Saturday Walks

We went for our Saturday walk with my Mom and the kiddos. Loving this and hope to make it a regular routine. It is really nice for all of us to get together, especially for the girls to see their Grandma.

Elsie started pointing her finger at things on the 23rd and has been busy at it ever since.

On the 24th, I made stew for the dinner and Elsie gobbled it up. I think this is her favorite meal so far.

Everyone always comments on Elsie's red mohawk. Everywhere we go! During her bath on the 25th, I spiked her mohawk up. So cute! She loves taking baths now too and watching sister take them. She busts into the bathroom as fast as she can whenever she hears the water running. Mike decided to work with Ruby on the letters "A" and "H", Ruby finally let him show her how to make them on paper. She did really good. She could make all the lines, but did have trouble connecting them at the top. She figured out a way to do this by just connecting them together with a curved line. Amazing.

On the 26th, Elsie started climbing up onto Ruby's little rocker and then standing once she was up there. She does it over and over again, so much fun for her. She also started making a silly laugh, we all love it. You can laugh and she will laugh right back. She loves her voice for sure. Mike had fun getting her to laugh over and over. Later in the day, we went to watch Mike critique a band at the high school. Mike was saying "Dot! Dot!" over and over for the beat. Ruby was in the background going like crazy with her drumstick as a batton, and saying "Dot! Dot!" really loudly with Mike. When Mike stopped, she was still saying it and everyone turned to look at her and had a good laugh. Mike was really proud once he realized that she was doing it right along side him.

It's been a fun week!

Pizza Rita

Today we went to Pizza Rita with our mommy group. The staff let the kiddos put toppings on the pizza and help make dough. Once it was all over, we all ate a piece of the pizzas that were made. Yummy! Ruby had a good time, took a bit to warm up to it though. She helped spread the cheese and poor the flour in the mixer. By the end she was jumping up and down with her friend Kai and having a good time. She wanted more pizza too. It was really good, with the freshly made dough and hot out of the oven.

We also went to Target to do some shopping. Love going there, but always buy way too much. The girls had fun playing with the toys in the toy aisle.

Lastly, we went to Savvy Moms on our way home. Love that consignment shop and so does Ruby. They have a neat little play area there that she enjoys playing in. I found tons of cute dresses, that was my mission today. Some for each girly too :)

Not sure if I mentioned this in an earlier post, but Elsie is really into putting things into things right now. It used to be that she would take laundry out of the laundry baskets and throw it to the floor, now I catch her putting things back in. When I did dishes today, she hustled in to play in the dishwasher and I saw her take a bowl out and put it back in. She repeated this over and over. Ruby enjoyed helping me with dishes too, she actually used a scrubber and cleaned a few cups before she started playing the water and suds. She started rubbing the suds all over her at one point. Silly girl!

Subbing

Today was my first day of subbing and the girls did great without me! They didn't even cry the whole time I was away. I only left for 3 hours, but it was the perfect amount of time especially with Elsie breastfeeding still. My mom watched them too, which worked out great! Thanks a bunch Mom, they loved it!

When I got home, Elsie waved with both hands at me. She was very happy to see me. She cried a bit and then went straight into nursing and fell asleep. Wore her out.

Elsie spent the day waving "bye! bye!" at everyone that she passed. It was really cute. Also, every time she looked in a mirror or at her hands she would wave them and watch. If you say "Bye! Bye!" to her, she will start waving.

Mike and I are having a blast playing with her these days too. She is just SO playful!

Elsie will grab onto my pants and pull up and hold on for dear life. She will even walk from one room to another with me by just holding on to my pants. She spends most of her day practicing walking with anything she can get her hands on.

Mike and I are just amazed by how happy she is...always smiling at everyone. Ruby has always been analytical and inquisitive, so it takes a lot more to bring out her smile.

Fish Lake!!!

What a great day! We walked at Fish Lake trail with my mom, niece Ciara, and nephew Kylar. It was pretty chilly, but still a lot of fun! We had originally talked about walking 2 miles out, but there wasn't a 2 mile marker so we actually walked 2.75 miles before we realized we had gone too far. So...a total of 5.5 miles today. The kiddos loved throwing rocks in the water, holding hands, and giving Ruby piggy backs. Ruby was just thrilled to be with her cousins and Grandma. We had a quick lunch at the trailhead together and then headed home. Elsie slept the entire walk and then woke right before we left. She was all snuggly in her carseat, nice and warm.

Mike got tons of recycling done, our front lawn doesn't look like a garbage dump anymore. Thank goodness! He took Ruby out back for about an hour or so to do pooper scooper duty for Henry. That was a major undertaking. They had a good time though and Ruby enjoyed helping her Daddy out with a shovel. Oh...Ruby found her lamby in her little play house out back, yay!

Turnbull

The highlight of the day was our walk at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge with Angie and her boys. It was an absolutely beautiful day and perfect for a walk. The sun was shining, it was a bit chilly but manageable. We have been there many times, but this was Angie's first time. It was really nice to have someone to walk with, we usually do it all by ourselves. Ruby just loves her boys and they were really cute together as we walked along. I told Ruby to find a walking stick and instead Teddy found one. He carried it for awhile and then didn't want to put it down. It was becoming an issue for the kiddos, because everyone wanted it. In the end, they decided to carry it together and it worked out perfectly. We walked 2 1/2 miles.

Earlier in the day, I was asked to sub in a special education classroom on Monday. Whew...this will be my first job. It is a half day too, so it will work out great. Only 3 hours from 8-11 am. Yay! Hopefully more will come my way in the coming weeks.

I am just enjoying Elsie sooooo much, she is just too cute and has such a fun personality. We all are loving it, especially Ruby who does everything she can to get her to laugh and play with her. Hard to believe she is 10 1/2 months already. She is on the go, won't be long before she is walking I am sure!

Garland!

What a great day!

Early in the day we went to a playdate/nature walk at Tanya's house. Love these! Ruby does too! We bundled all up and walked through the mud and trees, so fun! Ruby was even able to get a bit of splashing in. Elsie didn't enjoy being in her snowsuit, but at least it kept her warm.

Later, we met up with Mike in the Garland District. So exciting! While we waited for him to arrive, we walked into some of the little shops and looked around at their unique items. I saw an awesome necklace made of glass, beautiful!

We went over to the Milk Bottle, a restaurant shaped like a milk bottle that makes everything from scratch. Ruby ordered a hamburger and fries and I ordered a pita filled with yummy veggies and cheeses. I also ordered for Mike too since so his order would be ready when he arrived. Everything was wonderful. Elsie chewed on a ice cream cone for a bit too, she loved that. Ruby ate most of her hamburger--the first one she has ever eaten. She wanted a cone, so she was very excited when we got her one before leaving. She picked mint chocolate chip. Yum!

We then walked around a bit more with the girls before heading over to the Garland Theater to watch "The Princess and the Frog". Ruby was very excited and held both of our hands as we walked together to it. She loves to swing between us. The movie was really fun and I am glad we did it. Mike liked it too. Elsie was great, she munched on bits of popcorn and watched a bit of the movie, then nursed until she fell asleep. She is great in movie theaters! Ruby got slightly antsy toward the end, but stuck it out and enjoyed the ending. What a fun Thursday outing!

Ruby and Elsie make each other laugh so much. They just get going and going and going...it is so fun to hear them laugh back and forth over and over. Hard to not join right in! They spent a good hour doing this tonight. They love each other so much and I am very thankful for that!

Trip and such...

My friend Priscilla needed someone to watch her little ones on Friday, so I decided it would be fun to have them over. Ruby loved it. It was a bit challenging with four little ones all on my own, but overall they had a great time together. They did all sorts of craft projects together like fingerpainting and making valentines. We spent tons of time eatting, Ruby loves to eat right now and will say she is hungry at a whim. So...we sat down a few times to eat together. They also read Noah's Ark together really nicely. It was a fabulous experience for Ruby and I was happy to have them over, such little cuties!

On Saturday, I travelled with Ruby and Elsie to visit my friends in Ellensburg and meet up with Mike in Yakima. Ruby and Elsie were awake the entire ride from Cheney to Ellensburg, but did great! No crying at all, yay!

We first stopped to visit my friend Michelle and another friend Justine joined us for a playdate. It was so nice to see them after so many years. Their kiddos were so grown up. Ruby really connected most with Michelle's daughter McKenzie. They played together in her room most of the time. They came out for lunch and then went right back in after they were finished. When they finally came out, they both were all dressed up in princess dresses. Ruby had on a cowboy hat with her dress and some plastic shoes, quite the outfit! I was really glad to see her have such a great time. Michelle also has another daughter, Macie. She is 18 months and just so adorable. Such a little ham. She spent most her time trying to catch up with Ruby and McKenzie. These are both friends of mine from high school, I am so glad that we have stayed connected over the years. The visit was wonderful and I hope to do it again in April.

Our next stop was at another high school friend's house in Ellensburg named Amy. Ruby loved her little dog. She had it on a pink leash and Ruby could not get enough of it. The doggy was small and Ruby has always wanted to walk a dog, so she finally got her chance. Amy's boys are a bit older than Ruby, so they really didn't play much together. We chatted for a bit and then frosted some sugar cookies together. Of course, Ruby loved that too. It was just really fun to spend time with an old friend. We are both teachers too, so lots to talk about in that subject area.

We then headed to Yakima. Not my favorite place, but it was really nice to see Mike. We found his hotel room easily and surprised him in his room. Ruby and Elsie were thrilled to see him after his was away Friday. They laughed and jumped on the bed, it was really cute. We went to find a place to eat and then headed back to the hotel room. Ruby was wanting to go home and was a bit worried, until the movie "Cars" came on and then all was fine in her world. Mike and Ruby stayed up late and and watched it together. Elsie and I fell asleep pretty quickly.

In the morning, we had continental breakfast downstairs and then headed out to see if a place called "Kids Castle" was open. It is a place that is full of bouncy toys and trampolines. It was closed, so we met up with my cousins Rachel and Jimmy outside and headed to the mall with them. Most of the stores were closed because it was so early. We did find some toys for Ruby to play on though, so she was really happy. I was excited to see what the valley mall looked like. It used to be the run down mall in Yakima, but now it is the only mall and they have remodeled and added all sorts of good stores. They also added an upstairs food court, we went upstairs and Ruby and Elsie played in a small play area as we chatted. We mostly talked about trying new types of foods, Jimmy thinks we need to branch out a bit. I am open to it, but not wanted to try any sushi (raw kind). Elsie went through a tunnel and enjoyed being down on the mats to play.

We then went to meet up with Mike and decided to eat at a little diner near the mall. The food was so-so, but it was packed. We enjoyed the atmosphere though and it was within our budget. We also had a few moments to talk with them which was nice too.

After this, we went to Kids Castle with them and it was actually open. So much fun, and Rachel and Jimmy joined us. Ruby had an upset stomach, poor girl. So we spent quite a bit of time in the rest room, but she did get about a half our of jump and play time in which was really nice. As we were leaving, Jimmy gave Ruby a candy necklace and me a rose for Valentine's Day. So sweet.

We drove from here to Tri-Cities, about an hour. This time to visit our friends Neal, Janessa, and Sam. They made us dinner and we chatted for a while. Ruby played so nicely with Sam, they enjoyed playing with a flashlight and hiding under a table covered with blankets. They also watched a movie together. They loved every moment together. Ruby kept saying that she was staying the night with Sam, so I decided to stay. We got ready and then Ruby realized that we weren't going home and wanted to sleep beside Elsie and I. This didn't work, they were wide awake and I had one on each side of me without an inch of area left to move. I quickly realized that we were not going to sleep well and packed up our things and headed home. It was 9:30 pm and we made it home at midnight. Both girls slept well on the way home and I picked them up and placed them in their beds. They slept the whole night through. It worked out okay...just wish I would have realized this earlier in the night so we weren't travelling back so late at night.

Monday was pretty low key...just caught up on all the housework I had missed. Thank goodness I didn't leave the place totally in shambles. My friend Janelle stopped by and stayed for a few hours while Mike worked on the truck. She brought her boys in and we had a nice visit. Ruby enjoyed playing with Luke and they were really nice to eachother. We tried to make it to a cookie party, but were a bit late. We stayed awhile to chat with Angie and her boys and then headed home. I made our famous spagetti dinner, Elsie LOVED it. She was slurping and gobbling up the noodles. So cute. Elsie took some steps this night...I prompted her to come to me, and held my hands just far enough she would have to let go and walk to grasp them. She did reach out and let go and actually took one step. I thought it was really fun watching her think about letting go on her own and trying to take a step all on her own. She also started saying "Da! Da!" on this day, and has been saying it ever since. So exciting, Mike has been waiting for this moment to happen anxiously.

On Tuesday, we stayed home the entire day. Just another catch up day for laundry and dishes.

Today, we went to a playdate out in the valley. Ruby enjoyed playing with the other kiddos. They had a weiner dog that she loved and a bouncy toy too. Elsie ventured out a bit too. We then headed out to Four Lakes so we could get together with Angie and her boys, we walked a mile loop together which was so refreshing. I just love being outdoors.

Ruby put together a curious george puzzle all by herself for the first time today. Yay!

Wednesday was a pretty busy day for us...we went to Spokane to get our Durango tuned up. It was supposed to be $600 and ended up being $2000. There were a bunch of other things that needed done involving the brakes and tires and such. Thank goodness our tax return was bigger than we expected.

Our good friend Tanya and her daughter Jacquelyn came to the dealership and picked us up. Ruby was SO upset when we were leaving the dealership, she was crying and clinging to me as I moved to the front seat. I think she thought we were leaving our Durango there for good. It was quite the scene. It took her awhile to pull out of being upset. They brought us to a fun playdate in the Valley. Lots of moms and babies. Good to see them all again, it had been a long time for some of us.

I was in such a hurry to get to the dealership in the morning, I didn't bring any snacks or even eat breakfast. Poor Ruby was so hungry at the playdate, I have never done that before. I searched my bag to find something and all I had was a sucker :( I gave it to her and she loved it of course. It helped to tide her over until lunch. She only sucked on it a few times when someone said there were animal crackers she could eat. Thank goodness for those!

We ate at Honey Baked Ham, the sandwiches were really good. Ruby and Jacquelyn were so full of energy and had a hard time sitting still. Thank goodness it was totally dead when we went in to eat.

Tanya was so nice and drove us all the way home.. I owe her big time! She is so wonderful!

We decided to stick around here most of the day today :) It was nice to settle in a bit and relax. My mom came over and spent some time with the girls, they loved it. Ruby played all sorts of games with her and watched a new movie Mike bought her. Elsie kept giving her grins and being a bit shy.

Later in the day, we picked up Mike and drove to the Dodge dealer to pick up our spendy Durango. Mike took Ruby back to Cheney High School with him to go to the pep game together. She had a good time. I took Elsie with me to pick up her pictures at JCPenney's and to the new organic store downtown. It was really nice to shop there and know that I have another option for organics. Elsie was kissing me like crazy and playing with my face, she is such a little sweetie. So fun to interact with her. I was just having fun with her when the lady up front told me they were about to close, I had no idea that I had spent so much time meandering around the place.

When we got home, Ruby had a present from Grandma on the doorstep. She openned it all up and enjoyed the VDay presents she left. After everything was out of the bag, Ruby was filling it with other items from her kitchen. Elsie saw Ruby throwing things in it and began to do the same thing. She started throwing things in while Ruby held the bag close to her. She has also been taking things out of the laundry basket lately too, she will grab all sorts of clothing and just throw it to the floor. Quite the girl!

We walked around Four Lakes on Monday with my friend Angie and her boys. It had a lot of hills which made it fairly challenging even though the loop was only 1 mile long. Really neat little loop too, the country setting was really refreshing. Elsie slept through the walk and Ruby sat in the stroller eatting popcorn. She enjoyed sharing it with Tony. About a 1/4 mile from the end of the loop, Tony hopped onto the stroller with Ruby. I was surprised that they actually fit next to eachother. They both weigh close to 40 lbs. It took a lot of strength to push them together, but they had fun!

Mike came home and suggested that we go to Red Robin to eat because Cheney High School was doing a fundraiser for the Vanessa Behan Nursery. We have eatten out way too much lately, but we went anyway so we could support the cause. It was nice to get out too. We walked to the restaurant and then down to the carousel, but it was closed for maintenance. Bummer for Ruby, but I enjoyed the walk to and from everything!

Tuesday morning we decided to meet up with some friends at Riverfront Park again to do some mini golfing. It was gorgeous outside there. We parked at Riverpark Square and walked to the Pavillion. Ruby was so excited to see Jacquelyn, they have become quite the little buddies. We chatted and ate lunch and then headed over to the mini golf. It was so much fun! Ruby would try to so hard to hit the ball with her club and then she would just take the ball and put it closer and closer and then just put it in. SO funny! She did get it in without moving it a few times, but most of them she decided to move it to wherever she needed. We all laughed as we watched. Ruby gave high fives and routed on everyone. Elsie stayed pretty content watching everyone in the front carrier. I played too and did pretty good I must say, especially with only one hand, a camera, and a baby attached. Ruby wanted to ride the mini carousel with Jacquelyn, so they hopped up and rode together a few times before we left.

I saw so many geese and ducks on the water, that I decided we would go over and look at them up close. Ruby loved being right in the middle of all the honking geese. A lady was feeding them bread and she gave a huge chunk to Ruby. I let Ruby feed them a bit, but made her put it down on the ground once the lady left because there is a new rule at the park not to feed ducks and geese. Thank goodness, because a security/police person drove right up as other people were feeding them. We then walked over to the little playground and played a bit. Ruby loved that, she really didn't want to leave. As we walked back to the mall area, Ruby looked at the steel running people along the edge of the park. I told her to find the ones that were her size and she gladly did so. She went right up to them and compared her height. She tried to sit in the lap of the wheelchairs but there wasn't enough room. After this, we headed home to make it before my dental appointment.

Mike came home and told me I could leave BOTH girls home with him. This is the first time he has ever felt comfortable with me leaving them. They did great though and I was gone for 45 minutes, no crying at all.

Mike had a parent meeting, so we ate leftover spagetti for dinner. Elsie loved the noodles and Ruby ate hers all up. Ruby fingerpainted and it got all over her, so we headed off to the bath. Elsie hustled in to watch Ruby, she just loves to stand on the side of the tub and laugh and play with her. Later, we watch "My Dog Skip", Ruby really liked it.

Elsie has been doing this funny thing with her laughs lately. She lowers her bottom jaw and opens her mouth really wide and lets out a really loud laugh. SO funny! She will do this especially when she is interested in something or she wants something that you are eatting. We all get a good laugh listening to her. She is so funny and makes so many noises now to express herself. Loving it!

What happened to my daily updates, more like weekly now!

Well, another week has passed by and I didn't get on here once. Shame on me. My goal was to write the major happenings for each day, but that just didn't happen. Maybe next week I will be more successful.

On Tuesday, I went to a dentist appointment. I was so surprised at how relaxed I was as she worked in my mouth. I have been really tired lately and it was just nice to zone out a bit I guess. They found two issues in my molars that had already been worked on that they need to repair and one new cavity, not too bad. Mike had Ruby call his Dad and wish him a happy birthday while I was away. She loves birthdays, so told me all about it when I got home. We also did some fingerpainting with red, pink, and white for Valentine's Day, Ruby enjoyed it and covered the entire paper.

On Wednesday, we went to Tanya's for a playdate with Jacqueline. We all went out for a walk through their property which is 20 acres. It was a bit cold, but so wonderful to be out and enjoying the fresh air. Ruby had her boots on, so she was able to jump in icy puddles and pick up all sorts of pinecones and rocks along the way. Ruby and Jacqueline were so cute together, they followed eachother around and looked at deer tracks together, inspecting them closely. Elsie did well too, just looking around as we walked together. Ruby was covered in mud when we got back, thank goodness Tanya gave her some other clothes.

On Thursday, we walked along Fish Lake Trail with my workout buddy Angie and a few other friends. The day was gorgeous and perfect for being out walking. The kiddos spent most of the walk stopping and picking up rocks and throwing them into the stream. Ruby loved it, she had dirt under her nails and was so dirty but had a blast. Elsie slept the entire walk, 4 miles long. On the way back, Ruby had to go to the bathroom so I ran about a half mile to get her there. It felt good to get moving so fast. I am planning on running soon with some friends to get into a routine and embrace the challenge. I will never be a long distance runner, but would love to try and run a few miles each day. Also, I have decided to walk in Bloomsday this year, it has been over 10 years since I last walked/ran in it. Can't wait!

I was so excited on Thursday night, Elsie ate applesauce from a spoon we were using to feed her. She was gobbling it all up. I let Ruby feed her too, and Elsie quickly forgot about me because she was loving having sister feed her. This is the first time I have been able to feed her from a spoon without Elsie spitting it back out and gagging.

This week flew by! On Friday, we went to my bible study and then headed into town to meet up with my mom for lunch. We decided to try a place called "China Cafe" up on South Hill. Mike doesn't ever want to eat Chinese food, so I figured this would be a good time. My mom really likes it too, so it worked out well. Ruby tried a small bite of spring roll and ate one piece of orange chicken along with a whole plate of rice. She loved the fortune cookie too, but wasn't thrilled about the other stuff. She loves eatting rice at home when I make fried rice, but isn't too fond of eatting anything different when we are out. We enjoyed my mom's company, Ruby wanted to sit next to her and was thrilled to spend so much time with her. I took a cute picture as we were leaving of them, it turned out really neat!

Later that day, we went out to eat again (not our usual routine, but Mike decided he wanted to get out to do something) at a wonderful restaurant in Airway Heights. Ruby ordered her own mac and cheese and Mike and I both enjoyed our meals, they were really tasty. I had a wedge salad and soup, sooooo good. Mike had never seen a wedge salad before, he thought it was interesting. I fed Elsie some baby food at the restaurant and she ate about 3/4 of the jar. It was fruity so she loved that, the peas and rice one she didn't enjoy as much. We went to Walmart afterwards to look around and get some items we needed. Ruby picked out gifts for her friends birthdays.

On Saturday, we went for a brief VDay party with my mom's group. Ruby made a cute craft and we ate with some friends and then headed back to Cheney for another party. It was for Ruby's friend Luke's 3rd birthday party at Gattos. We all had a great time and enjoyed visiting with our friends that attended the party. Lots of yummy pizza and cake as well. I took another stab at making french toast (we failed last week using my SIL's recipe), and it actually turned out soooo good. Ruby gobbled it down and Elsie enjoyed her little bites. I gave her some sweet potatoes and she ate the entire jar. She is getting to be quite the eatter now.

On Sunday, we got up super early to go to church. We were a bit late, but found a nice spot at the back on some steps. It was a nice sermon and I really am liking the pastor. It was all about marriage, so very interesting to Mike and I. Elsie kept dropping things I gave her to put in her mouth, usually it is quiet on the carpetting, but because we were on the steps it was really loud. Mike held her at the end, she is really quiet when you walk around. Ruby drew most of the sermon, she decided that she wants to be with us instead of with her peers in their little class. It worked out okay...but I would really like to see her feel comfortable being left there so we are going to keep trying. Later, we came back into Cheney for a bowling birthday party for another friend of Ruby's. I did horrible at bowling, but it was still fun. Mike did better, but not as well as he usually does. Ruby bowled half way through and then decided she was done. She enjoyed the cake and playing with the other kiddos and the pizza afterward though. We had a great time spending time with our friends and chatting a bit. What a fun time, thankful they invited us. Elsie let both my mom friends hold her and didn't fuss a bit until right before we left. She had a good time getting shuffled around and getting held by everyone. I made spagetti for dinner and Ruby ate it all up, she loves that stuff. I decided to try rice cereal again with Elsie and she ate it with no problem this time. I added sweet potatoes again and she ate all of it. So proud of my little bundle.

Elsie is such a little ham, she snuggles into my neck when people look or talk to her and just gives them grins like crazy. She crawls up my side too, so much energy in that little body. She turned 10 months this week, time is rapidly moving by.