Week 46

Size: ??

New things: We now try not to say the word “milk” around Ruth. She’ll start signing it and want to nurse…whether it’s time for that or not.

It seems that this week, Ruth has been wanting to point to things more often than use her words or sign.

This week, her grandpa taught her how to strum her lips to make noise, and she was able to do it herself! It was fun to see her watch him and then try on her own! He also made a cool popping sound by putting one finger in his mouth. She wanted to be able to make the sound so badly herself, but it’s even hard for me to do it, let alone her. She tried though! She put her finger up to/in her mouth; it was so cute to watch her try!

We bought a little cabinet to put in the kitchen for a “pantry”. It’s right at Ruth’s level, so she can now open the doors and enjoys pulling the various items out of it. She just pulls out boxed and bagged goods, so I consider it pretty harmless and great for discovery! Plus, it helps give me time to do dishes or cook…ha!

Grandma and Grandpa brought some treats for Ruth, one of which was a toy tractor. Tom and I were both quite surprised that she knew how to play with it…she pushed it around and made an “engine” sound. I don’t know if she’s known how to do this for awhile but just hadn’t been given the opportunity (didn’t even think about it) or if she just caught on shortly after receiving it. It was so cute to watch here, though. We wish we would’ve thought to get her some cars, trucks, tractors, etc. before!

When wanting her “milk” or to nurse, Ruth can now point to me and sign “milk”. This has the potential to makes interesting!

Ruth has been tickling my toes this week and using a high pitched voice when she does so…I’m pretty sure she’s trying to imitate the noise I make when I say I’m “tickling” her. It’s so cute!

Ruth has been making attempts to “spit” after we brush her teeth. I don’t remember if I randomly asked her if she wanted to one day or if she did it on her own. I think she made a sound and pointed to the sink or something that led me to think that’s what she was trying to do. So now after teeth brushing, we hold her over the sink to let her “spit” which just involves her trying to make the spit sound…again, it’s cute!

Ruth is consistently “tricking” us with food. She seems to get what she’s doing. She’ll hold the food out for us to eat and then put it in her mouth and smile. Of course, we usually say, “hey, you just tricked me”. She thinks she’s hot stuff when she does this!

Ruth can “swipe” through the photos on her grandma’s smart phone…crazy! They learn too young…it feels a little frightening!

Ruth learned to kick the bathroom doorstop this week. I’ve mentioned she likes playing with it before but that has been with her hands. Now she knows how to use her feet to entertain herself with it, too!

This is kind of funny…Ruth has shown an interest in my sweat after I workout (when I workout right before she gets up from a nap). I think she notices it dripping down my face and on my clothes. I think she knows I’m “wet”. It’s interesting to see her reaction to it.

One of Ruth’s toys is a xylophone. She hasn’t been too fond of it in the past, but her liking toward it definitely grew this week. She grew from just enjoying “eating” the “stick” to getting quite the kick out of me pulling it around by the stick (which plays music) to enjoying playing it and being able to play it herself. It’s neat to see how her interest in a toy changed based upon her development. I really got her laughing by lying on my back and pulling the xylophone around through my legs and up above my head in circles and sometimes running it into her or her legs. She got a kick out of this!

Fun things: Tom’s parents were here for a visit this weekend! This was their first time to our new place, so it was so special to have them here! Friday night we tried out a local restaurant that Tom and I hadn’t been to yet (Ruth had with my parents…ha!). They are known for their steak sandwiches and boy were they AMAZING (each couple shared one because we also had pizza, but we definitely could’ve eaten our own they were so good!)! It was just nice to be over to catch up over a warm meal on a very cold and rainy evening. On Saturday, Tom and his dad did some errands in the morning while his mom and I worked on ordering some pictures and chatted while Ruth napped. After we ate lunch here, we went to a local cheese shop and to one of Tom’s farms (this was nice for me, too, as I hadn’t had an in depth tour either; Ruth enjoyed being able to stand in the back seat for the driving part of the tour and seeing all the tractors). We also drove to the lake and made a Walmart run. We had dinner at another local restaurant (one we had only been to for breakfast) and just visited after we returned home and put the baby to bed. On Sunday, we revisited one of the churches we’d been to, ate at home, and went to watch Tom play basketball. It was fun!

This week, Tom had a dentist appointment, so I took Ruth in for the beginning of it, so she could see the place and meet the people. They encourage that with little ones before they have an appointment of their own so that they become familiar with the dentist and the activities that take place there. I don’t think she really got what was going on, but she liked seeing everyone and all the cool stuff (like a stuffed dog) that they had there.

Ruth and I went to story/craft time at the library this week. It was fun! It was so cute to watch Ruth sit in a chair and listen with the other ‘big’ kids. It made her look so big. She’s definitely not able to sit the whole time or for much time, but we try. They also sang some songs after reading books. Once we were finished with the craft, Ruth and I hung around to play/pick out some books. Ruth played with a few other little kids there on her own. It was  so fun to watch her interact and really PLAY with them. She tried giving one little some blocks and crawled around and squealed with a little girl. I also made a friend with one of the moms during this time. We hope to continue going back to story time!  (We haven’t gone in the past because it’s been during nap time, but we made it work this week!)

Tom had to stay a little later than normal at work one night this week to help cover a cow feed pile. He asked if Ruth and I wanted to watch, so we did! I took her out in the stroller, and she loved it! It was so entertaining and stimulating for her. There were also pay loaders there which she also really loved. We just enjoy opportunities to be at the farm with Tom.

One of the owners of the farm (who represents the main group of owners) from New Mexico was here for a visit this week. We got to go out to dinner with him and the other vets/significant others to a very fancy restaurant one night. We got to dress up a bit and enjoy some wonderful company and amazing food. This restaurant was nuzzled in a VERY small town not too far from us. We were grateful to be a part of that and grateful we got to take Ruth as last minute babysitters when you’re new to an area is not easy (we found out when the dinner was the night before or something like that).

Ruth loves: CHEESE!!!!!!!!! LOVES IT!

Her counting book entitled “Counting”. It’s her new favorite! She wants to read it over and over again! Her favorite page is #8…the one with flowers as she loves smelling the flowers. She also likes the butterfly page because she can sign and say “butterfly”.

Her new bouncy ball from her grandparents!

Looking at pictures of tractors on her grandma’s phone…or more like one specific picture of her uncle riding a lawn mower that Ruth considered a tractorJ. Grandma later took some pictures of tractors to have on there, but I think she still preferred the original “tractor” picture.

Ruth LOVES her new tractor book from her grandpa. He also brought her some tractor pamphlets which she enjoyed, too!

Ruth had fun at Tom’s b-ball game this week. She wanted to go on the court to play with the ball. Tom took her out there for a bit. She was quite stimulated by all the movement and balls.

Ruth has an interactive play table that includes a bunch of activities. She loves the alligator head as it goes up and down, and she can fit some of her small balls in its mouth. That’s probably her favorite activity on that table.

She enjoys playing with my hand weights.

She still loves riding on her daddy’s shoulders and holding on to his ears!

Sleep: Ruth had some later nights this week due to our various activities, but she did well for us considering her "overtiredness". It was really easy for her to stay up when her grandparents were here because she was having so much fun. The night we went out to dinner with Tom’s work, she was struggling because it was way past bed time, and she was confined to a highchair. She made it though! Thank goodness we were eating…that kept her entertained well enough (at a few points in time, I was desperate to entertain her, so I gave her a clump of butter that came with the dinner rolls; I guess I thought she would eat a little at a time or dip her finger in, but she grabbed the entire clump and shoved it in her mouth…oh well…at least it kept her happy for a moment). She was flexible on Saturday as we kept her out past her afternoon cat nap. Thankfully, she was able to fall asleep in the car for a bit.

Tom and I: On Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa watched Ruth, and we went out for a coffee date! It was such a nice treat! We also went to check out the new war memorial in town which was really cool.

Ruth and I went to pick up my pie pan, etc. (since we weren’t able to stay for the competition this last weekend), and to my surprise, on top of my dish was an envelope that said “2^nd place”…what? Woohoo! I was glad to participate whether I received a prize or not, but it sure was fun and more worth the time and effort (especially with a little one) to place! Just a fun way for me to get involved in a way that I enjoy and a way to get the Cully name out there (connected to sweets…how appropriate)...ha ha!

Thank you, Lord, for: A fun and eventful week! It was fun to have things to look forward to and to have family come to visit! We so enjoyed our time with Grandma and Grandpa Cully! We’re so grateful we’re only a drive rather than a flight away!