Ruby Turns 3!

This past weekend we celebrated Ruby's third birthday.  I told Noa that I was going to just do a small party for her this year since we are still not really settled into our home and we still have a lot going on right now.  But, in typical Julie-throws-a-party fashion, the party ended up being a little more involved than just a simple cake and ice cream party.

I had asked Ruby a month or so ago what kind of party she wanted.  She, without hesitation, said she wanted a Superman party.  I found this request kind of odd since we have never watched a Superman show, movie, or read a book about Superman.  So, I'm not quite sure where she got the idea from.  I sat on the idea for a week or so and asked her again.  She again said she wanted a Superman party.  I also noticed that she could identify superhero characters whenever we went to the store and they were on something, like a box of cereal, or something like that.  Since we have never really done anything with Superman, Spiderman, Batman, or any superhero figure and I was pretty sure that the characters from those stories would most likely scare Ruby (she can be kind of sensitive to dark characters/"bad guys"), I adjusted the theme to "Super Ruby."  This way she could still have a superhero theme, but one that fits her personality and comfort level.

I ended up ordering a custom cake (yeah, probably won't be doing that again since it broke the bank), capes and masks from Etsy, and purchased just a few party necessities locally (food, balloons, etc).  The rest of the party decorations I already owned or made.  If we don't include the cake, it was a pretty modest party budget-wise. On party day, I was pretty pleased with how it all came together and Ruby seemed thrilled. Here are a few pics of things before the guests arrived:

 

We even got Mila into the whole supergirl theme:

Keira arrived with her family first, which gave the girls a little pre-party playtime.  

Then, the other guests arrived and the birthday activities began!  We had bubbles and sidewalk chalk, and a balloon room (basically my living room filled with balloons) to start.  Then we loved on to the Superhero Training Course (a simple obstacle course).  The kids seemed to really love it!

It started out with a demonstration from the birthday girl.

Then the party attendees each had a turn.  First they had to run around some cones.  For the older kiddos, this was a breeze!

But, some of the younger ones needed help:

Probably one of the highlights of the course was the block wall that had to be kicked down:

Then there was jumping onto circles (no pics) and riding the zebra ride-on toy to the ball.  Once they got to the ball, the kiddos had to kick it past the "bad guy" (one of our friends who agreed to help me out here).  

Or you could just toss it past him if it was your dad.   :)

Afterwards, the kids played with the course rearranged the different parts.  It was pretty cute to watch.

After the training course, the kids and parents participated in defeating the "bad guys" that infiltrated the party.  Together, they had to use their super powers (AKA silly string) to shoot the bad guys and knock them down.

Afterwards, it was cake time!  The cake, although pricey, was gorgeous and tasted delicious!

After that, it was playtime until the guests had to go home to nap.  

On Ruby's actual birthday (Sunday), Noa had to work, but we made it special, with a breakfast date with her BFF, Keira.

After breakfast, it was beach time!

When we got home, it was time for presents.  Her big one this year was a dollhouse.  It actually was given to us by another family and is in great shape.  We are the third family to use it and I hope to pass it on to another family some day.  In the meantime, Ruby loves it!

And, fun with a GIANT number 3 balloon that sadly flew into the sky after taking these pics.

Happy girl!!

It was a really fun weekend and I'm glad that it was all about Ruby.  She is such a joy in our lives and we just cherish moments like these.  Happy birthday, super girl.  We love you more than words can describe.

The State of our State

Noa's parents arrived last week and we've been busy showing them around and visiting a few of the local sites.  We have also tackled a few projects, which prompted this blog post.  Our home is still in a perpetual state of moving-in and I haven't really shown many of the rooms on this blog.  So, allow me to give a quick glimpse into our Spanish home these days…well, a few rooms anyway.

The Living/Dining Rooms:

The living room and dining room are actually one big space.  I think the correct term for the living room is a "sunken room" - you have to take two steps down to get to it.  Although this is an interesting feature in the space,  it poses a bit of a challenge with little ones running and crawling around.  We have devised a plan to use furniture to make a blockade of sorts to keep the rooms somewhat separate and only make the living room accessible by using the steps (as opposed to the sharp drop off that suddenly happens between the two rooms).  Below, you can see the couch is right by this sudden drop off from the dining room to living room).

Somehow, I managed to just take this photo and move on to taking a few quick pics of the living room, completely skipping the dining room all together.  Let's just say that there's not much to see.  It currently is used as a storage/holding space.  We have all our framed artwork/photos leaning on the walls in there, our kitchen table, and some rolled up rugs waiting to go in the girls' rooms.  It's pretty boring and useless right now.

The living room space is interesting and large.  There are dark beams on the ceiling, a working fireplace and a large window.  There are curtains on each pane and large linen curtains hanging down for decor.  The sheer curtains that cover each pane give the windows some privacy (even though there's a wall outside, you technically could see in of you were say, 8 feet tall or sitting in a truck driving by).  I took off the bottom row to allow this space to have more light.  I haven't decided if we are going to keep the hanging curtains on or not.  We have a large area rug to cover up the tile, which is good for sound and for a crawling infant. I like having Ruby's train table in here since it's spacious and the table needs a lot of room.  Mila has already learned how to crawl to the stairs, so we are often moving the ottoman around to block the pathway.  I also seized the toy-free opportunity to take this photo.  Ruby was napping and I had just had her pick up the toys.  Usually there are toys scattered throughout this room.

Upstairs:

If you head up our staircase, this bookshelf (which was left by the homeowner) is right at the top.  I organized it quickly and feel pretty good about it so far.  I'm sure I'll be adding and changing the look of this shelf throughout our time here, but for now it helps us feel a little more like ours.  We actually left over about 2/3rds of our book collection in Washington, so this really reflect a good Hammer home library.  The wall hanging above it came with the house and we like it, so it's staying.

If you were looking at the bookshelf and turned right, this is what you'd see…our upstairs hallway.  That small table came with the house and I don't know if that lamp will stay there since the shade is busted.  I don't love the yellow/gold runner in that space, but it's nice and soft on the feet in the middle of the night when I'm walking to Mila's room (I'm told it gets pretty damp and chilly here in the winter, so rugs are always a good thing).  That picture on the wall at the end of the hallway will hopefully get hung on that wall and the pail will be relocated.

First door on your right is the guest bathroom.  This is a very large bathroom with two sinks, two mirrors, a toilet, a bidet, a closet and a shower.

The shower in here has great water pressure.  Unfortunately, our kiddos don't take showers, so we bathe them in our master bathroom that has a tub.

Mila's Room: 

Both girls are getting some serious room make-overs.  Our landlord graciously said we could paint the bedrooms and I am gearing up to do so very soon.  Mila's is a pea-green color, which in and of itself is fine, but with the dark wood and orangey floors, it does not do this room any favors.  I am planning on lightening this room up big time.

Mila inherited Ruby's old nursery furniture and we already purchased a fluffy carpet to go in here (one of those rolled up rugs in the dining room that I mentioned).  I'm excited to get this space painted and really personalized for Mila.  You can see that I was already testing out some paint on the walls.  The goal is to make it light and happy in here.

Ruby's Room: 

Ruby's room was obviously already used for a child, but it's pretty dated. For one, it's dark and although Ruby loves the color blue, it looks like a boy's room.  The Donald Duck wall paper border will come down and the room is going to get painted with three light walls and a dark accent wall.  I'm trying something new in here and I'm excited to get started on it.  She will have a very purposeful color scheme. Stay tuned on that.

Poor Ruby has been sleeping on this inflatable mattress since we still hadn't purchased her bed when this photo was taken.  On the plus side, she's officially out of the crib and doing great with a big girl bed…whatever that bed may be!

My iPhone camera isn't great, but it is dark in here.  I've even started pulling away at the border as you can see by the window.

More photos to come!

Trunk or Treat 2014

The week before Halloween, the MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) department hosts a "Trunk or Treat" on base.  You may remember that pre-kids, we actually decorated a trunk for one of these events in Okinawa.  It was super fun.  This year we were on the other side of things, bringing our costumed kiddos along for some trick or treating.  The event was similar to the one in Okinawa: trunks are decorated, typically with some kind of theme and kids go from trunk to trunk for candy.  The MWR department judged the trunks and costumes for prizes.  They also provided a hay ride (on a huge military truck) and a pumpkin patch for kids to pick and decorate pumpkins.  The Trunk or Treat is held at the drive-in movie theater on base (yes, we have a drive-in theater!).

We didn't realize how popular this event is on base….it was crazy crowded!!  You couldn't really see the trunks unless you worked your way through the crowd to get right up to them.

We met up with our friend Katie and her daughter Keira, who has become one of Ruby's favorite buddies here.  They were adorable in their costumes.  

Keira was a pirate, Ruby dressed as Olivia the pig and Mila is Olivia's dog, Perry.

Mila wasn't so sure about the whole costume idea. 

Ruby and Noa were the trick or treating pair.  She was a little intimidated by all the people, so he went right up to the trunks with her.  I hung back with Mila in the stroller.

Hard to see, but one of her favorite trunks was the Frozen-themed one (shocking, I know):

101 Dalmatians, complete with Cruella deVille:

Sadly, we had to cut the festivities short.  The crowds, some scary costumes, and a few loud pops (little firecracker popper things) from one enthusiastic trunk decorator was all Ruby could take for one night.  Hopefully she won't be too traumatized to go next year because it was a pretty fun event overall.