Back to October...

We found a few fun ways to celebrate Josh's Birthday while we were still in the midst of finishing our house and waiting for occupancy.

Lunch Date at PF Changs~ Just the two of us.

Dinner, cake, and presents with our little family at Papa's Pizza.

Daddy and Griffin

A few days later we had a party at our new house even though we still couldn't live there. We had running water and carpet, but no heat yet as I recall. It was fun seeing how the house felt with lots of people in it. We unpacked some toys so that the kids could play in Ronan's room, and we all enjoyed just getting to hang out together.

Here's a look at the kitchen~ fully functioning, but not completely finished at this point. (:

Me with the 31 year-old Birthday Boy!

View from the balcony looking down at Tyler, Aaron, and Becca

From left to right:

Kenton, Papa, Jon, Josh, Ronan, Aaron, Cohen, Sadie, Becca, Amy, Grammie with Emma, Memaw, Katrina, and Great Grammie.

Playing in Ronan's new room with Memaw and Great Grandpa.

Gathering in the living room...

Josh's sister, Amy, with her sweet baby Emma (just 2 weeks old!)

Happy Birthday, Josh!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

The Ruddick Family
Josh, Gretchen, Ronan (4), and Griffin (2)

Baby Emma

On September 26th Amy and Jon welcomed their new daughter, Emma Leann, into the world. She is very sweet and such a precious addition to their family.

Josh and I went to visit Emma a few hours after she was born. I forget so quickly how it feels to hold a newborn!

Uncle Josh holding Emma

The Green Family

Amy, Jon, Ethan, Macey, and Emma

Sweet Baby Girl

Goodbye Party

Wow, this was a long time ago~ September 18th! I'm going to try to get back into blogging after taking a few months off. We'll see how quickly I can get "caught up" or if I will even try. I might skip ahead to December and fill in the missing pieces later on. We'll see (:

This night was a lot of fun. We met together to say goodbye to our friend, Missi, which was sad, but hanging out together (without all of our kiddos) was great. Aunie hosted the event and we all brought appetizers and desserts to share.

Becca and I arrived separately and when we saw each other we realized that we were wearing the exact same shirt! How embarrassing (: Everyone had a good laugh about it.

Aunie, Amy, Lindsey, Hillary, Becca, Kelly, me, Missi, and Beth

Here's the same group shot, except I took the picture so that Mom could be in it (:

Mom and Beth posing together (:

Kelly and I

Parade Fun

September 13, 2008
Here are some pictures from the Eugene Celebration parade. We try to go every year...it's not your typical parade, but it's always fun and entertaining. Ronan, Griffin, and I went with my parents and met up with my sisters & their kiddos and some friends, too. We all enjoyed the sunshine and nice company!

Finley, Ronan, Sadie, Griffin, Becca, and Cohen

With my Boys

A fairy blowing bubbles for Ronan and Sadie (:

Katrina, Kenton, and Finn (who was very serious and curious about the parade)

Griffin waving as the floats went by

Papa surrounded by grandsons & wearing a hat he made out of a newspaper to shade his face from the sun.

1st Day of School

September 7, 2008

Ronan seemed like such a big boy as he headed to the car for the first day of school! He had been looking forward to going back to school, and he was sure to let everyone know that he was going to be in the 4 year old class at preschool. He is still going two mornings a week (like last year), but in a new classroom with a new teacher. He was excited and a little nervous at the same time, so I went in with him knowing he would need a little time to warm up. It didn't take long for him to find some kids to talk to and get interested in the fun activities.

Who knew that cutting straws & watching the pieces fly would be so fun!
Ronan tracing his name
His teacher, Miss Julie, is great! She really helped Ronan feel comfortable when it was time for me to leave...Ronan was starting to get sad and he was worried that Miss Julie didn't have a phone to call me if he needed me. He didn't want me to leave until I wrote down my phone number for her and asked her if she had a phone. (: When I picked him up after school and asked him how it went, he said, "It was great! I loved it! I was only a little sad for you".

Special Visitors

On August 27, 2008, my mom's Aunt Norrine and Uncle Frank came to visit us all the way from Shreveport, Louisiana! We were one of many stops they made on this trip, and we felt very honored that they were able to come so far to see us! This was Uncle Frank's very first time to Oregon~so that was pretty cool! They are so special to all of us...I was fortunate to get to live near them during my time at NSU in Louisiana. They came to my volleyball games and I got to spend some weekends and holidays at their house. It was so nice having them here in the pacific northwest! We had a lot of fun reminiscing and catching up with one another.

Mom and Aunt Norrine

Most of our family was able to gather for dinner at my parent's house--this was the best picture I found where everyone was looking at the camera--except me with my eyes closed! :)