Ruby Sarah Hartston-Epstein

Fairyland!

2012-02-05T17:08:00.000-08:00

We are so lucky to live next to Fairyland! We went there on a Sunday, just Ruby, Mommy and Daddy.

This time Ruby climbed the rope ladder for the first time by herself. She also went into the fairy music tunnel for the first time. Previously she thought the loud echoes were scary. We saw some very nice fairy musical instruments in there!

Ruby is also very lucky to have a daddy who will squish himself into the little pig's brick house.

We played at the three pigs' houses for a long time. That has always been Ruby's favorite part of the park, (that and trying to hatch the purple egg). But this time we acted out the story and sang the song too.

I'll work on getting those videos up.

Fun With Friends

2012-01-20T11:25:00.000-08:00

Ruby has been enjoying playdates with her friends. Here are some pictures from a zoo trip with Ava and also riding around our block with Niko.

Ruby absolutely loves to show how fast she can go on her new trike. She takes her friends to see goats and chickens at the house down the street.

At the zoo, the frogs have been her favorite lately. The Oakland zoo has very nice indoor frog enclosures.

If they had ladybugs, we would be there every day. Ruby always has an eye out for them when we're outside.

Hanukah with the family

2012-01-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

We flew to southern California to have Hanukah and Christmas with grandma Gloria, (in Ontario), grandma Linda and papa Marvin (in Carlsbad), Amos, Thuy and baby Spencer, and Eve, David, Zoe, Elliot and Ian (in LA).

It was so nice to see everyone! Ruby played very well with everyone, especially with cousin Zoe. She loved to be in her big girl room. Cousin Zoe even let Ruby share her new set of colorful beads.

Ian's loose tooth was pretty fascinating.

We sang the prayers and lit hanukah candles all eight nights. Ruby really got the hang of it.

We walked the dogs with grandma Gloria, played in leaves and picked oranges.

At Amos' house Ruby felt very relieved to discover that there would not be an elephant in the white elephant gift game.

At Eve's house we had a big Christmas, which was a first for Ruby Paul and Heidi. We had breakfast all together while everyone opened presents. The funniest gift was "Handerpants", underpants for hands,(running gloves). The funniest sign was on Zoe's bedroom door. It said "ELLIOT NOT ALLOWED!" The sign on Elliot and Ian's door had been edited. It was just a happy holidays message.

When we returned home we had an extra night of hanukah so we could see our neighbors and Ruby's friend Aaron. He is older (8 years old) but we always enjoy seeing he and his family. Aaron and Ruby share a deep love of cats. And today they also liked playing the marble game together.

A visit from cousins Mitchell, Ann Mari and Julianna

2012-01-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

Mitchell, Ann Mari and Julianna Ratner stopped by on their way u to meet Harriet. They flew in from DC. Ruby showed them the hopscotch squares she made with daddy and how to ride around the block collecting good rocks and leaves.

Decorating our Hanukah Ficus

2012-01-01T12:52:00.001-08:00

Ruby asked for a christmas tree like she saw at Lauren's daycare and at her friends houses. So we decorated our big "Hanukah Ficus" and a very small christmas tree for the table. Ruby made a lot of the decorations herself. It was beautiful. I especially like the hairbands she put on it.

Aidan's 3rd Birthday

2011-12-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

Aidan had a great party in the yard in front of his house. Ruby waited her turn in a long line of kids. Then she really hit the dragon pinata hard!

Aidan got to choose any kind of ice cream he wanted for his cake. Nobody had ever seen orange sherbet cake before. Some kids weren't to sure about it, but most of them ate it anyway. Ruby said it was sour, but still ate half her piece. The blue frosting was good.

Ruby saw lots of her other friends at the party too, including Niko, Ava, Clara, Auggie and Aurora.

Thanksgiving in Mendocino

2011-11-30T08:49:00.000-08:00

We took a family trip up to Mendocino to stay with Harriet and Larry at their beautiful house for Thanksgiving. Ruby did very well on the long drive.

There we saw our friends Junie moon, Sarah, Tim, and Kamala, Jack and their 3 year old son Aaron.

Ruby and Aaron enjoyed playing together.

Once when Ruby walked away from playing (she went with daddy to go to the bathroom) Aaron said "Where's my little girl?"

Ruby made her specialty, "hot-choc-mock-bliver" (mock chopped liver) as an appetizer and everyone loved it.

At Harriet's house we picked raspberries and apples. And Ruby learned to use a maddox (a flat ended pick axe) to help dig pathways to drain the big puddles. Our friend Kamala said she was playing with "country toys".

After dinner we all went on a walk to look for mushrooms. Larry showed Ruby and Aaron how to find edible ones. We also heard lots of frogs. We stopped by another person's beautiful garden house along the way and Ruby sampled the rolls and butter over there.

The next day Jack and Aaron took us in their big pickup truck to visit Glass Beach. Ruby liked picking the tiny, colorful glass pebbles out of the sand. Aaron liked running up to the waves and then running away. Ruby thought Aaron was very funny.

I think Ruby will fondly remember splashing in those fantastic puddles with Aaron. Mendocino has great puddles.

Doctor Ruby and Doctor Daddy

2011-11-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

When Ruby and Mommy got their flu shots together a week or so ago, Ruby asked the nurses "Can I have some doctor stuff to play with?". She really liked the cotton balls and latex gloves they gave her.

Then she asked Grandma Gloria if she could find any more. Grandma Gloria sent a big box of Doctor stuff! Hooray! Dr. Ruby has been playing with it constantly. Sometimes she is the doctor. More often she is the concerned parent or friend. Poor Brobee is always the sick one.

Check out the video of Ruby explaining why Brobee doesn't feel good.

Pumpkin Patch!

2011-11-16T20:48:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, just before Halloween, we went to a pumpkin patch with Grandma Linda and Papa Marvin. This one was on a farm in Clayton.

There was so much to do there! We all played hide and go seek, a lot. Ruby really liked the water pump duck game. They also had a hay maze (that was too scary because it was dark in the tunnels), bouncy horses and a bean pit. Oh, and lots of pumpkins, of course.

Ruby wandered through the store area saying "I need to find something to sleep with." Finally she found a cat.

Watch the video of Ruby playing with the water pump game.

Play Date with Ava

2011-11-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

Ruby and Ava have become good friends at Lauren's daycare. They both sleep in the short nap room and play nicely together while the other kids are still sleeping.

They wanted to see each other more so we went to Ava's house for breakfast and then to Lake Temescal to feed some ducks.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

Ruby had several halloween events to try out her various costume options.

For the Piedmont halloween parade Ruby couldn't decide between being DJ Lance or a kitty, (mommy was

a kitty and Daddy was DJ Lance) so the bottom half of her was DJ Lance and her top half was a kitty. There were so many dads there dressed as DJ lance that Paul actually blended in with his bright orange costume!

Then at Fairyland Ruby wanted Paul to be DJ Lance again. She and I would be his hula girls. The other kids at Fairyland treated Paul like a celebrity. They were so excited to see DJ Lance! They screamed and waved and several families took pictures with him. One child asked if Paul was real or pretend.

Then on actual Halloween Ruby dressed as DJ Lance and got in full dancing and singing character for some mini trick-or-treating in the afternoon with her daycare. They gathered on the steps to sing songs (see the video) and then went all together to a few houses on the block. It was really fun when the parents arrived at 4:00 and all the kids rushed to get into their costumes together.

In the evening Ruby really enjoyed handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. We saw a few neighborhood friends. Ruby's older friend, Aaron (8yrs) was a vampire. Ruby thought he looked a little too scary. He was very chivalrous to take his scary teeth out so she could relax. Ruby handed out candy at Aaron's house too.

Ruby's friend Niko was a car from the cars movie, Ava was a fairy, Kailey was ladybug girl, Clara was a bee and Aurora was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (no one knows who that is yet).

Ruby the beat poet

2011-11-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

She's got rhythm! She made all this up as we were trick-or-treating.

Talbot's Toyland!

2011-10-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

We stopped by Talbot's Toyland during an outing to the peninsula to see friends. Daddy hadn't been there before and Ruby didn't remember it since our last visit was so long ago.

They have fantastic things. This time we saw a giant remote controlled fish balloon! The guy with the control box made it move its fins and tail so it could navigate through the store! There was a shark too. Ruby was a bit scared of the fish blimp.

Ruby played with the train table and got down to some serious cooking in the play house.

We also saw a family of toy Giraffes that were tall enough to reach the ceiling, an elaborate rubberband machine gun (on display only) and a marionette stage where the top sticks for three marionettes were hooked up together to the same machine which made them all dance!

Ruby especially liked making the remote controlled race cars go and stop on the track. She was very nice about taking turns and sharing with mommy and daddy and other kids. At one point she even got to control both cars at the same time!

Marvin's 75th!

2011-10-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

We gathered for dinner with Grandma Linda, Papa Marvin and a friend Robin, at Uncles Ken and Eugene's house. Ruby got to stay up late with the grown ups and impress everyone with her charm, conversational skills and jumping.

Check out the video of "Super Ruby!"

Shana Tovah!

2011-10-08T20:28:00.000-07:00

Ruby saw the Yom Kippur children's service at Temple Sinai in Oakland. There was such a crowd of children she became a little afraid. So we went upstairs to the balcony. We saw them unroll the Torah down the center aisle on children's laps. It went all the way out the door!

Then we put band-aids on each other and said "I'm sorry if I hurt you". And then we saw about 30 children walk up onto the bema to blow their own shofars.

Ruby loved being up on the balcony. She said she wanted to be the temple life guard. She also said that she wants to bring her own shofar next time.

Happy New Year!

Ruby and Brobee

2011-10-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

Ruby's Brobee doll continues to be her best friend. He watches her brush her teeth every night and also lays down with her for stories before bed. She frequently makes up stories about Brobee getting hurt and going to the doctor to fix broken bones, and tummy aches. Here is a video of them dancing together when she first got him for her birthday.

Ruby's tooth is Fixed!!! Hooray!

2011-10-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

Ruby was so brave with Dr. Bob the dentist. We are very proud of her.

She has been waiting to ask Dr. Bob if he can make her teeth purple. So he said he would try to paint them. He worked and worked and Ruby was so patient keeping her mouth open for all the work. Then finally he was done! They weren't purple but he fixed the chip! We were so excited she forgot about the purple part. She chose a slinky and a water pistol from the toy chest (two prizes for being so good) and then showed everyone her new tooth.

Its been a long road trying to get that chip fixed. We are very happy.

Ava's birthday

2011-10-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

At Ava's Fairyland birthday party Ruby really chatted up the grown ups about how she is a big girl in a big hurry. (I guess maybe mommy has been rushing around too much.)

She decided the puppet show was too scary so we looked at the rabbits and goats until the group convened for lunch and cake. Most of the kids are scared of the puppet show, actually. But some choose to watch it in horror. Ruby wisely decided she didn't need that kind of stress today.

We found out that today's show was Beauty and the Beast. Ruby asked a lot of questions trying to get information about it from the other kids. But they don't talk as much as she does yet so we didn't get much.

Ruby is very interested in animals. She loves to pet the goats at Fairyland and visit the ones down the street. She always asks to go on nighttime walks to see if she can see the cats coming home to get their dinner. Last night at Bites on Broadway (a Friday night gourmet food truck event) she met a baby cat in his owner's sweater and she was really focused on petting him and talking about him for a long time.

Ruby told the owner all about cats, "They don't like to get wet, dogs chase them away and they really like to be scratched gently behind the ears."

Cool Pool Party!

2011-09-17T19:45:00.001-07:00

Ruby had a third birthday extravaganza at grandma L

inda and papa Marvin's house.

There was a barbecue and so m

any people came to celebrate including Heidi's family (except we missed Eve because she

was presenting at a conference), Paul's family, the Manzons (Paul's visiting cousins), a few of our friends who drove in and lots of Linda's friends.

Morning Hugs

2011-08-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

Apparently we've just added two new members to our family. These things are sturdier than I thought.

I never expected them to survive the birthday party.

Ruby really does enjoy having them here.

Summer Day

2011-08-29T21:00:00.001-07:00

Summer vacation is exhausting! Ruby's daycare is on summer break. Today, since its finally sunny here, we went to Little Farm in Tilden park to feed some animals. Then we had a picnic lunch, and then played in the water at Lake Anza (also in Tilden park).

Ruby learned a lot about bees. They really appear to like chicken.

She also learned how far cows and goats can wag their tongues out trying to reach the celery we were holding. We saw all their flat molars for chewing plants. It was very impressive and educational.

Ruby surprised me by climbing up the life guard tower (unattended today) at the lake. We had a lovely time sitting up there together looking at the trees and ducks.

Ruby and Papa Marvin Discuss Ladybugs

2011-08-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

Video.

Ruby's Third Birthday Party at Grandma Linda and Papa Marvin's House!

2011-08-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Grandma Linda and Papa Marvin had a huge surprise for Ruby's party. It was a jumpyhouse!

Ruby was very tentative at first but she worked her way in there and soon was jumping like crazy with family and friends. What a great birthday game!

Ruby's 3rd Birthday Party at Lauren's House!

2011-08-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Kids at Lauren's house really look forward to birthdays. And Lauren makes them very special. This time it was Ruby's turn! At 4:30 they gathered to sing songs and then eagerly awaited the cake. Lauren gave Ruby a set of books. Ruby really enjoys sets.

Ladybug Farm

2011-08-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

Papa Marvin made a ladybug farm in his backyard as a surprise just for Ruby. Ruby looked at them through a magnifying glass and caught and played with them. She carried and placed them on vases and flowers and things. Ruby and the ladybugs made great friends.

My Fairy Princess

2011-08-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

My friend Janet took this picture at Ruby's 3rd birthay party and made this for me.

More birthday pictures to come...

Ruby Has Guests for Dinner

2011-08-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

We had cousin Arlene, Aunt Harriet and Uncle Larry over for dinner. Ruby hasn't seen Harriet and Larry since last year. So they were quite impressed with how outgoing and playful Ruby is now.

Ruby led all of us in some great bedtime stretches. You can see in the video, she is a very good group exercise leader.

Berkeley Kite Festival 2011

2011-08-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

We met Ruby's good friend Aurora at the Berkeley kite festival. After we all shared a picnic lunch they took out their kites to share. Ruby got to fly one by herself!

Ruby's favorite parts were seeing the giant cat kite and flying the dolphin kite by herself.

At one point Aurora decided to tie her legs up in the kite strings so she could go up in the air too. Her mommy Alex had to untie her. But then they did some very impressive upside down kite flying! They are real experts!

Ruby was so brave, going up the windy hill a little at a time until she reached the windiest part at the top to fly the kites.

Ruby also had underpants on the whole time, no diapers! She held her peepee until we reached the bathrooms! Hooray! (That was mommy's favorite part.) This was only about day 2 or 3 of wearing underpants all day. She is doing so great!

Frog Park

2011-07-27T15:43:00.000-07:00

After the triumphant dentist visit we relaxed at the park.

Ruby tossed rocks in the water, talked to her pretend friend Muno through the play train window, climbed around on a tire swing and informed me, after checking her new watch, that it was NOT time to go yet.

I can see you with my binoculars!

2011-07-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

Ruby looks out for crocodiles while we drive.

Ruby did so well at the Dentist's office!

2011-07-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Dr. Bob is a new dentist for us. Some of Ruby's friends see him too. We heard he might have a gentler approach to fixing her chipped tooth than the previous dentist did. So far we like him a lot. And Ruby liked the really huge hawaiian shirt in his waiting room!

Ruby was very good and got a flouride treatment and teeth polished. As prizes, Ruby got a set of toy dentist tools to practice with on mommy and daddy.

Ruby got a great toy wristwatch too! It has ducks and tiny balls in the clockface.

She wore it and checked the time pretty often. First it was 54 o'clock, then it was 17, then it was miles and miles o'clock.

Jumping!

2011-07-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

Cora Bela's 3rd Birthday Party

2011-07-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

We don't see Ruby's friend Cora often enough. Ruby and Cora have known each other since Ruby was 3 weeks old. I sat next to Cora's mommy, Jen, in a nursing mommy's group.

Cora has great birthday parties. This time there was a pinata, a BBQ and cupcakes! We saw lots of other friends there. Here are pictures of Ruby eating and painting with another friend, Clara, at Cora's party.

Ruby requested help hitting the pinata since the stick was really heavy. And Ruby was so good about taking only 3 pieces of candy and leaving the rest for other kids.

(And to my delight, once again, she ate the first piece and forgot about the rest.)

Ruby and mommy can share clothes...sort of.

2011-07-22T20:41:00.001-07:00

Sharing Snacks

2011-07-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

Ruby shares snacks with Cora and Aurora after gymnastics class. Today it was chicken and apricots. Then they played together outside too, first running around on the blacktop, then making piles in the rocks.

Puzzle Time!

2011-07-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

Dance Time!

2011-07-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

July 4th 2011 at Grandma Linda and Papa Marvin's House

2011-07-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

From LA, Heidi drove down with grandma Gloria to see Ruby and Paul at Grandma Linda and Papa Marvin's house.

They put on a great fireworks party. Ruby loved all the colors. She used her magic wand to guide everyone safely downstairs from the deck. She also learned about "the grand finale" and as people left, she asked everyone if they enjoyed it.

Ruby really enjoyed the pool this time. She also loved putting kitty puzzles together with Linda and Marvin, watching Yo Gabba Gabba with them in their super play room, opening gifts from grandma gloria, eating at her special little table right next to the big table and playing with "bouncy cat", the balloon toy grandma Gloria bought (video).

Heidi and Thuy's birthday at Amos' house

2011-07-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

Heidi flew down for a quick LA visit.

Amos' house was lively!

Thuy barbecued. Eve made one of her delicious cakes, which

had to be cut into an unusual shape after Daisy got to some of it. Heidi and Thuy blew out candles, kids sang karaoke and everyone took a turn hitting a giant monkey pinata. (short video) Baby Spencer did very well with all the noise.

More parties, more cake!

2011-06-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures sent to us after attending a baby shower for Heidi's friend Devorah. Very soon after this, they had a boy, Aiden.

Here is Ruby's happy birthday ladybug song

2011-06-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's day and Happy Birthday Ladybug

2011-06-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

We had dinner at our favorite place, Somerset, for Father's day and Heidi's birthday. Ruby preferred to sing happy birthday ladybug instead of happy birthday mommy.

She was very cooperative about sharing the warm chocolate cake, which I was impressed with, because its the kind of cake thats so good it can be difficult to share. I think she really enjoyed sharing with mommy and daddy.

Clara's birthday at Fairyland

2011-06-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Clara! She turned three at Fairyland. Ruby knew all the party guests.

We all saw a puppet show. Just about every child was scared by it. Ruby was too, but she was riveted and insisted on seeing what happens to the dragon. After that we had bagels, fruit salad and cupcakes.

Here are Ruby's good friends from Lauren's daycare; Clara, Auggie, Ava, Rafa, Anja, Ty, and Kylie.

Fairyland is a great place for a party and we finally had sunny weather. It was hard to keep up with Ruby as she ran to all the things she wanted to see. Her favorite this time was seeing Snow White (toddler sized statues, including dwarfs) and turning her magic key in the boxes to hear them sing.

Gymnastics Party!

2011-06-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

Ruby's good friend Aurora had her third birthday party at the gymnastics studio. What a great idea!

There was lots of free play, a few organized games and of course, lunch and cake. As always, Ruby's favorite was the trampoline. But she also loved dancing with twirling ribbons, hanging from bars, climbing up the alphabet rock wall and freestyle dancing. Ruby also had fun playing with her other friends Cora and Niko there.

The kids had a heated discussion about who would lick frosting from the Dora, Boots and Diego figures on top of the cake. It was decided (among Ruby, Aurora and Niko, unknown to the adults) that they would take turns, and they in fact did trade among themselves, taking turns licking the three little dolls.

I finally caught on towards the end and stopped it. However I was very impressed with the cooperation.

Kidfest Carnival!

2011-05-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

Ruby and mommy went to the kidfest carnival today in Concord, just 20 minutes away.

There, we met up with Isaac and his mommy, who will soon move to North Carolina. We will be very sad to see them go.

Ruby took a while to warm up to the scene because of the crowds and noise, but wow did she have fun at the game booths!

Ruby won a green bouncy balloon at a booth where she threw a bean bag into a hole! And she won several times at the duck fishing booth! And she won a rainbow ribbon at a gymnastics booth where she jumped off a trampoline onto a mat!

There were lots of games geared towards her age. She loved watching the bigger kids in the bouncy houses and on the rides. And she had a nice afternoon with Isaac, especially at the train display. (She actually let Isaac's mommy, Elisa, lead her around the track, although mommy was always in sight.)

We absolutely must put this one on the calendar for next year.

Playing at Chloe's House

2011-05-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

Ruby is very generous. She was so excited to bring dinner and dessert to our sick friends. (Chloe's mom just had surgery for a kidney stone while 5 months pregnant.) We stayed a little while to play and eat together.

Watching a Rainbow from our Bedroom Window

2011-05-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

We were playing when we noticed a rainbow appear right outside our window. We watched it turn very bright and then fade. Its very special to see a rainbow together.

Planting Tomatoes

2011-05-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

Ruby loves gardening. She is so gentle and caring with the seeds and baby plants. We now have tomato seeds budding on the kitchen window sill and baby tomato plants growing outside. Ruby loves to check on them every day and ask if they're thirsty.

Swing!

2011-05-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

Ruby can pump her legs on the swing! But she still likes to get a push as well. I just picked her up from Lauren's house (day care) an she showed me how she swings.

Riding a Bike, First Time Out

2011-05-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

I'd better post these! Ruby is getting so good at pedaling and steering, she may be riding on her own soon!

This was from about a month ago. It was her very first time out on the bike.

By the end of this first outing she understood the concept of pedals going around in a circle (not just back and forth) and that breaking, pedaling and steering were all going to happen simultaneously. She loves to practice on her bike and she is learning really quickly.

Ruby loves to bike three houses down to Claire's house to say hello.

Ruby Visits Grandma Linda and Papa Marvin

2011-05-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

I've not been able to post the videos from this visit. They're a bit longer than this website accepts and I haven't had time to sit down and figure out the camera yet.

So here are some still pictures from Ruby's visit. There were so many activities for her, she had a great time. And as usual, she loves to spend time with Grandma Linda and Papa Marvin.

Sharing food at Fairyland

2011-05-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

We met some of Ruby's friends, Clara and Auggie, (and Mommy's friend Jessica) at Fairyland.

Ruby was very generous about sharing her food. The gouda was popular with everyone. And she got pretzels in return!

Ruby's favorite part of Fairyland now is putting her magic key in the boxes to hear the stories and sounds.

She also wondered if she could sit on the big purple egg she found to make it hatch into candy.

Happy Passover and Easter!

2011-04-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

We dont have pictures of the kid's Passover Seder we went to. It was a very cute one at Netivot Shalom with lots of singing and throwing green onions (to remind us not to eat bread) while sitting on blankets like wanderers in the desert.

We did however, end up with some pictures of easter egg activities. This easter egg hunt was at Lauren's house (daycare). Ruby loved dying the eggs and then looking everywhere for them. She also got a purple bucket with stickers, treats and bubbles in it. The video is of Ruby blowing bubbles.

Rafa (the boy in some of the pictures with Ruby) was so sweet, he poured his bubble soap into Ruby's so she could have more. Then she poured some back so he could have enough, and the exchange went on and on. Then they sat close together blowing bubbles and giggling.

Ruby's friends Auggie (in the glasses), Clara and Ava are also in the pictures playing with bubbles. And theres one of Barbara blowing bubbles too. She is a very well loved lady who works at Lauren's house with the kids.

Isaac's Third Birthday!

2011-04-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

Grandma Gloria was here with us for Isaac's birthday party too! Yay!

Isaac's parents made cupcakes that looked just like Yo Gabba Gabba characters. Ruby loved it! Isaac's favorite was Brobee. Ruby also wanted a Brobee cupcake just like Isaac got.

The party was at Dimond park right nearby. Everyone played outside, then there was parachute time. Then we moved into a great indoor space for the food, balloons, dancing and face painting part. The video is of Ruby dancing to Yo Gabba Gabba songs.

We sure had a lot of cake this weekend!

Grandma Gloria's Visit and a Soccer Sports Party

2011-04-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

Grandma Gloria came up to Oakland and joined us at birthday parties for two of Ruby's friends.

Kailey, who turned 3, had a soccer party. Everyone joined in an indoor soccer class with coach Vince. Ruby felt more comfortable with mommy along side her. She did a great job scoring a goal in the net when it was her turn and running and jumping with the class. (The rules about kicking only, and no hands on the ball are not as strict for 2 and 3 year olds. )

The soccer field was at "Bladium" inside an old airplane hanger on an army base in Alameda. There were actually several soccer fields inside there as well as basket ball courts, a roller hockey arena, a full gym and a restaurant. Its an amazingly huge indoor space.

Ruby was inspired to sing and dance with all that great space to play in. See her dance video here.

There is also a video of her silly walk with grandma.

Grandma GLoria's Birthday!

2011-04-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

Ruby showed her new cousin Spencer (now 3 months old) how to play with the exersaucer. Eve made a giant cupcake birthday cake.

Barney couldn't make it from FLorida but Amos, Eve and Heidi brought their families to celebrate. There were 5 grandchildren and 5 dogs!

Visiting for Mom's Birthday, walking the dogs

2011-04-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

Ruby did a great job holding onto the dog leash during the walk and loved taking them out. Of course, there were stops to pretend to be a butterfly. Who can resist doing that on a sunny day?

Ruby also saw her first parade. We ran into it by accident. It was the 100th anniversary of Chaffey High and there were lots of high schools participating with marching bands, cheer leader floats and flag drills. Ruby said it was a bit loud but she liked the flag girls.

Pretend painting in Ruby's treehouse

2011-04-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

Theres a Juniper tree on the end of the block which Ruby has decided is her tree house. We always stop to play under there during walks. We often pretend to paint (as in the videos here) or she goes shopping outside the tree and brings us back something to eat or play with. There is a lot of knocking on her door and being welcomed in. She is a very gracious host to her tree house guests.

Ruby's pretend play is so cute and creative. And she is very inspired by trees and rocks.

Ruby meets Claire, her new babysitter

2011-04-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had another playdate with Aurora. Here we are cuddling up together to watch Dora after eating macaroni&cheese and chocolate pudding.

Also, Ruby met Claire, her new babysitter. Claire lives close by, in the house with the tether ball in the driveway. She is in 9th grade and is very impressed with how Ruby jumps on her bed. Watch Ruby introduce her kitties to Claire in the video.

Tether Ball

2011-03-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

A neighbor a few doors down has a tether ball in the driveway. Ruby loves to stop by and play with it. Its fun and convenient for a brief break in the rainy day!

Videos just added!!

A visit from Grandma Linda and Papa Marvin

2011-03-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

Grandma Linda and Papa Marvin visited us on a very rainy weekend. We had fun at home reading about ladybugs and watching Ruby's favorite show, Dora the Explorer.

Ruby and daddy made mini cupcakes which we all frosted together. Ruby liked the purple cream cheese frosting and did a great job putting chocolate and purple sugar sprinkles on each one.

Kitties on a Swing

2011-03-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

There is a house around the corner with a beautiful swing hanging from a magnolia tree. They are very happy to have Ruby stop by and play, and we do it often. Sometimes we swing rocks, sometimes kitties, sometimes dandilion flowers. And sometimes we actually get on the swing ourselves.

Also part of the routine, we stop by someone's rock garden and take a few lucky rocks for a ride, in the wagon or in pockets, then return them home on our way back.

Rainy Day Fun

2011-03-08T09:13:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures from a recent rainy day concert for kids. We saw Ruby's friends Niko and Isaac there. Everyone felt sleepy even though the singer was really great. The kids became more active at Christopher's Burger's afterwards though.

Here are a few pictures of a play date with Aurora. We had dinner, storytime and watched Dora (Ruby's favorite TV show now).

The video is of storytime. We read a "Dora the Explorer" story , Ruby's request.

Tuesday Nights With Daddy

2011-03-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Ruby and Daddy usually go out to the library and dinner on Tuesday nights when mommy is working. This time, mommy got to go too. Here are some of the great things Ruby and daddy do on their night out.

First stop is Market hall where Ruby gets to eat cheese cubes on toothpicks. (I didn't get pictures of this one but she is so very sophisticated! She likes gouda and cheddar.)

Then its dinner at the Crapevine. Ruby fills up the water cups for everyone. Its so fun!

Next its time to return our library books and choose some new ones. Heres Ruby returning books in the slot and searching on the computer for something interesting and new (and preferably about cats) to read.

Oakland Zoo with Ruby and Aurora

2011-02-21T11:03:00.000-08:00

It was so cold out! But since it was the first non-rainy day in a while everyone was outside anyway. We went to check on the animals at the zoo, who were also out playing.

Ruby and Aurora negotiated a share arrangement with Ruby's tiny white kitty (no help from grownups) so that each took turns holding kitty in their pocket. See the picture of them discussing it.

Direct toddler-to-toddler conversation is new, and so fun. Ruby and Aurora also had a very cute conversation over dinner at our house the day before. Aurora asked Ruby why she uses a fork for her macaroni instead of a spoon. Ruby gave a delightfully detailed answer. ("I use a fork because I'm not using a spoon but sometimes I use a spoon but you're using a spoon so I can use a spoon too but I'm using a fork.")

The video is of Ruby and Aurora sharing Aurora's doughnut. I'm going to try to put both videos up. Two minutes of doughnut eating video! This mommy thinks they're too cute to post only one.

Memories!

2011-02-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

Visiting baby Spencer, handing down Ruby's old baby stroller and showing Thuy and Amos how to carry Spencer in the Ergo carrier brings back memories of Ruby as a baby.

Here are pics from my recent visit to LA, of Spencer Daniel Hartston (3 weeks old) and family.

And here are some old pictures of new born Ruby in the stroller Spencer now sleeps in. And here is Ruby the first time I put her in the Ergo carrier. She was three weeks old, exactly the same as Spencer was when I helped Thuy put him in for the first time.

Toe Nail Polish

2011-02-16T11:42:00.000-08:00

If Ruby lets me clip her nails she gets to pick a color as a reward (or a TV show). Its still a hard sell but we got through it. And guess what color she picked? Purple, of course! She also enjoys grouping all the bottles into color piles.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-13T11:27:00.000-08:00

After pancakes, we shared stickers and danced all together. Ruby likes the marching song best ("Ta ra ra boomdeay"). Watch Ruby stop and stare at the stereo when she hears Elmo say her name on the CD.

Playing Candy Land with Aaron and Ellen

2011-02-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

We have some new friends in the neighborhood. Aaron (age 7) and his family have 7 cats. We met them on one of our evening walks looking for cats and dogs. Now we visit each other and Ruby is enthralled by all Aaron shows her, like how to play the candy land board game.

Ruby's Jumping Dance

2011-02-07T15:45:00.000-08:00

Watch Ruby explain and demonstrate her new dance for you.

Ruby Washes Mommy's Face

2011-01-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

Ruby Gets Her Big Girl Bed

2011-01-25T13:41:00.000-08:00

I have to figure out how to post from my Mac. Until then, I will try to use my old PC to post here, if its working.

Ruby helped sweep up and prepare for the removal of the crib. Bye-bye beautiful crib! Ruby is a great helper.

She had moments of feeling sad about losing it. But she is pretty excited about the big bed. She loves to invite people to come over and see it. She was particularly excited about the purple sheets, which we picked out together at the store.

Ruby's music class

2011-01-14T13:49:00.000-08:00

So far Ruby's favorite things to play are drums and guitar. She plays her new guitar at home and made up a good-bye song to sing to daddy when he leaves for work.

We have her in a group music class playing mini sized real instruments and learning musical concepts and notes. She loves it. Her session is for kids aged 2 1/2-4.

The last few minutes of the class are spent dancing. Here are some pictures of the class and a video of the last dance party.

Ruby Packs to Visit Grandma Linda and Papa Marvin

2011-01-13T22:19:00.000-08:00

Well, the computer issue is getting resolved so hopefully I will be posting more regularly soon.

Here is Ruby packing her clothes for her airplane trip tomorrow.