Bug-Free, Fun-Filled Christmas

I'm happy to report that the stomach bug was gone by Christmas. George had a mild case on the 23rd and it passed Ruby by completely!

So, Christmas was wonderful! Oma and Opa spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with us. We had some added excitement when the power was out for about an hour on Christmas Eve, just after dark. We thought maybe we'd have to cook dinner by candlelight, but the power came back on in time. 

Miles slept later than usual on Christmas morning. He came in to get us out of bed around 7:30. He didn't seem to remember that it was Christmas! We had to remind him that we had put cookies and milk out for Santa (and cheese for Santa Mouse) the night before and we suggested he go check to see if Santa had come. He was bit scared that Santa might still be downstairs, so he said he wanted some adult company. So we all went downstairs, and only Oma and Opa were there, waiting for us. Ruby was still sleeping so George got her out of bed at 8:00. 

She was thrilled to find a toy tree frog in her stocking and became quite attached to it. Her Opa gave her a beautiful rocking horse, which Miles and his friends will take care of while she's grows into it. She didn't get around to opening all her presents until late afternoon. At one point she climbed over the wrapped boxes to reach some books on the bookcase. She never misses an opportunity to crawl into someone's lap with a good book. She got several new books, but seems especially interested in those featuring Big Bird or Elmo lately. 

Miles was most excited about his space shuttle toy. He played with it all day and even posed for a picture with it, voluntarily! You'll also see Ruby sitting with Oma, admiring her sparkly new jewelry.

It was a fun morning and a great day. 

Winter is Here

Jack Frost is definitely back from vacation. It was 7 degrees outside on Monday morning. 

Miles woke up crying Sunday night from a bad dream. While George went to calm him I worried that he was dreaming of autobots fighting decepticons. He watched way too many hours of Transformers on his video machine in the car on our trip the weekend! But the dream was about a birthday party, of all things. He said he dreamed that all his friends left his birthday party before they had a chance to eat cake or open presents and that they didn't say good-bye. Is this one of those classic dreams, like being naked in public or not knowing which class you have next in high school? It was completely out of the blue--strange!

I'm getting back to this entry that I started earlier. It's now Tuesday night, and we're in the midst (those hopefully on the tail end) of a stomach flu. George and I went out to dinner last night with friends and I started feeling sick around 9:00. I threw up around 11, and then a few more times overnight. We thought it was food-related, until Miles threw up this afternoon, twice, and took a nap! This is highly unusual and a sure sign that he wasn't feeling well. He has only ever once been sick this way before, when he was around Ruby's age. He seems to have his appetite and energy back already though, and I started feeling better this morning. So it's quick, but whew--not fun! 

The kids have runny noses again, after a nice respite from all that blowing and wiping. I was just thinking how healthy we've all been for the past few weeks. Here we go again!

By the way, we had a great visit with George's family in Ohio over the weekend. Miles loved playing with his cousin Ella. Ruby loved all the toys, and attention! We brought home some fun new toys too. 

Jack Frost's Vacation

We enjoyed being outside today with no one nipping at our noses! There was snow covering the ground this morning, but it was sunny and warm enough that Ruby didn't mind when her mittens fell off and she was playing in the snow with bare hands. It was kind of a strange day. We played in the snow and walked to the playground this morning, collecting ice along the way in a sand bucket, and this afternoon Ruby and I raked the leaves in the backyard. I hadn't gotten around to this chore due to our busy fall, cold weather, and intermittent snow. The leaves were wet and heavy but I was so happy to be outside and not freezing that I didn't mind. 

Most of the photos are of Ruby. Miles just doesn't stand still long enough for pictures! 

We went to our friends' annual cookie party yesterday, where everyone brings, bakes, or decorates cookies to share. Miles loved the decorating, and eating his creations. He and George did some more cookie baking today, along with a few other household projects. The forecast says one more day of warmer weather before Jack Frost returns. 

Christmas Tree! Santa! Snow! Oh My!

Well, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. We've had snow on the ground again and today is sunny and bright. Ruby met Santa at the mom's club party on Monday. I added the photo of her with Santa last year too. What a difference a year makes! 

 We got a tree on Tuesday night, put it on the red dresser in the living room window, and decorated it on Wednesday. She likes to reach up to try to tug on the ornaments on the lower branches. We did lose a few decorations--one Christmas tree ball that Ruby got a hold of while I wasn't paying attention, and the donkey to the nativity scene. I thought they wouldn't break but quickly learned otherwise! 

Miles looked out yesterday and said it looked like a "frosty village." He's excited for Christmas and for the holiday party at school next week. They've been practicing their songs to surprise us with. 

At home we've been playing Cinderella and Prince (George is the Royal Messenger). He came in this morning and woke me (Sleeping Beauty) with a kiss. He also loves the Wall-E book I got from the library. He takes it to bed with him and we find him later with the book open on his pillow and Miles curled up just below it. 

Do we Dare to Decorate?

I'm waiting until this weekend to get out the Christmas decorations, and wondering how we'll handle it with our little climber/grabber running around. Ruby is definitely learning how to extend her reach! Miles often drags a dining room chair into the kitchen to stand at the island and help cook or watch while we cook. The big chairs are too heavy for Ruby but she can move the little ones and has learned how to use them as step-stools. She can also climb up onto the big chairs to reach just about anything on the dining room table. So our "Ruby-free" zone has been diminished! The mantel will be safe for some decorations, and I may get out the durable nativity, even though she'll probably scatter the pieces, and draw on them if she gets a chance. I'm going to have to limit her coloring to the highchair since she's developed the habit of roaming with a (washable) marker in hand and scribbling on random objects. She hasn't touched the walls (yet) but she has decorated a refrigerator magnet, her highchair, the floor, and scraps of paper she finds lying around. 

The tree is another concern. We're thinking a table top version may be best. Any suggestions?

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving weekend is finally over. As you can see, we had a big bird (20lbs!) for our feast and only four mouths to feed. We enjoyed the turkey sandwiches though and I put 2 bags of turkey in the freezer, and at least a quart or 2 of broth. The weekend was relaxing but also a bit nerve-wracking at times. We spent a lot of time at home over the last four days, and Miles seemed to be talking nearly the whole time! We did get out for some fun distractions. On Friday morning, while George was at work, I took the kids to the mall. We didn't get there until about 11 and it wasn't much busier than usual, although we did have to wait in line at the bathroom. Miles and Ruby both enjoy the play area right now and some friends came to meet us there. George and Miles did some more shopping Friday afternoon. They also went swimming at CMU on Saturday and I took the kids to the Science Center this morning with friends Barbara and Andy.  It was a nice break but I'm glad that school starts again tomorrow, and that the babysitter will be coming back at regular intervals. We all miss her!

In all of Miles' chatting, he has picked up some new expressions. One of his favorites is "Check this out." He's also using "you're kidding" and "I tell you, Daddy..." We've been talking a lot about Christmas and Santa lately too. He wrote a note to Santa to tell him his wish for Christmas morning. We took it to the special mailbox at Macy's today, since he's not sure he wants to greet Santa in person. 

He has worked out some new techniques too, like his "Room-meter" which lets him look out the window to see if it's a good night for a star walk, or if movie night would be a better choice. He definitely keeps us guessing with his imaginative musings and attempts to figure out the world. 

Ruby Time

One of the great things about Miles' preschool schedule this year is that Ruby and I get a lot of girl time. Sure, she misses him while he's away, but it gives me a chance to focus on her instead of just making sure she survives her big brother's enthusiastic play. She loves the phone and has easy access to it on the 3rd floor. Miles was always freaked out by noisy things, but she's attracted to them, including the buttons on the phone and her baby's cry. She signs "phone" when she hears it ring and loves to pretend to talk on any phone she can get her hands on. She also signs "baby," "more" (which means "I want that!"), "cracker," "milk," and she made up a sign for "out." She gets excited when anyone gets ready to go out, and runs for her coat and shoes. 

She's still holding out on saying "dada" but she is trying to speak more words. She says "Bye Bye" sometimes (waves more readily). We think she tried to say "pig" today, and she makes sounds that simulate "here you go." She hears that one a lot!

It's a sunny Thanksgiving Day in Pittsburgh and our turkey's in the oven. Ruby's napping (I think) and George and Miles are playing a game. I'm thankful for some quiet time!

  

Birthday, parts 1 through 4

We celebrated Miles' 4th birthday so many times he should be at least 8 by now! Birthday no.1 was with my family at the cabin. Aunt Erika made him an awesome race track cake with a real Lightning McQueen on top! We took a day off after that weekend so George could attend a meeting in Arlington. Oma and Opa came along and we visited the Air and Space Museum near Dulles on Monday afternoon. Miles loved the space wing, which has a space shuttle and he readily recognized the Mars rover. The following Wednesday was his actual birthday, which he celebrated at school, then with friends at home, and finally with a special dessert after dinner and lots of great presents. 

Four of our closest friends came for his cooking party. The decorated chef hats and aprons and made loaf-pan lasagnas to take home. Then we decorated cupcakes and opened presents. There was also a spontaneous drawing craft and lots of playing with his new stuff. We're still working on the thank-you notes. I can tell you that Miles is so thankful for all his great friends and family and really couldn't have wished for a better birthday, times four!

PJ Weekend

We had an uneventful weekend, mostly at home. On non-school days when we don't have morning plans, Miles has gotten into the habit of keeping his PJs on as long as possible--until I can coax him into getting dressed to go somewhere. And since he's been getting up so early, we've gotten into the habit of letting him start his day with  TV. He's been waking up between 5:30 and 6:00 (I think--I try not to notice the time--I just give him a snack and get him set with a video or PBS and get back to bed until Ruby wakes up.) Ruby looks for him as soon as she's up. And she's learned that lately she needs to climb up to the 3rd floor to find him. I got these pics this morning of her on the way, and sitting with him (for a few seconds) to watch the screen. She's not into TV yet....but will try to sit near him when he's still.  

I don't know that he's learned much from his hours of "educational programming" but he has started using phrases like "educational programming" (or some approximation of it) and "WQED Pittsburgh" and he knows all about "PBSkids dot org."

It's not ideal, but it's working for us at the moment. Hopefully he'll get back to waking at a more reasonable time. I'm pretty sure he won't tire of his new TV routine though! 

Spidey and Friends

Miles, as a somewhat timid Spiderman, took to the street last night in search of candy. We played with silly string "webbing" at home, but didn't shoot it at any neighbors. Ruby and I handed out candy from the front porch, greeting neighbors as they passed by, and then went to a few houses ourselves. Then we all met up, and met friends, including another Spiderman, for a short visit to a party in the next block. The weather was perfect and we all had a fun night.

Scary Morning

I had quite the fright this morning--Miles was up at 6:30! Ruby quickly caught on and wanted to get up too, around 7. Miles was surprised when it started to get light outside. He was expecting it to

 be Halloween (meaning nighttime) all day. He wore his costume to school this morning, but wasn't as excited as I thought he'd be. He seemed a little worried about people thinking he was really Spiderman.

Last Sunday we took a family outing to the trolley museum and Trax Farm. Miles loved sitting on the old tractor at the farm, riding a John Deere trike, and climbing over the pumpkin pile. 

Changing Hues

You may notice, if you look closely, that our house has some new color! The painters finished up while we were away so we came home to a new look. You'll have to come see it in person when you get the chance.

The kids and I took a walk around the block this afternoon and Ruby walked a pretty good part of it herself. It was a beautiful day. 

We also went to the grocery store and they rode side-by-side in the car cart, at Miles' request. He assured me that he would beep the horn for her. She was thrilled to be so close to him for our tour through the aisles. It's been a busy, fun week. Ruby is making lots of different sounds now, including motor sounds for her cars, a word that sounds kind of like "ball" and occasionally "mama" and "dada."

I just noticed the sibling resemblance in these photos. Other people keep telling me that Ruby is starting to look more and more like her brother. Do you see it?

Home, Sweet Home

Camping on Saturday--Ruby was a scruffy ragamuffin in her multiple layers, with a layer of dust on top of everything else.

Miles shows off his hot chocolate mustache, and 

 the kids gather around the table for their morning meeting.

Here are some pictures from Wednesday, when we 

visited Tybee Island lighthouse. 

Our whirlwind tour came to a close yesterday, with a long last drive from Point Lookout State Park. 

We had a great time in Savannah and camping over the weekend. George spent Thursday morning at Georgia Tech's Savannah campus. He delivered his talk at noon and had lunch with his colleague from Maryland. The kids and I visited the Jepson Center, an art museum with interactive exhibits. They had a short program Thursday morning for 3-5 year olds. They talked about the black-and-white photos on exhibit and made a craft with black-and-white paper, glue, and decorations. Miles really liked the hands-on area, including a clear plexiglass wall we could draw on with markers. Ruby got hold of the markers too and soon gave herself a cute black beard and black fingers. Luckily it all washed off pretty easily. They also dressed up in the artistic costumes. (That's Ruby, sporting the Native American cloak.) These were the only pictures I took in Savannah--which is a shame because the city is so lovely. Besides our walk to a pizza place for dinner and to a candy store on Wednesday night, I was on my own with the kids and too occupied with them to get out the camera. 

After the art museum we took a trolley tour of the city and had some gelato. Since I didn't get to enjoy any chai lattes during the trip (we didn't visit a single coffee shop!), the chai latte gelato hit the spot. Miles really enjoyed riding the trolley and hardly asked any questions. The driver was doing the narration thing the whole time and he mostly just sat and listened. Ruby was wiggly though, and hard to contain. After the ride we headed back to the hotel for her nap. Miles and I ate the leftover pizza and I packed up our stuff for another road trip. 

We drove to Wilson, NC and stayed there Thursday night (after a late dinner at Cracker Barrel). And guess where we had breakfast on Friday? Another Cracker Barrel, a few hours down the road. 

We made it to Richmond by noon on Friday, to visit Darin and Jen and meet their new baby.  We stocked up on wine at Costco and groceries for the weekend. It was rainy, and although we were all set to camp that night...all our friends called and said they wouldn't be at the campground until Saturday. Luckily we were still in Richmond and our  friends immediately offered up their guest room. Miles had a great time playing with Evan and Jacob and we added one more destination to our road trip.

Saturday morning was cold but clear and we drove to Point Lookout for a fun day of hanging out with friends. Miles had quite a crew of kids around now and kept busy keeping up with them. Ruby had her first camping trip and handled it like a pro. She even napped in the tent in the afternoon, which was a rarity on Miles' early camping excursions. 

We weren't quite prepared for how cold it got on Saturday night. That sure made us appreciate those soft warm hotel beds! 

Savannah

Here are some pictures from yesterday, on the beach at Tybee. Miles and Ruby had a great time playing in the sand and chasing the seagulls.

We're at our hotel in Savannah now. So far we haven't seen anything except the hotel. Miles and George are at the pool and Ruby's napping. Miles is excited to ride a trolley later. He's been trying new foods on this trip. Monday he tried steamed shrimp and last night he had shrimp, crab, and mussels. He was easily convinced to try these "small creatures" after we assured him that they would be dead. George did the dirty work of peeling the shrimp and cracking the crab claws for him. He's excited to have a shellfish dinner with Opa and Grandpa sometime.
On our way off the island today we stopped at the lighthouse and walked up all 273 steps, 154 feet, to the top. It was a nice hike and Miles did very well. The view was spectacular. We've had great weather so far on this trip. No rain and just one windy day. We're hoping it holds up for our camping trip this weekend!
I don't think we've lost any more possessions....and Miles doesn't seem to miss his blanket. He's been so tired at bedtime though (and dinnertime for that matter) that he hasn't had a chance to miss it.

Road Trip

We made it! We arrived in Tybee Island, GA this afternoon and spent some time on the beach before dinner. It is very windy but otherwise lovely. We're staying in a hotel on the beach and we have a 2-room suite, so the kids are sleeping next door while George and I enjoy some quiet time.
We stayed in Charlotte last night, and seem to have lost 2 items already--a ball we were playing with at the pool that got sucked into the filter, and Miles' treasured blanket. He went to bed without it (accepting one of Ruby's blankets as a substitute), so hopefully that won't be too painful.
Miles and Ruby both enjoyed playing in the sand. Miles was very clear that he didn't want to get in the ocean, and Ruby approached it with her usual enthusiasm, but fell backwards into the ripples and got a little wary. The pool here is too cold, even for Miles, but I'm sure we'll find plenty of things to do.
The drive was better than I expected. Miles has had some long days (no sleeping in the car for him, even at 6am yesterday when we left home) but he's happy to watch his videos. Ruby slept, played, and snacked in the back seat with me. She's adored everywhere we go and is feasting on the attention as usual.

October, Already?

Much to my dismay, the signs of Fall are here. At least one person in this house had been sneezy, stuffy, coughing, or sniffly for the past three weeks, but everyone seems to be healthy again. Ruby learned to "blow" at the sight of a tissue, whether it's coming at her face or not. I also noticed that my hands have taken on that cold-weather look with a fine cast of white, dry skin. Thanks to all the hand-washing or just the cold dry weather. Time to stock up on a good hand cream and chocolate, to boost serotonin and combat seasonal affective disorder!
Our upcoming road trip will at least offer some respite from the cooler temps. We're headed to Charlotte on Sunday, Tybee Island on Monday, and Savannah on Wedenesday. Then we'll be driving back north to meet friends for a camping trip in Maryland on Friday. I have a feeling that we'll be exhausted when we get home--at least George and I will be!
Miles is excited for vacation, and curious about our destination. He knows what a savannah is--the wide open grassland, and seems to think that "Georgia-Savannah," as he calls it, may be similar. He asked me yesterday if there would be restaurants there, since it's just a wide open space, with lots of sand. He'll be in for a nice surprise I think, but he may be disappointed not to see wild animals wandering around.

I've tried to post short videos here but there seems to be a glitch. Photos will have to do for now.
I caught a rare moment of Ruby and Miles "dancing" on the porch. I think he was really just trying to get her out of his way, but it became an improv dance step.
Ruby loves to be outside and we take frequent strolls on our block. She also loves to sit in the Jeep and "vroom." We store it under the back porch and one day she crawled into it while it was still under there. I heard her thump her head under the porch floor when I stepped out from the kitchen. She's determined to have her way--nothing stops her.