The times, they are a changin'.....

Or at least Aaron's hair is.  Ever since I've known my husband (10 years now), he has had long, beautiful hair that any girl would be jealous of.  He's toyed with the idea of cutting it from time to time, but I honestly never thought he would do it.  Well, he did and I think it looks great.  We were going to donate his hair, but I don't know if I can part with it--silly, I know.  But anyway--here are some pics of the dramatic transformation.

Another HUGE change--Our little Stella finally decided to take her first REAL steps.  It was such an exciting moment that I, unfortunately, did not capture in a picture or video. But I will get it the next time and I will certainly post for all to see.  Can't believe our baby is such a big girl already.

Time for an update........

So it's become habitual to go months without posting.  Not on purpose, but life gets in the way of sharing info about, well, our life. Anyhoo--about 3 months worth of news and pics to catch up on so I better get going. 

--Stella turned 1 on September 13th!! Our baby is quickly becoming a big girl.  She's saying lots of words, dancing, singing (in her own language), laughing lots, and giving kisses and high fives. Such a sweet, sweet girl.  Her favorite is still Riley, but she loves playing with other babies too. She loves the Christmas tree and Christmas songs. She brings us so much joy every day.

--Riley has been busy with school and his band, Pulse.  He is now the lead singer as well as the guitar player and I know I'm his mom, but I'm impressed.  Pulse competed in the LexArts battle of the bands against all High School bands and they came in 3rd! Not too shabby. Ri is the best big brother a little sister could ever ask for and he adores Stella too. Seeing them together just makes my heart melt.  I am truly blessed with some wonderful children.

--The kids had a fun Halloween, despite both of them having colds :-( They were quite the pair as a fairy princess/ zombie duo.

--We had a lovely and relaxing Thanksgiving. Lots of turkey and pie makes for a happy day.

--We are getting ready for a fun and stress-free Christmas.  If I may toot my own horn, the Christmas shopping is completed and nearly everything is wrapped! I am determined to enjoy the holiday this year and its off to a pretty good start.

Check out our last 3 months:

Stella enjoying her 1st birthday cake!

The Fairy Princess

The Zombie

The picture says it all!

Another month gone by....

I can't believe it's been over a month since I've last posted.  Time really does fly.

So school is back in and riley seems to be loving middle school.  The GT program at Winburn is really keeping him on his toes and I love it! He will be starting his rock band class next week and already has a gig scheduled for October 23rd at Natasha's Cafe.  I'll post more details on that as I have them.

One week from tomorrow and my baby girl will be 1 year old! A very happy and sad time.  I miss cradling that tiny baby in my arms, but love seeing her grow and change every day.  She is so sweet and full of joy.  Her daddy and Mamaw are her favorites and she claps when her Papa comes into the room.  She likes to play and LOVES to eat.  I don't think there are any foods that she doesn't like so far.

Will definitely try to get more posts in within the next month--I need to report on the birthday party, of course, and if all goes well, I may have some other very exciting news to share in a few weeks.  Stay tuned...

Bad, Bad Blogger

So I know I've pretty much fallen off the planet this summer, but it's been busy and we've had internet issues, so I feel my break was justified.  Anyhow, it's great to be back and there's much to share, so here we go....

• Aaron and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on May 31st.  Yay, Us!
• We had a very enjoyable Father's Day with our fam.  See pics of the kiddos below.
• 4th of July was a blast!  Pardon the pun :-) Cute pic of Stel and Daddy!
• Busy season for Aaron at work is finally easing off, but the heat has been such a killer for him.  Lots of water and evening naps have helped him get through it though. The pic below is of us at the big summer work party.
• Riley's band has scored some gigs! They will be playing at the state fair on August 20th and at an Orange Leaf Store in either August or September.  So excited for him!
• Stella is getting so big and now she has 4 teeth. Super cute and such a sweetie.....but she can be a stinker too (see pic for proof).  Can't believe she's 10 months old already!

Fun on the Farm

We took a little drive today and stopped by Aaron's work (which has to remain nameless for legal purposes....really). So Stella got to meet her first horse and sit in a John Deere for the first time.  Big Day!

I must be dreaming....

I just realized that I'm at home, with no children, no husband, no where to go.  An actual afternoon to myself!! What better way to spend it than to make good on my resolution to blog more. 

So today, I watched my baby boy "graduate" from elementary school.  It was kind of hard, actually. I won't lie.  It's funny how, as parents, we can't wait for all of the milestones and then when they get here, we cry about them.  Whenever Aaron makes an "I can't wait until...." statement about Stella, I have to remind him that those minutes fly by faster then we want them to, and those milestones will be here in the blink of an eye, so don't wish away one single second of it.

Speaking of milestones, Stella is standing up barely assisted now.  She hasn't even crawled properly yet! I can't believe it. She is also waving hello and bye-bye as well as clapping her hands.  She is forming some strong attachments to mama and daddy--cries when either one of us leaves the room and gets super happy when we return. She has her 9 month check-up in 2 weeks and I'm excited to see where she's at growth-wise.  Man!! In 3 extremely short months, we will be having a birthday party for that kid.  I can't even stand it!

Here she is all dolled up for a birthday party.



And here she is after I left the room for 2 minutes.  Naked and doing her best to destroy that hairbow.

Failure to Blog

So despite my best intentions to blog MORE in the last 2 weeks, I have actually done less. Boo.  But moving on.  So much to share and I HATE long posts, so I'm going to try and keep it as brief as I can. 

First off--Great BIG shout out to my rock-star son!! His band, Pulse, took first place in the Lexington Music Academy battle of the Bands last week!! So proud of him and all the other guys. Yay, Riley! You Rock, buddy!

Secondly--Big Baby/Kiddie/Mommy Sale coming up on June 4th at Jenni Lynne Photography--1230 Winchester Rd. Ste 1. Sale is from 10-5 and there are still spots for sellers available.  Lexington friends--Please stop by if you can, if only to give feedback (and by that I mean shower us all with praise for our handiwork--kidding, of course :-D).

Thirdly--The jess & ruby website is live......sort of. Ok, folks.  I'll admit it.  I am very new (and dumber than I thought, apparently) at the website design thing and signed on (unknowingly) to one of the crappiest web hosting programs in existence.  It truly sucks....bad.  But, I am making due until I can find a better one or find someone to build it for me (at a reasonable rate).  All that being said--here is the address. http://www.jessandruby.com/ I am reluctant to share it yet because it is so bare bones, but the domain name will not change, so I may as well go ahead with it.

Fourth and finally--After this post, I will post everything relating to jess & ruby on the website OR the jess & ruby blog, which is under construction. Also--there is now a jess & ruby Facebook page.  Please "like" if you haven't already. Anyhoo- I started WTMW as a family blog and I really want to keep it that way.  I don't want the business stuff to take away from that. But--as promised--I am including a couple new dress pics on this post. 

 

These two pics are actually of the same dress.  It's reversible--pretty cool, huh?

May is halfway over? Already?!

I can't believe it's already May 15th! Time is just flying by and I am not doing a good job of keeping up with the blog--so much going on.   Riley is fast approaching the end of his last year in elementary school.  I'm sad, but also excited because we will get to spend the entire summer together! That's something that has never happened as I've always worked outside the home.  I hate to think of everything I missed while working over the last 10 years, but am so looking forward to some real quality time with my little (big) boy. Love that kid!

Stella is 8 MONTHS OLD!! I can't stand it.  She is growing way too fast and I just can't seem to find a way to slow down time. She is such a little joy and is loved by everyone who meets her.  Oh, and she is on the move--one reason I don't have as much blogging time any more.  No more laying her on a blanket or beside me on the bed.  This girl is active! But such a sweet, sweet baby and I love her so much.

The dressmaking is in full swing!! I will be posting more pics of some of the new dresses this week.  For all you Lexington residents, my BFF is holding a handcrafter's fair on the first Saturday in June at her photography studio.  If you are crafty and have items you'd like to sell, please let me know.  I will post the details about the fair this week also.  So excited for this new project and for all the fun I've had exploring my creative side! I love finding new fabrics and patterns and beads and notions.  So much fun!

Exciting News....

Ok, so I am sharing this news with my blog followers first, mainly because I know the audience is very small and also because you all are my nearest and dearest and I know you will be supportive.  With that said, I am very excited to tell you that I, along with my dear, dear friend Ruby (Mamaw Ruby to me and my kids), have begun production on a line of children's clothing and accessories.  I have never had much time or motivation to get in touch with my creative side, but I must say that my children have really inspired me--Riley because he is so artistic and motivating and Stella because she is so much fun to put dresses on! So, we are very early in the process, but the items we've made so far are really, really adorable, if I do say so myself. Look below for some (obviously not professional) photos of just a tiny sampling.

The Jess & Ruby  line will include

• dresses for babies,toddlers, and girls*
• changing pads and bibs
• pacifier holders
• hair accessories

*We hope to include some boys clothing at some point in the future, but haven't gotten there yet

We are starting out by posting a few dresses and accessories on Etsy.  We can also do custom items at the buyer's request.  Keep an eye out for the Jess & Ruby Facebook page, which I am in the process of creating.  I will keep you up to date with our progress in future blog posts.  Please let me know if you have any questions or are interested in any items.  Thanks to everyone. Exciting times!

Good to be back

Fun with a yogurt cup--she wears it well, no?

 Haven't blogged in quite a while, for a variety of reasons.  We've all been sick, had a very busy spring break, birthday parties, school projects, etc., etc. Anyhow, it's nice to have a minute to post and think about all of the stuff I haven't gotten to share yet. Maybe I'll get around to that at some point, but for now I'll just talk about today.  Had so much fun with the kiddos at Orange Leaf today.  Stella even got a couple little bites.  We LOVE that place.  Then, a great birthday dinner at Columbias with our good friends, the Davises.  Great Saturday. Looking forward to Sunday....and hopefully another post.

Happy Birthday, Riley!

My little baby boy turns 11 years old today.  So hard to believe that he's so grown up.  It's gone by so fast and although I miss my little cuddly baby with the blonde curls, I am so proud of the young man that he has grown into. He's brilliantly smart, funny, and sensitive. He has so much love for his family, especially his baby sister. I am amazed on a daily basis by all of the talents and gifts that he's been blessed with. So yes, it is a little sad to see him grow up because I know that means he's that much closer to leaving the nest, but it is a spectacular journey to take with him also. I look forward to all the milestones ahead like graduation, a mission, and marriage; as I cherish those memories of first words, first steps, and good night lullabies.  And as I told him yesterday, he will always be my baby, no matter how big and old he gets. Happy Birthday, Ri. Mama loves you more than you know.

Half a year old.....already?



Some new pics taken by our  friend, Marissa Noe.
She is a fabulous photographer, and such a sweetie.
Thanks, Marissa! 



So yes, I've been slacking on the blog.  The weeks just seem to be going by SO FAST! I can't believe our little gal, Stella Caroline, is already 6 months old!! Her checkup went well.  She weighs 15 lbs and is 25 inches long, in the 29th and 20th percentiles respectively.  Way up from 4 months, so that is great. Her hair is growing back slowly.  She has a little peach fuzz sprouting atop her noggin at least.  Going to be much lighter than before though.



And I can't ignore my sweet young man....he will be 11 years old this Thursday. I can't even stand it.  Just last week, HE was 6 months old.  And although he is a "tween", with "tween-like" habits and tendencies, he is a wonderful boy.  As a mother, I truly couldn't ask for more.

                                                                                                

Don't pinch me.....please

The little leprechaun finally wore out.

So I love St. Patrick's Day because it means Spring is in sight, but the luck of the Irish doesn't seem to be with me today.  Couldn't find one green item of clothing--although I do own plenty of it (Hence the no pinching warning).  My green cupcakes overflowed while baking and made a huge mess in my oven, and I've got a ton of work to do when all I want to do is go out and enjoy the beautiful day.  That messy oven might just have to wait until tomorrow.

I love Sundays

For the last 4 years, Sunday has been Aaron's one and only day off, apart from holidays and when he takes vacation.  So our time is so precious to me now and today did not disappoint.  We didn't do much of anything, just relaxed and enjoyed one another's company and played with Stella.  But I love days like this.  I don't feel compelled to do laundry or run errands or worry about bills.  I am just relaxing and enjoying my family.....and blogging of course. I'm looking forward to next Sunday already.

Is there an echo in here?

Funy little girl...always makes me laugh.

So Stella has had this little dry cough for a couple weeks now.  No other symptoms, but it was starting to worry me nonetheless.  My mother in law was over the other day and said she thought Stella just liked the way it sounded when she coughed.  I was thinking "No way...Babies don't do stuff like that....do they?". So we were playing last night and I decided to do a little fake cough just to see what her reaction would be.  Well she laughed and laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.  (I wish I'd taken a video....we'd be youtube stars right along with that other laughing baby that everyone is so crazy over.) So I figured, she really must like the way it sounds.  So I did it a few more times and she kept on laughing and then....something magical happened.  She started mimicking me.  I'd fake cough, then she'd giggle and fake cough too. And now it goes both ways--she does the fake cough and I do it back, I do the fake cough and then she does it.  Hilarious.  My baby is a little comedienne.  Ah well....you can tell I don't get out much these days.

Let's Eat!

Oatmeal and Pears--YUM!!

Ever since I introduced Stella to food (a little over a month ago), she has wanted little to nothing to do with it.  She'd take a bite of fruit here and there, but nothing substantial.  Well today, it was like feeding a different baby. She ate all of her cereal and half a jar of fruit and she smiled and enjoyed herself the whole time.  Granted, she was wearing quite a bit of it at the end, but I still count it as a victory.

And a side note--you can tell from the pic that she's losing her downy, newborn hair.  Looks like we will have a bald (and beautiful) baby for a little while!

Nap anyone?

So what a rough night in the Myers house last night.  Stella has been a near perfect sleeper since we brought her home, but last night was definitely an exception.  Needless to say, there are some tired faces dragging around here today.  But on the bright side, we're celebrating my wonderful Dad's birthday this evening. Not so bright side, his cake was a victim of my groggi-headedness, so we're having to improvise.  The kids are giving him a home-made card and this precious pic.

Papa's little Wildcats

What love looks like

So, if you want to soften the stony, too-cool, and know-it-all exterior of your ten-year-old "tween" boy, give him a little sister. I had my reservations about how he would react to a tiny, needy human in the house (and a girl no less), but what I've seen from the moment these two laid eyes upon one another is just pure love and adoration.  And it goes both ways.  Brother makes sister smile like no one else can and sister can make brother melt into a puddle of lovey-dovey goo. It's miraculous to watch and gives me a sure testimony of our pre-existence.  These two may have just met 5 months ago, but they have known each other a long time.

Happy Heart Day

Sweet Stella looking pretty in pink

It's Valentines Day! Not a huge deal around the Myers home, but an excuse to eat candy, nonetheless.  I got my sweetie some sweet conversation hearts......in Spanish.  We'll see how long it takes him to figure that out.  Loving the sunshine and mild weather.  It's got me itching for spring.  Can't wait to put away winter coats and get out the short sleeves and flip flops.

Must be catching....

So it appears that blogging is contagious in the Myers home.  Riley was enjoying this one so much, he decided to start his own. Very cute too, I must say.  Check it out:
http://www.notesfromrileysroom.blogspot.com/

A Thirty-Wonderful time

Last night's open house event was a success! We sure were packed into my tiny living room, but a fun time was had by all nonetheless.  Thanks so much to all of my great friends who made it.  As for the rest of you.....  (Kidding, of course!) I love being an at-home mom, but this Thirty-One thing isn't a bad side gig.

Happy Birthday, Husband!



Stella and Daddy on Aaron's birthday-eve



Today is Aaron's 31st birthday.  Hard to believe he was 10 years younger when I first laid eyes on him.  Still as handsome as ever though.  Happy Birthday from your adoring family.  We love you!

How time flies.....

So Riley went to the Avenged Sevenfold concert last night and had a blast.  Glad for him but sad for me.  Seems like just yesterday he was sitting on my lap at Sesame Street Live. I guess time flies when you're raising the sweetest boy on the planet.  Sniff, sniff....

Ri & Me, May 2005

Ri & Me, Today

Maybe Next Time.....

Attempted rice cereal with Stel for the first time today.  Such a failure I didn't even take a picture.  She hated it......I mean, REALLY HATED it. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

The Magic of Mamaws

Poor Stella had to get shots this morning.  It was traumatic for her (and me too).  So she had been cranky and pretty much inconsolable for the entire day.....and then Mamaw came for a visit. As you can see, she's in a much better mood now.  How blessed I am to have such a sweet mother-in-law and wonderful grandmother to my children. Mamaws are the best.

The many faces of Stella

The wink

The owl



The Eyebrow



So even though Stella is so young, she has quite a personality and makes some of the funniest faces in the world (we think so anyway).  So yes, she's a sweet and darling cherub, but she can also be a silly cartoon.  Here's a collection of some of our favorites:


The fish



The howl



The sneer

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Why I don't dread Mondays anymore...

Riley and Stella hanging out on ANOTHER snow day.  Love my kids! So thankful for the opportunity to be a full time mom to them and not have to scramble to find child care on snow days or when they're sick.  Also, just being with them is a blast. I've said it before and I'll say it again--This is the BEST job in the world.  And that's why I don't dread Mondays anymore.

First Post EVER!

So this is exciting.  First post! The purpose of this blog is to have an online space that I can share with friends and family so they can keep up with us (The Myers) and what's going on in our world. Never blogged before, so it might be lame until I really get going.  Hope to post pics, family updates, links to cool stuff, and general thoughts. No one even knows about it yet, so hopefully it will be worth reading by the time anyone sees it. K, enough said as an intro.  Until next post....