Babies! Babies! Babies!

Looking through my pictures recently, I realized that babies seem to be be everywhere lately.  Probably because well, we have one, and a lot of our friends have 'em too.  It's a fun stage of life, especially when we get all our babies together.  Here are just some of the babies we've hung out with lately:

Ruby and Brady donning their monkey pjs (check out the feet!):

Just getting up from a nap:

Showing their Patriots pride:

Amy and Ben, me and Rubes, and Jess and Brady in Port Townsend, WA:

Babies: Ruby, Brady, and Valentina

Moms: Me, Jess, and Franchi

And the babies without the moms....Brady is not too happy since he had to have a major diaper change right before this picture was taken.

A couple of photos of fellow Navy moms and their babies at Jim Creek Recreation Facility:

And, yes, Ruby looks kinda upset in the last photo.  She was not in the mood for a group photo.  There's always one in the group and this time it had to be her.

After looking at these pics, I'm reminded of how much I love all my mama friends.  I don't know how I would have survived this first year of motherhood without them.  And really, they all make such CUTE babies!  Wouldn't you agree?

10 Months!

Ruby turned 10 months old this past Sunday.  I am completely amazed by how quickly she is changing and developing into a little person.  Before I get into specifics, here are her current stats:

Age: 10 months

Weight: about 16 pounds

Length: 28 inches

Sleep: sleeps in her crib, 2 daytime naps, has recently slept THREE nights in a row without waking up...fingers crossed that this is it for nighttime wakings!

Eating: formula in bottles, pureed foods, lots of finger foods 

Appearance: blue eyes, light blond hair that tends to stick up and look like she has a permanent bedhead, wearing 6 - 9 month clothes, 6 teeth (2 bottom, 4 top)

Skills: can sit, roll, pull to a stand, crawl, starting to cruise (move from one piece of furniture to the next while standing), expresses lots of baby babble, repeat dada and some other sounds, has basic pincer grasp, grabs toys and passes from hand to hand, can "catch" a ball that is rolled to her, "dances" to music, responds to the dogs, gives good eye contact and smiles!  She can also throw a mean tantrum, complete with arched back and wailing cry.

This month I waited until Noa was available to help take the monthly photo, but we still had trouble keeping Ruby still - even momentarily - for the shot.  She continues to love her newfound freedom and is constantly getting into everything.  Her new obsession is the cable box and DVD player.  We now have to block it with furniture in order to keep her away from them and their alluring buttons.

Thankfully, Jess was visiting recently and took some great photos of Ruby that are perfect for her 10 month blog post.  This first one is one of my favorites:

Although she's not smiling here, I think she looks pretty adorable.

Look at all those teeth!

Ruby sitting in the stroller; I just adore those beautiful eyes.

Now, some less-professional pics.  She loves her new activity table.  It plays a bajillion songs (which I can now recite perfectly), identifies colors, shapes, numbers, and some Spanish words. Of course, Ruby's favorite part is the plastic phone that is just a rattle (it's laying on the floor in the photo below).

But, if she gets bored with her toys, the plastic food containers can be pretty entertaining in a pinch!

She still loves her thumbs.  Oftentimes, she'll try to put both thumbs or hands in her mouth.  She's learning to wave and I've even caught her waving with the same hand that has a thumb in her mouth.  I bet this will be a tough habit to break when she's older, but for now, it's just cute.

One of my favorite things that I've noticed this month is the development of her humorous side.  She has learned that her actions can cause people to laugh.  So, she'll do things in order to get us to laugh or joke with her.  She might see something tempting across the room (like, the dog bowls, for instance) and make a bee-line for them, while laughing and huffing with excitement.  When we pick her up in the midst of this crawling sprint, she'll laugh or squeal.  When we feed her, she'll bite on the spoon and then give a mischievous smile, waiting for us to laugh along with her.  Often, Ruby will giggle and squeal while excitedly jumping in her jumperoo.  It's all pretty cute, but I fear that she'll inherit her parents' corny humor over time.

Eating is also another area where Ruby has made major improvements.  She is still getting bottles and purees, but her finger food intake has vastly increased.  She can pinch small pieces with the pincer grasp (thumb and index finger) and is able to get most of the food in her mouth.  She loves rice, chicken, banana, and cheese.  She is working on keeping the pureed food in her mouth and sometimes she'll grab the spoon, full of food, before it reaches her mouth, but overall, her eating habit have gotten better.

Her least favorite thing is getting ready for bed.  That's usually when she is tired, hungry (for a bottle), and just done with the day.  It's usually a fight to get her changed, dressed, and into a sleep sack.  But, once we have finally gotten all those things checked off, she is able to fall asleep pretty quickly.  

Sometimes she'll even fall asleep in our arms and that is simply a perfect moment in time.

Summertime in New Hampshire

Our late summer vacation plans included a week-long trip to New Hampshire to spend time with family and friends.  It was Ruby's first time in New England and our first time traveling to the east coast with her.  We took a gamble on our flight out there: booking a red-eye flight after Noa had worked an overnight shift at the hospital and I was recovering from a 24-hour bug.  Thankfully, she did beautifully, sleeping most of the flight, which meant we were able to rest a bit as well.  After a day of rest, we started the many rounds of visiting some of the important people in our lives.

Papa met Ruby for the first time.  She was smitten with him.  When he talked she would turn to look at him and smile.

In truth, they made each other smile.

Kristin, who I've known since high school, brought her little one, Adam, to her mom's house for a little playdate with Ruby.  It was great to catch up with them and watch the antics of the kiddos.  At one point, Ruby climbed into Cindy's (Kristin's mom) lap.  Adam, knowing that was his spot, climbed on too for story time.

Adam is super cute.  His name for Ruby is "baby Uby."

It's hard to believe we both used to be crazy high school kids and now we are responsible moms.  Well, we at least pretend to be responsible...

 Our friends from college: Marc, Vanessa, and their sweet kids...we had a great time visiting with them at the pool.  I wish we could see them more than once a year.

We spent most of the time hanging out in the pool with every floaty imaginable.

Family...we saw lots of family.  The pool gathering was actually at my Uncle Dan and Aunt Toni's house.  We got to catch up with my dad's side of the family - who we see very infrequently - so it was good to reconnect.  As you can see, we're pretty much your typical, normal, extended family...

...well, normal may be a bit of an exaggeration.

Ruby liked the pool.  She didn't seem afraid of the water.

She was, however, skeptical about all the attention directed at her - notice the constant thumb-sucking....

...with daddy...

...my Aunt Toni...

....with Vanessa...

...and by herself.

It was a lot for her to take in.  Still, I think she had a fun day exploring the water and meeting new people.  It was good practice since we had a SECOND pool party the following day.  The second pool party was also with "family."  Okay, technically we aren't blood relatives with them, but just about all the people there have been a part of my life since I was a little one.

Some of the "kids": Pete, Cristyn, me, and Anoli - we'll always be the kids no matter how old we get.

Chuck and Nancy with the newest member of the family.  Baby Caleb is super cute!

The ladies (all the moms), and my dad, enjoying the hot tub. 

The family, post swim.  Ruby is still trying to get that thumb in her mouth.

In addition to visiting with family and friends, we tried to give Ruby lots of playtime and especially playtime with the grandparents.  She loves her Oma and Opa, especially when they give her fun things to look at and play with, like leaves....

...new toys to explore...

...measuring spoons....

...or sometimes, the thumb just happens to find it's way back.

And let's not forget Auntie Anoli.  She was definitely a fave and could make Ruby burst out into giggles. 

Other activities included bike rides (on dad's motorcycle), a trip to King Kone, shopping at the new Merrimack Premium Outlets, eating gourmet cupcakes, and catching a movie.  The week flew by and before we knew it, we were headed back to Washington, planning the next family visit.

Belated: 9 Months!

Ruby turned 9 months old back in mid-August, but I am so behind on blogging that I'm just getting to it now!  Thankfully, I did take the photos back on her 9-month birthday, it was just the post that didn't get done on time.  So, again...let's rewind, shall we?  Oh, and you may remember that each month I take her picture in a 12-month onesie.  It doesn't fit yet, but it's getting closer!  I actually put her in it tonight for bed and had to roll the sleeves since they were so long, so the picture is a little misleading.

Age: 9 months

Weight: still not yet 15 pounds (weighed at home)

Length: 27 inches

Sleep: sleeps in her crib, wakes 1 - 2 times a night; typically takes 2 naps each day

Eating: formula, some breastfeeding, 6 - 8 oz of solids a day, still eating infant cereal mixed with solids, likes Mum-Mum rice crackers, Gerber puffs, Arrowroot cookies, cut up pasta, and quinoa 

Appearance: blue eyes, light blond hair, wearing 6 - 9 month clothes, 6 teeth (2 bottom, 4 top)

Skills: can sit, roll, pull to a stand, crawl (very, very good at this!), babble, repeat dada and some other sounds, has basic pincer grasp, grabs toys and passes from hand to hand, "dances" to music, gives good eye contact and smiles!

At 9 months old, Ruby is on the go!  She is ALWAYS moving.  She rolls, crawl, scoots, and can even pull herself up on furniture.  In fact, it was really hard to take her photos by myself since she kept moving!  Plus, she started to get really interested in the camera (or anything else she's NOT supposed to have, like shoes, the dog dishes, the fireplace, paper....).

See what I mean?  It's blurry because she was GOING.

I ended up with a lot of backside shots since she wouldn't stay still.  Ruby loves crawling over to the sliding glass doors and planting her mouth right on the glass.  Needless to say, the windows are getting cleaned a lot more often than pre-Ruby.

She is now sporting a total of SIX teeth, since the top four are poking their way through.  Teething still isn't fun, but her teeth are awfully cute.

She still sucks her thumb....

And gives a very pensive look when she's trying to figure out something.

When Ruby is concentrating, she'll babble and/or make these monotone sounds.  She can be very focused on a task, although if something doesn't go her way, she can get easily frustrated (sounds like her mama!) and will let me know right away.

Her eyes are still very, very blue.  They slay me every time.

Wherever Ruby is in the house, you'll find me.  

Wherever you find me, you'll find Gunnar.  

He continues to be my shadow, but is wonderful with Ruby (she's finally outgrowing him as you can see from the picture below).  I think the two of them will become good buddies as she gets older.  She is actually quite gentle with the dogs and has only reached for their tails and ears a few times.  When she does, she is so careful and slow.  It's like watching her in slow motion.  I'm always right there when she tries to touch the dogs.  Both Noa and I are working on teaching her to pet their backs instead.  We're still working on that one.  She just can't resist those floppy ears!

Ruby Joy has grown so much just in one month, it's alarming how quickly she is changing and learning new things.  Ten months is right around the corner!