Super Cute

Ok, so I may be a little bias, but I do think that I have on my hands one of the cutest Wonderwomen ever. Ruthie especially appreciated Halloween this year, since she got to sample a few more types of candy than she ever has. As new parents, we quickly learned that toddlers don't do well with taffy. Who knew? Ok, maybe most parents with common sense, but that obviously isn't us.

We trick-or-treated, as is tradition, at Aunt Di's with Ruthie's cousins.

Steve calls this Ruthie's White Snake photo, since she is on top of Uncle Pete's white camero. Yeah, I guess I was busy listening to Young MC and Paula Abdul.

We also went to Halloween With Horses in Parker. Ruthie got to ride a horse.

But more importantly she got a sucker afterwards, so all she wanted to do was stand by the fence, eat her sucker, and kick dirt.

She won't even put the sucker down for the petting zoo. I guess I do have an 'indoor' girl.

She also got to carve a pumpkin with Grandpa. She has to wear her camo for this heavy duty work. Camo is courtesy of Grandpa and Marilyn. Definitely not mommy.

Suzie's Wedding (I guess Mike's too)

We had the fabulous opportunity to attend my friend Suzie's wedding in Breckenridge in October. She made an absolutely gorgeous bride to say the least. We had a great time catching up with everyone. Isn't the cliche, 'Its been way too long'.

Matchmaker Sarah and the beautiful bride.

Steve hadn't gotten to see his boyfriend Scott in too long. He was obviously excited. Not quite sure if those are anti-war signs or gang signs. I guess you get to make your own interpretation.

College friends from near and far.
Ivory and Jamie (Steve's other boyfriend) looking fabulous.

Long lost Lisa. I miss Lisa. Lisa lives in Texas with her adorable family. Her boys were the cutest ringbearer ever.

Fire Station

Dad and Grandpa took Ruthie to visit Uncle Doug at the fire station. I am not quite sure who was more excited about the trip, Dad or Ruthie.
Rutie definitely wasn't excited about this shot. I guess they took the keys out.

She did get to pose like a rock star with the truck though.

Plus she got this super cool hat and a badge. Even though there was a traumatic experience with Grandpa and the elastic chin strap on the hat, she still wears it occasionally to watch Elmo.

Rocky Trip and More

Britney, I mean Ruthie and Ashly posing at Aunt Di's B-day.
Ruthie and Daddy playing firefighter at the Children's Museum. She wasn't interested in the hat or jacket. It would ruin her look.
"Steve Farrell's got nothing on me!"
Ruthie's Senior picture pose.
Daddy dressed you? Wow.
We spent labor day weekend in Rocky Ford. We were doing the math and hadn't been down there in almost a year, so I guess we were due for a little Mission Deli (for those who don't know, the best mexican food EVER) Ruthie had a photo session at Pop's plant.

Large Marge loved playing in the big truck although Mom thought she needed a Purell bath afterwards. To put it in prospective, the first truck we opened had mouse traps in it, so this was the clean one.
She wasn't too enthused abou the sand. Guess she is an indoor girl like her momma.
We also got to play with Jenna and Lauren. Jenna and Ruthie are just a year apart. They played well together including licking their spoons and then switching them back and forth at dinner. Nice.

Ruthie has been growing like a weed. She tries to repeat you if you talk slow. Guess mommy and daddy are going to have to start watching what they say. She is enjoying the toddler classroom at school. We get to bring home an art project everyday on her shirt and we often get one on paper too.

In no particular order

I have once again failed the motherhood test. I have forgotten my camera and have to resort to stealing pictures from others. This set is from my mom and hopefully Steve will figure out his mom's camera to get her pictures. We have had a busy summer with visits from all of Ruthie's cousins. The Texas Brubakers came out to spend a few weeks. The next couple of pictures are from Shelby's birthday.

Ruthie loved Tommy. I am not so sure he was quite as impressed with her.

Maloree and McKenna were so helpful with Ruthie. The break to sit and talk with adults was nice. Oh, the little things.

My cousin Alysa stopped by with her two beautiful child on the way to their new home in Kansas City. And of course it is always fun to see Emma, Max, Tonya, and Charlie.

The South Carolina Brubakers also came by for a visit.

Lots of love from Shelby!
Grandma Paula couldn't resist the matching dresses. Sorry, Jimmy.
Ruthie has loved the swimming pool this summer. She is absolutely fearless in the water. I know it is a cliche, but she is growing faster than we would like. She moves to the toddler room at daycare next Monday. This means a bigger playground, more structured days, and no more crib. She was more than ready to go though because her three girlfriends had moved up the few week prior. She is chattering more, signing more, and practicing her animal sounds. Sorry Katie, we don't have our mutliplication tables down quite yet.

Welcome Baby Benett

Yay! Baby Benett joined the Brubaker family on Thursday and none too soon for Mommy and Daddy. Shelby has been affectionate and loving with her baby brother...so far!

Since it has been a little while since we posted, some of these picture are a little old. I have no shame in blaming my one year old daughter for the lack of pictures though. Every time I pull out the camera, she wants to play with it. Besides, this working mama has a hard time keeping up in general. Above is another picture of Shelby, this time with her boyfriend Joaquin who insisted on calling Shelby Shelbow just to get under her skin. To answer the age old question, yes men are born like that. We got to go to the zoo with Gabe, Eme, and Joaquin when they were in town. We miss them!

Ruthie's hair is getting long and starting to curl. Yipee! We have even been able to do pigtails lately. She loves them. Whenever she sees a rubberband laying around she tries to put in her hair. She is interested in hair 'pretties', purses, and electronics. Not so much babies. I think her daddy is in trouble.

Here is a picture from father's day at my parent's new house in Parker. Shelby and Ruthie had fun wrestling with Pop. Steve has been giddy all week because Ruthie bought him a new driver for Father's day. We also celebrated our 6th anniversary on Father's day. Yikes!

Happy Birthday, Ruthie!

Well, I can't believe that my baby is 1 year old. It seems like just yesterday I was wondering if this baby was ever going to join us.



I think that Ruthie many have had little too much cake!



Here Ruthie is with her new friend Cooper. Cooper is my sister-in-law Amy's brother's son. Did you follow that? Cooper was born a few weeks after Ruthie.



My little brainiac found my Sudoko book and pen. Is it scary that she knows that they go together? The other day she found the pen and went straight to the Sudoko book that was in another part of room. I guess I was a little embarrassed that she imitates what she sees, but when I thought about it I wasn't sure if there is anything that I do that I would be proud if she imitated. Sad.



We had a busy month with Ruthie's birthday. The months are flying by. Ruthie had her one year doctor's appointment. She is still a big kid, a little more than 25 lbs and a little longer than 31 inches which puts her in the 95th and 97th percentiles. Not to mention her noggin which is off the charts. I wish I could blame that on Steve, but that would be flat out dishonest.

First Hair Cut

We got Ruthie's haircut for the first time this past weekend. Prior to, she constantly had hair in her eyes and those cute little clips didn't quite work considering anything she can get her hands on ends up in her mouth. Besides, if she wants those cute side swept bangs, we better start training them now. This is the before picture of a little girl not quite sure she wants this version of fun.

Action shot. We decide to try the kiddie salon for the first cut, hence the car chair.

Grandma Ginny and Great Grandma Francie came all the way across town to witness the two minutes of fun. Luckily they stayed for cookies at the mall later. Ruthie got the works at the salon including the pony, bow, and a little glitter spray for good measure.

Ruthie got to try out Grandpa Rich's new hog.

We have had a busy past few weeks. Steve turned 30 on April 2nd, much to his disapointment. He was consoled by the fact that we went to Vegas to celebrate, just the two of us. It is the first trip since our honeymoon that we did just the two of us where we weren't going to visit someone else. We had a great time, but missed Ruthie of course. I am not quite sure she missed us since she got to spend some quality time with Gramma Paula and Pop. She is 'cruising' all over and thinking hard about walking on her own. She is doing more and more toddler foods and less baby foods and has moved to the big kids room at school. I know it is a cliche, but she is growing up too fast. Soon she will be rolling her eyes at me and telling me how lame I am, if they use the word lame then. Do they even use it now? I am old. By the way, new kids on the block are going on tour. I guess I can't be that old, right?

10 months!

Can I get a half-caf skinny latte?
Baby Ruthie cuddling with Grandpa Rich
Ella and Ruthie chilling before pref party



Here are the latest pictures of Ruthie. We started swim lessons in February. Ruthie absolutely loved the water. She is even having more fun in the bathtub. So I decided this weekend that my life has definitely changed in the last 10 months. Just a few subtle things I noticed. The other day Ruthie had a goopy eye, so instead of actually finding a tissue, I wiped it with my sleeve. Another instance was at work when we were talking about 'user-friendly' one person picked the United website, one picked a computer store, I picked babies r us. Don't get me wrong, not all the changes are bad. I have also noticed that by the time I get home from picking up Ruthie after work I am always in a good mood because I know I have a few good hours of playtime even if I have a bathroom to clean afterwards.