May days

I'd better squeeze in one more May post before the month is over! Here are some recent Ruby pictures for your enjoyment. (Can you believe she will turn 18 months old in 19 days?)

Ruby is finding creative ways to play with her shopping cart.

Ruby wanted to wear one of my t-shirts. It was like a big baggy dress on her and she looked really cute running around the house in it.

We went to Ward & Child (a gorgeous home/garden shop in SLC) and Ruby loved playing in the pretty fountains.

Ruby throws mini-fits when she doesn't get her way (like when we wanted to leave but she didn't want to).

If Ruby wakes up in a good mood she will sit and play in her crib for a while. Her latest game is throwing all of the stuffed animals and blankets out of the crib. When we go in to get her she throws them all back into the crib.

Ruby was a good helper when we planted our new plants on Monday.

She was especially good at holding the hose for us.

Ruby had her first drink from the hose. She got really wet but kept doing it anyway.

peek-a-ZOO!

Last Friday I took the day off work to hang out with Jeff and Ruby for an extended holiday weekend. (BEST IDEA EVER!) We took Ruby to Hogle Zoo for her first ZOO experience. She knows all about Peek-a-Zoo (from her Peek-A book) and she loves animals, so we were excited introduce her to some new animals!

We wanted Ruby to stay in her stroller, so Jeff did lots of this so that Ruby could see better:

Ruby's favorite were the giraffes. It's cute, because they're my favorite too!

Sometimes she couldn't get close enough:

I took lots of pictures of Ruby pointing at the animals, which she did at every stop. When she was ready to leave she would say, "BYE" and wave goodbye to the animals. It was nice, because we knew she was done without any whining!

Ruby's other favorite part of the zoo was the playground! She could have played for the rest of the day; too bad she needed to eat lunch and take a nap!

Ruby wanted to be a big girl and do all of the things the big kids were doing, and we helped her do pretty much anything she wanted to. She even went down the big green snake slide all by herself!

visit with Grandpa

Last Wednesday my dad had a rare flight into Salt Lake and he even had a long enough layover to visit with us for a few hours! I picked him up from the airport and then took him to our place since he hadn't seen our house yet. Ruby woke up while we were giving the tour and it took her a while to figure out what that strange guy was doing in our house.

We went to dinner, drove around a bit, then ended up hanging out at my dad's hotel downtown until it was time to head home. Ruby really warmed up once we got to his hotel room. She had a ball playing with the curtains and exploring the room. She showed off a little - saying words and pointing to body parts on command.

My dad asked if Ruby likes to be thrown around. We said "yes" because Jeff will do flips with Ruby and toss her in the air a little bit. My dad was sitting on one of the queen beds and launched Ruby way over to the pillows on the other bed! It surprised us because we hadn't expected him to throw her that far, and with such force! Ruby landed softly though and she LOVED it!

My dad has another thing he loves to do with all of his grandkids: make them giggle. He takes his two pointer fingers and kind of taps them on their chest really quickly (not a very good description, sorry) and it always gets a laugh. Except, this was the first time it has worked with Ruby. She giggled and giggled! When it seemed like she was done he went and sat back on the other bed, and he didn't hear her asking, "More please, more please!" It was precious!

Ruby and Grandpa were great buddies by the time we had to leave, and it made me sad that Ruby doesn't get to see him more often. Dad, we had a great time with you; thanks for the short visit! We always love seeing you and we're really looking forward to the beach trip in August!

the first week of May

What Ruby did this week:

1. Tried her first Chef Boyardee gourmet italian meal and liked it (and made a royal mess).

2. Tried on her sweet strawberry swimsuit and didn't want to take it off.

3. Learned how to play "horsey" and how to dismount.

4. Loved going down the twisty slide at the playground.

5. And loved going down the straight slide.

(also shown here - demonstrating the "where's ____" gesture)

6. Wanted to be a big kid.

7. Decided she hates to be carried or hold our hands while outside.

She prefers to throw a fit until released and then run around in wild toddler abandon.

8. Took a bath and immediately got tight little locks all over her head.

9. Wanted to take Puppy for a walk while she was being taken for a walk.

Newly acquired vocabulary:

night night

pop-up (toast)

please [sounds like 'peesh' or 'peas']

snack

all gone

baby

poo poo

yuck

outside [sounds like 'ahside']

teeth

toes

tree

(I'm trying to keep track, but she's adding them fast!)

hugs!

Ruby has developed a ritual for the days that she goes to school (three days a week). She likes to check out what's going on in her classroom before she goes in by looking through the windows. At least one of the kids sees her and comes to say "Hi" at the window. Today, her friend Harrison came to greet her and they gave kisses to each other through the glass.

When Ruby walks in the door, her best friend Kayla says, "Woobee!" and comes to give her a sweet hug (and says, "aaawww"). She has been getting hugs from some of the other kids lately too. Today, Harrison was ready to take his turn to hug Ruby and he leaned in for a kiss after the hug. I love that the other kids are excited to see her, and to know she has fun with her friends, along with her super sweet teachers.