I’m going to start calling these my baby blog posts because I think only me, Ryan, and our parents are the most interested. Is it March already? Because I think these photos (and experiences) are a couple months old.

A friend gave me these sweet bird feeder ornaments for Christmas and we stashed them away until a snowstorm hit. What a snowstorm. Luckily it happened to fall right after our “3 Day Potty Training Weekend” so Ryan worked from home that Monday and Tuesday, which was a literal act from God because I would’ve thrown in the towel by Monday afternoon. Monday was the day when all the newness of “yay! You went on the potty chair!!!” wore off and Ruth was feeling defiant. We went back to as if it were day 1 again and forged on. I’m so proud of little Ruthie. She’s doing such a good job. One time though, she just stood there and peed in her pants. I said, “Oh no Ruthie! Remember we don’t pee in our pants… What do we do?” She said, “Well, I can sing and dance.”

And you know, I let her. What? Practice your future broadway debut? Darn right ya are young lady, get to it! Potty training can wait.

But anyway, back to the birds.  I felt bad for the little birdies so we hung the feeders up for them to snack on while the rest of us hunkered down.

And the next series of photos will prove that we are in fact senior citizens. Or rather, we’re becoming our dads. But man! Do we love watching birds! Remind me the next time we go to Barnes and Noble to pick up a good bird book.

These are desperate times in the Collier house while I don’t have a full nights sleep. Hey kid, here’s some snow on a towel. Play.
Ruth approved this photo:
And this is (most times) the scene when Ryan gets home.. They love when he comes through that door. Ruthie’s a blur and Annie never smiles.

Wait! There’s one!

This is also how it looks when Ryan gets home. A game of hide-and-seek turned nap times.

I wish I had Ryan’s stomach.
Ruth has become a jumper. It started off small. Jumping up and down. Then jumping along the couch. Then jumping off the stool. Now she stands on the arm of the couch and jumps off. She’ll take the back cushion of the couch, throw it on the ground, and jump from the couch over it. It used to scare me, but now I’m in awe. I’m in awe because one year in highschool I did track for some unknown reason. I’m just not a fast runner. Nor a long-distance runner. Nor a jumper. So…..why did I join again? It was painful. But to see my little girl jumping over those cushions onto the floor makes me want to sign her up for the triple long jump. She needs a coaching session with her aunt Lisa who apparently was asked to do the triple because they needed someone at that particular meet, and she broke school records. Or something like that. I don’t know, I was too busy not winning medals.

Look! She’s smiling again!


And we’re back to jumping.
There was a Saturday during the Olympics where I had big plans to organize certain areas of the house. Then Annie came down with a fever and I was (happily) stuck on a recliner all day with a sleeping babe in my arms.

So instead we watched some figure skating. After five minutes of staring mouth wide open at the screen, she ran to the toy room and came back out with her skating outfit on.

This may have been the first time Annie saw herself. She took a while to warm up… that may have been her first lesson on smiling when you meet someone.

it turned to kisses though. 
Ruth still gets bitten by the Mary Poppins bug, although less frequently now. When she does, she loves to reenact the Jolly Holiday with Ryan playing Bert. She makes sure he lifts his legs as they skip too. Sigh. I do love this little bugger.

Sometimes Ryan rearranges the doll house. Looks like grandpa got attacked by a giant spider this time around.
Sorting my grandma’s buttons. One day I’ll sew. One day.
She feels cool in her Dora underwear. Too cool to pick up her toys apparently.
But these. These are the moments I need to sear into my brain. Sitting on the floor with Annie crawling into everything she can find while Ruthie dresses up and cooks me spaghetti in her kitchen.

ddd
Those thighs. You’re welcome, Ruthie.  And Annie dancing. I need to get it on video, but the blur says it all.  All you need is clapping at the minimum and Jay-Z at the max. Either end of the spectrum will work.I’m smiling right now. Partly because they’re both asleep and I have a breather. But mostly, I look at these photos and they’re a smack in my face at what a great gig I’ve got.