Blizzard Bliss

What? Surely you read that title wrong? No, actually, I am serious. Wednesday we got so much snow the power went out. If you would have told me a few days ago that I'd enjoy it I would have said you were out of your mind! The thought of another snow storm and being snowed in another few days was not appealing. Ruby has yet another cold, so Jeff went out in the blizzard Wed morning to hit the natural food store for a safe, natural cough medicine. We had just found out about it the day before but didn't get a chance to get some. Ruby was coughing BAD Tuesday night and we both really wished there was something we could do for her. So off her loving Daddy went to get the goods. He was probably the only customer they had all day! We had already gotten so much snow Tuesday night that we were shocked the store was even open. They will have regular customers in us! I've already gone back (today) for some healthy snacks and homeopathic remedies.

So... Ruby got her Chestal honey cough syrup and it helped a great deal. We all settled into the fact that we'd be indoors and made the best of it. Ruby & I played and did crafty stuff while Daddy worked and then later he came down to join us. Thank God for our neighbors. They called us around 5 or 6pm to say their daughter (in a near-by town) had lost power and we should crank up our heat NOW - just in case. We did just that and it was actually so warm we were taking off layers. It's a good thing we did! Jeff made us a homemade pizza for dinner with fresh mozzarella and basil (YUM) and Ruby got chicken noodle soup (which is her favorite). We were at the dining room table just finishing our last bites when the power went out. Perfect timing.

Ruby is such a brave little thing. She was startled when it first happened, and said "OH", followed by "LIGHT!" I held her hand and told her it was okay as Daddy went for the flashlights we had set out. Daddy was by our side in 2 seconds with the flashlight and as soon as Ruby spotted it she was thrilled. She carried one around for the rest of the night and that was that. Never mentioned the lights or anything. I think she "got it" somehow. Or maybe it was that she was having too much fun to notice they didn't come back on.

It was so nice to just sit around together. We looked at books and played with toys by flashlight and candlelight. She took such joy in the night as if we planned this just for her. Daddy made us cookies on the grill (since that was the only thing still working and NOT covered by mounds and mounds of snow) and you know what? They weren't too bad! They were rather flat and crunchy, but still tasted good! Gotta love a man who goes out in a blizzard to "grill" cookies for his kid! The house stayed warm for a good long time, plus we all 3 snuggled under a big down blanket. Thankfully, my computer was charged so we took it up to bed and watched one of Ruby's favorite Barbie movies - The Princess & the Pauper. Very cute. With Jeff & Ruby emanating some serious body heat I was actually a little warm at first. But it was great and oh so cozy. Those 2 are ALWAYS warm, while I am adding layers of clothes most of the time! Ruby smiled so brightly when she realized we were going to watch a movie in bed. (We've never done this before). At one point Daddy had his arm around her and I was holding her hand. We were all snuggled up really close. She just looked at his arm and then at him. Then she looked up at me and then down to where my hand was holding hers. She gave us the sweetest smile and raised her shoulders up and down in this excited cute little sigh of a way. It was then that I realized that bliss can be found anywhere. It doesn't have to be the ideal weather or situation. It just requires love and a little effort to go with whatever comes. Glad we went with it!

BTW, heat kicked on at 3am...just as the house was starting to get chilly. I couldn't help but think how lucky we were to have stayed warm enough that whole time. I laid awake for awhile thinking how fortunate we are in our lives to have a home, to have warmth, and to have each other.

Snowy Weekend

View of front yard from my door. That was as far as I would go the first day. We got A LOT of snow. Maybe 30 inches! It was cold and blowing all over the place and none of us were eager to go out in it!

View of the back patio.

I found it interesting that the snow had fallen on my Buddha statue in the form of a cloak. Draped just the way they do in Thailand! Everything else got buried out there except for his head and one shoulder.

Jeff ended up shoveling for a couple hours later that day, while Ruby and I stayed in and kept warm. None of us were embracing the cold or snow that day. Ruby has a cold (again) and was rather sleepy and into snuggling. Suited me just fine! But still, I didn't want her to miss out on snow play...so I asked Jeff to bring some inside in a big tub and we let her play on the kitchen floor in her mittens and jammies. She enjoyed it all the same. Daddy made a great fire, but instead of toasting marshmallows we made little snowmen crafts out of them.

Sunday was such a great day. We fully embraced the snow and had a ball sledding out back. Jeff made her a nice little "toboggan" path and down she went again and again! It was nice and sunny and not that cold out compared to the day before. After a good long time we came in and got all toasty and had soup for lunch. Ruby took a late nap which worked out perfectly cause the timing was good for us to prepare a nice, big dinner. We roasted a whole chicken, roasted a big pan of veggies, made cranberry/walnut stuffing and followed it up with warm chocolate chip cookies. A yummy, cozy evening for 3!

Here are some snow and sledding pics:

Party Planning!

Ruby's birthday isn't for a few more months, but that hasn't stopped me from planning one heck of a toddler hoe-down birthday bash! Now if you know me well, you KNOW I was dreaming of all things pink, tutu, and princess. However, she is only going to be 3 and there are a lot of boys invited. She's not into dressing up that much yet - unless it is shoes and accessories. The girl loves her hats, bows, necklaces, and bracelets! So I toyed with different ideas, but still wasn't sure what I'd do until fellow blogger (and party thrower extrodinaire) Mireille (of Funky Doodle Donkey) sent me this link. Lots of GREAT ideas and I loved the farm animal theme right away. After all, we live in a farm house! It seemed like the way to go! Ruby LOVES animals so I think it will be perfect for her at this age. The pic above shows a few things I like so far for the party. Tutu already purchased from Trinity Tutus! Sooo cute! Check out their tutus on Etsy.com. Still tossing around different ideas for the cakes or cupcakes, but here are some great options:

Lots of fun stuff floating around my mind right now and a few of the big decisions made. I foundthis amazing company - Sleepy Hollow Horse Farm - that will bring a pony and petting zoo right to your house! How cool is that? Discussed with the husband and he liked it too and gave me the go-ahead to book. Hooray! We have a big yard so there is plenty of room for both pony rides and the sheep, duck, chickens, goats, llama, and donkey to run around. I can hardly wait to see the look on her face when they show up! Here are some pics from Sleepy Hollow Farms web site:

A bit over the top? You bet! It's the first time Ruby has ever had a birthday celebration and I'm going to see to it that it's one she remembers. I want it to be the most fun she has ever had! Missing her 1st 2 birthdays was incredibly hard. I wanted so much to do something for her, let her know she was loved, sing her a happy birthday, and make her feel special. Now my hands are no longer tied and I can do all that and more! I'm just thrilled to be in this place right now. We both are real excited to do this for her. So there will be 8-10 toddlers, a truck-load of farm animals, a lot of hay, cow balloons, pig cup-cakes, farm fun/games/crafts and lots of treats! Yee-haw! (Now who ever thought I would actually say yee-haw? Yea, me either. Let's blame it on the kid. She brings out the silly in me!)

UPDATE: Ruby just woke up from her nap early and saw me on my computer. I showed her all the cakes and ideas. She doesn't really get it but got all excited to see the animals. She started pointing to them and making their sounds. I asked her which one she wanted and she said COW! She likes the one in the 2nd cake collage. Well, okay then. There you have it. Her main cake will be a cute little cow! Excellent choice, little miss!

When Life Hands You Snow...

Why not make snow balls? Or a snow man, for that matter? Or snow angels! The point is - why not enjoy it?

I am not a fan of the cold and neither is the husband. Jeff's first reaction to the snow storm that's coming tomorrow was - "Ugg! Again? I'm going to be shoveling all weekend!" It's not exactly how we wanted to spend our weekend. I was disappointed also. However, you can't change the weather so why complain about it? It's much easy to GO with the universe than try to fight it! So go with it I will! And more than that I am going to make it a fun family weekend.

So what to do? Well, first I asked the hubby to bring in fire wood or have ready on the porch to make big, crackling fires. I'm going to pull out the pine cones to make it smell good and they add color, too. As soon as Ruby falls asleep and I am out the door to get all the ingredients for a warm and cozy weekend: marshmallows for roasting, hot chocolate, cookie mix, some kind of snow flake craft project, and hopefully find us some sleds. Ah, the little miss is breathing deep and that is my cue to hit the door running! Wish me luck finding everything!

The Simple Woman's Day Book

Because...I found this on someone else's blog (lovely Karen of Always in My Heart blog) and it was too nice not to try. AND because you can only hear about how great I think my kid is for so long. :-) There will be plenty more posts gushing about how much I love our little munchkin, but for now, something a little different:

A Woman's Day Book:

Outside my window...there is a light dusting of snow. Pretty, but I am happy to be inside.

I am thinking...I sure can't wait until it's warm out and we can go outdoors again! To eat outside, be in the garden, go to the park, the zoo, the beach, etc.

I am thankful for...my amazing little girl, my husband & I being together 17 years, and my girlfriends I got to see yesterday at the auto show.

I am wearing...my old (& comfy) black skinny jeans and a long sleeved black tee with my warm and fuzzy black Ugg boots.

I am remembering...all the things I need to do, but ignoring them and enjoying some relaxing quiet time anyway! I was so cozy in Ruby's room waiting for her to fall asleep that I decided to stay in here and read and blog instead! Yea!

I am going...a little crazy waiting to see Ruby's giardia test results. After I posted about her being all better it seems to have come back. Yuk!

I am currently reading..."Every Day Blessing, The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting" - beautiful and thought provoking.

I am hoping...my baby is feeling better soon, the weather will warm up, and the economy will get better. But mostly just the first one!

On my mind...my husband and the stress he has been under with his work.

Noticing that...things always tend to work out and are never as bad as I worry they may be! Just need a little faith and a positive attitude!

Pondering these words...that I read on a blog: "World peace begins with Inner peace" (working on mine)

From the kitchen...pumpkin bread and pumpkin cranberry/walnut muffins that I am going to make with Ruby today.

One of my favorite things...Watching my little girl sleep

From my picture journal: refer to Little Miss Ruby Blog

4 Months Home/5 Months A Family

Today it is four months since we stepped off a plane on a chilly night with our sweet, sleepy little girl. Four months of love, fun, joy and silliness. We have watched her grow from a shy baby girl into a very independent and confident little girl in such a short time! It's been an amazing experience. Words do not describe it. Pictures don't do it justice. Cause it's not just the grand moments or accomplishments. It's the simple, sweet smiles and everyday moments that warm our hearts. The random hugs and kisses. The happiness emanating from her face and joy she finds in the simplest or silliest things. I am learning to cherish every day, thanking God for every minute, remembering what is important in life, and taking time to slow down. We are a family close to 5 months now (on the 13th) and 4 months home. Seems like it's been so much longer, really. We have our routine down and are getting into a nice groove finally. It doesn't seem like we just met each other such a short time ago. It feels as though we have known her for a lifetime.

Things I want to always remember: The way she plays with her hair or mine when she gets sleepy. Sometimes even just for comfort when I am holding her she will cling on to my pony tail. The way she loves to brush my hair, too, which is so sweet. And when she is really tired, how she twirls her hair around her finger. How she came over to me today to feed me one of her oranges with her play spoon and carefully had her other hand under the spoon as I sometimes do to avoid spills. I love how she still likes to feed us and shares her things with us and others. I love how she thinks a bee says "beeeeeeeee" instead of buzz and I never want to forget all the silly faces and adorable things she says and does. She loves the swifter and a damp paper towel just makes her day so she can "clean" something. She loves to empty the dishwasher. I let her take out the plates and hand them to me though at first I feared she would drop something and break it. But no! She is so serious and takes great pride in doing her tasks! (I also grab them rather quickly!) She is climbing/jumping/hanging off of everything now and has little black and blue marks cropping up all over the place not to mention bumping her head a few times! (Getting good use out of the boo-boo duck we keep in the freezer!) Makes me nervous, but all part of growing up, I guess. She is exploring her new world and having fun with her new-found jumping and climbing skills!

And a few words from Daddy....he loves how she laughs! He thinks she has the greatest laugh! (He should know as he really gets her going and it's ADORABLE!!!) When they play ball he pretends that it knocks him over when she throws the ball to him. She finds this HILARIOUS! He also loves her little tippy-toe walk. We sware she will be a ballerina some day! But Daddy's favorite cute Ruby thing: her bed time ritual. Daddy kisses Ruby, then she will point to Mommy to get one, then to her forehead, then to her cheek, then to the other, sometimes her nose, then to Bear, then to Penguin (both her sleeping buddies), then back to Mommy (and to my forehead, cheek, etc.) then back to her forehead for a few more! It's so cute and we both get a kick out of it. When she's had enough she will take the bottle out of her mouth, say night-night and I love you to Daddy and then wave him bye-bye! Then I sing a few lullabies and put her in crib and out she goes! We also love seeing her expressions when she watches Baby Einstein and Dora now. She will talk to the TV and interact and if someone is in trouble she has deep concern. She will say NO to the bad guy or say UH-OH! and then she will say "YAY!" when they find who they were looking for or reach their destination. It's really cute and amazing how she understands what they are saying. She will answer Blue! or Yes! or whatever they are asking on the show. How we love watching her grow and learn and discover. And wow, this is still just the beginning!

Hello Blog Land!

Been such a busy couple weeks filled with family and friends and play dates. Life has changed so much and I don't find myself rushing to the computer to blog like I used to. I just don't want to miss a minute with Ruby and when she is sleeping I am busy running errands. I think about my blogging friends a lot, though. The ones home with their new babes, the ones about to travel, and one friend in particular that has waited far longer than she should. Still praying for Lily and thinking of you guys often!

I finally figured out how to get my videos on the blog. My new computer makes it a breeze! Will be posting them on the uber private one for those with access to that. Only 2 more months till finalization and I can go public again! Will try to have my book printed and all the personal info off of here by then. Will also go back to my original format of less details and more silly stuff. For now this has served not only as a creative outlet and reaching out to family and friends, but also a journal of Ruby's life and how we became a family.

So, what's been going on around here? Lots! I think we kicked Ruby's ailments and are on the road to health. Hurray! Still have to retest for giardia and I am taking her to a homeopathic doctor next week. Feel real good about that. The woman has 30 years experience and 5 kids that have never had to take a drug for anything. I am hoping to really get Ruby's immune system back on track. And maybe mine, too!

Ruby is still sleeping in her crib every day for naps and every night. Sleeping through the night most of the time except when we slept at the Grandparents this weekend. She LOVES them and is very happy and comfortable when we go visit, but she doesn't always sleep well when away. I don't know if it's because it is more hot and dry (no humidifier like at home) or different sounds or just the insecurity of not being home, but she was up several times during the night. On the flip side, it is nice to know how comfortable she is here. When we got back Sunday night she went down so easily and early. I usually sing her 3-4 songs, then lay her in her crib. After one song she pointed to the crib. I was like, oh, okay! She laid there with her eyes shut for about 10 minutes and then out of the blue I heard this: HOME. She said it loud and clear, but so sweet. Like a sweet sigh of relief. I just laughed and said yes, honey, we are home and Mommy & Daddy are right here....now night-night. She said night night and drifted off to a solid 12 hours of rest!

We had a nice weekend with Jeff's parents and a couple great visits with Jeff's Grandma which was really great. Had a little scare with her and are glad to know she is okay. We saw some of our favorite people - the Poelck's - the previous weekend and Ruby had a ball at Hannah's b-day party. Have adorable pics to post soon! So we have had one birthday party, one weekend with Grammy & Pappy, play dates with Ava, dinner with Hailey & Braden, lunch with Brianna and lots of our little classes. Ruby enjoys play time with her little friends as much as we enjoy seeing the parents that go with them! Life is fun and happy and often quite silly with the little Miss. Her new favorite song is bye-ber (translation: spider, as in "itsy bitsy"). She won't sing it, but loves to act out the parts. She does sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and is sounds like Kwinkle, Kwinkle Star. It's really cute.

So if you wonder if I have dropped off the planet now and then...have no fear! We are probably knee deep in play dates, playdough, singing, coloring, Dora, or Wonderpets! Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Smartie Pants

That's what Ruby's early intervention teacher called her today when she got nearly all the colors right. I am so proud of her. But it's not just for the way she is learning. It's how she manages to focus and be so sweet despite how she is feeling. She has been so good the last 2 days, even though I can tell she still doesn't feel that great. Her belly is so bloated and she tugged at her ears again today. She did get a lot more sleep (hooray) and I hope I am not jinxing it to say we slept great again last night!

She did real good with her first time with the teacher. Last week, we just talked and got to know each other. This week she worked with Ruby on colors, animals, and fine motor skills. She doesn't feel Ruby is really delayed at all. Just needs more time and work with the language. How amazing that is to hear after 20 months of hearing of her delays and supposed severe hearing loss??? I thank God every day for her and her progress and her hearing. We still have to go back to the ENT and see about her right ear. I cancelled last week's appt because there was no use when her ears were clogged up and she had an infection. So we will go next month.

I cancelled a play date today because the other little girl had a runny nose and cough. Paranoid or smart? I hated to do it cause I really like this mom and her sweet daughter. But we have been sick so much of the last 2 months that I couldn't risk any more germs entering the house! I used to laugh at Mom's that sound like me. And yet, here I am...faithful with my hand sanitizer and canceling plans all over the place. Hey, can someone please get me and Ruby a bubble until flu season is over??? :-)

Well, all for now. Mommy, Daddy, and little Miss Smartie Pants are headed to bed!

Progress and Setbacks

First for the progress: Ruby is back in her crib! We got a new queen size bed in there that sits lower and is easier for her to climb on and off. It's also a lot sturdier (with no gaps) like the old one. It was never meant for her and made me nervous that she might fall in the gap at the end of the bed between the bed rail and the mattress. I always had pillow shoved in there. Anyway, the new bed frame is great and we pushed Ruby's crib up against the end of the bed and lowered the rail so she could easily climb onto the bed. We told her that Daddy missed us and wanted to sleep with us. We asked her where she thought Daddy should sleep and she pointed to the bed. We asked where Ruby should sleep and she pointed to the crib!

The first night she went down great, but woke up 4 times crying. By 4am, we brought her into bed with us. All 3 of us tossed and turned for hours. Then last night (night #2) she only woke once for 5 minutes, then slept the rest of the night. Hooray! She also went right in her crib for naps the last 2 days...as long as I stayed with her. So I take my lap top in or read a book and she goes right down. Last night before bed she was really cute. She was almost out when I put her down, but then she realized where she was and she got up to look at where we were. We laid there very still and quiet, trying so hard not to laugh as she'd go "uh!" and pop her head up to check on us...then do it again 2 seconds later...then 3 seconds more...then a minute later...then finally...silence! Before I start screaming success, I better see how we sleep the rest of the week. Still, it is definitely progress!

Now for the setbacks: Ruby has giardia again. Why are they lingering on? How many rounds of meds does the child have to endure? I wondered why she has seemed more cranky and didn't want to sleep. Poor baby, she must be sooo uncomfortable! I'd be moody, too! She is bloated and yet lost the 1.6 lbs that she gained over the last 2 months. I am fighting to find more foods that will fatten her up since we are yet again off dairy. I bought her cookies today and she had one and then requested "cackers, pease!" Guess I will be eating the cookies. (Oh, twist my arm!) Using the word please a lot and is so much sweeter than I would be with a stomach ache, gas, and ear infection. She is on 2 different antibiotics and that can't be easy on the belly either. She is eating like a champ though. So that is good. It is also good to at least know what is going on with her.

Having said all that, today was a good day. She woke up happy, Daddy came with us to Little Gym, and they both enjoyed it. Later we did colors, play dough, puzzles, and fun stuff. She identified the colors of the play dough (red, yellow, blue, & green) and even said "play dough" which I didn't know she knew. We colored with her Dora book and now that she watches that with Daddy, for the first time she looked at it and identified things. We were just coloring and she yelled "backpack!" Cute. Then we played music and I drug out every instrument. She especially loves her guitar my mom got her. Such fun!

She is now kicking back in front of the tube with Daddy. They watch the interactive shows (Little Einsteins, Dora, & Mickey Mouse Club) and he is very involved with her. I can hear her talking and answering questions and laughing. It's really cute. A nice end to the day and I am keeping my fingers crossed for a good night's sleep for all of us tonight!

I Did It!

I left the house. Not that I haven't left the house in the last 3 months. Ruby & I are on the go to classes and to run errands and go on play dates. I have snuck out on a few occasions during her nap to run errands and twice I got back a few minutes late and wasn't here when she got up. She was with Daddy and did fine. So yesterday, I made the break during waking hours. I decided that morning that I REALLY needed to go to the chiropractor and also get a massage. My back and neck were screaming for it. I got Ruby down for her nap early and easily (which was a big deal because she has been very restless this week which I will go into later). Within 10 minutes of taking her up she was solidly out. Yippee! I ran downstairs on my tip toes. I grabbed my coat, emptied half the contents of my super heavy diaper bag, and went for the keys with a big, giddy smile on my face. The keys! Where on earth were they??? They are always in either my coat pocket or on the key rack. I searched for a good ten minutes...only to realize that my car was gone also. Jeff! He mentioned he had to go pick up the new bed frame we ordered. BUMMER. I forgot. He forgot I wanted to go somewhere, too.

Deflated, I went and did the usual nap time stuff: straightened up, did some laundry, checked email and such. But I also made myself and appt for 3:30 at the chiropractor, figuring I'd back out if she woke up crying and clingy as she has a good few times this week. Poor little miss has been restless a lot of the last 2 weeks. Her cold (that we have been passing back & forth) was lingering on and now she was tugging at her ears. Went back to the Dr. and yep...ear infection. No wonder she's been so cranky! She's on antibiotics and after 2 days is already sleeping and feeling better.

I'm wondering if the Giardia is back. We get test results back on Monday. Many of the symptoms are present: restless sleeping, nasty smelling you-know-what, cranky, picky eating followed by voracious appetite, itchy skin and scalp. All the symptoms she had before. Then again, it could just be the ear infection and congestion. We'll have to see. The poor thing has been uncomfortable and clinging to Mommy like a vine. I don't mind this usually, but it did take it's toll on my back and shoulders a bit. I never thought I'd be able to get away for a couple hours this week, and yet I had to do it eventually. Why not today?

She woke up happy after her nap so I decided to go for it. We explained that Daddy was going to take her to the park and she understood and seemed happy about this. She seemed to get that I was going in MY car and she was going in Daddy's car. But actually seeing my go was a different story. My heart tugged as I pulled away and saw her crying for me on the porch. But, I did it. I texted Jeff a few minutes later and he said she was fine. And then right b4 my massage I texted again and they were having a ball on the swings! Yay!

We had some unusually warm weather. Okay, not warm by MY standards (70-80 F), but in the 50's so nice enough them to go to the park. I was gone for 2-1/2 hours. I got adjusted, got a massage, and did an ionic cleanse. Aahhh. Just what I needed. Ruby got some great Daddy time in at the park, then they went for ice cream. I came home to them watching the Wonder Pets and all was well. Breakthrough!

New Words & Great Educational Site

New words include: Happy, lollipop, please, "that one", help and "help you" (when she wants to stir the batter, help with her diaper, etc.) juice, banana, knife (for the play knife that cuts her fruit), car, mall (wonder how she knows this one???), in, out, coat, lotion, boo-boo, ouch, elbow, leg, knees, stop (unfortunately she heard us say this to the dog when she kept barking and now it's her new favorite word), "little bit", "look at that," Oh or oooo! (if she sees something she likes), back (as in put back), cow, hey, milk, bottle, water, and Elmo. What is it with Elmo, anyway? I took Ruby to Sesame Place once over Halloween. She liked it but didn't seem to know or make reference to any of the characters. She had seen Sesame Street only a hand full of times before and after. Well, one day I pulled out the Elmo plate that came with lunch at Sesame Place. I set in on the table and she lit up and yelled ELMO! Hmmm. When did she get to know him? Amazing how quick kids pick up and fall for Elmo. Guess that will make it fun when we visit Sesame Place this summer! Plan on getting season passes.

Have to share this GREAT website our friend John turned us on to that teaches kids words, reading and the alphabet. It's called Starfall.com and it's brilliant! Ruby and I have gone through letters A-K and she is learning how to say both the word and the sound it makes. She actually likes doing it as it has colorful graphics and sounds, plus cute characters. Click on the website above and go to ABC's. Very useful site and used by teachers. There is a matching game at the end of each alphabet letter. Ruby can't click and drag yet, but I took her through the game and said "does it go here? or here?" She actually understood me and pointed to the correct one every time! Yay, Ruby! And yay, Starfall! Check it out!

Family Movie Night

Nice, laid back weekend around here. Friday night play date with Charlsey & John and the kids. Sat and Sun we ran some errands and took Ruby to the play ground and carousel in the mall. Did a lot of playing at home, too. She's really been getting into her kitchen play set a lot and LOVES the Doug & Melissa wooden food play set my mom got her. It has a "knife" that you can "cut" the fruit and veggies with and she will cut them over and over and then put them back. We took her around the kitchen pointing to "Mommy & Daddy's sink"... then "Ruby's sink", and then oven, clock, dishwasher, etc. I think it is becoming more fun as she is starting to get it.

Ended the weekend with family movie night. We received a few movies for Ruby for Christmas and decided to pop in Tinker Bell & The Lost Treasure. My uncle Kev from LA bought it for her, remembering that this is the movie that has the Song & Story CD coming out to promote it this spring. The CD that my song will be on! So it was nice to see the story, but more importantly, it was great to see such a cute movie that was age appropriate for Ruby. Many of the Disney movies are too old or scary for her right now. This one doesn't have an evil character and is a very sweet. A happy ending to a nice, relaxed weekend. We are all feeling better and looking forward to a good week!

Daddy & Daughter Time!

I believe every cloud has a silver lining. Woke up sick on Wednesday. I had to cancel the early intervention teacher. I was bummed but didn't want to get her and her family sick. Ended up getting a call from the Early Intervention coordinator and IU to have a conference call. An important call that I wouldn't have had time for that morning if the teacher was there. So that all worked out and Ruby & I had a fun day at home just playing and doing crafts and working on colors. Then yesterday I felt worse. Ended up a really good thing. Okay, not exactly great for me, but it gave Jeff a chance to take Ruby out somewhere without me. For the first time, Jeff was able to take her in the car and take her to a class. She loves music and I hated for her to miss the first Music Round class of the year. So I asked Jeff if he could possibly tear away from work for an hour to take her. He did...and it went great! He got to see her do her thing in class and they both got some great bonding time. She cried in the car a little when they first left, but she quickly got over (me) in exchange for a mum-mum cracker. (Hey!) So they had their first Daddy & daughter class together! Sweet! Hoping I can have him come to a Little Gym class sometime with us, too. I'm dying for him to see how courageous she is and how she loves it!

The Tactile Experiment

Had a ball with Ruby just now. Now Daddy is taking over so I can make dinner. My guilt was getting to me as we have had so many days of socializing followed by recoup days (from holiday and from colds before that) and we watched a lot of TV. I can't remember when I have watched so much and never so many cartoons, of course, and Baby Einstein videos! Ruby is picking up counting and words from the videos, but still I don't like that we have watched them so often. So the last few days I have been playing catch up and trying to do all the things I was doing pre-holiday...plus more tactile stuff. We play with puzzles, stacking games, coloring, and word books. I pulled out a new puzzle I got from Haba and she did really well! It's a cool one and has multiple layers which she figured out quickly. Needed some help but not bad for the first time. How fun it is to watch her face when she is learning something or doing a task. She gets very serious and determined! Sometimes very annoyed if she can't do it, and then so proud when she figures it out. How I love her eager to learn spirit and determined nature.

I got a great new play dough set today with colors and cookie cutter and a press thing that makes it like spaghetti. (Recipe for the home made stuff is below). She liked it though still not a fan of actually squeezing the stuff. I touched a piece to her nose to be silly and she said YUK and pushed it away. Maybe it was the smell. LOL. After a bit, we put that away and played with moon sand. Seriously messy so that was followed by vaccuum "play" haha. The cool thing is she identified a few colors and pointed to them and actually said "yellow" spontaneously on her own when I pulled out the yellow Play Dough! I have a book called Baby Colors that has a page identified to each color. After trying to point out colors in a bunch of different ways (with no real response) I tried the book and a pile of different colored blocks. I showed her a page in the book and said the color. Then I asked her to get a block that was the same color. It worked! Sometimes it took a couple tries and some colors are better than others, but by day 2 she could identify red, yellow, and orange. Blue and green are a little harder but she is getting there. I couldn't believe it when she said yellow on her own today. Tomorrow's tactile experiment: a bag of rice and/or beans. Hey, I'm not sure why either, but the teacher suggested so why not? Good to feel different textures, I guess.

Fun stuff for Mom & Ruby this week! We start up at Little Gym again tomorrow, Early Intervention on Wed, and Music Round and lunch with her little friend Brianna on Thursday. Play date with Ava & Logan on Friday eve. So a lot of fun, but not so scheduled that we won't have down time, too. How long I dreamed of days and weeks like these. Of every moment, really. Of the minutes when she wakes up and smiles, of the excitment she has when she splashes in the tub, runs to brush her teeth, or puts on her own socks. Of every single giggle and snuggle. It's all so great. Of course, it's all even better when we are all getting sleep! Thankfully, the last 2 nights have been better than last week!

Note to Ruby Kate Suphawadi from Mommy:

So excited about your every milestone, Ruby! You make Mommy proud every day. Even on days when we just cuddle I am so proud to be your Momma. I love how you jump off the last step or your little chair in the playroom with such confidence. I love how easily and proud you climb the stairs (although I still hold my breath till you get up and down and hang super close to you!) I love how you are trying every new food we put in front of you - if only one bite. (Newest foods you tried and like are raw mini carrots, pumpkin muffins Mommy made, ham sandwich, smoked cheddar cheese, pork, and mashed potatoes). And I love how brave you are to try new things and go to new places with Mommy & Daddy. You do such a good job!!! I love how you share your things and how you hug other kids we introduce you to. You have a kind heart, my dear, and we are so blessed to call you our daughter! I love how you share my love of music and how your face lights up when you hear one of your favorite songs (Muffin Man, A Tisket/A Tasket, Chew Chew Your Bubble Gum and Old MacDonald) and begin to dance! I love how you love animals and how cute you are when you make all the animal sounds. Especially monkey, duck, and MEOW (your favorites). You are the sweetest little girl and you make our every day soooo great. We love you with all our hearts, baby!!!!!

Love, Mommy

Nature's Playdough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
beet, spinach, and carrot juice

Mix flour, salt and oil, and slowly add the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until dough becomes stiff. Turn out onto wax paper and let cool. Knead the playdough with your hands until of proper consistency. Use as is, or divide into balls and add a few drops of the vegetable juices to make green, pink, and orange.

NOTE: I didn't try the juices for coloring. Just left it plain. Today we used the plain with the colored to make faces and decorated with the colors. Could use food coloring too and I left out the cream of tartar cause I didn't have any.

Happy (Thai) New Year!

New Year Fireworks in Bangkok

The official Thai New Year isn't until April (Songkran), however the Thais love to celebrate New Year on Jan 1st, too. I remember my friends giving each other New Years presents as we do with Christmas - but on a smaller scale. I forgot all about this when I mentioned to Jeff that I'd like to go to the Thai temple today. We went just for a visit and to show Ruby, but were pleasantly surprised to see the place packed for a new year's celebration! It was great! Met some really nice people and found out they have gatherings once a week where we can meet other Thai and mixed families. So great! I'm sure we can find someone to teach her Thai and maybe even a Thai babysitter for down the road...should I ever be ready to leave her side. (LOL, that may take awhile!) It's a great place to learn and celebrate the Thai holidays and a bigger Thai community than I thought existed in our area.

We gave respect to the Buddha (which Ruby calls Boo-ba) and the monks. We made a donation (called "making merit") and mingled a little, then headed downstairs for some seriously good eats! YUM! Ruby was equally thrilled with the food.

We had our 2nd post placement visit Jan. 31st. It went great. Hard to believe we only have one left...and then finalization! Our social worker asked all the usual questions and we enjoyed sharing Ruby's accomplishments and milestones. One question came up that caught us by surprise, though. What have we done culturally since our last visit? (Thailand likes to know). Oh my gosh! How did we forget? We were so busy just getting into our groove at home...and then it was Thanksgiving and Christmas... we hadn't really done anything! I was embarrassed to have let this important thing go. So that is what prompted our visit but not the only reason. We have been meaning to go to this temple with Ruby for some time.

I also had a good long talk with Ruby's new teacher today. She qualifies for Early Intervention due to her mild hearing loss and language delay. The EI coordinators, teacher, and speech therapist all felt she was doing VERY well for the short time she has been home. They felt she was bright and would catch up, but could use weekly instruction due to the lack of exposure she's had to English. She also needs some work with her fine motor skills - like squeezing and pressing harder with a crayon. Again, they felt it was nothing to worry about, but something we could work on with her. I made some home made play dough the other day and she wasn't sure about getting all that mess on her hands (LOL)! But I brought it out again yesterday and she likes it now. Gonna get some regular colored Play-Dough, silly putty, and magic sand stuff this week.

Anyway, Ruby's new teacher seems like a doll and comes to the house this Wed to start teaching her. I can't wait to meet her. We talked about having Ruby retain her Thai language and how she felt it would effect her learning English. This has been on my mind a lot lately. With every new English word that replaces a Thai one, I am equally excited/proud of her, but also a wee bit sad for her native language lost. Many say to only focus on English because it could slow her progress down. This teacher didn't feel that way at all and works with many bilingual families. I was so glad to hear this! We will use mainly English, but expose her to Thai once or twice a month at the Thai temple. She also said it was okay to let her watch the Thai videos we bought in Thailand for her.

So we had a nice Thai style New Year's today. Ruby didn't seem to mind or be confused by everyone speaking in Thai to her. She actually responded and seemed to understand/remember far more Thai than she did when we were in Thailand! So interesting. Maybe she was just so scared and confused in the beginning. When we came home we played a bit and then watched a video with Thai girls singing and dancing on it. She smiled and danced along and had a ball. It feels good and right in my heart to keep her language familiar to her. When people called her Suphawadi or spoke Thai to her she seemed comfortable just as she is comfortable talking with us. So, yay! All is well in our little Thai American family! Happy New Year!

First Christmas as A Family

Our holiday was wonderful, happy, busy - a little overwhelming at times - but great. To have our sweet girl home with us was all we really needed. But what we got in addition, was an outpouring of love from the whole family. Ruby soaked up all the love and attention. I was a little worried about all the (loud) family gatherings, running around, and busy-ness of the season, but she took it all pretty well. She loved seeing her grandparents and family members and had fun playing with our nephew Ryan and all her cousins. But, of course, her schedule is off. It has been off since she got her cold 2 weeks ago so there has been some later nights and tossing and turning. Found out we can not travel without a fan (or my new Dream Machine...love it!) She tossed and turned the most when we didn't have the white noise going on. I'm sure all the excitement had a lot to do with it, too.

Ruby's such a happy, easy going kid that we sometimes do more than we ever thought we would this early on, but we try to take our cues from her and adjust accordingly. Christmas eve was rather overstimulating and so we were super low key Christmas Day. Planned on heading to our home town, but she hadn't slept well and was up too late Christmas eve. She also still had a cold and was coughing through the night a few days in a row (b4 the holiday and through Christmas) so we just stayed home all day and chilled. It proved to be a wise decision and we all were glad for the extra quiet time and extra sleep. Saturday we piled up the car and headed to Harrisburg to see the family. Entirely too much to go into detail here so I will bullet point the highlights. Even still, I have no way of making this a short post. Ha ha, but then, you are all used to my rambling by now! -)

Holiday highlights:

- Christmas eve church service was just beautiful. The church was all dark upon entering with only the cross lit up. A young couple dressed as Mary & Joseph walked up the aisle carrying a baby "Jesus", followed by sweet alter-girls wearing angel wings carrying torches to light the way. The whole procession followed, lighting candles up and down the aisles as they went. Ruby stood on the pew between Jeff & I watching in awe. She put her arms around each of us and played with both of our hair. It was a magical moment. We sang and she just loved that, too. Was really pretty good for most of the service, but a little restless at the end.

- Santa came in at the end during Silent Night and bowed down before the baby Jesus. You couldn't hear a pin drop. Ruby was crawling under the pew at this point (over an hour into the service) so I whisper, look, Ruby, it's Santa (to get her off the floor). We didn't really think she got the whole Santa thing but as the church was all calm and quiet, there is our Ruby going Santa! Santa! Oh. I guess she got it. LOL.

-Got home to a house full of family and my brother Jason cooked all the food in our absence and put out all the spread. I had prepped some but was going to miss church if someone didn't help. It really meant a lot to me to go so Jason took over. Thanks for saving the day, Jase! You are awesome!!! I don't know WHAT I was thinking, trying to entertain on Christmas Eve on our first year as a family. It was a bit much, but thankfully, everyone was there to help and it ended up to be a fun night.

- My mom was a huge help too and brought me all the last minute groceries I needed. What would I do without you??? Mom and I weren't supposed to exchange this year, but of course we can never resist. She gave me the yummiest smelling perfume ever by Juicy Couture called Couture Couture. You rock, Mom!

-Got to spend time with my uncle Kevin from LA who I don't get to see much. (Same uncle that hooked me up with the Disney contact and the reason I got my publishing deal). It was really great and he is such a sweetheart.

- A special moment was when everyone went to bed and Jeff and I set up Ruby's stuff from Santa. We were so excited! It was especially nice to have some quiet time with the hubby and exchange our gifts by the fire.

- We weren't supposed to exchange either, but then we both ended up doing it anyway. We gave each other a few small things and spent some time together. I was so happy. What we really wanted for Christmas was sleeping peacefully upstairs. And here we were, sharing Christmas with her! But then Jeff looks at me and says...oh, yea... there is one more thing. He runs upstairs and comes down with...a new MacBook Pro!!! WOO-HOO! I had to contain myself as to not wake up the whole house. My old Mac was seriously old and dying and I was so afraid of it killing over before I could copy all my recent pics and stuff. New one is fantastic and I really haven't had time to even discover all it can do yet. Thanks Hub! You are the greatest husband ever!!!

- Watching Ruby's sleepy and confused little self come to life as she opened up her first gifts was just the best. The first smile came when she saw her doll and all the accessories. She held her baby close and then got busy feeding her and brushing her hair!

- Christmas day was so nice to be able to relax, let Ruby take a good long nap, and then just to watch her play with all her new things. Happy and having fun. Comfortable in her environment and home with Mommy & Daddy (or Da-nee as she calls him when she doesn't say Pa).

- Saturday was a blast with the Kimmels at my Mom's house. Everyone just loves Ruby and she ate up all the attention. She's such a social bug and had a ball playing with Ryan and hanging with everyone. And, of course, she loves her Grandma. Was so great to see everyone.

-Sunday morning we had a real nice brunch with my Dad & Lynn. My brother and nephews were there too so Ruby & Ryan got to play some more. Dad had a guitar in the corner which Ruby was delighted to see also!

-Had another great meal at Jeff's parents later. Sunday was our Christmas with them and we spent 2 wonderful days with Jeff's family. It was really nice and Ruby loves her time with Grammy & Pappy! I had fun catching up with my sister in law, Tammey, too, and seeing our nephew Dailan.

-Tueday was sit around the house and chill time and we loved every second of it!

- Wednesday we went to my cousin Angie's house for the Furjanic family gathering. SO great! A fun time was had by all. After a bit, a few of the guys whipped out their instruments and Ruby was mesmerized! My cousin Michael let Ruby help play the violin by holding the bow and she was thrilled! The kid loves music. It's so great. And it was really cute to see her having so much fun. I wish I had brought the video camera! She loved watching Michael play and then she went over to the guy playing guitar (a family friend) and was tapping to the beat on his knee. She hung out with "the band" for the longest time. Sometimes dancing around, other times just staring in awe. My family is Croatian and they played some traditional Croatian songs as well as some pop and folk tunes. Mommy sang a couple tunes, too, but you have to be loud to sing with my family so I did Respect with my more bluesy voice. Ruby looked at me so funny, like hey, that's not how Mommy sings! She spent a lot of time playing with her cousins, too. She was having so much fun that I thought she would melt down upon leaving. But when it was time to go, she just took our hands with a smile on her face, said our goodbyes and headed to the car. Slept like a rock that night!

- Stayed home for New Year's eve. Nice & quiet. Got Ruby down early, but it was all Jeff & I could do to stay up till midnight! My how things change! At midnight, we each kissed Ruby on the cheek while she laid sleeping, then kissed each other and said goodnight!

- Last, but not least, we had a fab meal over at my brothers today for New Year's Day. The kids played together so well and it's great how comfortable Ruby is now. She can go and play in the other room with Ryan and I don't have to be right there. She would come out every now and then just to make sure I was still in the kitchen, then smiled and toddled back up to play. Of course, I went up to peek in and check on her, too, but didn't let her see! They were so cute in there just coloring together or Ryan trying to show her how to do something. We had such a fun, but relaxed day with them. Fun, but relaxed. Exactly, what we are ordering up for the new year!

Wishing you all a happy, fun, peaceful, and prosperous new year! And wishing those still waiting, a beautiful trip to Thailand to get your babies home!!!

[Ruby's favorite presents: Her new kitchen and Wonder Pet play sets all got her attention, but I think her favorite might have been the baby doll (from Uncle Jason last year) and the doll accessories kit we got for $9.99. She was pretty excited about the Disney princess shoe collection my Mom got her, too. Another big hit was the restaurant play set from my cousin Michael.] Christmas ornament pictured above - compliments of Uncle Bob.

Pink (and White) Christmas

Well, I think we are ready! I guess we better be since Christmas is here! The ground is still covered with snow and the house is filled with wrapped presents and a full fridge to great the family arriving tonight. The plans are all laid out for our travel on Christmas day and the last gift was bought last night. The hubby and I teamed up yesterday to give the house a good once over, while alternating - watching Ruby in between. She was so funny and wanted to help with everything- which, as you can imagine, was cute but not that helpful! She loves the swifter and would not give it back until we gave her her own feather duster to "clean" with. God bless her, she loves to clean! Well, at least pretend that is!

Although she still has a cold, she was in pretty good spirits last night. We nursed our sweet girl as best we can and hope she is feeling a bit better in the morning. Still has a nasty cough! The doc said to use Little Noses saline in her nose, give her honey 4 times a day (which she loved) and rub Little Colds on her chest. We got a humidifier in her room and also rubbed Vics on her feet (Jeff read this on the net so we gave it a try). We also got Pedialite pops to help her get enough fluids. She smiled the entire 20 minutes it took her to eat it!

We watched "The Little Drummer Boy" last night. I was so excited to finally see a video that showed the true meaning of Christmas...until we watched it. The end is sweet, but this is NOT a show for an adopted child to watch. There is a scene near the beginning where the boy's parents and home are burned down and they call him a "poor orphan". Luckily, Ruby is only 2 and we sort-of saw it coming and distracted her until that part was over. No more 1968 movies for us! And none without pre-screening! Ah well, the rest of it was really sweet and Ruby watched with much interest at the baby Jesus at the end. Just glad we caught that part in the beginning!

We took her to church for the first time 2 weeks ago. (This week we were snowed in). She did real well and we found a sweet little church down the road for our house with a super nice pastor and some real sweet people. Everyone came up to say hi to Ruby and they were really nice to us there. Taking the whole family there tonight for Christmas eve service. 

I got a little pink tree for her room a couple weeks ago with all princess-y, bears, and girlie type ornaments. Even found a tiara at Target! So cute! And Miss Kitty. Loves Miss Kitty and takes them off to play and says MEOW and then puts them back. I have two Disney princess ornaments that will magically appear Christmas morning. I also have some special things for her bedroom stocking hidden in her room so I can quickly pull them out after she's asleep. So excited! Jeff & I are going to have a few presents (all pink and girlie stuff) in her stocking and by her little tree to open in the morning with just the 3 of us. There are pink beads, a pink purse, a doll baby, and bag of pink baby care accessories. Also pink sparkley slippers! Since we have my mom, brother, uncle, and his girlfriend all staying, we wanted to have a few minutes or more to ourselves just with Ruby. Some special family time on our first Christmas. Then we will head down and join everyone for more fun, presents, and a big breakfast. Here is Ruby's tree...

And a close up of the ornaments.

Yes, we love pink around here. But more than just the cute decorations and fun gifts, we have that "pink" feeling on the inside. All warm and fuzzy just knowing that our baby girl is home and happy and with us this Christmas. We are a family. And it is amazing! Words can not describe how wonderful these last few months have been. For those still waiting, it is worth every single second of the agonizing wait. Every single second. We have been blessed and are immensely grateful.

It's an exciting time right now to witness so many kids coming home the last few months! A special welcome home to Nancy & John, Terri & Chris, and Nadine & Conn. And a BIG congrats to Emily and family, Jessica & Matt and Rosemary and Brian who are getting ready to travel early in the new year!

Wishing you all love, happiness, and peace during this Christmas, Hannakah, and very special season. 

With much love and pink-ness,

Jen, Jeff, and Ruby Kate

Snow Day

As you can see, I had Ruby dressed up like the Michelin man. LOL. She was so cute! I told her we were going to go outside and play and she practically ran upstairs (as I ran after her) to get changed. I had mentioned we had to put more clothes on in order to go out. She's such an agreeable little one. Never minds when I dress her up, change her clothes, put her something new. We tried footed pj's this week and she got a big kick out of them. She likes to say the words "button" and "snap" and get excited to see them on her clothes or mine. Liked her snow suit, too, but her face when I stood her up with the snow suit on was hilarious. Like "Uh, how am I supposed to move with this on?" Still she was a happy camper. I think she was pretty eager to go outside and see this "snow" stuff up close! 

And she loved the snow!  Just loved throwing snow at the dog who in turn, loved to jump up and bite at it. Had a ball just walking around in it and chasing Daddy, too. She liked it so much, in fact, that she didn't want to come back in! We finally said it was time to come in after about 40- 45 minutes. We had some crying/fussing for a couple minutes until she realized there was a snack involved. Then she decided it was a good idea to come in after all. :-)

We all got rid of our wet layers and sat by the fire. Ahhh. A very nice thing after snow play and a good way to set the stage for nap time!

Sick Days

Bit of a long week here! Sleepless nights, colds, poop, and internet trouble. Not a pretty combination. LOL, the blizzard was actually the FUN part of our week!

First Ruby wasn't sleeping. Couldn't for the life of me figure out why she was tossing and turning and waking up crying again. And why she was hard to get down for naps again. Turns out the Giardia is back. Ugg. That is exactly what happened the last time she had it. Tough little buggers decided to stick around I see. Poor Ruby. I wondered why she wasn't eating much for a couple days. After 4 nights in a row of little sleep (Ruby would go back to sleep after crying but I couldn't) Mommy came down with a cold. I sware, I have NEVER had so many colds as I do now that I am a Mom. This is like the 3rd or 4th one in 3 months! Time to go back to all things natural and organic. Been straying a bit due to Whole Foods being so far away, but I really need to go back on probiotic vitamins and a mostly vegetarian and organic diet.  I never get sick like this. Of course, kids really do carry lots of stuff and we have been around lots of them - at the mall, the classes, friends, etc, so maybe I'd get it anyway. 

So, first, I got a cold, then a couple days later Ruby got one, then at the same time the giardia symptoms started coming back and then we got the call confirming it. I had been weaning her on to milk and was up to 1/3 of the bottle and now we have to stop dairy again. Urrr. She hasn't been real cranky - all things considered - but there were a few days that were trying. Feel so bad for her.  Since we missed classes and were home all day, we had to get creative. We finger painted, colored, pulled out her princess tent, wrapped presents together, decorated a few little trees around the house, and played with every toy and puzzle we own. We have also snuggled a lot and watched more TV than I ever thought I would allow, but it's been nice and she needed the down time. One exception is we went out in the snow yesterday. Will do another post on this and share some pics. There is no way anyone could recognize her hidden in her snow suit so I feel okay posting!

So we've had a long week, but some good stuff, too. Ruby has been bonding with Daddy more than ever. It's so great to see. Since we've been home I have tried to give them alone time, but she would always run into the kitchen looking for me. Now she will sit in his lap and snuggle for an hour and not run for me. While I love her running for me, this is actually a really, really good thing and I love how much she has bonded with Jeff in the last few weeks. She will run to him now just as much as me and he can pick her up and hold her for longer periods of time. It's just wonderful to see!

I went out on a limb this week and ran to Toys R Us during her nap. It was packed and there was a lot of traffic so I didn't get home in time. Nervous Nelly that I am, I called Jeff's cell like 5 times during her nap. He would answer, YES, Jen, she is still sleeping! Finally, I knew I wouldn't make it back in time so I told him to get her up and let her know I was on my way home. She had already napped 2-1/2 hours so I knew she had to get up. Ruby had never woken up without me being there. But she feels secure enough that in my heart I knew she'd be just fine...and she was. I got home only about 15-20 minutes after she got up and she was snuggling in front of the tube with Daddy watching the Wonder Pets. He said she cried just a little but he told her I was coming right back and then he took her downstairs. Success! Next time I will try a little longer and see if I can go for an hour. Sometimes it will be nice to be able to get a break, but still I think it will be harder for me than for her! But it is good for her to know that sometimes Mommy has to go out but I will always be back.

Today, she still has her cold and giardia, but she's a little better each day. And Mommy's cold is gone so she can clean her house and entertain her little one with much more enthusiasm! Hooray!

CD Pre-Release!

Forgive the shameless plug, but...

 BUY YOUR LULLABY CD TODAY! Just in time for Christmas, I finally got my butt in gear and got a pay-pal button on here so I can sell CD's! Been so busy with the little miss, Christmas, and the Disney thing that I forgot all about actually selling my whole album. So, if you'd like one, please click on the above button at the top right corner and order one today! Thanks for your support...and remember, half the proceeds go to a GREAT cause. See www.themercycentre.org for more info on Mercy Centre and what they do for the children of Thailand.  

3 MONTHS

September 14, 2009. A day we will never forget. Gotcha Day. The day we took our precious little girl into our arms and took her with us forever. Jeff reminded me that today was officially 3 months as a family. So odd, I thought. No, it must be longer than that! Most days I totally forget how new this all is for her. She has adapted and accepted all the many changes in her life so quickly. She's a happy kid and just pitter patters around the house like she's always been here. It FEELS like she has always been here. We are bonded as a family and comfortable in a way I never imagined it could be this soon. Life is good at 3 months. And to think, we have so many more!

Great Moments...and Preschool

Great moments. Too many to list, but a few highlights:

-Having a nice family dinner with the hubby, my mom, Jason, and Anthony...with Ruby and Ryan sitting at the heads of the table.

-Watching Ruby and Ryan run around the kitchen squealing and laughing as they chase each other and play.

- Watching Ruby snuggle with her Grandma (my mom).

- Watching her climb up on my brother Jason's lap and giggle.

- Watching her face light up whenever Daddy walks into the room and see her take off and run to him.

-Putting Ruby down for a nap and seeing her stare up at me with those big brown eyes while I sing to her.

-The moment Ruby wakes up and see me and gives a great big smile.

This morning we slept in late cause she had a rough night of tossing and turning and a little crying. I wonder if she had nightmares about the doctors office. I woke up and immediately focused on the clock in front of me that said 9:00! Oh my! Music class is at 10:15! I turned over right away to gently wake Ruby. Well, I turned around and there she was wide awake just laying there quietly smiling up at me with this sweet little smile. There is nothing better than that. Okay, except the hugs and morning cuddles that follows!

We were a bit late, but still made our music class and then had lunch with our friends Dawn and little Brianna. A great, long lunch and I think all 4 of us really enjoyed it. On the way home, we stopped off to see this little pre-school I've been wanting to see. In a word: PERFECT! They are sooo sweet and family-like there. The Montessori rooms are adorable and the kids sweet and polite. They looked like they were having fun, too. Ruby loved it there and hardly wanted to leave! Not going to start until next year, but I think this is the one! Ruby was very comfortable and the kids (who will be her classmates) were all so good with her. There was even a darling little (adopted) girl from Guatamala in the class that was close to her age and just as tiny. The 2 sat together at the table working on their little "projects". So cute. I was also happy to find a very diverse group of children, and again I must say how totally sweet they all were. Even the bigger kids came over to say hi to Ruby and sit for a minute, prompting one boy to say, "Boy, the new girl is really popular!" LOL! 

I was told the older kids really look out for the little ones. The kids range from 3-5 so the youngest learn from the older ones. Great concept and I can see how Ruby learns from watching my nephew and other friends kids who are a little older. The place is so charming, too. It's a little red barn schoolhouse and not more than a mile from our house. It's got a nice playground outside and a big barn building behind it where they do gym and music and other activities. For 8 weeks in the winter they even do yoga! I was thrilled to find this out! They also have music, French, art, and multi-cultural studies - even at the preschool level. Not sure about another language, but I guess she will have English pretty well down by next September. The classes are small and the teachers stay with the same kids for a few years forming a bond with the kids. I just love it!

Poor Baby!

Today we had to get the last dreaded shots. We have 2 boosters yet, but I'm going to go back twice for them so we can do the mist. I just can't bare to see her get another shot for awhile. The nurses thought it would be a great idea to double up and each take an arm to get it over with quick. Seemed like a great idea at the time, but it REALLY freaked Ruby out. She was screaming and sobbing like I have never seen. I cried, too. So hard to watch her in pain and wondering why and of course, there is no way I could explain WHY she was being tortured. It was just awful!!! She pulled an arm away and got stabbed in the palm by one of the needles about to go in her arm. How she managed to wriggle it away from all 3 of us I just don't know.It happened so quickly. It wasn't a deep stab or anything and they were not concerned, but I think that is the most sore cause she is still nursing it a bit and gives to me and Grandma (who is visiting) for kisses. Poor little thing. Gave her a special treat - raisins and gummy snacks - and she is cuddling with Grandma watching Sesame Street. Going to stay in on this rainy day and have a fun, but relaxing day for her after all the trauma of the morning. Maybe make some more cookies this afternoon. My brother Jason is bringing Ryan over for a play date and dinner tonight.  Good remedy for shots: lots of love, coddles, treats, and play time. Okay, yea, we do this every day (minus the gummies) but today...even more!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

This morning I dunked Ruby's toast crust (which always ends up on my plate) into my coffee without thinking. The cute little miss then picked up her toast and dipped it in her carrot juice! The look on her face was hilarious - like, yuk! Why do you do this, Mommy??? The carrot juice piece then ended up on my plate as well. :-)

New Words/Foods/Experiences

Words: She actually said "thank you" for the first time - unprompted - on Thanksgiving day! I handed her a pretzel in the car and she said it. Good thing I was in the car with my seat belt on or I would have fallen off my chair! She had repeated it a few times when I said it but I never knew she knew how to use the word.  Now she says it often if I hand her something. Other new words include: "there you go", okay, hooray, and come on. She actually said "Come on Max" yesterday morning to our cat to get him to come have his treats! She loves to feed and give treats to the cat and dog. Learning more animal sounds, too, and "ee-i" (Old MacDonald) continues to be her favorite song along with "If your Happy and You Know it". She does all the right parts to it and I just have to get it on video soon.

New foods she's tried recently: turkey (but doesn't like gravy), pancakes (but not syrup), cereal, granola, salad with ginger dressing, edamame (she's not sure about this one), salmon, pears, peaches, raisins, milk, oatmeal cookies, and sunflower butter. Getting more adventurous but we still stick to mainly fruit, veggies, toast, eggs (in am) and rice, noodles, soup, or pasta for dinners with veggies and chicken. Sometimes fish. We found out that almost anything mixed with rice will work for her. Must be a texture thing. She also loves carrot/ginger soup. Yum. So do I!

New experiences: She saw snow for the first time on Saturday. I must say she wasn't overly impressed. Kind of stared in wonder for a minute and then was like, okay, let's go downstairs and play now! When we get a big snow that lays and she can play in it, maybe that will be a different story! We decided to stay in all day yesterday and it was so nice. We did a big pan of roasted veggies with roasted chicken for dinner (mixed with rice and chicken stock for Ruby). Before dinner, Ruby and I made oatmeal cookies together. She was so cute and very proud of herself as we worked side by side. She took such pride in each step and especially liked licking the spoon! (I must add here that I am having camera withdrawal as I left my camera at my Mom's last weekend! Missed so many shots this weekend! Luckily, Mom is coming for a visit tomorrow and is bringing it). 

Anyway, we gave her a couple cookies after dinner with some milk and she liked it. She hadn't had cold milk in a cup before, but the lure of dunking a cookie in it must have made it too exciting to resist! I made the cookies with half whole wheat flour and must admit they could have been better. May try a different type tonight. But, still, the experience of baking cookies with my daughter and then all 3 of us decorating the tree was just immeasurable. Lots of wonderful new experiences this weekend! Birthday party, bounce-house, snow, baking, Christmas tree...good stuff!

Weekend Highlights

Gonna have to bullet point cause there is no time for my usual ramblings today!

- Took Ruby on a horse drawn hayride at Shady Brook Farms Friday evening and it was sooo magical! They do a spectacular drive or ride-through holiday light show. Went with our good friends Kimi & Chris and their 2 kids. A good time was had by all!

-Afterwards, we went to a Japanese steak house for hibachi. It was both fun and delicious and Ruby ate like she hasn't seen food for 2 months. LOL! The kid really likes her Asian dishes!  Time to dust off those cook-books and get serious with my Asian recipes!

- Got my contract in for the Disney project and the VP actually wrote a personal note saying he loved the vocals and my song and..."let's make it a Disney classic!" Woa. This is a guy with 14 Grammy nominations (and 2 wins) under his belt. Pretty cool words to read! I find it both hilarious and ironic that I worked all my life to be this big star and tried to sing like everyone else. I tried everything and sang pop, R&B, country, gospel, blues, and jazz.  Now when it's not so important and I'm just singing with my God-given 16 year old sounding voice I get a deal! Ha! Hey, it's all good and I guess the lesson here is to always be yourself no matter what. Only took me 40 years to figure out! :-)

- Got a Christmas tree and the trimming is underway!

-Went to our first kids birthday party at an indoor gym-type place called Bouncing Off The Walls. Our friends Charlsey & John did a combined b-day party for their kids, Logan & Ava. It was a lot of fun and Ruby was brave and went right in the bouncy thing and climbed up the psuedo slide. She's not a fan of pizza and didn't eat any so I let her eat some cake. Yea, not a great idea. She was rather wired from both the sugar and all the activity, so next time I think I will feed her lunch BEFORE we go to a birthday party. Still, it was a great time and a fun, fun weekend.

-Today we are having a lazy morning decorating the tree, followed by a Christmas parade in a nearby town this afternoon if she is up from her nap by then.

Fun weekend!

Barbie To The Rescue!

We had a good day in the studio. As is always the case, it took longer than expected. We were there about 3 hours. Daddy was just great with her and she did so well. But, also as expected, she was NOT thrilled when I had to shut the door between us to go in the sound room and record. She burst into tears the first time, so I let her come in and hang out with me while we did a sound check and "auditioned" a few mics for the best sound. I was wondering how we were going to get a good vocal and keep her feeling happy and safe at the same time when Jeff popped in her favorite movie - Barbie as the Island Princess. (Shame on me! It should have been a Disney movie, right?) But hey,  it's her favorite movie and she was glued. Afterwards, she played nicely and ate lunch with Daddy and forgot I was in the other room for awhile. We were able to get the first vocal done, email to Disney, then re-do it with a few different approaches...and then finally finish. 

I am on pins and needles waiting to hear from them and see if they liked it. They had a session in LA and probably won't get back to me until later. They originally asked me to sing it like my lullaby CD version - very soft and whispery. But when they heard it with the new lyrics and music they decided it needed to be more pop. So we did 5 more takes for them and sent it off for them to decide. At least 2 of the takes I was real happy with so they have plenty to work with. At least I hope so! Ruby napped almost an hour on the ride there and an hour on the way home. She is a happy camper right now playing with Daddy. I was so anxious about leaving her for so long, but the time in the studio served to be a great bonding time with Jeff and also good for her to leave my side and know I can go away for a short time but will always come back. So it was a good day and now we are back home and snuggling in for a cozy night. I'm actually glad we have no schedule tomorrow. Nothing for Ruby to do but be a kid and play with her toys. The only thing we have planned is dinner with our friends and their kids and a drive through Shady Brook Farms Christmas light display. Should be a nice start to the weekend!

*Special note: BIG CONGRATS TO NANCY & JOHN LEAVING TOMORROW FOR THAILAND AND TERRI & CHRIS WHO LEAVE IN 6 DAYS!!!! BEAUTIFUL BABES FRANK & MIA ARE COMING HOME!!! GOOD LUCK IN THAILAND! HAVE AN AMAZING TIME!

I Heart Disney!

For all of those Christmas shopping, the Disney store is having a MAJOR sale. Buy one get one free on all of their toys. I saved a fortune and got GREAT gifts. But that's not the only reason I love Disney...

I woke up at 3:30 this morning to Ruby snuggling close. She is so sweet I can hardly stand it. Just want to scoop her up and give her hugs and kisses, but then, alas, I remember it's the middle of the night. I hold her close until she falls back into a deep sleep. So precious are these moments!

Once I am up, the brain starts working OT and I think I just need to check my email for some reason. I guess I was hoping for another email from Disney since we are recording tomorrow and I still didn't know what I was getting paid and had no contract. Sure enough, it was there! An email from the VP of A&R for Disney Records himself. The contract was sent! I should get my first song publishing contract from Disney in the mail today! Woo-hoo! They also let me know my pay for recording the vocals and that will be separate and paid right away. Just in time for Christmas! Pretty. Darn. Cool. Now if I can just get back to sleep so I am in good voice! 

I am excited, but also a tad nervous about Jeff having to occupy Ruby for 2 hours in the studio. She's pretty good, but I'm hoping she doesn't get upset when Mommy locks herself in the other room (sound room) to record. You can see through the glass and hear me so maybe she will be okay. We'll see, I guess! They have a TV in the waiting area so I'm hoping we can pop a movie in to distract her for a bit. That should help. My uncle Bob is the engineer and real excited to meet Ruby. He's going to bring his DVD player in just in case the studio's isn't there or working. Also, we have a Music Round class in the morning which I am making sure we don't miss before we go. Want her to have a fun morning and the dancing usually makes her nap good... which is what I am hoping she will do in the car. Wish us luck! Should be a fun day!

A HUGE hug and thank you to my Uncle Kevin in LA who passed my music on to his friends at Disney! Love you! A million thanks!!!

Sparkle Plenty!

A cute little phrase my Gram used to say. And she loved sparkle. Whether she meant it for her spic and span house or the beads on her sweater, she was a glammy grammy and just a doll. I think of her often. Not surprisingly, a lot when I am cleaning. Yesterday Jeff and I tore the house apart during Ruby's nap to make room for the tree. We put the bakers rack in the dining room and put the wine cabinet from the living room into the kitchen in it's place. We rearranged the living room, cleaned, and took down all the fall decorations to make way for the Christmas ones. The place is starting to shine for the holidays! I just love it. So excited for the holidays this year! Ruby looked around quizzically when she got up, but without much care as she ran for her toys and to the TV for her favorite show: The Wonder Pets. She actually tried to sing the song the other day and says Ming-ming. It's so cute! 

We (finally) started our Christmas shopping yesterday, too. Jeff ran out and picked up a few things while I shopped online before Ruby got up. Christmas is underway at our house! Hooray! We got Ruby the Wonder Pet fly boat, my brother is getting her the school house, and we got a play set from Jeff's cousins Matt & Becky and their 2 sweet boys. We also ordered her a kitchen. It's so cool and has double ovens, washer, laundry basket, microwave, sink, clock, phone, pots, pans, and a storage cabinet. It also matches the kitchen which makes me happy since it will be the first thing you see when you walk in the house for the next few years. We are getting one from my cousin Angie (which is SO nice of them) but since we wanted this one originally, we decided we will keep the other one for Grandma's house. Ruby loves kitchen play so we are thrilled she can do this at my mom's house, too. Here's a picture of it:

Our kitchen is yellow with red and green accents and because I am just so particular and matchy, I'm going to paint (with non-toxic paint) all the blue parts the same shade red as the drawers. It's gonna look way cute and give her hours of fun! Can't wait to see her face!

Today we will put up the lights, garland, and maybe get a tree. It's gonna be sparkling plenty around here...and wait till we start the outside! Daddy's making big plans and quite frankly, I'm afraid. LOL!