Walkathon

Ruby, Grandma O'Brien and I went to the walkathon at Cumberland last week. It was Ruby's first walkathon where she could actually have fun (last year I was still eating dairy, poor girl). She had a great time watching all the kids and seeing Auntie, parents and teachers.




As we were leaving, Ruby fell in love with an Expo whiteboard marker. The cap was on tight so I let her walk to the car with it. Unfortunately, she tripped. Since she was holding the marker in one hand, she skinned her fingers. She cried and bled, I felt sad and even though she still has big scabs, she is obviously fine. She clearly knows that she got hurt though. If you ask her to see her fingers, she makes a pouty face and sad sound and shows you her hand. It's super cute so I ask her about her boo boo several times a day.

Weekends

Weekends are fantastic...especially when it's 80 degrees in October!

Amazed

I can't even tell you how amazed I am with Ruby these days. It's not that I think she's any smarter than her baby friends. I just can't get over how much of a real person she has become and how much she knows and remembers about her world. I think it all the time but here are some examples I can actually remember:

• Even though Ruby's bathroom is attached to her bedroom, we put Ruby into her pajamas on our bed. For some reason, I shut the bedroom door the other night. When she was dressed, I put her on the floor. She opened our bedroom door, walked down the hallway, said "buh bye" to Adam, walked in her bedroom and shut the door behind her. Luckily she let me in to read her book and put her in the crib.
  
• Last night at bedtime, I was teasing Ruby by pretending to put her bink in my mouth. She laughed and grabbed it out of my hand. This morning, I went to get her out of bed. Since she only has a bink when she's sleeping, we taught her to toss it back in the bed when we pick her up. This morning she took it out of her mouth and tried to put it in mine. It was 12 hours later and she still remembered the joke.
• This morning I made scrambled eggs with turkey, avocado and cheese. I made one big batch for Adam and Ruby (I hate eggs). When she finished her eggs, she signed and said "more." Adam's were gone as well and I'd already cleaned up so I didn't want to make more. I tried pears, muffins and yogurt thinking she was just hungry. She didn't want any of it but kept asking for "more" so I gave in and made her more eggs. When the eggs were done, I put her back in her high chair. She immediately said she was "all done" which is exactly what I thought was going to happen so I let her out of the chair. Instead of going to play, she came to my side and asked for "more" again. She proceeded to play around the kitchen in between bites of eggs until they were all gone. She was still hungry but only wanted eggs and didn't want to sit in the high chair anymore.

It's so crazy! I told someone at school she was getting big. They told me it was time to have another one. Um, not quite =)

Ruby's Got Mail

Our lucky girl has gotten packages for the past three days. On Monday, her new hair clips from Etsy arrived....thanks for the information Suzy. On Tuesday, her new rain boots arrived...thanks Grandma O'Brien. And on Wednesday, Halloween pajamas and two Halloween books arrived...thanks Grandpa O'Brien and Grandma Jane. If only Ruby knew how exciting it was to get real mail.

Chunky Monkey

Until Ruby was a month old, she didn't eat well. We took her back and forth from the pediatrician to the lactation consultant trying to get her to eat and gain weight. At one month, she finally started eating and was in the 26% for weight. No one was worried about her but she was never a good eater and always stayed itty bitty. We had to wait weeks to use the Baby Bjorn because she didn't meet the weight requirement. People constantly asked us if she was a newborn and gave us weird looks for taking her outside. She wore clothes that were several sizes behind her real age. And, she fit in her infant seat until she was almost one.

Fast forward 15 months, solid food and whole milk and little Ruby is now a chunky monkey. She is in the 91% for height and the 68% for weight. She weighed 24 pounds, 5 ounces at the pediatrician's office yesterday. Go Ruby!


Even with stools and chairs in our house, Ruby has taken to sitting on the pumpkin. Excuse her messy mouth, she was in the middle of a snack. Oh, and when I asked her to say "cheese" she got up, found her cheese stick and went back to the pumpkin. I guess she doesn't know the difference between "say" and "eat" yet =)

15 Months

It poured all day today. Apparently Norah and Ruby didn't care one bit. When it finally stopped, I took Ruby outside to play in the puddles. No surprise, she loved it.

Uncle Scott

I thought Uncle Scott deserved a special post all his own. For those who don't know him, he's our great, great friend who married us and would do anything for us. While Adam was in law school, we got in the habit of having dinner with Scott on Friday nights. Our "dates" continued after Adam was back home and have now become play dates. He loves Ruby and comes over to see her every Friday. The minute he walks in the door he is on the floor playing with her, making silly faces, singing her songs, you name it. He even goes upstairs for her bath and lets her squirt water all over him...all while still singing and making silly faces.

Yesterday Ruby was taking a little cat nap when he arrived. After a few minutes, I got her up and she was super groggy. When I set her down, she spotted her new book about garbage trucks and insisted Scott read it to her. It's a great feeling to know your friends love your kid as much as you do.

Beach and Pumpkin Patch

We bundled a surf trip with a visit to the pumpkin patch today. Even though she only napped for 29 minutes, Ruby loved running and playing in the sand (and carrying around her green ball for whatever reason). She fell over and over but didn't care one bit. Two of the falls involved a face and mouth full of sand. After that she decided it was better to hold my hand. It melted my heart when she'd turn around and reach up to me.




After desanding Ruby's socks, shoes and feet, we went across the way to Rodini Farms. We thought Ruby would love walking around with all the pumpkins but she preferred that we pull her in a wagon. Adam and I took turns pulling her up and down the rows until she finally noticed the hay bails and tunnels for the kids. She is fearless! She was running around with all the big kids and didn't hesitate to crawl inside a skinny tunnel that Adam thinks was 10 yards long. Coupled with her boo boo eye from yesterday and three head bonks today (two resulting in goose eggs), we think we're in for some trouble with our little daredevil.




Adam and I were reminiscing on the way home today. With Halloween and some upcoming staff development days at school, I know exactly what I was doing at this time last year. For one, I was practically living at Day One.


Oh, and Ruby wasn't taking a bottle. Grandma Stone came down to watch Ruby since Auntie and I both had to work. I went to meetings, drove home to feed her and went back to meetings. It's hilarious to think she was so little and ate terribly considering she has now passed up some of her friends in height and weight and will practically eat anything from anyone. Go Ruby!

Are you ready for some football?

Earlier today I talked to Grandma O'Brien on the phone. After I hung up, I told Adam she was coming over to watch football tomorrow. Ruby walked away, came back with her football, pushed the power button on the TV and was tickled to see a football game (albeit college football). I guess it's time to watch what we say around her.

BFFs

Ruby knows exactly what she wants these days. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to let her have her way. Adam and I end up picking our battles. Things like standing up backwards in her car seat, walking into the street by Draeger's and chewing on our shoes are not negotiable. On the flip side, things like wearing Crocs with pajamas, stepping into the shower fully clothed and wanting her BFFs to join her for lunch are perfectly acceptable.

Earning Her Keep

Ruby is finally earning her keep. After meals, she loves to help sweep the floor. I bought her a little broom and dust pan but she insists on using the real one.


When I made muffins, she wanted a wooden spoon and bowl. Every time I told her to stir, she banged the spoon and spatula inside the bowl.


Once I put the muffins in the oven, she decided to eat the spoon. Imagine her surprise when I can give her a spoon that is actually covered in chocolaty batter =)


When she was done chewing on the spoon, she spent a bit of time playing the drums as a tribute to Grandpa Gary and her boyfriend, Jason Mraz.


She really likes to help with the dishwasher as well. Unfortunately, she insists on taking dishes out whether they are clean or dirty and loves to stand on the dishwasher door. We'll hold off on giving her dish duty for now.