Lunch Pool Side

Brantley and I officially welcomed in the summer at my mom's pool a few weeks ago. The water was a still in the mid-70's at the time so Ruth Ann wasn't loving it...but she did enjoy lunching pool side...





By the size of her little chubby thighs you can tell she enjoys lunching anywhere!

Strawberry Pickin'

Oh I've been a bad, bad blogger...I have several posts that I hope will make up for being MIA during the last few weeks.



A few weeks ago my friend Auralee invited me and Ruth Ann out to the local strawberry patch to do a little pickin'. I was little concerned Ruth Ann would pick every berry in sight...green and red alike...but to my surprise she only picked a few but each of them were ripe.





What I loved most about the strawberry patch was the wide open spaces. The kids could run around and you could spot them anywhere. I love that we live so close to the "country" to be able to enjoy an afternoon of strawberry pickin'.



Ruth Ann also enjoyed sampling the goods the strawberry patch had to offer...



Is that the face of a statisfied customer or what??

Christopher also decided to sample the strawberries...how could he not when Ruth Ann made them look so delicious?



I'm not sure whether his bib survived.

All is all it was a fun day. Thanks again Auralee for asking the McCarty family to tag along!

Secrets...

We've been keeping a little secret around the McCarty house...we've slowly let the secret out to friends and family, so I guess it's time to make a public announcement on the blog...I'll let Ruth Ann share the news...



I guess she'll officially be a "Big Sis" on January 16, 2011...give or take a day! We're very excited and still in a little bit of shock to soon have 3 children in our house...we're letting them out number the parents! When I got married to Arch I told him I had always wanted 3 children...since he already had Spencer (my 15 year-old step-son), I got one child with the marriage which is easier on your figure than the alternative of child birth! When we decided to have our first child together it took almost a year and half. Those were long hard months, but in the end Ruth Ann was totally worth it all! So in April we decided we were ready for a our 2nd baby...and in May I was pregnant...it's so crazy how much my body has changed since having Ruth Ann and this Fertile Myrtle pregnancy is just another example. Arch and I were both a little shocked we got pregnant so quickly this time, but on Tuesday we went to the doctor for my first ultrasound and saw Baby McCarty with a little flickering heart beat...yep, I'm pregnant! It was kinda weird being back in my OB's office pregnant again. I kinda felt like I had just done all these same appointments with Ruth Ann, but it's been 2 years ago...time is going way to quickly. I loved seeing the ultrasound, but with Ruth Ann I ended up having more than my fair share of ultrasounds from weeks 16-24 so we saw lots of profile shots, arms, legs, etc...this first ultrasound looks like a lima bean...no identifiable body parts yet...I'm left now to wait for week 20 when we get to see a little developed baby...I can't wait.

Here are some questions I've been asked so far, and maybe one of these has crossed your mind too...

1. How far apart will Ruth Ann and Baby be?

25 months, Ruth Ann's b-day is Dec. 1st and Baby should be here mid-January

2. How are you feeling?

Ask me in first thing in the morning, I feel great...ask me between lunch and bed time, I feel like I'm going to be sick. Just like with my first go round, I start getting sick to my stomach at lunch time and it lasts until I go to bed. I'm taking meds just like before and it does take the edge off, but I still feel yucky. I've been on South Beach for the last 5 months and lost 25-30lbs. I had planned on staying true to the diet and avoid white flour and sugar...but guess what makes me feel better??? Animal crackers...and the are far from South Beach friendly. Thankfully I know this will only last until about week 14, so the end isn't too far off. If history repeats itself the rest of the pregnancy will be smooth sailing!

3. Do you want a boy or girl?

With Ruth Ann I would have answered GIRL everytime I was asked...but with Baby I feel like since we already have one of each then it really doesn't matter. A boy will throw a serious wrench in our current room assignments...I'll be losing my sewing room until Spencer graduates in 3 years and we'll need to do some work on the room over the garage to make it living area for Spencer, but I know my parents would really love a grandson so a boy would be a blessing. I also have a feeling God has a plan for me to relive all the fights my brother and I ever had through my mother's eyes...which makes me pretty sure I'll be seeing blue in my future. If it is a girl, then Ruth Ann will get a roommate and Baby will get to use all the cute clothes Ruth Ann barely wore. We will be finding out at 20 weeks (or sooner if I have my way!) so I'll keep you posted!

4. Is this your last?

Yes, yes and yes. I wanted 3 and in January we'll have 3. I'm still worried about handling 2 small children so I'm sure this is my last turn at being pregnant.

I'm looking forward to pulling out my maternity clothes in the weeks ahead and getting reaquainted with my old friend "Elastic Waist Pants". I'm not showing yet, but I can hardly wait to slip into those comfy clothes again! I'll be taking exactly the same number of belly pictures as I did before...ZERO. I didn't get strech marks with Ruth Ann, but I just don't love looking at my own growing belly, so I'm not going to force you to look at it either. I'll keep you posted on all other aspects though!

Spreading the love...

I've mentioned before how much I love Ruth Ann's fearlessness around animals. Today I took Ruth Ann out in the yard to play and our two furry boys showed up to see what we were up to. I asked Ruth Ann to give the dogs a hug and kiss...here's what followed...





So sweet! Too bad both these boys stink to high heaven and she could have possibly used a scrub down after playing with them for even just a few minutes, but still sweet none the less!

It was bound to happen one day...

Ruth Ann has a new love...and no red blooded girl could possibly disagree with her latest obsession...shoes. But not just her shoes, no sir, any pair of shoes she can get her hands on...this is what I found coming out of the kitchen...



Not exactly her size or my favorite style. At one point she had them on correctly, but the left shoe got turned around somehow. She took the time to fix this problem...



Well, almost!

Mother's Day

I'm a little behind the times...I can't believe I've neglected my blog for this long...my apologies!

We started our weekend of celebrating mothers at my brother-in-laws house by grilling out with the entire McCarty family. My niece and nephew got a trampoline recently and spent time showing off some of their tricks...









Ruth Ann joined in the on the trampoline fun, but mostly just rolled around...



This resulted in some serious static to her baby fine hair...



Then she took a quick break to catch her breath...



Then she chatted it up with her grandma for a minute...



And then she was back to playing with her cousins again...



Then on Sunday Ruth Ann and I spent the morning in church nursery. I volunteer one Sunday a month and Mother's Day was the Sunday I started. We're lucky to be members of a church with a great ministry for children. As an aside...if your ever looking for a church family I think the test of a strong & growing church is found in their children's department. So, after you listen to the sermon, ask for a tour of the children's sunday school area...even if you don't have children, I think a church's emphasis on ministering to children is vital to church growth. My opinion, my blog.

Then I did a little sewing while Ruth Ann napped and before I knew it dinner time was upon us. We planned on having dinner with my parents so they met us at our house so I could get a few pictures before we headed out...



All in all, it was a great Mother's Day! I'm already looking forward to next year!

Time to earn her keep...

We've decided it's time for Ruth Ann to pick up a few chores around the house...



She's an expensive member of our family and it's time she earn her keep...just kidding, but I am curious when to start giving Ruth Ann chores. I feel like my entire childhood was filled with chores, but I may be exaggerating just a bit.

Ruth Ann has started taking trash and putting it in the trash can when asked, but she also gets trash out of the trash can when she isn't asked or when her Grammy is here watching her. Her daddy loves a good find at the local dump, so I told Arch it's totally his fault that our sweet little girl is turning into a dumpster diver! I appreciate her desire to want to clean up her mess and I hope this means she'll be a tidy toddler before we know it!

Cause you gotta have friends...

We held our monthly supper club this weekend at Chez Tunmore and this supper club happened to fall on Sally's birthday...here's a picture of all the girls...



Sally's the cute blond on the end. Here are two other cute blonds...



I try so hard to not get my heart set on who Ruth Ann's friends will be when she gets older...but I really hope these 2 little girls stay close friends. As Ruth Ann gets older I see her following Betsy around more and more and I love it! I hope Ruth Ann loves spending time with Betsy as much as I love spending time with her momma and our friends...a girl has to have good girlfriends!

Dinner was fabulous, as always, but Auralee went the extra mile as hostess and bought Sally this delicious looking cake...



But what I wanted to sink my teeth into more than anything was the item I was assigned to bring...



A twice baked potato and yes, they taste as good as the look! But sadly, I'm still on South Beach and close to 30 lbs. down, so I was a good girl...here's what my plate looked like...



But that potato would have been right at home on my plate and later in my belly! Notice how I was sitting right in front of the cake, not a problem, what I've learned on this diet is I'm a salty/savory eater, not a sweets eater...but I've never met a candy bar I didn't love!

I attempted to let Ruth Ann sit with the big kids...



But that was very short lived and she soon found her way into the high chair.

It was another fun evening with good food and good friends. I'm up next as hostess and I have big plans of what the menu will be...one exciting item...Purple Jesus (PJ) for those of you from SC...Hunch Punch for those of you from South Alabama...but a more grown up version that I found in one of my new favorite cook books...



I can't wait!

17 months

I know I say this at least once a month...and usually it's on the first day of the month...but it's worth repeating...I can't believe how fast Ruth Ann is growing up! 17 months can not have really already gone by!



Lately, when I'm asked how Ruth Ann is doing my response is as follows..."She's BAD!". But honestly, she's not into anything different than any other child her age...I think her momma just has unrealistic expectations at times! I love seeing her little personality develop every day...for example...when asked if she wanted a breakfast bar this morning she responded in her favorite way "Umm, No.", I just told Arch she's a girl who knows what she wants and won't take anything less. That character trait will serve her well later in life...just not while she lives under my roof!

Ruth Ann now has 12 teeth. It seems like I waited on the first tooth to pop through for months and now she seems to have a whole mouth full. We're still waiting for the teeth between the top four and back molars to come in so we may see that huge gap between her front two teeth finally close in.

Ruth Ann loves being outside and loves long walks in her wagon. Unfortunately we live in a very hilly neighborhood so our walks are grueling on me...I keep warning Ruth Ann that if she gets much bigger I'm going to make her get out and push!

Potty training has stalled out at our house and I'm afraid I will not be meeting my 18 month deadline I had set for myself. I thought if I put training panties on her for a little while she would find out how wet panties felt and would want to do something about it...I was wrong. She walked around in wet panties like it didn't bother her at all. Oh well, I may need to set a new goal.

My favorite thing Ruth Ann is doing right now is recognizing familiar faces in pictures. For about 6 months or so she would say or sign "baby" when she saw any baby or small child. But now she points to Spencer's pictures and says "Bubba", when she sees my mom's picture (or any woman who looks to be of a grandmotherly age) she says "Mammie" and when I'm on Facebook and she sees a picture of my niece Ada, she says "Addie". I was on the phone one night with my mom, sitting with Ruth Ann in my lap in front of the computer...I'm a serious multi-tasker...anyway, I pulled up Toni's (my sis-in-law) profile and she has a picture of Ada as her profile picture. Ruth Ann immediately said "Addie"...I had seen her do this several times, but my mom had not...she of course thinks her granddaughter's are 2 of the smartest kids on the planet and thought this was particularly cute, so she called Toni to tell her about it. It turns out this was the nickname Toni called Adam so she loved that without any conditioning Ruth Ann had decided to call Ada this same nickname. So sweet, I love the little ways the Lord helps us remember Adam...even if it's just passing along a nickname!

This won't come as a shock to most of you...

It's Friday so that means it's time to post my Friday Favorite and since last week The Other Mama took the week off, I've been saving this post just for today...let me start with this picture and go a little kindergarten on you...

What do these pictures have in common???



Yes, the obvious is Ruth Ann...the most precious and adorable child I know...she's mine, so I'm a little bit (or a lot bit) bias.

I have something else in mind and if I done my job correctly, it may be something that goes unnoticed since I have tried to make it an essential part of Ruth Ann's daily appearance...

Still wondering...it's the bows! I L-O-V-E a fabulous big bow...I mentioned this previously on a past Friday Favorite. But do you know what I love even more than a big bow... paying little to nothing for a fabulous big bow. I'm going to share a well kept secret with you...I never buy bows in boutiques, I rarely pay more than $2 for a bow and I don't even try to make bows for myself. You may be asking yourself if these bows are magically appearing on our bow holder(s) or are they there by Divine intervention...although our Heavenly Father could make bows appear if he wanted to, but it's not His power I rely on...it's the power of Ebay.

I share this link with a little bit of hesitation, not because you mothers of little girls will make my bow vendor very busy, but because the last time I shared a favorite vendor on Ebay she ended up being corrupt and stealing my money and the money of a friend. But so far this vendor has been GREAT! I've bought bows from her about 5 times and every time they arrive with no problems at all, so this time I have great confidence that she won't let anyone down.

Now, go to this link to visit her Ebay store. I usually buy the 10 large bows for $20. When you have a toddler you realize that bows...especially the white ones...don't stay clean for long. I usually buy at least 2 white bows with every order and also replace some of the other lighter colored bows too...at this cost I have zero problem justifying my purchase.

One question I get asked often by both friends and complete strangers is how I can keep her bow in her hair. Most add that their daughter, granddaughter, niece, 2nd cousin twice removed, etc. NEVER kept a bow in her hair. My gut response is to say that Ruth Ann doesn't have a choice (as in most matters where she is concerned) and therefore it remains in her hair...HA! No friends, this child came into the world with a head full of hair and from that day forward she has had a bow in her hair daily...even during those first long weeks where we stayed indoors for days and weeks on end. There have been hundreds of times that I've been on a bow hunt because she had removed her bow outside of my presences. My good friend Auralee is constantly hunting pacies at her house....if we lose a pacie, I buy new ones, but a bow is always recovered! My goal is to have Ruth Ann ask for her bow as we're getting ready in the morning...we're close, she will recover bows she has removed from her hair when asked and she will correctly identify the proper place where her bows belong...on top of her head!

If your little one is too small for the big bows...but I don't think bows can ever be too big...then do an Ebay search for hair bows and I promise you won't be disappointed. I little searching and bidding and you'll find cute and cheap bows in no time!

Dinner with old friends

I'm a proud graduate of Lexington High School, Class of 1996...yikes, that was a long time ago. Two of my good friends from high school were Lisa B. and Aimee W. (I'm not sharing their names encase they don't want it broadcasted on my blog...per Sally B.'s advise...I'm protecting her too...only Sally B. and Brantley C. may understand this!) Anyway, Lisa and I were good friends and sat next to each other in homeroom all through high school and were so excited to know that at graduation we could keep each other company during the long boring ceremony...however, we discovered at graduation rehearsal that I would end the row and she would begin the next row...huge bummer, but we survived this upset to go on to be productive members of society. Aimee moved to our town from a more cheesy state when we were in the 6th grade. I met her then, but we didn't really become good friends until we were in high school when Lisa was the friend we had in common. Lisa and Aimee both attended The College of Charleston, but I ventured farther South to The Plains (Auburn University for those of you who have not been following along to past posts) but I stayed in touch with these girls all along the way. Lisa moved back home and worked with my mom for a little while so we've never lost touch, but Aimee fell in love with a boy from New Jersey and moved to NYC to be with her man...



it wasn't until I fell prey to the influence of Facebook that we reconnected and started to keep in touch like old friends should. Lisa now has 2 precious boys and Aimee recently had her first. She was in town this past week, so I invited everyone over so we could meet Baby Jack.


(oh it hurts my heart to post this picture since I look crap-tastic in it...but it was the only one I had of all three of us)

Ruth Ann had not seen Lisa's youngest in a while, so she had to reacquaint herself by stealing some of his toys and then pretending to share with him...





However, she did show him some love...p.s. this is Ruth Ann's old Bumbo that we got out for the baby boy to sit in.





These 2 are just a little over one year apart...it's amazing to look at this baby and imagine that one short year ago, this was what Ruth Ann was like!

Lisa's oldest is very shy...Ruth Ann was very forward and scared the poor guy into his father's arms!



He warmed up when we got the wagon out for a quick ride...



Aimee has confirmed that there will be more frequent visits to SC per her mom's request thanks to this little guy...



...which makes me very happy! I can't wait for future playdates with my old friends and Ruth Ann's new friends!

Our BC Bearcat

Tonight was the last game Spencer will play as a memeber of the B-Team at BC High School. I've taken my camera out to the ball field every time we've been to a game, but a certain blond...



makes it very difficult to get pictures of the ball game. However, tonight, I was commited to get some pictures of Spencer in action. Spencer is one of the pitchers on his team, but tonight he played 3rd base...



Luckily I was ready to get a picture of him at bat because he only got to hit once and he hit the first ball thrown to him.





But the picture that made tonight my fave was this picture...



This little girl L-O-V-Es her big brother. In her eyes Spencer can do no wrong and I hope she always keeps this blind love for him. All baseball players are "Bubba"...even the pros when Arch is watching major league baseball, they're all Spencer...to her he's the best at everything he does. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone believe in you in that way? Spencer is with us 50% of the time...one week with us, one week with his mom...and the entire week he's away I have to explain daily (and sometimes multiple times daily) where he is...she's always waiting on him to come back home. She points out every picture of Spencer in our house and exclaims "Bubba"...she loves him and he loves her too. Even though they're 14 years apart I hope they always love each other like they do now.