Kitchen Stools

Ruby's become enthralled with our kitchen stools.  She's gotten pretty good at climbing up on them, too - but often she keeps climbing and ends up on the counter.  I've been hoping that as she uses them, she'd stop using them as ladders, so I let her eat lunch at the counter.

Today, while she was eating lunch, I sat next to her.  When I went to refill her cup - she tipped over.  The stool fell backwards, and she landed on the legs of it.  That's probably the best way she could've fallen - she didn't hit her head on the counter (it was close) and she didn't fall onto the floor - which would've been a further fall.

She cried a bit - she seemed pretty scared.  I keep checking her stomach, and there's no bruising or red marks, and she giggles like mad when I check her over.  It really wasn't that serious of a fall, the chair went over fairly slowly, but it was super scary for me, too.

It's been about an hour, and she's now happy as a clam, watching Sesame Street with Braden and me - but I did sneak away a few minutes ago.  We no longer have stools in our kitchen.  They're in the garage for now.  Braden & Karly will be mad, but I don't care.  Until I can stop my heart from racing every time I see those darn stools, they're not coming back in.

What, this isn't how your kids watch TV?

Doesn't everyone have a toddler bed in their living room?

No?

I suggest you try it. Very entertaining!

The other day, Ruby discovered climbing on her crib. Oddly, she was climbing on the outside, trying to get IN - but still not safe. She is SUCH a climber!

In fact, she's such a climber, we were afraid to give her Braden's old toddler bed - it's just asking to be climbed!

(Can we just pause for a minute & appreciate the adorableness of nearly-two-Braden? And his chubby little legs?? He was such a good, sweet little baby! And, he never climbed up on anything...)

Monday while Ruby was at gymnastics, Brian cleaned out Ruby's room, taking out noisy toys & things that can be climbed on. Yesterday for her nap Ruby cried in protest for a while but finally gave up the fight & fell asleep on her bed, but last night was ROUGH. We're all a little (or a lot) sleep deprived today (and at about 10:30, she ended up back in her crib, where she slept soundly almost immediately.) Today, though - she went down for her nap in her toddler bed with just a little bit of fussing. That's good progress!

I am so happy with Craig's List right now. We recently sold some of Ruby's baby stuff (including the changing table she was always trying to climb) and made about $55 AND de-cluttered our house a bit.

I went to Craig's List to find Ruby a bed, and sure enough we found this super cute little bed - a bargain at $20! - and Brian picked it up on Sunday. Ruby was so excited! She knew right away what it was, and tried climbing into it, even before we put a mattress in it. (In that first picture, did you notice Ruby signing "sleep"?)

So ... if anyone's interested in buying a used Thomas the Train toddler bed, let me know (I'm planning to put it on Craig's List!) I've got a different one coming from a friend for Lily - because there's no way I can put that Thomas bed anywhere near Ruby. She'd be dancing on top of it, instead of napping!

Adoption Update

I try not to post the same things here as I post on Lily's blog - but if you're not a regular follower of Lily's blog, I put an exciting post up over there tonight - we are FULLY FUNDED for Lily's adoption!!!

Ru's new 'do!

I tried something a little different with Ruby's hair the other day.  I'm not great with my hair by any means, and she can't stand when hers is combed (she's independent, remember??)


Adorable!
It only took us about 12 pictures to get this one, but the 'outtakes' are pretty cute, too.

Laughing - but the darn flash made her close her eyes.

Oh, look!  A cat!

This is her game of "attack the photographer" - she always wins!

Miss Independent

Not only does Miss Ruby sob if you try to brush her teeth for her instead of allowing her to do it - she sobs and makes a big scene about having her hair combed. And then, as soon as your done combing her hair? The tears are gone.  It's all just drama, drama, drama!

The other night after her bath, I wasn't too surprised when Ruby insisted on combing her own hair.

She did a pretty good job - I was just happy she didn't get the comb stuck in her hair!

Baby Name Game!

My friend is having her 3rd baby this spring - and I believe the hardest part of each of her pregnancies has been choosing a name.

I volunteered you, my dear, beloved blog readers, to help her come up with a name for the new baby!

Here are her criteria for the name:

• Goes well with her daughters' names, Anna & Haley
• Can not end in an 'N' (their last name ends in 'n' and it sounds too rhymey)
• If it's a boy, his middle name will be Robert
• Suggestions for girls middle name also appreciated
• Try to avoid the top 20 list of most popular names

So - if you have a favorite baby name you're never going to use, now is the time to convince someone else to use it! I thought this would be fun - especially since I had at least 20 comments last year when I was asking about a vacuum cleaner, and babies are much cuter than my Dyson!

Ru on the Piano

Yesterday morning, Ruby was playing a little tune on the piano.



I love her little shimmy while she's playing!

(And if you were wondering - Yes, this piano is still for sale ... and we do have a bench for it, it's just not sturdy enough for Miss Ru ... and this wasn't meant to be a piano ad. Sorry!)

A Trip to the Dentist

This morning, Braden had his 6 month check up at the dentist - and for the first time, Ruby got to go along, too!

Braden had x-rays taken (Ruby did not) and he did super, even if he had a skeptical look on his face the entire time.

He did enjoy jumping off the chair when it was done & (mostly) lowered to the ground.

Ruby liked the big chairs - she had a blast watching Braden get his teeth cleaned.

Braden does not like the spinny toothbrush they use to clean his teeth, but he did very, very well today.

AND, we found out both his top front teeth are loose! If he loses those, he'll have a giant gap in his front teeth, since he lost the 2 bottom front ones already.

We also discussed how his small teeth are so nicely lined up - and how that is going to lead to issues (and probably braces) when his adult teeth come in.

Ruby was not as amused when it was her turn in the big chair, but she let the dentist check out her teeth (she has one coming in, and that'll be her last one!) She did really well, until he tried 'counting' her teeth with the pointy instrument - and then she threw a dramatic fit.

Overall, it was a success - and we even talked to the dentist a little about bringing Lily home. He said, "Bring her in to see me, right away." Yup - that's on our to do list!

Ruby the Reindeer Caretaker

A few years ago, Braden was given this huge (and super soft) reindeer for Christmas. It really is big - so it stays downstairs in the playroom, but Braden always brings it upstairs for the holidays as a decoration.

He also enjoys riding it around the house like a pony - and I'm sure Ruby will start that next year.

The other day, Ruby led the reindeer into the kitchen ...

and started wiping his nose with a towel.

When I asked Ru if the reindeer had a cold, she gave me this silly look.

Then Braden moved in ... (I love this reaction shot!)

And Ruby to the rescue!

It's all downhill!

The other day, Brian promised to take Braden sledding in the morning, before school - and since I had bowling that day, Ruby got to tag along, too!

I think she had a blast, don't you?

Brian kept Ru on the little hill - but see that spec in the background?

That's Braden on the big hill!

Two!

Braden came home from school today with big news ...

He lost his 2nd tooth!

He said, "Now the hole is bigger!"

It fell out while his class was in the library, and brought the tooth home in a cute little plastic tooth container (shaped like a tooth).  Much nicer than when I was a kid & we'd bring a tooth home in a wad of Kleenex.

How exciting - we'll have another visit from the tooth fairy tonight!

My pretty little bird

Ruby looked so pretty in her Christmas dress (even if her hair still needed to be combed).


The dress is size 24 months, so we had to roll the sleeves.  Twice.

Coming to attack mom & the camera...

I took this picture, because it's a great example of how long & pretty her hair is!  But it's also cute how she's hanging out on her trampoline, watching TV.
(and look!  Her hair is now combed!)

My little Moppet!

(Brian got this American Idol TV tray in the mail the other day & Ruby absolutely thinks it is hers.)

Braden & the Batmobile

Last night, Braden was driving me CRAZY with his new little Batman car. He'd set it up to go zooming into my feet, and neither he or the car were very quiet.

I went upstairs to get something, expecting to have a moment of peace - nope. He followed me up, with the Batmobile in hand. I left the room, and when I came back in, he was under my bed.

(yes, that is our bed he's stuck under - we store the old style Little People in our room, so they don't get lost and to minimize fighting over who they really belong to!)

Apparently, the Batmobile went under the bed, and he was trying to reach it with his feet to turn it on.

WHAT LUCK - I had the camera in my pocket!!


I mean, he didn't really expect me to help him out, did he? :)

Almost got the Batmobile ...


He finally stopped giggling long enough to crawl out... it was good entertainment for me while it lasted!