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.

Rain, Finally!

We woke up to the sound of rain this morning. Real, steady, serious rain. It has been a long time since we had a serious soaking. It didn't stop George from riding his bike, and towing Miles to school, and it didn't stop me from taking Ruby out for a stroll. I had planned to lead a fitness walk in the cemetery for the Mom's club. We do this about once a week but I've never had anyone show up before on a rainy day. So I was very excited to see Ann there with her 10-week-old girl. I hadn't met here before so we had plenty to talk about--especially because she's from Shepherdstown, West Virgina. Our wedding cakes came from the same little bakery! We had a nice walk and the rain let up pretty quickly.

It's been a busy week for me, work-wise, and we're getting ready for a little party tomorrow, and going to see Wicked tonight. 

Ruby is walking, walking, walking. I'll put some video up soon.

Go Speed Racer?

September is here but it still feels like summer. We're enjoying some hot weather--perfect pool days, except that the pool is closed. (Check out the video below from our last day at the pool.)  Miles and I spent some time outside this afternoon baking in the sun while he practiced bike-riding and roller-blading. Thank goodness for training wheels, because he's about as coordinated as I am when it comes to these things. Any athletic ability he may have is obscured by his timidity. Like his hero Lightening McQueen he loves to talk about how fast he can go and how he "likes speed," but when it's time to put foot to pedal he's overcome with concerns. He doesn't like to ride on "soft surfaces" or go downhill. He has trouble with the cracks and bumps in the sidewalk and (surprise, surprise) going uphill. Maybe it's all a plea for extra attention, but even when he's riding with friends on a flat paved surface his actual time spent moving while seated on the bike is pretty unimpressive. The rollerblades are new (thanks Rob and Erika) and the novelty has not worn off yet. He especially enjoys putting on his elbow and knee pads and helmet. Getting suited up for the great adventure. So far he's kept a pretty slow pace, more like walking than actual blading, but he says he likes "being on wheels" and being "off the ground." He caught a little speed coming down the driveway today and seemed to like the feeling. Boys, wheels, and speed are a natural combination I suppose. So far though, I don't think we have much to worry about with our little racer.

He has no worries about the water!

 

Ruby's 1st

Ruby turned one yesterday and we had a fun day celebrating. We made cupcakes in the morning, and pizza for lunch. Later we went out with the stroller to get balloons and visited the library. Miles and our babysitter Bridget decorated the cupcakes in the afternoon, and we had a small party after dinner with our friends Kim and Scott. Ruby enjoyed her mini-cupcake and smeared the frosting over her face and hair, just like one-year-olds are supposed to do. Miles enjoyed her gifts--we'll have to remind him to share the Disney princess mega blocks (thanks Aunt Lisa, Uncle Jay, and Ella) and Leap Frog guitar (thanks Kim and Scott) with his sister. I reminisced about her birth one year ago--all the time we waited for her, and then how she came so quickly that she was nearly born in the hospital corridor. I was glad to have a relaxing and fun day yesterday, compared to August 21, 2007!

Ruby two-step

If you're reading this you've been very patient waiting for a new blog entry! I've been busy but I caught some good video today and I wanted to share it. Ruby is trying out new behaviors to celebrate her 1st birthday on Thursday.

 As you can see, she is proud of herself. We're all looking forward to celebrating her big day.

Trail Miles, Ruby Too

Ruby and I joined George and Miles for their semi-regular Sunday morning bike ride today. It was her first time in the trailer and she seemed to enjoy it. I towed Miles in the old trailer and George towed Ruby in the fancy new one, which supported her very well.  We were also biking with our friend Chris and his 2 boys, in one trailer. They usually do a city loop but today we took the bikes, trailers, and kids' bikes to a rail-to-trail path. The kids rode around a bit while we got bikes and trailers set up, then we loaded them in and hit the trail. It was a nice wide flat crushed stone surface, along the river. Pretty easy riding, even with the trailer. We only did about 8 miles total, as the kids got a bit bored and antsy. Shifting the boys around for the return trip helped. I towed Miles and his friend Ethan and got to listen in as they discussed the weighty matters of reading, bike-racing, movies, hotels, and siblings. As they looked at the map Ethan asked Miles if he could read books. Miles, very matter-of-factly, said, "How I read is, I get my mom and dad to read to me, and that's how I gets lots of information." And of course he gets lots of information from his constant questions--it was fun for me to listen in as Miles queried his friend on various topics. Ethan tolerated it very well and gave some good answers too.