Sun Bonnets

It's been a nice little weekend -- the weather wasn't as bad as predicted so we actually got some sun. Of course, I worked for part of it but even so it was all good. Last night, I got the sewing bug and stayed up late making Ruby a new sun bonnet. I love bonnets because they stay on, they shade her little face and they look so cute! Also, I just might be little obsessed with all things Little House in the Prairie. But whatever. I ordered the most adorable pattern from the angry chicken lady who I just love. The other little elfin hat that I made Ruby was one of her patterns as well. She rules! ANYway, here is the end result. It was so fun I can't wait to make another one! This one was a little too precious for me with all of the pink gingham and white ribbons so I sewed some little skull buttons on the sides which you can kind of see in the pictures.

Sunshine! And Then Rain..

We had a glorious weekend, last week with temperatures in the 80's. Today, it's 60's and rainy. Such is life in the Northwest. . We spent a lot of time outdoors. I planted my garden with tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and peppers and Ruby played with her outdoor toys and loved splashing in the water. We also went to the street fair to see our good friends, The Small Change play. It was hot but there was good music and delicous food so who can ask for more than that? Ruby loved toddling around and has finally gotten used to walking in real shoes aka not Robeez. Some new things:

• Ruby is learning to drink from a cup. Messy. Messy. But so cute.
• She loves to snuggle her bear, her kitty and her baby.
• Her favorite book to date is Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton. For some reason it really cracks her up when you say "Oops!"
• She's got 2 new teeth - one molar on each top side. Still only 3 front top and two front bottom though. This does mean that she now has more teeth than Shorty the dog! Sorry Shortround!

We've got lots of fun stuff planned for this summer -- For Ruby and daddy, a trip to New Hampshire, for me and Ruby a trip to Idaho and a trip to LA and for the whole family, a trip to Oregon. Good times!

What's New?

Well, we've officially got a walker. Very rarely does she deign to crawl and it's so fun to see her toddling about the house, carrying her toy du jour and babbling away. She now thinks it is nothing short of comedy gold to flush the toilet..over and over and over when we forget to shut the bathroom door. I fear the utility bill. Days of casually dining out are over now as well. After she's eaten, she's done and ready to walk the restaurant. We've likened it to dining out with an angry drunk as she is prone to tossing anything that comes in her path away as she unsteadily tries to walk towards the restaurant kitchen. I am going to try a couple of tips that fellow mamas have given me including a "restaurant bag" with stuff that she only gets when out. However, I think that we will be limiting the types of places we frequent until she gets more 'civilized' in her eating-outside-the-home behavior. I refuse to only go to places like the Rainforest Cafe and Chuck E. Cheese but we will be seeking out places that aren't so quiet. We went to Todai for the dad's birthday and that was about perfect -- instant food, not quiet and places to roam that were out of the way. Spring keeps teasing us and everyday we hope it's not raining so we can play outside. Thanks to Magy we have some great outdoor toys and she loves splashing in her water table while I pull weeds. Ruby is now up from her nap (2 hours!) so it's time to end my post. More soon!

Happy Birthday Dustin!

Happy birthday to our favorite daddy and boyfriend! We love you! Oh and we can't forget Heather who is also celebrating the day of her birth today. We love you too!

Playdate with Otto

We had a playdate with Otto this afternoon and it was so fun! They spent a lot of the time eating cheerios together and I got some cute pictures of that. The first one I posted I just like because the looks on both of their faces are pricelss. The next three are a series when Sweet Otto is sharing a cheerio with Ruby. Too darn cute. The only thing I missed with the camera was Ruby's victorious "haHa!" when she got the cheerio just before shoving it into her mouth. Looks like we need to work on the "thank you" part of sharing...he he he!

15 Months

Hard to believe but Ruby is now 15 months old. Dang! So, she had her appointment this morning and all was well. Her stats? Well, I think we're going to need this t-shirt. She's 30 inches long (30th percentile) and 19lbs 11oz (10th percentile). That's right, despite her chubby little legs and endless appetite, she has yet to hit 20 pounds! The doctor said she's perfectly healthy so no concerns - she's just petite. So, Ruby must wait a little while longer to have her car seat flipped around. Oh well. Anyway, she got her one shot (without hardly a cry or squawk) and she picked out a little squeaky frog from the treasure box. All in all, a successful little appointment!

Ruby riding in her car Helping with the housework

More Fun Stuff

Here's a video of Ruby eating with a spoon -- she's just picked this skill up in the last few weeks and now she really doesn't like anyone to feed her. Not now that she's a big girl! Oh boy...what a mess!

Her walking is getting more and more frequent and she is starting to opt for it over crawling more and more. She's added a new word to her list - "yeah." She says it in response to questions regardless of the question. "Do you want a banana?" "yeah." "Are you ready for bed?" "yeah." It's pretty funny hearing this seemingly grown-up word come out of her little mouth.

Ruby is also really snuggly these days. When I come home from work, she gives me a big hug and snuggles her head into my shoulder. What a sweet reward after a long day!

This weekend, she spent some time with Tía Monica while her dad played softball and her mom worked. They had a lovely time in the sunshine and even came to visit me at the library. She seems to have a bit of a cold which has made sleep somewhat disruptive the past few days. The spring weather has stymied it a bit too. One night, she was in bed with us and suddenly started crying so in my hazy sleep I was trying to figure out what was wrong. I felt her hair and it was all sweaty and so I unzipped her jammies half way and it was like I had let in heaven. She gave a satisfied "oh!" and fell backwards into me with her arms stretched out and went back to sleep. Looks like we need to get some springtime jammies!

Oh, the other thing Ruby is mastering is drinking from a cup. On Wednesday I gave her some tomato soup in her cup and she drank it up! Granted, as you can see from the pictures, she's a huge mess but it's so cute you can't help but laugh.