About a year ago, Ruby was asked to be a flower girl for the wedding of OUR flower girl and her fiancé. Of course, she was happy to accept, even though she didn't have much of a concept of what a wedding was, let alone a flower girl.
About a month ago we found her dress and started practicing what her responsibilities would be. Lehr found a basket and I ripped up some paper so that Ruby could practice tossing pedals as she walked down a long aisle.
The day of was a windy, but beautiful Florida day and Ruby woke me up with the sun, saying, "It's wedding day!" She was obviously excited. Maddux, Ruby and I went to the venue several hours ahead of the ceremony so that Ruby could take part in seeing the girls get dressed and participating in any photos requested. After watching the bride get her hair done, Ruby agreed to have hers fixed as well. She sat very well for the stylist to curl and braid her hair. (And then Maddux even got some curls!)
When it came time, Ruby sat for all of the photos in the dressing area, and then a little later she stood for photos outside with everyone. Her stamina was wearing off, but she held it together. The ceremony time arrived and Ruby walked down the outdoor aisle like a champ, doing exactly what we'd told her to. (Walk slowly, dropping pedals and stop when you get to the altar.)
Even though I thought we might leave before the reception because of Ruby's exhaustion, she was doing so well that we stayed. She ate dinner and even danced with Daddy once. The drive home was over thirty minutes, and she did pass out before it was over, but all in all, she hung in amazingly well. That girl surprises me at every turn, acting mature beyond her years at times.
I can't remember the last time I enjoyed watching the joy of Halloween as much as I did this year. I know I loved it when the big kids were little, and I do remember pausing to take in the fun while they were experiencing things 'new' each year. But as I am often reminded, there is just something about Ruby that makes everything a little more joyful.
When it comes to dressing up, I love the group costumes. I gave way to the big kids' desire to choose their own when they were little, but even now that I'm choosing another priority I still want Ruby to be a part of the decision, so we usually let her take the lead on steering us. This year that meant we would be dressing up as her current favorite soundtrack: Coco. (She likes the movie too, but we listen to the music of her favorites daily whereas she's probably seen each of the movies once or twice total.) That meant she would be Miguel and Lehr and I were to be her great-grandparents. A few trips to Goodwill (the purple dress was the easiest thing to find), an order from Hanes.com (the red sweatshirt was the hardest thing to find!), and some scissor work completed the ensemble for us.
Because it's 2020, our typical neighborhood parade, costume contest and pizza party were canceled, but we still had trick-or-treating. No doorbells were rung, and only a few front doors were even visited; most families set bowls, displays, or tables up in their driveways either unmanned, or with chairs set up a safe distance away.
The houses that had people out front were Ruby's favorite, of course. She engaged every person she encountered, asking them "Who are you?", before gleefully proclaiming, "I am Miguel!!" She was tickled at all of the costumes, stopping pirates and princesses and animals to chat and comment on their get-up. She told everyone she saw, "Happy Halloween!" and just took her time soaking everything in all night. Ruby walked 75% of the time, hopping in the stroller mainly when we were trying to cover longer stretches between houses, which is awesome because we were out there for about two hours.
It was so amazing to watch her just LOVE everything about this holiday - the scary, the silly, the cute, the recognizable - was so fun. It makes me sad that this year we didn't get to attend our favorite Halloween parade filled with even more scary Halloween magic.
Maddux had a few friends over to trick-or-treat, which I love. (I think that if you are willing to invest time and energy into a costume (and you have good manners) you can trick-or-treat until you're a great grandmother.) The five of them dressed up like the Strawberry Shortcake group, maybe just a little reimagined. Eli also dressed up (like a hot dog again) and went out with a friend for a short bit, but I didn't get a picture.
