Week 32

Size: Nothing on her physical size this week, but I have noticed, Ruth is getting more hair. It’s definitely still lighter than it was when she was little, but she is getting more in!

New things: Ruth can sign “more” now. It’s not every time she wants something, but she confirmed it for me in the car this week. I think I was giving her drinks of water from my water bottle, and after she would take a drink, she would keep signing “more”. Sometimes, it’s hard to determine between “more” and clapping, but we try!

With each week, Ruth is waving “hi” and “bye” more often, more regularly, and more on cue. It’s so much fun! Now, when she waves “hi”, it actually sounds like she’s saying a long drawn out “hiiiiiii”. It’s so cute. It’s probably not the case, but it makes people’s interactions with her even more fun, and it’s a way to help teach her words!

Ruth started making a blowing sound/noise this week. She presses her lips together and crinkles her face a little. It's super cute (note the picture of her doing this below:)). It's almost like a trumpeting elephant sound...in a little baby kind of way:). 

Ruth started “smacking” this week when eating…not the gross inappropriate kind, but it sounds like she’s thoroughly enjoying her food. Sometimes, she can get really into it. It’s not something she does for attention. She’s just usually in her own little world, eating away, and loving each bite!

Ruth started eating “snacks” this week…Little Puffs to be exact, and she LOVES them! I’ll just give her some in her high chair while I’m getting a meal ready. She doesn’t get them all to her mouth (I usually have to go fishing for a few in her high chair), but she does a good job! It’s good practice. We also have to make sure we shake her off before getting out of her high chair…as some still manage to stick to her!

Ruth has been turning over her puzzles this week. I can’t remember if this is with or without the pieces on. Either way, it’s just funny to watch her do such a thing since puzzle boards are a little bigger than other toys that she just holds in one hand.

Fun things:  We went on our little vacation this week! It was WONDERFUL! We were gone for about 4 days (not unpacked yetJ) and since we went in early June, we basically had the whole resort and town to ourselves (not really but seemed like it at times). It was so nice! We went to a couple state parks, bakeries, shops, restaurants, ice cream places, farmers’ markets, etc. We drove along the peninsula’s (vacationed in Door County) coast checking out the different towns. Ruth got to put her feet in Lake Michigan and touch sand for the first time.

Ruthie loves: Dropping her toys between her seat and the door of the van. I’m not sure if she gets what she’s doing, and therefore, does it on purpose or if that just happens to be where she goes to let go of her toys. This happens all the time, so I’ve started calling this area the “abyss”.

Ruth LOVES her book “Thank you, God”. She loved it for a long time but recently, when I’m up front and she’s in back, I’ll just start reciting it to her, and it seems to calm her down/entertain her if she’s fussy or tired.  (Yes, I have it memorizedJ).

Ruth loves the song, “If You’re Happy and you Know It”. We’ve been singing that song a lot this weekJ. Sometimes, I’ll try to come up with a new version, but nothing beats the original…especially when you know how to clapJ. This song also keeps her entertained in the car if she’s fussy or tired.

Ruth has also been enjoying another car ride game. I’ll put one of her toys on the headrest on the seat she’s facing and then let go of it so that it’ll fall down into her seat. This has provided quite the entertainment for her on more than one occasion…oh, the small things in life!

Ruth LOVES her little blue rubber penguin toy. She has other toys that are the same material, just different animals, but she favors the penguin. In fact, on vacation, we took a few of her rubber bath toys into the pool. Tom lined them up on the side of the pool and asked Ruth which one her favorite was….the penguin came out on top almost every time! We got a good laugh out of it!

Ruth also has a newfound love for the windshield wiper control lever on our van…ha! When at the wheel “driving” this week, she discovered it, enjoyed that it made the fluid squirt and the wipers go and kept returning to do it again and again. We finally had to limit herJ. Tom put his arm over the steering wheel to block her from reaching it; she tried all sorts of maneuvering to still get to it. She really liked doing that!

(A side story from when she was at the wheel [P.S. We were parked.J]…she must have been right up against the wheel at one point because every time Tom pushed her back, the horn would sound. We got some really good laughs out of that!)

Sleep: Ruth is waking up 2x a night…we’re ready to do something about itJ.

Tom and I: Once back from our vacation, we continued to clean, unpack, and get settled in. We went grocery shopping for the first time, and we got our stove this week, too (had to provide our own appliances; got the fridge last week). We visited a church for the first time on Sunday.

Wisconsin in a nut shell (at least our area): Brats (Johnsonville is not that far from here), bars (you go to bars rather than restaurants), alcohol (the gas stations are stocked and even Aldi carries some!); supper clubs (still trying to figure out what these are); accents (I was thinking this was more of a Minnesota thing…not the case!); Lutheran and Catholic churches;  and “fireman” things…firemen picnics and parades and parks (the firemen here are very busyJ). I’m sure there’s lots more to discover, but these are the highlights that come to mind so far!

Why not cheese you may ask…it seems among the locals it’s not as big of a hype (to me at least) as it is to outsiders…

Thank you, Lord, for: A wonderful vacation as a family! Walmart! Appliances!