Florida, here we come!!

Well, as many of you already know, Doug has accepted a job in West Palm Beach, FL! It was an amazing offer that we would have been crazy to refuse, so Florida, watch out - here come the Vogts! Doug starts on March 9th but Rubes and I will be staying back for a while to oversee the sale of the house which hopefully won't be much longer than April/May time frame. I haven't given my notice at my job yet because my boss has been out sick this whole week but plan to tomorrow or Monday. We're very excited for this new adventure but also very nervous about the house selling. We hope not to lose too, too much in this market. But we have to keep it in perspective: we will be losing a little here but gaining so much more when we buy in the FL real estate. Please send positive moving vibes our way!

We went out and bought a new camera this weekend so we're happy to share some new photos with you. We had a fun weekend, we went to the park and Ruby is getting to be such a big girl, climbing and sliding all by herself! Also, we can see that Barney is on his way out and "Elmo" (Sesame Street) and The Wiggles (dear GOD) are on the way in. Ruby continues to keep us in stitches daily, especially when we ask her to do something she doesn't want to do. She first looks at us like we're crazy and says "NO" and then slowly, deliberately and very dramatically throws herself to the floor (careful not to hurt herself) and starts fake crying. If we ignore her, she gets up within 5 seconds and goes on about her business. She's also getting very good at saying her ABCs and she LOVES to sing. Enjoy the pics!

Daddy and Ruby playing in their "fort".

Ruby always find the most interesting positions to watch TV in!
Having fun at the park!

Climbing the "rock wall" all by herself, sniff, sniff!

Ruby likes to sit at the top of the slide for a while trying to decide whether to go or not. She does it mostly to tease Mommy. She usually has a devilish grin on while doing this.

Climbing the stairs like a big girl.

OK, Ruby has NEVER used a pacifier but found this one in her closet that I had from when she was a baby and would NOT let it go for a day. Silly girl!

Taking a juice break after all the hard work at the park. Climbing, sliding, swinging, running and jumping are very tiring you know!

Loving the books that Grandpa and Gretta sent! Especially the Ruby-sized Cat in the Hat.

BUBBLES!

Hey, gimme that camera!

The Zoo!!

Mommy had the day off Tuesday with Ruby so we went to the zoo with some friends. We had so much fun!! Ruby absolutely loved every minute of it and Mommy loved seeing the zoo through little 17 month old eyes. So precious! There was a carousel and train ride there and Ruby was over-the-top excited for both. Mommy got a little motion sick on the carousel but it was worth it to see the excitement on Ruby's face. Mommy had the most wonderful time with her baby and her girlfriends!

The little zoo-goer clan. How cute is this picture? They were all absolute angels! Here's Lily, Ruby, Griffin and Porter.

One of Ruby's favorite parts was the petting zoo. She parked herself between two friendly goats and patted, brushed, hugged and kissed them. Maybe she'll work at zoo someday?

Although Ruby did very much like the merekat exhibit, she did not enjoy pretending to BE a merekat. She was obviously not impressed.

Ruby loved these gorilla structures and especially loved hugging the baby gorilla that the mommy gorilla is holding.

Little birdies hanging out in a big nest.

Taking a milk break and being silly.

Camera Heaven

Well, our camera has gone to camera heaven! Guess that's what we get when we let Ruby use it as a toy. :) So, we don't have any recent pictures but I think we're going to out and get a new one this weekend, so more Ruby pics coming soon!

Ruby is growing physically and mentally by leaps and bounds. We are amazed everyday by something new she's done. We had a fantastic weekend with perfect sunny, warm weather. We spent as much time outside as possible. Ruby's favorite word now is NO! Nononononononononooooo!! It's pretty cute and it's hard not to laugh when she says it but I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon.

Hope to post new pictures soon.