Fall

It is so fall here right now.  I LOVE it!  Crisp air in the morning and evening, warm in the middle of the day, beautiful colors everywhere, lots of things being harvested and therefore made into things in our kitchen, apple cider, hats, vests, and...pumpkin carving!

Here are a bunch of random videos of life at our house. 

First, let's say hello.

 

Ruby is getting more and more mobile.  She is army crawling a lot longer than Owen did.  She has mostly stopped pushing up onto her knees and is pretty efficient at getting around with her chosen method.  She might just do that for a while.  We'll see.

Drinking out of a sippy cup is not something I ever thought I would get excited about, but I am!  They are getting more and more independent, capable, and wise about the world every day.  And, their personalities continue to develop and show themselves.  Ruby has become quite the goof.  She laughs all day long at anything and everything.  Here she is seen being silly with her washcloth.  She loves to put it, and anything else she can get her hands on, on or behind her head.  So funny.

These two just love to play and joke around with each other.  It is hard to catch on video, so this is the best I have for now.  Sorry, it kind of drags on for a bit, but I just love the giggles and facial expressions.

A Boy and a Girl and their Dog

Kessler has definitely picked up some neurotic habits since moving back to Utah.  For example, she thinks it is really fun to chase cars.  And, she doesn't just chase them.  She runs AT their tires going at least 25 miles per hour.  Needless to say, she now has to walk on a leash.  Bummer.  But, we got a shock collar and hopefully this busy momma can figure out how to use it and be consistent enough to help Kessler learn better habits and earn her freedom back.  I mean, we live closer to wilderness than we ever have, the leash is ridiculous!  Anyway, I digress.  

Aside from all that, Kessler has been an AMAZING dog with and for the kiddos.  She lets them "love her"...in whatever way they can muster up...which at times looks more like hair pulling and hitting than cuddling and petting.  Although occasionally she gets up and walks away from them, more often she waits patiently as they have their moment with her, and then she licks their faces to return the love.  Kessler hasn't chewed a single toy that isn't hers even though there are fun possibilities strewn about constantly.  I will say, she has a thing for the Sophie.  It squeaks, which she has always liked in a toy, and it is always half covered in babyfood as the Sophie is often our mealtime toy.  Who could blame her for loving that thing?  

 Remember when you were young and got to lick the beaters when your mom made cookies?  Sometimes I think that is what Kessler feels like as she helps Ruby and Owen clean up their hands during a meal.

 Just two pals, watching the world go by.

 She is SO patient as they climb all over her.

You might have already seen this on FB, but it needs to be part of this post.  Joy, in the moment, with those that we love.  That is all I really hope for in life, for myself and definitely for my kids.  I love that Owen and Kessler practice often.  :)

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog."
- Edward Hoagland

9 months!

I can't believe it.  Ruby and Owen have been outside the womb longer than they were in it.  I am in awe of how much has changed in nine months.  They are so stinkin fun right now and we are loving every second!

The first five months seemed to pass so slowly...not in a bad way,  it was an experience like no other, just SO many new things to learn and get used to that it made time slow down.  There were times when I thought they would never roll over, let alone crawl or walk and they were definitely never going to babble, sleep through the night, or hold their own bottle!  And here we are, just nine months after their birth and there is not a day that goes by that I am not blown away about the little people they are becoming and the skills they have gained.  I wish I could document the last three months all in videos, because they are so animated and active these days that that seems like a better way to capture where we are at.  So, I will include some of those, as well as pictures...cause we have a million of those too. 

Owen

Weight- 19lbs 3oz. (30th percentile)

Height- 28 inches (50th percentile)

Well, the biggest new thing on his horizon since our last update is movement.  The little man can boogie! He can crawl like a champ- follows me around the house-finds me, even when I wish he would just stay somewhere and play so that I could get something done.  And, when he does find me, he constantly wants me (or whoever will oblige) to offer him a few fingers to pull up on and walk around the house with him.  He has a walker and he can crawl over to it, pull up on it, and walk around, but I think he thinks it slows him down too much.   Nothin cruises around the house as fast and corners as well as another human being.  The boy is no fool.  I just really hope he is walking soon, cause I am not sure how much more of this my back can take!    Let's see...he is also babbling.  He loves to say "ma" and "ba" and to scream.  He finds lots of things funny these days including peekaboo, bugs, especially spiders, and dancing.  Owen loves to dance to the "ABC" song too.  Really funny.  Owen can often be caught trying to grab his sister and give her kisses (I know it LOOKS like he is trying to bite her...but I am sure they are meant to be kisses).  They are pretty cute together these days- playing together more and more.  Owen and Ruby also love to swing...and go really high.  They squeal with delight.  Love it.  And, he is waving and pointing- a real crowd pleaser. :)

This is a t-shirt that Chip wore as a kid.  Then, his Curious George wore it...until we put it in the wash and passed it down to Owen.  He hopes to visit Cancun someday for sure.

Ruby
Weight- 21 pounds (80th percentile)
Height- 28.25 inches (75th percentile)

Ruby and Owen were passed down a bunch of retro clothes from my side of the family.  They are in amazingly good shape and very cute...well, some more than others.  Some Mindy and Gus wore and some is Tina's I think.  At any rate, we have been dressing them up in them, taking a picture and usually then, before we ruin anything, we put it in a pile to pass on to....maybe Ruby and Owen's kids!

Ruby is also making her way into the world of independent movement.  She rocks up on her knees a lot and can army crawl forward to get something she wants.  She also scoots sitting up on the wood floor to get over to things.  I am always surprised about where I leave her and then where she ends up...and what she has managed to get a  hold of, by the time I get back.  She is just a mellow, happy kid who, in general, is pretty entertained to watch her brother run around the house and is not all that interested in chasing after things right now.  She says all kinds of things like, "Da" (her favorite), "La", "Yeah", and I swear, she occasionally says "All Done" (this is the first sign we have been working on- apparently she prefers to just say it).  Ruby also likes to clap and put things over her face, like a blanket or her wash cloth, and play peekaboo with whomever will watch her.  SO stinkin cute.  Ruby also likes to dance to the "ABC" song- not sure what it is about that tune- only she dances with her head for now, shaking it back and forth...sort of Stevie Wonderish. She laughs often too and shows her four big teeth that are right up front.
If you haven't guessed already, Ruby loves to eat.  Actually, so does Owen.  They eat more or less the same amount each day give or take a few ounces of formula.  It is amazing their different shapes.  Owen burns more of his calories now with all of his movement, but he has been a thinner build all along.  And, it looks like Ruby is shaping up to be tall like some of the Mulliken and DuRoss gals.  75th and 80th percentile!  Never would have guessed that could come out of little ol' me.  Fun stuff.  She is also pointing and occasionally waving and she loves arching her back to play "upside down Ruby".

Both...

are sleeping pretty well these days.  They sleep for almost 12 hours.  Ruby sleeps with almost no interruptions unless she is teething.  Owen still gets a few binkie pops throughout the night, but nothin compared to previously.  No one eats at night anymore, and for the most part, mom is starting to feel caught up on sleep.  Yahoo for that!   Their personalities continue to develop as time goes on.  Owen seems to be the social butterfly- quite easy going when in the arms of friends, smiling and engaging with visitors when given the opportunity.  Ruby, right now, is the cautious one.  At home she is all smiles and, really, the more mellow, easy going baby. However, once in a more social situation, she tends to save her smiles and quietly observes everything around her.  Or, she cries to be in mom or dad's arms.  I think that part is just a stage.

Here is one video, and more will be added shortly.  Just want to get this posted before they are 10 months old!

Campin

It was time for us to head out into the wilderness with Ruby and Owen.  Okay, so "wilderness"  is a stretch...  especially as you take a look at our hunormous tent that can hold TWO pack n plays AND a queen sized air mattress.  It was awesome.  So far we are very happy with the return rate on the purchase of the second home. Ruby and Owen did really well- went down for bedtime in their cribs and everything...until mom and dad came to bed.  They just knew we were in the same room, woke up, and slept with us on the mattress for the rest of the night.  It was fun for all of us and no habits were formed.  They went down great in their cribs again when we got home. Phew.

Here is the view of the inside of the Weathermaster 6 from our, that's right, screened in front porch.  Owen looks really happy about the accommodations.

Our first trip, to "work out all the kinks", was to the Unitas for a night.  It was freezing.  No really, there was frozen water on top of some of our gear in the morning.  The babies slept amazingly well despite Ruby not keeping her hat on.  Mom and dad's sleep was another story.  Ruby got my thermarest (lesson learned- bought the queen mattress for second trip) so mom slept basically on the ground and both of us were stuck in the same position for 11 hours due to cramped quarters and trying to keep the babes under the down sleeping bags (again- lesson learned- down COMFORTER for trip 2...we were really roughin   it!).  The weather was pretty good aside from when it rained on us (hard) at two crux moments- setting up the tent, and cooking dinner.  That was awesome because keeping two babies happy while trying to take care of regular camping activities is not enough of a challenge for us.

These two still put everything in their mouths, so on both trips, they often were quarantined to playing on a tarp...which didn't stop Owen from crawling off, but at least bought us time to grab him before the sticks and dirt became his next snack.

Kickin it in the camp chair in the screened in porch.

Don't let my smile fool you.  Making formula is one of my least favorite baby chores at home, let alone camping.  Powder gets everywhere, I have to make sure I use the right water, and then our little ones still like their bottles at least luke warm, so it just seems like a major process to get this all together every four hours.  But we figured it out.

Ahhh...finally, the City of Rocks, ID.  We joined an annual trip that a bunch of our friends here have done.  The kids outnumbered the adults by one- it was wild.  (clockwise) Above you can see Justin corralling kids off the ledge and back to camp, Chris and Stephan helping Gretta climb a sick route, and the whole gang hangin out at camp.

The scenery was stunning.  Seemed like were on another planet.  This place is definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the neighborhood.  For this group, this trip is traditionally a climbing trip, but this team DuRoss did three really beautiful hikes and spectated a few climbs.

Two young climbers- Gretta and Finn.  So cute.

Owen helps dad make coffee in the morning (adult formula).

Owen and Ruby take in the sights with their pals.

Ruby is just starting to get interested in crawling.  So, she is a little rough on the sitting up to tummy transition.  This is what happens when you try this transition in the dirt and kinda eat it.  She almost never cries when she falls (MUCH different than Owen)...she just takes it in stride and keeps on keepin on.

The Weathermaster's view at the City of Rocks.  We'll be back.

"How is it that one match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box of matches to start a campfire?"  

~Christy Whitehead

The last of August

The end of August brought us to the end of our time with Oma...for now. :)  Wow, I am not sure how to capture how grateful we are for her help and love.  From laundry and helping with the endless rinsing of bottles and dishes, to weeding our yard, making baby food, and babysitting Ruby and Owen so mom and dad could get out together..she did it all!  I felt like her visit was our "summer vacation".  Kids went back to school here in Utah the day she left, the weather  is a little cooler, and it is really beginning to feel like fall now.  Ahhh...it was a great summer.

 Ruby loves to hold little books and "read" them.  I love it.  She looks so grown up!

 This little man is insane!  He has started crawling, pulling up on anything he can get his hands on, and now says "mama" (to mama's delight- this is after Ruby started saying "dada" a few weeks ago).  The two of them are getting to be a handful in lots of new ways but we are figuring it out and having a blast with all the new energy and tricks.  Every day is a new adventure.  Videos of some of the fun to come.

 Sleep is so interesting.  Just when you think you have something down, they change.  They both have mostly dropped all night feedings and are sleeping for the most part (still having to get up to pop several binkies a night between the two of them) for about 11.5 hours.  And then, someone decides to pop out a few more teeth, which means more waking, crying, difficulty going down, etc. etc.  We do heart Tylenol though.  It seems to work miracles.

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 Gosh.  Love these three more than I could have ever imagined possible.

Ru and OT are eating a few "popsicles"- a summer evening snack while Oma and mom weed the garden.

 More fun flowers in the garden

 The new ride.  Safer for this family of four than the Mazda we traded in.

 A hike to Ruth Lake before Oma heads back east.  Great weather, great company, and great lunch with a view!

I just love this picture.  Nice self portrait, Chip.  You captured the lake reflection in the background and Ruby's skeptical look about the driver she has been assigned. ;)

Gastronomy

 We spend a lot of our time focused on food around here.  I spend a good deal of my day and energy preparing or giving bottles, making baby food, planning and packing meals, and feeding these two little munchkins solids.  This summer we have gotten out and about a lot, especially with the help of my mom here the past five weeks.  We were eating on the go so often that we started keeping a list of all the places these two have "dined out".  The following pictures capture only a few of the places Ruby and Owen have eaten this summer. The rest will have to be represented in a list only.  

 So, this picture was probably taken at home, but I just couldn't leave it out.  When it comes to eating solids, Ru and OT are pretty amazing.  They eat most things with gusto...including asparagus, brewer's yeast, egg yolks, and tofu (which my mom often reminded me is gross). And, they love trying to use the spoon to get food in their mouths...or just to bang on the tray in front of them.  

Owen and Ruby have dined at SLC farmer's market and the outlet mall (both pictured above), in the car on the way to sushi, at the bike shop in Park City as we prepared for a family ride, on the floor and in the stroller at the Sweetwater condo, outside the aquatic center, at a park in Duchesne, UT, at the Pinebrook Park, in Master Muffler's waiting room (wish we had a picture of that one), in the Costco parking lot, in our garden at home....

at the Copper Moose Farm (pictured above- where Owen could hardly get a meal down because he was so distracted by the roosters)

next to Ruth Lake in the Unitas...

   and in Toll Canyon...in the middle of the trail...no where else to go...

and on the ridge to Summit Park Peak.

Oma was an invaluable help when it came to many things the past five weeks, and making baby food is at the top of that list.  For about ten days straight we make a different food every day, freezing lots and lots of cubes for future consumption.  Asparagus, carrots, green beans, mangos, more mangos (they were on sale), peaches, plums, more mangos, split peas, and beef.  

I am pretty sure that Ruby and Owen will only eat hot dogs and pizza in a few years (or earlier!), but I am enjoying their willingness to eat anything, anywhere for the time being.  Keep up the good work, kiddos!  

"As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices:  take it or leave it."  ~Buddy Hackett

Family Vacation

Well, the family vacations continued as Oma, Chip, Ruby, Owen and I got in the car for our first road trip...to Steamboat, CO!  Aunt Mindy lives there, owns a VERY cute townhome, and graciously put up the five of us for a few days.  We strolled around town, went to the park, ate dinners with friends, and mostly just soaked up the beautiful weather and energy of Steamboat and Mindy and Bo's place.  Ruby and Owen enjoyed the swings and especially loved scooting around on Aunt Mindy's wood floors (they are newly finished and therefore have this really nice stickiness for a scooting baby... as opposed to our old slippery ones).  Our trip back to Park City proved a little more difficult than the trip out...only to figure out the next day that Owen was getting his first two teeth- bottom two, same as Ruby.  

Mindy and Bo followed us back to Park City as they headed out of town for a road trip of their own.  On their way back they stopped in Park City to stay with US for a night. Tina, John, Evan, and Madeleine ALSO arrived via airplane from PA for one grand reunion night of the Mulliken/ Voss/DuRoss clan!  Mindy and Bo continued home the next day.  The Voss family followed them and also spent a few days in Steamboat checkin out the new pad before returning to Park City to hang out for most of the week.

 We had a blast doing as much as we could around town and in our neighborhood with two 7 month olds in tote.  We ate lots of great food out on our deck and at the condo, we did nails during nap time, went swimming, visited the farm, and even went biking for an afternoon.  A highlight was hiking up to the Summit Park Peak Ridge.  Everyone made it despite the steep climb and challenging trails.  This is hearty bunch!

Ruby and Owen LOVED seeing their Aunt Tina again. Another highlight for Ruby and Owen, was getting to meet some more of the family they hadn't previously met (John, Evan and Madeleine).  Evan and Madeleine were stellar cousins.  They played with the kids constantly, they were eager to learn how to hold and feed them, and they were SO responsible with them- always making sure they were in the shade when we were outside, making sure they didn't have dangerous things in their hands (or mouths), and checking that they were seated in safe places.  Chip and I have always enjoyed our time and relationship with Evan and Madeleine, and this trip seemed to just take it to a new level.  So special.  Thanks you two for being so awesome!  Oh yeah, and John, they liked meeting you too.  (inside joke, people)

 And, again, I will probably add another collage as Tina has some of the best pictures on her Iphone, of all things.  So, we are working on getting those, but for now, I wanted to document while it was fresh on my mind.  Thanks to everyone for making efforts to get together.  We had a blast and look forward to next time!

This is a repeat from a long time ago, but I love it.

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.  Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."  
~Jane Howard