Saturday, November 19, 2011

You decide...

Since the day Ruth Ann was born all I ever hear is how much she looks like her daddy. Apparently the ladies at her pre-school questioned whether or not she was my biological child until the morning Arch dropped her off and they all said "Oh, you're who she looks like." I held out hope that Tripp would perhaps display some of my traits...and prove my gene pool could actually dominate against the very strong McCarty genes. In the weeks after Tripp was born I thought I had succeeded. Tripp looked so much like my dad and brother that I thought finally I had a child who people would say looked just like his momma....but, as Tripp gets older I hear more and more how much he looks like his sister, therefore, he must also be looking like his daddy too. So unfair...I did all the hard work...and still am since I'm still trying to drop the weight from being pregnant with Tripp.

When Ruth Ann was 6 months old I ordered a portrait of her to match one Arch had of Spencer at roughly the same age. I just got Tripp's picture back from being framed so I thought it would be interesting to take a picture of all three together...you decide...do they all look alike. For those who don't know my step-son he is 16 (he will be 17 this week) and is identical to his father. Ruth Ann and Spencer do favor each other...but I think Tripp looks different from the other two. I also think he has my eyes and other members of my family think he looks like my mom's side of the family. To support this arguement, I have a 2nd cousin (my mom and her dad are 1st cousins) who had a baby boy 1 day before I delivered Tripp. There are times when she posts pictures of her little boy and he looks so much like Tripp. She agrees and thinks we have twin cousins...therefore, I'm claiming Tripp as a baby who looks like me and my family...but you decide...

001

post signature

Friday, November 18, 2011

Monkey See, Monkey Do

This past week I sat down at my sewing machine and found this...

012

I had no idea what in the world it was...and if you can't tell by the picture, then let me describe it for you...it's a small piece of corduroy fabric with about 7 straight pins holding it together in a very odd fashion. I have yelled calmly talked with Ruth Ann at great length about keeping her hands off of my sewing table...but the sewing room is also the playroom. This is very convient with I want to sew and keep an eye on the children...it's very inconvient when Ruth Ann finds herself alone in the playroom and the sewing table lures her over with all it's shiney and pointy objects.

005

It may look like a gigantic mess to most...but I know where everything is...kinda. As much as it angers me that Ruth Ann continues to disobey me and plays with things off of my sewing table at the same time it reminds me why I wanted to start sewing in the first place. I grew up watching my mom sew for me...she didn't have a sewing room, so she had to get her machine out and then put it away when she was finished...but I remember wanting to cut with her sissors and play with her things too. I'm hopeful that one day Ruth Ann will remember these days of watching me sew for her and decide to do the same for her children too...but until then, hands off momma's table!


post signature

Monday, November 7, 2011

Party in the front....

...business in the back. My sweet boy has what I've been referring to as a "reverse mullet"...

Front:
002

Back:
012

I'm not sure why his hair has grown out this way...but I long for the days of being able to pull hair out of my infants face with an outfit coordinating hair bow...clearly not acceptable for a little boy. I'm not quite ready for the official first hair cut, so I took matters into my own hands, got I got out my hair shears and went to work to just give it a tiny trim...

015

He looks a little unsure about it but my goal was to make it still look like baby hair...just out of his eyes & to avoid my baby looking like his father may actually be Lloyd Christmas from "Dumb & Dumber". I think I achieved my goal...we'll be going to a pro for our next hair cut...this is another job I feel should best be left to those well trained in their field!

post signature

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Thankful...

During the past week I've had lots of friends posting daily on Facebook...and some even going above and beyond and posting daily on their blogs...about what they're thankful for. I love the idea, but I also know I run hot and cold on posting both on the blog and on Facebook. But the thought of participating had crossed my mind...then Saturday morning I walked in the kitchen and this is what I found...

012

007

016

My sweet children and husband (who may have the worst bed head of anyone on the planet) making pancakes. In the first picture I have some of the things I'm most thankful for...my husband, my children, Saturday mornings in PJs and carbohydrates! The last of which I have often times found myself being too thankful for and can thank for the extra weight I'm currently starving dieting to try to loss.

And by the looks of the way this baby boy enjoyed his first pancake I'd say we have another carb lover amongst us...

031

post signature

Saturday, November 5, 2011

10 Months Old

Guess who just keeps getting older and older...no matter how many times I tell him to stop...

083

And just when I think it can't get any harder to get his regularly scheduled monthly picture...it does. This month it was particularly difficult to get him to smile and show his shirt at the same time...hence the very serious series of pictures for this month. I'll have to get the shirt and camera back out when Arch is here to help me get him to smile and keep him in one place...it's just too much for this momma to handle at one time!

078

Tripp is pulling up on everything...and now he's cruising too. I keep thinking he's going to let go and start walking any day...but I kinda think he'll be cruising for quite a while.

He continues to babble is his little blond head off...and I'm pleased to say "Mama" is one of his favorite words these days.

070

He's still eating stage 3 foods so well that I haven't tried giving him any table food...but he did have his first pancake this morning so I have a feeling we'll be eating more and more table food this month. Although he is still drinking formula, I think I may have bought my last cans of formula...when these run out we're switching to whole milk. But at the rate groceries keep going up it may actually be less expensive to keep him on formula!

046

Still no teeth...he's been "teething" for months and I've yet to see any sign of teeth. I think Ruth Ann was 11 mths old before she got her first tooth and it looks like Tripp-man is following in her footsteps!

I can barely believe we are closing in on Tripp's first birthday. This time last year we were at Disney and I was 7 months pregnant...in so many ways I feel like it was just yesterday and now suddenly I have this very cute, active, precious beyond words 10 month old baby boy right before my eyes! I love you sweet boy...but seriously, stop getting older!

post signature

Friday, November 4, 2011

Halloween 2011

Last year we celebrated Halloween at Disney and Ruth Ann kinda got an idea of trick or treating as we walked from shop to shop in Downtown Disney...but this year I planned on trick or treating the old fashioned way. We don't live in a neighborhood that trick or treats...but several of my friends do, so we hit their neighborhoods with them.

I probably should have warned them that in my day I was a marathon trick or treater and this habit was fully supported by mom...also a fan of trick or treating...she would let me & my brother go around our neighborhood and then drive us to other local neighborhoods...always following us closely from the car. We decided  to start off our night in the Brown's neighborhood with some of our fun friends...

018

Police man Jay looks like he just had a long night on the night shift...his dad straightened him up and I noticed a little something extra in his gun holster...

075

These sweet girls had a fun time together and in an effort to stay in costume...Betsy referred to Ruth Ann as "Dorothy" all night...

060

067

It's a little known fact that Dorothy loved shopping at Bloomingdale's!

Finally the last pictures were taken...

079

And we were off...

082

088

Since it was still a little day light outside when we finished with the Brown's we headed over to the Clark's who live in a very large and very popular trick or treating neighborhood. The Brown's hung in for about another 30 minutes and the Betsy had her fill. Brantley, her cousin Sydney and I kept going with Ruth Ann and Mason....both of their siblings were home sick and missed out on the action this year. We made it back to the Clark's and as Ruth Ann and I were leaving the neighborhood a little part of me wanted to park, unload her and hit a few more houses...I just can't give up the trick or treating bug. Ruth Ann probably would have been up for it too because she seems to have inherited my love for it...her strategy was to hang out at the bowl longer than all the other kids and that usually scored her an extra piece of candy...or two.

We got back home and surveyed the loot...

089

Not bad at all. Too bad I'm on South Beach and I can't enjoy any of her delicious treats...I have a feeling her big brother will be making a big dent in her stash this week!

post signature

The Brown's Annual Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza

It's been a few weeks since I posted last...life has been busy so now I'm getting ready to blow your blogging socks off with potentially multiple posts today...we'll start where life left off with my last post...

If the McCarty family is anything...we're competitive...sometimes to a fault. On a pretty regular basis Ruth Ann announces she is racing me to her room, to the bathroom, to the living....etc, etc. If you know me & my husband personally you're not the least bit surprised to hear we have produced an uber competitive child. There's one competition our whole family looks forward to every year and that's the Brown's pumpkin carving competition...but first we always head to a local church to pick the perfect pumpkin...

001

I love all the pumpkins lined up in nice rows and this always makes for a great photo op...

Here are my little residents of OZ...

I've basically given up trying to get a picture where both my children are looking at the camera...especially when we're in public, so here's one good one of Ruth Ann...and then one good one of Tripp...

004

007

I also wanted to get a cute picture of Tripp crawling down an isle...but he wasn't interested, so this is the best I could get...you know how I love those sweet lips...

018

And while I was doing this...Ruth Ann was in the car doing this with the stickers she got from the pumpkin patch...

022

Now let me say this...this wasn't my first rodeo at pumpkin carving...even though Sally has lots of stencils available for carving...I brought my own this year and I upped my bling factor this year...

029

But the competition was steep because there was some serious pumpkin carving going on...

025

027

028

036

040

034

You may have noticed kids for the most part are noticeably absent since all the adults were seriously concentrating on their pumpkins. Spencer is always a hit at the Brown's party and I'm not sure what we'll do in 2 years when he's off at college and no longer wants to hang out with us at the Brown's party...

033

You may also have noticed that the kids are all dressed up in their Halloween costumes...Sally use to have a competition for adult costumes, but over time most of the adults have stopped dressing up so there was no competition this year. And Sally never has a competition for the kids...she gives them all a treat for being there...but had there been a competition...this sweet girl may have taken home the grand prize...

042

But these two sweet girls looked pretty cute themselves...

052

And this was the best picture I could get of my little lion on the prowl...

047

Thanks again Sally for a fun time! Can't wait until next year!

post signature