Week 43

Size: ??

New things: Ruth started walking on 8/19/14!!! She went from holding onto a chair to me and took quite a few steps. Then, later in the evening when Tom was home, she walked a few steps from me to Tom! In the past, when we’ve practiced walking, she would take a few steps but usually was so exciting that she would just throw herself or basically run between the two of us. This time, her steps were much more intentional and well-balanced. You could tell she was concentrating. It was so precious. It made her look like such a big girl!

Here and there, I’ve been singing the “Hokie Pokie” to Ruth while getting her dressed. Now, when I say “shake it all about”, she’ll shake her arms (even before we get to that part because she knows its coming). Then when I get to the “do the Hokie Pokie and turn yourself about”, she’ll put her finger up (because that’s what I do) and then clap when I get to the end (because that’s what I do)! It’s cute. Since she’s not always the most fond of getting dressed (or being on her back on her changing table), it’s a fun way to distract her and make the experience more enjoyable for both of us!

Ruth can say and sign “butterfly” now. We were outside one day and saw a butterfly, and she said it and signed it…I didn’t teach her that. I asked my mom if she had taught her while they were here…YES! She had!!

Ruth learned to bounce her bouncy ball this week. She LOVES doing it! We bounced it on our hard wood floors which seems better than carpet and makes lots of noise. She’ll bounce it and then bounce her body up and down with it.

Ruth can now sign “thank you” and “please”. Please doesn’t exactly look like the “real” sign, but I see where she gets her version, and she consistently does the same thing for it.

They learn this concept young….when passing gas, she will look at me like she did something ornery, try to do it again, or burp because she knows it’s funny. I was not expecting that at this age.
Ruth is saying "Amber" more instead of "dog" for our housemate's dog. 
Ruth seems to be little more picky about her food this week. She still eats everything, but she definitely has been wanting her favorites. I've noticed over time, too, that if you ignore her for a bit, walk away (like into the kitchen), or start cleaning her up, that she'll start to eat more of her food. It's interesting...
I hope this is not a new habit but just something for this week!
When we're in the bathroom, she'll see her weather cards hanging up on the fridge through the mirror, and she'll start saying "weather". It's interesting the things they pick up on and learn without being taught!
While Ruth is swinging, I've started turning around and telling her "not to get me". Once she bumps me, I turn around toward her and say something like "hey, you got  me!". She almost immediately will signal for me to turn around again. She puts her finger up and moves her hand around. She could do this again and again and again. She enjoys this game. 
Ruth started making the "T" sound this week...just the "T" sound. She'll just go "T", "T", "T". 
Ruth will open her mouth signaling that she wants "her dog" to give her a kiss (don't worry, we don't encourage this, but sometimes the dog will give her kisses before we can really get her away). Ruth seems to like it sometimes but doesn't at the same time. It's just interesting because she knows what the dog does and even though she doesn't always like it, she does at the same time because she's asking for it. 
Ruth has been noticing our shadows more! I've taught her to wave at them, so she'll do just that! She even seems to know where to look if you say, "where are our shadows?". 

Fun things: We went to play at the library this week…the day they have all the toys out!

We tried on the ring that her Grandma Cully got for her! This was our second time getting it out and going through her memory box. This time, it fit much better. She was very interested in it and looked at it just like you would picture a little girl looking at her pretty ring.

We took a family date to a new park this week (the one our friend introduced us to last week). It was fun! It’s a great park!

We’ve been playing with stickers a lot more recently. She likes picking them out and trying to eat them before having me help her put them on the paper:).
Tom's work had a company picnic on Friday night at a local park. They had food, bouncy houses, ice cream, and volleyball and basketball. It was fun! Ruth and I got to meet lots of people and their families which was so special and much anticipated. It was a fun evening out, and of course, Ruth loved being around all the people! One of her little elementary friends and a friend of his played with her quite a bit. They adore her. I would show them one of Ruth's "tricks", and then they would try to get her to do it. It was funny!
Sunday was our housemate's birthday, so we went down there in the afternoon for cake and ice cream. We got to see/meet some of their family (some we had already met), gave him the card we made (we all played a part), and just enjoyed celebrating with them. Ruth enjoyed the dog, exploring, and the people!

Ruth loves: Mooing like a cow! If you ask her, “what sound does a cow make?”, she’ll “moooo” for you! It’s adorable. I think she especially likes doing this with her daddy because he’s really good at making cow soundsJ!

Her Little People bubble book that includes a tractor and wagon on one of the pages. She’ll go right to the page and point out the tractor. She LOVES the tractor page! She gets so excited for you to read the book. It’s so cute! She can say “wagon” now, too.
Ruth loves playing in the fridge! If I open it to get something out, she makes her way over to it and starts trying to get things out...her favorite is the yogurt. She's really been enjoying this activity. 
Ruth still LOVES her "rabbit" and "tractor" books. She even says "rabbit" now for her rabbit book. 

Sleep: Must be going ok because I don’t have any notes:).

Tom and I: Tried another new church this week.

Went out to dinner for a date…with our daughter…but still, it was nice to go out! I had the best burger I've had in a long time! We tried a few burgers while in NY (ones that claimed they were the best), but this one surpassed them all. It had the taste of the smell that I craved while pregnant. I just had to put a shout out to it on here! It was that good!

Thank you, Lord, for: The joys of parenting…getting to experience Ruth walking, getting excited about tractors, learning to bounce a ball. We enjoy every day!