Happy Birthday Sweet Ruby Doo!

Today our sweet and sassy little Ruby is 3 years old and I'm left wondering how so much time could have passed. She is 3 year old full of life, love, and imagination. We are so blessed and lucky that she's ours. She may be quite a handful but she really is just plain awesome. We love you crazy girl!

December 9, 2009


December 9, 2012


My how you've grown! Please slow down, pretty please!

Happy Birthday Sweet Ruby!

Rain, Rain Go Away?

I love the rain. And I am so happy that the sun decided to take a day off. But man, I wish this rain would let just for a few minutes today. It's rainy, cold, and windy. Those words are not really uttered when you think about this part of Turkey. It just goes to show us that we'll need to be a warmer wardrobe collection once we get to my mom's house in Pennsylvania.
I wanted to make sure I posted yesterday and today's photos for my Project 365, er Project 366 since it's a leap year this year.
My dog sleeps in the funniest positions. She usually does it at night, but today she must have been extra tired. Silly Sophie dog!



And today we had two dentist appointments. First up was Lilly. While in the process of getting a loose tooth out, we found what we thought was a cavity. Turns out where we thought one was, wasn't, but she did have one on the other side. It's small but we need to get it filled as soon as we get to Offutt. I asked if she thought it would be better to see a dentist now about- an off base, Turkish civilian dentist- but she said she'd rather us wait until we're in the states. Apparently the Turkish view on kids with cavities is to just pull the tooth out instead of filling it. I'd much rather - and Steven too- her have it filled and not pulled. Ruby was the next appointment. The child has 3 chipped teeth. I kid you not! Three. She leads with her head just like her daddy :) We've noticed that one of her chipped teeth had started to discolor. We were worried that she may have damaged the nerves, but she's fine. The dentist said she just 'bruised the inside of her tooth'. She'll be fine but the tooth will stay that color until it falls out in a few years. Ruby did so much better that I thought she was going to. She even let them take an x-ray. She was much quieter than she normally is, but she was so calm and well behaved. I am so relieved that their appointments went so well. I was ball of nerves thinking it would be worse than it was.



-K

Day 4 and More Furniture!

We have talked for a few months now about getting the girls new beds. We debated about the beds we already had and the ridiculously cool bunk beds they have here. Seriously they have a set of stairs up to the top bunk instead of a ladder! But our kids were blessed with their Daddy's balance, well lack of, and their Momma's klutziness. They were practically born with hazard stickers. We would have loved to be able to get them some bunk beds but with our luck they'd wind up with a broken limb. We ultimately decided that our old queen sized bed we wanted to be a guest bed, because we love when family and friends come to visit ;). That bed is also what Lilly is using right now, so she is getting a new bed. Sadie and Ruby's beds are going to be painted and spruced up as soon as they get to Offutt AFB, Nebraska. After going to a few furniture stores in the Alley, we decided to go with Aydin's. Aydin is actually the uncle of Sunny, who we had make our bedroom set. Lilly and I looked at a lot of different styled beds and finally decided the features she wanted. I have nothing to show you of it because it will be a custom design, but it will have a couple of shelves on the headboard. She likes to read at night. It will be pink. And she wanted her name carved into it, but I know in 10 years, she'll wish she hadn't picked that. So instead it will have a lily flower carved onto it. She is beyond excited, but we also got to see a bit of her anxiety about moving come out. She started getting upset because she thought it wouldn't be ready before we get packed out, but it will.
Steven also found a bar. They have huge, extravagant bars for your home here. We didn't want that, but Steven did want a small bar. He finally found one he liked and it will be ready soon too. It will also feature a lock on it so curious kiddos or teenagers can't get into it. Once everything is made I'll post some photos.
These are photos, from my iPod, of Ruby. She choose the hat to wear and insisted on bringing Elmo. And 2 minutes after these were taken, she was out like a light!



-K

Kids Say the Darnedest Things & iPod Dump

Whenever someone asks Lilly how old she is she first tells them that she is 5 and that she is in kindergarten. Miss Thang thinks she is seriously hot stuff being in kindergarten. Well, I guess Sadie got tired of just saying that she is 3 and she felt a little left out. So the other day at the commissary, they were asked again how old they are. Here's how it went:
L- I'm five. (puts a hand on her hip) And I'm in kindergarten.
S- Yeah. And I'm 3. And I'm in Story Time.
Got to the love the them! What spunk they have :)


I was on the phone talking to Cindy and Ruby started talking to her Minnie Mouse stuffed animal. She was telling Minnie that she was "cute cute". Then she looked at me and said "Roo Roo cute." I
Me - Ruby's cute?
R- Uh-huh. Momma cute cute.
Me- Mommy's cute too?
R- Uh-huh.
Me- What about Ninny? (That's how she says Cindy.)
R- Ninny cute cute.
Me- Aw! Ninny's cute cute too.
R- More.
Me- More cute?
R- Uh-huh.
Me- Ninny's more cute?
R- Uh-huh.

Sadie has really been into science fiction lately. Yes, I know she's almost 4 but the heart wants what the heart wants, ha! She was watching a show with me and it had a giant bug creature looking for it's babies and it attacked people if it thought it was a threat. Sadie watched it and when it was over, she turns and looks at me and says, "Dat was da scarweiest thing I eber saw in my life!" I tried so hard not to laugh, but I told her again that if it was too scary I would turn it off. She said no because she knew it was fake, it just scared her heart out of her, aka startled her.



Lilly and Sadie were talking to each other in the car and Sadie started telling Lilly to stop saying that because it freaks her out in the head. She often says that when she wants Lilly to stop talking. She then told her to stop saying those "freaking words because they freak me out." We asked her what she was talking about and she meant that they were words that freak her out. NOT trying to use the f-word, thank the Lord, that would have been a whole other story about where she heard and why she can't use the that word.

Since the day we got our cat, Milo, and our dog, Sophie, the girls have been asking for one more cat and one more dog. They want another boy cat and to name him Figueroa because Minnie Mouse has a cat named Figueroa. Sadie told us yesterday that she needed another cat and dog again, and what to name the cat. She took it one step further and told us the dog had to be named Pluto because Mickey Mouse has a dog named Pluto. And that Mickey and Minnie Mouse come together, so the animals came together like that too. Sometimes I think that girl is too smart for her own good.

Lilly may be in kindergarten, but her maturity level is way above that. She'll come home and tell us that someone called her ugly and that wasn't very nice. She's just letting us know what happened and that she knew it wasn't true, because she's beautiful. She just seemed annoyed that kids actually act like that and she has to hear instead of doing something productive. Poor kid has too many years ahead of her to have to listen to foolish things like that. We're just grateful she has such strong head on her shoulders.



Sadie keeps asking when we are going to live in a hotel again, aka moving. But she not only wants to live in a hotel, she wants to live in a hotel near Memaw and Papop. "You know where Memaw and Papop have to drive two cars?" I think she's missing Memaw and Papop!

I was clearing out my ipod pictures and realized I've never shared any of the photos on it. The camera on it is one of my favorite features. These photos are all within the past year. And the ones of Ruby and Steven are some of my all time favorite. These little girls really love their Daddy♥ And yes, those are Starbucks cups in Lilly and Sadie's hands. The best part about this base is that there is a real Starbucks. Not a coffee shop that 'proudly brews Starbucks coffee', but a real Starbucks. It's at the club complex which also happens to house the base barber as well. When Steven stopped shaving his head for a while, we would got and get treats while he got his hair cut :) Those two girls are Starbucks snobs. The are so proud walking around with those cups of warm hot chocolate!

-K

Thursday Market

Thursday morning, after Steven took Lilly to school, we headed out to the Alley for the Thursday market. I don't think we will ever have the opportunity to purchase fresh produce for so little money. I really will miss this part of Turkey. The best part of going this early, we didn't get asked by every vendor, multiple times, if we wanted what they were selling. We always go with the intention to buy more vegetables than fruit, but it's really hard to resist.

They have many other things there, but we usually just go for the produce. They have clothes, shoes, household items, rugs, and even fresh olives. The man with the olives kept asking if we wanted some to take home to make fresh olive oil. I would love to try that one day, but I'd have to do some research on what to do. They offered Steven an olive one time, the man does love him some olives, and didn't realize it wasn't prepared. He took a bite and made a face and the men at the cart just started laughing. He walked away with the feeling they were saying 'dumb American". We had a good laugh about on the way home.

The girls found some wall stickers that they liked. They were Disney Princess ones, and they wanted. I would have loved to get them some for their rooms. For 1) I wasn't sure if they would be easy or not to take off the wall when we move, 2) we tried them when Lilly and Sadie were younger and they kept pulling them off to play with them, and 3) we tried again when we moved here with vinyls and Lilly still tried to pull hers off again and ripped it. Maybe one day they'll work.

We did pretty darn good money wise. The best deal of the day, the eggplant. We got 1 kilo, about 2.2 lbs, for only 1 Turkish Lira. That's only 55 cents. Now that I think about it, we probably should have gotten more to freeze. Maybe they still be that price next Thursday. We brought home some persimmons, plums, bananas, peaches, pomegranates, eggplant, potatoes, and red onions. All of that was only 18 lira, about $9.83. You can't beat that price anywhere. And it was so good! The second we got home, Ruby had to have a banana. Poor girl was in agony over not being able to eat a banana the second she saw them. We've tried everything but the potatoes- hopefully tomorrow- and it was all so good.


Here's hoping that next week is as good as the last!

-K

Fire Prevention Week

One of our favorite weeks of the year is Fire Prevention Week. Every year Steven reminds the girls that his dad, their Papop, was a fire chief and they get just as if it were the first time he told them. Story Time this past week had the base fire chief and a lot of the fire department there. That included Sparky the fire dog and a fire truck to explore.




First, the fire chief read a couple of stories and then we went to the truck. Every time Sparky comes out there's a mixed reaction. There are some kids that shriek with fear and others you just can't stop attacking hugging him. Sadie was pretty happy to see him, but not really touchy happy. She kept her space but was friendly, which is perfectly Sadie-Mae.


Ruby, on the other hand, was screaming 'pup-pup' and pointing. She loved him. She hugged him and took dome pictures with him. She was enthralled.
We checked out the fire truck, which was Sadie's favorite. They explored all the different seats that fire fighters sit in on the way to a fire. They pretended to drive the truck and saw all the hoses and tools. I'm pretty sure they would have stayed there all day, but fire fighters can't play all day. They needed to be ready in case there is a real fire.




Sparky said goodbye and Ruby chased after him. She was screaming 'kiss kiss'. She wanted a proper goodbye. She gave him a kiss and a bug hug. And the faces she making, we call it her 'ducky lips'. She makes the lips and then gives you kisses. She really is too funny.




After we said goodbye, we went inside to find some books to bring home. We check out a ridiculous amount of books every week. Most of the books the girls' own are missing at least a page. Sadie and Lilly are trying to keep their books from being destroyed by Ruby, but they've had a some of them since Lilly was a baby. Babies and paper books don't go so well together. So in order to read everyday we check out about 30 books a week, return them, and then check out some more. It works for us right now, and I'm sure I'll have some pretty strong arms from lugging around the bag(s) of books ;)

-K

I Heart Faces- People’s Choice

I love this picture of Ruby Lane. It shows so much of her personality. The focus is a little off on her face because she is, literally, always on the go. She is like a tornado, hurricane, typhoon, and an earthquake all rolled into one. I kid you not, she is a force to be reckon with. She’s almost always smiling, loving on her family, and playing passionately. She doesn’t do anything without putting everything she has into it. We just love her so much!




Check out some more beautiful faces at I ♥ Faces.
                                                                                                 
-k

Kids Say the Darndest Things

We try to use kid friendly cleaners around the house because the kids and the pets put everything in their mouths. We usually make a vinegar/water spray and use it to clean tables and the counters. Sadie walked into the dining room and Sadie, "Hey! It smells like chips in here! I want some chips now." Can you tell one their favorite kind of chips are salt and vinegar? It must be because they're English ;)

One of the things we brought home from the states are some old American Girl dolls that we got when I was like 8. Steven and my dad searched high and low in the basement for them and all their accessories. And since the day they got them, they have played and dressed at least once a day. Sadie was sitting on the couch trying to dress her Felicity doll into a hospital gown, and asked me for help. Since I try not to get sucked into dressing their dolls because it's a never-ending cycle of taking one outfit off to put on another one, just to take that one off 2 minutes later. I told her, "I'll give you a hint. The arms go into the arm holes." And she perks up, "Oh! That's what you have to do! I think I can do that, put the arms in the arm holes."

When Steven arrived in the states in July, the girls had a plethora of things and stories to tell him. These things ranged from what we did without him to random crazies to how much they missed him. Well one night Lilly, out of nowhere, says "Dad, you know sometimes you screw yourself." And Steven who is learning patience with them and to ask what they are talking about before punishing her, looked at me half laughing/half mad and says, " What do you mean Lilly?" And she explains, "You know when you are hanging stuff on the wall and you put the screw in your finger instead of into the wall, you screw yourself in the finger." One word- PRICELESS.

We got rid of Ruby's binky as soon as she was over the croup. The only reason she kept it over the summer was that we wanted her to have it for the flight to and from the states. It was just easier on everyone involved that she keep for the long flights. We didn't have any problem getting rid of it at all, we just did the same as we did for the other two. We threw them all way and told her that little babies needed it because she's a big girl now. Now she doesn't stop talking. The worst part is that she parrots everyone, all the time. She follows movies and stories and understands what's going on. When she sees vehicles she shouts, "Drive, drive, drive!" But when she sees cats, she goes NUTS. She screams "kiddies!" at the top of her lungs and when the cat is bad she screams, "Kiddie! Bad kiddies. Kiddie bad!" over and over and over and over and over and over again. It drives me bonkers! I love that she's talking a lot more now but man I wish you could install a filter on her.

We went to the BX after school one day and noticed the Halloween costumes were out. For those of you who don't know, when there is something at the BX who want, need, or even think you may need you have to buy it right there on the spot. If you don't and you go back even just later in the day, it more than likely won't be there anymore.
Small base + Overseas = Not a lot of stuff. The girls picked out the princesses costumes obviously :) Lilly will be Ariel, Sadie will be Belle, and Ruby will be Cinderella. Ruby went to her new go to word of the day, cute. She just kept screaming, "Cute! Cute! Cute!" Lilly asked Daddy what he wanted to be and he said nothing the costumes were for them. Ruby says, "But cute!" meaning but Daddy you'll be cute. Her talking is getting better and better everyday.

We were looking around the toy section and we stopped at the puzzles. They have been pretty much obsessed with them since Yiayia got them some to do over the summer. They found some Disney ones that were 300 pieces and they were amazed by all the pieces. Lilly picks one up and says, "Oh Momma! What kind is this one?" I told her it was a Diary of a Wimpy Kid puzzle and she says, "Oh a Diarrhea of a Wimpy Kid puzzle! Cool!"

Maybe Ruby is going through a growth spurt or I don't know what, but every time Steven or I go into or even near the kitchen Ruby starts screaming, "Eat! Eat! Eat!" and runs to her seat at the table. Sometimes she actually eats other times she just plays or tries to feed the dog.

We've been watching "Only in America with Larry the Cable" and the girls like Larry is just awesome. They figured out that he's the voice of Tow Mater and now they think he's hillarious. They had the DVD of the show at the BX and Sadie screams out, "Hey Mom! They have that Cable Guy here!!!"

The weekends here have been about sitting with/on Daddy. They love the days he's home with them!


-K

What's New with Us?

Yup. She went on the potty. So proud but so sad. And no, I am not trying to potty train her yet. We're just trying to get her interested.
And do you see her shirt? It says "Ruby's Fruit Juice Stand". I found it at the Carter's store and got all giddy. There are never clothes, toys, key chains, or anything with the girls' names on them unless we had someone put it there. I like it better that way. Hopefully when they're all in school there won't be a handful of Ruby's in the class.
I'm exhausted and surrounded by whiny, tired children, so when they go to sleep I'll try and update more before I fall asleep. I feel as tired now as when we had newborns. Ugh! I swear I'm not ignoring anyone, just sleep deprived and overworked, ha!

-K

Bethlehem

A couple of weekends ago we ventured out to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for some fresh air and some exploring. My parent's live about 20 minutes from there and we had a pretty good time. It was a nice change of scenery and a whole lot of fun for me to take some photos. I feel like a kid with a new toy every time I get the chance to photograph something new. I hope and pray that the feeling never goes away or gets old.





Just driving around was nice. Once we got there we parked and walked around. We found a nice little deli and had some lunch. The weather was beautiful and we were able to just enjoy our walk.





After lunch and a walk we headed out for Party City. Papou needed some costume pieces for work and Party City was just down the road. He found what he needed as well as some dress up stuff for all the little girls. We even managed to find Ruby a coveted Batman mask. We had been trying to find a replacement for the one at home that broke. She wasn't feeling good so she didn't wear it for a few days, until she started to feel a lot better. And when she rediscovered it at Papou's house she was so excited.






Little did we know that Ruby would end up at the hospital latter that day. Our kids never act sick unless they are throwing up or have a fever. It makes it very hard to judge just how sick they really are when they're still running around a playing. And I kid you not, you would never ave guessed that Ruby was battling a bad case of strep throat. The hospital was nice and even had a Children's ER separate from the main Er. The nurses and doctors were really nice and we got taken care of pretty fast.




On our way out of the parking lot I got a call from my sister Gabbie that Sadie wasn't feeling good and she thought that she had a fever as well. Great! Now I have two sick kiddos. When we got back o the house, Gabbie took me to a pharmacy that was still opened as it was going on 7:30PM. We didn't get home until after 9 and by then Sadie was burning up. I gave her and Ruby some medicine, set up camp in the living room and prayed for a good night of sleep. At this point we were all still jet lagged. Thankfully the Tylenol and Motrin kept the fevers down and we had a pretty good night of sleep, considering.




Oh the joys of military life. I'm just thankful we were with family that helped the best they could. Dealing with jet lagged kids is hard enough. Add strep throat and all it does is make life miserable for days. I'm grateful were over that hump though. I'll finish this in another post, this one is long enough!

-K

Sleeping Baby

Ruby fell asleep on the couch a few days ago. That is a rarity. She didn't nap for weeks when she was transitioning from 2 naps a day to 1. Her body was just confused. Week after exhausting week I prayed she'd just sleep for a little bit so I could just think straight and form complete, understandable sentences.

Then one day, Lilly was sick and stayed home from school, and it just happened to be on one of Steven's days off. So we all climbed into our bed and watched Harry Potter. Steven just couldn't keep his eyes opened and fell asleep. Not long after, Ruby fell asleep. I mean really fell asleep and stayed asleep for a couple of hours. The next day she fell asleep again with Steven. And she did it the next day, and the next day, and the next day! She would only take a nap with Daddy and she fell asleep within 10 minutes.

Occasionally she will fall asleep downstairs when she isn't feeling good or she is really exhausted. The kiddo is just crazy. She is into everything, climbs, on everything, and plays with everything she can get her hands on. She is much more than a "handful". She is more of a handful than Lilly and Sadie combined. Everyday she is looking more and more like a little girl and not a baby. But just for a few moments in her sleeping on the couch, she looked like my baby again. So I grabbed my camera and just kept shooting. Before you or I know it, she'll be starting school, and I don't think I am ready for that at all.



To see more check out my photography blog!



-k

What do the litte girls do while Lilly is at school?

They like to play dress up, make silly faces, tell me when to take a picture, and play together. Ruby has started to put her finger onto her cheek and squeal "Cheeeesssse!!". She does this whenever she wants me to take a photo of her. She's pretty cute when she does it and she'll usually stand on the coffee table for the picture. They miss Lilly a lot when she's not with us so I think they will be really excited for summer vacation.







-k

Gross

If you know me or Ruby, you know that I tell everyone that she is just plain gross. She is the sweetest, happiest little girl you will ever meet. She always has a smile on her face. But she has an affinity for the outdoors that goes beyond just playing out there. She likes to collect rocks, pine cones, branches, and leaves. She collects them, puts them into piles, and will then taste them. Yup, she tells me dirt is not yucky, it's "mmm, mmm, mmm, num num!". I'm hoping that soon, very soon, that she'll stop trying to eat them. It just plain grosses this momma out!

Dress Up

There are a few things here at home that  our girls love to do. One is watch movies with a nice bowl of  popcorn. Two, they love books. They could sit for hours, well not hours (they're way to wiggly), and listen to stories. They get so excited picking out books at the library and every time Lilly brings home a new book order. Three is dress up.
    All 3 of them love putting outfits together and parading around the house in them. It started with a simple back pack. Ruby was fascinated with them. Since Lilly wears one to school everyday and the girls were supposed to wear them in airports/flights on vacation, she saw them all the time and was the only one that didn't have one. She was playing with the Lilly and Sadie and found one and got Lilly to put it on her. All we heard for the next week or so was "pack pack". From there she was able to pull anything out of their dress up drawers and get whatever she wanted and brought it to someone to put on her. The girls were so happy.
Then we were on Skype with Papou one day and the decided to put on a fashion show. Really they just wanted to put on some ballet outfits they got in Texas. Sadie found an old one of theirs and said Ruby needed it on, and Ruby agreed. So I helped Ruby put it on. They were so happy and dancing to music. They are always putting some piece of costume on when we are downstairs. They're pretty crazy girls with some even more outrageous outfit on.

Sadie is getting really bad with it. Every night I will pull clothes out for them to wear the next day. Whenever they wake up, they just get out of bed and get dressed. It works really on school days, but when I take out the clothes Sadie usually pitches a fit. I never take out what she wants to wear. Sometimes I just let her pick things, most I don't. Lilly has a dress code at school so I have to pick things for. This is toughest when it's hot, all she wants to wear is tank tops, shorts, and sundresses, and I don't blame her. Since it's not hot right now, I let her help me.
I'll leave you with some of these crazy outfits. And I am going to make an effort to stop and take a photo of some of these outfits.

 

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