The Stouts

More Birthday Party/One Year Pictures of Ruthie

2012-02-08T07:50:00.000-08:00

http://stephanielyell.com/blog/2012/02/08/ruthie-1-year-photos/
Check out the blog of more of Ruthie's one year pictures!

The Stouts are...

2012-02-02T04:41:00.000-08:00

MOVING!

Matt got a job in Brunswick, GA at College Place UMC as the student minister. He will be working with middle school, high school, and college students. We are both very excited! I'm sure Ruthie would be if she had any idea what was happening.

We are going to look for houses in Brunswick on the weekend of Feb 11 and then move on the weekend of Feb 25 so that Matt and I can have some time to unpack and settle in a bit before he begins work on March 1st.

If you live in the Brunswick/SSI area please let us know of any places for rent with at least 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and allow pets. Also, suggestions on pediatricians, midwives (no pregnancy, just planning ahead), general practitioner, cable company, phone/internet service, leads on jobs for me where I can work part time (15 to 20 hrs/week) as a counselor, and any other info for the area that we might need to know once we move.

We are very excited about our move. Please pray for us as we travel to find a place to live, as we pack and move, for finding an affordable place to live, for me to find a part time job, and for Ruthie for a smooth(ish) transition.

In other news, our 1 year old is cutting 2 more teeth. For those who are counting we are one #13 and 14.

Some Pictures of Ruthie's 1st Birthday Party

2012-02-02T04:21:00.000-08:00

Here are the pics Matt's Dad took at Ruthie's party.

Ruthie's One Year Photos Sneak Peek

2012-01-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

http://stephanielyell.com/blog/2012/01/23/ruthie-one-year-sneak-peak/

If you click on the link you will be able to see a sneak peek of Ruthie's one year photos. Stephanie was at Ruthie's 1st birthday party to take pics and then took some pictures of Ruthie, our family, and the guests with Ruthie at the party. So, that means that Matt and I did not take a single picture and relied fully on Stephanie to take all the pictures so we don't have any to show. As soon as someone else loads some and Stephanie finishes editing there will be more. In the mean time enjoy these 2 pictures and be excited b/c the rest will be awesome if these 2 are any indication of the greatness of the photos!

So excited for more to come!

Matt's 28th Birthday!

2012-01-19T19:20:00.000-08:00

Today, my wonderful husband and best father in the world turned 28 today. Ruthie and I got him a "Dinosaur Comics" book and a new pirate coffee mug and then surprised him with breakfast in bed!

We went out to dinner at Five Guys and then Orange Leaf for dessert. We came home just in time to put Ruthie to bed and have a relaxing evening at home together! It was great to be able to just enjoy each others company!

I am thankful for my loving, caring, handsome husband and for being able to have him as the father of our child. I enjoy laughing and talking and even parenting with him and wouldn't want to go through life with anyone else, but you!!!! I love you, Matt Stout, and Happy 28th Birthday. Only one more birthday left that you can say "at least I am not in my 30s" so enjoy it!!!!

Ruthie's Year in Review

2012-01-19T19:14:00.000-08:00

Ruthie within minutes of being born

Ruthie at one day old

One Month Old

Two Months Old

Three Months Old

Four Months Old

Five Months Old

Six Months Old

Seven Months Old

Eight Months Old

Nine Months Old

Ten Months Old

Eleven Months Old

And Finally, Our One Year Old Baby Girl!

Ruthie's First Birthday- Part 1

2012-01-19T18:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Ruthie's First Birthday! She woke up at 5:30 and we went in and sang her "Happy Birthday" and then I fed her. We spent the morning just laying around and then she opened her presents.

Ruthie playing with the Wii drums.

Here are her Elvis Dress and Doll

Here is Ruthie opening her presents

After, Ruthie's morning nap, we went to see Matt at work and spend her birth minute together and then have lunch. After lunch, Ruthie and I went to her one year dr. appointment (tomorrow we go for her shots). We then came home and Ruthie refused to take an afternoon nap (this is happening a lot lately, any suggestions to help from some parents b/c this is not cool!)

So instead of a nap, we took pictures in the chair. Here they are:

Watching daddy at the door

It's the Birthday Girl!

There's Cinderella!

still sporting the Faux Hawk

Lilly came for the photo shoot

and there is Chewie

Reading her favorite book "Mama, Where Are You?"

tired baby girl

"Momma, can we just finish?"

There's that smile! So beautiful and so many teeth- 12 to be exact!

Daddy and Ruthie loving on each other!

Kisses!

Elvis Mr. Potato Head from the Bevils. We sure do miss them!

Ruthie enjoying her birthday supper. Lasagna is what I fixed her b/c that is one of her favorites!

This month, Ruthie:

Is weighing in at 17 lbs and 8 oz (4th percentile), is 27 inches long (4th percentile), and has a head circumference of 44.6 cm (36th percentile). Still got a big head for a petite body!

Learned to kiss and hug! This is possibly my favorite thing she has learned so far. I love hugs and kisses and so it warms my heart when I say hug give me a hug and she puts her head on my chest and loves on me! Best. Hug. Ever. (don't tell my husband...)

Is cruising everywhere and getting into everything!

Is eating lots of table food and has gotten down to only 2 breast feedings a day. I did not expect to be so sad about not breast feeding, but it is also freeing.

Is not sleeping well during the day. She is still waking up at 5 am! I think we just have an early riser, that is ok, I just need to go to bed earlier. Her morning nap is around 8:30 and lasts for 1.5 hours usually. The afternoon nap is not always happening. we are working on that. Is it too early to drop to only one nap? I hope not. Please leave a comment if you have any advice or encouragement about this issue!!!!

Is still wearing a few 9 month clothes, but mostly 12 month clothes.

Is not walking just yet, but can stand for about 3 to 4 seconds at a time and even sometimes as long at 10 seconds. Her balancing is really great so I think she will start walking in the next few weeks or at most 2 months.

Is turning the pages in books when you read to her and will even sit with a book and turn the pages and "read" out loud to us. So cute!

loves food still! Her favorite foods are spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, yogurt, fries, and mashed potatoes. She however does not like cow's milk. We have to figure that one out since we are weaning from nursing to milk. Help?!?
Has her 12th tooth cutting through. It is a left, bottom molar. Crazy! 12 teeth by 12 months old!
Loves meeting people and being around others as much as possible. She is also fearless and when in the nursery at school wants to do all the stuff that the bigger toddlers are doing. She falls and gets back up like it was no big deal. She is fearless and independent, but is also so loving and social!

Is such a happy baby which makes it so easy being her momma (and daddy). I cannot believe that she is now a year old. It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing her into our house for the first time.

We love you so much Ruthie! Thank you for being our baby girl and loving us! We are so happy you are ours!

Some Puzzles and Some Snow

2012-01-19T17:15:00.000-08:00

These last few weeks we have been doing puzzles and enjoying just a little bit of snow.

Here was one of the puzzles we did.

Here is our house covered in snow and it was still snowing

Other puzzle we did. It has been nice to get back into doing puzzles. We have another one we are planning to start soon!

Chewie our in the snow. Lilly did not like it at all and would not stay out long enough for me to take a picture.

Christmas #2 in Wilmore & Christmas #3 in TN

2012-01-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas was great this year with it being Ruthie's first Christmas. We had so much fun and enjoyed celebrating as a family of 3 in Wilmore. Here are some pics from the last 2 celebrations we had- one in Wilmore and one in TN with Matt's fam.

First, here are some more new ornaments.

This one was given to me by my mom- I love crafting these days so she got me a crafting ornament

Ruthie's First Christmas ornament from Gigi and Aunt Hannah Leigh

This one was made by Nana Chris.

for me from my mom

Ruthie's first Christmas ornament from Nana and Papa Stout and I finally got a pic in it.

Here is Ruthie enjoying her new high chair and watching some Sesame Street

I was trying to get a pic of Ruthie wearing her Christmas outfit from Gigi and Hannah Leigh, but she did NOT want to wear the hat.

Reading her card from Grandmom and Granddad Stout

Family Christmas pictures

Momma and Ruthie

On Christmas Eve, we had some friends over to enjoy Wassail and Cookies and Pie. The Daughtry-Grubbs, Zimmermans, and Wests all came to celebrate after the Christmas Eve Service. It was a beautiful service and a great get together!

The next morning, we awoke for Ruthie to eat at 7 and then headed to the living room to see what "Santa" brought. Here is Ruthie's loot! A leapfrog learning table, a walk and push toy, 2 puzzles, 2 outfits, 2 books, a Christmas rubber duckie, a Christmas cup, and a Christmas bib. She racked up!

She LOVES her leapfrog table! It was a huge success and is really a great learning tool.

Ruthie reading her book

Ruthie and her Duckie

Ruth and her new sippy cup

Eating casserole and wearing her new bib

I love Bananas!

See our new TV! Momma and Daddy love their new toy!

Matt reading one of his books and drinking coffee from his new mug

Momma wrapped up in her snuggy and she got a little sewing machine for small crafting projects and the movie "The Family Stone".

After going to church and spending the afternoon at home we went over to the Daughtry-Grubbs to have dinner with them and the Thimons and it was delicious. We had green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, salad, and a wonderful pork loin stuffed with cranberries and walnuts. It was one of the best meat dishes I have ever had! I think I will try it my self sometime soon!

On Monday we headed out for TN bright and early. We hung out until dinner time when we went to the Wassons for dinner and played the White Elephant game. We also gave out the calendar presents we bought everyone. They were once again a huge success.

After getting back to Steve and Kathy's we opened presents and Ruthie received lots of clothes, socks, a teapot and teacup set (how appropriate for Baby Teapot Stout), some books, a pop up toy, and a few other small things. We waited until Sarah's boyfriend, AJ, arrived on Wednesday to open stockings. However, here are some pics from present opening.

Steve received an ipad and Kathy got a Keurig coffee maker and boy did we make a lot of coffee with that thing in the few days were were there. And we made apple cider and hot chocolate! yummy!

Aunt Sarah got a Wii

Ruthie loves her teacup

she especially like banging them together! also, here is the pop up toy to the left.

On Wed we opened stockings and then headed out to a Lady Vols basketball game. It was fun... for a Vols game. On Thursday, we went over to Grandmom and Granddaddy Stout's house for lunch and presents. Here is Ruthie with her new xylophone and she also got a Little People's Noah's Ark and a book. Matt got new Charlie Brown comics to add to his collection and I got more Elvis movies. I now am only missing 8 of his movies!

We also ended up with some money from different people and I had enough to buy a KITCHENAID MIXER!!! It is buttercup in color and will arrive in 7 to 10 days! Matt got all 6 Star Wars and all 8 Harry Potter in blu-ray to watch on our new TV and blu-ray player. I also got all the seasons of Dawson's Creek and finished out my seasons of Home Improvement. From Matt's parents and sister I got some movies and socks and a scarf to name a few things and Matt got some boxers and movies along with both of us receiving money for the TV and blu-ray player.

Over all it was a wonderful Christmas. We were blessed with some many things and really enjoyed seeing Ruthie face light up as she opened presents and looked at Christmas lights. We also read the Christmas story a few times. We want her to understand that while we get blessed with lots of things but without Jesus we would be nothing. We really are grateful for all we have and for all our family and for our little family of 3.

We still have no idea what is going to happen in the next few weeks/months, but when we know we will post about it. Thank you for all the texts, calls, and messages. We appreciate your care and concern. It is great to know we have so much support. Just keep praying!

And Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

PS New Years Eve was spent with our friends that Andersons and Thimons. We were really boring and played Rock Band on the Wii, watched Big Bang Theory, and just hung out and ate. We headed to church on New Years day, but when we got there and found out it wasn't our week in the nursery we went back home to care for our pups who are sick with a stomach bug or something. please pray for them (and us) b/c we (mostly Matt) are tired of cleaning up dog poop! And I will end on that note! haha

Only 1 month to go until the big ONE!

2011-12-21T12:11:00.000-08:00

Ruthie turned 11 months old on Sunday! I can't believe that in less than a month we will have a one year old! I feel like just yesterday I was about to burst and here we are a year later ready to plan a party for our one year old!

Here Ruthie is the night we got home, but I didn't think they turned out too great. Turns out there were a few really great ones. So let's look at the good ones!

And here are the ones from the next day that were also pretty good and she is in her festive red outfit with a white poinsettia bow. She did not want to sit still though so most were her on the move.

See, on the move and it's only the first one!

Cheeser

Sticking her tongue out

She wanted everyone to see her beautiful bow from the Groth sisters

She does not want to sit still

And now begins the pictures of Ruthie standing up in the chair

She likes to play with her ears

She was so happy, maybe it was b/c her momma was tickling her...

"look mom, I found my foot!"

"And now I want you to look at Cinderella"

Oops, she dropped Cinderella

hahaha

Best shot of the day

She crawled away and left Cinderella all by herself

"Mom, can we be finished."

Last one baby girl!

This month:

We have no idea how much Ruthie weighs or her length, but she is definitely growing.

Ruthie has moved to 9 to 12 month clothes, but can still wear some of her 6-9 months stuff.

She has not actually gotten in her 10th tooth fully, but she is teething her 11th one as well.

She is much more steady with her pulling up and walking while holding on to stuff.

She still loves her jumperoo.

Ruthie is eating a variety of foods and really hasn't turned away anything. She loves spaghetti the best though.

She is clapping more and will occasionally say "Yay" while clapping.

She is dancing when there is music and it is oh so cute. She loves music and dancing. It makes this momma very happy.

She can crawl so much faster than last month. It is insane! She can zip across the living room in seconds these days. It is so great and scary at the same time.

Ruthie spent the most time away from Dad that she had ever spent this month. I do not want to do that again any time soon and neither does she or Dad.

She is a great traveler already. There is always some crying at some point, but over all she does great. If Ruthie is upset, we just put on some Elvis and all is good. It still works people!
She is down to 4 breast feedings a day and 3 meals with 2 to 3 snacks along with way. It is so much fun to get her to try new things! She really loves puffs, yogurt melts/bites, veggie straws/sticks, and string cheese. We start weaning this month and I am torn. I will miss it and yet not miss it that much!
She is getting to be much more interactive. She plays patty-cake, peek-a-boo, and hide and seek. It is so fun to see her little smile when she gets excited about playing games.

Ruthie had to say good bye to a friend, Miss Sophie. It was so sad for us mommas and daddies. I think they miss each other too.
Stop if you don't want to read about breatfeeding stuff!!!!! Ruthie has started straddling my leg while she eats and sometimes she will pull up while I am laying on the couch and will eat standing while I lay on the couch. Also, if she comes to the bed to eat in the morning she will stand up in the bed and eat standing while I lay on my side. Apparently, she is too big of a girl these days to just lay and eat like a baby and has moved on to more difficult eating positions. Also, there are too many teeth and therefor we are weaning and will no longer be breastfeeding much past her 1 year birthday. Just too many teeth and she forgets she is not eating table food and will chomp down. NOT COOL!

Ruthie celebrated her first Thanksgiving and she loved the turkey, dressing, rolls, green beans, and sweet potatoes. I'm telling you, this child loves her food!
Finally, She is feeding herself. Sometimes she even shuffles all the food into her mouth at once if we don't keep an eye on her. Ruthie is our little chipmunk.

We love you Miss Ruthie Roo and are so proud of you!

Georgia Christmas Celebration

2011-12-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

After Graduation, as I mentioned before, my mom stayed for a few days. She stayed so that I would have help with Ruthie while Matt was gone to TX for a conference and interview. Matt left on Monday for TX and on Wed we left for GA. We picked up Matt from the airport late on Thurs night/Fri morning at the ATL airport. We spent a few days just visiting family, shopping, opening presents, and enjoying some yummy food.

Here is Ruthie enjoying her first taste of spaghetti. She loved it and just kept eating!

Here she is in front of my grandparents tree ready to open presents.

"Look, an ornament!"

Ruthie and Aunt Hannah Leigh

Aunt Hannah Leigh, Uncle Seth, and Ruthie

Ruthie with the great grandparents

Kisses

Opening her toy horse

gloves and glove clips

Books! Ruthie loves books and especially loves turning the pages!

"Are there more presents?"

"I love my sock monkey"- this was a sock monkey that my great grandma Chambliss made me when I was little. My mom found it and cleaned it for Ruthie! How special is that!

And now for the mommy horse

Big Bird- this also was mine and my siblings growing up. It is the one that you put a cassette tape in the bottom of it and it talks. We don't have a cassette, but we do have big bird and that is good enough for this Sesame Street loving baby. Aunt Hannah Leigh also send Ruthie her Tickle Me Elmo from when she was a child. Ruthie is has so many new toys now- there are a few not even pictured!

Here is Ruthie in her Christmas PJs

Opening her presents from Nana and Papa Greene

It is a My Pal Violet. It is so cool. Violet plays songs and even says Ruthie's name (after we programed it of course). She loves it and dances to the music when it comes on. So cute!

Here is Ruthie opening another First Christmas ornament. So cute!

She loves it!

On Saturday night, we went to the Annual Daniel Dean Christmas party. Daniel was the best man in our wedding. It was great to see some friends and celebrate Christmas as well as Daniel's Birthday! Ruthie really liked the yummy lasagna and ate a whole piece by herself. She is really starting to have an appetite!

Then that evening we headed to Brunswick for another interview for Matt. It was a whirlwind trip so if we didn't see you that is why. We then headed to Augusta to cut out a very long drive for Monday and that we only had a medium long drive of 9 hours. We stayed with Matt's high school friend Amanda and her husband (Gary) and 14 month old (Lainey). On Monday morning, we went to a breakfast diner with Amanda and Lainey and met up with Mary and Charlene Green (Paul Green's mom and sister, Paul was also in our wedding). Here are some pics from breakfast.

Ruthie and Lainey

The kids and the parents

Mary, Charlene, and the girls

We still have no answer on either job. Just pray for a quick answer from the churches and the right salary and benefits that he will need to sustain our family. We will keep you updated when we know something!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

The house has been decorated for a while, but I just haven't been good about blogging so here are some pics of the decorations and Ruthie enjoying the tree.

Our stockings hung on this cool wall sign- thanks Pinterest

Our Christmas tree all decorated!

Ruthie's first "first Christmas" ornament she received from Nana and Papa Stout. She also received ornaments from Gigi and Nana and Papa Greene- pics of those to come later.

Here are our ornaments for being our first Christmas as parents. So cute! Thanks Kathy and Steve!

And here are our robes hanging before the ceremony. Forgot it in the last post.

Here are Ruthie and I at Old Fashion Christmas in Wilmore. She was not too excited. She was tired from being busy all day. We went home shortly after these pictures...

This is just the beginning of our Christmas festivities. Ga Christmas celebration to come very soon...

Ruthie and Sophie

2011-12-21T05:56:00.000-08:00

Ruthie and Sophie have been together since Sophie was born a week after Ruthie. The day after graduation the Bevils moved to back Louisiana. Earlier in the week, I kept Sophie so Missy and Jonathon could get some packing done. While she was here I got some pics of the girls playing. Now that they are so active it is hard to get a picture of both of them sitting but here is what I got.

I'm not sure what they are looking for, but they are very interested in it.

This is so typical. Sophie sitting and Ruthie using her as a pull up toy.

Sophie is so happy

Look at those precious faces!

Here you go Sophie.

We miss the Bevils, but are very happy for them and their new season of life. It was such a blessing to go through pregnancy with a friend in the same place. We even got to go to dr. appointments at the same time and all the fun childbirth and breast feeding classes. It was wonderful and maybe we should move close by so when the time comes we can do it all over again together. (NO PREGNANCY HERE!)

Our Graduation from Asbury Theological Seminary

2011-12-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

On Friday, December 9th, 2011, Matt and I graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary after 3.5 years, one baby, 3 different houses, one cat, 3 dogs, at least 3 jobs each, and so many other major life lessons/decisions. We have learned to love, live, and grow while in Wilmore. There have been moments of healing (my diagnosis and treatment of anxiety) and growing that may not have been experienced if we had not moved here to Wilmore. We are grateful for the lessons we have learned and the blessings we have received while here along with the gift of friendships, a great church family, wonderful professors, and most importantly the birth of our sweet baby Ruth.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the day in no particular order.

This is the chapel where we graduated.

After Graduation

Hannah Leigh with Ruthie during the ceremony

Coming in to Estes Chapel

This is my professor, Toddy Holeman. She was my faculty advisor and we hit is off when we found out that we both have a love for all things dance- ballet class and So You Think You Can Dance more specifically.

Momma and Ruthie

A family pic before the ceremony- I was very excited!

During the ceremony

Receiving my diploma

Matt receiving his diploma

Sweet baby

Our friend Jonathon also graduated with us

Dr. Tennet

After the ceremony, my parents, Matt's parents and grandparents, and Seth and Hannah Leigh went with us for lunch to Saul Good. One of our favorite places. It was delicious. Afterwards, my mom stayed for a few days. On Saturday, Matt and I went out to celebrate just ourselves. My mom kept Ruthie so that we could go to a very nice dinner at Malone's Steak House and a movie ("New Years Eve"). It was nice to celebrate our accomplishment. We are now both Masters! We both know more than we did when we entered ATS, but I think we also know that we have more to learn than we ever thought before. Does that make since? We thought we were knew stuff before, but now we just know how much we have left to learn. That is something to ponder.
Anyway, now onto the next phase. More about that later. Stay tuned for at least 2 more blog postings...

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T10:50:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving with the Bevils this year. They are moving in less than 2 weeks so we are trying to get in lots of quality time before they move! Here are some pics from the day:

Ruthie just hanging out

Sophie and her daddy

The women cooking. We had green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, turkey, dressing, gravy, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie. It was all so very yummy!

My momma's sweet potato casserole. I think it turned out great!

Ruthie eating her first Thanksgiving day dinner and she loved it! All of it!

See! She was very happy with her food.

Sophie loved the food too!

Hair bow I made the girls and the shirts were made by the mommas. They were decked out for Thanksgiving and thank you pinterest for the ideas!

The girls and their daddies

The Stouts

The girls and their mommas

Great pic of the shirt

Sophie coming to play- check out the back of Sophie's shirt

love this pic and love love love that baby girl!

And here is the front of Sophie's shirt- her momma did great!

Sophie was finished and wanted to go explore. Ruthie wanted to just sit in one place. She doesn't like getting dirty!

Eating a leaf- don't worry we took it away before she could swallow any of it

Clapping

On Friday, Nana and Papa Stout came to visit and we showed them how much Ruthie loves her turkey and sweet potatoes!

That child loves her food!

Also, I made this shirt too! I think it turned out great!

Finally, this has nothing to do with Thanksgiving. This is a wreath I made for a friend. What do you think?

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and feel blessed. So much is going to happen in the next few weeks with Graduation, Christmas festivities, traveling, Matt's conference, and so much other stuff that it was nice to have a 4 day holiday weekend and really just relax. It was wonderful and so great to rest and eat and not have to travel! I think Ruthie really loved her first Thanksgiving and I know we did!

Ruthie Turns 10 Months! but first...

2011-11-19T12:12:00.001-08:00

A few other things:

Check out the new front door wreath I made. Festive!

New hair bows for Ruthie (and maybe some for momma)

We finally did a new puzzle! first one since Ruthie's birth 10 months ago. It was fun and we plan to do another one over Thanksgiving Break!

Ruthie figured out how to climb into the toy bin. She was very proud of herself!

And here is my sweet baby girl! She is now 10 whole months old! Can you believe it? B/c I cannot believe it. I guess it is about time that we start working on the 1st Birthday Party. Well, after graduation that is (only 3 weeks from yesterday until graduation!)

Ruthie is wearing her candy corn dress from Aunt Missy. Ruthie and Sophie have matching dresses that we will have to get pictures of at Thanksgiving dinner!

This month:

You are now up to 10 teeth. That 10th one is taking it's sweet time, but it is there!

You had your first cold and it was not cool. We had to go to the dr., but Dr. Weinberger said you are doing great and there is nothing to worry about.

You now weigh 16 lbs and 3 oz! We are so excited that you finally passed the 16 lb mark!

You have learned to crawl and boy do you move fast. You keep momma and daddy on their feet a lot! You are just so very fast.

We lost your first pet this month. Maggie died and it was very sad, but we got 2 new puppies (in the last picture above). You love Chewie and Lilly (esp. Chewie with his long hair). They seem to love you too!

You have been eating lots of table food. You want to eat and drink everything we have. You are still eating at least 2 and maybe 3 jars of food a day, 2 to 4 tbls of cereal, and 5 breastfeedings of the day. We will start weening soon and hopefully will have you on all solid food by the time you are 12 months old.

You are still in 6 and 9 month clothes, but will probably be moving up to 12 month clothes soon. You are growing a lot!
You are smiling, laughing, and learning "games" daily. You like to put something in our mouths (such as a toy) and then pull it out of our mouth, then put it in your mouth and get us to pull it out of your mouth. You also love love love peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake! You have learned to point and still really love clapping at yourself with you have done something great!

You are pulling up with much ease and walking while holding onto things. You have even moved from one object to another while standing. You are very proud of yourself for that one. You have also learned to climb on stuff. You climb over things, under things, and on top of daddy especially! You love for him to sit on the floor and you climb all over him and I think he enjoys that time with you too!

Your sassy little personality is even more evident this month. You like things your way and you are very stubborn and determined. You also have a great sense of humor in momma's opinion. You think momma and daddy are very funny, but we wonder if you will think that for too long. We sure do hope so! You laugh so much like your momma and daddy says you act like your momma too (she doesn't mind that)! You look like your daddy and act like your momma and boy do we love you so very much!

Finally, here are a few shots from our Christmas photo shoot today. Our friend, Izzie, stopped by again to help with the Christmas shots. I thought the pumpkins turned out so well that we needed to try these too! What do you think?

Where did 30 years go?

2011-11-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Sunday to be exact, I turned 30. It seems so surreal to say that I am 30. I have passed my 20s. I can't believe how fast the last 5 years have gone, or the last 10 years for that matter. Life has changed so much since I was 25. At 25, I has graduated from college and gotten a "grown up job" then returned to Wesley to work as an intern. I was not dating Matt just yet. By 26, I was married. At 27, I has just begun my seminary career. At 28, I realized that I had anxiety. I got that fixed and my life is sooooooooo much better now. (still have anxiety at times, but not anything like before.) By 29, I was pregnant with my sweet baby girl. And now at 30, I am about to graduate from ATS with a Masters in Counseling and am the momma to a beautiful baby girl and wife to the most wonderful husband ever. I truly am blessed and can't wait to see what the next 10, 20, 30, 40+ years hold.

As for celebrating my birthday, I spent most of the day studying for the exit exam which I (barely) passed! I passed by .3%! haha

Anyway, on Sunday I began by getting an extra hour of sleep. Not really, since Ruthie did not go along with the whole getting an extra hour of sleep. She was up at 5 and ready to eat and play. Anyway, I fed her and went back to sleep for a bit. When I awoke, Matt had a cup of coffee and my gifts in hand. He is pretty amazing!

I got this beautiful fleece jacket, and...

these beautiful Trinity earrings I have been wanting for a while now. The jacket is from Matt and the earrings from Ruth.

We got to church late due to Ruthie falling asleep before we could get out the door. It was bound to happen really since she had been up since 5! We got to church just in time for the sermon. After that we went to lunch at Saul Good with the Bevils and Thimons, and then came back home for some ice cream cake! I love me some ice cream cake!

I decided that in order to really get some studying done, I needed a nap. So I napped and then studied. I know that isn't the best way to spend my birthday, but it all paid off by passing my test yesterday. Now all I have left is a case study presentation, a reading report, and finish my practicum hours. It is all down hill from here my friends! I am so excited! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
We still don't know what we are doing after this, but trust that the perfect job is out there for Matt!

All in all, my 30s have been amazing and now for some decision making. I am going to get my hair cut soon. Here are the choices:

Feel free to weigh in on your opinion!

Thanks to my family and friends for making my birthday awesome! I love you all! You are great!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

Today was Ruthie's first Halloween. Check out our pics!

Here's Ruthie as baby Princess Leia

Here is a cute baby in a pumpkin! She loved sitting in the pumpkin!

Momma and Ruthie

The whole fam- More on the pups in a second.

Izzie who came over to put Ruthie in the pumpkin and take fun pics!

Momma Princess Leia and Baby Princess Leia

The whole fam dressed as Princess Leia- yes, even Matt dressed as Princess Leia and people loved it when we went out Trick-or-Treating!

Our pumpkins all lit up!

Above you saw the picture of us with 2 dogs. That is Lilly (Matt is holding her, she is a 3 year old wired hair dachshund) and Chewy (formerly known as Fuzzy and I am holding him, he is a 3 year old wired hair dachshund/yorkie mix). Lilly and Chewy were rescued from a puppy mill in a few counties over and had been mating together in one cage. We found them on a rescue website and went to visit them at Petsmart and then we left with them. They are staying with us for a trial run, but if all checks out at the vet on Wednesday morning they will be ours. Our house was just so empty without Mags and when we found out about animals that needed a place to go or would be killed we knew we had to help even if it was just 2. We also went for just one but they are not going to separate the dogs b/c they are in love. Seriously, they love each other and have lived in the same cage at the puppy mill for a long time. They didn't know anyone but each other and so how can you separate love like theirs? So we are pretty sure that soon Lilly and Chewy will be Stouts! We still miss Maggie so much, but these 2 kids are really helping to make us feel better and hopefully we can be good parents and sibling to these 2 precious pups!

Our Precious Maggie Mags

2011-10-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Our sweet dear Maggie past away on Tuesday night. She had been sick for a while with lots of problems, but on Tuesday she seemed to be doing great. She started coughing and then breathing heavily after coming inside. It also sounded a little gurgley. After about a half hour she then started coughing up blood. Matt rushed her to the vet, but it was too late. Most likely she had a clot burst in her lungs or something like that. She is no longer in pain and that is what helps us to feel better.

We only had her for 2 years and 7 months, but it seemed so much longer! She was our first "baby" and she is missed terribly. I no longer have her to keep my feet warm at night, Matt doesn't have her pushing him off the bed at night, and Ruthie doesn't have Maggie to sit in the nursery on the rug as Ruthie sleeps. We don't have her rushing to the kitchen to "clean" the floor every time we drop any food and we don't have her to come home to barking as we pull into the drive way. It is so very sad. I realize she was a dog, but she was a member of our family and will be missed very very much. Here are some of our favorite pictures of Maggie over the last few years.

Here is our whole family- you can see Ruthie in the background on the right.

Here she is the past Christmas just chilling with me as I rested my pregnant body.

Just laying around while I do school work on the computer

look at how beautiful she is!

Maggie and Daddy

Maggie and Momma

Just enjoying some more fun times at Shaker Village

Enjoying the sunshine

Family picture

The day we got her- We went to just visit and see if we wanted her and we brought her home that day. This was while Maggie and I were sitting in the car while Matt went into Walmart to get her a bed and food.

Family

Family New Year Picture

playing with Dad

She loved her Squirrel

oh so sweet

Daddy loves her so

Christmas outfit

Her octopus

She hated the snow

Laying in the bed with dad

hahaha

she loved laying on the clothes pile and then laying on her back for a tummy rub...EVERY MORNING!

Maggie and Momma

hiding in the clothes again- she was completely hidden and we could not find her

all dressed up

First picture of the 4 of us

They love each other

wearing her sisters flower

happy to be at Nana and Papa's house

she loved basking in the sun while eating her bone

Sharing popcorn- it was her favorite snack

trying to be patient waiting for a piece of popcorn

Just resting while we got the nursery ready

she loved the boppy and used it every night

Enjoying Nana and Papa's house again

Riding in the stroller with her sister

Christmas 2009

Maggie Mags will be missed and we love her so much!

My sweet "Boo-tiful Baby" is 9 months old!

2011-10-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

clapping

cheese!

more clapping

She loves to clap

"Boo-tiful Baby"

Playing with Daddy

This month you...
learned to to clap, crawl, and pull up! You are also sitting up even better than last month. You are a pro at sitting up these days.
still love your jumperoo, but rather crawl around. You rather play on the floor and crawl all over momma and daddy rather than have them hold you.
have cut 2 more teeth this month so now you have 4 teeth on the top and 4 on the bottom. You love to bite and lick people, especially your BFF, Sophie.
spend 2 afternoons a week with Sophie and are a little extrovert just like your mother.
moved up to size 3 diapers.
took your first trip to the park and played on the swings and loved it!
have a personality that is coming through even more than ever before!
are as of today (10-19-11) 15 lbs and 13 oz (10%), 26 inches long (10%), and have a head circumference of 43.8 cm (25%).
like to play with your rubber ducky the most and love Sesame Street still.
are saying many more syllables than before- ma, da, ga, na, ba, and ha to name a few.
love laughing and think your parents are funny (for now at least). Little do you know that we are not cool or really even that funny. Tonight actually, your daddy danced for you (and he does not dance for anyone) and then you clapped for him. It was priceless.
and mommy love to sit and laugh together and just yesterday you pulled up and looked over the front of mommy's computer screen and gave her the biggest grin ever! it too was priceless.
pulled up for the first time because you wanted to get to Maggie who was sitting on the couch. You two love each other, well you love Maggie and she tolerates you. She will love you more as you start to drop more food for her.
are greatly loved by so many people and most importantly your momma and daddy love you so very much!

Ruthie's last few weeks of 8 months old

2011-10-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

Here is Ruthie during her 2nd month of life in a 0-3 month cute little white and pink leopard pjs and...

Here she is again wearing the same outfit in a little bit bigger size (6-9 month). She has gotten so big!

Here is Ruthie in a Colts Jersey

Here is Ruthie in her froggy Jersey before going to her first Roller Derby Bout

Ruthie in her red scottie dog dress and mary janes

Ruthie in a "This is my little black dress" onesie

Mommy and Ruthie having reading time

Ruthie crawling under her jumperoo

just chillin' under the jumperoo

Swinging at the park for the first time

playing on the bouncy toy

clapping for herself as she swings

Some videos of Ruthie swinging, sliding, crawling, pulling up, and clapping

2011-10-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

Ruthie swinging:

Ruthie pulls up and claps:

Ruthie and Daddy slide:

Ruthie crawling- the long version:

Ruthie crawling- the short version:

Family Beach Pictures

2011-10-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

These are pics taken by my friend, Emily Alford Harp. Aren't they awesome? The beach is my favorite place in the world and these are my 2 favorite people in the world so by default these are my 3 favorite pictures in the world! So thanks Em for taking these!

Just a few things...

2011-09-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Here is Ruthie sitting up in the tub. She is such a big girl.

She also enjoys bath time more now that she is able to sit up.

She loves her rubber ducky too!

Thanks to some Pinterest inspiration, I made a wreath for Halloween.

For Thanksgiving I will just change out the Halloween Decor for Thanksgiving Decor.

I made some candy corn hair bows for Ruthie and Sophie to go with their candy corn dresses that Missy is making them. There will be pics of the girls in their dresses when we get a chance.

I also made some flower hairbows- thank you Pinterest again.

Finally, Ruthie was given a Colts/Peyton Manning jersey from Sarah's (Matt's sister) boyfriend's mom. (you got that?). How cute is she?

4 Years Of Marital Bliss

2011-09-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

And it really has been bliss. We have lived in 4 different houses, 2 different states, each almost completed a seminary degree, has a beautiful baby girl, adopted the cutest puppy ever, and enjoyed life together.

Tonight we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Malone's steak house. It was delicious. We both had steak and I tried the crab rangoon rolls and we both has the Lexington Salad, I had a baked potato and Matt had the fried mashed potatoes. All of it was the most delicious food we have had in a long time! We also got a free dessert b/c it was our anniversary. It was angle food cake on the outside and one layer of cherry chocolate ice cream as well as a layer of chocolate chunk ice cream with oreo cookie crust and a layer of oreo cookies between the ice cream layers. Oh and then whipped cream and chocolate and caramel covering it all! It was as amazing as it sounds and my favorite part was that it was FREE! All in all the dinner was probably the best anniversary dinner of the 4.

Here we are at dinner- a little blurry, but we got it

Here's the Stout family celebrating

These last 4 years have been amazing and we have been blessed more than we could ever have imagined. Can't wait for what the future holds. I love you, Matt Stout! You are pretty great!

Ruthie turns 8 months old

2011-09-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

So Ruthie is now 8 months old. Every month I feel shocked that we have been a family of 3 for so long. Here are some pics we took yesterday. There were so many good ones and I had a hard time choosing so there are a lot here.

Sneaky baby

coming to momma

so silly

looking at Mags

Surprise!

about to lick to chair

So innocent

cheese!

So sweet

eating Cinderella

Happy Happy Baby!

looking at the mobile

ok, i am about done mom

loves to eat her fingers

Cheese!

"What you doin?"

yay!!!

"WHAAAA"

looking for Maggie

She woke up from her nap and went in to get her and she had sat up on her own.

This month was a big month for you, Little Miss Ruthie:

You went to the beach for the first time.

You learned to sit up with out any support and then how to go from laying down to sitting up.

You eat at least 2 jars of food and 2-4 tablespoons of cereal a day and still nursing 5 to7 times a day.

You have 6 teeth and are teething again.

You have moved to 6-9 month clothes.
You can wave at people and sometimes you know why you are waving.
You can say da-da and ma-ma and we think you know who you are talking to when you say it.

Your personality is coming through even more as you can see in the pics above.

You are still loving your jumperoo, but the swing is not as fun.

You love Maggie and want to play with her and know where she is all the time.

We have no idea how much you weigh or how long you are, but we know you are growing so much and are getting so big everyday!

You are rolling around so much and are also getting up on your knees and hands and preparing to crawl.

We can stand you up and you can hold on to the ottoman or coffee table all by yourself, you are wobbly, but you can stand for about 30 seconds.

We are so happy to be your mommy and daddy!

Family Vacation September 2011 (and a few other things)

2011-09-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

I found some pics on the camera I forgot were there:

Ruthie enjoying nap time in her jumperoo

Ruthie is preparing to crawl

I finally framed Ruthie's 2 month and 6 month pics. Also, notice the rose to the right that my sweet, dear husband brought home to me for no reason! He is pretty great!

Now onto the family vacation fun! Matt was invited to come to be the speaker for the Valdosta State Wesley Foundation September Sands Retreat. We went down a day early and spent sometime just the 3 of us. It was our first trip to the beach since our honeymoon and it was Ruthie's first time at the beach ever. We had so much fun!

Here is Matt and Ruthie walking on the beach

Here's Ruthie chillin' at dinner

Ruthie on the beach

We do have a few more pictures that Emily Harp took for us that I will post after I get them from her.

Video of Ruthie meeting Her Great Great Grandmother

2011-09-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

Found this video mixed in with some photos. Enjoy!

Ruthie meeting Great Great Mamaw Mynatt

Sleeping Beauty, College football, and a Tutu for my Ballerina Princess

2011-09-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

Here is Ruthie sleeping. This is how she sleeps these days. No more on the back for her and look at that bottom up in the air. We roll her back to her back when we find her like this, but I'm sure she is like this a lot and we just don't know it.

Ruthie experienced her first College Football Game Day yesterday. We did watch some of the GT game Thursday, but yesterday she was decked out in her Red and Black- much to Daddy's dismay. She sure does look happy in her red and black! Gooooo Dawgs and Gooooo Blazers!

Finally, I made Ruthie a cute little purple, white, and pink tutu with sparkles! She seems to like it and I am very proud of my craftiness! It was much easier than I expected. Here is the video tutorial:

Also, I used ribbon for the waist band and then tied a pretty bow in the front. By doing this, I can add more tulle later and she can wear it longer. I also used the tulle in a roll so I just cut it about 1 and 1/2 feet long and then used 3 different colors for each section that I tied on. That is why it is so poofy. Now, if you have a little girl go make her one b/c she will love it!

Eating the tutu
smiling for mommy and daddy. love this kid.

PS I bought everything from Hobby Lobby and I spent a total of probably $6 a tutu.

Confession

2011-08-29T20:09:00.001-07:00

...I am addicted to Pinterest.
That's all.

Picture for Ruthie's room

2011-08-29T18:49:00.000-07:00

The other day our friends Matt and Pam (who are getting married in Oct) brought over a picture for Ruthie that they found at a thrift store or something. It is perfect for our child and we hung it in her room where she will see it everyday! Check out the Elvis picture below...

"Let Elvis rock you to sleep."

Ruthie can sit up!

2011-08-26T19:32:00.001-07:00

Here's a few pictures of Ruthie sitting up all by herself. We have been practicing, but she has not able to sit up for longer than a few seconds without falling over. Finally tonight she was just sitting up all by herself and playing with her toys. She sat with no wobbling or anything for over 10 minutes. We are so excited and snapped away with Matt's cell hence why they are a little blurry. So check out my big girl sitting up all by herself!

A link to Ruthie's 6 month professional pics

2011-08-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

Enjoy! (this was easier than loading all 95 to the blog)

http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/15808444/2/Ruthie/professional%20pictures%202?h=18c577

Also, we started a new schedule here at the Stout house. We are now on a 4 hour feeding schedule and a 10 hour continuous sleep at night and boy is it better this way. Ruthie isn't going to be until 8, but she is sleeping for about 10 hours a night. We are feeling better, well I am at least. We are slowly getting into the swing of things with Matt's work and my practicum and it is going well. I am loving my practicum once again and Matt is still really enjoying his job. Matt also likes spending much more alone time with Ruthie and I am actually enjoying getting out of the house everyday. I sure do miss my baby though, but all is good. It is good for me to get out and do what I love and come home and do what else I love doing! It's pretty great! That's all for now. Hope you enjoy the pics that Stephanie did, she is pretty amazing at what she does!

Ruthie turned 7 months old!

2011-08-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

Jumping in the jumperoo

Funny face- she thought something was funny

So sweet

hahaha- caught her in a laugh
WHAT?
The flash was bright
bright flash again

I took Cinderella away and she is looking at her on the floor

Elvis face
sweet baby girl- look at those sweet cheeks!

oops- the flash was on again
Such a cutie
momma's pretty princess

Ruthie and Cindie

Ruth has changed so much this month:

Ruthie has really started to enjoy the jumperoo even more than before.
Ruthie cut all 4 of her top teeth this month and has 2 in the bottom.
She is eating all kinds of foods now- apples, bananas (her favorite), pears, a mixture of all 3, blueberries and apples, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and green beans (her favorite veggie).
Ruthie however does not like canned meats at all! She will not eat any meats even mixed with any veggies.
She still likes cereal especially mixed with different fruits.
She is still breastfeeding 5 to 6 times a day.
We are still working on a schedule which we need to have in order very soon since practicum has started and soon we will be very busy and we need to have something more consistent.
Ruthie is really loving her toys now and loves her Jimmy the dog, Buttercup the baby doll, Mrs. Dangles the elephant, Kyle the giraffe, and Cinderella to name a few.
She loves books and grabs at them when we are reading to her and wants to touch everything and feel the textures. It is adorable.
She is sitting in her high chair most of the time for eating and sometimes she still sits in the bumbo.
Ruthie is really liking Sesame Street and will watch while jumping in her jumperoo!
Ruthie is loving rolling still and if you turn around for just a moment she will roll far away!
She is trying really hard to sit up, and can for a moment until she falls over, but she will get it sooner or later.
She is also loving standing up and bouncing. We hold her hands and she stands there but don't let go b/c she will fall.
Her personality is really showing through as seen in the pictures and it is so cool! We love it and are loving seeing parts of our personality coming through in hers.
She loves to giggle and smile and play peek-a-boo.
Finally, this month she moved to the big car seat and is getting to be more of a big girl everyday!
7 month weight- TBA
7 month height- TBA

random pictures from the last few month

2011-08-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

Practicing sitting up with Dad and she almost has it
Eating some yummy sweet potatoes

Ruthie has "Grandma on Speed Dial"
Grabbing for the camera
enjoying rolling around on the floor with Kyle the Giraffe
sitting outside with dad...look at that cute little hat
Wearing momma's overalls from when she was a little girl
At her first wedding- Izzie and Abe Zimmerman got married- this is Amy and Ethan with her in the pic
Hanging out with Sophie

First VSU apparel
Yummy green beans
spending time with daddy while momma goes to practicum
more of Ruthie and Sophie
Just a cute kid!

Going swimming with Sophie- got a little rash on her face from the sunscreen so no more coppertone for us!
"Look at my hand, it's so cool."
Such a sweet baby girl

Ruthie and Uncle Seth
Ruthie and Aunt Merry Anna

Ruthie and Momma
ooops she fell asleep from bouncing too much
Ruthie and Aunt Mer

Momma and Ruthie
one of Ruthie's favorite toys affectionately names Jimmy
Seth and Ruthie- love this one!

First time in the big girl car seat!
First time in the High chair
wearing her Star Wars onesie
Attending her first birthday party for her friend Emily (bottom row, 2nd from right)
Aunt Mer and Ruthie

"Let me hold that camera."

more Ruth and Soph

Ruthie's 6 month professional pics

2011-08-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to the full post of pics: http://stephanielyell.com/blog/2011/08/16/ruthie-6-months-full-post/

They are so great and I can't wait to see all of them!

Also, today Ruthie turned 7 months old! Can't even believe it. I will be posting tomorrow about her month and some pics I took today.

As for the Stout family, I have started my practicum and soon Matt will start his last 2 classes. We are working on a tight schedule around here. Everyday someone is at work/practicum/class from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. Less than 4 months until graduation and so much to do in the mean time!

Also, Maggie has been sick and then we found out she doesn't like the new food we bought her so she lost a few pounds. We went back to the old food and she is very happy about it and eating once again. She is actually more peppy due to the weight loss so that is awesome.

That's all for now. Come back tomorrow for a Ruthie 7 month update.

The Great Escape of Maggie!

2011-07-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

We have tried a few baby gates to keep Maggie in the kitchen while we are gone. She is taking meds that cause her to need to pee a lot and she can't seem to find the puppy pads, so this was what we thought would fix the problem. However, no gates can keep our dog contained in the kitchen. See for yourself how fast she is.

New Videos of Ruthie

2011-07-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ruthie's 6 month professional pics sneak peek

2011-07-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we took Ruthie to get some 6 month professional photos. Here is the sneak peek on Stephanie Lyell's blog:
http://stephanielyell.com/blog/2011/07/26/baby-ruthie-six-months-sneak-peek/

ENJOY! We sure did!

Ruthie is .5 years old

2011-07-19T18:17:00.001-07:00

Ruthie Roo is now a whole 6 months old as of yesterday. I just can't believe it! Here are the pics from our photo shoot.

Laughing at Gigi

My sweet blue eyed baby

Ruth and Cinderella

Silly girl

Holding hands with Cinderella and this was not posed!

She is such a happy baby even when she is teething

Smiling at Daddy and it is difficult to see but she does have 2 teeth almost in on the bottom front

My lovely little Lady

Lounging

Happy about Tummy Time...finally!

Hanging out with the pup

She really is being gentle even though it looks like she isn't. They are really sweet with each other

Chilling during bath time

This past month:

Ruthie has grown to weigh 14 lbs and 4 oz (25th percentile), measure 24 inches long (25th percentile), and has the head circumference of 42 cm (30th percentile).
Ruth has 2 teeth that have broken through the gums even though we think a few more are trying to make their way through.
Ruthie took her second trip to GA and got to go to TN again. This time she got to swim for the first time in a big pool at both Nana and Papa Stouts' house and Nana and Papa Greenes' house. She seemed to really love it FINALLY.
Ruth is beginning to really like bath time.
Swinging is still fun for her, but she really likes laying on the floor and rolling. She will roll from her back to stomach and then stomach to back. We put a toy on one side of the blanket and she will roll until she gets to the other side. Here favorite toy is a Fisher Price puppy dog that sings and teaches colors and body parts. It is so great, she loves it, and will roll any time to get it!
She does not like teething toys that much and prefers your hand or her hand or foot to a teether.
She is very close to sitting up on her own and is babbling so much more. I'm sure she will be talking in no time! haha
Ruth also tried solid fruits and veggies the last 3 days of her 5th month of life. She seems to really like bananas, but the others are growing on her.
Finally, the most exciting thing of the month is that Ruth Sara Stout was baptized on Sunday (one day before she turned 6 months old) and it was such a humbling and exciting moment for this United Methodist girl. My baby has participated in her first sacrament and much of her family and a few friends were there to celebrate (Momma, Daddy, Gigi, Nana and Papa Stout, Nana and Papa Greene, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Merry Anna, Uncle Seth, Great Grandmommy, Great Granddad, Great Gran, Great Aunt Micki, Great Aunt Marcia, Great Uncle Mike, Cousins Rand and Emma, along with Susan and Bob, Jonathon, Missy, and Sophie, Matt, Amy, Eben, and Malachi, Izzie and Abe, and Amy, Mark, Ethan, and Logan and of course our whole church family at GCF). Our pastor, Jason Duncan, baptized Ruthie. It was such a great day!

I cannot believe my baby is growing so fast! Soon we will be pulling out those 6 to 9 month clothes I'm sure. love that kid!

Ruth Sara Stout is Baptized

2011-07-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from Ruthie's Baptism. They are all mixed up, but you can still enjoy them! It was a wonderful day and I will remember it forever! Ruthie was so good and didn't even cry when Jason put water all over her head. We have such a great kid!

This is my favorite picture from the whole day!

My momma and my sister came to visit

2011-07-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

Like I mentioned earlier, my momma came to visit for a few days. She rode up with us last Saturday and spent 10 days with us and celebrated Ruthie's baptism. Today, she flew home and it was bitter sweet. It is nice to have our house back to just 3 people, but I will miss her. Merry Anna also came to visit and meet Ruthie in person for the first time. She flew in on Wednesday and stayed to celebrate Ruthie's baptism too. She flew home Monday morning which was also her birthday (Happy Birthday, Mer!).
While they were here we did lots like going out to High Bridge for lunch one day. Below are some pictures.

They also got to see Ruthie try solid fruit and veggies for the first time. Here is Ruthie trying bananas. She seem to like them and has so far tried bananas, pears, and sweet potatoes. We also have some green beans, carrots, and pears to try now.

We also went to dinner at Saul Good, enjoyed some of my momma's cooking, my momma spoiled me by doing my dishes the whole time she was here, and my mom and sister loved on my baby Ruth lots and lots!
It was great to have them here... now on to the next post

4th of July, TN/GA trip

2011-07-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

On July 1st, the Stout family set out on a 10 day trip. I'm not sure that since we have been married we have done this and so we decided to do a 10 day trip with the puppy and our darling almost 6 month old! yep, we are crazy!
We headed to TN first to celebrate the 4th. We got to see Nana and Papa Stout along with Ruthie's great grandparents and the rest of the family. We also took some family pics thank to Papa Stout and his nice camera!
Momma and her sweet baby girl

Ruthie's first time in the big pool and she seemed to like it ok, but wasn't very happy about being submerged in water. Momma and Daddy however did enjoy swimming some while the grandparents watched baby girl.
Here Ruthie is in her All American Baby- Born in 2011 shirt for the 4th of July (notice the cutie patootie jean shorts)
Daddy and Ruthie hanging out and I believe our baby will hopefully be sitting up soon on her own.
Gran and Ruth

Then we headed to GA for a few days and spent some time with my side of the family and Ruthie got to loung by the pool in her glasses and hat at Nana and Papa Greene's house.

ready for the glasses to be removed
and she got them off!
Finally she is enjoying the pool. We realized that she liked it better when she was laying on the float rather than in the float submerged. She lasted over 20 minutes in the water this way. Doesn't she look so content?
We also got to see Gigi and all the GA great grandparents and Hannah Leigh and Seth.
On Thursday we got to see some friends from our Valdosta days while visiting my Gram and Andy in Barnesville. It was so great to see Rachel, her parents, and the Harrells. Then on Friday we hung out with Rusty, Allan, Daniel Dean, and Daniel's sister, Saige, and her 3 kids. It was so fun to just be at my dads and enjoy the pool. Then on Saturday, Ruthie and I attended at baby shower for Laura Susan and Anne in the morning and Ruthie, Matt, my mom, and I attended a wedding shower for Kelli. Laura Susan, Anne, and Kelli were close friends of mine in high school and so it was so great to see them and many other friends from those days on Saturday. It was so good for my heart to see all of the friends those 3 days. On Saturday, my mom came with us and we headed to TN to spend the night and finish our trip on Sunday. My mom came to spend some time with us and especially Ruthie. More on my mom's visit in the next post...

RJ Update

2011-07-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

Rj is home with his mommy and daddy as of yesterday! So happy for Holly and Scott and on their behalf thank you for all the prayers!

RJ update for July 12th

2011-07-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well, RJ was doing great and then had a set back. He had a breathing spell and then 2 hernias that wouldn't go away and had to have surgery. Therefore, he is in the hospital for a bit longer. Here is the latest update:

As many of you know R.J. was supposed to come home this weekend. It has been such a roller coaster of emotionals in the last few days. We got to the hospital on FRiday to find out that R.J. had spelled 10 minutes before we got to the hopsital. I can't tell you how our hearts were crushed, but knowing God had a plan. Saturday morning the nurse practicioner came to us and said we need to have surgery before we leave. He developed a hernia a few weeks ago and thought he would outgrow it, but they wanted to get it taken care of before we left. We were reassured this is very common. They ended up taking care of two hernias today. R.J. went into surgery at 11 this morning. The surgery went great. He is in recovery. He is sedated for the rest of the night. He is still on the ventilator and will be weened off of that by tomorrow. His blood count was low a few days ago, so they are doing a blood transfusion on him tonight as well. He has had 3 of these so far and it always seems to give him energy afterwards. He is getting glucose water, but is very fussy becuase he's not getting milk. So please continue to pray him through each step of the way. We absolutely hated not bringing him home this weekend, but we want him to be completely healed and healthy when he comes home so he can stay home. The doctors and nurses say once this is behind him he is so home. WE aren't getting our hopes up too much yet, but we continue to fight the fight and we continue to run the race God has set before us. We are encouraged and strengthened by your prayers for our son! Thank you beyond words and tears! Thank you!

Ruthie newborn to 5 months

2011-07-01T06:10:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to see all the pics of Ruthie from month to month next to each other and I found this free app from apple and did this. I love it and can't wait to make a one year collage! I just love this kid!

RJ update for the 1st of July

2011-07-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

from Holly:

R.J. had a great day yesterday. His Nana Burns got to hold him for the first time! He was so happy! So, one of his girlfriends aka. nurse has completely spoiled him to the uttermost. She had him while he was on the critical side and now on the growers side as well. She said he was looking at the lights on instead of sleeping, so she found a musical aquarium that lights up the fish and sings a lullaby to him. He loves the light and just lays quietly watching the light. I told her she is not helping us at all! Haha. I got to give him his bottle at 3pm. He took a bottle at 6pm and feeding tube at 9. He took a bottle at 12 and 3am then a tube at 6am. He has gone to the schedule of bottle, bottle, tube, bottle, bottle, tube. He gets 6 bottles a day now and is doing great with that. In just a day or two he will move up to all bottles a day. He weighed in last night at 4 pounds and 8 ounces. He continues to get stronger daily. He passed his hearing test yesterday. Praise God because Lord knows I can't hear. He passed his eye exam on Wednesday. With the possible hernia, we will have a follow up appointment in Shreveport on the 27th and we will have a regular pediatrician's appointment with our regular doctor in Ruston on the 11th. So, we know we will be home before that!!!!!!!!!!!! We have taken the classes we need to take for discharge. We were asked to bring in the car seat for that test. They will place him in his car seat with his monitors on for the amount of time it takes to get home. For us, he will have to stay in the car seat for one hour and 10 minutes. I feel sorry for the babies from East Texas or south LA that are in there car seats for over 2 hours or so, but they are just fine. They test to make sure all their vital stay consistent. We have not been told a discharge day. They usually just tell you the day before. The night before he leaves we will have to stay in a bonding room with him to make sure all his vitals stay up as normal through the night while he is with us. We know we are getting very close now. Continue to pray for his progress. He's been a fighter the whole time. Love to all!

RJ update

2011-06-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since I did an update on RJ, but here you go. Here seems to be doing great and is taking a bottle starting today!

From Holly:
R.J. has continued to progress faster than most have expected. He hit the 4 lb mark on Monday night. There was a correction. The nurse said he was 4.3 that night, but the night before she said 3.14. That would mean he would gain 5 ounces in one day, now, we know our boy likes to eat, but my momma didn't raise no fool! I asked three times if that was correct and she said she measured 3x. So, I took her word. Sometimes the scales mess up as well. His correct weight for Monday night was 4 pounds even. Tuesday and Wednesday nights he weighed in at 3 pounds 1 ounce. His temperature and breathing continue to maintain. He will start with one bottle tomorrow. If he does fine with that, then we will steadily bump up his feedings to 8 bottles a day over the weeks to come. To come home: many have asked this question. .. answer: we are never given a date or expected date since every baby is different. Depending on how well he does on the bottle it could be early to mid July. It could be earlier or later all depending on progress or lack there of. 2 things R.J. has to maintain to come home with us. He has to breathing and feeding on his own with no spells for 5-7 days straight. Spells? Spells are when his heart rate or breathing drops down or bottoms out or he just forgets to breathe. Preemies do this all the time. He had one spell last night, but recovered on his own without having to be stimulated by the nurse. His breathing is fine on his own. So one down and one to go. We will start the bottle tomorrow. Pray that R.J. learns to suck, swallow, and breathe all at the same time to take his bottle and pray that we have patience to help him through it. I don't know who's more excited about the bottle more. .. Mommy or R.J. I'm sure it will be him since he has been going to town on his pacifier lately! Love to all. Continue those prayers! God continues to hold this little guy in the palm of His hand! Praise Him!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful day yesterday celebrating Matt's first Father's Day. We got up and did presents. Matt got a book of comics that completed his "Wondermark" collection (I think it completed it), this book about cool projects for Matt, Ruthie, and our future children to do together, and then the coffee mug (below the book) with Ruthie's picture and the date of Matt's first father's day.

Then we went to church and taught Sunday school. Then off to Tony Roma's and Orange Leaf for lunch and dessert. It was delicious and Matt really enjoyed having ribs for lunch. Then we went home and enjoyed a nap and just resting the rest of the day.

I am so happy to share parenting Ruthie with Matt Stout! He is such a wonderful daddy and loves Ruthie and me so much and it is so evident in the way he cared for Ruthie and me and wants to be with us all the time. I really love being a stay at home mom, but would love to be a stay at home mom and dad, but that can't work so we will just enjoy our time together in the evenings and weekends! Thank you Matt Stout for loving us and providing for us! You are amazing! I love you and so does Ruth and Mags!

Pictures of Ruthie from hospital that I never posted

2011-06-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

Ruthie turns 5 months old!

2011-06-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

Today Baby Ruthie turned 5 months old. She is growing so much. We have moved up to 3-6 month clothes and she is able to sit up with little support. She is also (from our measurements) weighing in at 12 lbs and 15.5 oz. and is 23.5 inches long. That puts her in about the 16th percentile for weight and the 8th for length. We are slowly making up for lost time with the lactose intolerance issue. I don't think she looks like she needs to gain weight she is just as healthy looking as she can be!
Here are the pics from her 5 month photo shoot!
These first few were before she had her morning nap
Gnawing on those fingers
Hanging out with T-Rex
She gagged herself here
And here she is chewing on the burp cloth that I used to clean up her spit up. She loves to chew on cloth and started crying when I took it away so I gave it back!

She had a breakdown, so to the crib for a nap
Then she woke up and is much happier as you will see in the next pics where I got lots of smiles! I just love my smiley baby!
Hanging out with Cinderella
close up- oh and a Thanks to the Maddocks family for the cute outfit

Silly face!

Mom, back off
Seriously!
Thank you!
High 5 for Cinderella

I'm done momma!
And this is a picture that we found from last weekend on our camera. It is a great picture of Papa Stout and Ruthie- Happy Father's Day Steve/Dad/Papa! We love you!
Look at that happy face, she loves her Papa Stout!

This month:
Ruthie finally really rolled over. Matt went in to check on her b/c she was screaming and she had rolled over from her back to her stomach. Still no rolling from the stomach to the back and she still HATES tummy time.
Ruthie loves to babble. Today we were driving down the road and she was just talking away. We wonder just what is she thinking when she talks away like that. She does it a lot.
Ruth has also started mimicking our sounds, bats things with her hands, and is great with eye contact.
She is still loving getting a diaper change. It is her second favorite activity besides swinging which is still her favorite.
She is sitting up really well with very little support. I hope by next month she can sit up all on her own.
Ruth is now eating cereal at least once every other day and usually once a day. She also took a bottle again so hopefully she will continue with that one!
Finally, Ruthie is cutting her first tooth. Her gums are swollen and you can feel the tooth cutting through. Therefore, we have had some issues with sleeping and eating like normal, but that is to be expected.
I think that is about it. Can't wait until next month when we introduce veggies and fruits! I think she is going to love that and I am hoping for an adventurous eater just like her mommy and daddy.