Ruby's New Cheesey Face

Karly comes home from camp tomorrow!! I still stand by my 'no news is good news' theory - if they haven't called us, she must be fine.

Ruby's cranky, it's raining & we're stuck inside - and Braden's upstairs playing with Legos. Also? Her fridge farm isn't working. It's old - we've had it since Braden was a baby, and it's making her mad. She's going to be furious when Brades & I leave for his new gymnastics class.


I have some outtakes of recent blog posts - Can someone tell me where my charming and agreeable baby girl went? She's turned into this two year old who hams it up every time I get the camera out!

Party People

This past Saturday, we loaded up the kids & drove back to Brian's hometown for a party - to celebrate Grandma & Grandpa Z's 50th Anniversary!! The park was at the local community center, which has a very nice brand new playground outside.

Ruby, getting ready
I love this picture, even though it's fuzzy; it's one of the only pictures I have of her in this dress without her big clunky shoes on. I'm looking forward to the day when she doesn't need her little orthotics anymore and can wear cute shoes. Plus, just look how cute those little toes are!

Not one to do things the easy way, Ruby skips the first step to climb up. She frequently does this at the park, and I have no idea why. She's adventurous, I guess!

One of the first things Ruby did at the park was go down a slide - and her dress must have given her super speed powers, because she almost went over the side - you can see the pink mark across her cheek where she hit the slide. The mark was gone the next day, I'm glad she didn't bruise.

Stealin' Daddy's hat!

This little monkey played all day & wore himself out!

Beth, Megan & Karly

Karly really wanted a picture with Grandma & Grandpa

All the cousins
(except for Rick, who is in the Air Force in England - the kids really missed seeing him!)

Brian's family:
Cindy, Linda, Mary, Mom & Dad, Brian, Pete, Alan

Seven!

Brian & I were married seven years ago - Karly, too!

If you want to see what we looked like when we were young & naive & just married, I put a picture up for our anniversary last year.

But when I asked for blog topics ... someone asked how we met. So ... here goes!

When I was teaching in Green Lake, the French teacher (known as Madame to her students and "Madame-y" to Karly) started the same year I did. She got married the end of our first year there (in fact, they eloped - and Brian was in their wedding. I didn't know him then, but I was back at the school, helping the kids decorate her car and trash her classroom. Um. Sorry about that, Kirstin!!)

Anyway.

Madame's new husband, Troy, mentioned setting me up with his friend one time - and I was like, "Nope! I don't date."

That fall, a bunch of us went to see Monsters, Inc in the theater - and I was the only one who had a child to bring along. So, Karly was the token child for the whole group. We went out to dinner (Pizza Hut) first, and I ended up sitting next to Troy's friend, Brian. I was afraid it might turn out to be a setup, so I didn't talk to Brian. I mean, I said hi - then I ignored him for the rest of the dinner. And the movie.

After the movie, we hung out at our friends' apartment for a little while, but Karly fell asleep on the couch and I took her home.

A week or two later, I got a sitter and a group of us went to see the first Harry Potter movie - this time I sat by Brian & we talked throughout most of the movie, making little jokes or comments.

And then another movie - each time, the group got a little smaller.

Then our friends ditched us. They were going to France over Christmas break. France!! Who was going to get us to the movies, so I could hang out with Brian, who by this time, I had a little crush on??

So the last day at school before break, I get a little email from Brian. Basically he says, since our friends are gone, do I still want to hang out - maybe go to a movie?

And I can't find a sitter.

So our first official date on our own - was to Hardee's for dinner and the Jimmy Neutron (AWFUL cartoon) movie, because we brought Karly with us.

After the movie, Brian followed us home & I put Karly to bed and we talked for hours. Hours & hours!

But I still didn't know if he liked me. But we made plans for the next day.

That day, I had to bring Karly to my mom - and then I was going to the Nutcracker in Milwaukee with a friend of mind. After dropping off Karly, I had plans to stop by Brian's house.

There, at his house, as I was getting ready to leave & meet my friend - he kissed me.

I literally went weak in the knees.

And then I had to leave, I had to rush to meet my friend (I was already running late). And then I headed up north for Christmas, and Brian was gone to his parents. He called me on Christmas - and we had a date for after the holidays. That July, we were married...

Happy Anniversary, Brian!

Cutie Ponytail Pics

Blog? What blog!?

Well, I drove across the state & back yesterday - brought Karly to her second (and final) summer camp of the year. She was pretty nervous, but plenty excited. We haven't heard anything from the camp - so we'll assume all is going well!

On Saturday, we went to Brian's parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary party. Isn't that amazing!? It was a very nice party, even if we did have to leave a little early, since Brian had to work some this weekend - and we had to get Karly a good night sleep before heading to camp.

I do still have a couple of questions people asked for the blog, I just don't have anything prepared yet. I'll get to that this week, though, I hope!

So in honor of not having anything new & exciting to say today, I have more gratuitous Ruby pics. I've been trying to tie her hair up - she's been getting heat rash on her neck/shoulders sometimes, so this helps a lot.

It doesn't always stay very well - however, it's so cute while it lasts!


Showing off her new outfit ... can you guess what was on the other side of that gate? Braden!

Pony tails are even adorable in Spider-man pajamas!

Ruby & her Lego Men

Ruby got a Lego Man doll while we were on vacation!



(Braden chose Legos as a souvenir. Shocking, I know!!)

Ruby's Snacktime

In the evening, Ruby likes to have a little snack. Usually we give her a bowl with some crackers or gerber puffs, sometimes cereal, and a cup of water.

The thing is, she always eats this snack in the kitchen, on the floor - in front of the oven. I have no idea WHY this is where she sits. I mean, we wanted her to keep the snack in the kitchen, but the oven? I don't know.

This is how she sits, with her feet up against the oven:

She's not really as unhappy as she looks here, she's just eating.


AND just for fun - two more pictures from the same day...

I loved this picture, Ruby looks like such a girl (not a baby).
Ruby really likes her Learn Through Music toy, she inherited it from Braden.

And, Ruby cuddling with Dad

Help! I'm Stuck!

Ruby likes to sit on these tin cans in our kitchen - but the other day she got a little more adventurous.

I wasn't too mean - the camera was just on the way, so I picked it up & snapped a picture before I helped her down.

Proof of Ice Cream

With our "Z" last name, of course it was our turn to bring treats on the last day of soccer. The coach had suggested bringing a 'special' treat for the last day ... so we got ice cream sandwiches.

The thing is, Braden doesn't like ice cream. BUT - he was interested in giving an ice cream sandwich a try. Karly didn't want to be left out, either!

And?

He approved!

(Notice my kitchen counter is still overrun by beads! This is just so bizarre; I'm not usually the arts & crafts kind of mom.)

*

Ruby grabbed a piece of sidewalk chalk the other day ...

And drew an asterisk!

Winner!

Thanks to all who entered my giveaway!!

The winner is: TRICIA! Yay! I'll send the book out to you soon.

And don't forget - if you live locally you can join us at the Kimberly Library tomorrow night (Thursday) & get your own autographed copy of Plank Road Summer.

New Friends & New Wheels

A couple weeks ago, I dropped Braden off at his Tot Town class and met another mother. She said, "I like the sticker on your car," and I said, "Which one?" Because I have a DS magnet & autism magnet on my cars. She said, "The 'I Love Someone With Down Syndrome' sticker."

I told her I have a 2-year-old daughter with Down syndrome, and she told me she has an 8-year-old son with DS. I was so happy to meet another parent! We talked for a while about schools - they're in our district. Actually - we ended up standing in the parking lot talking for an hour.

Anyway, she told me they had been talking about getting rid of a bike their son had used when he was smaller, and I said we'd be interested in checking it out. Ruby took to it right away!

The bike is a Kettler brand (similar to this one) - and it's very adjustable. Even the handle folds down, so you can fold it down and put it into the back of the van. It has a seatbelt, and a backpack on the handle, and you can lock the steering wheel. AND - the pedals don't move when you push the bike, unless Ruby pushes on them. So, the pedals don't spin around and hit her in the feet. It's really a brilliant little bike, and she's really enjoying it! (She's not super thrilled about the seatbelt ... but she'll get over it.)

Cruising with a little help from Dad

working hard on placing her feet back on the pedals

very focused!

Communication (& a cute video!)

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the book Plank Road Summer. I'll draw a name tomorrow (Wednesday) night.


One of the other questions I got last week was about Ruby's speech & signing.

Ruby consistently says about 6-8 words, but she babbles all day long. If Brian & I are standing in the kitchen talking, she'll come in and stand between us, and babble - like she's joining the conversation. She babbles, laughs - then pauses & waits for a reply. It's adorable - even when she's 'yelling' at us!

When she says her words, it's almost always in conjunction with a sign. Some words she says: Hi, Bye, Dada, Mama, cat, go-go-go, bubbles.

As for her signs - we only learned a few signs when Braden was a baby, so now for Ruby, we've all been learning signs together as a family. I highly, highly recommend the Signing Time DVDs - Ruby especially loves Baby Signing Time, because there's more music on it. And I really recommend watching them WITH your child, otherwise you'll be at a loss when they start new signs.

Out of curiosity for this post, Brian & I started a list of how many signs Ruby knows, and it was over 65. I usually tell people she knows 30-40; I was way off!

So while yes, her speech is delayed - her communication is not. There are several other signs & phrases that we say to her, that she doesn't do, but completely understands - things like, "sit down" and "swing".

She knows the hand movements to a few songs, and when she wants us to sing, "Old MacDonald" she sits down and pats her legs like they did in her birth-to-3 class last year.

Her favorite song is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - and I made a little video of her doing the hand motions to the song. Just no critiquing my singing, okay? Thanks.

Save the Date! Book Release Party

Yesterday, I posted about the book Plank Road Summer - Don't forget to go to THIS POST to enter the giveaway!! You have until Wednesday evening to enter!

Here's all the info on the book signing this week:

Hilda and Emily Demuth have released a book this spring called PLANK ROAD SUMMER. They will be giving a book talk and signing at the Kimberly Public Library on Thursday, July 23rd at 6:30pm. This is a free event and open to the public, so please bring your friends and pass on this information. (Books will be available for purchase for $14)

Plank Road Summer is a middle-grade historical novel, a story of two girls' friendship in the summer of 1852 in southeastern Wisconsin, with an Underground Railroad subplot. During the talk they'll cover the inspiration for the book, the researching process, and how they managed to write together while living in two different states.

Teacher's guides are now available on the website: www.plankroad.wordpress.com and if you're not local, you can order a copy on Amazon.

If you have any questions or need directions, please email me. I hope you can make it!

Plank Road Summer - A Giveaway!

As a child, I was an avid reader. I read everything - Trixie Belden & Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, Babysitter's Club, Judy Blume & Beverly Cleary - I read 'em all. In fact, I used to daydream about reading every book in our public library's young adult section, but we just didn't get to the library that often.

My all time favorite books, though - were the Little House on the Prairie books. I still read them every few years or so. I wanted to be a pioneer until I became an adult and had to do my own cooking and laundry (can you imagine? No indoor plumbing? No Internet!? Inconceivable!) In 2005, we even went to the town where Laura Ingalls lived as a child - where Little House in the Big Woods was set.

Me & Karly at the re-created Little House cabin, 2005
It's so small!

Now, there really is a reason why I'm telling you all this. Remember my friend Gretchen (who has an etsy site and made super cool flags for my kids?) Well, her sisters have written a book. They wrote a young adult historical fiction book, called Plank Road Summer.

And it's a beautiful book. It's in the same general category as Little House or American Girls books - but not overly girly. It's about 2 young girls and life on the toll road in Southern Wisconsin in 1852 (did you know there WERE toll rolls in the 1800's? I didn't!) and the underground railroad and ... and ... and it's wonderful.

Truly, it's a fantastic book - the characters are well developed, the story flows and is entertaining, and it's subtly educational. I expected to like this book, but I was unprepared for how much I ended up loving it.

This week, the authors - Hilda & Emily Demuth - will be in town! They are having a book talk at the Kimberly library on THURSDAY, JULY 23rd at 6:30. Please come!! I'll be there!!

To Enter the Giveaway:

I have a signed copy of Plank Road Summer to giveaway! I'll draw a random winner Wednesday evening.

Just leave a comment on this post - and if want, tell me what your favorite book (or series) was when you were a kid!

Park Playdate

Ruby & I went out in the drizzly weather yesterday to a playdate - I'm glad we stuck it out, because it turned into a fun time! We had 7 families show up!

Ruby is very funny with her friend, Aaron. He's about 5 months younger than she is, but he's taller. If he gets to close to her, she yells at him and pushes him away.

I figure in about 10 years she'll be mooning over him and devastated if he doesn't call ...

Aaron & Ru on the teeter-totter - with help from Aaron's mom & big sis

Ruby was very serious (and keeping an eye on Aaron, I suppose!)

Hiding in her hood

We tried really hard to get a group picture ... it wasn't easy! Mine all turned out like this. If you want to see more pictures of Ruby & her friends at the park (including a group shot where they are actually looking at the camera!), you can visit Logan's blog!

July 18

My post last year on this date is still one of my favorites. Not because of my stunning writing talent - but the content.

Last year, on July 18 - Karly finished her cancer treatment.

Surgeries - 5 rounds of chemo - a stem cell harvest - 33 days of radiation - numerous blood transfusions - at least 4 ER visits

ALL DONE.

Karly's been recovering for a year. She's still clean - free of cancer! And her strength and energy continues to improve.

Happy End of Treatment Anniversary, Karly!

Just for fun - some recent Karly pics:

She did so great - we got her a tattoo! (Ha ha, just kidding, Nana!)

Another Good Question

Ria gave me an essay quiz: What do you think is your biggest challenge in raising Ruby?


In some ways, raising Ruby has been pretty easy. When she was born, she qualified right away for birth-to-3. We knew what the supports in our area were, because we were already involved in many organizations with Karly (who has autism).

Then, we went crazy into research - I didn't want to miss anything or let anything get overlooked. But once we realized that Ruby was pretty healthy and our pediatrician was on the ball, we relaxed a bit more about that.

Now, while Ruby still has therapies and playgroups with our DS group friends, she's also in a regular music class for kids, and took a little tumbling class this summer, too. I think both are important.

Right now, Ruby's pretty easy. She's social and entertaining and funny. She still likes to cuddle when she's tired. She's whiny when she's bored, and she loves to get out of the house and see new things. She's stubborn and naughty sometimes (she keeps throwing stuff away, she climbs on the furniture and stands on it) but it's all pretty typical of a 2 year old.

I think my biggest challenge will be what happens when she enters school and the differences between Ruby & her peers are accentuated.

I think I'll have to make a conscious effort to let go and let her try - and fail & succeed on her own - because I don't want to hold Ruby back. I don't want to say, "Well, she can't do that because she has DS." I don't want to be the reason she would sit on the sidelines or not try something new.

But, it'll be a delicate balance - because if she needs extra support, we'll give her that, too - because I want Ruby to find her place in the world. I want her to soar.

I want to be the wind beneath her wings. (Hahahaha - SORRY. I just can't stay so serious for long. But I meant all the other stuff I said.)

Tumble Bugs

Ruby's little Tumble Bugs class at the gym finished this week. I have to admit, it was kind of strange at first - I was wondering why we were having the kids do some of the things they were doing.

But by this final week, Ruby KNEW the routine. In fact, at the end of class when she was getting tired - she walked out onto the mat and did her sign for dance - because we do a few song-dances at the end of class, and she was ready to be done.

And after 5 weeks of class, Ruby learned to walk backwards, run on a trampoline and jump off the end (into a foam block pit where the teacher was waiting), and bear crawl on demand (for a few steps).

She's showing off her pretty green ribbon she got at her last class!

Arts & Crafts

My kitchen has been turned into arts & crafts central since Monday, when Braden discovered the joys of Perler beads - you know the beads you can iron and then they "stick together, forever!" as Braden says.


Braden & I made alien people

And he made all of these - a heart, a picture frame and a rainbow

I made these under duress, because he insists I make them, too, while he's making his.

Today, I made a patchwork teddy bear and he made this beautiful horse (Shhh - don't tell Braden, but the horse's eyes make me giggle!!)

I think we're almost out of all the black beads, now, too. No surprise!

The most surprising part, however - is that Karly made all of these:


She stopped playing with these beads a while back, but when Braden started to really have fun with it, she didn't want to be left out.

Brian said Braden really is a good therapist - he gets Ruby running around, and now he's got Karly working on her fine motor skills.


Ummmm.... if you readers want more exciting posts than this, you'll have to ask more questions! (I do have a couple yet to answer that I'm working on! Beth - I will talk more about your question on Saturday, because that's an important date in the History of Karly!)

Bread

Does anyone have a breadmaker I can borrow? I want to play with one, before I buy one. Cuz they're pretty pricey to buy and THEN find out that you hate making bread.

UPDATED: I found one to use! Thanks :)

Help! A lizard is eating my son!

Braden brought his stretchy toy lizards on our little vacation last week - and they attacked him in the bathtub!

This kid never fails to entertain - he's a natural born comedian.

Did We Know?

This is great - I hope people keep asking questions I can turn into blog posts.

Janna asked if we knew about the girls having Down syndrome before they were born.

Nope - we didn't. But we had a clue (and yes, the girls were identical and both were diagnosed at birth w/DS). Lydia had a soft sign in an ultrasound - but we didn't look into further testing. We knew we wanted these babies, and we didn't feel an amnio was necessary, since they were so active.

I did have a triple screen bloodtest done, but that came back fine - they are notoriously inaccurate (and apparently even more so with multiples).

We found out we lost Lydia when the girls were almost 38 weeks along, and we'll never know why.

A Little Bit of Karly's Story

I realized a few months ago, I made a confusing comment about Karly on the blog. I can't find it now, but I think I referred to her adoption anniversary, and didn't explain it any further than that. Even people we know in real life were asking me if Karly was adopted - and she is, but she's not. Ha! How's that for confusing!?

I forget, though - I just assume everyone knows what I know!

Karly IS my biological daughter. I got pregnant when I was 19 and in college. It took me longer to finish college, but I eventually graduated, and Karly & I moved to WI, where I got a full-time teaching job. Karly was 5 when we moved - and she was 7 when I met Brian. In fact, we met Brian about a week after her 7th birthday, in November.

Then, that July we got married - Me, Brian & Karly. We even had a little ring for Karly during the ceremony. (If you're doing the math, yes, Brian & I got married 8 months after we met.)

Then, in February - Karly's adoption went through, and she is now officially Brian's as much as mine. Her biological dad had been out of the picture since she was a baby. Karly knows she has "an old dad" but she considers Brian her dad, and always calls him Dad - he's the only dad she's ever known in her life.

In fact, the only time it comes up any more is when we give medical history to a doctor. Karly's talked in the past about contacting her "old dad" someday - and I tell her we can do that when she's an adult if she wants to.

I don't have many of our wedding pics in my computer - but I have a couple - Karly looks like a long-legged little colt here!

Karly havin' a toast - of sparkling water :)

Your Turn

I'm very blah about blogging these days - I'm running out of ideas that don't include captioning cute pics of my kids.

Anyone have any questions for me? Anything you want to know but I've never covered??



And just for fun: Gratuitous cute pic of Miss Roooby

One Day

How many days after Karly returns from camp will it take before she is endlessly bored?

One. The answer is One Day.

Uno!

Facebook now has an Uno Application. Well, maybe they've had it for a long time - but we just discovered it.

Braden loves it. He rocks at it, too. He's super!

Do you think he's old enough for his own Facebook account? 'Cuz I'd really like mine back.