Thanksgiving

It seems like forever ago but Thanksgiving was fantastic. We hosted at our place this year. We had a dinner with family on Thursday night and resurrected our Friday night Thanksgiving with friends. Adam cooked for nearly 12 hours on Thursday. By the time we sat down for dinner, he was too exhausted to speak. Needless to say, it was delicious. Luckily I convinced him to do a pot luck on Friday so he only had to focus on the rack of lamb. I'm not a meat on the bone kind of person but judging by how fast it was gone, it was also a success.



Ruby isn't that into eating so we tried to keep her occupied with a special turkey place mat, Toy Story 3 silverware and a pot of mac 'n cheese. It worked for about 27 seconds.



In addition to two great meals, we got to spend a lot of time with Grandma Jo, Grandpa Stone and his friend Max. Sadly, I don't have a single picture of Grandma Jo. She'll just have to come back for Christmas so we can take some =)





It was a beautiful weekend so Ruby played outside and visited the park a lot.









Cute story of the weekend, on Friday night our friends were over so I was hoping to get out of bath time. Grandma O'Brien and Grandma Jo both volunteered to put Ruby to bed. Someone said, "Do you want two grandmas to give you a bath?" Ruby responded immediately with "No, not two Gammas. I want one Mommy!" How could I refuse?

We're hosting Christmas again this year too. I can't wait. It's certainly the most wonderful time of the year!

Catch Up

When my students don't finish their class work, they have to "catch up" before they can make other choices. We had a fantastic Thanksgiving and are having lots of fun but I need to catch up first =)

Ruby is still in love with her bedroom and entertains herself before and after sleeping. One day she asked to wear her pajamas at nap time. She must've changed her mind because when I went to check on her, she had her leggings on over her pajamas. I was impressed she got them over the the feet but pulling them over her bottom proved to be a little difficult.



Ruby went to say hello to her friends one evening. I'm not sure exactly what happened after that but the next thing I knew, we ended up having a "dinner party" with them at our place. Good times, good mac 'n cheese, good fun!



We've been frequenting Toddler Time at Burgess on Thursdays. The last time we went, the jump-o-leen made the girls hair stand on end. It's right next to a mirror so Ruby thought it was hilarious!



It's nearly dark when Ruby wakes up from her nap so we've been entertaining ourselves inside. Play dough and finger painting are big favorites. Finger painting requires an early bath but it is worth it.









Ruby got a Buzz Lightyear to go with her Woody doll. It was love at first sight.



We had the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off school so Ruby and I finally got to have a play date with my job share partner. Yay! Ruby remembers Liam and the "baby in the tummy" from Ardenwood Farms this summer. I told her that Aaron was born and she would meet him when we got to their house. Aaron was asleep when we arrived. As soon as he woke up, Ruby asked, "I hold him baby sister?" Michaela obliged =)



Holiday time!

Grocery Cart Car

I always thought the grocery carts with the giant car in front were pretty silly. But, considering Ruby asked to go to Safeway, walked to the car, got in her car seat and pretended she was Lighting McQueen the entire time I shopped without a snack or balloon, it's safe to say I'm a convert.



As my friend told me a long time ago, now I have to hope they aren't all taken the next time we go grocery shopping.

No. I do it.

Ruby is into doing everything by herself. Last night she wanted her socks off but didn't want my help. She said, "No. I do it. Gamma told me." Somehow I don't think Gamma told her to put her feet on the table to take off her socks.

Dance Party

We had a dance party after dinner on Monday night. Ruby picked the play list on iTunes:

• Beauty and the Beast by Celine Dion
• Yellow Submarine by the Beatles
• Scarecrow, Where Do You Go by Andy Z
• Dynamite by Taio Cruz

The last one is what Ruby now calls her song. Last week we were driving in the car. All the sudden I noticed she was singing along. The line says, "Saying ay-oh, gotta let go." She sings, "My eggo! Scooby Doo-oh!" He was on Dancing with the Stars last night. Who knew Ruby was so in touch with pop culture?

Moving Day

In anticipation of Grandpa Gary moving to California, we helped Grandma O'Brien move into a bigger place. Ruby was in charge of one piece of wood and a shoe rack that she turned over and called her wheel barrow. She also supervised from inside the moving van.



We celebrated at the Dutch Goose after all the heavy lifting. Ruby played her first video game with Adam.



We didn't even need quarters =)

Daddy's Girl

Ruby's Halloween costume came with some tattoos. I forgot about them until last night. Ruby picked Shrek and the Donkey for herself and Princess Fiona and her princess friends for daddy.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun

Grandma O'Brien, Norah, Ruby and I checked out Toddler Time at the Burgess Recreation Center today.



After playing on the mats, in the jumpy house and with the balls for over an hour, we took them to Jeffrey's for lunch. Remember how both girls used to refuse bottles and ate like birds? Here's what lunch is like now:



The fun doesn't stop there when it comes to Ruby and Norah. A five minute car ride home turned into a game of peekaboo.





The only thing missing was Norah's mom. It's too bad she doesn't have Thursdays off too.