18 Months!

Ruby recently turned 18 months old.  It seems like she learns something new each day.  I am AMAZED at some of the things she is able to do!  At just over 20 pounds, she's still a peanut, but she is active and into everything!  It's fun to have a little explorer on our hands because she's beginning to learn how to help with things around the house, like the gardening.  She enjoys using the watering can to water the flowers outside.  She can also pick up her toys and get things we ask her to bring us.

Generally, she's a really happy kid, but we still have the random tantrums.  I don't think any toddler can escape those.  They mostly creep up when she is frustrated about something or over-tired.  Thankfully, she usually has a smile on her face and is quick to laugh at our antics around here.  If I'm trying to take a picture of her smiling, I'll do a fake sneeze and she thinks its a riot!

Ruby is a pretty decent eater.  She loves foods that have rich, sometimes spicy flavors, like Thai food, Italian dishes, and marinated meats.  Fruits are still not her favorite thing, although she's becoming more accepting of fruits she used to refuse.  Typically she drinks milk or water from a sippy cup, but she is learning how to use a regular cup (it's tough to negotiate all that liquid!).  Some of her favorite foods include yogurt, sandwiches, cheese, bananas, avocado and of course, spaghetti!

She is learning to use a fork and spoon on her own.  It's a messy process. 

On an unrelated note, look how long her hair is!  I typically put it in a small ponytail on top of her head or use a hair clip, since it now gets in her eyes.  I'm refusing to cut it because I'm not ready to go through the bangs stage with her.

Ruby has learned how to stack blocks, although she still prefers to knock them down.  In fact, she'd prefer that I build the tower and then she gets to knock it down (totally fair if you are an 18-month-old).

Although she still likes to ride in the stroller, she'd much rather push it.

 Ruby ADORES books.  I feel like we have a lot of books for her, but some days it doesn't seem like enough.  Sometimes I'll be working in one room and I'll notice that it gets really quiet in the next room over, where Ruby is.  I'll head over to check on her and she'll be sitting with a book in her hands, flipping though the pages.  Simply put: it's awesome.  As a teacher and a mom, I couldn't be more proud.  

She likes to climb into her chair by herself and flip through books with a stuffed friend.  This was taken soon after Grandma and Auntie Megan left and she carried Spot (a gift from Auntie Megan) everywhere.

Ha ha....she's multitasking here.  Riding, reading, and playing with dolls is hard work!  She's pretty adept at turning pages herself now.

I've got an ambitious reader on my hands.  She grabbed this chapter book off of our bookshelves.

It's hard to believe that she'll be 2 years old in 6 months!  That's not far away at all!  She has learned so, so much lately.  At 18 months, Ruby can...

- walk up and down stairs with help

- stack blocks (3+ blocks)

- run, climb, kick, and throw (not with great accuracy though!)

- use eating utensils with some help

- sleep through the night and take only 1 - 2 naps a day

- entertain herself for 10 - 15 minutes

- follow verbal directions

- engage in pretend play

One area that is challenging for Ruby is communicating to others using words.  Her most common "word" is "ugh."  She'll say this over and over while pointing or gesturing what she wants.  She does not sign as much as she used to and will use words when pressed to.  We are going to be looking into some outside resources to help develop her speech, so I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Random Pics (Family Visit)

During Grandma's recent visit, she gifted Ruby with a special book she's been working on for quite some time.  It's called a busy book and each page has an activity to do, like matching numbers, buttoning buttons, etc.  Each page is different and HANDMADE.  It's amazing and Ruby loves it.  This is her favorite page.  It has a barn on it, which a latch on the doors.  When you open those barn doors, there are different farm animals inside that can be pulled out.  The whole book is just simply adorable.  I know that Ruby will cherish it.

Noa had a Navy event one night while his family was here and I took the opportunity to snap a picture of him in his dress blues.

Also, we celebrated a birthday....Sadie's!  She turned 10 years old (wow!) and so we celebrated with doggy doughnuts.  I told Sadie she had to share with Gunnar.  They were a hit.

Ruby got involved in the doughnut action.  She loves giving the dogs treats.

While Grandma spent some one-on-one time with Ruby, the rest of us snuck away to Seattle.  

Of course, we headed to Pike Place Market.  We stocked up on some food from a few of the vendors and visited the original Starbucks store.  We also enjoyed lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Purple, and walked through Nordstroms (it's the flagship store).

 And this photo doesn't really fit into the rest of this post, but it happened during the family's visit and I just thought it was cute.  My little, feisty girl just loves being outside!

O Canada!

Noa's mom and sister, Megan, were in town recently and we decided to seize the opportunity to travel with them.  As a celebration of their visit (and Megan's recent graduation from college - CONGRATS, Megs), we traveled up north a few hours to Victoria, British Columbia.  A special shout out and thanks to Noa's dad, Jack, for helping to make this awesome trip happen.  He made many of the arrangements for us.  Thank you, Jack!!  We love you!

We had to drive up to Port Angeles and then hop on a ferry to cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  The ride was a bit rocky, but thankfully it wasn't much more than an hour, so we didn't have to deal with seasickness for very long.

We stayed at the Hotel Grand Pacific (highly recommend!), which was right near the downtown attractions, like the Parliament building, the historic Empress Hotel, and the waterfront.

This is Parliament and is was basically next to our hotel.  I loved the large lawn leading up to it.

Victoria is truly a seaside city with lots of boats and most of the attractions right by the water.

This is a view of the Empress Hotel, best known as Victoria's oldest hotel.

Our first meal out was right on the water at the Flying Otter Grill, 

Followed by a ride on a water taxi.

Our stop was another place on the waterfront, where the houseboats and harbor seals reside.

This was, by far, my favorite stop.  We walked along the boardwalk and picked up a tray of fish to feed to the harbor seals.  

So, these fat seals would swim up to the dock and watch for people dangling fish down.  The only problem was that nearby seagulls were also watching for the fish.  We had to drop them quickly or else a seagull would come and swoop down and get it.  Still, it was awesome to see these GIANT seals bob up from the water to get the fish.  They were so big and had amazing eyes.

Then we took a leisurely stroll along the waterfront.  The weather was perfect!  

"Someone" had so much fun on our walk that she just couldn't keep her eyes open!

That night, the city lit up.  It was beautiful.  This was the view from our balcony of the Parliament building.

The next day, we set out for the Butchart Gardens.  Carol is an avid gardener and we knew that springtime would be a great time to visit this 55-acre garden, just outside of the city.  It did not disappoint.

The tulips were out in full force!

The was the main part of the garden and where it all started.  The founder, Jennie Butchart, began planting in 1904.  It's hard to believe this used to be an abandoned quarry.

We also really liked the fountain nearby.  This is one of my favorite photos from the day.

Okay, this might be a close second....

Actually, it's hard to decide.  There are lots of good ones from that day, most with Ruby.  The backdrops were just amazing and the sun was out, so I was a little excited about taking pictures.

Noa took this photo.  I love it.  Reminds me of the redwoods in California.

Full disclosure: In the midst of all the beautiful gardens, I was impressed by the trash cans.  Yup, the trash cans. It's the attention to details that make me swoon.  Every trash can was topped with some kind of flowering plant.  Nice touch, Butchart.

Ruby's favorite part was the fish fountain.  I have no idea why this was her favorite, but I do know that she screamed bloody murder when it was time to move on.  She was obsessed.

Later that afternoon, we toured the historic Empress Hotel downtown. 

Then, we headed to dinner at Pagliacci's.  We were told about this place from one of the locals and it was definitely a popular destination - every table was full and there was a wait.  But, the food was amazing and thankfully, the place was bustling, so Ruby could "talk" as much and as loudly as she wanted.  I recommend this place to anyone visiting Victoria.

On our walk home, we stumbled upon a crazy street performer.

And Noa got pulled into the show.  Can you spot him in the pic below?

I'll admit, she wasn't very good.  But, at least she did this impressive move.  This was the one good trick she had.  Still, the show made for an interesting walk home.

The next day we took the morning ferry back to Poulsbo.  I could have easily stayed in Victoria for several more days.  The weather was amazing and there were still a lot of sights (and stores!) to see.  It would be fun to go back.  In the meantime, I have a few more photos to share from Carol and Megan's visit, but those will have to wait for another post.