The Candee Shoppe

Guess who sat up all by herself today??…

candeeshoppe — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:04:22 +0000

…Sylvie!!

Seriously, she’s only 5 months old…she’s got to be kidding, right?

Look at me!

Really, it's no big deal.

Personal pizza at its best!

candeeshoppe — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:44:07 +0000

Thanks to a fabulous EarthFare coupon for free pizza dough and fresh mozzarella, Ruby now has a week’s supply of pizza dough stashed in the fridge. Here is her first attempt at rolling out the dough and creating her very own pizza! I must say, I was really impressed with her sauce and cheese talents!

Keep an eye out…I just got some great pizza dough recipes that we’ll be trying out in the next few weeks, including a gluten free one for me. I’ll post the recipes if they’re delicious!

Using the big bowling pin.

The toppings!

Decorating.

Just before in went in the oven.

Enjoying!

Brian and Ruby in the kitchen!

candeeshoppe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:14:05 +0000

When Brian started cooking dinner tonight Ruby insisted she help him. They both put on their aprons and started chopping. Here’s a pic taken right before they started on the red onion!

Such cuties!

That's baby Ruby on Bri's apron!

Sylvie and mommy watching from the other room!

Nana, Pops, and Uncle Al come to visit!

candeeshoppe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:52:27 +0000

And, wow, did Ruby have a good time!! It was wonderful to see them, and to have some extra help for a few days. Brian and I even got to have a date night – our first one in six months!

Uncle Al and Sylvie

Uncle Al and Ruby

Nana, Pops, and the girlies.

The girls having breakfast.

candeeshoppe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:44:26 +0000

An action shot of us enjoying a living room breakfast.

The new dining room!

candeeshoppe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:39:29 +0000

Ruby and I painted the walls “Ground Paprika” (thanks Dan, for the inspiration!!), and we ordered a new rug from Crate & Barrel! Here are pics of the finished product!

Ruby applying a base coat.

Checking out the new rug.

The new dining room at night.

The new dining room in the morning!

Valentine’s Day fun.

candeeshoppe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:26:25 +0000

Here’s a few of the things we did to celebrate!

Ruby's homemade Valentine's.

Homemade chocolate nut butter balls!

Ruby making her Valentine's Day breakfast.

Served with a side of maple syrup.

Sylvie in February.

candeeshoppe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:11:31 +0000

Sylvie just melts our hearts. We are so grateful for her constant smiles and giggles…she is the sweetest baby ever. This month she’s started teething, so she’s constantly looking for something to chew. She’ll put ANYTHING in her mouth! The other day she had her first big laughs playing peek-a-boo with Ruby. It was the cutest sound I’ve heard in a long time.
Her favorite things to chew are Sophie the Giraffe and Dude the Elephant. She’s trying and trying to get her feet in her mouth these days, but can’t quite figure it out yet. She is so in love with her big sister, and watches her every move.
She’s just growing so fast, and I am so sad about that. I want to freeze her in each passing stage forever. I refuse to put jeans on her because I want her to be little for a while longer. I cried when I consigned her bassinet (that she never even used!) last week, and getting rid of her little clothes (that were once Ruby’s) is proving a harder task than I ever thought. I am trying to stretch each moment with her as best I can. I can’t believe that someday she won’t be a baby anymore.
Until then though, she continues to amaze us as she grows bigger and older and more aware each day. She’s enormous for her age (16.5 lbs and 26.5 inches long!), and most people think she is 7 or 8 months old. I still think of her as a newborn whenever possible. It’s obvious though, when I see babies younger than her, that she is growing up fast.
My little Tyl, we love you so much. Your smile always lights up our days.

Smiley girl.

She feel asleep in the middle of playing...who is this kid?

Peeking out from the pink jungle.

Mom + Sylvie love.

Sylvie eating Sophie.

In the new stroller!

Posing.

Sleeping on Mom.

Ruby in February.

candeeshoppe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:02:30 +0000

It’s been a crazy month so far for Rubes, especially with her big purple cast. Two and a half has been hard for her, especially when it involves transitioning from one place to another. Her tantrums can be long and difficult, but always end with an “I’m sorry,” or an “I’m done now,” and that’s that. She very good at using her please and thank-yous, and loves loves loves to sing anything and everything. Her favorites are “Twinkle twinkle little star,” and “ABCs,” and “Barney” (how the heck that happened I’ll never know!). She knows all her letters, and loves to recite them wherever she may be. Just the other day she let me know all the letters on a restaurant menu…she said she was “reading.” I loved it.
Ruby also LOVES her arts and crafts. Every morning when she wakes up she asks to “do da chaff” (which means “I want to do a craft.”). She loves to cut, glue, draw, paint, and just create. She’d do it all day long if she had the time. We love that she is so interested in creating. She’s also very into helping in the kitchen. Whenever we’re cooking she’s there to help mix, pour, and create. When she’s not cooking for real, she’s always making new pasta dishes in her own little kitchen.
Rubes is involved in lots of playgroups! Gymnastics and story time are two of her favorites. She loves to run around, and her cast doesn’t stop her from doing anything. We can’t wait for the spring when we can take all this energy to the playground!
Winter has certainly brought out the inner bookworm and artist in Ruby, and we’ll continue to focus on these great hobbies once the warm weather hits as well. She’s quickly learning her numbers, and can almost count to 20 (even though she always misses a few numbers in there!). We’ve chosen a great preschool for her in the fall, and we can’t wait for her to start! We are sure she’s going to love it.
Ruby is just an amazing girl. She’s sensitive and sweet, and loves to make jokes. She loves to run around and play and cook and clean. Even though she can be very difficult, she is the light of our lives. How did we get so lucky?

Making dessert in her kitchen.

Having a tea party.

Getting ready for a bath with a bag on her cast!

Being silly!

Ice pop!

Mommy, I yuv da new troller because I can hold Sylvie's hand when we walk. Awwww!

Happy, Clean Baby.

candeeshoppe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:08:22 +0000

Could Sylvie be any sweeter?