Living History

Here's a video clip from our trip to northern Michigan. We visited Fort Michilimackinac, which is on the south shore of the Straits of Mackinac, near where we camped. The Fort was built by the French in the early 1700s and and served as a supply post for fur traders. They do a great job of re-creating the time period and have lots of opportunities for participation. We wandered by while they were doing rifle training. As much as Miles loves playing with pretend guns, he got shy when the rifles were being handed out. Ruby stepped right up though! Everything went well until she realized she had been separated from mama.

Ruby Two

We celebrated Ruby's second birthday on Friday with cake, friends, balloons, and a few special drinks for the grown-ups. Ruby was excited to get out the Elmo party hats and she seemed to enjoy the presents too. She wasn't that interested in the cake (even though it was chocolate) but she was happy to have a Popsicle earlier in the day. She's been on quite a popsicle kick lately, and will declare just about any time of day "Popsicle time!"
Among her other 2-year-old tricks--screaming, sinking to the floor when she doesn't get her way, and bossing. She tells me to "stop it" when I sing to her, complete with her little palm out to me. Yesterday at the playground she told me to "sit on the bench" while she played on the slide with George and Miles. She can often be heard (by the neighbors I'm sure) saying "put it back!" (in reference to her comb) or "pick me up!" And "Ruby out!" is her favorite way to ask to be excused from the table, approximately one second after Miles is excused. She is quite loud, this one!

Catch-up Blog

I feel like I'm in summer limbo--having some time at home between trips. Our last trip was to York to visit with Oma, Opa, Kris and Kalea for 4 days, and our next trip is multi-stage, starting with 4 nights of camping with friends in northern Michigan. Much more preparation for that one! I'm dreading the 10-hour drive on Friday, but hoping the kids will stay occupied with the new DVDs from the library and the many small diversions I have ready for them (gift-wrapped too!)
In York, Ruby and Kalea did lots of Ring-around-the-rosie at home (and chase around the house), and Oma and Opa took us to Lake Tobias one day for a bus ride through the animal park. Miles liked feeding the animals right from the bus and he got up close and personal with the goats at the petting zoo. Opa also took us to see the new robots at the candy factory. Fun!

Back in Pittsburgh, Miles has been spending lots of time at Wil's house, three doors down. Yesterday we went down to visit but they weren't home. Then we tried 3 other friends on the street and 2 a few streets away. Miles and I walked around the neighborhood, then had popscicles on the porch, while Ruby and George napped. It was nice to spend some one-on-one time with him, just hanging out outside. When he is home during naptime I'm constantly reminding him to be quiet and he's constantly wanting me to get involved in his pretend play, which often involves pirates, fighting, flying on rocket ships, crashing, and firefighting. I find all this a bit tedious and will usually try to sneak away...which is futile of course! I'd much rather get out and take a walk around the neighborhood.
Ruby is always ready to go too, of course. Maybe she is like me in some ways after all! She's added some new words to her vocabulary, which I have not been diligently keeping track of as I did with Miles. But I can recall that she's started saying "fluffy" although not always applying it correctly. Yes, the duck in the book is fluffy, but mama's chin? I hope not. She also added "butt" (as in "baby butt," one of Miles' favorite insults) and "I don't want to" (in reference to getting dressed or going to bed, never to going in the car). She has a great appreciation for mamas and dadas and is always pointing them out in her books, whether they are people or animals. She is somewhat obsessed with Mickey Mouse and his clubhouse and will watch the same episodes over and over. (Not that she spends all day watching TV, just when I need to shower, cook, or maybe think.) She interacts with Mickey and friends, and she knows all the answers to his questions pretty well by now. She had been saying something I couldn't quite interpret, along


with a gesture of putting her hands over her mouth. I finally figured out she was trying to call "Oh Toodles" with her hands around her mouth, as Mickey does. Too bad the handy magic tool guy never shows up!

Ruby is Ready to Go!

Ruby is perpetually ready to go in the car. She doesn't say where she wants to go...anywhere will usually do. Here she is trying to convince her Daddy to get up and go.

space pillow

This is for Aimee--we made this video long ago (when Aimee moved to Chambersburg) and I recently started learning about editing and publishing these things. He was coached (can you tell?) and experimenting with various voices, so sounds kind of strange, and his on-camera persona needs some work! Maybe he can get some tips from Morgan. Miles is enjoying some quality time with Aimee again this summer and is in love with Baa-Baa all over again.
Thanks!

I Heart Pittsburgh

Although I rarely admit it, winters in Pittsburgh can be challenging--due more to the the gray skies than the cold or snow. The summers more than make up for those gray months though. The weather has been especially nice lately--cool at night, with low humidity, warm temps during the day, and lots of sunshine. With so many fun things to do, I fall in love with this town all over again every summer. This past weekend alone we took in the Regatta shows (man on wire!), science center (robo-world!), fireworks (multiple shows from one private vantage point!), classical music in the park, and the pool. Since Miles' school ended in May we have been to the zoo, aviary, Children's Museum, Kennywood, natural history museum, Phipps gardens, hiking in the parks, and to Heinz Hall for the symphony. (George and I were lucky enough to get tickets from friends.) The constant flow of free summer festivals, concerts, and movies--as well as the delicious summer produce, makes surviving the winter worthwhile. Of course, our annual trip to Florida in March helps too!
Miles is back to his "new school" for 3 days a week this month, so Ruby and I can get back into our routine of morning activities and afternoon rest. We took the stroller to school this morning and dropped him off at his new room, with a new teacher (another Emily!) and he was happy to be there, and to see his friend Mateo who he's been missing since the end of the school year. I'm enjoying the quiet of naptime!

Strong and Brave, and Jedi-like!

We spent last weekend at Oma and Opa's cabin in Pine Grove Furnace State Park. The Smouse family drove up from Richmond to join us and we had a great time hanging out with them. Miles espeically enjoyed the company of Evan and Jacob and he learned all about Bakugan, a game/toy with a culture all its own, a la Pokeman, but smarter. The boys were obsessed with their new Bakugan pieces and tried to educate us all on the various attributes of each one. Miles took it all in, and is currently wishing (or "urging" as he puts it) for his own set. Something new to look forward to!
We also enjoyed the beautiful weather and got outside to play at the lake and beach. On Sunday we all hiked the Pole Steeple trail to a spectacular vista overlooking Laurel Lake. Ruby and Katie rode in style in our Ergo packs and the boys hiked with surprising patience and stamina. Being at the top, Miles reported, made him feel "strong and powerful." Back at the bottom, he announced that the hike was fun, but that he's "not much of a hiker....more of a Jedi."
Ruby was getting tired, and tired of being confined. When I sat down at the peak she tried to climb out of the carrier. She seemed to be eyeing up those cliffs!