Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Week in iPhone Pictures

Yep, finally getting around to this one.  I actually debated just skipping it and doing two next week.  How's that for lazy? =)

November 18-24


Sunday:  I guess this is the only picture I took?  Just me and my girl, playing with her blender...  Monday:  On our way to a playdate, we encountered the first tree vs. powerline showdown of the season - can I just say, I am not looking forward to a power outage with a baby?  Links are always entertaining (and tasty).  Tuesday:  I caught her on her tummy before she flipped back over.  This is the story of my life.  Sitting up = way more fun playing with toys.  "Reading".  Wednesday:  She tries to suck on the top of the bird on her exersaucer... weirdo.  After bedtime, I made her a new hair-pretty.


Thursday:  More link-chomping, in bed with Daddy.  My adorable turkey-baby (I scored her Thanksgiving onesie for $1.59 - super proud of myself!).  Chewing on her crackbook at Grandma's.  Friday:  This is what we woke up to - that is rain, not fog, gross.  The beginnings of a Christmas stocking.*  Bath time is good for eating your toes.  Saturday:  "You're not going anywhere, Mommy."  Excited about a Buckeye win and perfect season!  The cutest little Buckeye.

*I need to rant a minute here.  Ruby's stocking still looks like just a pile of fabric like that.  I ordered a fat quarter pack of prints from Aneela Hoey's Sherbet Pips fabric, which I've known I wanted to use for a child's stocking since before I was pregnant.  It's so adorable.  
Anyway, I needed a little bit of a fabric that the vendor I bought the above fabric from didn't have.  So I ordered it from someone else on Etsy.  My order was placed November 16th.  It's November 28th, and I still don't have the fabric.
Of course it is the one piece of fabric that I need to send to the embroiderer to have Ruby's name sewn on.  I'm pretty angry.  I emailed the vendor, and she was all, "Oh yeah, I had some internet problems so I didn't get to my orders right away... You should have it soon."  But she supposedly shipped it a week ago.  It doesn't usually take a week to mail something to Seattle from Texas, even with a holiday thrown in there.  I am so disappointed.  With the embroiderer turn-around time, I'll be lucky if her stocking even gets to hang on our mantle much before Christmas.  Lame.  I don't like to give negative feedback, but this lady is asking for it.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Calendar Girl - Six Months

Six months.  My baby is closer to one than a newborn.  Excuse me while I go sob.


Time moves so fast.  I'm not sure how we got to 6 months already, but here we are.  My baby is becoming so grown up!

I say grown up, and not big, because, well, she's not big.  She had a doctor's appointment this month, and she weighed in at a whopping 12lbs4oz.  And actually, I'm not even sure that's right.  I thought the scale said 12lbs .044oz, but the nurse wrote down 12lbs4oz, so maybe I was wrong.  I hope I was wrong, because 12lbs is freaking tiny for a six-month old.  She's 25.25" in length, which is pretty average, so I guess she's just a skinny-minnie.  Her pediatrician is not concerned with her weight, so I'm trying not to be.


Miss Toots is wearing her 3-6 month clothes now, though the Carter's onesies are too big (as you can see in the pictures, I should have rolled the sleeves).  Still, her 6mo wardrobe has been fun - it turns out she has a LOT of clothes in this size!  Some of these clothes, like her giraffe pants, are patterned.  Which leads me to my next thing: she is obsessed with patterns.  She tries to "pick" the patterns off of things (like her pants, it's hilarious).  Also, letters.  She tried to scratch the words off of Mr. G's rice krispie box, and the name of a restaurant off of a window.  Haha.


Besides her patterns, she also will pretty much reach for anything she wants.  Which includes toys, of course, but also me, and cardboard boxes.  I always knew the day would come that my kid is more entertained by the box than what's in it, I just didn't know that would happen at 6 months!

I've had my camera for 4 years, and only just realized it has this cool color isolation function!

The biggest thing that happened in Ruby's sixth month, is that sleep in our house, died.  I'm not even being dramatic.  Overnight (literally, pun intended), sleep was gone and it's never been back since.  My girl, who I could put down at 7:30pm and not see until 7:30am (except for when I'd creep in there and put my hand on her to feel her breathing because I missed her), is up all night long.  Nursing, or playing, or just screaming.  Or sitting there with her eyes wide open, staring, refusing to sleep, and if you put her down all hell will break loose.


After a couple of weeks of not sleeping, I realized that she doesn't suck on her fingers anymore.  Or pacis, for that matter.  So maybe that's related?  I thought that could be because of teething, but the pediatrician said it doesn't look like those bottom ones are going to break through anytime soon.  But I definitely think that the sleep and the fingers go hand in hand.  I think she's not able to soothe herself back to sleep anymore, so she cries for us.  Plus, she's still got her separation anxiety.  So usually she's crying for me.  I am tired.


She may not like sleep, but now she likes to "talk", which basically is just making these cute baby sounds.  She'll get in a mood and go on and on.  It's hilarious.  And adorable.  She also likes her exersaucer now (it used to be scary), and she loves the Bumbo.  She also loves the bath, and tried eating pears right before her half-birthday, and loves those too.

She rips those butterflies from her playmat off immediately if she is near them.

She still hates her carseat, and doing tummy time.  In fact, tummy time doesn't last long, because she'll just roll right over to her back if you try to get her to do it.  I can get her to stay a bit by distracting her with her baby buddies, or a mirror.  But she's still not into it.  Also?  I don't really think she likes her swimming class.  She was always a bit timid about it, but then there was an incident.  The class is supposed to be grouped by age, which was one of the reasons I liked it.  So her class was supposed to be 4-9 month olds.  For some reason, the administration let a toddler into the class a few weeks into it.  This month, the toddler, being a toddler, hit the ball we were passing very hard.  It ended up hitting Ruby in the face, twice.  Then, the toddler splashed her later.  I don't blame the toddler, as she was just being a toddler.  But Ruby has never been the same since, and I'm kind of upset that there's a child in the class at such a different stage of development.


In spite of our troubles this past month, Ruby's personality is really coming out.  She's somewhat shy, but silly, loving, determined, and very curious.  As exhausted as I am, I really struggle to imagine what life would be like without this girl.  When I am at the end of my mommy rope and need. a. break. and pass her off to Mr. G, I end up missing her very soon after.  It has been quite a half of a year, but I'm so looking forward to the next half, because she is in it.

And now, I've got to put this sequence of pictures in here.  Ruby was way done with our little photo shoot.  So I distracted her.  With her Halloween tutu.

Mooooooom!  No more pictures!

OMG, what is this?!?!?

It feels like... my tutu!!!

It is!  It is my tutu!!!

What?  What are you looking at, Mom?  Nothing to see here...

TUTU!!!




Thursday, November 22, 2012

So Thankful...

... to be this girl's mama. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Sit! Stay!

Hi there.


I don't know how it happened, and I'm not sure exactly when, but this little lady is sitting up on her own now.

She can't get into that position herself, and will fall over at a moment's notice.  But this morning she sat in the middle of our bed while we both got dressed, and for quite some time after.  All on her own.  While we just stared and marveled.  

Playing with a baby that can sit?  Yeah, it just got a lot more fun!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Week in iPhone Pictures

Good morning!  I've been awake since 5:15 (boo) when the little one last woke to nurse, but I did get to take a shower without being screamed at (yay!).  Unfortunately, my plans of falling right back to sleep after my shower didn't happen, but that means I was able to catch up on this last week in iPhone pics.  Enjoy!

November 11-17


Sunday:  The only non-crying pic I have from that day.  She was having a really hard time being held by anyone other than mommy.  Monday:  This is what happens now when I try to take showers.  She always gets this smug look when she has a mouthful of taggie blanket.  Eating a giraffe.  Tuesday:  There's just something adorable about a baby in a plain white onesie.  Being a cheeseball (with Lamar, of course).  Wednesday:  Visiting grandma and cousin Frankie (and trying to get the patterns off Frankie's shirt).  Cousins.  Laying around with her daddy and her doggie (I love how she's got a hold of Braidy's ear).


Thursday:  Rockin' some legwarmers at baby class (Wendy said, "Oh, Ruby, you're looking very Olivia Newton John today!").  There's that smug look again.  Friday:  Quite smiley for a baby that didn't sleep at all the previous night.  Lunching.  Being very cute (and patient) while I baked some pies.  Saturday:  Stuck in the tunnel in unbelievable traffic - especially since it was 2pm on a Saturday!!!  Hanging out with Auntie Ting.  Pre-fauxThanksgiving dinner.  Trying to drink out of Grandma's glass.


Wow.  It looks like the taggie was a big hit this week.  It's funny how you don't notice that stuff until you go back and look through the week.

And, yes, we had Thanksgiving early.  My brother's girlfriend (Auntie Ting)'s family was in town from Georgia/DC, so we did a Thanksgiving dinner to include them.  It was pretty sweet.  My dad & step-mom hosted, but my mom was also there, as well as my brothers, SIL, niece, and Ting's parents, brother, sister & BIL, and aunt.  Oh, and my older brother's friend Tim, who pretty much spends all holidays with us.  It was quite the party!  Ruby did really well, being held by not me for most of the night (mostly by Auntie Ting & Uncle Zach - they seem to be her faves), and only lost it at the end.  She screamed the whole way home.  Until we were a mile from our house and she fell asleep.  Of course.

Even though we'll go to Mr. G's parent's house for the actual Thanksgiving, my brain has already switched into Christmas mode.  I've been making a wish list for the babe's first Christmas, and scoping out cute Christmas jammies.  Oh!  And I need to go order fabric to make her stocking.  Better go do that now before she wakes up!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Things Loved 3-6 Months

Now that Ruby is six months old, it's time for another roundup of the things we've been loving.  Mostly, you know, so I don't forget.  Side note: I included links for the stuff, but they are NOT affiliate links.  Maybe they should be so I can make a little money, but I feel like that's tricking people, or being shady somehow, so I won't do that to you guys.

We're still loving and using pretty much everything on our 0-3 month list.  The only exceptions really are the white noise machine, and the Wubbanub.  The white noise machine is pretty much done for us because of the battery situation.  We still need white noise in the nursery, but because the batteries die in the little pod every couple of days (!), we've just been using a plug-in fan.  Which is good for air circulation anyway.

As far as the "wubs", as I call it, well Ruby started preferring her fingers, and we got a paci leash.  So it just became less convenient and less needed.

Onto the list!

I noticed that there's a whole bunch of toys on this list, which is awesome.  I never know what toys to buy, what she'll like, when she'll want to play with stuff.  I was kind of stressed out about toys, but it turns out that what she has is awesome, and she does play with them constantly.


1. Oball.  This is one of the few toys I bought for Ruby after she was born.  We picked it up because I saw other babies had them, and I thought it looked cool.  She loves it!  She hilariously tries to shove the whole thing in her mouth, and lately likes to throw it.  The holes all over make it really easy for her to grab onto it.  Mr. G and I have been known to play with it from time to time, too.

2.  Lamar!!!  This is Ruby's buddy, and quite possibly her favorite toy.  This product is actually called "Mortimer Moose" by Lamaze.  Mr. G saw the Lamaze tag, thought it said Lamar, and thus he's been named ever since.  Even the other mommies in our group call him that now.  He jingles, his feet crinkle, the rings on his butt and his antlers are great to chew on.  He's got a Gryffindor scarf.  He's overall awesome.  The only thing I don't like is that he's a plush toy, which means he's hard to clean.  And he's been puked on, so he kind of smells.  Ruby doesn't mind though.  She loves Lamar.

3.)  Sophie.  Everybody says you need this giraffe.  So I bought it, and then was pretty convinced it was a huge waste of money.  Until recently.  It took Ruby quite a while to warm up to Sophie (I don't blame her, the material this toy is made out of smells horrible), but now she loves to gnaw on her.  Be warned - Sophie causes some major drool action.

4.) Fisher Price Spacesaver High Chair.  Right around the time Ruby turned 4 months, we got this out for her to get used to.  I love it for a lot of reasons.  First, it was free.  Well, for us it was.  My mom had it at her old house for our niece, so it was barely used and passed along to us.  Score.  Second, it is a nice, secure shape, which meant it's been a great place to plop the baby into when we need to do something.  Like put on our shoes, or cook dinner.  She likes it, so she'll stay there a while.  Finally, it straps to any chair with a back.  Which means it hooks to our dining room chairs, and even better, our kitchen barstools.  Which means Rubes can be a part of whatever we're doing, and it is super easy to install.  And it reclines.  Love this thing.

5.)  Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo.  Ruby is a big fan of this thing, but not of the jumping.  First she just liked the lights and music, but now she actually loves the toys too.  She has never wanted to jump (she gets really scared if you help her), and she only now is just barely able to touch the ground with her toes, so she's had books under her feet for the past couple months.  Still, I can put her in here and sit next to her and stuff diapers or put on my makeup, so I consider it a win.  Do NOT buy this thing new. I got it in great condition at a consignment shop for $30, and they're all over craigslist too.  Also, it's freaking huge, so make sure you have plenty of space for the dang thing.

6.) Booginhead Pacigrip.  This thing has been permanently attached to my Beco (which has been permanently attached to my body the last few months).  It was getting really old having to carry the Wubbanub into Target, shoved into my cleavage.  Yes, that's where I carried it, because my wallet and keys were in my hands.  So this paci leash solved my problems.  I liked that it came from a local company.  Ruby liked to chew on it, rather than the pacifier.  Whatever floats her boat.

7.)  Bunnies by the Bay Bye-Bye Bunny.  This thing is so cute.  Ruby has a bunch of random lovies, but this is the cutest, so I got it out for her.  Besides aesthetics, I also really loved that it has a handle/loop thingy on the back so that you can velcro it to stuff.  Like her stroller straps, or the diaper bag.  We keep it in the car, and she likes to hold it and suck on it's ears and hands.  Since it's soft, I don't mind that she has it back there.  Plus, it was given to her by a very sweet friend, so I get a smile on my face when I see "bunny".


8.)  Sassy Spin Shine Rattle.  AKA, "the German rattle".  That's what Mr. G calls it, I guess the colors of the rings remind him of the German flag?  Whatever, Ruby loves this thing because of the mirror in the little spinny part.  Now that she's more dextrous, she also loves trying to shove it in her mouth (of course) and throwing it/whacking it on things.

9.)  Taggie Blanket.  I think this thing is so ugly, and really really wanted to make her a more aesthetically pleasing one.  But it was a gift, so it was free, and already made.  And you know what?  She loves it.  She loves to suck on those tags and will sit there with one shoved all the way in her mouth, jaw clamped tight, giving me a defiant stare.  It's kind of funny actually.  But whatever, she loves it, I'm glad we have it.

10.)  Cloth Diapers.  Yes, I know these were in the 0-3 post.  I still love them so much, I needed to mention them again.  Ruby's now fully into her one-size stash, and I definitely have my favorites.  Probably the Bum Genius 4.0 takes the cake (and I really love that purple color, called "dazzle").  We actually ordered 7 more 4.0s when BG was having a sale.  Why?  We had enough diapers, but we had a drying problem.  We have 7 Bum Genius Elementals, which I like a lot too, but they take forEVER to dry.  We're talking 3 days.  Yes, 3 days.  And when that many of your diapers take that long to dry, you run out.  So we needed more pockets (even though I hate stuffing pockets), and the BG 4.0 were the answer, as the fit is great.  People constantly ask me, "So...  still doing those cloth diapers?"  Like, they expect me to give up on them, but there's absolutely no reason.  These diapers are awesome, and I love that I never ever have to buy (or dispose of) diapers.  Best baby thing ever, plus I can coordinate them with her outfits.  Love.

11.)  Links.  Why do babies like these?  I still can't figure it out, but they do.  They're fun to chew on, and now also make a cool noise when banged on a high chair tray.  I also liked that I could clip them to her overalls the other day, so she could no longer drop them on the floor while playing with them.

12.)  Take n Toss Utensils.  We'd been putting Ruby in her high chair for a while for practice, when I saw a picture of her little baby buddy doing the same thing, but he was holding a spoon.  Duh.  We needed spoons for practice too!  So I bought these, because they were cheap and light.  It was a good call.  The spoons go right in her mouth, and she always seems to get the right end in there.  My mom gave us some cool rubbery Gerber spoons that I thought would be better than these cheap ones, but it turned out, no.  The Take n Toss spoons are shallow enough for her to actually get the food off of.  And a bunch come in the pack, so I can just grab new ones when she drops them on the floor for the 100th time.  Plus, they're BPA free.  Win.

13.)  Fleece Halo Sleepsack.  It started getting cold around here, not too long after Ruby stopped sleeping with a swaddle.  I had a plain cotton sleepsack that she was using, but I honestly didn't think she was warm enough, so I picked up this fleece one.  It is definitely cozy, and I like that the "small" size is going to fit her all winter (and probably beyond).  The zipper got all jacked up on the first one I bought, which was really frustrating, seen as how smart-baby has figured out bedtime routine means it's bedtime, and she screams the whole time in protest.  A broken zipper prolonged that.  BUT, BRU took back my broken one without a fuss, and the new one is working and still cozy.

So there you have it.  Three more months of good stuff.  Clearly we do nothing but play and eat around here.  =)

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Week in iPhone Pictures

November 4-10


Sunday:  We tried some sweet potatoes and it got a little messy, requiring a kitchen strip-down.  It's fun to grab toes in the Bumbo!  That look on her face is telling us there's something horrible in her diaper (for her 6 month birthday, she gave us her first diaper blowout, thanks Ruby).  Monday:  Sleeping off her 6 month shots.  Trying to grab her buddy, while he tries to grab (and eat) her skirt.  Tuesday:  At the city hall to drop off my ballot!  My election day buddy, dressed in blue for the occasion.  Wednesday:  Soooooo proud of herself.  More delicious sweet potatoes.


Thursday:  First time in big girl (6-9mo) baby class; she did a lot of practicing sitting up.  She wore a really freaking cute outfit that day, and this was the best pic I got of it, sad (and my kitchen is a mess).  Friday:  Bundled up in cozy clothes on the way to swimming class.  These two were waiting for me to dry my hair, so we could visit daddy at work.  First time in a shopping cart!  We ran into another mommy from class at BRU, and she was making Ruby crack up.  Saturday:  Getting daddy's face.  Cucumber - chomp! She didn't actually eat that, fyi, just practicing.  Ruby had a lot of opinions that day, including being angry about a diaper change.  Somehow we lost a sock on our walk, even though her legs were under a blanket I had wrapped around the Beco.  I drove along our route today looking for it, but it has disappeared. 


Sunday, November 4, 2012

Week in iPhone Pictures

On time this week.  Bam!

October 28-November 3


Sunday:  We're swaddling for naps again, and someone busted her feet out.  A little bit of fall on our walk.  I found a weird scabby spot on Ruby's leg.  I have no idea what it was, it almost looked like a burn?  But she wasn't ever near anything hot.  Monday:  I realized at 4pm that I didn't actually have any black felt to finish her costume, so we went to Michael's (and she was not a willing participant).  Much smilier back at home!  Until I tried to eat my dinner.  Tuesday:  My little baby ghoul.  One of the mamas shared a granola ball recipe, which I can't wait to make.  Yes, I'm aware my child looks nothing like me.



Wednesday:  Trying out the mesh feeder with some "milksicles".  We went to Target with grandma, and Ruby ended up with a ridiculous turkey hat on her head (which I find so funny, I might go back and buy it...).  Tricks vs. treats.  Thursday:  First food!  Trying to grab her doggie, of course.  Friday:  Shoveling more food in her face.  Saturday:  A stay-in-pajamas day with daddy.  Keith got her to sleep, then just set her down on the edge (!) of our bed and left, trapping me there with her for 3.5 hours!  I stopped watching once we had a 30 point lead.  Oh, if only we were bowl eligible!  


Linking this week up with Miss MommaB!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Halloween 2012

I posted a little pic of Ruby on Halloween from my phone (dear Blogger, your app is terrible), but I have a LOT of pictures from our holiday festivities and I want to document them!  We didn't really do anything for Independence Day, so this was really the first holiday that we celebrated with our girl.

First, we had to make a trip to the pumpkin patch!  I brought the camera, only to find out that the memory card was full.  So I set about to delete enough pictures to make room... only for the battery to die!!!  Major mommy fail!  Thank goodness for iPhones.

We headed to Jubilee Farm, an awesome, non-commercialized place that even has it's own CSA.  I'd taken students on a field trip there, and knew it was the place to take Ruby.

Daddy found the perfect pumpkin and chopped it from the vine.

Our little family - look at those ominous clouds!

We rode in the hay wagon from the field to the barn.

Little Miss checked out her pumpkins.

Ate her skirt.

And gave us some attitude.

And I held my three pumpkins while Daddy loaded the car to go home.

Then, we had a little front porch photo shoot:

"I'm not sure about this, Mommy..."

Hahaha, outtake!

My absolute fave - it's the background of my phone right now.

"What?"

"Oooh, look at this!"

"Ok, I'm ready for a nap now."

At parent-baby class, we had a little Halloween party.  Which really just meant that we dressed the kids up and took pictures.  Because, well, they're 3-6 months old.  They aren't exactly party animals.  And luckily that was all it was, and they didn't take pics right away because it took us 70 minutes to get there.  Apparently everybody forgot that they live in Washington, and it rains here.  Um, hi, if you can't drive in the rain, you might be living in the wrong state.  Just sayin'.





Boo!

"Uh, Mom?  They're touching me."

Yawn.  "I'm over this party, Mom."

And finally, it was Halloween night.  Ruby took a late nap, so I was able to dress her up and have her help me answer the door for trick or treaters.  For a little bit, anyway, she got tired fast.

She "helped" me make candy bar cookies while we waited for the doorbell to ring.
Like I said, she got tired fast, so we decided to put our candy out and make a little sign.  It read:  "Help yourself to some treats but beware!  If you wake the baby ghoul sleeping upstairs, you will be forced to perform the trick of putting her back to sleep!"  Ruby's room is right above the front porch, so I was pretty apprehensive about this plan...


It turned out I was right to be.  The kids that came were LOUD.  And the first group rang the doorbell anyway (wtf?).  It didn't end up mattering though, because after three groups of kids, the bowl was empty.  Yes, it was full when we left it.  I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of disheartened by this.  I knew there was a possibility that would happen, but in my heart I'd hoped the kids wouldn't be so greedy.  =( Oh well.

We never ended up carving our pumpkin (oops), but on the whole, it was a great first Halloween as a family of three!  I LOVED Ruby's costume (yes, I made it, and am tooting my own horn, but she was so stinkin' cute!), loved getting to go to the pumpkin patch (we actually went to another with our playgroup, but didn't stay long enough to take pictures, it was only 34 degrees that morning!), and loved seeing all the babies dressed up.  I can't wait until next year to take her trick or treating for the first time!  And I'll definitely be making her another pumpkin hat next year - so many people made comments about our little pumpkin-head.  Dressing up babies for holidays is so fun... bring on Thanksgiving!

Week in iPhone Pictures

Wow.  I have a lot of these to catch up on.  Still, I love this little weekly journal of our lives, so catch up I will!

October 7-13


Sunday:  I read somewhere (Pinterest probably) that if you want to beatbox, just say "boots and cats" over and over.  This is Toots & Cats.  I made baked pumpkin doughnuts (also from Pinterest).  Sometimes a nap-strike means you're so tired, you fall asleep in your highchair...  Monday:  Sophie is a lot more appealing now.  Tuesday:  Playing with her buddy at baby class - they were so into each other!  Those tights make me die.  Oh my dog!  Wednesday:  We drove into Seattle to see my mom's new place.  Playing with grandma.


Thursday:  We stayed out really late helping out at the breastfeeding class at the hospital, so someone had really tired eyes that morning.  Helping me read about making baby food.  Daddy moved the jumperoo to her room; it's just as fun there.  Kisses from her doggie.  Friday:  My big, big girl sitting in the Bebepod.  Napping on Mama.  Watching Rachel Maddow with Daddy - they can't believe what those politicians are saying!  Saturday:  Ermahgerd, perrrndah berrrs!  A very coordinated nap.


October 14-20


Sunday:  Eating a book.  Falling asleep on Mama's knee.  Monday:  Testing out the pack n play bassinet.  Finally printed out this eighteen25 subway art, and I love it!  Heart pockets. =)  Finally finished fixing her pumpkin hat.  Tuesday:  A tired, grouchy girl, who was up for SEVEN STRAIGHT HOURS* the night before.  We found some leaves that hadn't been blown off in the windstorm the night before.  This is what trouble looks like.
*This was the night that sleep died in our house.  She went from a 12 hour sleeper, to up all night, or at least waking a lot.  We skipped class that day, and Keith even stayed home from work because we were so freaking dead.


Wednesday:  Thank goodness there is also a 3-6mo baby class on Wednesday as well.  We went, and it was totally rejuvenating, plus I realized I really missed the instructor, Christine.  Ruby finally grabbed her feet on her own!  Thursday:  This was the only pic I took that day.  Sad, because we had a really fun playdate, walking the slough trail and descending upon Red Robin with five large strollers (they were so good to us though!).  I gave her this Triscuit box, and you'd have thought she died and went to heaven.  Friday:  Our one and only tree, all decked out for fall.  My ballot came, yes!!!  A nap, but only while touching me.  Saturday:  First trip to the pumpkin patch, at Jubilee Farm (by far, the best place to go around here).  Our little family.  Sitting on the barn porch with her pumpkin and her witch shirt.


October 21-27


Sunday:  Sitting with Auntie Ting at breakfast - Ruby actually reached out to her, which she never does with anybody!  You know, just chewing on a burpie.  Checking out the new blanket my Aunt Jan made for her.  Reeeeeally wanting to roll back over onto her back.  Monday:  Playdate at her buddy Tyler's house (she LOVED his Bumbo).  Tuesday:  Since Ruby loved Tyler's Bumbo so much, James' mommy brought her his at class (he doesn't like it, so they gave it to us!).  "Hi mama!"  Wednesday:  We had a really rough night, and stayed in jammies all day.  And napped (on mama, of course).



Thursday:  We drove out to the Carter's & Oshkosh outlets for some white onesies and a jacket.  Had a little photo shoot on the front porch with her pumpkins.  Still loving that Bumbo* (and measuring cup, 1/3cu is her fave).  Friday:  That spoon is chewy.  Omnomnom - sorry Ruby, that's the closest you're going to get to that macaroni.  Ruby Lou Who in the tub.  Saturday:  "Come here doggie!"  We sent this picture to James, to thank him for his Bumbo.  Visiting with cousin Frankie and Auntie Jen.

*Yes, the Bumbo is on an elevated surface.  I never stepped away from her, and my hand was right by her the entire time.  She likes to be up at our level, and I am comfortable with her safety if we are literally right next to her.

Phew!  All caught up, except for this week, but hey - today isn't over yet! =)