Weekend Away

So, I'm not sure who had more fun this past weekend. I think it's a close tie.

Joe and Kai headed down to Grinnell College for Joe's alumni swim meet for the weekend and Ruby June and I spent the weekend together alone.

It was delightful to be with Ruby, since usually I don't get time with just her. We spent a lot of time snuggling, walking, and playing without any interruption or big brother trying to get more of the attention!

Joe and Kai spent two nights in a hotel, visited with Joe's college friends, and competed in the swim meet. If you were to ask Kai right now about the trip, he would say two things: first, Nora and Tess and then how he won his race.

Nora and Tess have been a daily topic of conversation here after the weekend. Kai keeps asking to call them to see if they can come over for dinner. The bummer is that they live in Colorado. But, it's great how quickly Kai makes friends and connections. I mean, he "really, really, really" likes Nora and Tess.

The second highlight was that during the meet, Kai dove in (belly flopped) and had the whole pool's attention while he swam a lap with his dad. I think he has a blend of his dad's competitiveness and his love of being a ham. (Joe just read this and siad that really he is shy...yeah, right). Joe did report that Kai was a perfect travel companion and Kai came back even more connected to his Dad's hip.

Georgie

Kai: Mama, do you think it's sort've weird that Curious George lives in Minnesota?

Mama: Well....

Kai: He seems really big too.

Ships, Sand, & Silliness

Joe hasn't been traveling to Duluth nearly as much as he was before Ruby June was born. So, we have been missing joining him on his work trips (but not missing that he used to be away from home 2 nights a week). My mom joined us for this trip and we spent three nights in Duluth at the Canal Park Lodge. We love this hotel and certainly have become spoiled.

Kai couldn't believe it when my mom told him that she never stayed in a hotel as a little girl. He walks into Canal Park Lodge and says, "I love MY hotel. Let's go swimming!" Plus, we were upgraded for free to a suite, so we had two rooms and a big jacuzzi.

It was so much fun having my mom with us. We went on walks along the lake, played in the sand, skipped rocks, watched ships come in under the bridge, went swimming, ate yummy food, and relaxed. Each night, I realized how nice it was to sit back and just relax. There were no dishes to be done, backpacks to pack for school the next day, floors to be swept, and laundry to be folded. Yes, I need a vacation.

Joe had a big event for work, so my mom was able to babysit while Joe and I got fancy and went out to the Memorial Blood Center's benefit. It was good to be there and see how much everyone loves Joe (of course) and see how important his job is. We heard from a family whose daughter, at the age of 3, got Leukemia and how blood transfusions helped to save her life. I realized that keeping my head focused on Joe's life-changing work helps me be more compassionate for his long hours. And, I also realized how much I love going on a date with Joe! We need to do it more often. Especially when it means I get to drink my first martini in over a year and a half. Now, that's something to celebrate!

Here are some photos from the fun....

Do you know how hard it is to get both kids to smile? Geez, I would make a lousy family photographer. But, the fall leaves were amazing.

Yep, that would be make-up. Thanks Tricia for the shirt!

Again, read comment above about photos and kids.

It was our first time watching ships come in at night.

Doesn't she just look like such a chunk? She is almost 20 lbs. of love!

Movin' On

Here is a peek into Ruby J's new favorite move:

Yep, she is moving on from crawling (up on all fours and moving quickly around the house) to standing! We even have seen her cruise (today she held on to the couch and walked, holding on to it, back and forth for what seemed to be forever).

It seems that once Ruby gets it into her mind to do something, she does it. And FAST! She crawls and then the next day, it's almost like she says, "Ok, that's boring now....on to the next thing."

Then, she figures out how to pull herself up and she is so proud. Now, today, she has been pulling herself up and then trying to stand without holding on. She looks at me with a big, goofy smile and then....falls. She has a bruise on her cheek and now a big bruise between her eyes. Poor lil' thing. Walking and standing is tough. And, I should have knocked on wood months ago when I said that my second baby was going to take things slower than my first. Ruby is going about this all way faster than Kai. Life is getting interesting around here...

These are a few of our favorite things...

Family

Friends

Baths (perfect photo Mom for this "G" rated blog)

Adventure

The sweater Aunt Janet knitted for Ruby J

Swings

and finally....slings!

Kai: Mama, I have to go to the bathroom.

Me: Ok.

Kai: Will you go for me? I'm reading a book right now.

Me: What?

Kai: Can you have your vagina go pee-pee for my penis?

Me: Um. It doesn't really work that way.

Kai: But, I'm in the middle of learning how to read.

What a good laugh today! Then, he went to school and announced to his teacher that he read his first word and it was "WAR!" He was so excited and this pacifist mama had to clarify it was "Star Wars" although I'm not sure if this made it better.

He found the Star Wars used book in a sale at his school and he is excited to learn about the characters that his older friends at school talk about. He is all about Star Wars right now (before this book he had no idea what it was) and good guys and bad guys and bows and arrows.

Ruby is all about getting three teeth all at the same time and crawling. If she's not waking up every hour all night long because of these new dang teeth, then she's crawling all over this house, including trying to do the stairs! She is quick too. She hurries around the house with this big grin (with almost three new teeth).

We're off to Duluth for a few days to spend time with my mom and with Joe (as he works in his Duluth office). Looking forward to it!