Artist in the Making....

Ruthi had her first experience with painting and she had a blast! It ended up being a bit messy (what else with a 2 year old?) but she painted to her heart's content. The star she painted (and since been cut out so you can still tell it's a star) is now proudly displayed on the refrigerator. She loves to color too. I truly think we have an artist in the making!


Shirt covered in paint = happy toddler!

SHE'S 2!!!!!!!!

I can hardly believe our precious little girl is 2!! I know, she has been for almost a month, and I still can hardly believe it. Thought I'd share a couple pictures from the big day! We kept it small so the focus would be on her. Just us and my parents. Maybe we'll have a few kids when she turns 3, but I figured it would be better for it would be easier on her to not have to deal with sharing with others for this one. I was sure there would be tears or some fighting if there had been other 2 year olds here! She's not laid back like CJ was at this age, and I could just imagine her getting quite upset if anyone else tried to play with her new things! Maybe when she turns 3, she'll be able to understand reasoning better and know that no one is actually going to take her things, and be better with sharing. I also wanted to be relaxed myself, and have no stress, so this was the way to go!!
When we sang Happy Birthday to her, she was so cute, looking around at all of us with the biggest grin on her face! Here's a picture of her just after she blew out the candles - she got them on one try!

Nana and Poppy got her her first motorized vehicle, so she became a driver on her birthday - but maybe not a very good one!

She is truly a Dora-fan-atic. Everything 'Dora' lights her face up. Even a balloon!

And almost a month later, and she STILL plays with this thing. The helium is gone, but CJ figured out how to add air into it, so Dora's not flat. It is so funny to watch her with this thing.

That 2 year milestone - wow - really made a difference. I can't believe how much her vocabulary is growing on a daily basis. And it's funny, she started saying words "more grown up" all of a sudden too. She is growing WAY too fast!! I'm afraid to blink - she'll be 3 before I know it!!

Silly Kids (Just for you Daddy!!)

So I was on the phone with my Dad last night, and he says, "It's January 25, and I'm looking at Christmas Pictures!" Guess that was a hint I needed to update this blog! It must be my OCD coming out. I've been "meaning" to, but I kept thinking - I don't have time to sit down and do it because I'm so far behind, I need to put in all the Christmas and Ruthi's birthday stuff! And so I didn't do it at all - it happens to me - I just stop completely if I can't do it like I intended to. Well, I'm trying to get over that and get back to keeping this thing up even if some things were skipped. I may still get around to adding some missed stuff, but won't let that keep me from moving on any longer!! Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but it is the story of my life!! Thanks for the 'push' Daddy!
Anyway... Back to the regularly scheduled programming!
So, we all know that 2 year olds are great imitators. This is why I'm CONSTANTLY telling CJ to be careful what he does, because Ruthi looks up to him and wants to do everything he does. Well, they were sitting at the table coloring when I looked up and saw this:

I told him to stop - but too late, Ruthi had already seen it. Thankfully though, she didn't get it completely right, but she did want to do what he did:

Needless to say, I'm quite thankful she didn't stick them in her nose!! I don't know if CJ will ever really realize though how much of an influence he is on her. Oh the joy!

Christmas Photos

We started a couple years ago having family pictures made around November or the first part of December. This year however, things just got so crazy, that schedules just didn't mesh, and we never got them done. So I just took some pictures of the kids. I would have been putting one in Christmas cards this year, but unfortunately I got so wrapped up in the hustle and bustle, that cards never got done! Shame on me! I really needed the pictures though, as I needed some December photos for calendars I was making for gifts. Here are a few. The ones with the kids holding the letters were put into frames with 3 openings (side by side) to spell out "JOY" and given to our parents for Christmas.

Time Flies!!!

Wow! I can't believe it was the beginning of December when I last posted! I've been caught up in a whirlwind of busyness between baking & making Christmas gifts on top of all the normal stuff! I'm beginning to feel the effects of it too - I've been quite tired the past couple days. I love Christmas, but at the same time, am always glad when it's over! I guess you could say our "offical" Christmas season began yesterday. We went to vist Chip's parents and had Christmas with them. It was very odd due to the 70 degree weather! We spent most of the day outside! But we had a wonderful time. The kids had a blast playing in a big pile of leaves, and CJ got in some shooting time. We took a family picture, but Chip is not in it, because he took it. I wish I had thought to take the tripod! Of course, it's rare for me to be in a family pic, because I'm usually the one behind the camera. But I wish he was in it, so I need to start remembering that tripod!

More Catching Up!

Well, I had planned to get these on here yesterday, but I never got a chance to. I have been feeling a bit stressed and overwhelmed lately, and was in much need of a break. My Granddad is living with my Aunt and Uncle in KY now, and needed his heat turned on at his house (a little more than an hour from me). Chip was going to go up there yesterday to do it, but said if I wanted a break, that I could go and get a hotel room and stay the night. I thought it was a bit silly to get a room since I was going to be at Granddaddy's house anyway - so I went and I stayed there. It was very odd to sleep all night without being interrupted, or no one snuggling up next to me! But I slept good, got up this morning and went to do some Christmas shopping. By the time I got home, I was feeling very refreshed - it was nice to have some quiet "me" time for just a little while! So, now I am finally sitting down here to do a little more catching up!
Last Sunday, we went to my parents' house to have Thanksgiving dinner. My mom's cousin Pam and her husband Ennis were able to join us too. We had more great food, and a wonderful time. I have to say right now, SHAME ON ME - I didn't manage to get one picture of CJ! Some mom, huh? It doesn't help that he's not always as eager to pose as Ruthi is, and I guess it's just not quite as cute getting pictures of him sitting in everyone's lap or giving hugs! But I still can't believe I didn't even get one!! Gotta do better with that!
My mom bought Ruthi a kitchen to keep there so Ruthi can play with it when she's there. She also got her some dress-up clothes. Oh, my, we have something started now!! She loved it all! And, Pam brought over a table and chairs for Ruthi to play with too. You would have thought it was already Christmas!! She had a blast with her new things, as you can see in the picures!


All Dressed Up

Pretend Play

Ruthi's New Kitchen

Dinner Time @ the new table!

Nana

Poppy

Pam

And a big hug for Ennis!

Catching Up

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. We had a great time and ate lots of food! We were in Thanksgiving mode from Thursday till Sunday. Then I spent Tuesday and Wednesday in bed with a stomach bug - yuck. So I'm behind on posting to this blog! So now I'll try to play catch up over the next couple days.

We went to Aunt Sue's for Thanksgiving - we've been going there for several years now on Thanksgiving Day. It was a much smaller crowd this year - only 16 of us this year - so it felt a little different, but we still had a wonderful time. Everyone who wasn't there was definitely missed! Here are a few pictures from that day. I'll post more tomorrow about the rest of the weekend.

Playing on Aunt Sue's Organ

Foosball Fun
Firefighter Ruthi


Hug for Grandmother

Family Picture

Warm and Cozy

I tossed a load of warm towels from the dryer onto the couch, and while I was putting another load in the dryer, Ruthi decided to get warm and cozy! She pulled them off the couch and began to snuggle down in them. CJ "helped" and piled them around her. When I asked her if it was nice and warm, she said "oooooooooo, wowel" (towels). CJ wanted his picture with her too, so here they are together. (I'm very pleased to say, he's been much more willing to have pictures taken recently after a (phase, maybe?) of not wanting pictures taken and actually making funny faces when I tried.)
I am very glad to be feeling back to "normal" (whatever that is) again! I spent 5 days in bed (well, technically, on the couch) with very little getting up. I was having horrible sinus pressure in my ears, and it was making me very nauseous, and I could barely function. What a horrible feeling! Thankfully Chip takes wonderfully good care of me and the kids when I am sick. He cooked and cleaned (well, he did wash dishes) all week, entertained Ruthi and let me rest. He took a shift off on Saturday, so he was around all 5 days. I went to the doctor yesterday. Thankfully there was no infection, but she said my ears were "sucked in" and that was why I was feeling so much pressure. OTC meds weren't helping, so she gave me a stronger decongestant, and I am feeling TONS better today! But Ruthi has been a bit cranky and stuffy, so I'm giving her Sudafed and hopefully she'll feel better fast. She even took TWO naps today!!! (She NEVER does that!) I talked to Chip earlier tonight (he's at the station) and he said he's not feeling well. I sure hope they are feeling better quick, and this doesn't stop our Thanksgiving plans!!

Blocks?

I heard some banging around and went in to the kitchen to investigate, and this is what I found:

It always amazes me what this child finds to play with when she has a room full of toys! She has actually enjoyed playing with coke cans (Diet Coke with Lime to be exact!) for a very long time. These had fallen out of the carton they came in, and I had not yet put them away. So she was happily in the kitchen lining them up over and over and trying to stack them. When she realized I was taking pictures, she forced a smile and pose and said "cheeeeeeese". But she really just wanted to keep playing with her "toys"!

Dirty Dog

Well, she WAS! Tasha was a very stinky dog, so we decided to bring her in and give her a much needed bath. Ruthi wasn't sure what to think having the dog IN the house! But she got very excited. She jumped right in to help with the bath too. I don't think I've ever seen 3 people at once give a dog a bath before! But now she smells much less like a dog. And she thoroughly enjoyed the "treat" of being inside for a bit. We made sure she was dry before we sent her back out since it was a bit cold out there! I think that once Ruthi figures out how to open the back door, she's going to be trying to let Tasha in because it was great fun for her to have a dog in the house!

Awards Night

Well, thankfully CJ is doing MUCH better. His face is almost completely cleared up, and no more headaches. THANK HEAVENS!!!! Last night was the Awards Ceremony for Upward Basketball. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get many pictures due to the lighting, where we were sitting, and the fact that I was chasing Ruthi during the whole thing. Tommy Johns came againg this year, and he was awesome. His illusions always baffle everyone. The kids had a great time and received cute bobble head trophies and duffle bags. Chips coach also gave his team a gift, so CJ got a watch as well. Here he is with his coach, Charles, and a picture of his trophy.












What was really cool though, was after everthing was done. I had gone to tell Tommy thank you for coming again this year (I had called to book him, so I had to thank him!) and he showed us how to do one of his tricks. It was so cool! Then we helped him take his bags out. He asked CJ if he wanted to see the coolest card trick EVER, and of course CJ said yes. So he did it a couple times, and blew our minds. He asked if he had 5 minutes to learn it, which of course we did. So we went back in and he revealed his secret. Talk about cool! AND he gave CJ the deck of cards he was using so CJ could practice it. This guy is great!! He's going to be doing a magic camp after the first of the year, and I think CJ is going to it for sure. Hopefully he'll have this trick mastered by then and can show Tommy! We may have a little magician on our hands!!

Update on CJ

Well, poor guy had an awful night last night - I could hear him moaning and groaning, and banging the wall a couple times. This morning his face looked even worse - his right eye was swollen almost shut. So I called the doctor, and they were able to get us right in. So we got ready, jumped in the car, and.....it wouldn't start! The battery was dead. Chip was at workand of course none of the neighbors were home. So I called Chip, he made one phone call and help was on the way. Our mechanic shop is a mile up the road, so one of those guys came to help - he got there quite quickly, gave the car a jump, and off we were - and we were only 5 minutes late!! (Thankfully I had not waited until the last minute to walk out the door!)
The doctor said it looked like poison ivy - we had considered that, but it looked a little different than usual, and it usually covers him everywhere, so I wasn't convinced before. She gave him some prednisone since it was on his face and so bad. She also gave us a couple of EpiPens just in case he has trouble breathing again due to a reaction in the future. Prednisone must be some really good stuff, because he is feeling much better and is being much more pleasant! (Benedryl turns him into a very grumpy bear!) She said that this would make him very moody, but so far so good. And most of all, he's not completely miserable anymore! I am so happy.

After leaving the doctor's office and getting the prescriptions filled, I ran by the mechanic's shop so he could test my battery. He had told me to leave it running for about 30 minutes so it could charge up - he was concerned it was the alternator, so I left it running (with the doors locked) while we were at the doctor. I went by, he checked it and all was good - he said maybe it was just because it was so cold this morning. I didn't say it was probably because I had forgotten to turn off the satellite radio on Friday and the car had been sitting there all weekend with that thing on!

Anyway, Monday is almost over - thankfully - and now I need to prepare for the rest of this very busy week! I'm tired just thinking about it!

Puzzling.....

Lost is CJ's favorite TV show, and one of my favorites. So on Wednesday nights, I let him stay up late and we watch it together. When Chip went to South Dakota last week to go hunting, the he brought us home a 1,000 piece Lost puzzle. So this weekend, we decided to open it up and work on it. We began Friday night. (That's why we were up late.) We worked on it most of the day on Saturday, and most of the day today. This is by FAR the most challenging puzzle I've EVER done! The biggest reason - there is no picture to know what it is supposed to look like! And it is not just a big picture, but dozen's of smaller ones in which we have to figure out how each one connects to the next. Very challenging, but I love a challenge, and have been totally obsessed with this thing! Not to mention, we can't eat at the table until it's complete! As of right now, it is almost complete with only about 100 pieces still needing a home. I took this picture yesterday, but CJ wouldn't let me take one up close of his face.


Now you can see why we can't eat at the table! And amazingly enough, Ruthi has totally left it alone - only eagerly picking up pieces for us that have dropped on the floor. What a good girl!

Poor CJ, his face looks even worse today, so there was no picture taking today whatsoever! And he's been very itchy in spite of the Benedry and the Benedryl spray. And all that in his system makes for a bit of a grumpy boy too! Unless he wakes up in the morning with major improvement, I will be calling the doctor first thing! I just feel horrible for him. And we can't convince him for anything that him scratching it is making it worse! Poor baby! I'll post an update soon!

What a Morning!

This was a morning I'd love to be able to do over and it just be normal! We were up quite late last night working on a puzzle (more on that later), so we slept in this morning. Well, the kids and I did - Chip worked last night and went straight to a meeting this morning. About 9:30 CJ woke me up saying his face was itching. I got up, still quite groggy to take a closer look. All around his mouth was red and blotchy, and he had several other spots on his face, including under his right eye. Looked to me like he had had an allergic reaction to something. I was thinking it was his chapstick (he had that happen with one brand a while back), however he said this is the one he'd been using without a problem. Not knowing what it was, I went ahead and gave him some Benedryl. About 5 minutes later, he came running into the kitchen, freaking out, panicked, saying he couldn't breathe and his throat hurt. I managed to stay calm and try to calm him down so I could access the situation. He seemed to be breathing normally, so I wanted to be sure. He was really scared, and I didn't want to take any chances. Chip wasn't home, so I called 911. They arrived within 5 minutes or so, but by then, he had calmed down considerably. They agreed it appeared to be an allergic reaction, and even said that the Benedryl could have caused him to react that way. Nothing like a good scare to start your day! Poor guy, he's been on benedryl all day, his face looks awful and he's not feeling so great. I feel so bad for him. We still are unsure about what caused this. We think it could even possibly be some chips he ate that he'd never had before. We aren't sure, but just in case, he's not eating anymore of those! I'd post a picture, but he won't let me take one. I can't say that I blame him. He does look pretty bad. (Shhh.....don't tell him I said that!!!)

Bubble Bath!!

One of Ruthi's absolute favorite things to do is take a bath. She wanted one so much tonight, that she decided to strip herself down and say "Baa" as she signed the word 'bath'. There was no doubt what she wanted! So off to the tub we went, and I decided to add bubbles this time. This was her very first bubble bath. She had a blast! She kept repeating "Oooo, bub-boows" as she would scoop them up and try to add them to the ones I had already placed on her head. I know she's going to be asking for bubbles at bath time now! It's going to be even harder to convince her she's been in the tub long enough!