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!