milestones – thosecoolkims

Someone is SIX!

So sad that we don’t keep up with this blog much anymore, but if there’s ever a reason to update, Ruby’s sixth birthday is a good one!

We kept tradition alive and combined trick-or-treating with birthday cupcakes this year. It’s funny, when I found out my due date was 10/30, I was always so worried that her birthday would be overshadowed by Halloween. Ironically, Halloween is Ruby’s favorite – and she loves that it falls so close to her birthday on 11/2. She went as the Childlike Empress from The Neverending Story this year – her favorite movie (at least until Harry Potter came along …) Her dad was THRILLED. He also made her headpiece, sourced the dress and whipped up the tulle cape. Pretty rad Dad, huh?

So yeah, Harry Potter. Cut to her actual birthday where she woke up and opened presents with us, all of which were Harry Potter themed, and then we did her annual birthday interview.

Instead of a birthday party, she chose to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios instead. We had a great time – Ed + I can’t even remember the last time we went to Universal, and it was really fun experiencing something new at a theme park. We tried our first Butterbeer, did some magic spells and even rode a roller coaster. It was only $10 more to get a 9-month pass, so we will definitely be going back a bunch more!

Interview with a Five Year Old

Time for Ruby’s annual birthday interview. Same questions, new kid every year. :)

Watch age four here.
Watch age three here.

Ruby update

This has been one epic summer. Ruby went back to school yesterday and it’s just amazing to see how much she’s grown. When she started Petite Montessori, she was just 2 yrs (and 10 mos) old. Now, she’s almost 5!

She certainly turned into quite a fish over the summer as well. She has always loved the water, but now she is swimming halfway across the big pool and turning to the side to breathe! She even got brave and ran off the diving board without a lifejacket at swim lessons this summer! She is truly oozing with confidence when it comes to the pool.

She’s also made some significant strides with her violin. She has been working on “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Hot Cross Buns”. She’s getting there, but the most impressive thing to me is that she is completely reading music now. Its amazing to see … we’re just so proud of the drive she has to learn this and how dedicated she is with practicing!

She likes eating cucumbers now, her favorite place to go is the beach, and she’s officially obsessed with Star Wars. She’s rivaling her dad when it comes to trivia … and she’s even building a reputation amongst her friends …

Hangin’ at the beach with daddy.

It’s been a fun summer and we’re sure it will be a great year for this spunky little girl we call our daughter. She’ll be 5 in less than two months!

Practicing the A-string and E-string

Ruby begged Daddy to help her play her violin tonight and after about 10 minutes, she learned the A-string and E-string. I know nothing about either of the two, but I can’t help but feel proud of my four year old for knowing the difference!

Violin lessons are on the horizon, but for now its fun to watch Daddy show her the ropes. For the sake of documentation, this is the first ever violin duet by Ruby and Daddy!

Ruby’s Royal Treatment

If you would’ve told Ed and I about 4 years ago (heck, even two years ago!) that we’d be taking our daughter to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Disneyland for a “Princess Makeover”, we probably would’ve given you a look of disdain and exclaimed, “Never in a million years!”. Now we realize more than ever why the cliche, “Never say never” exists.

The salon is inside Fantasyland, right next to Sleeping Beauty’s castle. She chose to do this over having a birthday party this year. Thanks to ALL of her Grandparents, we were able to make this happen for her. It was pretty mind-blowing; she got to choose any gown she wanted — complete with matching crown and wand — and get her hair, nails and “makeup” done.

After her treatments concluded, she was swiveled around in her chair and told to wave her magic wand at the mirror. The curtains parted, the mirror lit up, and her new “regal” look was revealed! After she was finished, she was escorted to do a photo shoot inside a Cinderella carriage, and got to meet Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel in person.

For the rest of the day, she walked the park in her very fancy Princess Anna “Coronation Day” Gown. The big hair and makeup freaked Ed + I out a little, but seeing how happy she was the entire day made it all worth it!

(See more pics of the treatment here.)