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!

Happy Kids

You know how you have those days that go really good and you think to yourself that you are really on top of your game? You sing along to the radio and you do little dances that make the kids smile and giggle? Well, today was one of those days.

Unfortunately, it probably means that tomorrow, I'll be kicking myself for writing this and I'll be covered in baby puke, with a 3 1/2 year old having a temper tantrum in the middle of the grocery store, and I'll forget to go to the bathroom all day and I'll be as crabby as a grizzly bear to Joe, but today....I'll just remember how good it feels to have it be good.

Nighty-night.

Red Hair?

So, what's your vote? Is this girl going to have red hair? Or will she be a dirty blond?

I'm putting my bet on a brunette, just like her mom, dad, and brother. But, the verdict is still out! We just learned that Joe's side does have red hair, so it's a possibility. Tonight, at a friend's party, someone said, "Oh cute, look at the red head!!"

Here is Ruby J after eating her first food-- sweet potatoes. She has been so interested in food that we were feeling bad eating without giving her some. So, we finally broke out the sweet potatoes to prevent her from stealing my noodles.

I think we will wait on any grains, since we want to give her tummy a lot of time to adjust to foods and we've heard grains can be tough on her digestion at first. Ruby just started to poop (on her own without help) so we don't want to mess things up. For about 5 months, our lives were consumed with her pooping and it feels good now to not worry about it. She figured it out right after we started bringing her to weekly cranio-sacral therapy appointments (I can't say enough good things about this!) and when she started to move. It was perfect timing since the doctor wanted to schedule a colon biopsy if she didn't poop better by 6 months. Yeah Ruby-- you're number one in number two now!

6 months

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Miss Ruby June!!

We are family....

Once again, Uncle Joey is a hit around this family. The photo above is my absolute favorite-- check out Ruby June's smile. You can just feel how much she loves her Uncle.

Lucky

We are so lucky. Ruby June has got to be one of the happiest babies! It seems the more she is able to move her body, the happier she gets. We find her in all sorts of places-- mainly under anything in the house. She slips under the couch, hangs out under the dining room chairs and even yesterday, we found her under Kai's bed (not just a little under, but the whole way under). She laughs easily when you kiss her neck and she constantly follows Kai around with her eyes (and now body). It's almost her 6 month birthday and we can't imagine this world without her!

1st Day of School

Kai is back to school again. He started his second year at Sunny Hollow Montessori School, just right across the river in St. paul. It was very clear over the summer how much he loved his school (since he was missing it while he was away and at a different summer camp) and we are thrilled that he has such a positive community at Sunny Hollow.

It felt so different walking into the door this year as we greeted our friends, said hello to the teachers we know, and had smiles (instead of tears) on our faces. Kai walked confidently down the hallway without even a glance back in my direction. Last year, Kai cried for a couple of weeks. So, this was a definite improvement!

He really loves the other children in his room and my little social butterfly is happy to be with around 20 other kids. We also have been working on affirmations this year and we say before bedtime, "I will have a wonderful day at school tomorrow," or "I will walk proudly down the hallways," or "I will help new children who need a friend." As hokie as it sounds, it is working. Although, on our second morning, he woke up and said, "I will not have a wonderful day at school today. I will have a wonderful day watching TV instead." Ummm....nope, not a chance, little man.

Cool, Dudes.

Lifesavers

NOW

So, even before Kai was born, I knew I wanted to do ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) through the Minneapolis Schools....sure, I needed to learn a lot (still do) but mainly I wanted to meet other mothers who were having some similar experiences.

I had no idea that not only would I meet two friends, Andrea and Ivy, in the class (and plenty of other wonderful moms too), but their children would become Kai's best buddies and we would offer each other support and love through the thin and thick of it all!

I've written (and talked) about them often and here are some new photos as we've grown to each include a new baby to our families-- so, now there are 6 little ones! We are still doing our babysitting co-op and still learning about this crazy thing called motherhood.

THEN

Swimming Lessons

Well, Kai sure is one lucky boy. Today, he had his first day of school and his first day of swim lessons. Pops (my dad) and Nana Kit (his wife) volunteered to take him to swim lessons each week. Kai has dramatically improved in swimming over the summer. The week in Lake Shasta (truly, he was IN the lake all week) and inner tubing behind any boat he could find all summer helped build his confidence.

So, now, he gets to learn how to swim and be with his Pops and Nana Kit. What could be better? And, in this family of swimmers (Joe's Mom was an Olympian swimmer, my Dad went to the Olympic swimming trials, then there is Joe who was an all-american swimmer in college, and Aunt Rosie who kicked some swimming Division 1 booty) swimming is a serious matter. Plus, more than a little fun too...

Sitting

We were so busy watching Ruby crawl that we didn't notice that she can sit up on her own, too. Kai said to us one day, "Look, she can sit up" and she certainly can!

She is a real multi-tasker, I guess. She's scooting-crawling, sitting, drooling, and waving hello. Up at the cabin, we made a little "nest" for her, since when she does fall over, it's a big bump on the hardwood floors.

She also is losing most of her hair and it's coming in a bit more red and blond. Joe's Mom, Binka, tells us that their are red heads in the family, so we'll see...

Also, Joe weighed her and she is almost 20 lbs. We are thinking she is going to take after her mama...all that multi-tasking and height (hopefully minus the drooling).

We're back from our last adventure of the summer. We spent a week up at the cabin in Ely with Pops and Nana Kit (plus, Joey joined us for a night too). We went inner tubing every day, swam in the chilly lake, played in the sandbox, went on a "date" to eat blueberry/peach/blackberry pie, killed wolf spiders, took saunas, had "movie night", and enjoyed spending time together relaxing in heaven...seriously, we are going to miss Ely this winter.

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