Move Over Two, Three's in the House!

It's hard to believe but we have a 3 year old! We've had a full month of activities which included a siblings class at the hospital, getting things ready for baby and of course, birthday parties! Ruby was very excited for her birthday this year and is very proud to now be able to say she's three. She requested a "gymnastics party" so that's what we did. It was very cute and she loved every minute of it. We had another little party with our wonderful neighbors on her actual birthday so we've all been on a cake diet for the past week!

I feel pretty good and am still able to work out at the gym regularly and keep up with everything else without too much difficulty. By the end of the day I'm pretty tired and sore but I really can't complain, it's been a great pregnancy. Only 3 weeks left! Ruby has been lifting up my shirt lately and yelling in my belly button for her baby sister to come out NOW. This poor baby has no idea what she's getting into! Actually, we both really feel that Ruby is going to be a marvelous big sister and a great help for me.

Ruby is learning so much at school, we just love hearing everyday the new things she's learned. The other day she told me they learned about the letter M, told me it made a "mmmm" sound and then told me several words that start with M. She loves learning and we love watching her learn. She's really into reading books and a lot of the time prefers reading them to her babies like her teacher does at school. She's also starting to get into board games which is so much fun!

Doug will be starting his marathon training in September. We're so proud that he's decided to run the Disney marathon in January! That will be our first trip to Disney as a family so we're really looking forward to it.

Thank you to everyone for the sweet birthday wishes and gifts for Rubes. She truly is a blessing in our lives and reminds us every day to live in the moment and to appreciate the small things. We laugh more and love harder with our little spunky girl in our lives. We love you Ruby! xoxo

Decorating a onesie for her baby sister at siblings class.

The finished product!

Helping Daddy change the doll's diaper.

"Oh you're so heavy baby."

Big sister in training.

Getting all ready for baby.

Just a normal morning with the goofiest Vogt.

Ready for her gymnastics party!

The cake.

Rubes and Daddy waiting for her friends to arrive.

Dancing with Jansen and Molly.

The obstacle course.

She's great at the balance beam!

Trampoline fun.

Make a wish!

Our little family.

Birthday pedicure with Mommy.

Feeling pretty with freshly painted toes.

Party #2. Embarrassed because everyone is singing Happy Birthday to her.

Playing dress up.

Happy August everyone! Wow, where did that month go? We had a FANTASTIC vacation in NJ and had so much fun celebrating PopPop's 70th. Ruby was in heaven surrounded by her 8 cousins. She's getting so easy to travel with and we have so much fun watching her experience so many fun adventures. There were lots of beach days, an outing on a pirate ship, a trip to a water park and lots of arts and crafts time.

The summer has been filled with birthday parties for Ruby's little friends which has made Ruby very excited for her own party. She decided on a gymnastics party at a local gymnastics club with 9 of her little friends. She's very excited and we can't wait to see her enjoying her special day.

Ruby is getting VERY excited to meet her baby sister. She's been able to feel the baby move a lot over the past few weeks and is always hugging and kissing my belly. We just know she's going to be a wonderful big sister. She's also very excited about Auntie Em coming to stay with her while we're at the hospital.

School is still going great, we just met with her teacher for next year to hear about the "curriculum". So funny that we're doing that for a 3 year old!! Her class will be getting all ready for pre-k the next year and will be focusing on learning all their numbers and letters and should be able to read sight words and write their own names by the end of the year. So exciting!!

Hope everyone is doing well, love to you all!

The Vogts have talent.

Ruby and her buddy Bella.

Ready for the 4th of July!

Ruby riding bikes with her cousins.

PopPop and the grand kids.

Sand Monsters.

Pirate Ruby.

She even got to steer the ship!

Evan and Ruby getting down to the music.

Goofy girl.

More dance moves.

The gang.

The girls cousins. Pretty bunch! :)

All 9 cousins - so much fun!!

One happy PopPop.

Ruby and her friends Lily and Jansen at a b-day party.

First braids!! OK, Mommy needs some practice!

One of many masks Ruby has made at school. By the way, this is a Pharaoh, not Darth Vader. I was corrected very quickly. :)

32 Weeks!!

School Rules!!

Just thought I'd update everyone on how Ruby's adapting to school. She LOVES it!!! I am so relieved that she still wants to go back every time, I was worried that the novelty would wear off but she just can't get enough. Her first day went really smoothly and there were no tears for Mommy or Ruby. She always asks what I'm going to do while she's in school and as long as it's boring enough (cleaning, grocery shopping, going to the gym), she thinks it's OK that I'm leaving. She loves Fridays because it's water day and they get to wear their bathing suits to school and play in the sprinklers. I asked Ruby if she likes to run and jump in the sprinklers and she said, "no, I like to pee in the grass". OK. Well, I haven't gotten a note home from her teacher yet so I'll just leave that one alone. School has been heavenly for me too. Just to be able to grocery shop without a toddler is like a dream and it gives us more quality time together when I don't have to take her with me to run all my errands. It's a win-win!

Ruby had a few firsts this month. Last weekend she went bowling for the first time! She went with a bunch of her little friends and she really loved it. We will be going again for sure! Another first for Ruby was a true sleepover with her BFFs, Ben and Lucy which included matching PJs, popcorn, movies and lots more fun stuff. She had her bags packed the day before, she was excited to say the least. She had a sleepover because our wonderful friends, Gail and Todd offered to take Ruby for the weekend so Doug and I could get away for a "Baby Moon" before the new baby comes. We ended up going to a resort about 5 miles down the road where we lounged, read, ate, got massages and just totally relaxed. It was so nice and exactly what we needed. Ruby didn't miss us at all!

Ruby is still cracking us up daily. She has questions about everything and then questions about those questions. A lot of times she'll ask me a question about something I didn't even think she would think about. Like our conversation we had tonight while she was in the bath. It went like this:

Ruby: "Mommy, when you and Daddy got your massages, was it a man or a lady?"
Me: "Mommy had a man and Daddy had a lady."
Ruby: "NOOOO."
Me: "What?"
Ruby: "I wanted you to have a lady and Daddy to have a man!"
Me: "Why?"
Ruby: "Because you're a Mommy and Daddy is a Daddy."

The things she thinks about and is concerned about are pretty hysterical sometimes. Check out the video I added at the end of the pictures. Our little fish swims under water now!

Hugs for Big Bird at one of our charity events.

Yeah, I think she liked him.

First day of school!!

Ruby and Bella can't get to school fast enough!

We found their classroom, nerves start to set in.

Ruby settles right in. Goofball.

Bella: "Mommy don't leave!" Ruby: "Bye Mom!!"

Love this picture!

Excited for water day!

Can you say ham???

Daddy and Ruby doing their silly dancing.

Ruby got to bring Daddy to school for breakfast for Father's Day.

Bowling!!

The girls.

This is fun!

Wow, the ball is rolling really slow.

That took FOREVER!!

Ruby and Lucy cracking up. Probably talking about poop.

The girls and their Daddies.

Father's Day breakfast - our little family and 6 1/2 months along with #2!

Ruby and Big Baby in the adorable matching dresses Gamma made them!

She LOVED them!

Ta-da!

The view from our room on our "Baby Moon."