Zut Alors!

What a delicious little lobster!!!

We've had fun dressing up already and Halloween isn't until tomorrow! On Saturday, we met up with a bunch of our pals at one of our favorite lunch places, Capers, and re-enacted our couch full o' babies only this time with costumes. What fun!

Ruby is the super sleepy lobster on the left and from there it's Eva, Otto, Arrie, Blix and Marcos. Hooray for babies in costume!!

Go Sox!

Ruby Music

The xylophone is her new favorite toy especially after grandma played Twinkle Little Star for her. Today, she pulled it out of her toy basket all by herself and began to play..... (sorry about the wobbles - the cat kept bumping me).

Updates

There's not an awful lot of stuff going on in general but Ruby's changing like mad! My mom just left and we do miss having grandma around! But now it's back to the daily grind.

Ruby is increasingly interested in pulling herself up onto things and trying to grab whatever happens to be within reach. Crawling hasn't happened yet but she will scoot herself around in a circle and backwards, so she is going places! All of this activity means sleep has become a bit sketchy. The night before last, she slept great. Last night, she was up 4 times before I gave up and just put her in bed with us. However, I have had some modest success with getting her to go to sleep on her own with minimal crying. Well....she cried for 25 minutes one night (which seemed like 25 hours to me) before succumbing to the sandman. Not too bad from what I have heard from other parents.

This weekend we went to the 1st birthday get together of our little pal, Ceci. What fun to see how much she has changed in the last year! Ruby had a BALL playing with Ceci's toys and with the other kids. Here she is in her new "earrings" - ha ha!

In the news of the furbabies, our youngest one has decided she needs more attention and since she can't dye her hair or date a completely inappropriate boy, she's pooping on the floor. I guess this is preparing me for a teenager (and I think in cat years she IS a teenager) but it sure is annoying. Clearly, I need to spread the love a little more.

Seeking True Love

Oh, you know how it goes....you're looking for love and it seems as though you'll never find "the one." You try matchmaking services, asking your friends about their single friends....some call you back, some don't. The ones that do...well, they either have some kind of attention problem, they can't hold a conversation with you, they mention things like "parole," "living in mom's basement," "restraining orders" or "can I borrow 20 bucks?" Some you meet and actually go out with...hoping against hope that this is "The One." At first glance he seems ok but then he makes weird noises while he eats or tells you he is a Scientologist and your hopes are dashed again. And then, miracle of all miracle, you meet the perfect guy. He's attractive, he has a sense of humor, you like doing the same stuff - he's got it all. You begin daydreaming of your future marriage and adorable children.....and then, he decides that his life is going in another direction and dumps you like a bad habit with a "let's be friends" and it's back to single life. Of course, there are a few, "this is fun for right now but we've got no future" dates in there and a few "he's great but our lifestyles clash" and a few "we'll try this long distance thing" and quite a few, "all I need is my friends, family and cat to be happy." But at long last, you find your true love and all is well and it's so nice knowing he's there and you hope you're one of the lucky ones whose relationship stands the test of time. Now subsitute the guy for childcare and you see that you have to go through all of this rigamaroll AGAIN! Different issues but same game! Well, I am pleased to say that after some crazy transitions in the family, that we are in love again and it feels so right. Cue Lionel Richie. We have found the perfect situation and it's been such a relief. To those of you out there looking...don't give up hope. "The One" is out there.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Well, it's a sea of change for our little monkey. It's no wonder her sleep and eating patterns are all mixed up as she's got a lot going on! Though not as mobile as some of her boyfriends (I'm talking about you, Jack!), she is now trying to pull herself up onto things and holding herself steady. I also caught her rolling from her back to her stomach, which she's never done and when left sitting, she likes to flip herself onto her stomach and turn in a complete 360 (That's a 180, George). Her hand-eye coordination is getting really good and more cheerios end up in her mouth than the floor. Good progress and means less sweeping! Then there's the real news -- she's getting a tooth! Last night, there was nothing but today a little sharp ridge has popped up...literally overnight. I can't say yet how this is going to be for me nursing but it's an exciting milestone nonetheless. There was a part of me that wondered if perhaps she'd be the only kid in kindergarten with no teeth..... As far as solids go, she's eating all kinds of things now. I have been giving her little tastes of the things I am eating -- meatball, curry potatoes (not spicey) etc just to have her experience the flavors.The other day she had paella -- I just put it in the food grinder and she gobbled it up. Her favorite still seems to be carrots, sweet potato and mango. I try to mix it up though so she doesn't turn orange! The picture above features Ruby in her too cute sweater from her Great Aunt & Uncle in New York - thanks Aunt Anne and Uncle Steve! Well, it's late, she's finally asleep and it's time for me to catch up on last week's Gossip Girl, a show I hope will fill the void of 90210 (has it really been 7 years since it ended?) and the first season of The OC....only time and a few more episodes will tell.

8 Months!

Unbelievably, Ruby is 8 months old. It's gone so fast and she's changed so much! She is super vocal and goes from these sweet little cooing noises to loud growling....just like Miss Piggy. She has eaten everything we've offered her and with gusto. No doubt about it that she comes from our gene pool. No teeth or crawling yet though it seems as though she's really working hard on both. She's been waking up in the middle of the night which is not at all the norm for her. I am wondering if this means she's trying to learn a skill? I won't complain but I do miss my long nights of sleep! Fall is now here much to my dismay. I was hoping for a few more nice days to get us in the mood for fall. However, we have leapt right into winter -- what's up with that? It was so chilly today. Nevertheless, I am glad because it just means that we are heading towards the holidays which is going to be fun! We got Ruby a costume and it is SO cute. And we are heading to the East Coast for Thanksgiving to visit the grandparents which will be super fun too. Oh compare Ruby at 6 weeks. Crazy! She just keeps getting cuter and cuter! It's hard to believe she was ever that small.... There's more to tell but I'll have to do that at another time because SOMEbody wants my attention...I can hear the "fake coughing" now. Clever monkey!