there is typhoid in my fridge.

literally. Ben's getting ready to set off on some great adventures, and.. some of those adventures warrant the suggestion of typhoid pills by our doctor. He's pretty pumped for what's ahead, but i think it will be something that just can't set in for a while. More to come though...

Things at home are in full tilt. Work for both Ben and I is incredibly busy, and just never seems to slow down. But, we're trying to carve out as much time as we can to hang out as a family, and enjoy summer with Ruby. We have a new roommate too. Auntie Mae is now a permanent resident, and she has her own sweet "bachelorette pad" in the basement. it's awesome. And it didn't take more than a couple of days for Ruby to figure it out, so she loves to knock on the door to the stairs and yell "Mae!". She knows just how to make her auntie melt into a puddle of goo.

We've been trying to work in as much sweet corn into our dinners as humanly possible lately, since we realized how much Ruby likes it :)  (but, it's always served along WITH other things, ha ha) Apparently when you've got Klingler genes, the ability to eat corn on the cob is innate.

We spent the fourth of July weekend with my parents in Granville, which was great. Ruby loved the little street fair they have every year, even if it did feel like an armpit outside. But, my parents got Ruby a SWEET kiddie pool that had a slide and a giraffe-head-sprinkler, and boy did she love it! Don't you remember that feeling of trying to go down the slide, and getting "stuck"? This video brought back memories.

For now we're really focusing on finally getting our new place just the way we want it, so we've been keeping ourselves really busy. But, it's paying off, and it feels great to check things off of our to do list! We're also doing LOTS of reading these days. Ruby is semi-obsessed with books, but... only certain ones. There are a handful of books she will read over, and over, and others.. she just has no patience for. So, "BOOK!!" is one of her favorite words right now. We're also learning lots of new words. News ones pop out of her mouth pretty much every day. One of our favorites is when she says "YEAH!", she says it so much that occasionally she gets it in the right spot, and its hilarious. Another of our favorites is when she baa-aa-aa's like a sheep. its very realistic :)

Butterflies and Boston

Life is good. This weekend we were visiting with the grandparents this weekend, since a work trip for Grace's job ended up being in Providence, RI. So, we decided to pack up the family and go up early to get in some time with the relatives :) We've had fun getting Ruby together with her cousin, and hanging with the family at large. We've been doing the circuit with trips to the petting zoo, the mcdonalds playland, playing with the baby pool in the backyard, wagon rides and lots of playtime. whew~ it's been exhausting in a good way :)

Here are some recent highlights...
 A few weeks ago we went to the Butterfly Show at the Krohn Conservatory with Auntie Mae on her birthday, it was fun!

one of the trees with the orchids growing in/on it

the room with the japanese paper bird sculptures

Ruby had the best time running around in the crowds of people inside the actual butterfly room, although she was almost completely oblivious to the butterflies themselves.

the birthday photo with Auntie Mae!

Before our trip to Boston we got Ruby some new shades, they've had very mixed results... but, we managed to snap a shot of her enjoying them

We also went to a very cute and VERY smelly petting zoo nearby. I'm not sure we've decided whether the cuteness outweighed the smelliness, the giant emus were not cute, and they were the worst offenders.

There was a great trail for walking...

Ruby loved playing with Sydney in the baby pool, but wasn't sure about dipping her face in the water..

Ruby discovered the sliding doors while Gramps was grilling, and was super-excited when he waved back at her...

This is Ruby's idea of "smiling for the camera", we're working on that one...

And, Grams finally got her updated photo with the little ladies!

hello blog, it's been awhile

We've been busy :) we moved into our first HOUSE!! (yipee!) SO, the process of puttin gour old place on the market, getting it sold, packing it up, getting the new place ready, moving in, and unpacking has kept us PRETTY tied up. But, we love the new place, and all of us are enjoying the extra space and especially the yard and the back deck (almost the best parts of the house, okay.. definitely the best parts, ha ha!)

But, first, we've got some pictures from Easter (a while back, i know). We had such a fun time this year! Ruby even got to "hunt" for easter eggs :)

IT's getting a LOT harder to get pictures with our little monkey, because she just doesn't like to sit still too often. She keeps herself quite busy :) But, we managed to snap a few on Easter.

She loved the hard boiled colored eggs. She loved them even more when she realized that she could squeeze them in her hand and they would crumble into smithereens ;)

so... our new house :) we're officially ohioans now.

This was taken before we actually moved in, but now the trees in the front yard are in bloom, and the plants in front are green and getting ready to pop with color when the buds open. It's lovely, though.. it's caused Ben to have the worst series of allergy attacks ever. Like, a several week long series. it wasnt' pleasant, but it seems that the third time to the doctor is the charm, and he's finally got some medecine that's helping

Our kitchen:

We painted chalkboard paint on one wall, so we're having lots of fun with that ;) I love to cook (when i'm not exhausted from work or baby-chasing that is) so the extra space is awesome. we're having a good time cooking and baking in here.

So, for inspiration's sake, here's one of my latest favorite concoctions:

I call it Thai Noodles. Here's how i make it:
I use boxed thai noodles in the "Thai Ginger" flavor. Then i cook some chicken strips and mushrooms in garlic and ginger. I cook the noodles in the microwave, and then pour on top of the chicken and mushrooms. Top with cilantro, green onions and chopped peanuts. We love it because it's quick, easy and it tastes really good. almost just like thai take out.

more pictures of the new house and Ruby to come :) Someone's up from their nap, so it's time to sign out.

ruby-doo. people, we have a 1 year old..

that just sounds weird! but.. we do. we've got a toddling, curious, hilarious, mischevious, industrious little girl on our hands. she is into EVERYTHING now. there's almost no stopping her. Except that we're the big people, so we can. and she hates it. we've entered the "if-you-take-it-away-or-make-me-stop-i'll-be-really-really-mad-days". yeah. but, we're learning to work with it, and survive the strong will of our little lady :)
Plus, she is hilarious now. most things become a game very quickly, which we are thoroughly enjoying. IT's incredible to watch her learn things so quickly, and to watch her sense of humor develop, and sometimes a little weird to see what she actually thinks is "funny". She loves to ask what lots of things are now. And has a little vocabulary  of her own with some words in sign language (though she's been doing that for about 4 months now) and some real words (like diaper, doggie, car, something that we think means keys-her main obsession, mama, dada, uh-oh, and her new favorite.. hi).

to say the least. its incredible. and now we know why people have tons of babies. they just make you want more :)

anyway, in life outside of "Ruby-ville", things are good. We've decided to sell our condo, so when we're not playing with Ruby or at work we've been cleaning like mad men, and fixing little things that needed touch-ups or just some maintenance-related attention. We went on the market this week, and our 2nd interested party came through the house tonite. So, we're encouraged by the interest generated, and we're praying for a quick sale. Since, keeping the house perpetually ready for a showing, with a 1 year old in tow is NOT something we're hoping to do for long... (read: put all giant toys in garage, store tiny toys in shelves/bins/bags/wherever we can find a spot, have showing, then remove all giant toys from the garage, and un-pack all small toys from every nook-and-cranny (if you can remember where you stashed them). then, get the call from the realtor and repeat the whole thing). haha..

here are some recent pictures of our little love :)

 

she's into climbing inside of things right now...

 

emigre decided to grow a moustache for the winter, to keep her lip warm.

this one's for you, aunt Sheree:

Ruby's Birthday Album

Whether you've been rocking out to Ruby's birthday album or trying to get one of the tracks out of your head, now you can be an informed listener.  Here is the track list:
1. Hap, Hap, Hap, Happy Birthday-Parry Gripp
2. Ruby Soho - Rancid
3. Peanut Butter Jelly Time - Chip-Man & The Buckwheat Boyz
4. Drop It Like It's Hot - Snoop Dogg & Pharrell Williams
5. The Hampster Dance Song - Hampton the Hampster
6. I Can Sing - Barenaked Ladies
7. Single Ladies - Beyonce
8. Ruby Tuesday - The Rolling Stones
9. Drawing - Bareaked Ladies
10. All Is Love - Karen O and the Kids
11. Clap Your Hands - They Might Be Giants
12. 7 8 9 - Barenaked Ladies
13. I Feel It All - Feist
14. The Ninjas - Barenaked Ladies
15. Gamma Ray - Beck
16. Everybody Dance - Paul McCartney
17. Do You Like Waffles? - Parry Gripp
18. Ruby - Kaiser Chiefs

Album Art Bonus:
You can download the album art below.  To add it to the album in iTunes do the following:

-Save the picture to your computer.
-Select all of the songs in Ruby's Birthday Album in  iTunes and choose File>Get Info
-Check the box for artwork and drag the file into the window.
-Click OK

Let them eat cake...

Happy Birthday Ruby! (cake and presents) from Ben Saunders on Vimeo.

we were cracking up at her eating birthday cake! and my favorite part is the "cake dancing" near the end...
more birthday fun to share soon.

Happy Birthday Ruby!

(brace yourself for gratuitous praise and prolific first birthday footage from a very proud mommy)

Today Ruby turned 1. neither of us can believe it. Now that she is walking EVERYWHERE life is different, but it's also tons of fun. Her personality has developed so much in the last 3 months, it's unbelieveable. There is no mistaking what she wants or doesn't want, and she has no trouble deciding which way she feels about it either :) She says "hi" and waves now.. to everyone, which is adorable. And she wants to know what everything is. Her favorite games are 1) opening and closing doors—especially if someone is on the other side, and 2) opening and closing drawers, and exploring what's inside them. Apparently our blue travel toothbrush holder has more value than we ever imagined. She's also developed what we affectionately refer to as her "maniacal laugh", which we both believe comes from the opposite side of the family.

We had lots of fun celebrating her birthday today, it was a pseudo snow day, so she was at home all day, part of the time with mommy, and then later mom and dad switched, and mommy went to work and daddy stayed home with Ruby. But, we had a blast waking her up in the morning, check it out:

Untitled from Ben Saunders on Vimeo.

and, we had a delicious birthday smoothie for breakfast. it's a new favorite. THen we opened a few gifts, and played. Ruby got some really fun looking bath toys from her auntie rachel, uncle chad and cousin Syd, they know she looooooves bath time :) and some sweet sweats from her great gramps and great grams. Ben is SO happy any time he can dress her in sweats :)
Later on in the day there was cake eating as well. We were incredibly proud and dumb-founded at the same time by what we witnessed. it was like it was destiny for ruby and the cake to meet. videos from that soon :)
it was a great day. and even though i've been a little weepy the last few days thinking about how i'm grieving the end of Ruby as a baby, i'm also incredibly grateful for the amazing year that God gifted to us with Ruby. And I'm super-excited for the next year!!! I can't wait to see how she'll surprise us, delight us, challenge us and humor us :)