Hawaii 2013 part 1

Steve Ruth and I had the peasure of going with the TBC youth on a mission trip to Hawaii in early July. Steve and I both agreed it was by far our favorite youth trip to date, and no it wasn't just because of the location :) We partnered with Olivet Baptist Church in Honolulu. They were a blessing to us as they allowed Steve Ruth and I to stay in their ministry appartment. This became the teams homebase throughout the week. Because we had a kitchen and free parking we were able to save a lot of money making the trip only $900 for the students!! The girls also enjoyed the hospitality of Pastor Jason and his wife Emily (former TBC members.) The Hew's and Olivet really showed us the Aloha spirit.

Ruth did outstanding on the flight! She really is an amazing traveler. She has such a pacient spirit for such a little one. She made it all the way until we got to the church before she melted down. That was ok with us as she was able to go right to bed. Everyone else was able to enjoy a nice welcome dinner put on by Olivet.

The next day was Sunday. We dropped Ruth off in the nursery (Which we really liked. It felt realy nice and safe.) and went to Sunday school with the church's youth. We were then enouraged by Dr. Chun GGBTS History professor and TBC member's, message for church. We were then given another wonderful lunch by Olivet (I'm telling you they spoiled us!) That afternoon the majority of the group went on a prayer walk around the churh while Tyler, Juliann, Ruth and I went shopping for the food supplies. It went off without a hitch other than Ruth exploding a diaper and geting it all over Juliann. Thank goodness she is a mother and understands!

Monday started out with an amazing prayer hike on the lighthouse trail. We were joined by another former TBC member Meridith After getting some beautiful pictures at the top it was off to lunch and our afternoon activity, nursing home minisry. The youth played bingo with the residents while Ruth and I chatted with a sweet resident. She was in love with Ruth. The lady had trouble remembering past about 10 minutes so we talked about Ruth over and over again. I was amazed at how she continued to bring her joy for the full 2 hours we were there. I would have continued to tell her about her the rest of the day but we we had to get going and prepair dinner. (Youth can eat!!!)

Each night we ended with a family time where we could worship and share what God was doing and of course after that we had to play a few rounds of Mafia. Here are a few pictures from the first 3 days. More to come soon!

Ruth 4 months old!

Wow another month under our belts and what a great one it has been! Every day Ruth's smile seams to grow bigger and bigger! My computer was broken for about 2 months and to my delight (after it was able to be fixed!!!) I turned it on today to find her newborn pictures scrolling as my desktop background. Looking at them overwhelmed me thinking of God's grace in our lives. She is growing into a beautiful sweet young girl. I am once again a little behind on the update as we were out of town for this month's milestone but I will do my best to capture her as best as I can!

According to the 4 month check up:
Hight- 24.25 inches
Weight- 13 lbs 2 oz
Diaper size- 2
Clothes size- 0-3 month and 3 months
Shoe size- anything from newborn to size 3-6 months (hoping her feet will grow soon so that she can wear some of the cute sandles she has before the cold weather comes!!)

Likes- Her swing (ALOT), "Monkey," a green and blue stuffed monkey wiht teathing rings for hands and feet, her keys, playing on her back and tummy, being held, getting up from a nap, bath time, boy/men (Oh no!! Not already!), chewing on her fingers, chewing on everyone elses fingers, smiling, sucking her thumb, all her grandparents, aunts and cousins, children,

Dislikes- if her bottle isn't ready when she wakes up, the bouncy chair if it's not moving, getting stuck on her tummy, when she thinks she's going to be picked up and she isn't, being strapped in, Target (not sure why but she always crys there), being hot, having her eyes wiped in the morning, being laid in her bed for a nap, bright sun, people who smell like smoke, time changes

Firsts- This past month Ruth enjoyed being in Hawaii for a week with us on our youth mission trip. She was a real trooper hanging in there and doing ministry with the rest of us. She was especailly good at nursing home ministry! I am amazed that someone who can't even speak can bring so much joy to so many people. It's like she knew that she shouldn't cry or fuss when we were doing ministry. Our prayer continues to be that she will eventually come to know Jesus Christ as her Lord and savoir.  We pray that she is old enough to remeber it and that it impacts her life in a dramatic way. We have learned that many children in ministry families can be pressured to early or even just grow up assuming they are saved because their parents are. Our prayer is that Ruth will make the dession early but on so early that she doesn't understand the weight of what it means to be a Christian.

We also had the chance to take Ruth to the "homeland" this month. Ruth met Mama Griffin, Mamaw and Papaw Bagwell (her great grandparents), Rebecca and Shannon (2 of her aunts), Alexa and Hailey (her 2 first cousins) and so many other family members and friends. Leaving this time was the hardest it's ever been. According to my mother it only gets harder. Yikes! We are so greatful to God for our amazing family who shares their frequent flier miles with us, drives across the state for us, and hosts us in their homes. We LOVE you more than we can express. Your love prayers and encouragement means more to us than you even know.

Our last big first is Rolling!!! Yes we have a Roller on our hands. At just over 3 months Ruth decided that she wanted to roll. One night we could not figure out why in the world she kept making noise in her bed long after she should have gone to sleep. We walked in to discover she was on her tummy! I kkscreamed at Steve not to touch her as I ran for the camera. Thinking it still may be a fluke we placed her back on her back and the next day she showed off her rolling skills some more! About a week later she showed us she could roll back from her tummy to her back! Life has not been the same since. No more leaving her somewhere and coming back to find her in the same place. Let the baby proffing begin!!!

Schedule:
7:30-wake up and eat
8:00- play
9:15- Nap
11:00- Wake and eat
11:30- Play
12:15- Nap
2:30- Wake and eat
3:00- Play
3:45- Nap
5:30- Wake and eat
6:00- Play
7:15- Eat
7:30- Go to Bed

We love that tongue!

Swimming with Daddy in Hawaii

My first time to grab and catch!

Helping with the Mission project at the Children's Justice Center

Yes I am so cool with my shades!

Still can't figure out how she can sleep like this.

Ruth and Mama in Hawaii

First time Ruth Rolled over! "Help Mama I'm stuck!"

Meeting Mama Griffin

Meeting Aunt Becca and Aunt Helen

With her Cousins and great grandparents

Playing with Gammy and Monkey

Aunt Shannon has yummy fingers! Let the Teething begin!

Ruth and Nana

Ruth 3 Months Old!

This post is a bit late because her 3rd month birthday fell on the day we left for our mission trip to Hawaii. After coming back life (as it tends to do) got busy and this blog was pushed to the wayside. I will do my best to stretch my brain back and remember all the good details of month 3

Weight- Around 10 lbs
Height-22 inches
Clothes Size- Newborn/0-3 month
Diaper Size-1
Shoe Size-Newborn/0-3 month

Likes-swinging in her swing, swimming in pools, riding in the baby backpack, sitting facing forward, being held vertically, listening to herself talk, tasting her washcloth, waking up from a nap, people smiling at her, being held, looking at people, her "keys," looking at babies, and holding a pinky while she drinks her bottle.

Dislikes-bright sunny places, putting on sunscreen, the beach, being put to bed, turning off the lights in her room, being held horizontally, being strapped into the car-seat, having to be burped in the middle of a feeding, laying on her tummy for an extended period of time (more than 5 minutes.), and having to wait for food after she wakes up from a nap.

First Time adventures- This month Ruth visited the beach and the pool for the first time. I blogged a little about those adventures already but in short Ruth HATED the beach and LOVED the pool. A girl after her Mama's own heart. Who needs yucky sand anyways! We also got Ruth's picture taken at a mall studio for the first time. She did an amazing job! It took all of 2 minutes for us to get a good shot. She is a very smilingly baby.  Ruth took her first plane ride this month and did so good! She didn't cry at all despite the fact that it was an eventful flight. A man across the isle from us had a seizure. Thankfully he was ok and we didn't have to take a detour. Thanks to the plane right Ruth also went to her first state outside of California, HAWAII!!! Most of her Hawaii adventures will go in the next months report but she did make it there by 3 months! Going to Hawaii was also her first formal mission trip. We feel that it is very important to raise Ruth in a way that she can see our faith in action. We like to call her our best evangelism tool! She already has taken on her name meaning "friend," making friends wherever she goes. Ruth saw her first fireworks this month and she loved them. She was memorized by the pretty lights. It's so fun to see the world through her eyes. Finally, Ruth had her first babysitter, Aunt Carlena. Steve and I went with the youth group to a movie and left her for about 3 hours. From what Carlena said Ruth did really well. We are so grateful for wonderful friends who love our little girl!

On the move- Ruth is very close to becoming mobile. She has already figured out how to move up and down her bed by scooting on her back. It is amazing to find how quickly she can move from one end of the bed to the other.

Personality- Ruth's personality is really starting to come through. She is such an easy going baby! We are soooo blessed. She is happy just to play on the floor in the Gilead House office while I work. She also lets anyone and everyone hold her. We are so grateful that she is a people person. She can be quite the flirt. She loves to smile at boys in particular. (Steve has his work cut out for him!) Her smile is contagious and she can always get someone to smile back.

Schedule: We have finally hit our stride! We love being on a schedule!

7:30AM- Wake up
7:30-8:30- Eat and wake time
8:30- 11- Nap
11-12:30- Eat and wake time
12:30-2:30- Nap
2:30-4- Eat and wake time
4-5:30-Nap
5:30-7:30-Eat and wake time
7:30-Eat and go to bed

Yes she sleeps for 12 hours!!! We are so blessed!!!

Ruth before a nap

tolerating the sunscreen

Not Happy to be at the beach!

First time at the pool.

#lovingit

First trip to Five Guys! She clearly loved it!

At Build a Bear Workshop with Boaz the bear.

Look at me I can sit up so tall!

Happy 4th of July

First plane ride

Using our fly-baby hammock. We highly recommend it!

Sunday church in Hawaii

Our sweet girl!

Water Baby

Ruth's first trip to the pool was a much better experience than her first trip to the beach. She decided the calm water was more her style. She also enjoyed being pushed around like a queen in her float. Thanks Aunt Carlena for letting us come to the pool with you!

Here are a few pictures from the afternoon:

First Trip to the Beach

This past Saturday Ruth and I were hanging with Carlena to stay out of the heat (it's been in the 90s and we have no air-conditioning!) That afternoon we were all invited to join the Beltran family with a trip to the beach. We jumped at the idea, there are not many times it's warm enough to swim in Northern California. (I must admit I was also pretty excited for Ruth to try out one of her new bathing suits!)

Ruth woke up to eat on the way which I felt was perfect timing! She would now be awake to see the waves and sand when we arrived. Rodeo (Ro-Day-O) beach was packed and parking was tight but we made it! After getting settled on the sand we lathered Ruth up with sunscreen. This was the beginning of her melt down...

Turns out I forgot to ask Ruth if she wanted to go to the beach. She clearly would have said no. Poor baby cried for the next 40 minutes! This is extremely out of character for her. Normally she is very even keeled, so I felt extra bad!

We tried just about everything from walking to rocking to even getting an extra bottle. Nothing was going to make her happy. Ruth especially didn't like getting in the water. After I sat her in the ocean she started to cry more. 

Before

After

 The little pond was no better. She must have been trying to tell me it wasn't a good idea to stick her in because a few minutes after hanging out here we found out there was a child who had gotten a leach on them. (Sorry Ruth!! I'll listen better next time!)

Everyone else enjoyed the water.... Well almost everyone.

Orlando wasn't a fan of the big ocean waves.  You can't really blame him for that. He would rather go play with the leaches.

Finally, Ruth fell asleep. Once she woke up she decided she was going to be in a better mood. The rest of the time she enjoyed hanging out on her towel in the sand soaking up the sun.

Don't loose your keys!

Ruth loves Joaquin and he loves her back!

Overall despite the crying it was a great day at the beach. We are now even more excited about our trip to Hawaii coming up! So thankful for God's beautiful creation and wonderful friends to share it with!