Drummering!

Ruby's daddy set her up with a little mini drum kit. Not too many two year olds have vintage ludwigs as their first kit! She loves to drum...but,really, what kid doesn't?

Caca Gafas or Reason #457 Why I Don't Spend More Than $15 on Sunglasses

This actually happened a couple of weeks ago, but I feel I must make this confession. (Caveat: This is not a story for those with weak stomachs. You've been warned.) On one of my days off, Ruby and I went to the zoo with Dara and Kayla. We saw the new penguin exhibit (awesome), we got a membership, we saw the baby gorilla (who was climbing all over his sleeping mother and wiping goobers on her - sound familiar to anyone else with a child?) and we went to lunch. As we were finishing up lunch, I noticed a familiar, unpleasant odor and knew we would need a diaper change before we headed home. I laid Ruby on the front seat (she freaks if I do it on the trunk) and began the change. Well, as I pulled Ruby's legs up, they hit my sunglasses (Ruby calls them "gafas" the Spanish word for glasses) which were hanging off of my shirt and before I could say, "Oh French!" they fell right into the poop. The nice squishy, not solid poop. Splat. To my credit, I uttered nary a curse. I finished up the diaper change and debated what to do. The disgusted part of me said to just chuck them, they were only 10 bucks after-all. The pragmatic side said to just clean them off, it's really sunny and besides, it's just poop. Guess which side won out?



I wore my sunglasses on the drive home, all the while Ruby chanted, "Caca gafas" over and over.



And yes, I DID clean them first (hand wipes, napkins and hand sanitizer)!



Does this make me a bad person?

Sum-sum-summertime

I'm trying not to get TOO excited about the weather but we had such lovely weather this weekend, I can't help but be ready for summer. We broke out the wading pool and hooked up the slide and Ruby and the neighbor boy, Koen, spent hours playing on it. By the time I convinced Ruby to get out, she was shivering and her lips were starting to turn blue. Always a good sign. Then we had fudgesicles. See? It's like summer is here!

I'm done, can I have more?

"That Your...?"

That your swimsuit? That your hat?

Ruby has become quite the chatterbox. Her favorite thing of late is to provide commentary on what you are wearing or have around you in the form of a question. A toddler Jeopardy, if you will. "That your hat? That your pants? That your shirt? That Steve's purse? That Ari's carseat? That your shoe?" etc etc etc. She is also now Miss Independent. A common refrain is, "MYSELF!!" as she buckles her seatbelt, puts on her jacket and diapers her baby. She is quite adept at dressing herself and frequently comes out of her room totally dressed.

Ruby also has a new joke that she loves to tell over and over, courtesy of this book that she got from the library. "Guess what? Chicken butt! I got you!" and then laughs hysterically. Sometimes she mixes it up and says "chicken underwear" instead or combines it with her cow joke. A regular comedienne we got here. Well, we can't say she doesn't come by it honestly!

New Hampshire Visit Continued

Ruby got to see a lot of people on this trip, not just grandmas and great-grandmas. She got to meet her great-aunt and uncle, Hal and Shirley for the first time. They came all the way from Canada to visit. Best part was her learning their names and saying, "Hi Hal!" and "Hi Shirley!" She couldn't quite get out the aunt and uncle part but she'll get there!

Ruby and Great-Uncle Hal and Great-Aunt Shirley

Ruby has a new cousin, Kierin who was born in March. Oh she was in love with the baby. At first she kept calling Kierin, Ari but she soon realized this was a different baby and just wanted to kiss her and cover her up and show her things. Ruby had some good laughs with Big A and loved visiting with him and her Auntie Carol.

Ruby, Kierin, "Big A" and Auntie Carol

Ruby giving Kierin mimos (loves)

Ruby's other uncle was also in town from Houston. Ruby quite enjoyed hanging with Uncle Jay aka Jaybird and even got him to give her some snuggle time one evening. Since it was a 3 hour time difference from here in Seattle, we didn't try to adjust Ruby to the new time zone and just kind of winged it. Hence her naps and bedtimes (and waking up times!) were quite a bit later than they would be here. She did great with the adjustments and didn't have any problem getting to sleep, even in a somewhat unfamiliar setting. In fact, one night we were all sitting around chatting and carrying on and Ruby came by and started giving everyone kisses and then said, "Night night!" and began heading upstairs all by herself. She was ready for bed and she wasn't waiting for her slow mama to get on the stick! Unfortunately, she didn't continue doing this after we got home. Oh well.

Ruby and Jaybird

Ruby and I went shopping with Aunt Shirley one morning and we made her try on this hat. Rodeo Queen!

After all of our adventures and good times, we piled onto the airplane and headed back home. It was a late flight, about 100 degrees on the plane and Ruby and I were both sick so it was a rough kind of flight. Thankfully, we got a ride from our sweet neighbors and made it home with all of our luggage and got to pile right into bed when we got home.

It was really a lovely trip and we are really grateful to everyone for making it so. Ruby has so many wonderful, smart, funny, loving and amazing people in her life!

New Hampshire Visit

Rundown of our trip, alas, somewhat belated. We took a redeye to Boston, hoping and praying that Ruby would sleep. She did! I did not, but that's another story. Remember the last time I flew and nearly killed myself and Ruby falling all over the airport? Well, I got the Go-Go Kidz and let me tell you, it was worth every penny and I wish we had gotten it sooner. We just strapped Ruby in her seat, which was attached to this cart, and just wheeled her through the airport. If you travel with kids and don't have one, you should get one stat.



Anyway, we arrived safe and sound, albeit tired, on the morning of May 2nd and spent the day resting and playing. Papa Norm had gotten out all of Dustin and his brother's old Tonka trucks and toys for Ruby to play with. Not only did Ruby enjoy "play with trucks" time, so did the boys. When Uncle Aaron and Auntie Carol got there, it was time for gifty gifts. Uncle Hal and Aunt Shirley got Ruby all fixed up in some very cool Roots gear and Aaron and Carol got Ruby a sweet rain coat. Ruby's face (I wish I'd captured it) was one of pure joy as she opened her clothes. I didn't know that this started so early! Here is a small taste of her glee: Papa and Grandma also got Ruby some awesome duds and some balls, Ruby's favorite next to rocks. Here is Papa teaching her some skills: She also got these sweet sunglasses and by sweet, I mean totally awesome: Did I mention Ruby was spoiled rotten on this trip and loved every second of it? Papa slipped her a chocolate lolly shaped like....well, I have no idea. She ate that thing like it was her job. Here she is with Papa marveling at her good fortune to get chocolate before dinner: Too be continued....

Gramma-Rama Part Deux

Sorry for the long time between posts. We got back from a trip to the East coast and it's take me this long to get back into the swing of things. Anyway, without further ado, it's Gramma-Ramma Part Deux! Yes, it was another trip full of grandma love - what a lucky girl to have so many amazing grandmas!

She adored Grandma Ruth and loved being her helper. She washed crimes (clams) and mushrooms, helped set the table and with the lobster salad for the lobster rolls (oh did we eat good on this trip!).

Helping Grandma with lobster salad

Ruby was also fortunate that her Great-Grandma Bette was able to make the trip up from Connecticut for a quick visit. The last time Ruby saw her, she was not quite a year old and only crawling. Ruby loved hearing her Grandma Bette's songs and showing her all of her new words.

Grandma Bette and Ruby

We also made a day trip to Vermont to visit Ruby's other Great-Grandma, Grandma Gavin. This trip we made with Ruby's new cousin, Kierin and we had a lovely visit with Grandma Gavin as well as a delicious lunch at Friendly's. Ruby was sort of done with things by the time lunch time rolled around and started tossing her broccoli around but other than that (that's it?) she was well-behaved. She did LOVE Grandma's cat because unlike the other kitties she encountered, this one actually enjoyed the attentions of a 2 year old.

Dad, Ruby, Grandma Gavin and Kierin

Yes, Ruby has a lot of wonderful grandmas and she had such a wonderful time visiting with them. She is still talking about washing the crimes and helping with chicken with Grandma and I know she can't wait to see them again.

There are more pictures and stories to share including stories of Papa, Jaybird and Big A, not to mention the new cousin and other adventures. To be continued.....