poor sick baby!

Poor Ruby started feeling sick yesterday. We realized that she acting different and figured out that she was running a 103 temperature. Jeff was home with Ruby on his day off, so she slept almost the whole day. This morning she still had the 103 temp and was definitely not herself. She doesn't want to eat anything and just wants to sit on my lap and snuggle. I can't ever remember Ruby being this snugly. It is totally precious, but heart-wrenchingly sad. She didn't even have enough energy to wave and say "buh-buh" to Daddy this morning. My sad sweetie pie could barely keep her eyes open for a couple pictures.

I scheduled an appointment in hopes of finding out the source of her pain. I was thinking it could be an ear infection, but we found out that she has a throat infection. Her throat is very red and swollen and she has puss all over her wittle tonsils. I guess kids this young don't get strep, so it is a viral infection. All I can do is give her ibuprofen and let her sleep and make her drink as much as she'll take. I've been able to get a lot of my work done today (and squeeze in this quick post) while she's been resting. I hope to have my spunky Ruby back soon.

This would cheer Ruby up - I bought her some new shoes! My friend Lindsay alerted me that www.mamabargains.com was selling Pedoodles again and I hopped on to buy a pair for Ruby. I had to buy the next size up, but at $14/pair I couldn't NOT get them! These cute red ones are called "Ruby Janes" - perfect shoes for my Ruby Jane.

my not-so-perfect life

I've been thinking about something my friend told me a few weeks ago. She said that she isn't into reading blogs because they are all about "this is my perfect life and everything about me and my family is perfect" and that it is really annoying. I can kind of see her point. I have read other peoples' blogs and felt jealous. But, I feel differently about reading my friends' blogs. I feel like a privileged guest to read someone's blog. They are generously sharing their life with me - good and bad, funny and sad, fascinating and monotonous. I want my friends to be happy and do fun things, and I love being able to get to know them better, keep up with their lives, and celebrate in their joys/accomplishments.

I started this blog for my family. My side of the family lives in a different state and they don't get to see Ruby very often. Posting Ruby pictures is one fun way to keep in touch with them and let them see her grow up. I don't post anything to purposefully brag. I also don't use this blog as a personal journal, so you miss out on all the fabulously boring stuff - like how I am so frustrated about not losing weight, and the mundane details about my life - like how many hours I slept, what I ate for lunch, and what projects I'm managing at work. I have no illusions that my life is perfect; I'm plenty hard on myself. However, I do love my life and I try to fill it with things (people and activities) that make me happy. Also, it's no secret that I'm not a great writer. As much as I would love to be able to write about my life in a unique and entertaining way (like Kirsten), I am not talented in that way.

This paragraph will illustrate my lack of writing skill, since I haven't come to an actual conclusion. All I know is that I like reading your blog and I hope you like reading mine, even though it is all about Ruby. Thanks for your friendship and your comments. I trust that you know me well enough to know that my life isn't perfect, even though I don't remind you about it in every post.

Dharma goodies

Jeff's friends at Target gave him these sweet Dharma goods for his birthday last week! I thought it was the most creative and thoughtful gift; VERY cool in my book!

If you are a LOST fan and don't already know about Lostpedia, you MUST check it out: www.lostpedia.com.

For those of you who are not LOST fans, you should seriously consider starting at season one and giving it a try. It sounds like a stupid show but nothing could be further from the truth!

happy 31st birthday Jeffy!

Ruby and I are missing you while you are at work today

and can't wait to celebrate with you tonight!

We love you!

Your girls,

anna & ruby

my cutie pie

Jeff and I say to each other, "Ruby is such a cutie pie!" at least 10 times a day. Here's some pictures of what our cutie pie has been up to lately.

Once, Ruby woke up in the middle of the night and when I went in to check on her she had her arm totally out of her jammies - with the zipper totally done up. Last week I went into her room to wake her up in the morning and her arm was outside of her pajamas again. This time I had to get a picture:

Ruby wearing her Love Birds t-shirt to school for the Valentine's Day party:

Ruby's hair is really long when it is straight:

The weather is starting to warm up and we've been able to go on a few fun walks around the neighborhood this week:

Ruby continues to love putting things on her head:

I finally got a short video of Ruby saying "bye bye" this morning. She loves to say it over and over. She is also saying a bunch of other words - uh-oh, book, ball, bubble, dog, shoe, sock. Jeff taught her where her nose is; she points to it when we ask her where her nose is. I may have to get that on video too!

HAT!

Jeff has taught Ruby that anything can be a 'hat'. Sometimes Ruby puts things on her head, like bowls and blankets, as part of her creative play. Jeff found out that if she is holding anything and he says, "HAT!" she will put it on her head. I like this plastic bowl as a hat - it looks like a bowler hat:

Ruby also really has fun walking in our shoes. She has more fun when we help her, but sometimes she tries on her own. As much as I like to think that Ruby walking in my shoes allows her to see life from my perspective, I don't think it really changes her point of view.

Jeff started playing a game with Ruby that he calls "flip." He picks Ruby up and kind of flips her forward or backward. She really loves it and always wants him to keep doing it after he stops.

Occasionally I will see a child that is older than Ruby by months or years and they do something that is really cute. I catch myself saying or thinking, "I can't wait for Ruby to grow up!" I said that today and one of my co-workers told me, "You should really enjoy this stage though; don't be in a hurry for her to grow up." I don't actually want her to grow up faster. I really DO enjoy this stage, but I also really look forward to all of the stages to come. I look forward to the day that we can have an actual conversation. I am excited to teach her how to make cookies and tie her shoes. And for now I am completely enjoying Ruby just as she is - at this cuter than cute toddler stage.