Life is Better with You

Preparing for our family rock band world tour:



IMG 5494 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

A few photos from the past few weeks

Zia got herself an Ikea nightstand and painted it herself - pink, of course!

We were happy about the nightstand, upon which we put her "ok to wake" owl.  She sleeps till the owl turns green.  Genius!!

Finny turned out to have cancer and we had to say goodbye to him after almost 12 long years.  On his last day, he played like he was a puppy again.  For a sick dog who had lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks, he had a wonderful last day swimming in the water, eating hot dogs, and playing with his family.

Finny Noodle swimming

Zia made some cookies for her neighbor.  Here she is bringing them over.

Then she came out of the bathroom like this, saying, "I'm a lion!  Roar!!"  That is her toilet seat on her head.  I guess I should have put a stop to that instead of taking a picture.  But it was pretty cute.

Spanish and Michael Jackson

Enjoy these cute videos of Zia singing her colors in Spanish, then dancing to Michael Jackson!



IMG 5139 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

IMG 5125 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

Zia learns to moonwalk

This month has been full of excitement and new things.  A few new things we have been trying:
1.  Swimming lessons with Dad on Fridays, his days off
2.  Learning to moonwalk (see video) in preparation for Halloween, since Zia has decided to be Michael Jackson for Halloween (she's decided mom and dad's costumes too - I get to be Tito and Marty gets to be Janet).




IMG 5062 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.


3.  Getting a visit from Little Red Riding Hood - who delivered season tickets to NW Children's Theater plays.  Zia's Nani got her season tickets and we will be seeing four plays this year.  Season ticket holders got our tickets delivered by characters from the plays.  Neat idea!  So, Little Red Riding Hood came to our house!  To celebrate, we had a waffle party.  Zia and her friend Zane made the waffles.

We also had a chance to visit a corn maze and bouncy house, where Zia bounced and bounced and bounced!

End of Summer

It's Labor Day Weekend, which means Summer is coming to an end.  We loved summer here in Oregon, but Zia has already begun asking about Christmas!  For her birthday, her Nani Andree got her a tennis racquet and has been teaching her to play tennis.  In her party dress, of course!



IMG 4774 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

Zia took an Angelina Ballerina ballet camp this summer.  She had a great time!  Below she is practicing her twirls.

Our new house has a garden path and bench.  We love it!

The Little Bastard likes the house too.  Here he is with a guilty look on his face and a feather in his whisker.

Zia's friend Edan came from Seattle for a visit.

Did I mention that the Fatburger loves living in the new house?

Zia did a great job at the hairdresser's. 

IMG 4975 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

Here she is rocking out after her Angellina Ballerina Camp.  

Here is Zia and the other little ballerinas getting on the Ballet Train!

Happy Birthday Zia!

Happy Birthday to big-girl Zia!  Our family also sold our Camas house and closed on a new house yesterday, and the house signing festivities ended long after she was asleep, but we did our fair share of celebrating too with a party at preschool and an out-to-dinner with dad.  Yesterday was actually just the beginning of four days of birthday fun, with parties and celebrations in true Leo style - just like her mama!

The other day she told the "story of her birth," using photos from the photo book I made to commemorate her first year.  She did a pretty good job with the key facts (such as: "when I was born, I was shiny" and listing the people who held her when she was a baby.  She mistook her lobster costume for an Elmo suit - understandably). 

IMG 4694 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

I thought this was a cool definition of Zia - found it on the back of a coaster her Gamma got for her probably 3 years ago!

Big girl on the swings!

She has been into hiking lately.  Here she is hiking at Tryon Creek park.

Here Zia is playing on the play structure at the park right next to her new house.  We are hoping this is our last move for quite a while.

We Love Summer

We have been having such a great time this summer in Oregon. Lots of fountains, outdoor concerts, fresh fruit, and outside time!  This first video is sort of long but there are two classic moments to watch out for:  one where she says "You know I can't carry a stick...(throws stick) you know I can carry a tune!" and then when she says "I'm a princess named Perry!"  As you can tell, Zia is super into dramatic play, singing, dancing and performing right now.


"I can't carry a stick, but I can carry a tune!" from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

Practicing her dance moves at the Old Crow Medicine Show concert

It was so hot at the zoo concert that we had to get completely soaked in the mister, then ride the hippo!

Shoulder ride so she can better see Ziggy Marley! 

Hanging with her buddy Zane in the water bucket.  She loves playing with Zane! 

Our rental house has a lake easement.  Here we are going for a swim at the lake.

Zia nicely sharing a pink ice cream cone her daddy at Rodrigo y Gabriela at Edgefield

Note the costume change.  Same ice cream cone, same concert, different outfit.

Tapping the Afternoon Away

tapdancing from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

Spring in Oregon

Zia has had a great few months.  She is definitely a warm weather gal and is excited for summer, primarily so she can wear short sleeves.  No kidding, she loves to wear short sleeves.  Here are some photos and videos from her adventures.

This first video is of Zia and her Nani giving an impromptu, music-free dance performance to the students in the student union building at Portland Community College.


Zia Nani2 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.



IMG 4197 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

Zia loves doing ballet.  She made up all of these moves herself.


IMG 4054 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

Zia and her friend Zane enjoying some of the summer-like weather in May.



IMG 4204 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

We've been spending lots of time at George Rogers Park

Here Zia is with her friend Zane, who got his pants muddy and had to borrow Zia's...

Glamour Kitty

Zia was so thrilled to meet Clifford the Big Red Dog at the OPB Open House. 

Fun to see all the baby geese and ducks!

The Big Move

Zia has had an eventful month.  Marty got a job offer in the Portland area, so at the beginning of March, we packed up our house in Seattle and moved back south.  We're now living back in Anne's hometown of Lake Oswego.  The move was very exciting, but exhausting!  We have been very busy getting everything moved out of Seattle and set up here.  Zia's Nani Dorothy came up to help out, thank goodness.  Zia was excited that her closet was cleaned out so she and Nani played "elevator" in the closet for much of the time.  Poor Nani's back and knees.

Playing Elevator

What a fun moving truck!

A trip to Sumptown Coffee.  Yum!!

Here's Zia and Daddy enjoying a Sunday morning with the hipsters at Stumptown

Brushing the alligator's teeth at the Portland Children's Museum.

Our new house is big enough to have a playroom just for Zia!  To celebrate, we got some watercolor paints.  Here is Zia singing the rainbow song:


IMG 4021 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

Zia's Seattle friends gave her a parting gift of OMSI membership, which we used the first day it arrived! What fun!

How many landlords do you know who buy you a welcome basket full of local treats, wine and gift certificates!  We have definitely picked the right house.


IMG 4018 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.

Building a tower

This tower was all Zia's creation.  So was the fashion choice.

Here is Zia enjoying the water features at OMSI.  I suspect we'll spend hours and hours there.


IMG 4006 from Anne Ruybalid on Vimeo.