Leaps and Bounds

Ruby pulled herself to standing today! She has been a bump on the log for over 7 months then within 3 weeks she started crawling, got a tooth, and now pulls herself up to standing. Tomorrow she will probably be walking and running.

Ruby's First Tooth

When I got home from the zoo I was holding Ruby because she was whinning and looked in her mouth and found a little tiny spot of white poking through her gums. Her first tooth! I can't believe it my little baby is getting so big. I had given up on looking for signs of her first tooth and then suddenly it was there. I hate that she wont be all gums anymore but Ruby needs teeth because she loves to eat anything she can get her hands on. She is drooling way more then usual and now has chapped face, which is why her cheeks are so red in the picture.

The Zoo

One of Porter's presents was to go to the Los Angeles Zoo. We left Ruby with Grandma Jullie and just Porter, Daddy, and I headed to the zoo. We got to see most of the animals but it was a rather cold day at the zoo so many of the animals were inside staying warm. We told Porter there was a spider exhibit and for the rest of the day that was all he wanted to see but it was on the opposite side of the zoo from were we were so it took all day to get there. Sam had an almost too close encounter with a very large male orangutan. We saw a month old baby giraffe and lots of birds at the bird show. Porters favorite animal we saw was the zebra, which I dont know why because he didn't really seem to care when we saw them at the zoo. We got to see lots of spiders, even one that was in the middle of molting but it was really dark so the pictures didn't turn out very well. We only spent like 2 hours at the zoo but that was enough for Sam and I because my feet were killing me (for some reason I decided to wear new shoes). The zoo was fun and we dont have one near our house so it was a good experience for Porter to see animals in person.

Cute Girls

Here are Ruby and Josie in their turquoise outfits. We didn't mean to make them match they were just both wearing new outfits. Josie and Ruby even did their hair that same.

Naughty Boys

Porter and Parker are having a blast together. They love running around, being loud, and are finding lots of things to get into that they shouldn't be touching or doing. For example: Parker found a knife in the backyard, they have this 6ft long plastic pipe they hit bushes with, they have dug several holes in the dirt, they keep turning on the hose outside, and in the picture below they were helping themselves treats. And of course they wear matching outfits anytime we can find them some.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was not quite what I expected this year. At 10pm on Christmas Eve Carri called to tell us that her flight from PHX to ONT had been cancelled and they would have to stay over night in PHX and would not be in until 8:50am on Christmas morning. Carri was really upset and begged us not to open any presents until she was there. So we woke up and stalled and stalled. We let Porter come out and see his presents from Santa and showed him his bike and got him to ride around and then sent him to the airport. When they got back from the airport we ate breakfast, because we were all starving, and then finally at like 9:45am Porter got to open his presents. By that time Ruby was ready for a nap so she didn't open anything. The Merrill's were at their grandparents and wanted us to wait for them to open family presents so we didn't do that until after 10:30am. By then Ruby had woken up and watched us open her presents even though she looked dazed. We exchanged presents and boy did it feel like we had tons of presents. I even decided to take back a couple of presents I had bought for Porter and Ruby. Since there are so many of us these days the present exchange lasted for what seemed like an hour. Together we got 4 Wii games, lots and lots of toys, clothes, gift certificates and I even got new glasses! Even though it seemed like torture to wait all morning long it really made Christmas last longer and more relaxed I think. I always like Christmas to be organized and slow or it seems like it is over before it started.

Gogurt

We have gogurts here at Grandma's house and Porter and Ruby love them. We put them in the freezer so we have frozen yogurt. This morning Porter woke up and wanted a gogurt so I sent him downstairs to get one. A few minutes later I hear Porter whining and crying about something and I figure he is with great grandma. I went downstairs and the two of them are standing with the freezer door open and Porter is saying he wants a gogurt and his mom said he could have one. Great Grandma can't hear him and doesn't know what he wants out of there but is blocking the freezer. I quickly grab the gogurt and she said "Oh he likes those, I can't think of a worse thing to eat". I dont think she actually knows what they are cause whats wrong with yogurt?

Bored in Mesquite

Bored in Mesquite is our new screen name, like Sleepless in Seattle. We are in Mesquite hanging out with Great Grandma while Grandma and Grandpa Dodd are cruisin in Hawaii. I think Porter got really really bored last night because he used dry erase markers to write all over Ruby's head, face and walker. Luckily the marker came off really easily. I had no idea that he had been writing on Ruby because she didn't make a peep while he was doing it. Ruby loves her big brother and probably thought it was fun having him pay so much attention to her. This is one of those things that I really think is funny but I have to make sure Porter knows its not okay so I sent him to timeout while I cleaned her off.

Porter's Snow with Daddy Day

Sam decided he wanted to go up to the mountains to play in the snow. He didn't realize that I can't drop everything at a moments notice so his family play day turned into father son bonding time. Sam had gone to Walmart months ago, before we had any snow, and bought Porter a snowsuit, we realized Porter loved the snow and needed some waterproof gloves and snow boots so we got those last week. I think Sam was really anxious to try out the new snow gear so up the mountain they went. They made a small snow cave and Porter loved throwing snow at Sam. Sam said it was a lot of work just walking around with coats, snowsuits, boots, and gloves. Porter was exhausted and asleep as soon as he got in the car.

Baby Crazy Hair

We call Ruby "Crazy Hair" because her hair stands straight up in the morning. Unless her hair is in pigtails it goes everywhere. She has a calic (how do you spell that?) on the back of her head and it sends all of her hair forward into her face. People always say how cute Ruby is, and I agree, but it does take a lot of work to calm down her crazy hair. Ruby has always been really good about getting her hair done but in the last week she has started crawling and now she doesn't want to sit still when I do her hair. It's so sad my baby is getting big.

The Light Parade

We had a very eventful day today. First the snow and then Sam tells there is a light parage at 6pm, apparently a parade with christmas lights. We ate dinner, packed up the kids and headed to the parade. To watch the parade some people park their cars on the parade route and watch from the warmth of the car and some crazy people bundle up their kids and watch from the side of the road. We of course choose the car. We were waiting forever because the parade was starting late, which is normal for Cedar. Luckily we had parked near Bulloch Drug and I knew from past experience that they have a candy for sale by the pound. I left Sam and the kids and got cinnamon Santa's, Swedish fish, and of course chocolate covered cinnamon bears (yum, yum). Ruby loved sitting/standing in Sam's lap and holding onto the steering wheel. About 15 mins late the parade started. The parade was good, two bands, lots of dancing groups, a few floats, the Grinch and Santa Claus. Parades are one of the weird things I like about this small town, we have like 10 parades a year around here. I have no idea when most of the parades are but randomly I will be driving down Main St. and I will be forced to go on a detour because the street is closed. Well now I know there is a light parade in December.

Boots & Gloves

We bought Porter snow boots and some waterproof gloves last week because he loves to play in the snow and ends up freezing, even in a snowsuit. Today it snowed and it stuck to the trampoline so Porter went outside without telling me and came in with freezing cold hands so we got out the new snow gear. He was having lots of fun on the trampoline so I started to take pictures but once he saw me he started being a goofball. He ended up throwing snow at me and chased me inside and threw snow at the sliding glass door. When he came inside I asked him if the boots & gloves worked and he said no, but then I asked him if his hand or feet were wet and he said no again so I dont think he knows why he has to wear boots & gloves.

Beautiful Sunset

While I was cooking dinner I happened to look out the half closed verticals to see the sunset. It was beautiful! Sam said it looks like the sky is on fire and you can image how stories or legends are told of sunsets like this.

Ruby Laughing

Here Porter is getting Ruby to laugh.

Shoveling Snow

Sam bought a snow shovel last week to clear our driveway and sidewalk or sidement (sidewalk + cement) as Porter calls it. Porter loves to shovel the snow and has to put his whole body into it to get the shovel to move. The other day I couldn't find him and he had gone in the front yard to shovel. This morning he wanted to shovel so bad and we didn't want him in the front yard alone so we made him take the shovel to the backyard.

Ruby's Walker

Ruby loves her walker. At our house the only place she can go is the kitchen but I give her a couple snacks and she is happy to roam while we are eating or cleaning. She loves to play peek-a-boo from under the table and has found that she can grab Porters food that he leaves on the benches, uh-oh! Porter loves to play with her when she is in the walker, here he has a piece of fabric that he is pulling her around with. Sorry about the underwear but with potty training its hard to keep him in pants.

Family Night

For Family Night we frosted Christmas cookies. I had bought a sugar cookie frosting kit at Robert's for $3, I know big spender. Sam helped Porter frost and put sprinkles on the cookies. I helped Ruby but she was too fast for me and before I knew it she had the frosting in her mouth.

Home Depot

On Monday Sam was fixing our broken sprinkler system but forgot to buy one part so he asked me to stop by Home Depot after preschool. I really didn't want to because I was getting hungry but since I was going to be right there I stopped. Porter of course insisted on the huge truck shopping cart and it was the first time I had gone to Home Depot without Rubys car seat so I had to buckle her into the truck. Porter showed her how to drive. She loved stearing and I never knew Home Depot could be so much fun!

Thanksgiving

We went to the Dodd's on Wednesday night, unfortunately Porter got sick and Sam and I were up early that morning dealing with throw up and diarrhea. We think it was food poisoning or eating too much junk food because at 8am he was miraculously better and running around with Zak and no one else got sick. My Mom and Dad stopped by to see the kids because they hadn't been able to visit since the summer. Around noon I could tell Porter was exhausted so I made him take a nap. Luckily he slept through dinner because he was only eating BRAT foods and I didn't want him eating Turkey dinner. That night we went over to the Frehner's and got to visit and see their kids. The next morning most of the girls went shopping and Anna, Carlee and the boys went 4-wheeling. After lunch I wanted to go 4-wheeling and got my only pictures of Thanksgiving of Porter and Sam riding Zak's PW 50. We went to St. George that night and home on Saturday night. It was a fun holiday but I am so glad to be sleeping in my own bed again.

Big T

Trisha came down two days before Thanksgiving. Rather then having lots of fun she got to help out. Within minutes of getting to my house we left her to babysit so we could go get our new couches. The next morning one of sprinkler system pipes burst and she spent and hour with me freezing trying to shut off the water as it shot across our driveway. She helped make 3 dozen deviled eggs for Thanksgiving at the Dodd's. That night as I cleaned I told her she had to watch my kids, but she wanted to play guitar hero so she put Ruby in the sling and played until she noticed Ruby was asleep. So for my pre-Thanksgiving I am thankful for Trisha.

VVHS Bulldogs vs. Moapa Pirates

So I got coerced into going to Sam's high schools football game. I wasn't planning on going at all and at the last minute I just went along with everybody else. It was fun getting to go to Las Vegas, eating IN-N-OUT for lunch, seeing Aunt Anna, and eating Carabas for dinner. Unfortunately things where not so good for the Bulldogs as Ron said "they just got outplayed". Megan danced at halftime which was really good, go Megan! Porter took a nap for half of the game and Ruby got passed around.

Digital Scrapbooking

I bought a digital scrapbooking book to learn how to use Adobe Elements better. Here is my first project:It is really fun just to drag "papers" on top of each other and sewing on paper has never been so easy. My question is how do you print them?

Pictures

I have been trying to decide what to do for the kids pictures, Porter needed his 3 year old picture and Ruby needed her 6 months picture. I use to go to Sears and I even have a membership there but basically I hate them so I really didn't want to go back. I really wanted Nicole Bulkley (she took our family picture in August) to take their pictures because she does such a good job of capturing their personalities but I couldn't. So I decided on Kiddie Kandids which is a little more expensive but I thought I would give them a try. I am a Kiddie Kandid convert. I love that they print the pictures right then because then I dont have to plan another trip to St. George. Ruby hates getting her picture taken because of the flashing lights and for the first hour I was just trying to get her not to cry. Finally we got one picture of her smiling and he was just impossible to try to get her and Porter, who by then was being very naughty and not listening to the photographer, to both look at the camera and smile. Over all I think the pictures turned out great. I love that they do black & white/sepia/cropping for free. After 2 hours I had a headache and I could barely think enough to decide what pictures to get. I loved them so I got everything I could including our Christmas cards, all for a good deal of course!