And thus it begins....

A tale of a Princess and her Prince...and two cute sisters...

So we have been having playdates with another sweet lil' family that has a daughter Bailey with the same extra special chromosme as the Doobers who is only a month older....well...Miss Bailey boo has a older brother.  Do you see where this is going??  Ella Mae informed me the other day on the way over to our playdate (after squealing with delight when I told her we had a playdate with Taylor) that she was going to "wave her magic princess wand" and she was going to be a princess and Taylor was to be a prince!!  She said it with such enthusiasum and determination that I would not have been suprised if it actually happened once we arrived at thier house...it is also not like she has forgotten about her "magic wand" since then either.  I was asking her tonight after reading her bedtime book what kind of birthday party she wanted...to which she replied "a princess party " (big shocker)...and then she added "and Taylor's gonna be my prince"....

GEEZ..does it have to begin so soon?? It is so stinkin' cute though it kills me...I wish I could take a picture of her face when she says his name, or if I even mention it.  It is like this excitement she can't contain..yet shy look she gets....It makes me soak up and cherish every moment more with Ruby because I realize how fast they grow up!  I was thinking the other day about how at  Ruby's age now, Ella Mae was about 2 weeks away from walking...I wanted it so bad with Ella...and since then she has been a torpedo!  I am quite alright with the Rubinators pace..she will get there when she gets there and I will soak up every moment and spread my peacock feathers with every lil' triumph. Although someday I am sure she will find her "Prince"...and I will be sayin' the same thing..and thus it begins.....

Happy Monday Ya'll and luv to the homey's!!

Silence..and a little bit of the "Lord of the Flies"...

Let's just kick off this blog post with a lil' of this...............

So "silence" in the house when Ella Mae is around usually means she is up to something...for instance, she was silent for a few moments the other day and I went looking for her and she had a tube full of lotion and had lathered herself (among other things in the room) to the point where she was so slippery I reached to help her up and could not get a grip on her, and she fell (giggling all the way) back on her "bootie".  Long periods of silence usually mean extra trouble-making...but sometimes it is just worth it to have a few un-interupted moments.....so when I was feeding the "Rubinator" to sleep a few nights ago, enjoying a few one-on-one silent, quiet moments with her as she drifted into la-la land.....I knew my "payback" was coming.  I heard her calling my name and when I pulled the curtain to the back porch..........

It felt slightly "Lord of the Fly" ish to me...as I mentioned before, they do alot of exploratory play at her new school..so in her eyes this was just slightly "normal". She came home the other day from school and it was as if someone had dunked her from the thighs down in a vat of green paint.  I can't fault her..I mean, I left the finger paints there just begging to be, well..finger-painted.  Needless to say we had a good laugh about it and gave her a good scrubbing!  Not so funny when the "silence" led to marker on the wall yesterday...you win some you lose some...

It's finally not so hot, so Ella Mae, her BFF from the culde, and  Ruber Doobers decided to plant a few things from seeds to bring some color to the culde...

Cousin Courtney  brought it "old school" and loaned us her VCR (yes they do still exist!) and a bunch of Disney movies. You completely forget how good we have it these days until you are waiting 20 minutes for a tape to rewind...ridiculous!  Anywho...one of Ella's new fave things is to gather her "family" to watch...

even Captain Bananas and Biscuit wanted to watch "Lady and the Tramp"


We have been missin' our Sunday morning bike rides to Maudies for breakfast and down to the park  cuz we didn't have a melon protector for   Ruby-kins (new nick-name from g-ma)......she has such an itty bitty nogin to boot, but I finally found what I was lookin' for today (10 bucs on Craigslist..new in box..SCORE!!)   She had fun..but ultimately this was the end result.....

She has been rockin' it in the eating department...even started drinking from a straw today!  WOOT! WOOT!  It is really good for her oral motor skills to be able to do that..baby steps!  Here are a few pics from a typical eating session

you can see her tooth!

she has a second chomper coming in next to the other one!

Her second chomper came in today next to the other one on the bottom..she is feeding herself just about anything you put in front of her!  (taking after her mama :))

That's all for now folks!  Happy Monday!!

Hide and Seek...sort of

So one of Ella Mae's favorite games is "hide and seek".....or her own special version.  She tells you to count to ten and she will go hide in a pre-determined place that she has already announced.  When your counting is up and you head to "find" her..you can't just go directly to the spot that you know she is comfortably tucked away (usually under some blankets or banklets as she calls them) in her or our beds...you have to say something like "Where is Ella?  Is she in the closet??  NOO..she 's not in the closet...is she in the bathroom??  NOO..she's not in there...under the bed??....you get the idea.  If you go directly to her she will correct you and make you dance through all the hoops to find her.

I was actually invited to "hide" with her yesterday.  We both snuggled under the covers, awaiting daddy coming to tickle our toes..she kept saying " shhh....be quiet" in her sweet lil' whisper....we were nose to nose..I could feel her anticipation and excitement. I realized I kinda like her version of  "hide and seek".   I am hoping to be "asked back" again.

The Rubinator  is still killin' it..she has two new fave things...playing "ride that pony" on your knee...she really gets that momentum goin' and starts gigglin'....too cute.  Our neighbor Ron (he has no youngin's) gave us an old wagon that was never used that the "culde crew" was eyeballin'...it just sat on his porch lonely as can be..until the other day he was cleanin' some stuff out and brought it by.....

           

She is the laughinest lil' lady on the block..so easy to please!  Ella Mae pulls her around the culde and down to the mailbox...although Ruby Doobs gets a bigger kick out of it when sister actually gets in there and rides with her...I can see why after my "hide and seek" snuggle with "sister"...both my ladies are infectious and (in the words of Depeche Mode)...I JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH...

LUV TO THE PEEPS AND MY HEART AND THOUGHTS GO OUT TO ANYONE AFFECTED BY THE FIRES AND I AM REMEMBERING ALL THE AMAZING STORIES AND PEOPLE FROM SEPTEMBER 11....WE ARE ALL STRONGER THAN WE THINK!    I TRULY BELEIVE THESE EXPERIENCES BRING US TO OUR  HIGHEST POTENTIAL AS HUMAN BEINGS.......   LUV LUV LUV!!!                            

Wordless Wednesday...

Another addition of WORLESS WEDNESDAY..

The above photo is how my ladies come home from school...proof they are havin' fun :)

Seriously folks....

More smiles...

Nuff said!

This was taken after we put the bumbo chair in the wagon and Ella Mae pulled her around the culde...nice easy ride put  her into snoozeville...wish I could still sleep like that!! More when this mama has some time!

The "Rubinator"...

That's one of the newest nicknames I have come up with recently..because she is just killin' it!  Everyday she just shows me what she is made of and it amazes me. I love going to the grocery store (or anywhere really)with her, I usually wear her in the moby wrap where she is looking outward...just the sheer joy on the peoples faces as they walk by and see her sweet face, her smiling sweet face. I know she is bringing joy to thier hearts as she does to ours every minute!  Luv to the peeps!!

A charmed life.....

We just go back from a vacation (yes...we went on TWO vaca's this summer)....we went to the beach in San Diego and drove up to Long Beach to see an old (not in years old) friend get hitched.  It was everything in a wedding I would have imagined Ms Margie Lavender to have...stylish and creative, but my favorite part was getting to see the homey's once again...and my more favorite part..showin' off my girls.  They are such bright lights in any room.  Ella Mae just makes you chuckle with the things that come out of her mouth, and Ruby Doobs...oh that sweet Ruby Doobs...there is nothin' quite like that flash of a smile or that lil' laugh, or just hearing her in the morning wake up so sweetly and start chatting away.  I imagine she is trying to tell us of her dreams she had the night before...dreaming of pulling herself up to stand alone, picking up her finger foods and stuffing them into her mouth with precision..playing barbies with her sister (or maybe that is what Ella Mae is dreaming :))...these things that I know she will acomplish in her own time. 

I have been trying to do a little running on my "mommy walks" recently.  Let me get one thing straight..I HATE to run...with every fiber of my being..I HATE IT!  But one day I was thinking about my girls on my walk...thinkin' that I hope one day they are proud of me..thinkin' that I want to be in shape and healthy so I can be in their lives as long as possible....and sure enough..next thing you know...I was running (ok..lets be honest..jogging..slowly).  It's not like I ran(jogged) for very long...but each time I run (jog slowly) for a little bit longer.  All I have to do is start thinking about my ladies..and sure enough..I stand taller, my shoulders straighten, I breath deeper...and I am inspired to move a little faster(which really isn't that fast).  Thinking of them is like putting on "Billy  Jean" by Micheal Jackson...my head starts to bob....my motivation rises...and next thing you know...I'm doin' it...I am puttin' one foot in front of the other a little faster with each step. Literally the thought of Ruby Doobs makes my confidence level shoot up.. like Ella Mae shooting the paper cover off a straw that has been opened only on one end by blowing on it (the hubby taught her that one at breakfast at Maudies...kinda annoying to all the people sitting around us...but a skill all must learn)..or at the "Rocket" exhibit at the Denver Children's Museum.  Ella got to build her own rocket and then put it on this thing that she pumped it up and shot it into the air..

Ella pumpin' it up..

Ella releasing her rocket creation..

                                       

pretty cool.....

                                              


I have realized that most people notice a difference in Ruby even though I don't see it any more..and I will talk about it with ANYONE who wants to listen and know more.  I want people to see what I see when I look at her...beauty, hope...inspiration.  Some people may peek in on my life and not feel the way I feel about it...that it is pretty darn perfect...a charmed life indeed...........

It is impossible to look at this pic and not crack a smile...just try!

                                     

Wordless Wednesday

So I am stealing "Wordless Wednesday" from another fellow Mommy blogger..there..I said it!  I have been so stinkin' busy I just haven't had the time or energy....BUT..I still have some wonderful faces to show off!

Ruby growing up to fast in grandmother's jewelry 

Biscuit and what the hubby calls "our new 1200 dollar kitty" hangin out

"The Rubster" livin la vida loca!

I mean really??  A match made in heaven...

Ella Mae sunscreenin' daddy up before a swim...great job Ella :)

Sister's first bath

                                               

It's all good in the hood down yonder!  Just had a huge shin' dig for the pip-squeak...more on that later!  luv and hugs to the homey's  :)