January at a glance

January is quickly coming to a close.

For us, January meant days of celebration and a few of sadness and then lots of days in between. 

Those days in between Ruby spent working on her standing.  Throughout the month, she got better and better at pulling herself and now she continues to work on letting go and standing all on her own.  These attempts never fail to entertain her Mommy and Daddy, as she teeters back and forth.  Ruby also clearly stated her independence this month.  Gaining the confidence to explore the house on her own.  Sometimes finding trouble, but for the most part, she listens to Mom and Dad and is easily redirected.

January also brought Laura's birthday.  A very cold day mostly spent inside just the 3 of us with a fire in the cornstove.  Her is Ruby and her mommy on January 19th.

This month gave Ruby a little extra time with her Papa as well.  For those that don't know, Ruby's Papa works on contracts for large companies.  He travels to whereever the company is and works Monday-Thursday on location.  He just finished up a 2 year contract in Memphis and found out that the new company he is working for is in Des Moines!  Papa stops by for dinner once a week and Ruby loves the extra attention and a little time with Papa's iPad.  (It's a very good thing we don't have one at home!)

Finally, this January has been unseasonably warm.  We have gotten very little snow... Ruby is very sad that she hasn't gotten to use her new sled!  Today made up for it though.  It was 65 degrees out which allowed Ruby and her mommy some time out on the front porch.  Boy, did that sunshine feel good.  

Now on to all the fun that awaits us in February!

A Family Wedding

So this is a bit of a blog flashback. 

On January 7th, Laura's cousin Nate got married.  We don't have a family wedding every day and always look forward to a chance to dance and party with our family.  This was the first family wedding that Ruby got to be a part of.

We weren't sure how long these baby blues would stay open, especially being up 3 hours late the night before!

Family photo... most of the clan - we missed those taking care of Grandpa!

the lovely bride and groom

hanging out before dinner

Ruby and her great aunt LeeAnn who lives in Alaska

Ruby playing with Uncle Sam

Ruby and Grandma

Dinner: Ruby ate half of Mommy's plate and then half of Daddy's.  We may need to start ordering her her own plate! :)

Ruby's party dress

"loving" her time with great aunt Tammy and great uncle Steve

on the dance floor with Mommy in her pajamas - we changed her into jammies at about 7:00 so that we'd be prepared when she tuckered out

Noah and his grandma Kathy busting a move

Aryah loved any time she could get with Ruby.  Notice Ruby's upside down binky - she goes through phases.

Dancing with Uncle Sam... by now it was like 9:00 and she wasn't fussing

Daddy and 'uncle' Clint... perhaps a few drinks in :)

Super Mama- 'aunt' Kelly with Hannah and Noah on the dance floor

Finally we got her to cuddle with mama and watch the dance floor... and she drifted off.  Here's the mamas with their sleeping babies.

The dancing continued on long after Ruby fell asleep.  This is Ruby's grandpa Al and his sister (mother of the groom) Eileen

Family on the dance floor.  So thankful Miss Ruby slept in her carseat in the corner until the end of the dance.  She was a trooper, allowing Steve and I to have an awesome time with our family.  There is no doubt the Reicks family knows how to have a good time... always keeping the dance floor full.  It's exciting to start to pass these traditions on to our daughter.

Ruby paddy caking

Video

Sent via pda

Cooking in the kitchen with Ruby

This weekend was just what we needed.  Two days home together cleaning, cooking, and relaxing.  I made the big meal yesterday - Shephard's Pie.  Steve did the cooking today, giving me time to chronicle it.  Ruby spends lots of time in the kitchen at the feet of Mom and Dad playing with lids, measuring spoons and cups.  Anyway, enjoy!

This Christmas, Daddy received a pasta maker and ravioli cutter which really means a Merry Christmas for Ruby and Mommy.   Here Daddy is trying out the pasta maker for the first time.

Daddy has always made his own "sauce" and with Ruby in mind, today he made meatballs too!

Ruby likes to help... touching things and keep a close eye on everything.

Of course, the best place to help is right at Daddy's feet!

Fresh ravioli, sauce and meatballs take a long time.  After a while, Ruby takes a break and goes exploring.

She keeps an eye on Daddy though.  Wouldn't want to miss anything!

Ruby helps Mommy set the table.

This standing stuff if pretty fun!

Daddy and Ruby dig in.  Daddy's opinion :"The pasta still needs some work";  Ruby's opionion: "Delicious!"

Talk about a full tummy.  I am ready for a nap!

in memory of...

On Saturday, Eugene "Butch" Reicks died - Ruby's last living great grandfather.  It was a bittersweet occasion, as he had been suffering and is much more comfortable now.  Of course, I can't help but tear up, when I start to think of all the great memories I had with him and how much I will miss him. On top of it all, the timing made it particularly challenging for my family.  My cousin Nate got married to his now wife Kristen on Saturday.  So there was lots to be happy about and lots of celebrating to do ( I will post more about the wedding later). Although there was nothing more we could do for Grandpa, our minds and hearts continued to remember our loss and how much Grandpa must be enjoying watching the party from up above.  I keep thinking about Ruby will miss out on, by never really knowing him.  

Everyone will have different things that they will remember about my grandpa.  Some will remember that he was a farmer, that he had huge strong hands, and that he worked hard.  Some will remember that he loved to travel to places like Alaska, Germany, and Canada and that he loved to watch the history channel.  I will remember who he was as a grandpa.  He was a teaser.  He knew just how to razz you in a way that didn't make you feel hurt, but usually special that he was picking on you.  He didn't picked favorites.  He teased us all the same - which was a lot.  I remember spending a week with my grandparents during the summer and in the morning, he would take us along for "coffee time".  Coffee time meant that he would hop from local bar to local bar between 8 and 11 in the morning and chat with his friends (he had many), drink coffee, and if us kids were lucky we might even get a box of Boston Baked Beans.  You wouldn't think this would be so exciting for a kid, but we felt excited that we got to something special with him, proud that he was our grandpa and that he knew people everywhere we went, and it got us out of helping Grandma with the vacuuming or cooking dinner. My grandpa was good at play. Always up for a ball game (when his body still allowed), ready with a gag (he had quite the collection of gag gifts from birthdays over the years), excited for a party, and always up for a game of cards - whether it be Euchre, 500, Wizard, or a simple game of Crazy 8's.  Grandpa loved to play cards, and he played with his own style.  He was never timid with his bids, always willing to bet the the blinds would be there for him or his partner would get him through.  As grandkids, we were all anxious to be old enough to play, and rarely turned down the chance.  My grandpa made people laugh. He had many running jokes.  We were usually all giggling at the dinner table, when he would convince one of the youngest that there was a spider on the window, so that when they turned to look he could steal their dessert.  Even as his body got old and he needed more and more help to get out of his chair, as soon as you took him seriously and would try to help he would grab your hand and pull you on to his lap (he was still awfully strong!).  I felt lucky to have several chances to get to know Grandpa better during some trips my family took to the Rockies and to Niagara Falls and during a few Christmases, that Grandma and he spent with our family.  Oddly enough during these times, I remember him singing.  His favorite song had to be a polka that went something like... "You can have her, I dont want her, she's too fat for me".  Always teasing.  He and Grandma also liked to tell me about the night they met.  They were both in a wedding and that Grandpa sang "Found a peanut" to my Grandma.  Far from a love song, but I suppose demonstrating his love her life... and she took the bait.  The final songs being at Christmas Eve mass.  Grandpa surely wasn't know for his singing skills, but at the end of mass, he would bellow out "Joy to the World" without any worry of who might be listening.  My grandpa was never afraid to be himself.

Since Ruby will never know these things about Grandpa, he will have to live on in my words and stories.  I will tell her how excited Grandpa was about Ruby.  When I would go to the nursing home to visit, he would see me and even though he couldn't remember my name, after looking at me for a few minutes a light would come on, and he would ask about my baby.  When Ruby was born, my grandma had a hard time remembering Ruby's name, and although Grandpa didn't know even know if he had eaten dinner that day, Grandpa would remember it.  When Ruby was around Grandpa, he would make squeeks and moans - his attempt at teasing a 9 month old.  When life got tough and his mind and body were failing him, my grandpa never gave up on being a great-grandpa, a grandpa, a dad, or a husband.  Grandpa brought smiles to many people, but most importantly, he taught us the importance of play, hard work, strength, family, and love.