Octoberfest!

This was the first time we attempted Octoberfest in Addison with kids, and we had a great time.  I will admit that bringing kids to the festival dramatically changes the feel of the event.  For starters, we spent much less time downing German beers this time, and a whole lot more time standing outside the various bounce houses waiting for the kiddos to get their fill of bouncing.  At the end of the day, a good time was had by all.

Spider-Man shooting his net:

Kai was so happy to get to ride on this ride!  Usually what happens is we wait in line only for the carney to tell him he's too short to ride.  I think the carney in charge of this ride felt sorry for him and just overlooked the fact that he's super short.  Poor little guy!

Happy Birthday, Ruby Nell!

Aaron and I were recently talking about the irony involved in the fact that it took us a much longer time to "bond" with Ruby than it did with Kai.  Before we adopted Kai, we read book after book about bonding and how important attachment was and how difficult it can sometimes be for adoptive families.  Well, we adopted Kai when he was two months old, and within the first week of knowing him, we were bonded for life.  It was so easy.  He instantly felt like our son, and with that huge grin of his, well...he had us at "hello."  So, when I was pregnant with Ruby I didn't give a second thought to the idea of attachment and bonding.  And then, one year ago today, out she came about a month before we were "ready."  We were certainly not ready for the juggling act that characterized the first few months of Ruby's life.  Aaron had just started a new job, I was in my last year before going up for tenure at UTA, Kai was still very much mama's baby, and Pla Shee was trying hard to get used to the demands of fourth grade.  Those first weeks (and months) saw more than their share of tears.  Our family figured out along the way that newborn babies are clearly amazing and wonderful, but also demanding, loud, and not very good at sleeping.  Happily, the newborn stage and other "unfun" parts of having a new baby were over before too long, and after a few months we finally got our groove back.  Ruby is now the easiest, happiest one year old she could possibly be, and she's pretty darn cute, too!  Needless to say, we've bonded, and have decided she's officially a keeper.  ;)

It's been too long!

Needless to say, we've been busy! Now that we're back in the swing of things with school and work, I'll try to get back into the swing of things with the blog as well.  A few random pictures from the past few weeks to get caught up to speed today:

Here are Pla Shee and Ruby building a tower (Kai's in the background) at the Fort Worth Children's Museum.  What a great place!  This summer, Fridays were our day to try out a new activity or visit a new place around the metroplex.  The Fort Worth Children's Museum was definitely the big winner.  They have great exhibits and activities that appealed to Kai and Ruby as well as 11 year old Pla Shee--not an easy feat!

Here Aaron and Kai are clowning around at Pla Shee's soccer practice.  He has practice two evenings a week, and games on Saturdays, which is a big commitment for our family!  He really seems to enjoy it, though, and Kai and Ruby love the extra time that they get to spend on the playground waiting for practice to finish.

Ruby is getting so big!  She turns 1 this Friday, and she just gets cuter every day.  She's taken a few steps here and there, but I'm sure she'll be running around keeping up with her big brothers in just a few more weeks.