Genius

Kai woke up this morning (we slept in until 9 am-- unheard of for us!) and scurried down to the frig to see if we had any yogurt squeezers. These are his absolute favorites.

When he saw that I had picked them up from the co-op the night before, he said, "Mom, you're a genius!"

What a way to start the morning out! It doesn't get much better than that.

Picture Day

Well, Kai rarely smiles for the camera at home. So, we ventured off to a real photo studio to see what we could find. Here are some of the photos. Most of them didn't turn out the best...mainly because we couldn't convince Ruby June to smile and the photographer at Target was kind've a dud. Oh well-- these ones turned out great!

Slip and Slide

I'm a blog thief: Here is an entry from Andrea about Kai and Soren's fun! (www.randreafam.blogspot.com)

"This past week the weather was fantastic and called out for some water activity. We were honored to be able to break in the Slip 'n Slide that Soren gave Kai for his birthday last January. Kai dove right in while Soren cared more to stay on his two feet. Both had a blast. Thanks for sharing in the fun Kai!"

Seattle

Well, it's Day 2 of Joe's trip to Seattle. He has a conference to attend and plenty of friends and family to visit too. I am insanely envious and wish the whole family could have joined him. I'd love to shoe Miss Ruby J off to all of her aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Plus, Jasper was born not too long ago (Jen Costigan's son) and Ruby needs to meet her new buddy.

We were over 1/2 hour late to Kai's school, so that tells you a little bit about how it is going. And, Kai woke up last night and cried for nearly one hour for Joe and he told me today that he is "real mad that Papi left me here." But, thankfully we are getting loads of help and we hope Joe is having a blast (but, not too much fun that he is tired when he comes home!)

Happy, Happy Baby

Ruby June is such a happy baby. Some of you may remember that Mr. Kai wasn't the easiest of babies, so this has been such a wonderful surprise for Joe and I.

(Now, I am a bit worried I'm jinxing it by writing this. Please dear God of sleep don't let this be the case!)

The hugest difference is that Ruby June sleeps!! And, not always in my arms. She actually sleeps in her own little, cozy bed at times and for (gasp!) at least 6 hours straight at night. Kai did not sleep this long until he was 2 years old!

She also smiles, laughs, coos and melts our hearts daily (and doesn't cry like Kai did whenever he was awake!). She is just such a very, very good little gal. We truly feel very, very blessed.

Kai and his little sister

When people ask me how Kai is doing as a big brother, I say wonderfully! Now, this is the truth. He showers her with kisses, hugs, squeezes, and pats. He helps me do her diaper changes, grabs blankets for me, holds her, and shows her off to his pre-school pals with such pride.

The other day I heard him say to her in a whisper, "Ruby June, don't worry! I'll keep you safe."

And, I've heard him also say, "You're so beautiful."

Now, the other truth is that at times he wakes her up with all of these kisses. He also is trying to get my attention in bigger and better ways. Today, I couldn't find him and he had unlocked the porch door, gone into the car that was parked on the street (I must have left it unlocked) and was pretending to drive it like a "police car." I found him yesterday upstairs in the bathroom painting his entire body in make-up. Last week, he used the stamp pad and marked his entire face (and our bedroom carpet too!)

So, it has been more challenging around here. But, overall, I'd say it's not that bad.....I mean, I need funny stories to tell him when he is older, right?

Binka

Joe's mom just left after a great 3 week visit. We've never had her here for that long and we appreciated every minute of it.

I'm not sure how Ruby is going to burp without her-- she was the queen of getting those sneaky burps out. Or how Ruby will sleep in the afternoon now that she has gotten used to Binka's warm shoulder. I'm not sure how the rest of us are going to have as smooth days and how I'm going to manage these two crazy kids all at once.

We'll manage, but it sure was nice to spend some time with a wise pro. After all, she had 4 children under the age of three once upon a time. Wow-- that makes two seem like a breeze!

Happy 2 months Ruby June!