Ruby -- TWELVE Months

I still can't believe I have a one year old. A tiny part of me wants to mourn the fact that my baby's infanthood has quickly vanished, but I'm having way too much fun enjoying her becoming a fun, interactive, hilarious, crazy little person to be sad.

Ruby's first birthday fell on a Saturday, which was perfect. We were able to take her out to breakfast to one of our favorite local spots, The Ruby Slipper (fitting, huh?). Ruby and I shared some bananas foster french toast, and she made quite the scene by spilling a glass of water all over the place, then gagging on some french toast and throwing up on the table. She also made friends with everyone around us by waving and showing off her precious grin. She's such a people person, always saying hi to every single person that passes us by. I just love her so much.

I can't say that Ruby has changed a ton since our month 11 update. Maybe that's because I did the month 11 post about 2 weeks late. She's definitely become more mobile, and is super close to walking. She will stand by herself for as long as she wants and has amazing balance, but is just not interested in taking steps. I'm not pushing the subject, because I know once she starts, there is no going back! She gets into enough trouble just being able to crawl at lightening fast speeds, I can't imagine what it's going to be like when she starts walking.

Our girl still has not had a month where she has been completely healthy. I think we've been dealing with some sort of sickness at least once a month since December. Thankfully, she has not had anymore ear infections since her surgery last month. She did get hand foot and mouth, another random virus, and is now dealing with some sort of respiratory infection and strange rash. Maybe next month she'll be healthy the entire month? I sure hope so. She deserves the break!

Ruby is still sleeping like a champ! I am so glad we have finally reached the point where I can put her to bed and know that it's about a 99.9% chance that she will not wake up until morning. Most nights she goes to bed around 8:00-8:30 (sometimes earlier, sometimes later...we follow her cues) and wakes up anywhere from 6:30-7:30. If we're lucky on Saturdays (our only chance to sleep in at all), she will come snuggle in bed, nurse, and fall back asleep for a while.

We're still going strong in the breastfeeding department. So far, I have gotten ZERO cues from Ruby that she is ready to be done. She is getting a lot better about accepting solid foods, and has definitely increased her intake of food pretty significantly. However, she still wants to nurse whenever the opportunity is presented to her. She knows how to ask for it and has even started saying "muk???" with the sign for milk when she's ready. The only downside is she doesn't yet understand "not right now" or "in a little while". She quickly escalates from politely asking for milk to a total meltdown if I don't deliver. This is just one example of how she is getting much more opinionated and persistent about her needs and wants.

We haven't taken her in for her 12 month appointment yet, but if I were to guess, I would say that she has finally gained a little weight. Now that she is actually eating things other than breastmilk, I'm sure she is at least up to 21lbs. I packed away most of her 9 month outfits, and busted out the few 12 month things that we have. Some of the 12-18 month stuff still swallows/falls off of her, but I know it will be fitting her soon.

Ruby hasn't added many words to her vocabulary this month, but we can tell she understands much more than we thought she did. She knows "what does a dog say?" "what does a cat say?" and "what does a sheep say?" her favorite response is "woof woof" and any time we see a dog (tv, books, and in person) she likes to show off her barking skills. She is still signing more, milk, and all done. She says mama, dada, milk (muk, or nah-nah), dog (dah), and points to herself for Ruby.

Ruby's 12 month favorite things:
-Mama, Dada, Banjo
-Swinging
-Pointing and asking "huh?"
-Bananas
-Dancing. We got her a little piano for her birthday and she LOVES pressing the buttons and dancing to the songs. Cutest thing ever.
-Playing "catch": rolling the ball back and forth. She has quite the arm on her.
-Walking with her new radio flyer walker wagon.
-Being outside.
-Blowing kisses
-Clapping and saying "yay!"
-Milk (by far Ruby's favorite thing ever).
-Reading books. Ruby LOVES books.

Ruby's 12 month not-so-favorite things:
-Saying bye to mommy and daddy in the mornings
-Bath time. Some how this has turned from a favorite thing to a not-so-favorite thing. We have to keep her distracted the entire type she's in the bath or she screams and cries.
-Changing. Still awful, but getting better. She likes to read books now while you're changing her, and can usually be distracted long enough to get through a diaper change successfully.

Ruby, 

Oh, beautiful girl, you continue to amaze us with your sweetness, silliness, and smarts! Every day you learn something new, and your daddy and I feel so privileged to be apart of this journey with you. It's been a year since you came into our lives, and it has been the best year ever. Life with you in it is so much more fun and full of love. You've added so much to our lives, baby girl. Being your mom and dad is such a gift, and this year with you has been the biggest blessing. We love you more than words could ever say. Keep shining, little love. Happy first birthday.

Mama