Week 41

Size:  Ruth had her 9 month check-up this week. She’s happy and healthy. She weighs 18 lb. 10 oz. and is 28 ¼ inches long. Both of these are around the 50^th percentile for height and weight. Her head is around the 80^th percentile. Grateful for a good check-up!  She was quite curious about everything they were doing but did a great job as they checked her out. She got a little giggly when he had to feel her tummy…ticklishJ.

New things:  In addition to her hands, Ruth can now identify her feet, teeth, and nose (by sniffing) when you ask her where they are. I didn’t even really know she knew these until I just randomly asked her, and she started showing me. The nose, especially, caught me off guard because she started sniffing, and I was not expecting that connection. It’s so interesting to me because it helps show how they learn. We don’t spend hours practicing learning where our body parts are, but somehow she picked up on these from “life”.  So cool!

Ruth started saying “boo” this week when we play peek-a-boo. I hide one of us and say “boo”, and she would repeat or say it herself.

Ruth can sign “water” now…her version, but she can do it! It’s super cute.

Our housemate taught Ruth how to kiss this week. In the past, Ruth’s kisses just involved putting her mouth or open mouth to your check, but she taught her to put her lips together and make the “smooching” noise. She was holding her one day when we were talking, and Ruth got quiet and was very focused and intent on watching her. Then she started trying to “kiss”, and it was so cute to watch. Her lips looked like a fish but crooked. Sometimes her teeth stick out, too. But she can do it, and now associates the sound with the dog. I think she also uses it as a way to call the dog or as a whistling sound perhaps. Not sure of its exact meaning(s) to her, but it’s so cute to watch her do it, and it’s just another form of communicating for her.

Ruth also learned where her tongue is this week! If she ask her “where’s your tongue?”, she sticks it out and moves it around. J

Ruth started saying “book” this week. She’ll look at her books and say the word, of if you ask her where they are, she’ll look right at them. We went to the library this week, and Ruth was quite intrigued by ALL the books. Now that she can say the word, she was amazed at how many books there were all overJ! I think the library had a whole new meaning to her this week!

Ruth follows me (by crawling) most places. Where I am, there you will probably find Ruth. I remember people saying that I’d soon have a little shadow. It’s trueJ. It’s also cool because if I go into another room and or across the room and say “come over here”, she will leave where she is and come to where I am!!

One of our family activities is to have Ruth walk back and forth between the two of us while holding our hands. This week, we tried without hands, and she was able to take more than one step. Most of the time, she was so excited that she just ran and fell forward, but a few times she was able to “walk”. It was so precious as she seems too little to be walking. It just made her look like a big girl.

Ruth is back to playing on her own more often now. Teething made her a bit clingy, but this week she went back to more of her normal wanting to be with me at times and having fun playing alone at times.

Ruth used Tom to push herself up to a standing without holding onto anything position. Woohoo! Go, Ruth!

When Tom goes to get Ruth, she’ll hurry over to me. Even if she thinks Tom might get her (or if she wants him to get her as it seems), she’ll start to squeal and hurry over to me; it’s so cute. She gets this way particularly more so when she’s tired and a little slap happyJ.

In the past, Ruth has been quite intrigued with the vacuum cleaner and hasn’t minded it. This week, Tom went to vacuum, and Ruth started making a new “scared” sound that that was unfamiliar to me. We reintroduced her to the vacuum cleaner…touching it, encouraging her to touch it, and held her while vacuuming, and she was just fine. She’s still completely intrigued and curious about it and may even like it, but perhaps she also has a healthy respect toward it.

Ruth is saying/trying all sorts of words. She has her own version of “phone”, and she can put Tom’s old cell phone up to her ear (it’s cute)! She can also say bowl and Ruth (again, her versions).  

Ruth can see the smallest anything on the floor to pick up, when she does, if I say “give it to Mommy”, she will give it to me pretty consistently without putting it in her mouth first. I have to be quick, though, and catch her right away; otherwise, she’s already processed in her brain that she wants to eat it.

I realized the other day that while nursing, Ruth isn’t pulling at her hair as much as she used to. She still does it a little just not as frequently.

Ruth learned how to take the lid off her snack container with her teeth this week:), and she rather love being able to do so.

We brought back Ruth’s bookshelf from IN and finally unpacked all her books! I gave her a few to look at/play with, and she was in heaven! It was a whole new baby looking at them this time around, and they had a whole new meaning to her. It was so fun to watch her look at them and to process all the changes since we last looked at those books (before moving).

Ruth knows how to open the cupboard doors now and can get to my pots and bowls. We’ve reached a new phase of parenting again.

Fun things:  We brought back a plastic infant swing with us from my mom and hung it out this week. Ruth LOVES it, and it made hanging laundry much easier!! Maybe it’s taking her back to her yester-years of her baby swing!

We used to sing the ABC’s while we brushed Ruth’s teeth, but she was not been interested in brushing her teeth in recent weeks, so Tom switched it up to the Veggie Tales theme song, and she seems to be responding much better. J

While visiting our housemates one afternoon this week, Ruth discovered soil in one of their potted plants and was quite interested in it. She kept trying to crawl back to it and was willing to work around obstacles to do soJ. She also discovered the dog food. I told her it was “eyes only”, and sometimes, I would have to take her away from it, she got her hand in it once or twice, and a few other times, she would get close to it and hover her hand over it  but not touch it, knowing it was off limits…there little minds are just working over time. It’s amazing to think of what’s going on in there!

One time this week, when Ruth was playing in her own little word, she would sit with her legs spread and use her hands to “rake” the floor. She did quite a few times. No idea what she was doing, but she was having fun! It was fun to watch her.

We went to a steam engine show this week. Ruth was in heaven with all the tractors (real and toy) and machines, and people! We watched some tractors plow (she enjoyed waving to them); we watched a steam engine power chopping wood; we walked around and looked at all the toys and stands; we got lunch and then had some kettle corn as a treat (which she also enjoyed; her first time eating popcorn); and just enjoy the afternoon as a family. In the toy area, there were a few toy farm displays set up, and we pointed out all the things Ruth sees on an almost daily basis – tractors, trucks, cows, hay, etc. I think her little mind was spinning taking it all in as those words/items have meaning to her now. They weren’t just something to look at. We also saw some people we know there! Woohoo! Getting more localized by the weekJ. We had a fun as a family!

Ruth loves: North Carolina style BBQ pulled pork.

“Sauces”…she had some BBQ sauce this week, and loved it. We also gave her a little raspberry vinaigrette on her high chair tray to try, and she loved it. We tried showing her that she could dip her “salad” (spinach) into it, but she preferred to use her fingersJ.

Also, this is kind of interesting. I learned this week that when she sees me eating carrots, I think she associates them with eating hummus. She saw me eating some this week and wanted them, but she can’t have them herself yet. I didn’t have hummus, so I dipped them in BBQ (we were having pulled pork) and gave that to her. She loved it, and that was enough to satisfy her.

Her swing!

Our salt and pepper shakers. I will give her spice containers to play with while I’m in the kitchen and have taught her to shake them. Well, she has discovered that she can get something out of the salt and pepper containers (gets a little taste) and loves playing with them. In fact, she doesn’t really care for any of the other “shakers” as we now call them, has refused them, and will point at the salt and pepper. If we’re in the kitchen, she’ll just randomly point to the “shaker” section signifying what she wants.

Sleep: This week, Ruth learned that she doesn’t have to stay lying down in bed once she wakes upJ. When I would go to get her out of bed, I would find her on her knees holding onto the handle bars of her crib. It’s kind of really cute!

Ruth has been sleeping in about a half hour later than normal this week (maybe recooperating from our travels??). She’ll wake up before then but fall back asleep. It’s been nice!

Ruth has been waking up during her afternoon nap but falling back asleep, thankfully.

Tom and I: We went to another new church this week and enjoyed it. A fun story…one of the pastors, while leading the music, was using his hand to conduct. We noticed Ruth was waving to him and realized she thought his conducting was him waving to her. We both started chuckling; it was so funny!

I worked on unpacking, setting up, organizing some of the items we brought back with us from our parents'. 

Thank you, Lord, for: That Ruth has been physically well for 9 whole months. We’re so thankful for her health and safety. Communication! It’s so much fun!!