"I will protect you."

Ian and Ruby were so precious at bedtime tonight.  I was in Ruby's room trying to get her to bed and she said, "Hug Ian!" and sprinted out of the room.  I went into Ian's room to get her and they were cuddling in his bed.  She was sucking her thumb with her head on his chest.  He said, "Ruby I'll always be your big brother."  He said, "You can have Max for the night, I don't need him."  Ruby was thrilled and said, "Max!"  Max is Ian's favorite stuffed animal, a giraffe.  Max has slept with him every night for at least 2 years.  Ruby then went back to her room and then her crib with Max.  Ian came in to give her a kiss and said, "Don't cry Ruby, I will protect you.  I will protect you from bugs, monsters, and bears.  Don't be scared."  He then went on, "I'm brave and I will protect Ruby from monsters.  I will say 'don't get my little sister' and kick them."  He then demonstrated the kick (kinda like Kirate Kid).  He then said, "I will think about Ruby and dream about her.  I will dream about buying toys at Target (his eyes got big)!"  He went on, and on, and on...

I'm really enjoying watching Ruby and Ian's relationship grow.  I love to see them hold hands and watch Ian's pride in being a big brother.  He loves to teach Ruby and tell me all the things she knows.  It warms my heart because I always wanted an older brother and I think Ruby is going to really enjoy having him for her brother, at least most of the time. 

As it got closer to 9:30pm, he said, "I need someone to help me go to sleep."  I put on NPR on the radio in his room and he was out.  :) 

Funny Ian Quote

Tonight, as I'm getting Ruby in her pajamas, Ian started calling on Ruby's Elmo phone.  He said, "Mom Mom, can you come soon, Mommy is going out?"  I said, "Ooh, I hope I'm going somewhere fun!"  He said, "Chick-fil-a."  I said, "But my tummy still doesn't feel good."  He said, "Mom Mom, Mommy is going to the doctor."

Ha, Ha.  I love this boy, he has a quick wit.  He reminds me of his father.  :)

More Ian Quotes

These are some quotes from Ian when he was supposed to be in bed.  Instead, he kept coming to the landing on the steps to ask more questions.

• "Mommy, when we go to the beach, are we going to take off Molly's leash?"  Yes Ian, Molly loves to jump in the waves.
• "Mommy, my ear hurts (almost crying)."  What's wrong with your ear?  "An ear bug crawled in it and it's going to mess with my brain.  Jillian told me that ear bugs crawl in your ear and mess up your brain."  I think he's talking about an ear wig but they do not mess up your brain. 
• "Mommy, how do you get a baby in your tummy?"  God puts it there.  "How does God put it there?"  Daddy has a sperm and Mommy has an egg.  And that's what makes a baby.  "When you got married the first time, I was in your tummy.  When you get married the second time Ruby was in your tummy."  Well, kind of.  "How did you get born Mommy?"  I came out of Meemaw's tummy.  Aunt Meg came out of Meemaw 4 minutes before me.  We are twins.  "Oh." 

Ugh, I'm exhausted. 

Ruby Do Turned Two!

Yesterday, my baby girl turned 2-years-old!  It seems like she was just born yesterday.  She is such a blessing and I am so grateful for her.  Since she was born in 2008, our family has endured so much like my illness, our parent's illnesses, Daddy's job change, and deaths in the family.  Her beautiful smile and pretty face (and precious girlie clothes) has helped me persevere.  She is smart, cuddly, independent, and fun.   Here's a photo from the day she was born, and a photo from her 2nd birthday (with her bathing suit and Minnie Mouse ears). 

We had a nice day of celebrating.  Unfortunately, I had a little too much fun at the Magnolia Ridge Wine Night so I was a little sick in the morning.  I got an early morning birthday cuddle with Ruby and then Chris took Ian and Ruby to Panera for breakfast.  Thank you!   We then got ready for Mom Mom, Aunt Trudy, Aunt Christine, Kyle, Taylor, and Grayson's visit.  Uncle Allen was working.  When they all arrived, we headed to the pool.  We enjoyed swimming and seeing our friends at the pool.  Then, we went home for a yummy lunch of grilled hot dogs and hamburgers.  Thanks Daddy.  We had Minnie Mouse cupcakes and chocolate ice cream and then Ruby opened her presents.  She got 2 phones (Dora and Elmo) and a tackle box to go w/ her fishing rod.  She also got a new bike helmet, pink Crocs, Play Doh w/ shapes, a pink watch, precious girlie outfits and much much more.  She, and the boys, enjoyed her new toys.  Then Ruby took a good nap.  :)  Grayson stayed for a sleepover so Ian and Grayson had a great time playing together.  Ruby had fun busying around with her new toys.  There was a thunderstorm so we didn't head back to the pool.  Ruby got a quick visit from Meg, Landen, and Kate and a great voice mail message from Amanda, Chris, and Drewbug.   We are looking forward to celebrating with the Folsom crew next weekend.

I was proud of my Minnie Mouse cupcakes.  Here's a photo:

Some good news... our ENT physician, Dr. Dodson, recommended ear tubes for Ruby due to the level of pressure in her ears.  It did not resolve w/ a month of Nasonex.  That's 5 out of 6 grandchildren on the Folsom side w/ tubes.  Can we say, genetics?  And unfortunately, Ian and Ruby have it from the Starrett side too.  Luckily, it's a pretty easy and painless solution.  So, Ruby will get her tubes soon, hopefully.  I am hopeful that maybe if she is more comfortable, we will see her pull her hair less and less.  It already seems to be a little better but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. 

Some other GREAT news...my boss/friend, Kiki, was discharged from the hospital on Friday, one week after her lung transplant.  She's doing great.  She will stay near the hospital for about 2 months to complete rehab and be monitored closely.  What a blessing!  Here's a photo of Kiki holding Ruby 2 years ago.   A lot has changed since then. 

Photos of Erik & Meg's Children

Meg and Erik's children are so precious!  I had to brag. 

Landen (almost 6)

Kate (3.5)

Cohen (2)

GREAT NEWS!!!

I have some great news to share!!!  My boss/friend, Kiki, got her lung transplant yesterday and she's doing great.  Today she is talking to her family and continuing to do well.  Praise God!  Thank you to the unselfish donor and his/her family who chose to donate life to Kiki (and many others, hopefully).  She still has a long recovery ahead but she's got the lung and that's the first step.  She got "the call" on Thursday 6/3/10 so we knew that hopefully, she'd get the lung that night or on Friday 6/4/10. We had a tense morning at work on Friday until we heard from Kiki's daughter that the lung was in and was she was doing well.

Here are a couple photos of the rainbow that was in the sky on the evening of 6/3/10.  It was beautiful and you could make out all of the colors perfectly (ROYGBIV, somehow that stuck in both Chris and my heads from elementary school).  It was so beautiful that we decided that it was for Pop Pop and Kiki.  

Life Goes On

We went to Mom Mom's house on Monday, May 31st.  Chris was meeting with Mom Mom and Allen at the funeral home.  Ian, Ruby, and I went to the house and hung out with Aunt Trudy and Cousin Dan.  It was difficult when we pulled up to the house and Ruby was yelling, "Pop Pop, Pop Pop!"  Aunt Trudy and Dan had arrived from NJ the night before.  Aunt Trudy and Mom Mom are very close so it was a relief that she could be there with Mom Mom at this time.  Mom Mom seemed to be doing pretty well and she enjoyed the distraction of the children.  We played in the yard and rode bikes.  Ian and Ruby ate a lot of strawberries from their patch.  Ian caught a catapillar who he named "Catapilly".  Ian even fished on the dock.  Oh, how Pop Pop would've loved to see Ian fishing off of his dock with Ian's birthday present, a Lightning McQueen fishing rod with tackle box!  We believe he was watching and sent us some fine cool breezes across the water.  Chris and Mom Mom showed Ian how to work the fishing rod and he had quite a few bites but nothing stayed on the hook.  Ruby fell asleep on Mom Mom while we sat on the dock.  It was very sweet.  Chris showed, again, what a great father he is.  Pop Pop taught him well. 

On the evening of Pop Pop's death, Chris, Ian, Ruby, and I were in Ashland watching trains.  My friend, Kathy, who was with us, along with her family, reminded me that we waited and waited for a train to come.  And then, around the time Pop Pop went to heaven, there were 3 Amtrak trains in a row and tons of train whistles in the distance.  I love that!  I believe it was Pop Pop saying goodbye to us and approving of our train-watching.  He put on a good show for the kids! 

On Saturday, before Pop Pop went to the hospital, our neighborhood pool opened and boy were we ALL excited.  I think Ian was the most excited.  He wore his bathing suit and blue goggles for 2 hours before the pool even opened at 11am.  He wore them to Target and the grocery store.  We got a lot of smiles.  Did I mention that Chris had his bathing suit on for 2 hours before the pool opened too?  Hmmm...  We had a great time at the pool opening party with all of our wonderful neighborhood friends.  We missed the Helsleys though, they were out of town for a camping trip. 

Here is a photo I took of Ruby and Molly after church on Sunday.  So cute!  I can't believe that my baby girl will be 2 years old in 10 days!  And my first baby girl, Molly, will be 8 years old in October. 

So, life goes on...