Getting older!

Hello, hello. Eva is 8 months old today. Happy 8 months, Eva!


I <3 that baby. She is wonderful. She has been pulling herself up on things. It worries me that she will start walking early. She is very good at crawling, so our house is baby gate city. She really loves going after her sister's toys and books. Ruth is not so great about sharing, but at least she's getting a little more polite about it. Eva is also in the process of cutting three of her top teeth and it's making her fussy at bedtime. She already has one of her top teeth and two on the bottom. She is starting to prefer feeding herself. She likes bananas, ripe peaches, smashed blueberries, cheerios, baby puffs, etc. She also loves our cat.


She goes and tackles him, and he's a good sport about it. She comes out with fists full of cat hair, which is disgusting. I try to keep her away from him, but she can be sneaky.

Here's a peek at our garden:

It has grown quite a bit since I took this picture a couple of weeks ago. I will have to do a separate post on it sometime. This is just one of the raised beds - we have three. In this one is romaine lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, carrots, peas and green beans.

Here's a shot of Ruth with her best friend, Jack. We will really miss Jack when he stops coming over regularly in August.



I had a birthday.

Tony and Ruth got me my favorite kind of cake, Dairy Queen ice cream cake! Yummy! I'm now closer to 30 than ever... OOOOOLLLLD! (j/k) My parents got me tickets to Wicked, and Tony and I went last night for date night. Awesome show.

And my sister-in-law, Jenny, also had a birthday. Last weekend was her party, which had a "Minute to Win It" theme. It was a blast for both the kids and adults. I'd really recommend it if you're looking for a fun party theme.Jenny showing her mad skills catching 8 pencils.

Janalee about to kick butt at her challenge. She and her friend were "team John Deere."


Marcie and Leila enjoying their winnings, and sharing with Ruthie. Such nice girls. :)


Tony and Eva the Diva.
Marcie with pantyhose on her head. It was the "elephant game." This is blackmail material for when she gets older. :D

In other news...
-I got a little job working for a hyper-local news publication here in Omaha, the Metro Neighborhood News. It's been a little crazy getting started over the last few weeks, but I'm enjoying it. If you live in NW Omaha, look for my articles at the end of the month! The paper will come in your mailbox.
-I've lost 16 lbs on Weight Watchers! Woohoo! I originally lost 18 lbs, and I've fallen off the bandwagon during the last couple of weeks. My half-marathon training has fallen by the wayside as well. But I'm getting back into both this week. And I'd really recommend Weight Watchers. I've learned a lot from it.
-Ruth's birthday is coming fast!!!! She is getting so tall. And imaginative. And her hair is reeeeaaally long, but you can't tell because it's so curly. Right now we're working on the ever-important skills of putting her underwear around while still in the bathroom (instead of running around the house naked) and not whining. She has a chore chart on the fridge right now and is doing an awesome job with it. Yesterday she got enough "smiley faces" to earn a pack of Dora the Explorer stickers and a piggy bank (found it at the Dollar Tree for $1!). She loves getting change to put in her piggy bank.
-Also next week is girls camp, and I'm going to stay overnight one night. I've never, ever stayed overnight at girls camp, so wish me luck! If you have any tips, let me know. :D

Have a happy weekend!

Summer update #2

I finally found the camera cord! Woohoo! So here is the summer update continued:

Shortly after the Pioneer Trek was Girls Camp. I went up for a day and got to watch the girls have a shaving cream fight, go down the slip-n-slide and race in their canoes. It was a ton of fun, and I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time at Girls Camp some summer in the future.
After Girls Camp was hanging out with our friends in North Platte, the Olbrichts. Tony and Josh had an "Iron Chef"-style cooking battle and a spending limit of $20 apiece.
Both dishes were good, but Josh's use of bacon pushed his food to the top. We're looking forward to having more "Iron Chef" battles in the future.

Then we came home and decided it was time to get Ruth in her big-girl bed, especially since she's outgrowing her Pack N Play (which would make it tough to travel). We got the bed all painted and set up, and it is lovely!
Tony did a great job building it, and it's so sturdy that it'll last forever. Ruth fell out of it a few times, so Tony had to make another side rail to keep her inside. I'm just using the fitted sheet and her baby quilt right now because that's what she's used to, but eventually she'll start using regular bedding. She loves her big-girl bed, although after a couple of weeks she still won't get out of it on her own. I don't know why, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

On July 2, we celebrated Tony's birthday! He's a whole quarter of a century old now! We went on a fun date in the evening to the Greek Islands, followed by the Shakespeare on the Green performance of Romeo and Juliet. The fireworks at Memorial Park were on the same night, so we got to view a great show while walking to our car. It was great fun!

On Independence Day, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house and enjoyed a wonderful cookout and some fireworks. Tony's inner pyro definitely came out that night -- I think he had more fun with the fireworks than a lot of the kids did. :) I forgot my camera, so no pics!

This week we decided to start potty training Ruth.
I thought she might be ready because on Sunday morning she announced she had to go to the bathroom but wouldn't go in her potty chair. Of course, a couple of minutes after getting her diaper back on, she was stinky. So on Monday morning Ruth and I went to Target and I let her pick out some big-girl underpants. She chose ones with Minnie Mouse and the Princess on the Frog patterns, and when we got home she went on and on about how "cute" they were. She loves wearing them, although she doesn't get to wear them often yet because the only time she has accidents is while she's wearing them. I've been using the bare-butt method (meaning she runs around naked while at home), and she's learning to tell me when she has to go to the bathroom. She doesn't like wearing a diaper anymore, although I told her she has to wear one during nap and bedtime until she wakes up and the diaper is still dry. She had no accidents yesterday and even went to the bathroom for a friend who babysat her for a little while for me. She's had no accidents so far today. She also started going on the big toilet today using a potty seat. Yahooie!

As for baby Numero Dos, I'm starting on going to my doctor's appointments every 2 weeks now because I'm 28 weeks along. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going! I only have 2 1/2 months to get ready for this baby's arrival and I feel like I have a ton to do - painting, shopping, sewing, etc. I'm going to make a couple of big swaddling blankets, a nursing cover-up and a sling wrap. Tony and I are going to finish painting the upstairs during the next couple of weeks, and then I will feel better about our baby preparations.

We LOVE our cat! He is wonderful and perfect for our family! Ruth and her friend, Jack, thoroughly enjoy playing with him, and he endures their screams and prods very well. Here is Ruth being naughty and sitting on top of the cat condo:
Unfortunately, Justin got sick last week. He threw up at least once a day for about five days, and so we took him into the vet on Tuesday. Turns out he has a bowel obstruction, so he gets Metamucil mixed in with his food now and seems to be feeling much better.

Lastly, I'm a new Mary Kay consultant! It's great fun! Check out my website sometime, and let me know if you need anything! www.marykay.com/meredithgardner

I think I'm all caught up now! :) Here is a picture I just thought was funny. Ruth loves wearing gloves and other people's shoes!