happy new year!

Our favorite Christmas present, Ruby

We had such a good trip in Florida. Ruby did really well the whole time. John & I could tell that she was a bit stressed, but she was still really happy and friendly with everyone. Ruby was so happy to be home though! When we got into our house, she just smiled at everything and shook, she was so excited.
I know most of you live in FL, but if you don't, we had gorgeous weather. It was sunny and warm. Ruby could be seen in just her diaper several times, she was so hot. Her Christmas outfits didn't get much wear, unfortunately, she was just too warm.
We really loved visiting everyone and especially introducing Ruby to friends & family. John & I were having so much fun that we forgot to take some great pictures. I really regret that. There were a bunch of people that we didn't get to see though, and we're so sad about that. I guess you will just have to come to Oregon to visit.
Here are some of our pictures.

Ruby & Nana

Giant Ruby with 6-week-old Kylee. Me & my friend from college, Christi

Ruby & Lourdes, my good friend from high school

Ruby & Tina, my other good friend from high school

picture by Lourdes

Ruby & Papa

Ruby & Gramps

Ruby & Grandma

Uncle Eddie, Aunt Bri & us in our matching Christmas pajamas made by Grandma

Picture by Gramps

Back home in the cute little poncho Grandma made for Ruby

new video

I get misty every time I watch this. Ruby makes us so proud! John had been reading this book with her over and over. This was the 5th time in a row. He called me in the room after the 3rd time because she waited until he was done reading and then turned the page EVERY TIME! In the video, she's a bit distracted by the camera - this kid loves the camera, but she still shows off her new trick a bunch. Enjoy.

Today we were out at the grocery store and John and I got samples of chocolate, yes, chocolate. Isn't that the best free sample you've every heard of? We were eating it and Ruby watched us and started chewing, as she always does when we eat. She reached out for it, then got all fussy. This is the first time she's watched us eat and been fussy because she couldn't. She was hungry anyway, but didn't realize it until she saw us munching. This kid loves to eat. (As you can tell.)

butterball

The butterball, I mean, Ruby



visited the doctor yesterday for her check-up. She weighs 18 1/2 lbs. and is 26 3/4" long! So she has grown almost 6" since birth and over 11 lbs! She is still above the 90th percentile for her weight. The picture above is from October. She's actually thinned out a bit since then, or grown longer, I guess.
But she is very healthy. The dr. was pleased about everything and she was very brave during her shots. Mama & Dada were too, I might add.

this is how weekends should be

We got our Christmas tree up this weekend. Ruby is in mouth-open, big-eyes, awe over it every time she sees it. We bought it from a lot to benefit a local mission. (We didn't know that at first, we just saw the sign that said, "All trees $20". A local tree farmer donates the trees to the mission. The people have to go out and cut them down themselves, then they sell them for $20 each, any size. The tree is beautiful, but, um, wasn't exactly cut by professionals. The trunk was really crooked and we think our saw is somewhere in FL and didn't make the trip out to OR with us. John is so handy, he used his pocket knife to try and even it out. I said try. After we got it up and decorated it and went to sleep, it toppled over in the middle of the night. Ha!

Sunday was perfect though. Ruby slept in. Friends came over for lunch and they brought presents! We had yummy lunch. IT SNOWED AGAIN! It still didn't stick, but I don't care, I love looking at it coming down. We all took a nap. I took a nice, hot bath with some new bath salts (part of the present from the friends) and we baked Christmas cookies.

Tina and Lourdes, where were you? You're supposed to be baking cookies with me!

big day for Ruby

Today started off normally enough. John worked from home, Ruby was as cute as always. Then at lunch, the mailman rang the doorbell to deliver a package for Ruby. Not too out of the ordinary. But the package was a gift from my aunt. It was a book, called The Mitten, which I love, but we didn't have it. I know all the teachers out there just gasped. And these...



Not a great photo, I know, but its the mittens that I knit for my grandma last Christmas, right before she passed away. I'm so glad that I get to wear them now. They remind me of her and she was one of the reasons (my other grandma the other reason) I learned how to knit. She cried when she got them. She cried at a lot of things at the end of her life, but I really think she knew that these were special for her.

Okay, so why is this post titled big day for Ruby, you ask? Well, we were at our baby class today. And Ruby rolled over 3 times in the span of 10 minutes or so. She's been working so hard at this. She's rolled before, but afterwards couldn't remember how to do it. She's been getting so frustrated lately trying and trying to do it again. Well it seems shes got it down now. All the moms in the class clapped for Ruby. Yay!

Tonight was John's work holiday party. It was at Gathering Together Farm (which is really the only reason why I agreed to go instead of saying, "No, I think I'll stay home and put Ruby to bed." The food there is AMAZING!). We knew it would be a late night for Ruby, but we thought we'd try it. She did really well. She let other people hold her and touch her face and everything. And McQueens, you'll appreciate this: One woman said to John, "Is Ruby's middle name, Rose?" John said, "No, but it could easily be. We considered it." You see, many women in John's family have the middle name Rose.

Our drive home from the farm was not fun. Ruby was over-tired and couldn't calm herself down, even with a stop to nurse. She fell asleep about 2 minutes before we pulled up in front of our house and had to wake her up. Hopefully tomorrow she won't remember the trauma of it all.

dandelion trees

In between rain showers, Ruby and I got out on a couple of walks. It was so lovely. I would look in one direction and it seemed like it would storm any second, another direction and there were blue skies. We saw two rainbows! Ruby got to swing again in the park. This time it wasn't so cold and she knew what she was doing. She giggled the whole time. I can't explain to you how cute it was. I collected some evergreen branches that fell in the storm. So now I have to try to figure out what to do with them. Wreath? Garland? Other ideas? I've been busy working on presents, but I can't tell you what I've been up to. You won't get it out of Ruby, either. She's good at keeping secrets.

the storm

I was reading a news report this morning about how bad the storms were out here. We're okay - it was really windy and rainy, but not too bad at all. Some of the climbing roses are damaged and we had some water in our basement, but that has happened before.

cuteness

We had our first snow fall here on Friday! Of course, if you saw it and you grew up in a northern state, you would probably not call it snow, but I grew up in Florida. So, snow it was. There were big flakes mixed in with the rain. None of it stuck, but it was pretty and exciting.

Ruby & I were in our baby class when I saw it. She was too distracted by the babies and toys. A little baby sitting next to us captured Ruby's attention and they both reached out to touch each other. Ruby started giggling and kissing her (Annabel's) face over and over. It was so adorable. She would lean in for a kiss and then start cracking up. I felt like my heart was going to explode. She is such a sweet baby!

Ruby's half-birthday!

It's hard to believe that 6 months have gone by already. This birthday seems like quite a milestone...the biggest birthday yet. She is soooo big too. A couple days ago in the store a woman asked me if she was 10 months old. I thought, this lady doesn't know what she's talking about, but then I realized that she's almost the size of a 10 month old. We go to the doctor on the 10th, so we'll find out her weight & length then. All I know is that she's heavy and growing out of her clothes way too fast. She seems to be almost at the end of her 6-9 month clothes.

Ruby is amazing. She has lately been staring at our basket of books until I take her closer and she puts her hand on one and thats the one we read. She is the sweetest baby too, she loves to give kisses to us, her stuffed animals, everything. After she gives you a kiss, she smiles really big, like she knows that is the best thing in the world - getting kissed by her.

Happy half-birthday, Ruby!

on the move

It's hard to believe that Ruby will be 6 months old on Friday, isn't it? It's hard to remember when she could sleep on our chest all curled up and be so tiny. She's really getting her personality now. It's so fun to watch. She giggles at what I think is nothing. I'm sure I'm doing something odd that she's laughing at, but I can't figure out what it is. Today we went to story time at our little library again. There was a girl, about 3 years old sitting next to us. She smiled at Ruby and Ruby reached out to her. They held hands for quite awhile during the story. Ruby would touch the girls hair and arm and the little girl would smile at her. Then she kissed Ruby's cheek. So cute!
Also when Ruby was playing today she got on her belly on the floor and saw a toy she wanted. She turned herself about 90 degrees to get it. Later when I checked on her while she was napping, she was diagonal compared to where I put her and her head was up in the corner, about a foot above where she had been. She's figuring out how to use those chubby little legs of hers. Yikes and yay!

Guess what kind of fruit this is? Yup, you guessed it, a hidden rose apple from a Corvallis farm. It tastes like candy.

ruby's first food

This morning we woke up to frost covering everything. It looked as if it had snowed. It could have, it was in the 20s again!


Ruby ate oatmeal today. She seemed to really like it. She ate quite a bit and then wanted John's apple.

happy swinging thanksgiving

Ruby's first independent swinging...she actually liked it, we just couldn't seem to catch a picture with a smile.  We think she's really chubby and big and then we put her in a swing and it swallows her up.  It was a really cold day here, as it has been.  We had Ruby bundled up in a hat and under probably too many blankets in her stroller, so I also think she was in shock here at being out in the cold.  It's been in the 20s at night and mid-40s during the day.  Its gorgeous - lots of sun, no clouds; but cold!  

Our friends invited us over for "orphan Thanksgiving" again this year.  None of us have family nearby.  Ruby had a bizarro Thanksgiving.  She skipped her afternoon nap and feeding!  We went over to our friends, ate dinner and all of a sudden, Ruby realized she was starving and VERY tired.  She gave us her warning squeals, and our lovely, generous friends packed us up a bunch of leftovers and dessert and sent us on our way after barely an hour.  Ruby passed out in the car and woke up later ravenous.  

back home

reading with Aunt Bri
Originally uploaded by meg+john=ruby

Ruby already misses her Aunt Brianne & Uncle Eddie. She had so much fun playing with them. Ruby adjusted very well to all of the traveling. When we got home, she smiled at all of her favorite things she missed: a lamp, her bumper in the crib, a stuffed animal that got left behind, etc. Cute!  We've uploaded a bunch of pictures from the trip on the flickr site.  Enjoy.  

ruby's first thanksgiving

We celebrated our thanksgiving a little early. Ruby loved seeing all the food and watching us all chew. She had a look on her face the whole time that seemed to be asking for some mashed potatoes. Eddie made his first turkey, which was very yummy; we had mom's mashed potatoes, which were great, but not quite the same as mom's, salad, and homemade by bri pumpkin pie cheesecake. yum! We weighed Ruby the day after Thanksgiving dinner and she weighs 18 lbs! (According to the bathroom scale, nothing scientific.) For the record a month and a half ago she weighed 16 lbs. Maybe the scales are calibrated differently, but Ruby's still a chunker.
Today we went to an organic restaurant and then later had organic, sinful donuts. We love the big city! Oh, and Ruby had her first fire drill. The alarm went off in Bri & Eddie's apartment. Luckily Ruby was up from her nap. We bundled her up, went outside and Eddie called 911. Everything was ok, of course, or I wouldn't be typing this. They said its not the first time its happened in their building.

seattle

We made it to Seattle and Ruby did amazingly well on the train. I loved riding on the train, relaxing, looking out the window at all the evergreens and rivers. It was a misty day and a beautiful day for a train ride. I held Ruby during her naps, which was so nice to do again. When we arrived in Seattle and got to Bri & Eddie's apartment, Ruby fell apart. She was so exhausted and overwhelmed. We finally got her to sleep and she passed out for the night. We went to a lovely little cafe this morning for breakfast. I miss it already. We've spent most of the day today hanging out in the apartment, playing with Ruby. We thought it might help her out to just stay put in one spot for awhile. So, she's looking cute in her little corduroy dress, sleeping away right now as we await our yummy Thanksgiving dinner. Off to play a game of marbles.

wish us luck

Congrats to Christi & Mike on the birth of their daughter, Kylee. And to Zak & Angela on their marriage. We wish we could have been there to celebrate. How exciting!
Christi & Mike: don't read the rest of this post.

So, Ruby is a messy baby. I know I usually write about how wonderful she is, and she is. But, man is she a mess! She spits up a ton - due to a bit of overeating & an immature stomach valve. And her poops are pretty explosive. She used to puke a couple times a week, which was lovely. I'm not talking spit-up, people, puke. Last night, I was just thinking about how its been so long since she has done that. I then caught myself and said (in my head) "don't say that, she'll puke again. No. You're being superstitious." Well guess what happened this morning? Uh-huh. Ugh! The joys of being a stay-at-home mom. It's not all snuggling up and kisses.

We've had a rough morning, lots of screaming (by Ruby) and me on my hands and knees cleaning the floor. I'm a bit nervous about our train ride to Seattle. We're heading out tomorrow for our visit to Brianne & Eddie for our early Thanksgiving. We're going to go for a long weekend to eat at some real restaurants - we don't really have any in our new town - and visit. John & I go back-and-forth between being okay with it all, reassuring ourselves that Ruby is a great, flexible baby and will do well, and being really nervous. Sometimes I think we're worse than Dumbo with his feather. We're not sure how she'll sleep without a particular white noise, blanket, crib, etc. Needless to say, after the morning we've had, I'm on the anxious side. Maybe Ruby is getting all the bad stuff out of her system before we go. That can happen, right?

New Video

Ruby riding in her car (aka daddy's knee)

Food

Since we're on the topic of making the world a better place for Ruby, I can't help point you towards this podcast. I listened to this on the bus ride home today and it pretty much sums up how I feel about food and our human relation to it, a very powerful message. Take a few quiet minutes and listen.

get the lead out

Regardless of your political affiliations, you must agree that we've got to do something about this lead paint issue. I have signed up to receive emails from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) when they recall an infant or children's product. You cannot believe how often I get an email. There is a petition here that will be sent to everyone who needs to see it. Recently the head of the CPSC said that she doesn't support legislation to do something about toxic toys. Right now there is only one person in charge of testing the toys!

Nancy Pelosi says:

"As mothers, there is no greater concern than the safety of our children. Yet with the recent reports of lead in toys for kids, moms and dads now have a new worry. If the recalls of toy jewelry, trains, and Halloween candy pails weren't upsetting enough, yesterday we learned that Halloween "Ugly Teeth" were recalled --on Halloween day itself! Lead in toys is unacceptable; lead in toys children are supposed to put in their mouth is criminal.

This summer, 20 million imported toys that were manufactured overseas were recalled--some of which contained nearly 200 times the legal limit for lead. The most heartbreaking for me was the recall of some Thomas the Tank Engine toys, a favorite among my five grandsons.

We must make sure that government lives up to its responsibility to protect our children. Parents should not have to buy a lead testing kit before letting their children play. We have a consumer protection agency to do that. Yet at the Consumer Safety Protection Commission, there is only one inspector charged with testing toys to make sure they are safe for our children. And recently, when the chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission was asked by Congress if she would request an increase of resources and funding for the commission, she refused to support this much needed action. I know we can do better.

Congress is determined to help parents who are frustrated. That is why we are working to pass legislation that will ban lead from children's toys, require testing of children's products by independent, third-party laboratories, and provide the Consumer Product Safety Commission with significantly greater resources to protect our families. For too long, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has failed to protect kids from hazardous levels of lead in their toys.

The evidence of how lead in toys harms children is overwhelming. Many years of research have shown that exposure to this neuro-toxin can have serious long-term effects, particularly on children. While the recent recalls have brought the issue to popular attention, the problem is, unfortunately, not a new one. In 2004, 2005, and 2006, millions of pieces of toy jewelry were recalled due to unsafe levels of lead.

With this legislation, we will ensure that there are no more stories like that of Jarnell Brown, a four-year-old who died in 2006 after swallowing a charm on a bracelet that contained over 99 percent lead. But we need your help. Get in touch with your Representative and Senator, and urge them to support legislation to protect our children.

I want to thank the MomsRising community for working to eliminate toxic toys. By passing this legislation and continuing our vigorous oversight, we will work to make certain not one more child is harmed by the toys we give them--our children deserve nothing less, and certainly much more."

Please sign the petition.

Ruby's a big girl

Ruby thinks she's a big girl and should be eating and drinking with us. She is fascinated by it all. So we got her a sippy cup to try out. She can hold on to it and even get it in her mouth. She can't quite tilt it up though. We gave it to her empty at first and then we put some water in it. She did not like that! Milk only for her, thank you.


Today the neighbor's cat came over to visit. Luckily John was working from home so he got to see how Ruby reacted to it and take pictures. The cat is really friendly and kept rubbing up against me and Ruby. Ruby reached out, pet it and seemed to really enjoy him.


But she did love sitting in her high chair for the first time. I'm having a hard time admitting she's such a big baby already. What happened to my itty bitty baby that just snuggled in my arms? I was reading about what she may be doing in the next month and I am just so sad about it all. It seems like she will become more of a floor baby than a lap baby. She will soon be able to sit on her own for longer periods of time - although she's got to stop spitting up so much for me to let that happen, and she's reaching out for things and becoming so much more intentional about her play. I'm overwhelmed by it all. I'm excited and saddened. It seems like she becomes more fun and loving and challenging all the time. I guess this is parenthood, huh? Parents: what are/were your favorite baby and kid ages? Least favorite? A lot of people have told me that 6 months was the best baby age - do you agree? Leave a comment.

do it for ruby

watch me

healthy babies

For all you parents & grandparents out there, check this out. Print out the safer plastics guide & use it when you're shopping. (Especially if you shop for Ruby - we're a little paranoid about plastics in this house).

happy halloween!

Ruby turned 5 months old on Halloween. I was a gardener and she was my little gnome. I must say, she looked waaay cuter in person.

Here's Ruby's little buddy, the peapod, and the daddies.

My mom made this Halloween countdown calendar for Ruby. Isn't it great?! I know she'll love it when she gets bigger.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Before we moved into this house, I said, "I can't wait for Halloween in this neighborhood!" We heard from lots of people that we would get slammed, so I bought a ton of candy. We didn't get one trick-or-treater! Not one! Our neighbors on our street all had their lights out, so our street was really dark. And, we live 2 streets away from the edge of the REALLY good neighborhood in town. So, I think everyone hits that and we got missed. It was so sad. John and I ate our pumpkin seeds and watched a movie while the little gnome slept. But, Ruby was cute and thats all that matters. Next year, we'll find somewhere to take her for some Halloween fun.

Ruby's new tricks

Ruby is such a little Daddy's girl already. She can be crying and in so much pain from her teeth and then Daddy walks in the door and she's giggling. It's' adorable.

One of Ruby's new tricks is screaming. She has found her vocal chords and likes to use them. She screams when she's tired, when she wants to be picked up, when she's playing, and for no reason at all. I can't say this is my favorite thing she's done. I'm really hoping she'll stop being so proud of this new trick soon. We just try to whisper back to her, hoping she'll figure out that we don't talk so loudly. You probably think its funny, but its not. I'm afraid to take her out in public and afraid the mailman will think I'm beating her. But it will make for a good Halloween house.

She has also figured out how to kiss us on the lips now. It is the best! She'll kiss us and then pull away with her mouth wide open. This makes up for the teething and screaming combined.

update

make that two teeth in the back.

another tooth

It's hard to believe that a baby as calm and beautiful looking as her picture below could have been the same baby I had today. Ruby was MISERABLE. I could not put her down for a second and nothing seemed to make her happy - except kisses. Oh, and then when Daddy came home. She actually giggled for him. She was crying moments before. But I looked in her mouth and she's got another tooth coming in. This one is also on the bottom, but not in the middle! It's pretty far over to the side, a molar, maybe?? Is that possible? A bad day with Ruby is still better than a bad day teaching, that's for sure.

Yesterday was my birthday and John & Ruby made it special for me. John made or got all of my favorite foods for me and gave me some really thoughtful gifts. Ruby gave me a massage. The card said "because you carry me around all day, every day, I thought you deserved a break."

kisses

We have had a busy few days around here. We hosted a housewarming party on Saturday. We had about 30 people here and a lot of fun. There were several babies for Ruby to play with and watch. Ruby was incredible. She woke up about an hour before people arrived and ate. Usually she's up 2 hours before her next nap. Ruby took 2 very short cat naps during the party, but otherwise was awake a total of 5 hours. She also didn't eat until people left. She was just too excited by it all. She was a happy girl as long as she stayed with me or John.

On Sunday, John took us out to brunch at Gathering Together, the farm where we get our CSA. The food there is amazing. We stuffed ourselves like it was Thanksgiving as Ruby just watched patiently and practiced chewing. The food was overshadowed by the couple next to us that got engaged while we were there! It was so much fun to see that happen. They got to show off the ring to everyone right away.

But the latest of Ruby's tricks, might be my favorite...she's kissing us!!!! She's always loved getting kisses (even from her stuffed animals and dolls), but now she will turn her face to "kiss" our cheeks. She just leaves her mouth open on our cheek, but smiles afterwards. John and I are all slobbery now, but we love it.

Pumpkin Fest

DSCN1221.JPG
Originally uploaded by meg+john=ruby

Ruby gave me a hand while we picked out our pumpkins at the Pumpkin Festival. Gathering Together Farm hosts a pumpkin fest every year where you go on a hay ride, listen to bluegrass, have a homemade donut, and get to pick out a pumpkin from their pumpkin patch. GTF is also the farm where we get our weekly veggies from in our CSA that we share with some friends. The fest was so big last year that they had to start limiting the number of people attending by selling tickets. The weather so great for this time of year, meaning that it wasn't raining, and about 60 F. Ruby saw her first horses here and got to play in the hay; she had a blast.

Fall Fun

DSCN2263.JPG
Originally uploaded by meg+john=ruby

Brianne and Eddie were visiting this weekend. We drove down with them to Harrisburg, just south of us in the valley and went apple picking at a family orchard. The weather was beautiful, sunny and about 60 F. We picked a couple of pounds (40 cents/lb!) and came home to make some yummy apple dessert. Ruby had a great time checking out all the trees. Tree watching is high on her list of activities if you didn't know already. Brianne and Eddie had lots of fun with Ruby, and Ruby had lots of fun with them. She was so full of smiles and giggles whenever they held her. This morning when Ruby woke up and saw that Bri and Eddie were still here she was so excited. (Thanks for coming down B and E, we really enjoyed it and I know Ruby did too.) -John

doctor visit

We just got back from the doctor for Ruby's 4 month check-up. She had her shots, which are so hard on John & me. But, Ruby does okay with it. She is just over 4 months old and weighs 16 lb. & 3 oz. and is 25 1/2" long. She's huge! Check her out on the growth chart here.
The doctor said everything looks great and that Ruby is beautiful.

story time

Ruby had her first story time at the library today. We walked - yes, walked!- to the library all bundled up on our brisk fall morning. The library is a historic building with stairs and no ramps so we had to park the stroller on the bike rack and lock it up. Funny, huh? I got some weird looks, but what else was I going to do? The library has a fireplace and lots of little rooms. It's so cozy. There were 24 kids there. A pre-school class from a nearby church comes every week. It was hard for this former teacher to keep her mouth shut. Some of the kids were soooo loud!
Ruby was amazed by it all. The librarian was great, she had puppets and chose 3 interactive books to read. One of the books was about some monkeys making a birthday cake for their mom. They were trying to be quiet so they wouldn't wake her. When they mixed all the dry ingredients, one monkey said, "Don't sneeze!" and then Ruby sneezed. Everyone laughed, it was really cute. Then there was a little puppet show.
The whole thing lasted 30 minutes and Ruby just sat on my lap staring up at the stage. I can't believe she has such a long attention span. As soon as she was back in her stroller, she passed out. I'll have to take the camera next time to share a picture of her all cozy. She looked ready for snow. We did some more shopping downtown, then headed back home. It is so nice to be able to walk to fun little places. I hope we have some non-rainy days this winter so that we can take advantage of it.

Ruby in the Press 2

-John

4 months old!

We went to Ruby's little friend, MaryAnn's house yesterday to celebrate Ruby's birthday. We made chocolate-filled vanilla cupcakes. Yum! MaryAnn is 2 weeks older than Ruby and so cute. The girls are funny. They're just starting to reach out and pet each other, its really cute.
Ruby's first little tooth is beginning to poke out.
She & I went to "live and learn with your baby" class that the community college hosts. There were about 20 babies & moms there. Ruby was amazed. She laughed and smiled at all the big babies crawling, walking, making noises. She seemed to be taking notes. She especially liked one little boy in particular. MaryAnn is in the class too. We go once a week and then spend the rest of the evening trying to make up the feeding and nap she skips while there. There's too much to look at!
Keep the recipes coming - thanks to Christy & Bri for the ideas. I'll try them soon.
Sorry this is so scattered. Baking season has begun here and I'm writing this in between steps of some rolls I'm baking. (And of course, playing with and feeding Ruby).

teething

Ruby is teething. Ugh. Her little hand is always in her mouth or pulling something into her mouth. She's handling it pretty well - we've only had one major meltdown. We try to distract her as much as we can by playing with her and kissing her, which we all love. She's so snuggly in her p.j.s.




Ruby did a new trick yesterday. She sat on our laps without any support! I know, I know, teething, sitting, turning pages in books...I swear she's not even 4 months old!



In case you hadn't heard, we're no longer vegetarian. When I was pregnant, I could not stomach beans or tofu, but I needed lots of protein. Now, Ruby can't handle it when I have beans, and a girl can only eat so much cheese, tofu, nuts, and peanut butter. So we're eating fish, chicken & turkey. But, we don't have any cookbooks or very many recipes for these new foods. Anyone out there have any FAST (30 min. or less hands-on time) dinners they can recommend?

we've moved!

We're finally getting settled in to our new house and we've got the internet hooked up. Yay! Ruby has done so many new things in the past week. She's been a trooper through the move. She's a bit stressed, but she's handling it pretty well. She also started teething through all of this, which was really bad timing. Ruby rolled over from her tummy to her back once last week. She hasn't done it since, I think it was a little much for her. We met our neighbors across the street who have 2 little girls. They are so nice! They offered to help us move in and brought us home made chocolate chip cookies! The woman is a nurse in the postpartum dept. at the hospital and is training to be a labor and delivery nurse. What a great resource right across the street! When Ruby met the girls (age 4 & 6), she laughed more than she ever has before. It was so adorable. We've had great weather here recently, so Ruby and I have been outside a lot. We found a little canal that runs through the neighborhood that has a ton of ducks living on it. Ruby and I sat on the bench and watched them. She was mesmerized. We've been waiting to go back with John and some bread. Ruby and I spend a lot of time out on the deck, nursing and watching the flowers and leaves blow in the wind. Life is good. Okay, enough rambling. Here's a funny story:

Ruby was REALLY tired one day and I was carrying her around, singing to her until she fell asleep. When I laid her down in her bed, she all of a sudden opened her eyes, gave me a HUGE smile and then laughed so hard that she made herself cough. It was like the whole thing had been a trick.

We'll post some pictures of Ruby soon and the house later after we get some more of these boxes out of here. Be patient!

Having fun with Ruby

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Originally uploaded by meg+john=ruby

I love the weekends! I get to spend all day with Ruby and Megan, playing and having fun with my girls. When I come home from work Ruby always has a big smile for me, but I love being there when she wakes up from her naps during the day. Today we walked to the Co-op together, played with her mirror, read books, had tummy-time, and spent time together while she was getting ready to nap. Oh yeah, packing has also been a big part of this weekend, but here I am procrastinating at the computer looking at pictures of Ruby while she sleeps (one of our new hobbies). Back to the boxes! J.