All Aboard the North Pole Express!

Two weeks ago we drove up to Heber to board the North Pole Express. Because of traffic, we missed our original board time; so we ended up eating at a pizzeria and playing around in the train station until we were able to leave the depot.


Dancing at the pizza parlor

Ruby was so excited that she could hardly contain herself. She pulled us onto the train-- literally!



While she enjoyed the cookie that the elves gave her and the Christmas carols that we all sung, her favorite part was seeing the north pole and visiting with Santa. She was mesmerized by the jolly fellow.



Even today she'll tell you all about her adventure on the train when she saw Santa and he said, "Hi Ruby" and "ho, ho, ho" and gave her a red toy. Christmas through a toddler's eyes is truly magical. Lovin' it!

Thanksgiving Weekend

The last time we were able to spend Thanksgiving with our family was 3 or 4 years ago. While we missed our Texas family, it was good to share the holiday with the Linfords.





Ruby loved having aunts and uncles to dote on her. They danced, molded play dough, and had a tickle fest. While she napped we ate and played Monopoly. It was a nice, mellow holiday.



Then later that weekend most of us kids accompanied Dad to the BYU v. Utah game. It started out sooo good, but during the 4th quarter it got ugly. It was a sad loss for sure, but at least it was a fun day out with the family.

27 weeks

Well, I'm now in my third trimester of this pregnancy. I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy is passing! It has been so different this time around. Even though I'm gaining weight quickly (probably too quickly), I feel great and am still working out on a weekly basis. About 6 weeks ago I cut out my kickboxing class and most forms of hard core cardio in favor of more strength training. This week I'm going to start incorporating water aerobics into my weekly routine. So, I'm not doing exactly what I was pre-pregnancy but that's expected.

We still don't have a name picked out for our little man, but we talk about it often. I'm confident that the perfect name will come to us by the time he's born.

Ruby is fascinated with babies. Whenever we're out and about and she sees or hears a baby crying she brings it to my attention and almost everyday she points to my belly and says "baby." Yet, I still don't think she has a clue about how her life is going to change come February (to be honest, I have somewhat of an idea but I'm pretty clueless about it too).

21 month update

What in the world? My baby is almost 2!



She has really enjoyed staying at Grandma's house while we're in transition between Houston and Utah. Every morning after breakfast she scoots down to the basement and jumps on Grandma's bed to wake her up.

Last week she started pointing out colors. I haven't sat down and formally taught them to her. I think she just picked up on them from books we've read and every day conversations. She's pretty good at recognizing pink, purple, red, blue, green, and orange. The other colors are hit and miss.



About that same time she started saying her own name. Usually she doesn't respond to "What's your name?" But, she does point to herself and say "Ruby" and she can point to herself in pictures. My favorite is when she points to Brandon and says "Dada" then me and says "Mama, Baby" and lastly to herself and says "Ruby." It's very sweet.

She loves to read books, play with stickers, play dough, try on shoes, and color. If you sit down to color with her though she's going to insist that you draw her a turtle or a cat. By the time she's done with you there will be a small army of them!

She still loves to go to the kid's club at the gym and nursery. In fact, she practically runs there and gets excited to see her "frys" (friends). Today she told me "wanna play" after we checked out the kid's club (but didn't stay) at our new gym.



Her new favorite stuffed animals are the mickey mouse that Grandpa bought her at Disneyland, Winnie the Pooh (who she calls "Pooh"), and an emperor penguin. She must sleep with all three and carry them to the breakfast table. Last weekend she even took Penguin and Mickey Mouse to Disney on Ice and church.



About a week ago she started showing interest in the potty. Even though I think she's more curious than serious about potty training, I rushed to Walmart and bought her a pink potty chair. She has sat on it several times and frequently tells us about it. So far no potty in the chair, though. That's okay. From what I understand potty training is quite a process. I'm not going to push her into it. When she's ready I think it will be obvious and we'll be ready with the pink chair!

Life Lately

It's hard to believe, but we've already been in Utah for a month now. It seems like it has taken that long to get back into a routine and adjust to the weather changes.
We're still trying to sell our home in Houston, so if you know anyone in the market for a beautiful home pass along the word that we're offering $8,000 towards closing costs. And we're diligently searching for a home here. We've found a few "almost" homes, but not "the one" yet.

In the meantime, we've been finding all kinds of fun things to do as a family. A few weeks ago Brandon and I went to the highly anticipated Utes/ TCU game. As a true blue cougar fan, I have to admit that it was great to watch TCU annihilate the Utes in their own backyard and the crazy British guy sitting behind us made the game all that more enjoyable. That was also the night of Ruby's first sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Brandon and I had so much time alone that we almost didn't know what to do with ourselves!



Last weekend we took Ruby to see Disney on Ice. My grandma used to take me every year when I was little, so we brought Grandma along as well. Before the show we pumped Ruby up by telling her that we were going to see Mickey Mouse. A few days before the show you could ask her, "Who are we going to see on Saturday?" and she'd reply (with a big smile) "a mouse." Ruby really loved it and sat still for the entire show. During the intermission she signed and said "more." She had a very serious face as she took it all in, but by the end of the show she was clapping along and requesting to see more "Desy Duck" (Daisy Duck) and "Mouse" (Mickey Mouse).

A Very KangaRuby Halloween!

Ever since we started calling Ruby KangaRuby I knew that she'd have to dress as a kangaroo for Halloween one year. This year I found the perfect costume but wasn't going to buy it because it was too expensive. I thought my mom and I could work together to make one on our own. After looking at the costume my mom thought it would be easier and cheaper to just buy, so she splurged and made the big purchase for our little roo.

Ruby Girl was adorable and loved that wearing it. She especially loved having a tail to pull and a pouch for storing candy. We wore it as many times as we could get away with it...
to Grandma's family work party,





trick or treating in the neighborhood,





and then for bouncing on Grandma and Grandpa's trampoline (wish I had pictures of that one).

Trick or treating was such a fun experience. Even though it was FREEZING Ruby didn't want to stop after a trip around the cul-de-sac, so we kept going until she was ready to turn around. It was adorable to watch her in action. She'd walk right up to the door, knock, say "candy," help herself to a piece, and then say "dank you, bye," and insist that we carry her to the next house.
Once we got home she helped pass out candy to the other trick or treaters, which seemed almost as much fun to her as trick or treating herself. She loved racing to the door as soon as they knocked and handing them candy from the bowl.





I was a little nervous that she'd have a hard time going to sleep that night since it had been so exciting (and Daddy let her have some of her "hard earned spoils" before bed),



but she was tuckered out and went right to sleep (despite how peppy she looks in this picture).

Corn Belly's Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze

Ever since we rolled into town we've been wanting to take Ruby to a pumpkin patch and corn maze. Lucky for us there is a great one close by at Thanksgiving Point. By the time we got around to it, though, the weather had turned wet and cold. Almost all of the slides were too wet for Ruby to go down and the giant jumping pillow was also covered in dew. There was still plenty for us to do like...

check out the pumpkins,


play house,




take a pony for a ride,


take a go cart ride with Daddy,


insist on driving your own go cart,


get lost in a field of corn,


take a family picture,


ride a cow train pulled by a tractor,


ride trikes with Daddy,


and enjoy the singing chicken show.

Barn Yard Boo

Two weeks ago we took Ruby Girl down to Thanksgiving Point for the Barn Yard Boo. We had a great time riding ponies, eating cookies, playing games, riding in the horse drawn wagon, and getting Ruby's face painted. I wasn't sure if she would sit still for very long, but she did. Oh, and she was so serious about the cat on her face. Too cute!

Ruby Speak

Ever since we got to my mom's house Ruby has stopped signing "cat" while saying "mao." Now she runs around the house shouting "cat" or "kiddy." And most of the time one of the three stay just out of her reach, but occasionally they'll let her pet them.

This summer Ruby learned all of her Aunt and Uncle's names, but since we haven't seen them since August I wondered if she'd remember them. Much to everyone's excitement, she did! Her pronunciations are as follows: "Cadee" (Casey), "Shell-sea" (Chelsea), "Book" (Brooke), "Chrid" (Chris), "Lyssa" (Alyssa). "Papa" is Grandpa and "Manga" is Grandma.

A lot of times she adds "a" in front of words. For example, if she's looking for Brooke she'll say "a Book?" She often just gets a portion of the word correct and adds the long e sound to the end of it. That's how wagon ended up as "wagee," color became "cogee," outside became "ousee," and upstairs "upsee."

About a week ago she started whispering "yep" in place of "yes." It isn't as proper, but it sounds so cute when she says it that I can't bring myself to correct her. She'll grow out of it eventually.

When we were at Disneyland I accidentally dropped her bottle on the ground. It was hours past her nap time and (as luck would have it) the only way she was going to drink her milk (and probably go to sleep) at that moment. As soon as I picked it up I noticed a huge crack in the ring around the nipple and exclaimed, "shoot!" Apparently, this really stuck with Ruby because she took the bottle, looked at the crack, and pronounced "shoot" before downing it. Now, 2 weeks later, she often still says "shoot" when she gets milk.

After seeing Winnie the Pooh at Disneyland Little Roo has started noticing him everywhere. Only instead of saying "Winnie the Pooh" she says "a Pooh!" My mom dug out my old Winnie the Pooh toys and now Ruby can say "Tigger," too, and when you ask her what he does she says "bounce." I have a feeling it won't be long before she knows all of the character's names.

The least lady-like words she knows are "booger" (which she'll pronounce while she's attempting to blow her nose into a tissue) and "toot" (which she loudly exclaims whenever she hears someone passing gas or does it herself).

Everyday it seems like she learns a few new words. If she gets frustrated because I can't understand her she'll also use sign language while trying to vocalize. I know I say it all the time, but I really love this stage!

California Revisited

*Caution: This is a long post!*







About two weeks ago we made another trip to California. While we were there we took Ruby to Laguna Beach and "our beach." The weather was incredible! We played in the sand and tide pools and Brandon even ventured out into the ocean for a swim.
The next day we took Ruby back to Irvine Park since the pony rides and petting zoo were such a big hit this summer. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot she started exclaiming "pody" (translation: pony). She was especially excited about the pony that had a bow in her mane. My dad commented that as he guided her along the track she was real quiet and serious, but as soon as they passed by the pony stalls she would become real animated and start talking quite a bit. The goats were a hit again, too. She loved brushing them and hugging them. "HUG!!!"









On Saturday night my dad babysat for us so that Brandon and I could attend my 10 year high school reunion (which was kind of a let down). I knew that a lot of my good friends wouldn't be there, but I was hoping that acquaintances and friends that I hadn't kept in touch with over the years (like the girls from show choir, and Jess and Cait from biology) would be there; but no luck. After about 2 and a half hours of awkward mingling we left early and drove down to Redondo Beach to visit my sister (who was home alone because her husband had to work late). We had a good visit, but I didn't feel well. Within a few hours of being home I knew why-- food poisoning! It was terrible. I spent the entire next day on couch struggling to keep anything down. My dad also got sick, so poor Brandon and Ruby were on their own. Needless to say, they were relieved when my dad and I woke up the next day ready to return to the land of the living.





And good thing we did, because if I hadn't I would have missed out on Ruby's first Disneyland trip (which I had been looking forward to all year long). It was drizzling and a little chilly, so we had to buy sweatshirts when we got there, but at least it kept the crowds at bay. Ruby was a total trooper and loved every minute. She wasn't frightened on any of the rides-- not even Pirates of the Caribbean! Actually, just after the second drop she started to whimper, so we started to point out all the animals and then she was fine. The people in our boat probably found it annoying to have a narrated version of the ride, but I'm sure they preferred it to a screaming baby! Roo's favorite ride was definitely the carousel, though. We rode it three times! And it took some convincing to have her say goodbye to the ponies after the last ride. The only bummer for me was that I wasn't feeling well enough to eat any of the Disney food I'd been dreaming of-- clam chowder in a bread bowl, churros, and fudge. Oh, well. There will always be a next time. Before we left we bought Ruby a Minnie Mouse ear hat with her name embroidered on the back. She loves it so much that sometimes she requests to wear it while we're out and about. I'm not sure if the librarian in Texas thought it was adorable or crazy, but I'm glad Ruby is getting some use out of her mouse ears.




Exploring Toon Town with Papa


Taking Mommy for a ride through Toon Town


Jungle Cruisin'


Snack time


Last pony ride of the day


Best seat in the house for the parade


Does life get much better than this?