This is Ruby's birthday crown-- it has elastic in the back so that she can wear it every year (a la soulemama). I still have birthday presents to start for her-- first I have to get through the October birthday gifts!
Speaking of October gifts, this is a sneak peak of Alex's birthday gift. More to come later!
I think that these action shots are pretty funny. I believe in the jumping one that he was saying "hiyah!" as he leapt from the slide, and I just love the pucker of his lips in the second one. We're busy enjoying the last few days of "summer weather", and trying to take notice of the subtle changes in season happening around us. For the first time, Jack is starting to understand that a new season is approaching, one with falling leaves, pumpkins, and Halloween.
my new spice rack/solution has really cleared out my cabinets. only $2 a piece at meijer's!
the little pumpkins are from our garden. we have a lot of cute gourds and pumpkins coming up right now! the basil plant is on its way out, but it gave me lots of yummy tomato/mozzarella/basil salads.
i got these great canisters at goodwill. i have to be careful about leaving anything on the counter, since i don't have a lot of counterspace, but i decided that these two are worth their space.
So, a lot has been happening for Ruby lately. She has two teeth on the bottom, and two on the top that are about to burst through. I've been trying to blame her not-so-sunny disposition on the teething, but I'm not so sure that it's a temporary thing. Let's just say Ruby's a "I want what I want, when I want it" kinda gal. She's had the runny nose for awhile, and I have the snot-stained shoulder to prove it.
She's really into eating, especially bananas. Whenever she sees one, she says "na-na-na-na-na". She can also kind of say "Emma" which is "Aya" and "Mom" which is "mamamamamma". It's hard to believe that her first birthday is coming up in less than two months!
We've had some visitors here for the past ten days or so. Meagan and the boys have been staying with us while transitioning to move here permanently. They will only be here for a few more days, and we will definitely miss them. Jack has had two buddies to play with all the time, Ruby has had more attention than any baby could possibly need, and I've had someone around to keep me company. Of course, there have been some hectic times as well-- to be expected when eight people are sharing about a thousand square feet of living space. We're excited that they will be living just a few miles from us-- I'm sure that we'll have more fun times to come!
so, today was the day-- the first day of school for jack. he was most excited to wear his new batman backpack. i was pretty excited for him, but also feeling a little old today. i just can't believe that i'm old enough to have a child in school, even if it is just preschool. sheesh.
we went for breakfast before school-- jack asked if it was a "date". yep, definitely a date. complete with blueberry muffins, the best kind.
jack loved that he got to leave for school with the "big boys". he had to have me put his hood up, just like the big kids. (another post for later: ruby is crawling!)
so far they seem to be so very different. you can see the obvious differences in their appearance, but you should experience the differences in their temperaments! alex seems to be really laid back, and ruby is a little more (ahem) demanding. right now i'm taking a little break from trying to put her to sleep. one can only handle so much screaming in their face and pulling and kicking.
This year we started a family garden at my sister's house in Buchanan. They had someone come and till up a huge area for us, and then we planted a lot of different things: tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, carrots, and pumpkins. We planted a bit late, but we are still getting quite a lot of veggies.
We are excited for the watermelons that should be ready this week, and have been harvesting tomatoes every day. We made sweet pickles again a few weeks ago, and have been making a lot of salsa as well. Tomato canning is also on the horizon!
I'm not a huge fan of the tomatoes that you buy in the store, but I absolutely love the ones from the garden. We've eaten up all the green beans that the garden has to offer, and next year we have plans to add a few more things.
It's about time for a Ruby update. She's 9 months and 2 weeks old. I'm not sure why we call her "Doobers" or "Dooby", because it's not any shorter than "Ruby". I guess it's just cute. She's proving herself to be very silly-- she'll repeat things over and over again if they make somebody laugh. 
She's eating a lot of solids-- bananas, canned peaches & pears, cheerios, yogurt, ice cream. Her first teeth finally broke through- the two bottom ones. She's also started drinking through a straw and using a sippy cup. Just water, though. 
She's been pointing a lot lately. In the picture above, I asked her where the doggie was and she's pointing to him. She totally loves dogs, and gets very excited anytime she sees one.
I wish you could see how incredibly slow that bowling ball is traveling--you would be amazed that it could knock down any pins. But let me assure you that it did, followed by a lot of cheering and fist-pumping. You wouldn't believe how much enthusiasm Jack had each time pins fell, whether one or all ten. Well, I guess to know Jack is to know the meaning of enthusiasm. He also insisted on chanting "Go, mom/dad, go! Go, mom/dad, go!" before each turn. He also reminded us, "Okay, cheer for me", before he would take his turn. I can't believe he'll be starting preschool next week! Two and a half hours a day twice a week at the YMCA. He's going to have a blast! (Don't worry, I'll have lots of "first day of school pictures" to show!)
