Date night (for Andy and Ruby!)

This is our last week of Ruby being 3! I can't believe these last four years have gone by so fast. We absolutely love being parents and really treasure our kids.

Ruby is getting so big. She says the funniest things, for example she adds "able" to things, like "These socks are skateable." And we've been having some really good conversations about Jesus lately. She asks a lot of good questions.

Reid is talking so much! It's so fun to be able to communicate better with him. He has been sleeping horribly though, the other night he woke up at least once an hour all night long because of his molar coming in. :( So I started weaning him, and now we're down to just three nursing sessions a day. Somehow that helped him sleep better and the last two nights he only woke up once!! That's just about the best he has slept ever. I also have been putting his teething necklace around his ankle with a sock over it, so that might be it too. Whew! I feel so much better having some rest.

 I made this comparison photo of Quin and Reid. :) They look like cousins! But they definitely have different noses. Reid has a darker skin tone, kind of like me. Ruby's is more like Quin's and Andy's. So funny which traits each kid gets from past generations.

On Friday we went to check out a preschool for Ruby for next year! It's about 5 minutes away, so that is nice. She LOVED it. She did not want to leave and kept stalling when it was time to go. Haha. She is all registered to go three days a week for next school year. I know she will love it and thrive.

 My two little helpers. Almost every time I cook they both ask to help. Reid pulls a chair from the table and says "Hep you. Cook."

 We stopped by the library to play for a little bit. These guys love the library, and especially getting new books.

 The aftermath of Ruby's lunch time. She made a "potty" out of her bell pepper. And they both love grapefruit!

Andy took Ruby out on a date in honor of her coming 4th birthday. She was so excited for days beforehand. He brought her home a rose, and they went to the Heathman to listen to jazz and have dessert. 

She's so beautiful.

 It was so cute. They had a ton of fun. They got Creme Brûlée for their dessert.

Reid and I had some fun while they were gone! We did a lot of reading and playing. <3 

 We went to Old Navy to check out their amazing sales. I got coats for the kids for next year for $6 and $10! Reid loved the little doggy mannequin (or dogequin).

 We went on a family dessert date to McMenamins on Saturday night! We all shared some bread pudding and marionberry cobbler. 

 Yum!! Reid loved the fans on the ceiling. And we were seated where we could look over a little wall down to the kitchen below. That was fun.

 Book lover!!

 They love to play with the mattress and pillows, making forts, slides, houses, you name it.

 Some of our old youth group kids visited Andy's train car. Cooper, Alex, Liam and Abbie.

 Ruby wrapped a present for me. :)

We went to a mom's group on Tuesday that my friend Audrey invited me to. We all had a lot of fun! There were kids both of our kids' ages to play with. 

 Once the piano got opened, Reid was sucked in! He loves music so much.

 She had a cute bun, but didn't want me to take a picture. :)

 Ruby did his makeup. It just looks like he got in a fight. Haha! We wiped it off before we went to the store. :)

 They were sitting like this watching a little show. They really love each other.

 We had to run to Fred Meyer because a sapphire popped out of my ring. Ruby loves going in the little kids play area, so Reid and I had some fun wandering around for a little while and playing.

 Getting ready for nap time. I get both kids ready, then I read two stories to them (Reid usually runs around). Then Ruby lays in bed while I nurse Reid and put him down in his crib. Then I go back to Ruby and tell her a little story, which usually ends up having singing in it and then she falls asleep. I think I'll just go to her having quiet time in the afternoons when she turns 4, because some nights she doesn't go to sleep until 9 or later!

 They had fun playing in the sink for a long time.

 He got all wet!

 Silly smile. He bit his blanket and was saying "yucky."

 Morning hair!

 Trying on Ruby's crown.

 We have a little rock climber.

 He sits on the potty sometimes. He doesn't usually go though, we're working on that!

Adventures

We had a lot of fun this week. Lots of busyness and activities, so much so that I washed the laundry on Tuesday, but didn't get it folded for a few days! Oh well. Such is life. :) We did a lot of fun things too though.

Reid is learning so much lately. He has been singing songs (Do Re Mi and Let it Go), and he counted from six to nine all by himself the other day. He also is learning colors and gets green correct most of the time! It's so fun to see him learning so quickly.

Ruby is pretty excited to turn four soon. She has her cake all picked out for her birthday party, and she talks about "When I get four..." all the time. I can't believe she's so big!

 On Saturday we bundled up and took a walk to the park.

 We had Tony's drone, so we took it out for some flying. It was so fun, and the kids loved it.

 I got to fly it! It goes 3 miles, but I didn't take it that far. We saw our house on the video feed though.

Ruby found a "trail of mud" (lines for a soccer field) and had so much fun traipsing through it 

Good thing we got these boots for the kids for Christmas! They sure come in handy with the Portland rain. We were all pretty cold by the time we got home.

 Coloring time.

 They love boxes, and pretended they had a boat. Ruby made a steering wheel for it. Captain Ruby and Super Reid.

 They both love reading, and it's the cutest when they read together! 

 Snuggling together on the floor of their bedroom.

 We made some fresh play dough! It's always fun.

 Ruby made a pie for me for my birthday, apparently.

 On Tuesday it was super wet outside, but we decided to go for a walk anyway. It was not easy to push the stroller with both kids in it while I held my umbrella, but we made it home in one piece and still dry (thanks to the rain cover and our waterproof picnic blanket)!

 Sometimes when she wakes up from nap and Reid is still asleep, she likes to paint... and sometimes she decides to paint her hand. Haha!

 She has been constantly making a little house out of the cushions around the chair. It's cute when she peeks her head out.

 Me and my two sillies. Ruby did her eye shadow...

 The kids and our squirrel Samantha. She hadn't shown up for a while and I was starting to worry that something had happened to her, but here she is! And super healthy looking too. The kids love her, she's not afraid of them at all. She loves the peanuts and cashews that we throw out for her.

 On Thursday I took the kids down to Patty's and went to a coffee shop for a while. That was nice to have a break and get some work done. The kids had fun too! Ruby's Clump-O-Lumps had bunk beds in the upstairs closet. Hah!

 Lego Guy and Lego Girl went out on their first date. Ruby is so funny.

 Snuggling again post-nap! These guys love each other so much. <3

 We made some kale chips for our afternoon snack on Thursday. When we were at the grocery store on Wednesday, a lady walked past us right as Ruby said, "Mom, we need kale to make kale chips." The lady laughed out loud not believing what she heard! I'm so glad my kids love kale chips and other veggies. Ruby has recently decided that she likes tomatoes (sometimes), mushrooms, broccoli, peas, bell peppers (she at least licked it), and last night she ate about 1/2 of a sweet potato! Reid loves veggies too. So proud of my veggie eaters! And the love all fruits. Ruby refused to try kiwi for the longest time, I think because it was green. But we bought some again and she loves it now! We eat them for dessert often.

 These got devoured really quickly. Reid kept saying "Yummy!"

 Ruby likes to take our orders for her restaurant. But usually everything I ask for she says, "We don't have that." And then she tells me what they do have, and it's usually just one thing. :)

Reid absolutely loves reading his bible, and he points out "Deeduts" (Jesus) on most of the pages. :)