Ruby and Aaishah

Ruby's first friend in Sri Lanka is moving back to India today. So sad to see her leave already. I was excited to become friends with her mom, whose name is Haseena. Wouldn't that have been so cool! Here is a picture of the duo on Aaishah's last day of school. Ruby asked to have Aaishah over to play last week and planned the entire play date. First, they would read books, then they would make chocolate chip cookies and next they would "play, play, play!"

Giant Circle Time

Ruby's preschool put on a non-performance performance they called a Giant Circle Time activity. They prepared from the time Ruby started attending the school. It was delightful! Ruby participated in a Sri Lankan dance she calls the bangle dance, but don't ask her to show it to you. She can only do it at school and she will show it to you TOMORROW (that is what she tells me every day!), a popcorn song (which she insisted leading up to the event was 'Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree'- no surprise, it was not), and the Candyman song. The night before the performance a naughty mosquito sneaked into her room and left a mark right between her eyes-- at least we are in the part of the world where that might be mistaken for a bindi! You may also notice in the pictures that all the other children have their shoes off. Ruby insists she must have her shoes on the moment she steps across the threshold. It isn't a mild insistence, it can induce tears. What parent begs their child not to put her shoes on before going out to play!

It was so fun to watch her perform. She was so happy to see us, waving through the entire performance and yelling to her teachers, "Look my mommy and daddy are here!"

Water Play

Our favorite daily activity.

Random Pics from our Daily Lives

One night we happened to catch a glimpse of Ruby and Gavin hanging out with each other in their super deluxe double stroller. I love her arm around him, and how he is leaning up against his big sis. They are so sweet together-- except when it comes to sharing toys, naturally.

Gavin, the super sneaky climber. The boy won't walk, but he can climb anything. I couldn't figure out how he got up there until after I took the picture and realized that he used the diaper box to catapult himself to the top.

Quality Daddy time, Nate style: toys piled on the bed, cereal straight from the box, and cartoons at will. It is no wonder Gavin is so content!

Line drives in the front yard.

That's gotta hurt

While on our little trip up to Kandy, we went to see a local group that performs traditional Kandyan dancing. Now I'm all for a good cultural experience, but I have to say I wasn't all that impressed. I'm not sure if it was the style of dancing and the music or just the performance itself - our driver even admitted that most of the good dancers were out sick that day. Sina and I felt like it was somewhat like Samoan dancing only not really as good at all.

But then after the dancing inside on the stage, everybody moved outside for the grand finale. That, my friends, was another story altogether. You've heard about it, maybe even seen video of it before somewhere, but nothing as good as our footage. And you should try seeing it in real life!

For Our Mothers

Happy Mother's Day!! This blog is for you.

Ruby's First Day of Preschool and Ballet

Schoolbag in hand she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I'm losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing

Sometimes I wish I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time.