Ruby -- 15 & 16 Months

Hello from the land of pregnancy, two toddlers and an almost 5 year old (oh yes, I'm pregnant! With another girl! This poor baby probably already has 2nd child syndrome from the lack of blogging I've done about this pregnancy compared to Ruby's. I'll try and get better.)  I don't know why I haven't sat down to blog in 2 months (sarcasm)! We are going full steam ahead over here. We had a great two week break for the holidays. We spent about a week in Texas and came home for the remainder. I got SO much done the second week, and enjoyed a little one on one time with my sweet girl who is changing from a baby into a toddler right before my eyes.
(These are the pictures I took to announce that Ruby is going to have a little SISTER. I took them right around her 16 month birthday, so we're going to count them as her monthly pics for these two months!)

My girl is still a little ray of sunshine. She continues to amaze us with how much she is learning and absorbing every day.

Ruby decided toward the end of month 14 that walking is a good form of transportation, and hasn't looked back since then. She's FAST and gets into EVERYTHING. She's mischievous, and smart enough to know how to be sneaky. She definitely keeps us on our toes.

Communication with Ruby is something that constantly takes me by surprise. She's really not much of a talker. Wait, let me rephrase that; she LOVES to talk, but has yet to really form too many understandable words. However, she can totally communicate with us effectively. I would say that she understands at least 95% of what we say to her/ask her to do, and she loves following commands like "please go throw your trash away" or "take this to dada". She can choose when given a choice, and is generally a pretty obedient little kid (except to when it comes to playing in the dog's food and water...that's one no no that she can't quite get over). Her language definitely expanded during month 16. She started really trying to talk a lot more and when asked to say a certain word, she usually will give it a try. If words don't get across whatever she is wanting to communicate she can definitely communicate with her sign language and pointing.

Words:
-Mama
-Dada
-banana "nana"
-Juice "juuss"
-Milk "mulk"
-Night Night "nigh-nigh"
-More "mo"
-Shoes "shus"
-Elmo "eh-mo" (she also sings "lalalalalalala" whenever she wants to watch sesame street")
-This & That "dis" & "dah" (with pointing)
-No (usually "nononononononononono!")
-Yes "yah" (usually said in a really pathetic, sad, whiney voice) or "yeth!"
-Dog "daaah" or "woof woof!"
-Loves trying to say people's names. Right now she's enjoying pointing to all the Christmas cards on the fridge and naming who she knows. The names are not understandable but you can definitely tell she is trying because she always get the amount of syllables correct (Beckett is "deh-dii").
-She also tries to sing the ABCs all the time (SO CUTE)

Ruby is still pretty finicky when it comes to eating. Some days she will eat a ton, and the next she will pick at things she usually loves and barely eat anything. Enter: smoothies. I decided to try making her smoothies this month and it has been a major success. She now knows that when we get home in the evening, it's smoothie time! I sneak in veggies, and she gets her fruit, dairy, and protein! It makes me happy to see her enjoying something AND getting some nutrients into her.
A huge change in month 15 was that Ruby is no longer nursing. It wasn't really planned to wean her, it just kind of happened, and it's been smooth sailing ever since. She was away from me overnight for the first time a few days before Thanksgiving, and after that she just wasn't super interested. One night while we were in Texas she was demanding to nurse basically all night long, and I told her no, that it was time to go to sleep. She threw a huge fit, but eventually cuddled up next to me and went to sleep. She never asked for it after that. I think it was a combination of being SO busy and outside of our normal routine in Texas, and just being ready to stop. I'm sure she sensed how uncomfortable it was becoming for me (being 12 weeks pregnant at the time she weaned), and it just worked out. I was convinced that she was going to be impossible to wean because of how much she LOVED nursing. I really did not want to be nursing two babies at a time, so I'm really glad it all worked itself out. There have been a few times where she has been a little upset and wanted to nurse, but I've been able to comfort her other ways. I've missed it some too, but I also have enjoyed not having to share with her (especially knowing that I'll have another little one to nourish in a few months).
She gained a pound this month, so I don't think her body is missing mama's milk too much.
Weight: 23.4 lbs
Height: 31 inches
50th percentile for both height and weight.

Sleep. Oh, sleep! I miss the days where my girl would sleep through the night without a peep, and look forward to their return. Rubes has been Miss Unpredictable when it comes to sleep the past couple of months. The rollercoaster all began over Thanksgiving when we were in Texas. She slept in the same room as us, and decided that if she was going to be in the same room as us, why not be in the same bed too? Some nights she will sleep 10-11 hours without waking, and others she will wake up screaming and will not stop until she is in bed with us. Once she gets her way, she falls asleep within seconds. Yes, I realize she is totally playing us, and it's ok. I'm tired, and I need to sleep, so I let her have her way. She's also cutting her molars which can't be fun, and I'm hoping that's a big contributing factor to this sleep mania. Either way, my main goal is to have her not constantly in the bed with us by the time we bring home a newborn in June.

Ruby is hilarious. She is constantly watching and absorbing everything around her, and it's a little scary how much she picks up on. The other day she dumped out a whole box of q-tips while I was trying to use the bathroom (any other mamas miss peeing without having to clean up a huge mess of toddler destruction afterwards???), and put one up to her ear and started twisting it. It cracked me up that she has picked up on that. She loves to dance, and actually has some pretty good rhythm most of the time. She LOVES reading. She can sit still for an hour if you're reading to her. When we finish a book she will run, get another one, and come plop right back down where she was for some more. Right now her favorite is a book that her Great Auntie C found at a coffee shop somewhere in Texas called "Goodnight Baby Ruby". She has the entire thing memorized and has made up her own little motions and sounds for each page. Adorable. She still loves all animals and knows mostly all common animals and their sounds. We're working on expanding into the zoo/wild animals.

I wish I could think of all the cute and funny things she has done over the past two months, but I can't, so you're just going to have to believe me or come see her for yourself! ;) Even though she is dreadfully cute, and impossibly funny she is also a complete DRAMA queen. She started slapping around her 15 month birthday whenever she didn't get her way. After several (hundred) corrections we finally taught her "gentle" and usually if I catch her mid-swing and remind her "be gentle" then she will start caressing whoever she is about to slap and say "awww". This doesn't work so well when the aggression is aimed toward her foster-brothers though. If they snatch a toy, or do something she's not fond of she usually responds with a yell and slapping. We correct her every time, but I'm not sure what it's going to take to get her out of the habit. Her teachers at daycare haven't said a word about it, so I'm assuming it's just something she does at home.The girl knows what she wants and makes it very clear that it's her way, or screaming. So, we deal with the screaming. Ha!

All of that last paragraph aside, Ruby really is a doll. We are so lucky to have her.

Ruby, 

I can't tell you enough how special and important you are to us. We are so blessed to have you in our lives, and get the chance to watch you learn and grow every day. My favorite things about you right now are how much you love your mama and always want to be close, your funny, quirky personality, and your extreme determination to get what you want (even if it makes me want to pull my hair out some days!). I am so proud of the little person you are becoming. We cannot wait to see you become a big sister. You already love to hug my belly and say "awww" to the baby. You are going to be so sweet to her, and I know you two will grow to be the best of friends someday. We love you so much sweet girl.