Announcing Ruben

We are proud to announce the arrival of our second son!

Ruben Price Triant was born at home at 7:32 the morning of November 23, 2011 as the sun rose, along with the tiny cusp of a waning crescent moon. He weighs 8lbs. and 12oz. and is 21 inches long. It was a wonderful day to be born as it is also his Nonna's birthday! Big brother Miles was happy to meet his "Baby Ruben." Michael and I look forward to watching our boys grow together!

We hope everyone is enjoying this Thanksgiving holiday. Today we are especially thankful for our newest family member, and incredibly grateful for all of the love and support we have felt from family and friends! Please share in our joy by celebrating the things you are thankful for in your life today!

We will continue to update our "Family Story" on the blog if you care to follow along.
We will be moving officially from The Triant Trio
to The Triant Quartet now that Ruben has joined us!

Lovingly,
Sally, Michael, Miles & Ruben

"Sippy Tommy"

OK - First of all, they are called "truly spill proof cups" and yet I found myself wondering, could it be true? Could it be that my "Sippy Cup Drama" has finally come to an end?

After reading about my dilemma my sweet friend in South Africa told me about Tommee Tippee cups. She even sent one as a gift for Miles... and after much skepticism I was shocked to find that in fact, the said cup, seemed to be leak proof.

This sent me looking for more, and I found this version. He loves them, I love them, life is wonderful!! Sometimes you just have to take time to appreciate the little things!

In their own words: "The Clever Bit: Unlike other valve systems our active sensor valve is designed by a physicist to be both so sensitive that liquid flows on demand, yet truly spill and leak proof. ~taken from the TT website." And p.s. I have not been compensated by my new favorite company in any way to make these claims. (Though I would not say no to a lifetime supply of these gadgets! :-)

I knew that was all we needed - a physicist to take on the challenge!! Now my smile matches the one on Miles' face when I see that there are no more leaky spills on my floor, in my car, and on my couch!

When Miles goes to his drawer and asks for juice in his new favorite cup. He asks for his "Sippy Tommy." Precious!

Birthday Cake

We woke up this morning thinking about our friends in South Africa. Last night we lit a candle before we went to bed upon learning that they were in the beginning phases of labor, and that soon their baby boy would be born. It is truly astounding to me that after all these years of knowing each other we have been pregnant at the same time on opposite sides of the globe, and that our babies will be born so close together.

Yesterday hundreds of geese stopped by on their way South and took a respite in the pond. I watched them and I wondered what it is inside them that tells them it is time to go? How does a caterpillar know to begin it's cocoon. When does a baby get the signal to leave the womb? These are the things I woke up still thinking of this morning. These are among the many reasons I am constantly in awe of the natural world. No matter how many advancements we make with technology, I know that I will always be filled with wonder by the magnificent tasks that nature makes look so easy. As a woman it has been a privilege to take part in one of those miracles and grow both Miles and this new baby inside me. That said ~ just like my dear friend so far away ~ I am ready to end the waiting game and I would love to hold this baby in my arms.

So this morning we decided to bake a birthday cake for both of our babies. We were hoping the smell of chocolate and raspberries would entice this baby to come join us. Miles helped me mix cocoa and cream cheese for the frosting ... all the while our candle flickered on the windowsill - a constant reminder of the journey our dear friends were in the middle of.

My cake decorating skills still have much to be desired (as you might remember from Miles' first birthday cake) but what it lacks in presentation it made up for in taste! Miles was beside himself at the prospects of tasting something that he personally blended large quantities of sugar, buttermilk, and bittersweet chocolate into.

I love the look on his face as he admired the finished product, and the ring of chocolate left around his mouth from helping "clean" the icing knife. He just kept saying "birthday cake," "baby," and "special treat" over and over again.

So we will continue to wait as patiently as we can. (A virtue I have been aspiring to learn all of my life!) I know that soon there will be a new South African baby boy in the world... and not long after and American playmate on this side of the "pond."

Let it Snow!

For the second time in his life Miles has experienced the first snow of the year! We had a beautiful morning that began with a walk ~ hoping to induce some contractions ~ and then we ran around in the yard for a bit. The fall skies were filled with sun, then clouds, then sun again in the way you can only experience in Michigan. We decided to harvest the last of the Brussels sprouts from the garden, and as we did suddenly the snow began to fall! It was subtle at first, and then it began bombarding us in a downfall of small pellets. Miles was amazed!

We ran up to the house and I grabbed the camera. Miles knelt down mesmerized and determined to uncover the mystery of this white stuff that had suddenly appeared on the ground.

Much to his dismay he came to the unpleasant conclusion that it was COLD ~ COLD ~ COLD!

So we decided to head inside and warm up with a bowl of hot oatmeal for lunch! That improved his mood!

Winter has arrived in the form of flying snow here! Hopefully this new baby will do the same very soon. I am hoping this change in weather and perhaps tonight's full moon might move things along. I guess only time will tell.

October Wrap-Up

Summer has quickly slipped into fall this year as the two really warm weeks we enjoyed at the beginning of October suddenly turned rainy and cold. I love this picture that Nonna snapped of Miles playing with their scarecrow and pumpkin decorations. The fall weather feels good, and as the seasons change I am reminded that this year we have a very special upcoming event.

You know your due date is closing in when it begins to appear on perishable items at the grocery store!

We celebrated Papa's birthday by decorating the front step. This time Miles was more interested in coloring with the chalk than eating it. Michael has been working so hard lately and it was fun to take a moment to celebrate. I surprised him with tickets to see Gillian Welch and we both agreed it was one of the best shows we have seen since we moved from New Mexico! "Baby2" seemed to enjoy his or her first show too ~ the baby would jump and dance every time the crowd clapped ~ which they did a lot to get three awesome encores!

Last week a Halloween card arrived from GG. (She makes the most beautiful cards!) Miles really felt special when we went to the mailbox and there was a letter there just for him! He has the black cat card on his bookshelf and he loves to say hello to it.

Lately we have been enjoying lazy weekend mornings as we work to stockpile as much sleep as we can. Miles has come to expect pancakes or waffles to appear for breakfast on such mornings. This last week we tried a new recipe ~Sweet Potato Waffles. They were delicious and reminded me of the post (Recipe for Parenting) that I wrote when Miles was less than a month old and we were truly learning how to be new parents! I am sure that we will continue the tradition of waffle making as the sleepless nights brought on by new baby ensue.

We decided to continue with the crown making for this year's Halloween costume. Miles and I made a paper mache crown and painted it. We thought it would be the perfect compliment to the beautiful cape that YiaYia made for him!

At first he was a little unsure of it, and then he got into character and he was running all over the yard!

Our little super hero!

Papa was impressed with our arts & crafts project!

And Miles had lots of fun showing off for all the trick-or-treaters that arrived on our porch. Including these two spooky characters :-) By the end of the night he had perfected the art of saying "Happy Halloween" and "trick-or-treat" to all the kids that came to the front door.

I think that is how I will remember this month the most... it truly has been a month of language development for Miles. Each day he amazes me with new words when he uses them. He often wakes up in the morning before we do, and we wake up to him singing. Usually "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" but there are others in his repertoire. He is truly the light of our lives and we simply cannot wait to see him as a big brother!

So there you have it, October is over and November has finally arrived. Just like any time you count down to an event the excitement grows when important markers pass... well, here we are. For the last nine months we have been anticipating November. Now we are just waiting to see which day this baby will arrive!

Patiently Waiting (Again)

Two years ago, inspired by a friend in our birthing class and fueled by my passion to journal and take pictures, I began this blog. My hope was that friends and family who were far away could share in our joy and watch our family grow. This is the image that started it all... me (almost 8 & 1/2 months pregnant) & Michael, sitting by a favorite tree at a local nature center and "patiently waiting."

It is unimaginable to me that just two years later we are waiting for the birth of our second child! As I continue with my long list of items I would like to accomplish before Baby2 arrives, we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weekend weather and hike to our favorite tree for a family photo!

Miles ran most of the way, but when he finally tired out Papa carried him in the backpack.

When we arrived the canopy filtered the fall sunlight through the leaves and the light was just glowing all around. We snapped a photo of Miles standing alone by the tree...

...to compare it with the one we took almost exactly one year ago! It is truly amazing how much he has grown and changed. Now in just a few short weeks he is going to be a big brother!

Here is his twenty-two month photo.

And here I am about 8 & 1/2 months pregnant!

This will probably be one of the last family photos with just the three of us. We are truly filled with excitement when we imagine who this new being is that will be joining us (very) soon.

Because I know I will want to continue to take photos and document our story for family and friends who are far away, I have decided to create a new blog to commemorate our growing family. Please be sure to keep up with us as our family grows on The Triant Quartet. We will be "moving" there officially as soon as this baby arrives!

Then & Now

It is hard to believe that just two short years ago we were waiting to have a baby... for the first time. As my due date drew closer I found solace in the fact that my (then) new friend Sarah was also waiting for her first baby to arrive. We took this photo after an outing to Marie Catrib's for lunch where we ate spicy potatoes to induce labor (unsuccessfully) and hoped we would soon meet our babies. Both of our due dates came and went... and our labors were very different than we imagined. Thankfully we both ended up with healthy babies in our arms.

This photo was taken a few weeks ago... and here we are again! This time with our first babies by our side as we wait. It was really hard to believe that we were both expecting within weeks of each other for round two!

Sarah delivered a beautiful baby boy on October 20th!

On Friday we had a wonderful impromptu "B-Girls" visit and delivered Nantucket pizza to the hospital. We snapped a photo to commemorate the event (and yes I am wearing the same scarf as I was two years ago ~ it is still a favorite ~ and I am a creature of habit :-). As we were leaving it occurred to me that if Sarah had her baby, then I am next in line to deliver baby #2. Wow!

Prince Miles & the Double Rainbow

As I typed the name of this post it kind of sounded like a band name to me, maybe that is because we are always trying to think of good band names around here. (Perhaps Miles can use this one in the future :-)

So - we were graced with an epic rainbow experience after a storm last week. One of the things I adored about my time in New Mexico was the unbelievable rainbows that arched from horizon to horizon after monsoon rains. The one we just saw was every bit as beautiful as those I reminisce about, and then the double rainbow began to appear. I got so excited! Miles is at the age that when I get excited, he gets excited. Soon we were both standing at the window squealing with delight! (Though I did not get as crazy as the infamous You Tube "double rainbow guy.")

Michael was playing guitar, I grabbed my camera, and Miles just danced and sang along!

We can't wait to share all the wonders of the world with his new sibling... it won't be long now!

Here is his twenty-one month picture. I can hardly believe how many teeth he has, how big he is now, and of course - how blond he is! This month his vocabulary has probably tripled, and I am still in awe when he pulls out words like "measuring tape" or "compost" in context. I think my favorite family time is either when we all sit down for dinner in the evening, or when he asks to "cuddle" and read books in the "big bed" before it is time to sleep.

This last week we celebrated my birthday. My sweet husband took me on a date Friday night and we had the most delicious dinner and wandered around downtown to see some of the ArtPrize entries. Then on Saturday I got to celebrate with my girlfriends. My parents went to Windsor's Little Italy, a tradition they have come to love. They picked up juice for their wine, and also my "birthday cake," the most delicious apple tart.

On Sunday they came over and we celebrated again! (I got to have a three day party.) We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful endless summer weather we have been having. It felt good to just spend time with family & good food. Certainly my two favorite things in life! All around it was the perfect way to celebrate another wonderful year!

Miles and I have been exploring art projects that are appropriate for toddlers, now that he is more interested in coloring with the crayons than eating them... most of the time! This last week we made crowns. He enjoyed the process, but the real delight came when he saw himself in the mirror. He was so proud of the crown he made and he just kept modeling in the mirror!

So there he is - Prince Miles! We are just waiting to see if there will be a prince or a princess coming along soon to share his reign.