RubyLu

No Touch It

2012-01-22T12:59:00.000-08:00

This the conversation Lucy and I have at every diaper change. She really did not like having her bandage changed after she had surgery. She wants to make sure I know it's only the diaper. And It KILLS me how she says diaper.

Snowbound Fun

2012-01-19T08:38:00.001-08:00

The three girls making life size paperdolls.

Snow Day

2012-01-16T14:09:00.001-08:00

We have a snow day! And we have nowhere to be! So we will have fun!

School Pictures

2012-01-11T22:02:00.000-08:00

So, while I am getting organized to put all of my Christmas photos up, I'll put up the girls' school pictures from this year. Look how grown up and beautiful they are!

Decorating the Tree

2011-12-10T13:47:00.000-08:00

Lots of stories and pics coming up, but for now, I leave you with a little video of us trimming the tree.

Ballet Girls

2011-11-16T17:38:00.000-08:00

We got a ballet video from the library and Ruby and Lucy got right down to business. Lucy wans to do whatever Ruby does....

Halloween 2011

2011-11-16T11:52:00.000-08:00

Halloween was great fun this year. Ruby was Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Lucy was a flamenco dancer (she even learned to say, "Olé!" Ruby was pretty much on board with what to expect. Lucy caught on very quickly as soon as the first person gave her candy. The Saturday before, we went to the Junction (business area by our house) and did a trick or treat there. This is the 5th year in a row we've done this. I like it because it gives us a chance to see lots of costumes and also a chance to wear the costume another time. It's like a dry run! Ruby also got to dress up at school that day, which she quite enjoyed. Grandma Genie was in town for the festivities and she bought Ruby the glamorous wig she is sporting in the pictures. Ruby was beyond thrilled.

On Halloween, I picked the girls up from school early (I took the day off) and got them dressed up. Their dad picked them up and took them to the outdoor mall near our house. When he returned them, we met up with The Anderson, Schaffer and Thomas families and went about the neighborhood. Ari was like a little tinkerbell princess as she flitted from house to house, sometimes landing flat on the ground but jumping up like a champ. Carden was Darth Vader and Kayla a fairy. Ruby thought it was nothing short of high comedy to yell, "Trick or Treat! Smell my feet!" It was funny for the first 10 houses...ha! But it was so fun to watch them go from house to house. Lucy was a little nervous about being outside at night but managed to snag some candy.

After trick or treating, we dropped Kayla off at her house and went back to my house. The kids then descended upon their treat bags. Ruby's eyes got very big when she heard me tell her that she could eat whatever she wanted until it as time for bed. When someone mentioned that maybe she'd get sick, she looked up and very seriously said, "If you need to throw up, go into the bathroom! Or just throw up in your hand!" She already had a plan. Ruby also enjoyed giving candy to the trick or treaters at our door. She would holler after them, "Thanks for coming over!" and to one poor soul, she simply screamed at them. Yeah..might have been a little excited.

So another Halloween over and it was good. I loved seeing our little community in our corner of the city, all of us enjoying the fun together.

Fall Has Fallen

2011-11-16T11:28:00.000-08:00

Fall is here and we are enjoying this new nip in the air. We've had some great fall weather! In early October, we got a visit from our dear Auntie Laura and Watts and Andie. Here you see Lucy and Andie in their dress up finery!

Lucy adores dressing up. She often will not leave the house without her bag and she likes to have a hat and/or a scarf as well. Very well accessorized she is.

We also got a visit from Grandpa Dave. Lucy very much enjoyed reading stories with him. Then it was pumpkin patch time. This was the first time that I had gone on such an adventure with the girls and it was great. We met up with Dara, Eric and Kayla and, as it turns out, Magy and her whole family were there. What fun!

Ruby and Kayla navigating the corn maze

Both of the girls are enjoying school a lot. Ruby is really learning a lot and insists on writing her name pretty much everywhere. Her latest thrill is drawing little pictures and her name on post-it notes and putting them all over the house. It's great because she is soooooo happy with a simple pen and paper. I've taken to covering the kitchen table with paper and letting her go to town. Lucy has followed suit and her voice piping up, "color! color!" is a common sound when she sees Ruby has busted out the pen and paper. Ruby tells a lot of stories and is currently interested in allergies. After telling me about a girl in her school who has allergies to nuts, she asked if I was allergic to anything. I said no and she said, "I'm allergic to things." I said, "Like what?" and she replied, "I am allergic to dandelions that don't give you wishes." Yup. Ruby is also still really really into the princesses. Her favorites are Ariel (Little Mermaid), Rapenuzel and Mulan. I really need to get a copy of Mulan for us!

Lucy has developed so much over the coming months and it astounds me how much she understands and does. A couple of weeks ago we had some people over and I noticed that the cats were giving me the stink eye because their dishes were empty. I said to Lucy, "Hey. I think the kitties are hungry! Do you want to feed them?" I was in the middle of cooking something so I was just thinking I'd get her primed for helping..and then I totally forgot about it. About 30 minutes later, I remembered and went to feed them and their dishes were totally full. Monica said after I mentioned feeding the cats, she saw Lucy go over, get the dishes and fill them up and put them back. I was amazed! Not bad for 21 months, eh? Her vocabulary is HUGE and she is very emphatic about what she wants and likes inclucing her clothes and her toys. She's also started throwing tantrums so that's fun...but it's mostly cute especially after I have seen what kind of tantrums four brings. Ha ha!

Ruby and Lucy love each other so much! Even though they have their little fights, I always catch them giving each other mimos and when Ruby is hurt, Lucy gets very concerned and will come tell me. Ruby likes to show Lucy off to all of her friends. Oh those girls! They are giving me smiles every day!!

Oh the Dentist!

2011-11-11T11:38:00.001-08:00

Ruby had her checkup and she rocked it. No cavities!

More Walking to School

2011-10-25T09:46:00.001-07:00

There's something about walking to school in the morning. I just love it.

Lucy's First Sentence

2011-10-24T08:32:00.001-07:00

Lucy has been having a word explosion in the past couple of months. Today she strung together her first sentence while I was trying to get her dressed. What was it? "Jammies back on!" Yup. She pretty clearly did not want to get up this morning!

Some photos

2011-10-09T00:26:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures. More soon!

Fingerpaint!

2011-09-03T18:50:00.001-07:00

With fair Ruby down with a stomach bug, the lil miss and I are on our own. She needed a bath anyway, so why not fingerpaint? It's actually vanilla pudding and food coloring since she still eats everything. It went from serious art to body art very quickly.

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Girls! Girls! Girls!

2011-08-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

More Summer pictures to come!

Little Tom Sawyer

Fun on the slide

So, Estelle and Sienna, my nieces came for a visit for a week in early August. We had a great time! Ruby and Lucy loved having their big girl cousins around! We kept it pretty mellow, had some fun outings and managed to entertain ourselves and laugh a lot.

Along with Kathy, Harlan and Danielle J, we formed Westache! West Seattle's mustache club.

Group shot of all my favorite girls!

And best photo ever - the cat leaped just as I snapped the pic. Brilliant!

More of LA

2011-08-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

Ah more pics from our trip from one month ago. Sheesh..I need to catch UP!

I fixed Ruby's hair in little buns. When she put on her sweater she insisted on wearing it backwards. She then looked like a little demented Princess Leia.

Me and Susana. Note my sunburn. This Seattle girl does not do sunblock well apparently.

The three girlies in the car

La La Land

2011-08-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

At the end of July we hopped on a plane and went to LA to visit our Spanish friends who are staying there for the summer. They were right in Santa Monica so we had direct access to beach and shopping! The plane ride was nothing short of hell, as I discovered that Lucy does not take kindly to having to sit on a lap during take-off and landing. Time to buy that extra seat. That I had free tickets, meant that the flight was not direct and required changing planes. However, all were super nice on board and overall, the girls were great. I may be a little deaf in one ear now, but that's no biggie. We visited the promenade, checked out the Disney store, had ice cream and went to Malibu. Whoo hoo! We also hung out with the French so it was a multi-lingual adventure: Spanish, French, English and Swahili.

Ruby and Mario in front of the GIANT pitufo/smurf

Ruby and Mario carrying the surf board to the beach

Lucy had no interest in the water. She just wanted to hug the sand

Ruby got buried!

Beach Trip

2011-08-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

The weekend after our trip to Idaho, we were invited to join our dear friends and neighbors at a beach house near Ocean Shores where we proceeded to have a wonderful time. It was a great little house and when Ruby and Kayla discovered their room with the twin beds, they ran joyously from room to room shouting, "This is the best day EVER!" That pretty much summed it up, yes? We had a lot of fun playing in the waves and making sandcastles. Poor Abby, the dog, was very protective of Lucy. At one point I was holding Lucy and walking into the water and Abby came running up to me, stood in front of me barking and jumping up, trying to get me to move away. it wasn't until I had Dara hold her far from the water that Abby felt she was out of danger. And now some photos:

Behind? We Aren't Behind! Right...?

2011-08-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

Ok so it's been a while for a real update. July, as it turns out, was insanely busy. We spent a week at Grandma Genie's where we ate well and played hard. It was great fun to see Ruby and Jack pick up where they left off and to see Hannah show Lucy the ropes. Besides the usual Boise crew (the Cornell and Owens contingent) we also got a visit from our Auntie Marie and Gramma Rita and Auntie Nicole. It was awesome introducing Lucy to Auntie Marie and Ruby really enjoyed that she shared her pretty bling with her.

At one point, Grandma Genie who was sick on the couch, asked Lucy to bring her the box of tissues. Lucy looked at her and ran off and came back with two shoes. Well...they do sound alike!

Fourth of July was really fun. We had a little bbq at Grandma Grace and Grandpa Jack's with all the doggies and then walked over to get a great view of the fireworks. It was pretty late so Lucy was starting to come a bit unravelled but as soon as they started, she was completely enthralled.

Lucy and Auntie Marie walking to the fireworks

Ruby and Jack, hand in hand

This was one of those little moments that you treasure forever: both girls snuggled with me on my lap while we watched the fireworks.

Ruby with Grandpa Jack

Silly Face!

An Ode to Laura Numeroff

2011-08-14T04:48:00.001-07:00

If you give a waken baby a chupa chup* you might step on her older sister's hair (who is inexplicably sleeping on the floor), which might make her cry. If she cries, she might further waken the baby who might get her arm stuck in the bars of the crib. If she gets gets her arm stuck in the crib, you might have to turn on the light to figure out what's wrong, which might really wake them both up. If you get the baby's arm unstuck, the older one might still be crying so you'll need to cover her up and give her a kiss and a profuse apology. If the older one goes back to sleep, the baby will need her blanket and doggie and an extra cuddle. Then you will need to give the baby her chupa chup. Good night.

*chupa chup is what we call the pacifier.

First Big Girl Haircut

2011-08-13T16:59:00.001-07:00

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Walking to School

2011-07-21T12:32:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite parts of the day is the walk up the hill to school in the mornings. Picking flowers, pretending the witch is after us so we can make it up the hill, smelling the honeysuckle and watching those two walk together.

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Cross Species Care

2011-06-13T18:53:00.001-07:00

There was the nanny dog in Peter Pan, there is Good Dog Carl, there is Little Pink Pup but here we have "Saffron Nursing a Baby" for the win:My favorite is how happy Saffron's face is while Lucy naps. Seriously. Best. Cat. Ever.

In Which We Survive the Plague & Lucy Astounds

2011-06-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous weekend of playing the yard and enjoying the company of many of our friends, big and small. Then, we were hit (well, Ruby specifically) with the plague. Monday morning at 2am, Ruby woke up vomiting and continued to vomit every 1-2 hours until Monday night. Poor sweet monkey. She was so sad.... When I handed her the bucket, she said, "No thanks. I'll just hold my puke in." By Tuesday she had gotten better, the fever broke and she was feeling more chipper but then...it began on the other end. Luckily, on Wednesday, she was able to stay with Kayla who was suffering the same malady since I am now officially out of sick leave. She was back to school on Thursday, just in time for the monthly bookmobile visit! Phew! Anyway, it was a bit of an ordeal and by Monday night, I was exhausted especially with the expectation of the night ahead. I was amused to hear her tell her dad, "Mommy gave me a pot to puke in." That's right sweet girl. We may be broke but we've got a pot to puke in!

Lucy went to school both days which was a huge relief because it meant only a few hours of keeping her away from Ruby. She sobs every time which is a little heartbreaking but I know she has a wonderful time there. Thankfully, Dara was able to help me with getting her there and picking her up so I didn't have to transport Ruby anywhere.

Lucy has had an explosion of words and it's delightful to watch her try to form the sounds. Shoe sounds like "Shhhh!" she also says "banana," "caca," "pipi," "MINE!" "more," "Ruby," (sounds like "moomy," "Mommy!" and my personal favorite, "Meow!" It's also hilarious because when you ask her a question, she will nod her head. She does a couple of signs, "all done" and "more" but she doesn't really quite do them correctly so I like to think she's got a bit of an ASL accent. Lucy also loves to help. She likes to feed the cats and knows right where her jacket goes when it's time to leave the house. She's also obsessed with buckles and will puzzle over her high chair buckle until she gets it connected.

The great thing is watching Ruby and Lucy play together now. They make each other laugh so hard!

After a big blueberry eating session

West Side Ladies

Fun at the beach

Beach Fun

2011-06-04T15:10:00.001-07:00

Gorgeous weather here so we took a trip to the beach with Hank and his mama and some of their friends. It was a fun adventure for us all. We love summer!!

Preschool Update

2011-06-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well, the girls seemed to have fared well at school yesterday. They came home happy and tired. When Ruby got home, she came in and said hello to everyone (we had guests) and then I asked her for her backpack to get the papers out of it. She said, "I hung it up!" and sure enough, there it was hanging on its own hook. Yay! Her teacher told me this morning that she did great yesterday, knows her numbers and letters really well and uses her words really well. So...yay again! Lucy lost her shizz again this morning. Threw herself on the floor and shrieked as only she can shriek. I gave her a big kiss and put her in the capable hands of her teacher. We'll see how long this separation anxiety thing lasts. Ruby, on the other hand, trotted off to put her backpack away and the last I saw of her, she was giving one of the teachers a big hug and I heard another girl exclaim, "Ruby's here!" So yeah...she's good.

First Day of Preschool

2011-06-01T08:08:00.001-07:00

Magy's last day was yesterday. We kept it very low-key and did not call it a "good-bye" only a "new direction." We wish our dear Magy the best! Uncle Harlan came over this morning for the big day. Ruby picked out her outfit and brushed her hair. They were being very silly as we got ready to walk out the door and making each other laugh. You will notice that Lucy got her first haircut as well. She refuses to wear barrettes for any length of time. The perpetual runny nose from the teething means her bangs were hanging down and getting glued to the snot. Ew. I had had enough of that and gave her some little bangs. She looks so grown up now! The two girls and I walked up the hill (Ruby with her new big girl backpack) and Harlan met us at the top with the diapers and extra stuff we needed to bring for the first day. Both girls sat right down at the breakfast table with the other kids and were happy as clams. While I filled out paperwork, Ruby and the other "Older" (as her class is called) went into the classroom and Lucy finished up her second breakfast. I kissed Ruby good-bye and she was already getting to know everyone. I made the mistake of giving Lucy a kiss good-bye and she lost her marbles as I walked away. But, that's to be expected and lesson learned, mommy! All in all, it was super smooth. I was pretty organized so I hope to maintain that so that the mornings are calm. I will say, I appreciate more than ever how much I was spoiled by Magy!!

Angry Ice Cream

2011-05-26T20:34:00.001-07:00

Have you ever see anyone so angry while eating chocolate ice cream? She's tired poor girl... And cutting teeth. She did give it the ol college try.

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Location:16th Ave SW,Seattle,United States

Sunshine For a Day!

2011-05-26T13:22:00.001-07:00

We had a GORGEOUS day last week and the girls and I spent almost the entire day in the yard. Ruby and Lucy watered the garden and dug in the dirt and played with their water table. It was glorious!

Lucy currently has 5 teeth coming up -- 4 molars and a bottom front tooth. It's no wonder she's been a bit of a fuss budget the past few days!

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Librarian Means "Shhh!"

2011-05-21T13:58:00.001-07:00

Lucy knows what Nancy Pearl says:

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Which One is Which?

2011-05-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

Little baby readers..can you tell which one is Lucy and which one is Ruby?

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Faces of Lucy

2011-05-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

Lucy has some awesome facial expressions. Here are a few:

Where are the graaaaaaaaaaaaaapes!??!???!???

I just unwound an entire roll of toilet paper.

Look, you and I both know who's really in charge. Here's a hint. It's not you.

Spring Days

2011-05-07T22:22:00.001-07:00

We had a couple of brief glimpses of the summer to come and it was glorious! The girls and I took a trip to the zoo. Ruby's two requests were that we go see the gorillas (aka Koko) and that we go to the bughouse. She was very interested to see the termites, just like the ones at our house! (EEK!)

It was a gorgeous summer-like day (high 60's!) and we went to the neighbors for some sandbox fun. We even got a special visit from Grandpa Jack, who was in town for a conference! Lucy is ready for summer!

Easter Time

2011-05-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny was pretty good to our girls. After leaving an offering of carrots (which he gobbled up), he left them two baskets of delight. The awoke at the crack of dawn (ok so it was like 8:30) to see what treasures he left. Upon seeing her basket, Ruby exclaimed that she "loved this day!" and then they both proceeded to eat a mountain of sugar. Lucy was especially fond of the peeps. Uncle Harlan and Auntie Danielle came over for breakfast and a viewing of Tangled and that night we shared a splendid meal with our friends Clint and Malia. It was a good day.

More Transitions

2011-04-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy time with the Miller girls these days. Partly it's because I have been working a lot lately but things should ease up here in a bit. Ruby is deep in the throes of the fours and while that brings certain challenges, it also brings constant amazement at what she is able to do and comprehend.

Anyway, Ruby is deep into the whole princess thing. Part of me is ok with it (and also recognizes my part in it - damn you Tangled!) but part of me is a bit dismayed...especially when she says things like, "I am Ariel. I am a mermaid and I'm going to get married!" Big sigh. However, I try to counteract it with stronger and more 3 dimensional male and female characters and hope that it starts to override some of the simplistic and creepy Disney junk.....and I say this as a long time lover of fairy tales, Disney movies, happy endings and eternal optimism.

But I digress. One of the funny things about Ruby is her intensity when playing pretend. Mother Gothel from Rapunzel has been changed to Mother Gother and applies to just about any of the villians in princess lore. She's very interested in assigning people to be the 'bad guy,' 'the prince' or 'the princess.' It's interesting to watch her categorize in this very black and white way.

Typical of her age, she tends to live deep in her little world, which makes asking her things extremely frustrating because she'll just not hear what you are saying OR she gets totally distracted (ooh! Shiny!) and never complete her task...like going to the bathroom, picking up her coat etc. I'm implemented "The Listening Ear," a drawing of an ear on paper and she gets a Disney Princess sticker (using it for all it's worth!) every time she responds to a request from me, her sister or anyone else the first time it is asked. So far it seems to be working! She is very into writing her name and letters and drawing pictures. Lately she's been making "blast offs" -- quick lines on paper and while it's ruined many a marker, her products are really cool.

Lucy is going through her own big changes. She's super inquisitive and adores being helpful. Give her a towel and she wipes the floor or her face. Ask her to throw something away and she tosses it in the trash and claps delightedly. It's so neat seeing how much she understands. She's also really into giving kisses which is super fantastic. She has a few words "ball" "baby" "mommy" and often says things that sound like words but I'm not sure if they are intentional or not. It's awesome!

As for transitions, we found out yesterday that our beloved Magy will be leaving us in a month to pursue a different career path that better utilizes her wonderful talents. To say that I am heartbroken is an understatement but I fully understand and support her decision. Now we must figure out a different childcare solution. Here's hoping we find someone half as wonderful as our dear Magy!

Lucy Loves Her Chupa Chup

2011-04-10T20:27:00.001-07:00

Lucy's bedtime favorite is getting her chupa chup, which she picked about two months ago and is now obsessed with. As you can see she gets really excited about it.

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Why I am Throwing Away All the Toys

2011-04-05T18:59:00.001-07:00

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Library Day!

2011-03-27T14:23:00.000-07:00

We made the trek to Northgate to visit one of Ruby's favorite librarians who issued her her very own library card. Big day! Ruby even wrote her own name on the card! She then checked out some books for her very own self. It was a proud day for her and for mama! Meanwhile, Lucy knocked over some blocks, read some books and ate some gum off the floor.

Shannon, Lucy and Ruby

Taking some time to read

This Is Fun: Wordle.net

2011-03-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

I did a post of a cloud of all the words in this blog. Here's what came up:

Bandana

2011-03-15T09:10:00.001-07:00

Lucy either really wants to be a cowboy, a train engineer or in Dexy's Midnight Runners because whenever she finds this bandana, around her neck it goes.

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Lucy starts to use a spoon

2011-03-13T10:17:00.001-07:00

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Rockin'

2011-03-11T22:56:00.001-08:00

Ruby, Ari and Kayla got their rock on tonight. Shortly after this Ruby said, "I don't want to be a monkey. I wanna be a princess."

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March Forth!

2011-03-08T09:31:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy few weeks with Grandma Genie in town and with Mama working so much but we've squeezed in a little fun here and there. We had a fun birthday party with our pal Eva on Sunday. Lucy was the youngest non-infant there and she managed to squeeze her way in with all the big kids. Here is she is in a quiet moment when she took a little break.

There was a face painter at the party and Ruby was thrilled with her unicorn. She's now at the age where she has perfected the fake smile but she's cute just the same :-) Mama and Uncle Harlan finally got their acts together and put together Ruby's birthday present -- a bicycle! On Friday, it was a really weird day and we had about 15 minutes of glorious sunshine for her to go out and ride it. Of course, it started to hail and we had to run inside. Still, Ruby is thrilled and we can't wait to go to a park where she can ride around and around. The girls are playing together a lot now and it's so fun to walk in on scenes like this: Ruby is going through a wonderful lovie phase right now - lots of hugs and affection and I am loving it! Lucy is climbing on everything -- couches, chairs, tables -- so I have to keep a really good eye on her! I have a feeling that the crib is going to be short lived from here on out!

More soon!

Girl Stats

2011-02-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

The girls had their 4 year and 1 year check ups this past week. They both did fabulous!

RUBY:

Weight: 33 pounds (25%)

Height: 38 inches tall (15%)

She got FOUR shots and that girl was SO brave. Her eyes got really wide and she said, "OW!" and you could tell she was thinking about crying but she didn't and then sat up and said, "I was really brave!" Then she told Lucy to be brave even if she is just a baby. I can finally say with confidence that she is potty-trained because she goes to the bathroom independently. She has also started telling all kinds of stories. Some are off-the wall: "Mommy, I love Justin Bieber." I asked her what she likes about him (while my soul dies a little) and she says, "Harry Potter." Some are just stories of things she's done throughout the day. She asks a million questions about everything and she recites poetry. My current favorite is, "Little Miss Muffet, Sat on a tuffet, Eating her curves away." We visited some friends this weekend and she was brilliant with her pleases and thank yous so it appears she's been listening and taking things in. She is a superstar girl!

Ruby on the day of her birth

Ruby 4 years old

LUCY:

Weight: 20 pounds 13 oz (50%)

Height: 29 inches (50%)

This one also got 4 shots and she screamed like the dickens! However, up until that point, she was charming the pants off everyone in the office. She ran up to our nurse, Sarah, with her arms out the minute we got there. At one point, while we were dealing with Ruby's shots, we turned around and Lucy had taken off her gown and her diaper and was running around totally naked. Like I say, can't turn your back on her for a second. When she got her shots, Ruby held her hand and stared at the needles going into her leg with her eyes wide wide wide. I am glad we had Ruby go first! She's got 5 teeth (two bottom and three up top) with one more just days away from cutting through. So far, I've been very lucky as teething doesn't seem to bother her too much. Phew! We are down to one bottle a day and she's starting to use a real cup! So yeah, she's growing up and like any mother, I have mixed feelings about it. "Oh she's so grown up! Stop growing and stay a baby! Your using a cup! Stay a baby!" You know..age old story...

Lucy at 2 weeks

Lucy at 1 year

Hooray for healthy wonderful girls!!

Kikis! Pigtails!

2011-02-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

Squeee! Lucy's finally able to have pigtails! Remember Ruby's first piggers? These are just as cute. And she screamed just as much.

Girl Adventures

2011-02-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

These girls keep me on my toes! Lucy is a very bright and curious little girl and by that I mean, she gets into EVERYTHING. The other day, she walked into the room chewing on a bag of gluten flour she'd managed to squeeze out of the drawer. Other days, I find her eating the catfood, playing in the toilet...I have learned that I cannot turn my back on her for any length of time. She's also a "go big or go home" type of girl, which means the bumps and bruises are in abundance. Right now, for example, she is sporting a monster black eye from a tussle she had with a small table. I have many a future gray hair with her name on it! Ruby and Lucy have discovered ways to play together, most of them involving Ruby making Lucy laugh. However, when Ruby and Kayla are together, that little sister dynamic that's been around since little neandertahl sisters were toddling about in caves, rears it's ugly head and I have to remind them that Lucy can, in fact, be in the bedroom with them and no, it's not ok to lock her out of the room. Ruby is really really into dressing up and the dress up box remains the champion of all toys. However, she doesn't limit herself to princess dresses and tutus. This week, Ruby found the tupperware bowls and decided they'd make great hats for her and Lucy to wear. I can't decide if they looked like sherbet colored army men or Laurel and Hardy. Lucy was very happy to get cupcakes for Ruby's birthday and even went so far as to forage crumbs off of people's shirts. I also found her munching on a cupcake that she'd somehow snagged off the table later that day. Gramma Rita gave Ruby "The Red Hen" by Ed and Rebecca Emberly. It's a great retelling of the little red hen story and to make it even better, she included a recording of her reading the story and a felt board. Ruby and Kayla, in a quiet moment sat together and listened to the tape. Lucy LOVES her babies and stuff animals. She works very hard to say the word, "baby" though it usually comes out, "Bay--ee" but she is VERY pleased with herself. The other day, I came upon the above scene, Lucy and her baby sharing a string cheese. Sweet pants. And this is just Lucy being all cute with a feathery hat.

Happy Birthday Ruby

2011-01-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

My girl turned 4! FOUR! I can hardly believe it. She's so grown up. When I asked her what it meant to be 4 she said, "Using the potty," so *I* am excited about that. We had a very small little celebration with just family that Saturday before her big day. Me, being me, though, I had to go a little overboard with the decore. Gramma Rita was here and that was really fun. Good times were had by all! We had dinner at the Spaghetti Factory on Sunday and then on Monday, her actual birthday, she spent most of it with her dad, going ice skating. Then when she got home, I put Lucy to bed and we had ice cream. All in all, it was a fun weekend of celebrating! Now for photos!

Pinkalicious Cherry Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

** props to Catherine for giving me the inspiration for the crown!

What a Deal!

2011-01-27T16:45:00.001-08:00

Check out the clearance table at Barnes & Noble! A perfectly good baby for only two bucks!

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One Sunny Day

2011-01-22T10:23:00.001-08:00

We had a beautiful day in the middle of the week last week. I bundled up the kiddos and we went to our local park. I realized I hadn't been there since last spring! After being cooped up in the house for two weeks because of pouring rain, it was a relief for us all to get outside! Unfortunately, the afternoon was marred by a slight injury. Poor Lucy jammed her leg when we went down the slide. She uncharacteristically began crying and wouldn't stand up. I took her into the doctor and they took x-rays to determine that nothing was broken. The conclusion was she must have pulled a muscle or ligament or something. She is now, as of Monday, back to walking but it is still bothering her a little bit. Poor monkey! It broke my heart to see her this way. No more taking her down the slide!

I Am Mommy!

2011-01-18T20:52:00.001-08:00

Ruby put on my boots and my work badge and announced, "Look, I'm you! A librarian!"

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More on Lucy's Birthday

2011-01-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

Lucy's birthday was a long and lengthy celebration. We went to two parties that day and I brought a cake to one and everyone there sang to her and wished her a happy day. She was so confused! But it was lovely having so many people singing and giving her the good ju ju. The following day, Auntie Danielle came by with Uncle Ian and brought cupcakes! It was a little mini celebration but such fun!

Message to Lucy on her birthday: "I love you sweet girl and am so happy to celebrate your first birthday! You are a ray of sunshine on the cloudiest day and nothing will take away from my joy of the day you were born!"

Now for pictures!:

Yummy chocolate cake!

Um..what is going on?

Someone just discovered frosting!!

Eating cake like it's her job.

She likes yellow cake too!

PS: Lucy has had a bit of a cold which is why she looks a little W.C. Fields in these pictures...

Happy First Birthday! Lucy!

2011-01-03T08:36:00.001-08:00

More pictures to come....

Some More Tidbits

2010-12-30T15:54:00.000-08:00

Earlier last month we had the opportunity to go to see Disney on Ice with Kayla and her family. It was really quite fun -- Disney knows how to do it up. Ruby got all dolled up: And THIS was her face for almost the entire thing. I think she liked it! She didn't utter a word during the entire performance just stared and stared.

Lucy is still a little under the weather but still happy as ever. Last night she ate her weight in Ethiopian food. She was grabbing it by the handful and couldn't get enough. Of course, when she was done there was a pile of injeera and lentils surrounding her chair. Luckily the lady at the restaurant was very understanding!

Lucy trapped underneath the stool. Yet still happy.

Ruby wearing Mama's boots

Christmas Part II

2010-12-28T09:27:00.000-08:00

For the actual Christmas holiday, we hopped on a plane and headed to Boise to stay with Grandma Genie. There we visited, laughed, ate and ate some more. Poor Lucy was sick with a head cold and cough so there were some moments where she wasn't too happy. Lucky for her, Grandma is a superstar and went out and found some baby tylenol at 10pm on Christmas night. The girls got homemade dolls from Grandma as well as some cds of records that I used to listen to. Super fun! It was a delightful, happy and relaxing holiday and we got to see so many of our favorite people! Some funny & sweet stories of the weekend:

Jack talking about Mary and Jesus going to "Buffalo Ham." We think that might be near Pennsylvania?
Ruby and Jack playing with the nativity and the Rapunzel Barbie. Rapunzel let down her long hair for the Three Wise Men to climb up into the lamp.
Lucy burying her face into Lis, Amy's golden retriever
Lucy toddling over to everyone with her hands held out, begging to be snuggled.
Hearing the kids sing Jingle Bells & Frosty in the car
Ruby telling me, "Today is a day of good," on Christmas day.
Ruby telling me this morning, "I'm a lucky girl. So's Lucy. So are you!" She's right on all counts.

Here are some shots of the weekend:

Baking Cookies Silly times with Jack Lucy put herself to bed...on the floor. What Santa left at our house...

Me and Amy and all the kids....

And Lucy effectively wrapping Papa Dave around her little finger....

Christmas Part I

2010-12-28T09:18:00.000-08:00

Oh Christmas! It snuck up on us and then we reveled like crazy for a week! What fun!

We had a delicious lasagna dinner with Uncle Harlan and Auntie Danielle and exchange some gifts. We also ate lots of Christmas cookies.

Why so serious, Lucy?

Uncle Nick and Auntie Heather came over for dinner another night and Nick entertained the kids by reading, "The Wicked Big Toddlah" and explaining the Maine accent to them.

Ruby and Carden decorated Christmas trees! And then...oh then...a special package arrived from Uncle Jay and Ruby was Over. The. Moon. Here she is playing with her super special, super pink, super princess-y vanity/piano.

Composing songs of lace, diamonds and big hair....

And this is just a picture of Lucy that showcases some of her expressions that kind of make you think she holds the secrets to the universe but just isn't telling.....

We also had an early surprise visit from Santa leading up to Christmas. He came and put up Christmas lights on our house so he could find us on Christmas Eve! Ruby was thrilled that he had come early and left such a nice surprise! I had to do a little detective work to figure out who our Santa's helper was :-) More to come....

Conversations with Ruby

2010-12-23T17:30:00.000-08:00

In the car while listening to "My Favorite Things" on the radio: Me: What are some of your favorite things, Ruby?

Ruby: Binoculars

Me: What else?

Ruby: Trash

...now I need to rethink this whole Christmas gift thing.

Same trip with Ruby asking questions about EVERYTHING i.e. "why are there sidewalks?" "What if there were no trees?":

Ruby: Why do we have hands?

Me: Well, they are very useful. Our hands help us dress, eat and do other things. How do you think you would eat if you didn't have hands.

Ruby is silent for a moment and then gravely says: "No cheese."

So there you have it. We must all be thankful that we have hands and can eat cheese. Merry Christmas to all!

News From the Girls

2010-12-15T16:15:00.001-08:00

Oh my goodness..there so much to tell and I have been seriously behind in my posting. Here goes! Ruby is really looking forward to Christmas. We have a little elf on the shelf named Rudolph (Ruby's choice) who keeps in eye on things. Last week we had an early visit from Santa who put Christmas lights up on our house so he'd be able to find us. Ruby was beyond thrilled at the early visit and said, "I love Santa, really a lot!" We all do sweet girl! I had to do a little detective work to find Santa to thank him but I did it :-) We got a nativity scene that is child-friendly and she loves to play with it. I gave her a brief summary of the story of the nativity and she's added to that, letting Strawberry Shortcake, Pete the Cat and Spiderman visit the "Mes-aye-na" (rhymes with carolina) as she calls him. The other Christmas tradition is watching the old holiday shows on TV. We've seen Frosty the Snowman (not as good as I remember), Rudolph (I still love it but more aware of what a jerk Santa is on this show) and Santa Clause is Coming to Town (so far our favorite because we like to say "Burgermeister Meisterburger. He hates toys!" Ruby has become a complete chatterbox and tells the most amazing little stories. A few days ago she told me the entire plot of The Wizard of Oz. We also went to see Tangled, the new Disney movie. It was her first movie and she loved it. For the record, so did I! She's been really a big girl about using the potty and figuring out when she needs to go. She's also learned to make her bed, which we are encouraging each morning. Miss Lucy is now a full fledged walker with two little bottom teeth. She loves to run around and play chase. She still loves soft fuzzy things, her favorites being her "My First Doll," her snuggle doll and any pillow she can find. I often find her in the living room after she's pulled the pillows off the sofa and is lying down of top of them, rubbing her face on them. She loves doing the same to the cat. Thank goodness we have a tolerant cat! Lucy is also a fan of handbags (I know-- it's in her genes!). She goes straight to the purse basket where I keep Ruby's purses and puts one on each arm and runs around. It's really really really cute!

Ok, that' s best I've got right now. I'll write more soon! I promise!

Snowpocolypse 2010

2010-11-22T15:27:00.001-08:00

The snow has begun to fall upon Seattle. We woke up to a lovely dusting of snow and it has continued to fall. The girls and I headed outside for a brief playtime. Lucy got too cold so we weren't out for too long but that didn't stop us from having a wonderful time and making the world's tiniest snowman. I am really glad Lucy is on her feet --it made playing outside much more fun for her!

Teeth! Walking! Writing!

2010-11-12T11:07:00.001-08:00

At just over 10 months our littlest pussycat has sprouted a little tooth. Hooray! Though...it does make me sad to know that her sweet toothless grinn will be no more but I comfort myself knowing it will soon be a sweet toothy grin. She has also started walking in earnest now. She's still at the stage where she crawls for speed but works on walking all of the time. It's so cute to see her toddling around like she's a big kid. Sometimes, when she falls down she laughs and claps. This is a good life lesson for us all. When we fall down, just laugh and clap and get right back up. If only we were all so cute while we did it.... Ruby is so close to being 4 and announces her birthday whenever the topic of age comes up. She is so helpful and grown-up, it makes my heart ache a little to see it and to remember how she was just a wee peanut shrieking, "do it yourself!" such a short time ago. She is increasingly interested in letters and words and writes her own name as well as recognizes my name and Lucy's name. She is also a marvelous little artist and loves to draw people and scenes all of the time. If I have paper and a pen handy, I know I have a good 30 minutes to get something done (dinner, shower, what-have-you). She's also got a great sense of humor (how could she not considering her lineage) and loves to tell her own jokes. Yesterday, while driving by this house in our neighborhood that is completely done up in Christmas (they started just before Halloween) she started laughing and said, "Mommy! It's not even Christmas yet!!" That's my girl. Ruby playing pinball at Full Tilt. She had just scarfed a chocolate ice cream cone. She knows how to have fun.

More Halloween Pictures

2010-11-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

Halloween '10

2010-11-10T15:28:00.001-08:00

Here's a picture of our lil group from our first trick-or-treat outing. Kayla was Olivia the Pig, Ruby was Madeline, Lucy a kitty and Ari a monkey. Sweet sweet faces!

Walking the Walk

2010-10-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

Lucy took her first steps today! She's been increasingly good at standing on her nown and then on Thursday, at Spanish story time, she was holding onto a chair and let go and took a step and then realized what she'd done and sat right down. After that, while standing she would just bend her legs and dance up and down until she fell down. And then, tonight, she figured out what she's suppposed to do. My friend Catherine and her husband came over for dinner (and to fix my shower -hooray!) with their sweet kiddos, Celine and Luke, and I thinkLucy was trying to impress those big girls. While they all played, Lucy took two steps at two separate times. You can see that she knows she's supposed to do something but can't quite make her legs do it yet but she's really really trying! I'll try to get a video up soon if I can capture it. It's so cute and she's SO excited! And so am I! I like walking SO much more than crawling. Go go Lucy girl!!

Dentist!

2010-10-22T10:42:00.001-07:00

La nena went to the dentist and did great! Clean teeth. No bichos!

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Some Random PIctures of Life These Days

2010-10-14T12:15:00.000-07:00

Lucy doing her impression of a ballerina indian chief Lucy and Uncle Nick

Ruby made these ghosts with Magy and Joel yesterday and she waited for me at the window to see if I'd be scared. When I got home I shrieked and carried on at the sight of the scary ghosts in the yard. She and Kayla giggled uncontrollably and Ruby was so proud of the trick she played on Mama!

Coffee Klatch

2010-10-14T12:12:00.001-07:00

"Kayla, this coffee tastes really great! I like this creamer!" "Oh glad you like it, Ruby! Do you ever wonder where you'll go when you die?"

"Giirrrrllll! You crack me up!! I'm just wondering if we'll have cheese for dinner!"

"That girl doesn't take anything seriously. I'm just going to finish my coffee and find a librarian to ask."

9 Months Old!

2010-10-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Lucy is now 9 months old! I can hardly believe it! We had a successful visit to the doctor where she impressed the staff with her standing skills and won them over with her smiles and giggles. For those keeping track of her stats, she weighs 18lbs 2oz and is 26 inches long. Her love of food shows! Happy 9 month birthday my little monkey!

You, uh, gotta little something right there...

How Mommies Work Together

2010-09-29T13:07:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, I was on furlough for a week at the beginning of the month. We went to Packwood, WA for a few days to hang out in the country at Kayla's grandparents' house. We saw elk, we petted the horses, we ran around...and we ate a lot of delicious food.

Our last day there, the girls ran around in and played and ate a million different things, including vast quantities of cherries. Ruby took a three hour nap that afternoon. I should have known.

We put them down around 8:30. At 11:30, I heard Ruby cry and went to her bed. She seemed warm, but it was hot in the house so I wasn't sure if she had a fever or was just hot. As I was making this determination, she began to throw up. Since I wasn't in my own home, and wanting to preserve the carpet, I pulled her to my lap and attempted to catch all that came out into my hand. Did I mention she ate an enormous amount of cherries? Oh....yeah. It was like that scene in The Witches of Eastwick.

As I was gagging and Ruby cried and continued to empty the contents of her stomach onto my lap, I was also trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do -- how was I to get from there to the bathroom? I was literally covered. She was covered. And then I looked up and like an angel from heaven, there was Dara. She immediately sprung into action, brought me a towel and helped me get Ruby into the bathroom. While I changed into something less toxic, she got Ruby out of her pjs. We then cleaned her up, tried to get it out of her hair. Then, while I changed the sheets and cleaned up the bedroom, Dara, got Ruby into clean pjs and wrapped her up and rocked her. Within 45 minutes, we were all clean (for the most part) and Ruby was back in bed fast asleep. We recapped and had a laugh and went back to bed.

My fear was that Kayla and Lucy were next...and we had a 3 hour drive home the next day. Would we be driving home covered in plastic as though we were front row at a Gallagher show? The horror! Luckily, the other girls were unscathed and Ruby woke up happily announcing that she had "thrown up just like baby Lucy!" and was none the worse for the wear.

At any rate, the whole thing made Dara and I appreciate each other as friends and as moms. We were in a situation that was gross and uncomfortable but we rolled up our proverbial shirt sleeves and did what had to be done and were able to laugh about it when it was all over. It made a horrible situation, not just tolerable but the source of a good story and a solidifying of a friendship. Neither of us went to bed mad or resentful. No one stomped their feet or grumbled. We did it together and with a smile. It was a well-oiled machine. It made me proud to be a woman and proud to be a mom. It made me appreciate all of the times women have tackled problems and situations head-on and worked together, making the best of it.

Ruby, Lucy and Kayla will hear this story as an illustration, that no matter the difficulty, if you have a friend (or two or three or 70) to help you through, you can get through it and maybe even have a laugh and a good story to tell about it later.

September Adventures

2010-09-27T15:59:00.000-07:00

Both girls have so many funny little quirks and I just want to remember them all. Lucy has clued into the camera and will ham it up as soon as she sees that little blue box pointed in her direction. Ruby's new phrase is, "That's SO lucky!"

Funny girls in the tub.... Lucy has decided she LOVES the water and goes absolutely WILD when she gets to take a bath.

Holy Slow Posting Batman!

2010-09-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry for such a long delay between posts. To say that things have been crazy and busy and full of bullshittery would be an understatement. However, I post these photos of the cuties to appease you, my loyal readers, and will intersperse some commentary in between as I can.

Our fair Lucy who has no teeth but is ready to walk on her own two feet at any moment. She is so happy and excitable and moves like crazy. Diaper changes are like trying to diaper a cat. Ruby and her sister love each other though sometimes that translates into beating each other up. Already! We've had a few adventures these past few weeks. I was on furlough so I took that time for Ruby and I to have an afternoon of fun, just the two of us, while Lucy played with a friend and her two boys. Our dear friends, The Andersons, are moving in down the street from us. So here's a photo of all the "neighbor girls." Lucy, full of smiles, chewing on her favorite rattle.

More too come soon, I promise!

Ruby's Ditty

2010-08-29T22:17:00.001-07:00

Today, on our way home from crafty time, Ruby sang this song: "Cars! Cars have wheels. The wheels make the cars go. If they didn't have wheels they'd just be chairs. There's a boat. It's not in the water. It's behind a car." Pretty much a song about being on the road. Someone needs to put this on an album. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Some Funny Stuff and News

2010-08-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

Ok first the news -- At 8 months, minus one week, Lucy has begun crawling for realsies! Know what this means? I have to sweep and Ruby needs to keep her Barbie junk picked up. She is SO thrilled to be able to get at whatever she needs...which is usually something to grab and pull herself up on. Below is a picture of our two girls wearing their matching hats from Auntie Yvonne. Ruby's got a divot on her nose from an unfortunate encounter with a window sill: While in Idaho, Ruby was very excited about sleeping in the tent with the big girls. However, my city-slicker daughter came in the house after about 30 minutes saying she was afraid of "the cows and the crickets"soooo... note to self: we must go camping! Since the meteor shower was the day before we arrived in Idaho, there was much talk of shooting stars. Ruby was excited to tell me all about the "shoo stars" and how these stars "will shoot you!" We had a short talk about that.

After we got home from Idaho, we went swimming with our friend, Jane who was kind enough to be our second set of hands. SO fun! Lucy about went out of her mind, she loved the water so much. She kept splashing and laughing and giggling everytime the water hit her in the face. Ruby, on the other, hand, needs swim lessons again because she was terrified the entire time and never let go of my neck. Funny how things change!

Catching Up

2010-08-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy since we've gotten back from Idaho, I feel like I haven't had time to catch my breath. My work furlough is coming up though so I am hoping I will have a chance to sit back and relax a little bit. This week we had our first visit to the old folks' home. There is a retirement/assisted living home about 2 blocks from our house. Ruby, Lucy and I are volunteering to go and visit the residents there once or twice a month. It's something I have been wanting to do for a long time and I think it's going to be good for all of us. When we got there, it was about 6 ladies sitting in a circle while the activities director read their horoscopes. They brightened right up when we got there. Ruby went on a little walk with one woman and saw some yellow flowers. I passed Lucy around the circles and the ladies made her smile and kissed her on the head and kept her from chewing on their emergency "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up" necklaces. They were so happy to see the girls. Ruby showed them her twirl and told them about her "friend Kayla." When we did leave, one woman grabbed my hand and said, "Thank you for bringing your babies!" It was a lot of fun!

In another feel-good moment, I was walking down the street on Thursday with Lucy in her carrier and Ruby holding my hand and this older couple stopped me as we walked by and the woman said, "You have the most beautiful family!" and I thought..."I really do!" Lucy is seen here holding a special rattle from Australia brought to her by our dear friend Shannon (Ruby's favorite librarian - she even outranks ME!). It is hand carved and Lucy ADORES it. Lucy is really anxious to get on the move though it appears that she just wants to skip this whole crawling thing altogether. She gets on her hands and knees, in crawling form...and then gets on her feet so she's doing the downward facing dog yoga move and then tries to move forward that way. Doesn't quite work but she's really really trying.

My other favorite thing is that when she sees me when I get home at the end of the day, her entire body is happy. She laughs, claps her hands and bounces up and down. I heart that.....

Oh man...I thought Ruby used to talk a lot before...she is a crazy talker these days and has the greatest inflection in her voice when telling her stories. She was telling me about the sonic boom (the one that freaked us all out last week) today and how it was really loud and made her very nervous "just like Dawn's tv" (referencing an incident that happened in February). I love to watch her little mind work and see how she figures out the order of things in the world.

Well, we'll keep updating especially as things calm down a bit around here (hopefully!). More soon...

Idaho Sunshine

2010-08-17T21:58:00.000-07:00

We spent some time in Idaho's glorious sunshine and in Grandma Genie's even more glorious garden. It was several days of playing and enjoying each others company and, as Ruby put it, 'eating lots of snacks!' We visited a splash park and happened upon a free little festival with clowns, hot dogs, a bounce house and music. The kids all played together like it was their job..and it is. Ruby enjoyed trying to get Hannah to submit to her will. Jack told us all about the farm and his crops. They laughed and were silly. I got to relax like I haven't in...I don't know how long. Even got some naps in. Me! Naps! Bliss. We had many visitors while we basked in the sun and ate food fresh from the garden. The cousins, the uncles, the aunts, the grandmas and grandpas...we had it all. Grandma Rita and the cousins, Estelle and Sienna came up. My brother Cooper and his girlfriend Destiny were there. Harlan was there. And then the local contingent -- Grandma Grace and Grandpa Jack, Uncle Bruce and Auntie Amy, Hannah and Jack, Jinny and Dennis, John and Jenny, Emily, Alan...it was like a really fun and not-stressful family reunion. We even got to meet Ruth Ann aka GG, Jack and Hannah's great-grandma. Ruby enjoyed her quite a bit as they shared a bit of cheese..and by shared, I mean Ruby ate it and let Ruth Ann hold her on her lap. It was all so lovely and so good for all three of us!

Imitating Kitty

2010-08-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

Lucy likes to mimic what she sees. Here, she does her best imitation of Sparrow cleaning her tush. As long as she doesn't ACTUALLY start licking herself, I think we'll be ok.

Lucy With....

2010-08-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

...a bunch of people! Lucy met a number of people when we went to Idaho over the weekend. I got a few photos of some of the people she got to meet:

with Auntie Jinny

with Grandma Grace

with Grandma Genie (ok, so technically they've met before but..cute picture!)

with Grandpa Jack

with Uncle Christopher

with Uncle Cooper

with Sienna (cousin)

with Estelle (cousin)

The girls also met Destiny, Emily and Ruth Ann and Lucy got to know Dennis and John. Truly an exciting weekend for them both! More on our trip soon!

Music in the Park

2010-08-12T01:32:00.000-07:00

A park near our house has weekly music concerts in the evening. We met up with several of our friends, had a picnic dinner and let the kids dance. Here are Ruby and Kayla getting down.

Here's a video. I think Ruby has a little Elaine Benis going on...

We Are In For It Now!

2010-08-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Lucy woke up at 4:30am today. "Ugh!" I groaned, wondering just what the hell she was doing up so early. She was getting increasingly frantic and when I got to her room, I found her on her hands and knees, rocking and crying. So, I put her back down on her back, gave her the chupa chup and her baby, covered her up and left the room. Within minutes she was back to the rocking. So...after about 30 minutes of this routine, I finally decided it might be time for an early breakfast. I gave her a bottle and hoped for sleep. Once she'd polished off the bottle, she was back at it for another 30 minutes before she FINALLY fell back to sleep. By that time, I had 30 minutes before my alarm went off so I got up, made a pot of strong coffee and got in the shower. Makes for a tired, tired mama. Here's hoping that this will be a short-lived nighttime happening!

Saying Good-bye to Grandma

2010-08-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Ruby and Lucy's great-grandma, Grandma Gavin, passed away last Saturday. Ruby was lucky enough to meet her a couple of times and I am really glad that I had the opportunity to know her as well. She was a strong and amazing woman who will be missed by everyone in her family. Here are some photos from the times that Ruby met her, once in November 2007 and then again in May 2009. That second photo includes Ruby and Lucy's cousin, Kierin.

Where We Are

2010-08-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

We are adjusting to our new normal and, right now, I am just looking at "where we are" not where we've been or where we are going. It seems to be easier this way. The girls seem to be adjusting pretty well to our household's reduction from 4 to 3. Lucy, of course, is none the wiser but Ruby has made some observations, notably yesterday while I was making coffee and she said, "I brought my daddy coffee but he's not here now. Just my mommy." I assured her she can still bring him coffee and I won't mind if she brings me some too! She's an astute little girl, this one. They do get lots of daddy time which they thoroughly enjoy. Last weekend he took them to see their favorite local kid band, Recess Monkey and they've had many a park adventure as well. My wish is that this will be a mere blip in their little lives. They are fortunate little girls to have a mommy and daddy that love them dearly, not to mention countless grandparents, aunties and uncles and little friends! Ruby loves to help out around the house. She is very good about making sure the kitties are fed and loves to help with the laundry and the dishes. She was so proud of herself yesterday for cleaning the lint trap and putting the wet clothes in the dryer! Her daddy got her a microphone and she loves to sing and sing and sing into it. We've witnessed many a concert here at our house! Hopefully, the Bieber Fever won't hit us and we can stick with the Beatles and Recess Monkey! Lucy gets stronger every day and I won't be surprised if she is full-on crawling in a week or two. She is now imitating our facial gestures as well as our vocalizations. And I can't even tell you how much she loves watching Ruby -- you can see her brain taking notes of everything! I said she got some more hair -here's a picture with her first pony tail!:

We are looking forward to the weekend for some sunny adventures!

Enjoying the Summer Days

2010-08-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

Summer did indeed finally arrive and we have been trying to take advantage of every nice minute. There has been a lot going on, so we haven't done nearly the number of things we were planning on doing but we appreciate every second anyway. Lucy had a huge developmental spurt in the past week. She started rolling over while she sleeps (no more lying on the bed!), teething continues (with no signs of teeth), she pulls herself up on things and she seems to have gotten more hair. She was having trouble sleeping through the night for awhile (new skills? teeth?) but has settled down a bit, thank goodness. Ruby has been a supremely helpful little soul lately, clearing the supper table, doing dishes and cleaning up "messes." We've been working on listening a lot as this has been a bit of a challenge of late. She has been telling a lot of stories about things she does during the day and things that happened in the past. She still tells the tale of falling out of the hammock and getting a shiner and how the hamburger made her feel better as well as the story of the gorilla on the motorcycle in the parade. Her potty training is going very well and we have many more dry days than not. Mostly the nots are when I forget to remind her to go. Grandma Rita came for a week-long visit which was so nice. The girls loved having her here and Ruby especially liked having another person around to play games with. The slide and pool have been put to good use and we've very much enjoyed having the option of lazing in the yard and playing. Fun summer days!

Summer is Here! Or is it?

2010-07-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

We had summer for a few days and then it was gone...and then it came back...and then left. Lately the mornings have been cool and then the afternoons and evening totally gorgeous. In my mind, mid-70's is perfect weather. The girls have been enjoying lots of time at the wading pools and park, the zoo and the beach. Ruby has also been enjoying her new clubhouse that's now a delightful shade of both purple and pink. We've been to a bbq, had amazing playdates with Hank, Carden and Kayla and we've baked some delicious goodies together. The girls joined their aunties and uncles at the Pride Parade to watch their mum march with the bookcart drill team. Ruby's highlight was the motorcycle with the gorilla on it. Still talking about that one...

We've had a few challenges in the past week or two. Our beloved Fritz cat departed into the wild blue yonder last Monday and is sorely missed. Mama got a flat tire but that was promptly and efficiently fixed by Uncle Clint (of chicken fame if you ask Ruby). We've also had some household changes as the Dad has decided upon a different path for his life and, though still a presence in the girls' life, is no longer living with us. We are adjusting and holding our own though and the girls and I are enjoying the simple and fun things together. Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Lucy and Uncle Harlan at Pride 2010

Say what?

Lucy and Maggie the Dog

Sacked out in the armchair. I know -- she looks so cozy!

Ruby and Auntie Danielle watching the parade

6 Months!

2010-07-10T12:36:00.001-07:00

Our fair Lucy turned 6 months on July 1st and she just had her check up this week. Stats: 15lbs 15 oz 25 inches 16 inch head circ

Super star!

She's totally healthy, chubby and one of THE happiest babies I have ever had the good fortune to meet. I am not kidding. She really only cries when tired or hungry. She's been eating all kinds of food and LOVES to eat -- sweet potatoes being her favorite so far. When placed on her stomach, she raises herself up all the way off the floor. I think crawling isn't too far off! She's also got some sweet pilates moves, where she lies on her back and lifts her head and feet up. Strong girl!

Here I go! It's hard work being this cute

Just Us Girls

2010-06-26T22:59:00.000-07:00

Park!

2010-06-26T22:51:00.001-07:00

It was a GORGEOUS day today, so after watching the USA bone it in the World Cup, we hit the park with Auntie Christine. Lucy got her first taste of the swing, and if you can't tell by the look on her face, she is a fan. Ruby got into it too, showing her how to go really really high!

Some Sweetness for the Day

2010-06-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Milestones

2010-06-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

Two significant milestones in our house. One, our littlest monkey is officially weaned. I wanted to go longer but keeping up with it at this point was problematic. At any rate, she's now getting to the point where she can hold her own bottle, as you can see: And in bigger milestone news, our bigger monkey is officially potty-trained!!! As long as we reminder her to go every hour or so, she does great! Big girl! Over a week with no diapers. Color me relieved!!!!!!!!!! Color her proud-pants! Thank you Grandma Genie!! Here she is being a silly girl with the bumbo seat on her head: Now...if only the sun would come out. Come on summer!

Growing Up

2010-06-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

Lots of changes happening with our little monkeys these days. Grandma Genie was here this past weekend and the goal was potty training! She spent 4 straight days sitting in the bathroom, plying our girl with bribes and encouragement. Progress was made and, here on day 6, she's still in underwear though she hasn't pooped for 2 days now. However, when she does pee on the potty, the pride in her face shines and I think (hope) that full-on potty using will be imminent. A fluffy black and hot pink tutu awaits for our big girl when she finally poops on the potty. Fingers crossed..... Lucy is also passing some developmental milestones. She's sitting up, for one. She loves to sit and chew her toys either surrounded by pillows or in the high chair. She also started solids yesterday. See her face for her first taste of avocado? Mmm...and today she had some rice cereal. She loved it! Kept grabbing the spoon and opening her mouth wide for more like a little birdy. Only disadvantage is that since she's still spitting up, now we get additional chunks. Yummy. Anyway, we had a lovely time with Grandma Genie and were so sad to see her go!! And now, here's to successfully passing more milestones!

Adventures

2010-05-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

Another whirlwind week! The weather has been somewhat nice so we've been having adventures outside. Ruby and Kayla discovered they could get into large backyard of our elderly next-door neighbor and have adventures. They love to run through her tall grass! Lucy has discovered her feet and is really trying to make those hands work. She grabs things and puts them into her mouth. Her favorite things are the shiny rattle and the plastic rings. When she gets hungry she blows rasberries. Today, I left her diaper off for a bit. I went to drop off some laundry and came back up and she had pooped EVERYWHERE. She had it on her legs, her hands, her face...ew! Into the bath she went. I was congratulating myself on not getting it all over my shirt until I got to work and realized that I had some on my pants. Classy! A co-worker of Dustin's gave us his kids' swingset so that project has been keeping the daddy busy for the past couple of weeks as he dismantled it and then put it back together in our yard. This weekend they hope to paint it. What color? Pink of course! Ruby's newest thing is telling and re-telling stories. She's also so excited about helping out with things around the house. She loves to do dishes (pour water into various containers), clean the kitchen (use the spray bottle and a rag) and feed the cats. We are working on identifying feelings and appropriate vs inappropriate ways to express the feelings i.e. don't scream when someone doesn't understand the word you are saying. Sheesh. We are excited for summer to finally arrive so we can start doing all of our fun summer activities!

Biblio Babes

2010-05-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

Ruby enjoys sharing her love of stories with her sister. I love to see them cuddled up "reading" together! Last weekend, we saw one of our favorite book characters, Skippy-John Jones!! And here Lucy enjoys a book on her own... Sigh...it brings a tear to my eye. It really does.

Recess Monkey

2010-05-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

Local kiddie rock band, Recess Monkey played in our hood last weekend. Ruby and Kayla had a marvelous time. Ruby made sure she wore her 'twirly' skirt and she worked it! What a fun fun afternoon!! Lucy enjoyed it too...for about 10 minutes and then she fell fast asleep.

Funny Girls

2010-05-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a madcap few weeks around here! What's new? Ruby is getting funnier by the minute. She's been really thinking about things she's saying and being conscious of the world around her. Yesterday, while leaving a store, she stopped and said, "I forgot my hat!" and ran back in, found the hat and plonked it on her head. I was so impressed that she remembered to keep track of it! Better than her mama! She also told me the other day, "Mommy, I am so proud of you for taking me to your library!" Love the positive feedback girl! She's been really into music lately and loves to dance in her room to her cds and play the harmonica. Her favorites are cds by Carol Peterson, Recess Monkey, the Beatles and the Tripwires. We've also been checking out kits from the library that are a picture book with a cd of the story. She loves to sit and look at the book while listening. Her current favorite is Shrek by William Steig and a version of the Princess and the Pea. Our fair Lucy is just past 4 months and a smiling, giggling ball of love. She is so interested in the other kids and they crack her up. Oh how I wish you could bottle that sound! She's also started grabbing things and figuring out that they can go in her mouth. She's been especially drooly of late and gnawing on her hands so I am thinking that we may be seeing some teething action in the near future. Miss Lucy is also quite the chatterbox -- learning early on that she'll have to be proactive at getting a word in around here! Another favorite for her is she's learned to do a rasberry which gets lots of laughs and attention from the rest of us!

16 Weeks

2010-04-26T07:56:00.000-07:00

Lucy had her 16 week appointment on Friday. She is all perfect and great and all of the staff at the doctor's office oohed and aahed over her. She weighed in at 13lbs 10oz and 23 3/4 inches long. What a big girl! She got some shots as well which made her MAD and a little fussy for the rest of the day but perked up after a nice long nap. She's doing really great -- we busted out the neglect-a-saucer (aka exersaucer) and she loves to sit in that and look at all of the colorful toys. She loves to move around so I suspect we'll have a rolling, scooting baby in no time at all! She's suddenly developed an big aversion to water. We put her in the bath yesterday and she let out the most bloodcurdling scream -- it was like dipping a vampire in holy water-- I thought the water was too hot or something but no, she was just mad. I sure hope she gets over this soon! How will we go swimming?

The Kind that Go, "Raar!"

2010-04-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

Ruby is going through an explosion of something these days. You can literally see the wheels turning in her head and you'd probably be able to hear them too if she ever stopped talking. She loves to sing and dance all the time and is very into writing these days. Of course, she's become very adept at ignoring and stalling, so we're dealing with that and sometimes wishing we had a dungeon..ha ha! Kidding! I kid! Lately she's been waking up saying she had dreams about monsters. What kind? The kind that say, "Raar!" of course. She is also a great little caregiver as you can see here: Lucy is great and just about 14 weeks old. She loves sitting up in the Bumbo seat and playing on her playmat. She LOVES to eat and will pretty much lose her marbles if she's hungry and the food is not instantaneously available. She also laughs and smiles all of the time which is simply delightful. She's been a great sleeper so far (knock on wood) and will sleep just about anywhere as you can see. One reason why I love this age!

Some Images from Easter

2010-04-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

Adios March!

2010-04-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

March was a super busy month! So, I will quickly update on where the two girls are these days. Ruby is in LOVE with this CD called "Stinky Cake" and she listens to it non-stop all day and night. It's a fun kid CD and even though we've heard it a million times we haven't tired of it too much - ha ha! Ruby is also way into writing these days and can write several letters including all of those in her name. She also loves pointing out stop signs/octagons. She till loves being a big sister and reads to Lucy and helps her grasp her toys and telling her, "It's ok. I'm here!" when she cries.

At the park with Moosie

Two sisters

Lucy is now 13 weeks old and smiles like crazy. She loves to smile and talk to you and gets really upset if you walk away when she's talking. She likes having soft things on her face and will fall asleep almost immediately if you put her lovey next to her cheek. She's strong enough now that we've brought out the Bumbo and she loves to be able to sit up with all of us. She is sleeping really well (hurray!) and we have a hard time believing she's already 3 months old! To help with the transition when I went back to work, Gramma Rita came for a visit. It was such fun having her around and we hope she comes back really soon! Here they are reading together. And yes, I went back to work. So far, the transition has been just fine. It's easier the second time. Unfortunately, breastfeeding isn't going all that well and my supply is way down. But Lucy is thriving so I am not too worried and I'm just going to hang in as best I can at this point. I will admit that there's a part of me that really wants to give up pumping - ugh! Here is Lucy in the bumbo fast asleep. Poor gal!

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

Baby Smiles

2010-03-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

This isn't the best video but it gives you a little taste of our Lucy. We are at Chuck E. Cheese (don't judge!) so that's what all of the weird sounds in the background are. Now..enjoy! Isn't she a DOLL?!?

Happy St Pat's Day!

2010-03-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

...Or the Next Julia Child?

2010-03-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Such a good helper in the kitchen!

The Next Mia Hamm?

2010-03-09T18:26:00.000-08:00

Who knew she already knows how to dribble?

Smiles

2010-03-09T13:29:00.001-08:00

Lucy is full of smiles these days. I can't tell you what a blessing it is to have someone around who forces you to smile, even when you least feel like it. She just lights up the whole room. It is so much fun as she gets more and more interactive and she looooooooooves it when I make the pigeon trill sound!

RubyLu

No Touch It

This the conversation Lucy and I have at every diaper change. She really did not like having her bandage changed after she had surgery. She wants to make sure I know it's only the diaper. And It KILLS me how she says diaper.

Snowbound Fun

Snow Day

School Pictures

Decorating the Tree

Ballet Girls

Halloween 2011

Fall Has Fallen

Oh the Dentist!

More Walking to School

Lucy's First Sentence

Some photos

Fingerpaint!

Girls! Girls! Girls!

More of LA

La La Land

Beach Trip

Behind? We Aren't Behind! Right...?

An Ode to Laura Numeroff

First Big Girl Haircut

Walking to School

Cross Species Care

In Which We Survive the Plague & Lucy Astounds

Beach Fun

**Preschool Update**

First Day of Preschool

Angry Ice Cream

Sunshine For a Day!

Librarian Means "Shhh!"

Which One is Which?

Faces of Lucy

Spring Days

Easter Time

More Transitions

Lucy Loves Her Chupa Chup

Why I am Throwing Away All the Toys

Library Day!

This Is Fun: Wordle.net

Bandana

Lucy starts to use a spoon

Rockin'

March Forth!

Girl Stats

Kikis! Pigtails!

Girl Adventures

Happy Birthday Ruby

What a Deal!

One Sunny Day

I Am Mommy!

More on Lucy's Birthday

Happy First Birthday! Lucy!

Some More Tidbits

Christmas Part II

Christmas Part I

Conversations with Ruby

News From the Girls

Snowpocolypse 2010

Teeth! Walking! Writing!

More Halloween Pictures

Halloween '10

Walking the Walk

Dentist!

Some Random PIctures of Life These Days

Coffee Klatch

9 Months Old!

How Mommies Work Together

September Adventures

Holy Slow Posting Batman!

Ruby's Ditty

Some Funny Stuff and News

Catching Up

Idaho Sunshine

Imitating Kitty

Lucy With....

Music in the Park

We Are In For It Now!

Saying Good-bye to Grandma

Where We Are

Preschool Update