life lately according to instagram

*i stole this one from Dawnica's feed

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lippy

Ruby will not stay still for the camera. this isn't new, but she's getting faster and  requires a lot more bribery than ever before. every time i try to get a photo, it costs me at least a pack of fruit snacks (these pictures were actually taken while she had a mouthful of fruit snacks and it makes me laugh every time i look at them). anyway this time it was all about the "lippy." that's what Roo calls chapstick. every time i give her my chapstick she squeals "LIPPY!" and then smears it on her entire face. i keep it reserved for desperate measures. these pictures were all taken super quick and she wouldn't cooperate for a single shot, but thank goodness for that lippy because i kind of love them. and would you look at that sassy eyebrow action?! it kills me.

parking

we've been sick for the last week or so. being sick is not great, but for the last few days the weather has been brilliant. it's like someone decided we needed to be given a break already. the miserable weather blew away, the clouds parted, and mr. sunshine came out to thaw our bitter hearts. we still have coughs and sniffles and raspy voices, but fresh air and sunshine were exactly what the doctor ordered. so we thanked the heavens, put on our play shoes and booked it to the nearest park (literally- "siri, take me to the closest park, stat!"). as soon as Roo figured out what was going on she started running for that playground like it was a long lost friend.

so far, we've been to a different park every day since the weather changed.
here's the thing about 2 year-old Ruby. she is determined to be independent, and she is captivated by "the kids." she will say "oh! mommy, look at the kids!" if she sees more than one child in public (as if she's seeing a street performance or something) and occasionally when we're alone she'll ask me "where'd the kids go?" she could be referring to pretty much any child over 2 that she's seen all week. we were playing at the park by ourselves for a bit before a few other families showed up. as soon as "the kids" started playing around her, she froze and just watched them play. she will stand, quietly observing other children for the longest time. and don't even try to help her climb up that terrifying arched monkey bars contraption on to the play structure, because "I DO IT!"
this little monkey is turning in to a big kid faster than i can keep up.

p.s. remember this time last year? looks like there's a bit of a trend (being grumpy, weather change, going to the park, new outlook on life, happy campers)

monthly photo: 2 years

2 years:

click here for previous months

currently

 Dear Ruby,

i am currently in love with

the way you take my face in your hands and say "look at me, mommy!"

sharing my breakfast with you every morning

the look on your face when you try on a new pair of shoes

your eyelashes

the treasures i find stashed in your secret hiding spots

when you say "i wanna hold mommy"

you are my forever baby
love,
mommy

Roo's 2nd birthday party

oh the birthday party... Ruby has been talking about her "happy birthday party" since january. it's been very cute, but also who can live up to all that hype?! by the time her party came along i'm sure she was expecting a trampoline park/petting zoo full of unicorns... with Elmo as the mc! thankfully my sister was a voluntary member of the party planning committee so i had reinforcements. thank you, Dawnica!

i loved this idea of paper dots garlands, and thought it would work really well for the giant, blank wall in our living room (i still haven't decorated the majority of our house because we might move again in 2 months...yes, i know). having a helper came in very handy for this part because it's pretty time-consuming to twist all that paper.

Ruby's monthly photos made this wall way cuter than it's ever been. i'm tempted to leave them up forever.

we kept the food really simple with fruit, veggies, and pasta salad. all Ruby wants to eat these days is fruit and veggies anyway so she was happy with that. can we just talk about this magical drink for a second? i told my sister i wanted a clear drink (hello stains!) this time around and she told me about something called "surprise water" that her mother in law makes. it is seriously the easiest and tastiest drink ever (email me if you want the recipe). i froze some fruit ice cubes to add color and keep it cold, and tadaa! pretty and no stains! thank you Michelle for the recipe!

when i was deciding on activities for the littles, all i could think of was how much Roo loves coloring and anything arts and crafts-y. i ended up making play dough and coloring pages, and i set out crayons and stickers on a little art table for the kids to play with. apparently i really like the idea of a craft table.

at one point Roo stuck a crayon in her lump of play dough and pretended it was a birthday candle. the other kids joined suit and suddenly we were all blowing out pretend candles on play dough cupcakes. she's such a funny little thing.

she was actually interested in opening presents this time around which was nice. she kept gasping after opening every gift and getting so excited. i loved seeing her be so sweet and say thank you to each of her friends.

Roo's sweet buddy, Maddi gave her a baby stroller. it was a big hit, as you can see. Ruby is still completely obsessed with her babies.

Ruby was all about the cake and the candles. the look on her face when we lit the candles and started singing was absolutely priceless. she was in heaven.

she's started doing this thing with me and Tyler where she wants group kisses. as soon as we get close enough, she wraps her arms around both our necks and pulls us in for kisses with a big "MMMMMMUAH!" we absolutely love it.

as favors i just put together a few of Roo's favorite things for all the kids and sent everyone home with a cup of play dough. easy!

i couldn't find any unicorns, but i think she had fun nonetheless. now only 12 more months until the next one!

p.s. check out Roo's first birthday party here

p.p.s. i owe a huge thank you to my friend, Whitney for helping me take some of these photos of the party. It's so nice to be in some of the pictures for a change! She also took that group shot of the kids and let me tell ya, it takes some serious skill to get that many littles in a photo together!  if you're looking for a photographer, you can find more of her info here!