One Year!

More retro stuff-  the snowsuits

Christmas eve, eve, AKA, the first longer day after the solstice, AKA, Ruby and Owen’s birthday!  Crazy, amazing, exciting, and full of love!  Here we are.  It is sort of surreal.  Owen and Ruby are walking, making lots of talking sounds, and generally just so full of life!  It has been a long year in a lot of ways.  Everyone says “it goes so fast”…but for the most part, this year has not.  I remember days… months…when I thought they would never sit up, or walk, or make sounds other than “ah, ah”.   There are still times when I think that I will never return to the life of skiing and biking that I once loved and participated in quite regularly.  And, yes, hindsight’s sense of time is always a little askew and makes me think that the last...6 months in particular...have flown by, but for the most part, I am grateful that we have been very present and enjoyed most of their lives so far, we are psyched to be where we are, and we are looking forward to what the future has to hold for all of us.  Ruby and Owen are doing awesome.  We feel so lucky, blessed, fortunate, and…giddy about how healthy, happy, and darn cute they are.  Sometimes I still look at Chip and them and can't believe that this is MY life.  But anyway, enough about me and us...here are the deets on what Ruby and Owen are up to at one year of life.

Owen Thomas

Owen getting measured by dad- first of many check-ins on the "wall of growth"

29.5 inches tall

21 lbs 7 ozs

This little man loves sounds.  He loves to make them with his mouth, he loves to shake anything he can get his hands on that might make a sound, and he giggles every time I run the blender or vacume.  He just can't get enough!  Keller Williams, watch out!  Owen loves to be with people.  While Ruby will sit in the play area and study some toy on her own forever, Owen will follow me around the house, pulling up on my legs, trying to show me something he found, or pleading with me to be included in whatever it is I am working on.

He loves to eat.  He will try anything I put to his mouth, but has a particular love for chunks of tofu....yea, that's right, just plain, cold tofu.  Kinda weird. He also loves boiled egg whites, and cooked carrots.  If he inhales whatever finger food I have put in front of him faster than his sister, he does not hesitate to reach over to her tray or seat and grab her food right out from in front of her.  That is kind of a pattern I guess.  He generally likes to grab whatever she has from her.  Sometimes she is pretty mellow and just moves on to a new toy, but we seem to be moving into the "caring about it" stage and mom has to referee "fights" more often than before.  Might have to install cameras to make sure I am getting the real story. :)  Owen likes to stack blocks sometimes, he LOVES to go swimming, and he thoroughly enjoys climbing up onto anything he can..especially things he shouldn't or that have great consequences.  He still loves the binkie...mostly just for sleep, but occasionally if he has a really good spill, it comes in handy too.  Owen loves to read touch and feel books and to turn the pages of any book we are reading.  His favorite toys include an old remote and an old cell phone.  Often he can be found walking around the house with both- one in each hand. Owen isn't saying any words that we can understand yet, but is one of the most expressive one year olds I have ever met.  He has entire conversations with himself or whomever will listen.

Ruby Elizabeth

29 inches tall

22 lbs 10 ozs

Ruby is joining the world of the movers and shakers quickly.  She finally is crawling regularly...not like a wounded soldier.  And, she started walking yesterday.  She will pull up on anything within reach, including a wall, and will walk away without having some arms to catch her.  So exciting.  Life seems so much easier and more fun with walking babies.  I know this seems counter intuitive in some ways, but this whole thing just plays to my strengths as a mom more effectively.  Ruby is a great self entertainer as I mentioned before.  She is a real detail lady...takes after her mom. :)  She notices when a small new toy is added to their box, she picks up on small parts or functions of things she plays with, and notices immediately when I am wearing a different necklace or clip.

Ruby helping with some electrical work.  And, here you can see her playing on the indoor jungle gym we have set up for them, AKA, the wood burning stove.  I know, really safe.  At least we aren't making fires in it!

Ruby likes to eat, but is a little pickier.  She loves cottage cheese- she kicks her legs and opens her mouth like a little birdie when I pull it out.  So cute.  Ruby is an affectionate little gal.  She loves to give hugs.  She mostly hugs mom and dad, but she also likes to hug (and bite) her brother, and occasionally her stuffed animals.  She loves to read books, likes to point to things on the pages and sometimes like to help tell the story.  Ruby doesn't say too many words that we can make out either.  She says one word that we think is "books".  She also says "done" and "yeah" and we think her first official word was "dog".  She  is really into Kessler the past month or two and really dug babysitting our friend's dog for a few days.  The more furry friends around, the better.  Ruby is also a little fish.  Both Ruby and Owen like to jump in the water off the edge to mom or dad and will go under for a few seconds as they make their way to us. They hate wearing goggles, but they love going down the huge water slide with mom or dad at the Kamis Pool.

They both love the snow...although Ruby has decided that she doesn't need mittens on...ever... which makes spending much time outside difficult, especially when the temp is rarely above 20 this winter it seems.  And, they both LOVE the kitchen.  This plastic food that Oma just passed our way is exactly what they have been waiting for to put together that lettuce stir fry they have been talking about.

And, that is all for now.  

I feel like by using this quote, that it makes it sound like we haven't had an amazing year, but it is funny and true at the same time.
"It kills you to see them grow up.  But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't. " ~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams