Brisk Me Away

7.27.2017

Ruby is ONE!

Our Ruby girl turned 1 on July 9, 2017. It is HARD to believe her first year is over!! It has truly flown by-even more so than her siblings' first years did-but I guess that's what happens with a 3rd kid! While it makes me sad that it is over, I will dwell on the happy, sweet part of it and choose to look forward to her upcoming year. There is no going back!
Ruby is truly the easiest baby. She is laid back, sweet, and easy going. She has a lovable personality and is adored by the whole family! All my worries and fears of having a 3rd child have been eased by the reality of what a delightful child she is! I am so thankful God put her in our lives. As has been the case with our other additions, God knew far more what we needed than we knew ourselves. I am happy to say I was wrong and that He knows best! Thank you, God, for giving us our sweet little(st) girl!
Below are a few pics and some notes about her past month. We had a fun party for her, too, that I will post about as soon as I'm able!


















 -She had her 12 month checkup on 7/17 and did great! Doc was not concerned that she isn't crawling and was able to confirm her leg strength as she was fitting about being there! She got 3 shots and was a trooper. She is 30.5 inches (90%) and weighs 21 pounds and 1 ounce (75%). Grandma actually took her while we were on our trip. :)

-Ruby is still not technically crawling, but she moves around in circle with hands on ground, and she started army crawling a little this month. She grabbed onto the carpet in her room and pulled herself to a sticker she wanted on the ground. She goes from sitting to lying down on the floor and vice versa. She finally figured out she can sit up in her pack-n-play aka crib (7/4) so sometimes we have to go lay her down when she is trying to go to sleep! We realized that since she was born in the middle of summer, she hadn't really been exposed to the grass or ground until kind of late. She does NOT want to be set down in the grass or to stand up and put her feet in grass, dirt, mulch, etc. She will pull her legs up when we try to set her down and just dangle above the dreaded grass! We will continue exposing her, and I know she will get the hang of it, but we get a kick out of it for sure. And who knows what she will do about the sand at the beach when we go in October! She does not mind her feet on concrete, though. She moves her walker all around on the driveway. She also pulled up to her knees on me and the chair and the fireplace around 7/5.

-On 7/3 I nursed her for the last time. She had been down to one morning feeding for several days since I gave her a sippy of milk on 6/26, anyway, so it was time. It kind of happened organically rather than intentionally, so I didn't really have the "I'm doing this for the last time" realization until afterward, which was probably best. She hasn't looked back and is a great eater, but it is bitter sweet for me since she is our last baby. I'm thankful I've been able to nurse each kiddo for the first year of their lives, so I will just focus on that!:) Plus I needed to get her fully weaned because Steven and I left the kids for a week just after her first birthday! She eats like a champ-blueberries like they are candy!! She had scrambled eggs on 6/22 with no reaction-whoohoo! She's also loved raspberries and downed some sausage balls and spaghetti!! We are amazed! She got a new straw sippy and was so proud. You could tell because she would drink from it, then look up and give the biggest smile! We would try to take it from her, and she would protest and want to keep holding it even when she wasn't drinking from it. She has used other sippies prior, but the straw one was new, and she was a fan! While it is probably too early to tell, when she eats she definitely favors her left hand. It will be interesting if she ends up as a lefty like her brother.

-She's so loving and is always giving hugs!! We say, "awe!" and lean in, and she does the same. Then she does it over and over and over! She also blows us kisses. She makes the "mah!" sound when she does it and often her hand goes to her cheek or even her ear rather than from her mouth to blow the kiss, and we get the biggest kick out of it. She does it with such oompff and puts her whole body into it!:) She also puts her hand to her mouth over and over again while yelling-sort of like the Indian yell sound. She's pretty proud of it. She's a great imitator and will copy whatever we do-opening her mouth, nodding yes or no, clicking her tongue, etc. We call her a little monkey when she gets in this mode!

-I took her to baby story time while H as at VBS and she was funny checking everything out. I don't think I'd taken her before. I honestly don't think I've ever sat down and read her a book (poor 3rd child!!!). She gets plenty of exposure, though, and will probably be the most well rounded of all 3. It was fun to give her a little extra attn like that, though, and practice signs with her and do baby activities, too.

-We took her to her first Kiddie Carnival and she was all smiles riding the cars. She was totally obsessed with the water bottle Steven gave her there. It wasn't the drink itself, but the crunchy bottle. That's all we could figure anyway. Steven tried to take it away and she threw the biggest fit!! When she "fits" it is memorable because it is so rare. We know it must be something she feels passionately about, because she is normally so very chill!

It's hard to believe how big you are, sweet Ruby. You are such a delightful girl, and you are loved! We are so thankful to have had this past year with you and look forward to the next!!