long time no see

whoa.
i haven't blogged since october?!
i will blame it all on facebook.
so, what's happening here? the squirrels (or girls) are hilarious. frances talks a ton now, saying "more stickers please" or "dark cloud" (see video i will post later). she says "good night ruby" and many, many other words and sentences. she has become interested in puzzles and sorting, and still follows ruby around like she is the best thing since ice cream. she picks up our cat and says "i strong"

new favorite foods for frances: jello. hot dogs. french fries with ketchup. yes, she is NOT getting all the good organic stuff ruby got at her age. sigh.

ruby will be FOUR in four months! it breaks my heart to see her growing so fast. she is super super tall and her vocabulary continues to astound us. some days she seems so grown up, and others she is just a baby. she got some paper dolls for xmas and has been playing with them non-stop. her imagination is crazy big, and i am subjected to playing many a scene that involves cats, princesses, fairies, ducks and crocodiles. fun fun.

here are pictures of ruby in her pink xmas dress (thanks to auntie beth). she is WRITING HER NAME NOW!!!! shocking to me and willie, as we have never once helped her write letters.

christmas was very overwhelming for them, to say the least. it was a crazy free-for-all of present opening at my parents house. they got so much from grandma that our paltry offerings the next morning did not compare. not to say that they didn't enjoy what grandma and grandpa gave, they did (thanks mom!). willie and i have ongoing discussions about what we want xmas to look like for our family. luckily we have a year to figure it out.

the house is good, feeling a little cramped with the porch shut down for winter. we have many dreams for an addition with a family room, mud room and half bath, but we're not sure when it will happen. (lottery?) we're looking at finishing the basement as a cheaper route to more space, which means my studio would have DOORS!

today we built a snowman and went sledding. we have been watching "frosty the snowman" on youtube, but warner has taken it off due to copyright stuff, so we got a copy at the library- in spanish- and ruby enjoys it. we paint a lot. we read many books. we have tantrums and we have so much love our hearts are overflowing. and, we need a babysitter. anyone?

big owie

Ruby has her first real big owie.
She was jumping on the couch, slipped and cracked her jaw on the coffee table.

There was a lot of blood and a lot of crying. It really freaked me out, but she seems to be doing fine.

I'm sure there will be many many more.....

walking, thinking and screaming

frances has been walking for about a month now! she is getting sooo good at it and has even attempted running. she's slimming down now that she is really on the move. i love taking walks around the neighborhood with her. she slows us down....makes us stop to look at ants, or up at the trees.

she is talking a lot, and tonight said "big tree", "goodnight sky" and "goodnight tree". the first time she has put two words together!

ruby is really beginning to think. we were driving and she said "what village are we in?" i said "burnsville". ruby-"do they have a lot of cows here?" me-"why?" ruby-"well, i see a lot of fields, so i guess they have a lot of cows."
i think she will be a poet. "the evening light is growing dim" was the quote of the night. and when i was putting her to bed she said she was hungry. i said, "are you really hungry, or are you milking it so you can stay up?" she was indignant. she cried and said "i am not mistaken, i am hungry".

and the SCREAMING. it is unbelievable. frances is the worst. i need to get some cotton balls and plug my ears.

much joy here, despite little colds and little cuts and bruises (and some wrestling matches between r & f)

Morning (and the heatwave!) has broken

Ahhh....the cool, sweet smell of fresh, broken air. It has been so horridly humid here, that the couch feels wet when you sit on it. But last night, something shifted, and this morning it is glorious.

There have been lots of shifts in the girls, too. Growing, growing and growing.
Frances STILL isn't walking. She can, but she won't. Ruby is so very very THREE, it's amazing that she is alive after the end of each day. We've been going to the pool and beach a lot. And I am still trying to figure out the flow of life with two kids.

They are firecrackers, my girls. I love them endlessly, and often, I want to leave them in a cart at Target and just walk away. Such is parenting two smallies.

A First Birthday!

The baby who was born in a car now turns ONE!
She is SUCH a delight, full of fun and joy....
And, she totally "got" the fun and excitement of a birthday!












The baby who was born in a car now turns ONE!
She is SUCH a delight, full of fun and joy....

frances loves the bath

turning 3 and 2 new teeth

ruby is now THREE! april 17 was a day filled with fun; lunch and a cupcake with mom and dad (no frances!), and a little play time with her neighbor friends and a blue house cake, made by the proud mama. (i love making the birthday cakes). she is getting sassy, and is also a genius (mommy, those trees are smaller because they are far away). she potty trained herself about 2 months ago, and has been dry ever since. no more diapers for ruby!

frances is grabbing our fingers all the time, forcing us to walk with her. yes, forcing. she is a willful little tiger, just like her big sis. she has two new teeth coming in up top, and is happily grinding them against her bottom teeth. she is FINALLY eating real food, giving me a little break from all that nursing. she just started scooting, like ruby did, TODAY! we apparently don't breed children who crawl. she's so very very happy to be getting around.

all is well, now that spring has finally arrived, along with the white throated sparrows and the ruby crowned kinglets (ruby's namesake bird)

in the throes of winter

here we are, mid-january and in a good old cold snap.
illness has run rampant in our house this winter. frances is involved with her second ear infection, ruby has had several mild colds, and i have had an ear infection, the flu and the vomit virus. amazingly, willie has stayed pretty healthy through all this.

whew.

everyone is relatively healthy for the moment.

the days are very cold and very sunny. quite beautiful. we have built the Shanty of Misfit Toys again this year. ruby is very excited about it. shantyofmisfittoys.blogspot.com/ and artshantyprojects.org

things the girls are doing:
ruby is asserting her fierce independence. she is working really hard on using the potty and even slept last night without a diaper! dry all night! her language skills are phenomenal.

frances is sitting up all alone now, playing with ruby in a way i did not expect at this young tender age of 7 months. she is tasting table food, but doesn't seem very interested and still not taking a bottle.