell milk and cookies with a hint of reindeer??"



Oh, that must be you! The photographer was so worried Ruth Ann was going to have melt down when she spotted him. I used this as an opportunity once again to revisit our terrible trip to Columbiana to which she said several others had also complained to her in recent weeks. However, since she had already met Santa once she felt like they were old friends...maybe that's the silver lining to the whole story!



Is it bothering anyone else that the back of Ruth Ann's hair looks like a bird has tried to nest in it?? It sure was bothering me...the photographer was afraid I would scare her and set Ruth Ann off into tears. I didn't care, I live on the edge & had faith that my child would allow me to fix her hair. The photographer didn't have the inside knowledge I had...I've been brushing tangles out of this child's hair since she was 1 week old and now bows don't hold her hair out of her face...I have to use tiny rubber bands. Every morning I tug and pull to get the rubber band in just right...all the while Ruth Ann doesn't make a peep. I don't think I have a tender headed child...thankgoodness!



Then they worked together a little bit...



Then they chatted a little bit...



Then it was time to go, but not before getting a quick hug from the big guy...



FANTASTIC! The photographer took 60+ pictures for me to choose from. I had plans of only purchasing the cd, but you got a discount on the cd if you bought a few picutres...I bought the cheapest package & the cd which was the same cost as the cd only, but atleast I got a few pictures that were touched up...here's the picture I thought was the best...



I'm sold...this is where we'll be taking all our Santa's photos from here on out! And I promise not to bring up the terrible experience again!!