My Egghead, My Valentine

Paul has a new hobby... grilling. But not just regular grilling... grilling on the BGE ~ otherwise known as the Big Green Egg. My dad got him started with this over the summer. The BGE is a ceramic smoker that uses charcoal or wood chips. A couple days before Valentines Day, he got a second Egg. I decided this would be his Valentines gift. ;) My dad then built him his own special table for his two Eggs to sit in. I think he is officially an Egghead now. After all, he even takes pictures of the food he makes on his Eggs! But I can't complain... it's all delicious! He has used it throughout our mild South Dakota winter, and so far he has made ribs (our old fave!), a whole chicken (our current fave!), potatoes, steaks, brats, asparagus, and even a pizza!

Pictured with Paul: My dad, also an owner of two Eggs, and my brother, who just received his first Egg for his birthday!

Cities Trip

In early February we took a little trip to the Twin Cities to meet up with Jon, Stef, and Sydney. We stayed at a hotel right near the Mall of America with an awesome pool for our girls. They absolutely loved the pool. The first night we spent nearly four hours in the pool area!

We also spent quite a bit of time at the Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America. Ruby was able to experience her first roller coaster, ferris wheel, carousel, and many other rides. At first we weren't sure of her feelings about them, but after the first afternoon, she loved them all!

The best hugger in town

She gives the best hugs, I swear! ;)

My little helper!

Iowa City in January

Last week we traveled to Iowa City for a few days. We were able to meet up with our good friends, the Beimers and the Kallemeyns. Here is Paul and Ruby with Scott and Lauren Kallemeyn. Lauren is just 7 weeks younger than Ruby. ;)

We headed to an Iowa Women's basketball game with Jon and Stef. Ruby loved the action and especially the pep band.

Nicole and Lauren met us for swimming one morning. The girls had a lot of fun!

We were also able to go to a Lone Tree basketball game. It was very nice to see some of my old friends!

Christmas

Better late than never, right?! I figured since January is about over, I better update the blog or January will be non-existent on my blog profile! Paul worked over Christmas so Ruby and I headed to Sibley for a few days without him. Then we celebrated with Paul's family Dec.30 and 31st at our house. It was a lot of fun...except I ended up getting sick so Ruth and Stef ended up taking care of every meal and all the cleanup, so I felt really bad about that since I was supposed to be the host...oh, and it was our 7th anniversary on the 31st too. We had plans to go out with Jon, Stef, and Joel, but I ruined those plans...I was in bed by 9:30. Happy New Year! Good memories! :) We then drove back to Sibley on January 1st and celebrated with my family. It was a wonderful time and Ruby enjoyed opening her presents and playing with the boxes they came in!

My family:

My parents, Bill and LaDonn

Paul, me, Ruby, my sister Hattie, my sister-in-law Carrie, and my brother Kenny

Paul's Family:

Paul's dad Gary, brother Joel

Paul, me, Ruby, Paul's mom Ruth, niece Sydney, sister-in-law Stef, and brother Jon

My Aunt Susan and her kids were here from Colorado for the holidays so we had to take them to Peach Wave. We are hoping to make a trip to see them for Turner's graduation in May.

Ruby's ONE!

My baby girl is ONE! Goodness, this year has flown and so much has changed for our little family! I can honestly say, that Paul and I have enjoyed every minute of this year with our precious babe. Ruby is such a joy and we simply cannot kiss her and hug her enough!

We had a little party for her on Saturday with our immediate families. She has been such a momma's girl lately and I was worried she'd be pretty shy with so many people in her house. But I was wrong! She was the life of the party! She showed off all of her tricks and enjoyed showing people how old she is now! The many gifts she received was just one more reminder of how spoiled and utterly blessed we are! Ruby did just what I expected when it came to her cake. She picked at it for the first little bit and when she realized we weren't going to take it away, she dug in and got very messy! As far as I could tell, she thoroughly enjoyed her birthday!

At her one year doctor appt. she weighed 23 pounds, 14.5 ounces which put her in the 90th percentile. Her height shot up from the 69th percentile (from her 9mo. appt.) to the 90th percentile! Her head circumference is still around the 25th percentile. She still has 7 teeth. She practically runs behind her walker, especially when being chased, but still isn't interested in taking any steps on her own. We have caught her letting go of furniture, toys, etc. lately but she will only stand on her own for a couple seconds before sitting down and crawling to her next destination. A couple weeks ago she climbed the entire set of stairs from our basement to the upstairs on her first try. She is fast, funny, and friendly! She waves to every stranger around lately, and makes some of the funniest faces! Her latest tricks are showing us she's ONE, tapping her legs, finding her ears, signing "more," and blowing kisses! She has taken on many nicknames in her first year of life (Rubes, Ruby Doobie, Rubes-Scadoobs, Root-Scooten' Doobie, to name a few!) and I'm sure there will be many more to come!

Ruby,

We love you forever and for always! We can't believe God gave you to us and we are excited to see what this next year brings for you. XOXO

~Mommy and Daddy