This weekend was the Lexington Comic and Toy convention so me and the fam decided to check it out. Before you even enter to convention hall they had Ecto 1 there. I'm a HUGE Ghostubusters fan so I was pretty excited. Of course I had to get our picture taken with Vigo. Ruby couldn't have cared less about Vigo, Ecto 1, or any of the Ghostbusters hanging out. Once she sees the movie though...then she will. I only wish she could know the awesomeness that was Ecto Cooler.
I haven't been to a Con since back in the day when my grandma and aunt would drag my brother and I to Star Trek conventions. I have memories of meeting Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton (Reading Rainbow!!) and even Patrick Stewart. My aunt paid me to stand up and ask Mr. Stewart a question at a panel discussion once- something about working with Derek Jacobi on a Shakespeare play. I remember being nervous as fudge and then stumbling on my words when it was my turn.
This weekend was the Lexington Comic and Toy convention so me and the fam decided to check it out. Before you even enter to convention hall they had Ecto 1 there. I'm a HUGE Ghostubusters fan so I was pretty excited. Of course I had to get our picture taken with Vigo. Ruby couldn't have cared less about Vigo, Ecto 1, or any of the Ghostbusters hanging out. Once she sees the movie though...then she will. I only wish she could know the awesomeness that was Ecto Cooler.
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Instead of a post about my weekend woes (Ruby/fever/car/brick wall/puked on/peed on/Downton Abbey) I'll just share with you some of the picture from our photo shoot at the Franconia Sculpture Park in Minnesota with Katie Jeanne Photography. I booked the photo session hoping to get some cute snow shots of Ruby (since it hardly snows in KY) the only problem was that there was no snow! No snow in mid-December in Minnesota. Whaaaat? Well, that changed the day I flew in. We arrived around 1pm and by 5pm a major storm was rolling in. I think in total about 14" fell at my parent's place.
There were a few tricks used to get the photos:
1. Drop and Run. I'd quickly put her down in a photogenic location, run behind Katie, and wave my arms around and/or dance around like an idiot while Katie also tried to get her attention. Thankfully no one else was as dedicated as we were to get adorable photos and the park was empty.
Ruby had her two year check up yesterday. She's perfectly average across the board as usual, although there was a slight bump in her height percentile. No shots this time around and the prick on her toe to check her iron levels would have gone completely unnoticed if not for the band-aid they put on it. That came off quickly and was re-stuck to various body parts until all stickiness was gone. I don't realize just how big she's gotten until I look back at pictures. I think I said something to someone once to the affect, "She never had a chubby baby phase", and then I looked back at the pictures and saw that I was obviously wrong. How did I not see that?
Most parents don't haul the camera into their kid's appointments but I have since the 4 month visit. At first I think the nurses thought it was a little strange but now I think if I came into the office without my Canon around my neck they'd ask why. Of course this is not something that I'll always be able to get away with, eventually she'll be all like, "MOOoooom!!" and rolling her eyes and making exasperated noises but I think I have a couple of more years until that hits. I guess that this was technically Ruby's third Christmas but since she was born only 8 days before Christmas in 2010 and we stayed home and did basically nothing to celebrate (no presents, no tree...nothing) it feels more like her second. This is how things usually go: We trek our way down to Pikeville to stay with Heath's parents, open all gifts Christmas Eve, and then go over to an uncle's house for lunch on Christmas Day. She definitely got the concept of presents this year. When we told her it was time to open them she jumped up and down yelling, "Presents! Presents!" Heath and I also exchanged gifts, something we haven't done it a while. Of course I hate being in front of the camera so the one pic of me is me making a ridiculous face. He got me a few things that have been on my Etsy favorites list forever and I added to the collection of table top miniatures which must number in the tens of thousands by now. (I'm exaggerating....maybe) Since we had some time I decided that I was going to make a couple of desserts. I decided to try my grandma's recipe for Peanut Butter balls and Monster Cookies. What I didn't count on was the PB balls being the biggest pain in the ass ever to make. I ruined the first batch of melted chocolate (thanks, water) and when I finally got that taken care of the dipping was a disaster. Broken, misshapen, half-coated balls were everywhere. It took so long that I didn't even bother making the monster cookies. I was a little bitter and have declared that I will never make PB balls again. They do taste good at least! Christmas Day we moved the party to Paintsville and had a delicious lunch and opened more gifts. To say it was chaotic in an understatement: A little friend was brought out too...now here's something you don't see every day. (I'll keep my comments to myself but if you know me at all you know how I feel about this!) I'll be honest with you. I am glad that the holidays are almost over. Minus feeling like crap for a week it's been fun but I am ready to move on and get things started in the new year!
Today is Ruby's second birthday! We had a little party last Friday, nothing too involved just Heath and I, his parents, and his grandma. I did a little decorating while Ruby was in daycare. I am totally in love with our fireplace mantle...maybe not so much how I decorated it (I swear I am missing the decorating gene) but I love the character it adds to our home. Heath and his dad spent about 2 hours to put together the cool retro kitchen we all got her. Sure, I could have gotten a plastic one that would have been cheaper and easier to put together but, well, I'm picky and I really wanted something cute if I was going to have to look at it every day. Two hours to put together but only about two seconds for her to notice it after she got home from daycare. One of the first things she did is go up to the microwave and start hitting the buttons and saying, "beep beep beep!" Another one of those where-did-she-learn-that moments that have been happening so often lately. There were of course other gifts to open, mostly accessories for the kitchen including fake fruits and veggies, pots and pans, and a vintage toaster and metal plates. When I asked Heath's parents if they would split the cost of the kitchen and accessories with us I really meant that as Hey, you don't need to get her anything else, this is more than enough but I guess when you have the only grandchild all that goes out the window. After dinner we had cake. The plans for the cake were as follows: Plan A: Make a cake from scratch (yeah. right.) Plan B: Buy that Caramanda's cupcake Groupon (only I forgot to buy it. Crap.) Plan C: Find a suitable cake from Kroger for Ruby and cupcakes from Gigi's for the rest of us.
I wasn't planning on going home again this year, I've already been home a record three times, but I figured that we should probably take advantage of the whole kids under 2 fly free thing one more time. Ruby's time flying has been pretty good, as far as babies traveling goes. I've been lucky that the seat next to me (in the very back) has always been empty. Otherwise...oy... I don't even want to think about how terrible the flights would be. Even with the free seat it is still hard to keep her contained, trust me I've tried. For this flight she was in the aisle, in the empty seats across from us, and under our seat. I'm not a germaphobe, otherwise I'd probably be upset that I caught her eating peanuts off the floor. Of course the biggest event of our trip was the 12+ inches of snow! I wasn't really prepared to take her out in this much snow but she seemed to do okay with a couple extra layers. The snow trapped us inside until day 3 of my trip. I was going a little crazy so we escape to my grandma's place where I gave her a bath and she got to open her birthday gift. And that is about where I stopped taking pictures. Someone was being a toddler and trying mommy's patience and I spent about half the trip frustrated as hell. I think I am going to have to take up yoga again so that I can handle the next year without imploding. Or two years...since everyone keeps telling me about the Terrible Threes. Heaven forbid!
Less than 8 hours after we arrived in Minnesota winter storm Ceasar hit and left about 12" of snow up at my parent's house. This was Ruby's first experience with any significant amount of snow. She went between being excited to faces likes this whenver the wind blew snow into her face: She also didn't like when she fell in the snow. The roads are getting better but are still not drive-the-speed limit-able. We've been stuck at my parents house since Saturday and yesterday morning I was ready to get the hell out so we went and visited my grandma. Usually I eat lunch with her when I'm up but yesterday the cooks "couldn't make it in" (really?) and all the seniors had to fend for themselves. I cooked lunch for her her, gave Ruby a bath in her sink (my parents have crazy rusty water...yuck), and thankfully my cousin arrived with her son to help distract Ruby from destroying things.
Last night my aunt watched Ruby while I went out to eat with my brothers and their significant others at Famous Daves. Dinners like that, although a bit crass at times, really make me miss home a lot. I am in Minnesota! Ruby and I arrived this afternoon after a relatively easy flight. There was little screaming on her part but plenty of squirming. At one point she was wedged underneath our seat and another she was throwing a small-scale tantrum in the middle of the aisle. Thankfully the flight was quiet and I was surrounded by empty seats. I let her do some things that I am pretty sure were against Delta safety regulations but it kept her occupied and the flight attendant didn't seem to care so I just went with it.
After we arrived at my parents house cousins and aunts and uncles convened, dinner was prepared, and good times were had by all. The only stain upon the evening was the viewing of the god-awful Frosty Returns. If you've never seen it before-stay away!! The plan for the next five days include my nephew's birthday party, a little Christmas/birthday get together for Ruby, and a photo session, hopefully with snow! Did everyone have a thankful and filling Thanksgiving? Per the usual we drove a couple hours away to Heath's dad's childhood home in the middle of nowhere...someplace near Falcon, KY (population: 91). It's always referred to as Tick Lick which I guess is because it's on Tick Lick Rd. or near Tick Lick Creek? I dunno, but either way it's in the middle of nowhere. The very first time I went to TL I was a little wigged out. The way it was described to me I wasn't sure if this place even had running water! (it does) That side of the family is large so sometimes things can get a little cramped. I can't believe that Heath's grandparents raised 9 kids there! Crowded, yes, but the food is always delicious. See those yams? So. Dang. Good. Like dessert good. Heath's aunt Sue makes them and a dessert called Pastor's Delight*. Have you heard of it before? It's got a crust of Pecan Sandies, then something, then butterscotch pudding topped off with Coolwhip. I'd never heard of it before my first Thanksgiving with the family but now it's the only dessert that I care about and I eat like three pieces. It was a gorgeous day that day so we were able to go for a walk after lunch. Ruby was rocking some rain boots (her choice for the day) and being a sassy little thing... and then she was sweet as can be. These two might be my two favorite pictures of her so far. She basically ran around non-stop with grandpa the entire time so when we left it took her literally 2 minutes to fall asleep- allowing for a peaceful drive back to Lexington. We spent the evening with our friends and their family. They have two daughters who kept Ruby occupied enough to allow Heath and I to enjoy round 2 of Thanksgiving dinner, wine, and dessert. I felt quite spoiled and very relaxed. It was so, so awesome. *When I tried to find a recipe online all the recipes involved cherries and were nothing like what I ate. Hmmm...
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