Moooooooovin'

Hi everyone! I've officially "moved" to http://therosylife.blogspot.com/

Come on over and subscribe if you're interested! Same Torbett family updates......with additional posts on my favorites, thrifting, God, cooking, books and magazines..etc! Wait and see! :)

Happy Half!!

 Today is Anna Ruth's half-birthday! She is a big six months old today and shares this special day with her Daddy, who turns 29. Life with Anna Ruth is so much fun. I never knew or dreamed that babies this age do so much! Anna Ruth is so curious and has her regular things she enjoys, like her plastic link toys, jumparoo (her FAVORITE-thanks Granna and Poppa!), and being outside. Lately I've been trying to think of new things to do with her to keep her interest. Bubbles are a new fascination!

 This picture is a very real view of what Anna is like during the day! Very, very active and busy. :) :) and happy too.

 Sometimes Anna Ruth sits in her highchair so I can cook dinner. She occasionally gets tired and leans over to chew on her tray and rest her head for a minute. :) Watching Mama is hard work!

 Anna loves to eat! She has had carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, avocados, apples, pears, and prunes. And one teeny tiny black-eyed pea. :) She is the most still when she's eating. She doesn't even hold her arms out or move her hands like she does on a normal basis. She just sits opening her mouth like a baby bird!

 I bought Anna Ruth a slinky at Target this week. What fun!!

 She also got to play with some water and a plastic bowl on her highchair tray.

Anna Ruth started getting her first tooth last Monday!
               Anna Ruth loves: music and mama dancing, being outside, food, waving her arms up and down, standing, talking, squealing, and most of all smiling. She is such a big smiler! She will fight sleep 'till the very end but is slowly getting better. She's overcome her dislike of her carseat (praise Jesus!) and has gone in the church nursery several times.
              Anna loves to scratch at things and puts everything in her mouth, as all babies at this age do. She can sit on her own, but won't a lot of times. She loves looking at herself in her mirror, and almost always flips to her back after playing on her tummy a while. She enjoys books and "talking" to her Dada on the phone on speakerphone.
              Anna isn't a fan of getting dressed-at all. She almost always fusses to let me know her true feelings about getting her shirt put on! :) She is such a happy baby. She has her fussy moments...but they aren't that much. She likes to be cuddled and held occasionally. She always rubs her hand on my neck and chin to soothe herself..as well as suck on her index and middle fingers.
           She enjoys her bath and water! She likes things with different textures and sounds..she also takes a bottle from her Daddy each night before bed. Sometimes he plays his guitar for her and she "sings" along. Peekaboo is a favorite...and lately she's started rubbing her face in your shirt and grinning...then peeking at the person looking at her.
    She is the most wonderful girl I could have ever imagined. :)

Piggies and Ponies

 We had our montly Sister's Meeting today at Becca's house. The kids had a great time playing and Anna Ruth got to practice her sitting up some! Nathan has really taken a liking to Anna Ruth....he told me a time or two (where no one else could hear I think) how adorable she is. :)

One of the most fun things about having a little girl is that I can justify still playing dress-up. Except for now my doll smiles and talks and drools. :) Anna got her first "pigtails" and ponytail this week! She's also getting her VERY. FIRST. TOOTH. I had no idea how exciting that was! I guess it's something you can't explain until you become a parent. :)

Lastly, remember how I said changes were coming to the blog? Well, there's actually a new blog called The Rosy Life. Still going to be updated with family stuff..but I'll be blogging about other things too.  My blog now is almost out of storage for photos.....and I've wanted a new look/format for a while. So, if you're interested in subscribing, or checking out the new blog, go here:

The Rosy Life: choosing to see through rose-colored glasses

I'll start blogging there next week!

This is so much fun

This weekend was made up of the stuff that really matters:

Seeing old friends, and meeting new ones :) (and missing them all, already),

delicious food, but even better company,

eyes wide with wonder,

a show like none other (especially seen through Anna's eyes),

special moments with Dad,

getting dressed up for Daddy's office party,

God's breath-taking creation,

time with my dear husband,

watching Brett love on Anna Ruth,

visiting beautiful places,

and talking galore.

Brett and I think being parents is the most fun thing. We spent some time in Branson this weekend-and due to Anna's early wakeup times (after doing AWESOME in her pack and play) we beat the crowds to breakfast and shopping. We win! :)

Gifts! Presents! :)

Anna Ruth loves to "stand". Oddly enough, this is one of her favorites ways to stand. I think she has dancing feet. :)
and Hallelujah for fat rolls! Our girl is growing at last :).

I didn't make this hat-but it is homemade! I purchased it from Krista, who runs the "Homemade Saturdays" blog, and The Sunshine Shop. Check the shop here: http://homemadesaturdays.blogspot.com/

To start, here are some of my store-bought gifts that are super neat! This is a "scanimation" book, which means as you turn the pages it looks as if the pictures are moving. So. COOL. They also have one called "Gallop" and "Swing"!

My favorite cooking bloggers ever (besides Jana and Becca-of course) have a cookbook!
I bought this for someone else. I want one very badly and want to open the packing to take a peek so bad! But I won't. :)

Two of my most favorite illustrators ever! This Charley Harper coloring book is awesome!
There's even one with just birds. Also on my someday list. Yes, a coloring book for myself :)

Let the homemade begin! This is a Photo Memory Game, made with small wooden squares from Hobby Lobby, paint, spray adhesive, computer printer, and Crystal Lite containers.

Next up is a Pen-Pal Kit. I have a niece who loves to write little notes to people so I thought this would be the perfect way for her to keep in touch with whomever she pleases. :) The original idea and Pen-Pal letter can be found on eighteen 25 blog here: http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2011/06/pen-pal-kit.html

Mini chalkboard books and chalk! For two of my mini nieces and nephews :). Found the idea via Pinterest. My suggestion for this is to use spray paint. I used regular chalkboard paint and it took a lot of layers and a lot of painting for them to turn out like this.

Camera kit! This is actually a digital camera we no longer use, and I am happy to re-gift it to my niece. I also found an idea via Pinterest for the "I Spy" page that someone had done for a wedding. I changed it up and made a little book she can take along on her photo journey :), wherever that may be. Some of the pages say things like "I Spy..something interesting, something funny". I'm curious to see what she comes up with for this particular page!

This is an alphabet book I made with photographs from the farm and our travels. Each photograph also has a page with text that accompanies it.

I Spy jars! I bought/gathered a bunch of miniature items and put in these plastic containers. I then filled the containers with rice. Before putting the mini items in I laid them all out and photographed them together, making the tag for the bottle. The point is to see if you can find all of the items on the tag, in the bottle. For the record-glue these lids on tight! I have two very curious nephews :).

This last idea is for Brett's birthday next week. He never checks the blog, haha,unless I specifically show him something so I really doubt he'll see this. We always end up at the weekend, wanting to spend an evening together (not doing chores or doing our own thing), but not knowing what to do that won't be centered around Anna Ruth, money, the house, etc. We love our girl more than anything. But, we need a strong marriage to make a strong family. So, I "researched" some and came up with one date idea a week for the next year. I typed them out, and put them all in this jar. Brett can pick one each week.

Some of the dates can be done with other couples if we choose,

some can be "family dates"...including Anna Ruth,

a lot are fun things to do at home (like cooking together, or having dessert in the backyard with twinkle lights),

and some are so that we can get out on the town.
I hope he's as excited about this as I am!