Grandma Visits

We had a wonderful visit from Grandma Genie last week. Ruby's last visit where she gets Grandma ALL to herself -- ha ha! She took full advantage and had grandma reading to her at every turn. Grandma made Ruby some super cute monkey (moan-key as Ruby says it) and brought her the book "Olivia Forms a Band" which Ruby LOVED and insists upon reading nightly now. We also decorated our Christmas tree. Ruby loves the idea of having a tree in our house and was a great little decorator. Well, she did put all of the ornaments in one spot. Every time I would ask her, "Where do you want to put this one?" she would reply, "Down LOW." So we kept our decorating on the downlow this year, as they say. We also took the opportunity to talk about Santa and our imminent visit with him. When we asked what she would say to Santa she said, "Please?" She does know what to say! However, when I ask if she would tell him she was naughty or nice, she invariably says 'naughty' so there you have it. I told her she'd only get a lump of coal and she said, "Ok!" Yeah.. I think we might be missing something but that's ok. Our other highlight during Grandma's visit was visiting our friends Tammy and John and their new little baby boy. Ruby was very interested in feeding him and trying to give him toys. Then, while John was changing him, he peed and some got on Ruby's foot. For the rest of the weekend, the answer to "What did you do this weekend?" was, "Elliott peed on my foot." I assured her that this was a less common occurence with sisters than with brothers. Anyway, we were sorry to see Grandma leave but we know we'll see her again in a short while!

Thank You For....

Ruby is starting to figure out different and better ways to say things. For example, sometimes, instead of shrieking like an unholy banshee from hell, she says, "Please can I have a turn?" In fact, she's really got a handle on the whole taking turns thing and willingly will give something up for someone else's "turn" and then politely asks again for her turn. Granted, it doesn't happen every time but it's a work in progress. She has also started saying, "Thank you for...." as in "Thank you for moving the black chair, Mommy," or "Thank you for loving me too, Mommy" (melt melt melt).

Kayla and Ruby enjoying December sunshine. Love love love this photo.

Some other sayings Ruby has going on lately are, "That's a funny noise!" and "No, YOU do it!" when she doesn't want to do something I have asked her to do. I am trying to get it on video but she gets a really indignant look on her face and tells you, "That was rude!" if she doesn't like something you've done..like step on her toe. Oops. She's also got a fascination with potty humor which given her family ties will last well into her late 30's if not longer. What we're reading:

• "Ruby Sings the Blues" by Niki Daley which, if you look closely at the cover, you can see that the parents of Ruby in the book look very similar to our Ruby's parents. Anyway, she enjoys that this Ruby is loud and will tell you that, in fact, that is her in the book.
• "Shades of People" by Shelley Rotner Ruby loves to look at and mimic the photographs of the children in this book. I liked it when I read it but underestimated how much she would like it. She also likes to compare her hands to the photo of all the hands at the end.
• And she's still obsessed with Koko the gorilla and pretty much ANY book that features a gorilla.

Still zero interest/inclination towards the potty. We are trying very hard to not make it a power struggle but she resists it so strongly. Dr Phil (ugh) said that you just need to find the child's "currency" to which I say, no freakin' kidding Dr Phil! If I knew what that was, it wouldn't be a problem. However, all I have heard is that she shouldn't be doing it just before a major change so I am just letting it go at this point though I can't help but comment when she complains about cold wipes. Me, I am growing a wee bigger every day. Work is getting interesting especially as I attempt to touch my toes during "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" and I have taken to asking kids to help me pick things up off the floor. This little miss is quite active and has taken to kicking me in the lungs around 5:30 am. Delightful. Not sure if this bodes well for the future or not! Ruby enjoys helping the doctor hear the heartbeat and will point out her sister if asked. Other than that, not sure she's really full comprehending what's going to happen in a month. That's the news! More soon!

Thanksgiving

Well, we were filled with gratitude this thanksgiving -- thankful we had not one, not two but THREE dinners, thankful we are healthy, thankful for our wonderful families and friends... The festivities began with a delicious lasagna dinner on Wednesday with several of Dustin's bandmates from The Riffbrokers and The Small Change and their partners. Ruby helped make the lasagna and set the table and then, after dinner, as we sat and chatted, came over and began taking everyone's plate and putting it in the kitchen. Completely unprompted. That's right. I said, unprompted. Turns out, she's actually paying attention to things we teach her. Who knew? On Thanksgiving proper, we woke up bright and early to make pies. Ruby helped with the crust: That day, we went over the Magy's family's for a delicious dinner and wonderful company. There were lots of kids so Ruby had a wonderful time and Dustin and I enjoyed getting to visit with Magy and Ian for an extended period of time. Then, on Friday, we had our annual dinner at The Anderson's where Ruby and Ari cracked each other up. Ari is getting close to walking and Ruby decided to show her how it's done, saying, "See Ari. Walking. Do it like this," and then proceeded to do an exaggerated walk. Of course it's times like these that the video camera is no where near. Ruby, above, is celebrating in her FAVORITE coat of all time. I don't know why but she loves this coat. The weather was actually really beautiful for much of the weekend so we got to go to the park and spend sometime outside. Oh joy! Our week of gluttony and good times over, we settled in to get back to our routine and, of course, get ready for Christmas! My favorite time of year!

Fun in the Fall

Ugh..I cannot believe we are already half way through November! Last I looked it was August... Anyway, the weather has turned and we've had some really beautiful fall days as well as some incredible rain storms. We try to get out of the house as much as possible but some days it's really too cold. Ruby, of course, has all the right gear! Ruby has begun using more complex sentences like, "I need to do this because this is what happened," etc. She also uses some incredible intonations and uses her hands to talk and if I could ever get it on video you would die, it's so cute. She's also incredibly helpful, feeding the cats when their bowls are empty, taking her dishes to the kitchen and helping with the dishes (I do have a video of that to soon follow). She really loves to do whatever it is that I am doing so I have to find ways for her to help without making an even bigger mess. Ha ha ha! Well, I try anyway.... I am mostly just concerned with her continuing to want to help so I try not to be too bossy. Then again, this is me we are talking about and there are some areas where I just don't like to share (i.e. cooking) so it's a good challenge for me to be more flexible. Ruby is also working on her independence and doesn't shy away from telling you to get the heck away from her. "Don't touch my hair, Mommy!" is often the reaction I get when I try to pull it away from her face. However, she is starting to get the hang of the whole sharing thing and with a little encouragement will willingly take turns with toys. She also likes to share her snacks, "Can I offer you a cracker?" That being said, we still are working on her flipping out and screeching when things aren't going quite her way vs saying what she needs or wants. Ah..the 3's...definitely ramped up from the 2's. We are busy getting ready for the new baby, organizing, cleaning and list-making. I have been doing as much nesting as I can tolerate in addition to trying to get ready for the impending holidays. At the end of the day, I am TIRED but still have 25 more things on my list for the day. Typical. Some have requested a photo so I am including the rare picture of me and my gigantic belly at 32 weeks. Before you ask:

1. NO, it's not twins
2. No, it's not triplets
3. No, the baby isn't already 10 lbs
4. No, I am not due any day now
5. Yes, I am sure

Tis a Wee Garden Gnome!

Ruby was a Garden Gnome this year. I made the costume and finished it about 3 weeks ago. I know...it's like Haley's Comet and will only happen again in another 37 years. At any rate, I thinkit turned out really cute. Ruby didn't want to wear it at first until she learned that with it, she could get copious amounts of sugar. Once she figured this out, she wouldn't take it off.

We joined our pals at Glow Bowl (bowling with black lights - fun!) and took 2nd (that's right!) in the costume contest. We lost to Hank the Alien and couldn't begrudge him too much because...well...look how cute he was!!I was a half-blind pregnant cat (I lost a contact this week) and Dustin went as a hockey player. Not the most creative but it's all about the kids, right? Then it was back home for dinner with the aunties and Ari and off to Trick-0r-Treat. Ruby was WAY into it and went running from house to house shouting "trick-or-treat!", "Thank you!" and "Happy Halloween!" At one point, after leaving the fourth house she suddenly burst into a spontaneous squeal of joy. Yeah...she was loving it! She also enjoyed seeing the dogs at the houses, of course. Now I just hope she doesn't think she can do this every night!

Knocking on doors

The three ladies, Ari Bumblebee, Ruby Gnome and Kayla Ladybug Girl ready for a night of fun.

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

Ruby was very excited about the pumpkin carving and had many questions!

Here she is with the finished product:

Eat a Lime!!

Ruby and Kayla dancing to everyone's favorite pirate band, Captain Bogg and Salty!