long time no blog

wow! it has been a very long time since i last wrote.

my squirrels are growing and growing and growing.

for the first time in 5 years, it is beginning to feel "normal" that they are here. i am less surprised to find two humans in my house. they feel like they belong.

i love them so deeply it drives me crazy. they are smart and funny and so astoundingly creative it surprises me daily.

is she cute or what?!

someone turned 4 today

ahhh...my first born is 4 years old.

it was a mellow day, filled with little surprises. a big sign from daddy "happy birthday ruby 4", a present here, a chocolate there. and then the making of the cake. she requested a daisy shaped cake for the occasion, and helped make it.

neighbor friends came over to play, and then we all gathered on the front lawn for cake and milk and presents. it was all very sweet. she got her first bike, but by the time she tried it out, she was so tired and filled with sugar, that it wasn't a very pleasant experience. still, she seemed truly happy to have a "big girl bike".

i don't know how parents do it, and have been doing it for ever. letting go is much much harder than i imagined it could be. my little tiny dark haired baby is now a four year old girl, with beautiful brown hair, and long colt-like legs, and a vocabulary that blows me out of the water daily.

yesterday, we were playing outside and she came up to me and said "mommy, today is the last day i am three". so true. so very very true.

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)