Wagon Ride

Ruth got a very early Christmas present. Grandpa Steve and Grandma Lou wanted to give Ruth a wagon for Christmas, but shipping a wagon from Washington State would be a little ridiculous. So, we have been keeping our eye out for one here in Florida. Well, we found a great deal just the other day and after buying it, Grandma gave the go ahead to start using it now. Ruth is still of the age when receiving gifts on one day is no different than receiving them on another ;-)

Last night, we cruised the neighborhood. Mind you, we are in long sleeves and pants because when we went out at 6:45pm it was a chilly 69 degrees. A cool front has finally broken through the 90 degree highs we were having!

Ruth loves the whole idea of it. She is pretty content to just play with her toys and ride along, like a princess in her carriage. Once in a while she would point out doggies or interesting bushes that we should take notice of. However, if we did slow down or stop to look at something or talk with someone, she would start shaking the sides and getting excited to let us know that we weren't going fast enough.

Merry Christmas, Ruth!!

Finally...

No we didn't forget we have a Blog.
No, we didn't lose our typing fingers in some freak accident.
No, we have not stopped taking pictures of our adorable ONE YEAR OLD!

Well, I hate to offer excuses but I'm going to anyway! Beginning the weekend of Ruth's party (Sept 30th) up through October 21st, we were living life at about 135mph.

Following Ruth's party, each of our parents visited for a week at a time-- spoiling all three of use completely and utterly rotten! Immediately after Cam's folks left, we drove to Charleston, SC for a conference with Cameron's job.

Charleston is beautiful! We stayed at the historic Francis Marion Hotel, in a corner room on the 10th floor that had 3 windows looking out over the harbor. Through the conference, we were able to take several tours of historic homes, local galleries and private gardens. We even found some free time and spent one day seeing the city on our own, as a family. Perhaps the best part of the trip was the long drive each way-- it gave Cam and I time to debrief and catch up on the previous few weeks.

Here we are, back home and feeling grounded again. We look forward to Fall and the sense of slowing down and resting that comes with it!

For now, here are some pics from Ruth's party. You may notice that she really didn't smile much that day. I think having 30+ people in her house threw her for a loop. She was more clinging that usual, and while she didn't cry at all she certainly wasn't her usual social self. To be sure, Ruth liked having all the extra kids around for a day and being the center of attention. And of course, she is enjoying all the gifts that those 30+ people brought with them!!

My good friend, Spring, made the cake.
(I am useless when it comes to cake decorating)
Ruth loves balls, so polka dots seemed like the perfect choice for a party theme!

This was a wall mural I made. Guests at the party had to try and put the pictures in the correct month.
The winner got 12 out of 25 pictures correct-- maybe the game was a little harder than I intended?

Though she couldn't quite understand the idea
of unwrapping a present, she caught on very quickly to the idea of taking things out of bags.

Two of Ruth's playmates, Josh and Finn, with their parents.


"Hey! Is someone getting into my presents?"

Ruth even shared some of her cake with Mama.





"This was one exhausting day..."