Friday, May 29, 2009

a long exhale at the end of a long day


Thursday started at 3:50am... that is when Andy got home from work.  Birds were chirping in the courtyard just outside our window.  I was excited too, but not as vocal as the birds.  Still sleepy.  Then June started to sing.  Baby singing is very sweet... even at 4:05am.  June and I bonded over morning milk.  She was congested and wiggly.  We bonded for a long time.
Alli and Ruby were playing in their room by 8:30am.  Maybe earlier.  They were speaking for the little princess figurines in their dollhouse.  The princesses were planning a party and redecorating and going to preschool and going on a walk...
Andy got a call at 8:50am.  Ten minutes before his alarm. 
I made oatmeal for breakfast.  I mixed flax seeds in it and topped it off with honey, fresh strawberries and raspberries and golden raspberries.  And milk.  Delicious.  Alli and Ruby emptied their bowls.
Ruby wore a dress that I made for her.  It is not quite done.  (Stay tuned for pictures).
We went to a book swap this morning.  On our way out the door, Ruby was determined to be the "leader," but instead of going left toward our car, she went right to the gate to the sidewalk.  The clanging of the gate made me look up from my key-fumbling and realized my 2-year-old was taking off down the sidewalk toward a busy street.  I dropped my keys, purse, bag o' books, and I quickly set June down (she was strapped into her car seat) and off I ran.  The five seconds of sprinting felt like forever... not because I am out of shape, but because I ran through every possible terrible outcome in my mind.  By the time I reached the gate and turned onto the sidewalk, Ruby was about 40 feet ahead of me running towards danger.  She looked back, and seeing that she was pursued Ruby was delighted and ran even faster.  I screamed for her to stop (and that scary-mom-voice came out).  I stylish woman crossing the street was watching my child run towards the road.  I could see that she was anticipating having to save the day.  A preschool class on the other side of the busy road was walking by... all those kids were obediently holding a rope which was being guided by their teacher.  All eyes were on Ruby... and on me, barreling down the sidewalk yelling and praying all the while.  I caught up with Ruby and snatched her up into my arms about six feet from the curb.  I don't know if she would have stopped.  The stylish lady smiled at me... she had turned her course toward us... just in case.  The preschool children watched with big eyes, marching behind their teacher.  Obediently.  Then the flood of emotion.  Part of me wanted to spank Ruby's little bottom then and there.  The other part of me was holding her too close for that.  But I scolded her... all the way to the book swap.  And I threatened a spanking.
We visited friends today.  I got two new books to read.  I picked up toys off the floor... a thousand times.  We put a puzzle together.  We made quiche for dinner.  I didn't get around to mopping the kitchen floor, and it is a bit sticky (someone squeezed a strawberry to make juice).
We went to the play lot to get our crazies out.  Ruby smiled and waved at everyone we passed.  It took me a few seconds to realize why everyone walking toward us smiled.  Ruby made lots of people smile today... and she made one person cry (see paragraph above).
We watched a little bit of So You Think You Can Dance, and then Alli pretended she was auditioning and I was the judge.  I gave her a ticket to Vegas.  Very talented little lady.
Bedtime didn't come soon enough.  But by 9:45 three girls were sleeping.  All is quiet in the house. 
It is 12:01am.  Happy Friday!  I am off to bed.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Potty humor.


Apparently, June has her daddy's sense of humor. She thinks fart noises are hilarious. In this little clip, Andy is blowing raspberries and June is delighted.

In related news, Ruby is much closer to being potty trained. We gave up diapers last week. Cold turkey. It was a rough few days. Lots of extra laundry. Mountains of laundry. I bought a little kitchen timer to help us remember when to go. Potty training has been much better since that little purchase. She has has a few consecutive dry days (though we still have work to do on #2).

Speaking of Ruby, I took her to the ER Sunday night. She dislocated her elbow again (6th time, in case you lost count). I took her to the hospital because she was complaining about wrist pain too. Anyhow, the arm popped back into place while we waited and waited to see the doctor. So by the time we actually saw the doctor, Ruby was climbing on chairs and crawling around... obviously no longer injured. But the doctor looked her over anyhow... and he found a small green bead in her ear. He let me take a look. And there it was, a tiny glass bead. Nice. He asked Ruby how it go there and she proudly told him, "I put it there." So the ER wasn't a total waste... except the doctor couldn't get it out, so he referred us to an ear-nose-throat specialist.

And just for smiles...

I love finding pictures like this on our camera. Nothing better than a sneaky self-portrait by Alli!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Hooray summer!


You can't tell by looking, but the water in Lake Michigan is about 33 degrees.  Not frozen, but definitely not warm!
That didn't stop Alli and Ruby from splashing in the icy water at the beach today.
The gorgeous weather made up for the chilled water.  Sunny 85 degrees.  So lovely!

The sand was soft and warm.  Delightful for rolling in.  The breeze was refreshing.  The sun was so pleasant, like a giant hug from summer.
Oh summer, we missed you so much! 
I know it is not technically summer yet, but I smelled it today (cut grass and sunscreen), and I tasted it (watermelon), and I felt it (warm sand), and I saw it (hello skin at the beach!), and I heard it (giggling girls splashing in the surf... can I call lake waves "surf?").

We are home now.  We are tired.  A load of beach laundry is spinning in the washer.  Alli and Ruby are sun-kissed and sand-crusted.
I love summer. 

Go Sox!


Last night, June attended her first baseball game.  Nothing but the best for our baby... box seats, parking in the lot RIGHT BY the stadium, a catered meal, good friends, a TV nearby to see Kris (that is a feminine spelling, but the winner was a boy) win American Idol, perfect weather, and a win for the Sox!  The only thing missing was a certain Sox superfan.
June actually watched quite a bit of the game.  She was wide awake for the whole thing.  She appreciated the experience.
Special thanks to some awesome babysitters who Alli and Ruby can't stop talking about!  And a big thanks to Andy's department who let June and I crash the party!

Here she is doing the wave!

Monday, May 18, 2009

engagement photos!

My sister-in-law took great pictures of my sister and her fiance.  Click here to see them!

the arm bone's connected to the... oops!

Ruby got a treat last night for peeing on the potty.  A Tootsie Roll.
The thing is, she couldn't open it.  Unusual.  Then we noticed her right arm hanging limp at her side.  A Tootsie Roll is hard to open one-handed.
So we tried to get Ruby to move her right arm.  "High five Ruby!"  And the arm hung limp.  "Here's a piece of candy."  The arm refused to move.

This isn't the first time this has happened... more like the fifth or sixth time.  Ruby has nursemaid's elbow which makes her elbow pop out of joint regularly.  It isn't particularly painful, but her arm is useless when the elbow is out.  And it doesn't take much to pop her elbow out... I have no idea how it came out this time.  This condition does not slow Ruby down in the least.  She climbs and swings from bars and is very adventurous.

Andy slowly bent her arm and the elbow popped back into place.  (Note- Every time we have taken Ruby to the hospital for this, the triage nurse inadvertently pops the elbow back into place while bending the arm to see if it would bend... and then it is fixed, but we still have to wait forever to see the doctor who says, "Yes, it is fixed."  Which is obvious because by then she is swinging from the rafters anyhow... so that is why we attempt to pop it back ourselves.  We always watch her closely to be sure it moves properly and doesn't swell.)  And instantly Ruby's arm was back in service, a little sore, but she was climbing within the hour.

Parenthood is sometimes quite like Fear Factor.



Sunday, May 17, 2009

Saturday night family date fun! Woohoo!


Saturday afternoon we rescued Andy from work and headed to the beach.  It was a glorious day.  Blue sky, light breeze, warm sun... long shadows (photo by Alli).  Ahhhh.
Ruby spotted three "cowboys" at the beach (actually policemen on horseback).  We walked along the path and watched the waves crash into the wall. 
I love this spot along the lake... if you look one way you can see the uninterrupted horizon of Lake Michigan, and if you look the other way, downtown Chicago stretches high up to the sky in such a grand way.  I love the juxtaposition of the calm and the crazy... so like my life!

Alli and Ruby picked dandelion puffs and made lots of wishes (and spread lots of weed seeds).  Check out the dandelion picture that Alli took (below). 

June came too.  The golden sun lit up her beautiful blue eyes. 

I was there too.


Afterward, we went to a Lakeview neighborhood for a progressive dinner and stroll.  We stopped at a soup shop for a bowl of soup.  We got fancy soda at another place.  And we topped it off with some pizza... New York style.  Yum.
We got home, put the girls to bed and Andy and I snuggled up on the couch to watch a movie.  Such a lovely evening.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

getting creative...

Check out my other blog for a few of the latest projects...
and more coming soon!


Alli's photo shoot


This picture cracks me up.
Alli was playing with the little camera.  She asked me to set it to the timer setting.  She posed June and Ruby.  Then she posed me.  She pressed the button and jumped in the shot.  Like a good photographer, she checked her work and took several pictures until she was satisfied.
I love that Alli is into photography.  She has very clear ideas and I love to watch her figure out how to bring them to fruition.  I love the energy of this picture.  And the cute smiles.

Friday, May 8, 2009

four months!


June had her four month check up yesterday.  She was delighted about the being-naked part... not so thrilled about the four shots.

Her stats:  June weighs 12 pounds 9 ounces and is 24 inches long.

June is my petite baby. 

At four months, Alli was an even 15 pounds and she was 25 inches. 


Ruby was a whopping 16 pounds 8 ounces and 26 inches long!  I had toned arms... maybe even bulging biceps.


Tiny June loves to watch her sisters in action from the comfort of her Bumbo seat.  (I highly recommend this product.)  She thinks they are rockstars and follows their every move.  


June loves to play with her hands.  She gets her fingers all tangled together.  And then she shoves them into her mouth to suck on them.

And when she nurses, she likes to reach up and find her ear and hold it.  She likes tummy time.  She loves showers.  She is mild and happy most of the time.

June is sleeping through the night!  This is a recent development... and it is lovely! 

Heavenly!

With the baby pictures to compare, who do you think June looks like?

outside

When the weather warms up, staying in the house looses much of its charm.  Outside is much more fun.  Alli played with worms again... this time they were snakes in a jungle tree.  Worms are a favorite now.

Alli used the word "furthermore" in a sentence this week.  She had argued a point or two and then added another point to her case with an elegant "furthermore."

Ruby "rainbowed" the patio bricks (betcha didn't know that was a verb).  This funny girl responded to a request from me this week with, "Ay ay, me captain!"  Pirate voice, of course.

By the way, did you know that a plastic snow sled makes a lovely splashing pool?  I love multi-functional stuff!

Even June got in on the outside action.  She was an eager spectator from her Bumbo chair.

(The dangerous looking toothpick was from a "fancy" snack {see Alli's face} which was topped off with frilly toothpicks... it was immediately confiscated.)

Ruby painted our windows with chalk-water.  I put paintbrushes outside for water-painting.  The kids paint on the ground, fence, etc. with water and then it dries in a little while so they can do it again... except lately they have been making chalk water so the art doesn't go away completely without a shower from the hose.

In related news, I washed the outside windows yesterday.

Hooray for warm weather and a bit of outside space!








Friday, May 1, 2009

a spoonful of sugar


Sometimes cooking with the kids is so much fun.