Hi!

Ruby says "hi" to everyone she sees.

Seriously, EVERYone.

This happens as we walk from her school to our car, when we shop through Publix, even when we are driving and stop at a red light. (Seriously.) And she will pursue the people she is trying to connect with relentlessly until they meet her eyes and reciprocate. Hi. Hi. Hi! HHHIIII!

Because I'm not blessed with 47 chromosomes and because I'm a typical cynical person, too often I find myself trying to rush her through this process, especially when the subject does not appear to be receptive. I feel like I should apologize for Ruby overstepping or interrupting.

But that's just dumb. Because when she makes the connection, which is more times than not, the person on the receiving end of her greeting lights up in a huge smile and sometimes even engages back to her with a comment or question.

That often leads Ruby to grab/hold their hand, give a hug, or physically 'love' them in some way too. And they appear to be delighted by the interruption, glad for the overstepping. And who wouldn't? Life is hard and we too often find ourselves putting our heads down and just trying to push through. It's nice to have a reason to stop and look up.

And then I read this post from Heather Avis a few weeks ago. Love it, and she penned it better than I could hope to, so go read her take on this same phenomenon.

At the end of the day, this I know: our family hugs way more because of ruby. We say 'I love you' way more because of ruby. We look into each other's eyes way more because of ruby. She leads the way in connecting with each other and we are so lucky to follow along.

EP release

Big time.

Eli and his band, '99 Corolla (not HIS band, but the band he is in), released an EP this week on iTunes. Four original songs for the public's listening pleasure. To commemorate the event, they hosted an EP release party over the weekend. at said party, they performed about eight songs, only one of them not their original material. (Long live The Meters.)

I keep saying it, and I hope that I keep saying it: I love the opportunity and experience that Eli has in regards to '99 Corolla. The work ethic, the integrity, the passion, the collaborative effort, the friendships...it has all been in the black. I could not have picked a better 'first band' experience for him if I tried, and I have to believe that having the baseline experience set the bar so high will help with Eli's expectations for himself and those he works with in future endeavors.

I only got a few videos:
Song 1
New Beach Song (my new fave! Not on iTunes yet)
PK
Cissy Strut Intros (this is a cover)
Beach Song (the crowd fave!)

Halloween

Not too much to report: it was cold - COLD - and kinda wet, but we all participated and were rewarded with candy.

Lehr started showing Ruby little 3-5 minute clips of old Popeye cartoons several months ago. So when we talked about her costume this year, it was a no-brainer. And because I love the group costume, that meant Lehr and I were in too. It was the EASIEST of all the group costumes so far and definitely the cheapest. Ruby's sleeves and 'cape' were sewn on by me, so that shirt won't survive a machine wash, but it did the job.

Maddux had four friends come over to spent the evening with us. There was much back and forth on what they would actually be, but in the final 60 minuets before go-time, it was "Zombie Golfers" courtesy of some white and black eye shadow I found to use as stage make-up for them. They froze, but they had a good time.

Finally, Eli was a hot dog. This boy wants to dress up still, and I love love love that. He told us at least a month before Halloween that he would likely buy a one-piece hot dog costume for this year, and he assured us that it will work for the next several years. He wore it to school (twice!), and the night of, he hung out at a friend's house with several other boys and they even hit the houses for a few handfuls of candy.