Ruthie on June 22nd, 2009

As we have dived into the world of all (or at least most) things pink, I decided to start doing a little laundry. I checked into what detergents to buy (I settled on All Free and Clear, per a recommendation from Amber, I think). I went to Sam’s and voila! I started opening packages and gift bags of tiny socks and teeny onesies and fluffy pink blankets. It is an amazing feeling to feel all of the things this little girl who is only about a foot long and pound and half might wear one of these days.

But, I digress. I decided to start to wash a few things, so I don’t get totally overwhelmed in a few months. The most hilarious part was opening the dryer. The lint basket was overflowing with pink fuzz. We decided (well, actually it was Josh’s idea) to document the moment for posterity.

So, here it is, folks, our first load of baby laundry and pink fuzz….

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Ruthie on June 18th, 2009

Friday, I went to what I thought was a surprise going away party for Dr. Speaks and instead found out it was a dual surprise party for Dr. Speaks and baby shower for us. Dr. Speaks and I even looked at each other and yelled surprise, only to then look at each other in bewilderment right afterwards. “This is for you.” “No, this is for you.” Apparently, it was hilarious.

Since it was such a surprise, I didn’t bring my camera (after all, I didn’t want to remember Dr. Speaks leaving…love that lady). But someone did take pictures. I’ll get some soon and post them.

We received so much stuff from everyone in all of the clinics in the building: diapers, tons of clothes, a breast pump, diapies and wipies, shampoos and powders, and a diaper cake. It was amazing and totally overwhelming. We send a huge thanks to all of our work friends!

(Pictures are coming soon.)

Ruthie on June 16th, 2009

The past months, in the midst of our busy-ness and puky-ness, we’ve had visits from several friends and family members which we wanted to tell about.

The Bull family came to visit in February for Ruthie’s birthday weekend. Jason and Jill knew Claire was a fan of all things musical, but they had no idea that when she came into Josh’s realm, she would go crazy. Josh gave her a piano lesson.

First Piano Lesson from josh kested on Vimeo.

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We attempted some birthday ice cream, but I’m not sure Claire was entirely sure of our flavor choice….maybe she just wanted to play the guitar next.

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We loved getting to see our friends from the land of Houstonia. It was shortly after this weekend that we found out Jill and Jason would be due with their baby (also a girl) about six weeks ahead of ours in August. We need to go to Houston soon to have belly shots.

In April, Jeremiah and Isabella came for a visit from San Antonio. They had a late night on the way in, so on Saturday morning, it took Isabella a little bit to warm up to us.

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Slowly but surely, she warmed up to us, and she and I got our hair and makeup on!

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After we were all dolled up, we convinced the boys to take us to the park for a walk, despite a little drizzle. Isabella Kept the umbrella to herself…I’m pretty sure she was worried about messing up her makeup. 

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She and Jeremiah showed off their awesome daddy/daughter moves for us.

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Afterwards we went home for an indoor picnic. Uncle Josh decided to show off his Uncle Josh moves.

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This June, the Bryant family came to the Dallas area for a class and some family time. I was lucky enough to get some extra special TLC from Heather and Hallie (while daddy Jamey went to school). Heather offered to take me to Babies R Us to help me sift through the madness that is the industry devoted to our daughter’s safety and true happiness.

That trip to Babies R Us was a lifesaver! I learned, among other things, the following:

1. Don’t register for too many clothes, people love to buy them for you as they are cute and small and soft and…cheap.

2. Register for only things BPA free or your child might be harmed.

3. Get the book Baby Bargains. It will tell you about everything else that could harm your child and where to get the best deals on the things that don’t.

4. Get the breast pump with the back pack so you can be more discrete….it’s just a back pack and not as obvious.

5. When you are trying on strollers, actually try them out. Take them off of the display and try to fold them up yourself and push all of the buttons. Heather was a genius at this. Also, cup holders on strollers are very important. (Who knew?)

I recommend to any new mom who is easily overwhelmed to take a mom through the aisles of Babies R Us and just tell her what she likes and dislikes about stuff. Heather had done a ton of research and knew the specs on every bottle, pacifier, stroller, and carseat. But she also shared her opinions and what she had learned along the way. (I also learned that if you have a one year old in a stroller with you for an hour…have snacks…lots and lots of snacks.)

I don’t have any pictures to memorialize that eye opening day with Heather and Hallie, but I greatly appreciate their time and love and support in the learning process of all things baby.

Ruthie on June 7th, 2009

Our demolition on the wall between the living/music/dining room and guest/office/baby room is complete. The room was painted Friday and it looks great.

For those of you that don’t know, Josh and I live in a 900 square foot condo. We live there for a number of reasons, but mainly, it’s cheap, clean, has swimming pools and a gym we pretend to frequent. While living there and because we have lived there, we have been able to pay down some debt (mainly mine from PA school) and we’ve learned numerous ways to compromise as a couple about…stuff…yours mine and ours.

The crazy thing is, I love living here. If we ever move, I will leave a piece of my heart here. It’s been like solving a huge puzzle to figure out exactly how to fit all of our stuff in the various cabinets, closets, bookshelves, and storage contraptions we have. We have Aggie chairs and guitar cases next to clothes and a sewing machine in our closet. Our bedroom is also a library and office for both Josh and I. Our bathroom is just a bathroom, but I do store an air mattress in the cabinets. We have a living room that also functions as a guest and music room. And now we have a baby room in progress….which also happens to function as a guest room, storage room and utility closet.

One of the odd things about our place (well, I think it was odd, Josh really liked it for parties) was that there were louvered shutters in the wall that separated the living room from our guest/storage/now baby room. It was basically one large room separated by a wall…with random windows. For sound and privacy purposes for our baby and guests, we decided to have the shutters removed and the wall filled in.

Now because we live in a small place, getting ready for even a minor bit of demolition on our home took quite a bit of planning. For instance, when you move furniture from an already crowded space, where do you move it to? And then, where do you put all of the little stuff like books off of your bookshelves, African drums, guitars, cymbals, and desk chairs. Needless to say, it was a mess in here this week but well worth it. Here are a few shots of the before and after.

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We’re not exactly sure what we’re going to put up on the walls just yet which is why they look so bland for now. We’ll have to get back to you on that.

Josh and I worked like crazy to put our place back together before Josh’s sister Joy and her new hubbie Russ came back from their honeymoon last night. As we moved furniture back, I cleaned all of the base boards and carpet corners like a mad woman, and I deep cleaned the bathroom (nesting, anyone?). Needless to say, I don’t think our place has been this clean and neat in quite a while. I love it.

Lastly, in the process of beginning to get a sense of a baby room, and announcing that we are having a girl, we have been showered on with gifts and clothes and thermometers and books and bears and all kinds of baby stuff…and yes, most of it is pink. We have been completely dumbfounded at the generosity of our family and friends and coworkers. Who knew people liked babies so much before they were even born? (Well, I like her, but I didn’t know everyone else did…to such an extraordinary level of kindness and generosity.) Maybe it’s the glass-half-empty side of me, but I never knew we (the three of us) could be so loved even before our baby’s arrival.

Below is a picture of just some of the “stuff” we have received so far. It got cut off, but at the bottom of the picture, there are gift bags and two huge boxes I haven’t even emptied yet, full of baby clothes, blankets and other baby “stuff.”

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Our next tasks are to to complete our baby room with a crib and of course some more  baby “stuff.” It is still a work in progress, but thanks to Josh’s hard work and planning and all of the gifts from our family, friends and coworkers, there is a foundation to build on and add to for our favorite baby girl.

josh on June 1st, 2009

I don’t know how it escaped us, but somehow we forgot to post some awesome pics from this year’s Super Bowl.  Check out Ruthie in her new specs waiting for the soon-to-be-released blockbuster Monsters vs. Aliens.

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Somehow I wasn’t able to pull the piece of dental floss out for the picture. Not exactly a huge block party, but we had fun.

Ruthie on May 29th, 2009

Our trip this year to Colorado was one of the most eventful we’ve had thusfar. Joy got married, Lauren graduated from high school, and I’m pregnant…so I was not without some lucky belly rubs.

I (Ruthie) started out with a super fun bridal luncheon at Joy’s place. So yummy.

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After lots of festivities, the morning of Joy’s big day, I had the honor of accompanying her to the hair salon. A little hair spray, a little Starbucks, and a few hours later, Joy went from this…

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…to this…

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…to holy hotness…(keep your pants on, Russ).

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Then, it was off to the church for dress up.

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Finally, the day we moments we had all been waiting for (and you can see my and my 21 week or 5 month big belly).

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The happy couple looked amazing.

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After some pictures, we all arrived at the reception to honor the newlyweds. They came.

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They danced.

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We danced.

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They left.

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Congrats to the happy couple. A few weeks later, we were lucky enough to get to spend some time with the happy couple in DFW as they flew through our town for a few days on the way to their honeymoon. We were able to show them a good time on the roof top bar at the Reata.

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We wish you guys the very best for at least the next 80 years!