Ruth 5 Months Old!

Ruth has been a joy this past month. She is growing like a weed and her smile is infectious. We have concluded that she is an extrovert. She is most happy when she is with people and being held. She doesn't care who she's with just as long as she is with people! She continues to be an "easy" baby who doesn't fuss unless she is tired or hungry. (Who could blame her?) Steve and I often times stop to say to each other just how much we love her and can't believe how blessed we are to be entrusted with her.

Weight-13 lbs 14 oz

Height- 23 inches

Clothes Size- 3 months

Diaper Size- 2

Shoe Size- 1

Likes- Chewing, scratching (filing) her nails on seat belts and her mat, her chains of rings, being held, milk, rolling, her ball, being held while she stands in your lap, Juicy body parts (thumbs, big toes, bottom lip), smiling, being got up from a nap, riding in the stroller like a big girl, and sucking her big toes.

Dislikes- Being strapped in, having to wait on milk, sitting when she wants to stand, laying down for a nap, the smell of a smoker.

Firsts- This month Ruth found her feet and hands. Her feet, however, are much more interesting than her hands. She likes to suck on both though. Ruth also is responding to her name! It is amazing how quickly those little wheels are turning and learning. We have been practicing "no" and "gentle" with Ruth. She has taken a liking to scratching and pinching. I believe she is learning as we are seeing her using more gentle touches already! Ruth attended her first music class this month at church. I decided that I would feed her in the class so she would be quiet. However, it backfired. She was so into the music and watching the kids she couldn't eat! She loved it! The next class I made sure to feed her before it started.

Sleep- Ruth continues to be a good sleeper taking about 3 naps a day and 12-12.5 hours at night. We are so grateful to God!

On the Go- Ruth is on the Roll these days. She is frequently found going from tummy to back and back to tummy. She has also started to get her knees up under her. I believe it won't be long before we will have a crawler. Heaven help us!!

Ruth's 5 month Picture

Meeting Graham

Thumbs up! (Notice my first bracelet.)

First Ole Miss Game

I love my friend Cooper!

My new play mat

Ruth at Music Class

Family Fun

Here is a sneak peak of our trip to Mississippi! We had an amazing time. We are so thankful for our wonderful family!

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