Video from the week.

We had a very Merry Christmas. And a wonderful week, in fact. On Christmas Eve we went to Roper Mountain Lights with Grandpa Kruse. This has become tradition for us, 3 years running. We left cookies and milk out for Santa that night. Christmas morning was wonderful. It was fun to see Stella's reaction to all the presents under the tree. She went straight for the dollhouse and really wasn't interested in much else for a while. She received so many great gifts from everyone. Ruby did too! She got a great santa outfit and filled it out well. Thank you all so much. We were very overwhelmed with all the presents. Christmas evening it started snowing here and by morning it was covering the ground. Stella had some fun playng in it and Dad and Grandpa helped her make her first snowman.


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christmas party

We had a Christmas party with friends this past weekend.  These are all the people and kiddos I first met at the library 2 years ago. We started out as a 'play group' and have become much more. There are 2 kids per family now and we are all close friends! Both adults and kids.  Stella loves her friends here and is always happy to spend time with them.  Here is Stella with Maya, Tess in the red dress and Elizabeth in the pink sweater. 

                                                   Dinner time with Chase (the host) and Tess

                      Stella's first christmas gift. A bag, shoes, clothes, videos,piggy bank...  She was ecstatic!

                                                     

                                                       Opening Ruby's first christmas gift!

Attempting a group shot!  What a group it is.  With 12 kids 2 and under you can imagine the amount of  effort it took to try to put them all in one spot, facing one direction. 

Back row: (left to right) Janae trying to get Chase in the shot, Maya, Kolby, Elizabeth, Tess, Brady

Front row: (left to right) Abi, Isaac, Connor, Davey, Stella

                        Okay, so Chase is out and Ruby is in.  Stella did a good job of holding her little sister.

Also...This morning was business as usually, Stella playing and me taking care of Ruby.  I layed Ruby down to change her diaper and she was crying.  Stella came over to help, by putting the pacifier in Ruby's mouth.  Good idea Stella!  Well Ruby was not doing a good job of holding on to it so Stella was putting her finger the pacifier to help her hold it in.  Stella quickly tired of this and said (to Ruby), "Hold it in please, I have things to do!"   It was so funny!

Memory...

Wednesday we went to see Cats live!  We had a GREAT time.  I have wanted to see it for a long time, and of course, if you read my blogs, you know Stella is a huge fan.  She watches the DVD of Cats at home quite a bit.  So, Randy and I knew that she would just love this.  And we weren't dissappointed.  While we sat there in the auditorium waiting, we were explaining to Stella that we were going to see Cats live and she couldn't quite comprehend this.  When the lights dimmed and the music started she started to become interested; she recognized the music.  And when she saw the first Cat come out she was amazed.  She looked at us like, "Are you guys seeing this!? This is awesome!" It was the best face!  As a parent, it's those looks that you live for.  It was so sweet and there were several of those faces throughout the play.  Stella didn't have her own seat and had to sit on Daddy's lap and she was pretty squirmy trying to see all the action on stage.  For a 2 year old, I think she behaved and paid attention extremely well.  During the intermission we were able to walk around and stretch for a bit which helped.  After intermission we realized there were a couple empty seats behind ours and so 'Sleeping Ruby' and I moved back there and then Stella and Daddy were able to have their own seats.  Stella clapped at all the right times and loved it when some of the Cats came down the aisles.  She was very friendly to her neighbors even leaning over to say, "bless you", when said neighbor sneezed.  :) 

And yes, Ruby was with us.  She slept the entire time, beginning with the ride to Spartanburg at 4, through dinner, through the play, through the ride home and transfer from car seat to nurse to bed!  She hardly stirred even during the loud parts of the play. And she even managed to sleep at night as well.  Must have been a growing day.  Another good 'Memory' for the books...

from the weekend...

We had an excellent weekend.  And it really helped to get us in the Christmas spirit.  Greenville and surrounding areas have so much to do.  Saturday night was the annual Christmas Parade downtown.  It had been gloomy and raining that day, so we didn't think we'd get to go, but it cleared up just in time.  Before the parade started there was a great group of carolers singing and counting down to the lighting of the christmas tree.  Stella loved the parade and danced a little as some of the bands went by and she would wave to everyone and say "Merry Christmas".  There was a group of dogs that walked that we could pet and that was a big hit.  She did not, however, like the big fire engine's horns.  She would cover her ears and come right up by my leg for a little safety.  Sunday evening we went to a place called Hollywild.  Apparently it is up and running all year as a rescue and habitat for animals both normal and a little exotic. But for the season it has an amazing amout of christmas lights and light display up that you drive through and see.  And as you drive through there is christmas music playing everywhere.  It was so cool.  At one point you come to an open area where there are a lot of different animals just roaming around.  They come right up to your car and eat crackers from you.  There were zebras out there, tons of deer, llamas, and cows.  The cows were humongous and one came right to our window for some food.  Stella wanted no part of that and was adamant about making sure her window was NOT rolled down.   And she quickly handed her crackers over to me as if somehow even having them in her hand meant the cow would get to her.  Randy, on the other hand, had fun feeding the big guy.  After that portion of the hollywild trip there was a place to park and get out where they had a bonfire and hot cocoa and bottles available to feed goats.  Stella really liked feeding them as they were slightly smaller than she was and were behind a fence.  Inside this place there were so many cool animals, camels, hairy cows, reindeer and some others I don't even know the name of.  Stella also saw Santa here and asked him for an Elmo and Abby Cadabby (from Sesame Street)  It was a very nice weekend.  Now if I can just get motivated to put the tree up and decorate the house...

I think she's trying to tell me something

I think Ruby's hungry...

She rolls over!

Ruby rolled from tummy to back a couple times last week (8 wks. old) at Uncle Matt's. Of course, no one saw but me. This week I caught it on camera!

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I am thankful for a week with family

We had a wonderful time up in Wake Forest, NC at The Rupert household this past week.  Stella, Ruby and I drove up on Monday.  We stopped about half way in Charlotte on the way up to see an old high school friend and travelled the rest of the way without incident. The girls were great.  Ruby slept the whole way and Stella did a wonderful job of entertaining herself in her seat. On Wednesday the rest of our family arrived from Indiana.  My sister, brother-in-law and their four girls and Mom.  Stella had a blast playing with all of her girl cousins.  I rarely saw her as she was busy in the toy room with everyone.  She even slept in the toy room with everyone in a sleeping bag two nights and she really loved that.  I had to lay up there with her the second night till she fell asleep.  As you can imagine it was hard for a 2 year old to relax and fall asleep in a room filled with girls and toys.  Her two oldest cousins, Mary and Andie were awesome and were like second mommies, only fun ones!  They took turns holding Ruby and keeping her company along with all the other girls. In fact, Aunt Laura had to referee the amount of time each girl got to hold her.  She, herself, had to fight for a spot of Ruby time in between the girls holding her.  Andie (in the picture below) was with Ruby about 98% of the time.  Ruby rarely was unhappy, as she was held much of the time. I had a little mini-vacation from mom duty for the week.  And there were times I actually missed my girls they were so looked after by others and busy.  My mom held Ruby one morning while she slept from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 and I was able to sleep in a bit. Thanks Mom  :)

Randy joined us on Thursday for dinner, but had to leave Friday for work.  Fed Ex never sleeps.

We made cookies, decorated their tree, went to a bounce house, and watched movies.  Ruby rolled from her tummy to back twice.  It was a lot of fun and I was sad to go.  We left on Saturday, along with everyone else.  Again, Ruby and Stella were great travelers on the way home.  Stella napped a lot and Ruby, again, slept the whole way, even through our stop for lunch. 

Thanks again to Matt, Kandi, Reagan and Maggie for hosting Thanksgiving this year.  A lot of fond memories were made and it was just so nice to be with everyone. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

  I am thankful to be spending time with my entire family this day; thankful that they all made the journey and could for that matter.  I am thankful for this beautiful weather in N.C.  I am thankful for the chex party mix my sister brought.  And I am so very thankful for my two beautiful, healthy daughters!!!


artwork by Stella

A little Ruby...

She's 8 weeks old now and growing so fast.

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Dancing to Cats

Stella LOVES Cats (as I've mentioned before)...the musical and broadway play. She knows so many of the dance moves and will sometimes do them before they happen. You can see a little bit of this in the video. Also notice, Stella always has to have a belt on during Cats. She calls it her 'seatbelt'. A performance of Cats is coming to Spartanburg (near us) December 8th. And guess who's got tickets? That's right, the Kruse family. I can not wait to see Stella's reaction to seeing this live. We are so excited to go!

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cooing

This sweet ballerina was talking to me tonight.  I LOVE those first little sounds.  I was talking to her and she would respond with lots of 'ahhhs'.  What a sweet voice she has.  She had a funny expression too, like she could hear herself, but didn't quite know where it was coming from. 

must see pictures.

Same old, same old with Ruby.  Eating, sleeping and filling diapers.  She's such a cutie and has been smiling here and there.  She's a very sturdy 1 month old.  She can hold her head up very well.  She likes her bath time and usually is very calm for a while afterwards.

Stella sure says so many funny things.  Tonight I had Ruby laying on the floor, she was crying, as she usually does when not being held.  Stella kept trying to put the pacifier in her mouth.  It wasn't working.  Stella says, "Her getting frustrated; I think you should pick her up."  A couple days ago, Stella let Millie inside from a very muddy backyard.  Usually we (Randy or I) let the dog in so we can wipe her paws off.  Well, Millie came running in and tracked mud on the carpet.  I forget what I said, but Stella knew I was upset (not at her, just about the muddy paw prints)  Stella kept telling me she was sorry, and I kept saying it was okay and wasn't her fault.  Apparently Stella didn't think she was getting through to me.  She got down on eye level with me, as I was scrubbing the carpet, and said, (as she lifted my chin up with her hand) "Mom, look at me, I'm sorry!"

from the week and Ruby's chin

Our funny little Stella Bella!  What an outfit

                              Pagi came for another visit!  We were very excited to see him again!

And I just had to show off Ruby's chubby cheeks!  And would you just look at that double chin!  this Monday she will be 6 weeks old and I can't believe it! 



Halloween

We had quite a Halloween weekend! There was a lot to do and Stella had such a great time. Friday night we went to a friend's house for a little pizza party with many of Stella's friends. We all walked to a nearby park for 'Goblin Fest' which was super packed with people, but we were able to take a train ride with the kids. On our way back from the park one of her friends fell down and cried a bit. Stella said, "Aw, poor thing." Saturday there was a neighborhood Halloween party to go to. Stella enjoyed walking around to the different stations and getting prizes. Her favorite station was picking up the duck; she kept picking up and putting down all the ducks. And she did quite well at pin the nose on the pumpkin. Sunday was trick-or-treat night in our neighborhood. Stella loved walking from house to house getting more candy. She kept saying, "I have to get more candy." She had no problem walking up all by herself and knocking on the doors. Though she was easily distracted by what was in her pumpkin, we had to keep stopping to dig into the treats. We certainly got our money's worth out of the bumble costume this year, and got so many pictures I had to make a video. Enjoy.

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graduation from the crib

Stella is now in her big girl bed, and she loves it.  We made the big move yesterday both nap time and night time have been a success both days.  And I'm thrilled.  You never know what's going to happen I suppose.  I made a big deal about the two of us moving her babies and pillows from her crib to her NEW bed.  I also showed her that all her clothes were now in cool dressers in her NEW room.  She was very excited.  So far she's done as I asked, and has called for me when she wakes up and I come and get her.  I am hopeful that it lasts.  Yesterday it occured to me that I was so caught up in making the process seem very exciting for Stella so that she would like it, that I didn't think too much about the milestone that it actually is.  She is no longer in a crib, no longer even close to anything 'baby'.  And while I know we've got so many wonderful things to look forward to in the future I'm still a little sad to say good-bye to Stella's past.  I know, I know, I'm nuts.  :)
Stella had  her 30 month well check Dr's appointment Monday.  She watched me get a flu shot and then she got two shots.  Poor thing, she really cried, but got over it quick enough.  She's now 38.5" tall and weighs 33 pounds. 

Ruby had her 1 month well check today.  That's right, she's already 1 month old!  She now weighs in at 11.5 pounds putting her in the 97th percentile and she is 22" tall, which is in the 88th percentile.  The girl doesn't miss any meals!  She doing wonderful.  Caught a cold last week from big sister, but is over it already.