Week 37

Size: ??

New things:  I feel like this week, especially, Ruth is really learning to try/copy what we do. It’s really been settling in my head that we have reached a whole new level of communication and fun! It’s amazing to think of the development that is taking place in her brain and body, and it’s so cool to think of all that she’s learning.

Ruth can say “dog” now…she says it in her own way, but she’s saying it. It’s not really “dog dog” like last week but just “dog”. Who would’ve guessed?

Ruth really is “sharing”, and she loves doing it. She’ll hold out a piece of what she’s eating for you to take or hold out a toy. The toy she usually wants back;), but the food you can keep and eat! She doesn’t always let go of her toy for you to take, but it’s a good start!!! It was interesting because not long before she started doing this on her own, I was thinking that we would need to start practicing the concept soon…perfect timing, Ruth!

Ruth is now “officially” crawling. She is not fast or necessarily graceful, but she can do it! It’s not her favorite thing, and I don’t think she realizes that it’s a really cool tool in her belt, but she’ll use it from time to time to get where she wants to go or to check something out. Give her timeJ. She started off this week with just a “bit” of crawling (a few moves of the knees) and progressed to more “crawling crawling”.

Ruth started working on her bottom left molar this week…this is the hardest teething experience she’s had yet. This time (as with a few others), a cold has accompanied the process…runny nose, a bit of a cough, some sneezing, maybe a slight fever. She’s not a fan of teether toys or frozen wet wash cloths. She likes her fingers (which is how I think I finally caught on that she was teething; then I took a feel in her mouth…which is always riskyJ…and I could feel it and see it!). Right now, it just looks like one big one is coming in. We’ll see…all other teeth have come in twos…

We have been practicing what to do with a baby because we will be meeting Ruth’s new baby cousin in just a few weeks. We pat the baby, rock the baby, kiss the baby, and say “Shhhh”…she’s not too interested in this activity, but it’s at least a start.

This is nothing new, but Ruth is SUPER good at finding the SMALLEST things on the floor. This is probably a  normal baby thing, but my goodness…she’s almost better than a vacuum cleaner!

Ruth stood for 15 seconds on her own this week!

Ruth likes feeding her daddy; she’s “sharing” with him, he eats what she’s sharing, and she just keeps going.

Fun things:  Ruth and I were playing on the bed this week, and I had a lid that I put on my mouth (I wa s laying down) and blew up in the air, and it flew up high. I was not expecting the reaction I got, but Ruth started cracking up. It caught me off guard, and I started laughing, too! It was funny that she thought it was funny, and it was fun to hear her giggle so hard. We repeated this for quite a while; the laughter eventually died down a bit, but it entertained her for quite awhile. I think this was the first time we’ve just shared a good laugh together…not me doing something to try to make her giggling or squeal but just something genuinely funny that made her laugh and then made me laugh! It was special and fun!

I took a blanket outside this week, and we just sat in the grass watching the vehicles drive by (which we all know Ruth LOVES) and played with the grass, etc.

Ruth and I went exploring with our housemate this week. She drove us to a couple nearby towns and gave us the “insider’s scoop” on everything. It was fun and helpful!!

I took Ruth on a little visit to see her heifers while Tom was out playing basketball one night. I think she was mesmerized and a little confused or amazed that they were right there…so close!

Ruthie loves: Our calendar time. Each day (I try for each day, at leastJ), we go over what day it is on the calendar. I use a pen to point to the day, month, year, and date, and when I do this, she usually grins and looks at me with delight. It’s funny, and I’m not sure why she likes it so much.

Closing my cell phone (yes, I still have a flip phoneJ), especially when I’m on the phone….which ends conversationsJ. She’s taking a liking to moving the pieces back and forth.

My workout DVD’s. I know I’ve put those on here before, but she still loves them. She just lights up when she wakes up from a nap, and I’m still doing one. I don’t know if it’s just the fact that it’s “TV” or what, but she really enjoys them!

Rise krispies cereal! I gave her some for the 1^st time this week. They’re great because I don’t have to break them in half or anything…small enough as they are!

Typing on our laptops! She loves the keyboards!

Still….teeth and tongues!! She’s so curious about them and enjoys trying to get them out!

Sleep: Still sleeping through the night! Occasionally, she’ll wake up here or there and fuss just a little (mainly in the morning) and then fall back asleep. Some mornings, she won’t go back to sleep.

We are definitely getting into more of a routine now! Ruth is napping twice a day now around the same time each day. Her naps don’t last the same amount of time each day, but that’s ok. It’s at least nice to be closer to a schedule (after getting off of hers after all of our travels).

Ruth started sleeping in her new big girl bed this week. She transitioned very smoothly…no issues.

Watermelon and sweet potato…both of which I believe she has had, but she devoured them this week and made a nice big mess in the processJ!

Tom and I: On Friday night, we headed to another nearby town to explore a little bit and ate a Mexican restaurant that had been recommended to us.

Saturday night, our housemates invited us to join them to dinner, so we all met up with some of their family at a local restaurant. That was our second time at that restaurant…probably our favorite thus far! We had a great time, and it was so nice to meet some of their family. Ruth quite enjoyed the cheesy hash browns that she ate that nightJ.

Thank you, Lord, for: Being able to communicate more and more with Ruth; it’s so much fun and such a neat stage of parenting!

That Tom has found some community basketball groups!