a mover and a shaker

I know this picture is a few weeks old, but I had to share another cupid picture.
Ruby is a crawler now! She can move around well, and everyday she gets faster.
She is finding all kinds of treats on the floor. Yesterday I removed the following things from her mouth: lint, a feather, a plastic toy part, play dough, paper, paper and paper (there is an unusually high amount of paper scraps around our house).
Ruby can also pull herself up on furniture. She is wasting no time becoming extremely mobile.

The Entertainer

As a mom, I have lots of jobs to do. On Sunday Alli tried to add to my list when she asked, "Mom, will you entertain me?" If you can ask that question, you can probably entertain yourself.

Snow fun!

We have had lots of snow recently, so to celebrate winter, we went sledding at the park across the street. We bundled everyone up and dusted off the sleds. Andy and I each pulled a sled with a girl.

The sledding hill isn't that big, but it is one of about three sledding spots in Chicago, so we are lucky that it is so close. The hill has a nice soft slope on one side and a steeper slope on another side.

When we got to the hill, I wanted Alli to try the gently sloping side. Andy was excited to get her going as fast as possible down the steep side. We have different approaches when it comes to playing... mom is the life guard, and dad is the stunt coordinator.

Alli liked my slow side until Andy hurled her down the fast side. That was much more fun. Alli didn't mind crashing either. She had a great time. Andy had fun too.

Ruby was content to sit in her little sled pod and watch all the action. Andy did take her down the hill once, but she didn't seem to notice.

The Sunday Marathon

After church every Sunday, Alli and her friend Clara run laps around the church. This tradition started almost a year ago when Andy was called to be in the bishopric. He was busy after church with meetings and I was pregnant and couldn't catch Alli. Clara's family stays after church too; her dad is the Bishop. So Alli and Clara started running around the church every Sunday after church.
Sometimes they get into trouble. They have set off alarms by opening emergency exits. They have hid with snacks behind the piano in the Relief Society room. Last Sunday they went into the chapel to speak into the microphone. Alli knows how to work the sound system, so their message was broadcast throughout the building. Clara and Alli took turns talking and singing into the microphone.

This is a picture of Alli and Clara running at Annaliese's party.

Help! I can't put my arms down!

Alli was delighted with the foot of snow that fell a few days ago. She wanted to go play in the snow, so we bundled up and went out on our patio. She may have been slightly over-bundled because she sat down in the snow and could not get back up. She did stay warm.

Little Cupid

Happy Valentines' Day! Nothing says "I love you" like a roly-poly cupid.

sick and tired

Alli got sick early Sunday morning. She had a fever and chills and she couldn't keep anything in her tummy for long. She got the shivers and said, "Mom, I am so cold my teeth are shaking." She slept most of Sunday. She is feeling a little better today, and she is eating and drinking more. Hopefully she will be her bright cheery self again soon.