Ruby is really throwing herself headlong into childhood and saying adios to babyhood. Oh so sad...sniff... Ok ok, I'm better. Anyway, what sorts of things is she doing? Well, she loves coloring with a passion. Everyday is the request to color. She likes coloring books, blank paper, chalk, you name it. Just recently she started drawing pictures of faces and people where she painstakingly draws two circles and a line with a big circle around it and then announces who it is. She's very intent on her art and often covers herself with whatever it is she's using to create it, as you can see here.
She's also really into singing lately and can be heard singing her greatest hits album as she's falling asleep and singing every single song she knows. Story time is awesome because she is now an active participant, singing along to all the songs. Up until now, she's either roamed around the room or just observed all of the other kids. I read
Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root (a favorite at our house) the other day and could hear her enthusiastically chanting along, "..chocolate marshmallow fudge delight!"
Some of her favorite songs are Slippery Fish, Go Tell Aunt Rhody and anything with a Twinkle Little Star tune. She's also learning "La araña pequeñita" (Itsy Bitsy Spider) and "Que Llueva" a Spanish version of the "Rain Rain Go Away" song.
Another funny thing is that she's been listening to the Let it Be album by the Beatles at night before bed. Now when it's on, she sings along at the top of her lungs.."Let it beeee!" On Monday, I heard her innocently singing, "Nothing's gonna change my world! Nothing's gonna change my world..." as she dressed her baby doll. My heart kind of broke a little when I thought about how much her world IS going to change in 2 1/2 months. It was tragic and awesome at the same time. Sweet girl.
Oh and another bright spot to our week was when we visited our friends Jane and John and their three chickens. John has built the most awesome of chicken coops and Ruby loved peering into their window and talking to them. "Oh hi!" she says. Here's a peek at the coop:
Well, those are the updates for now. More soon!
Ruby has begun using more complex sentences like, "I need to do this because this is what happened," etc. She also uses some incredible intonations and uses her hands to talk and if I could ever get it on video you would die, it's so cute. She's also incredibly helpful, feeding the cats when their bowls are empty, taking her dishes to the kitchen and helping with the dishes (I do have a video of that to soon follow). She really loves to do whatever it is that I am doing so I have to find ways for her to help without making an even bigger mess. Ha ha ha! Well, I try anyway.... I am mostly just concerned with her continuing to want to help so I try not to be too bossy. Then again, this is me we are talking about and there are some areas where I just don't like to share (i.e. cooking) so it's a good challenge for me to be more flexible.
Ruby is also working on her independence and doesn't shy away from telling you to get the heck away from her. "Don't touch my hair, Mommy!" is often the reaction I get when I try to pull it away from her face. However, she is starting to get the hang of the whole sharing thing and with a little encouragement will willingly take turns with toys. She also likes to share her snacks, "Can I offer you a cracker?" That being said, we still are working on her flipping out and screeching when things aren't going quite her way vs saying what she needs or wants. Ah..the 3's...definitely ramped up from the 2's.
We are busy getting ready for the new baby, organizing, cleaning and list-making. I have been doing as much nesting as I can tolerate in addition to trying to get ready for the impending holidays. At the end of the day, I am TIRED but still have 25 more things on my list for the day. Typical. Some have requested a photo so I am including the rare picture of me and my gigantic belly at 32 weeks. Before you ask:
