Month 13

Notes on Month 13:

Tom's parents left the day after Ruth's birthday and got to have some good playtime before they headed out. They were building things with some of Ruth's new blocks, and when Ruth headed toward the blocks to knock them down, Grandma would say something like, "Hey,  no, no, no" to stop her before she knocked them down. Well, Ruth thought this was hilarious!!! She would just start cracking up if they said it. She started saying it herself, too. If she got close to it, she would start saying "no, no, no, no", and then they would say it to be funny, and she would just laugh and laugh. We were all laughing! It was so fun to watch!

While eating breakfast the same morning as above, Ruth counted for the 1st time! She counted her Cheerios, "one, two...". Grandma and I just looked at each other wondering if she really just counted or if it was a fluke. She did it again to confirm!! We couldn't believe it as we weren't expecting it! That evening I told Tom she could count to 2. Then a bit later, we showed him. He was shocked, too! I guess he wasn't convinced when I had told him earlier:). At least I had Grandma to back me up:).
Ruth soon added 3...with is a high-pitched sounding 3. It must be how I count with her. It's cute!

Ruth slept until 8 a.m. two days this week (not her norm)...maybe that will continue?!?

Ruth was up again for about 3 hours one night. Not sure why this has happened a few times recently. Nothing really seems to be wrong. Maybe it's a one-year thing!?! Hoping it is short-lived.

Ruth is so much more snuggly (she has been for a while now). We love it!

Ruth had her 1 year doctor appointment. She's a healthy little girl! She received 3 shots...she did not enjoy them at all. She got a Popsicle afterward and really enjoyed it. I think maybe even enough to get another shot.

At her 1-year appointment, Ruth weighed 21 lb. and was 30.25 in.

Ruth started "combing" her own hair. She loves combing it and enjoys doing it all by herself!

Ruth is officially weaned...probably the hardest transition as a mother yet, but we did it!

Ruth now "woofs" for the word "dog". She's never made the dog sound before.

Ruth has started dropping things and saying "ut-oh"; she's doing it consistently and intentionally:).

My aunt got Ruth some fluoride-free toothpaste that we started using with her. (I don't think I realized that they make it) She really likes it (of course), and I think it had helped teeth brushing to go a bit better (we hit a rough patch there for awhile).

We joined some of our friends for trick-or-treating (Ruth wore her cow costume; shocker that our daughter dressed up as a cow...right?), and despite the fact that it was freezing, Ruth had fun! She was able to say "trick-or-treat" (in her own way, of course, but it did sound like it). She loved and wanted all the candy! Our library opened their doors after trick-or-treating for a little party. They had games and projects and snacks and hot cocoa. It was a great little party and a great idea. Ruth enjoyed the snacks (so did I):). Thankfully, we didn't get a ton of candy (we arrived late due to a long nap that afternoon) which was great because it was just enough for it to be a treat for a few days, and then it was gone.

Ruth did well in the nursery early this month (she's struggled more this summer/fall in the nursery; she used to really love the nursery, but since moving she has done more crying than before...I'm sure visiting new churches, new faces, being older and understanding more, separation anxiety, etc. have all been factors in this) Anyway, so grateful for a good visit!! She even snuggled with them!

Ruth LOVES LOVES LOVES peanut butter! I only try to give it to her once a day, but she would eat it all day every day, I think, if we would let her!

LOVES LOVES LOVES the vacuum cleaner! She gets super excited when she sees it...points, makes squealing noises, wants me to use it. It's quite entertaining. In fact, this week, we were at a nursing home, and Ruth spotted a vacuum on a couple of occasions on her own, and she wanted to stay with it. She started waving and saying "hi" to it...she just LOVES vacuums!!

Good-bye swaddle cloth! We were still swaddling Ruth until this week (with arms out, of course:)). We were using it as a "signal" for sleep time and as warmth/comfort. She transitioned to a blanket aok and likes being "snuggled" up in it for bed.

Some of our friends dropped by this week to give Ruth her birthday present. She lit up as soon as they got here and started showing them all of her toys. It was precious and so fun to watch her.

Teething! Not sure what # this is, but she has not been herself.

Ruth is saying "Mama" and "Dada" frequently when she wakes up from sleeping:). It's special!

Ruth LOVES LOVES LOVES Sid the Sloth Shuffle on YouTube. She got so excited about it this week that she almost started to cry!

Ruth is now shaking her head to communicate "yes" more often (she has been for awhile, but it stands out now).

Fun Ruth story: Tom and I were finishing up dinner/talking (Ruth was finished and was let down to play). After awhile, we heard "mmmmmm" "mmmmmmm" "mmmmmmm"...a good sign that something interesting is going on. I quietly sneaked over to where the "mmmmmm" was coming from and had to chuckle within and hold back laughter as I took in the scene below. Ruth was at the opposite end of the table, sitting on the floor with a container that I sent to work with Tom with leftover birthday cupcakes to share. She had discovered it on her own (Tom had temporarily set it down by his backpack when we got home).There was frosting on the outside of the container (particularly the lid), and Ruth was sucking the frosting off of it and very much enjoying it. After she devoured one section, she'd move the container around until she found another clump of frosting. The bottom part of the container was clear, and through it, you could see globs of leftover frosting that had fallen from the cupcakes. You could tell her little brain was trying so hard to figure out how to get to that frosting. She was in her own little happy world. I motioned for Tom to come, and we just stood over her (quietly) watching for awhile and exchanging smiles and chuckles. Unfortunately, my camera was in my purse hanging right beside her, so we couldn't capture the moment (it would have distracted her anyway), but it will probably forever be a priceless memory in our minds as parents. At least she wasn't eating Tom's work boots or something!

Ruth loves going "bye bye" (even if it's just going downstairs to do laundry:)). She is eager to head to the door, knows she needs her coat, and willingly lets you put it on her. She likes going down the stairs (we have to go down stairs to get outside). If I'm remembering correctly, she'll even just go to the door sometimes and say something like "down"...and doesn't always get why we can't just leave whenever she wants.
She doesn't always get as excited to actually get in the van, though:).

Ruth consistently (almost daily) goes over to our shoe mat and asks me to help her put Tom and I's shoes on. It's cute!

Ruth loves trying to flush the toilet. She's not quite strong enough at this point. Her interest in the toilet in general is definitely increasing:). This can be a good thing in some ways, but it can also cause some new challenges as well:).

At one point during our bedtime routine, we sing a certain song to Ruth each night. At that point we also have a flash light on, and we have been making shadows on the ceiling with our hands. Ruth really enjoys this, and it's become a new part of our routine.

Ruth loves her new plastic whisk that she got for her birthday (it came with a little baking set from one of my aunts). Not sure why this kitchen tool in particular tickles her fancy, but she really likes it!

Ruth loves an elephant book we got from the library. We have read it LOTS!!! It's a book about weather (which she also enjoys), but she much prefers the elephants in this particular book.

Our library does the "1,000 books before kindergarten" program, so Ruth is doing that now. By "doing that", I mean we check off boxes for each of the books she reads, and since Ruth loves reading, there's nothing really extra we had to start doing....except now I just have to remember to check the boxes...
For each 100 books she reads, she gets a little prize. The first prize was a DQ mini blizzard...I'm thinking they should start a book program for moms or something. I would probably find the time to read more if I got ice cream for it!!!

One of Tom's friends got married the weekend before Thanksgiving, so Ruth and I headed to Indiana/Ohio the week before to spend some time with family. Tom joined us for the weekend, and then Ruth and I stayed a few more days after. My sisters rode back to WI with Ruth and I, and my dad, mom, and brother trailed behind us after they got off work. They celebrated Thanksgiving with us, and then headed back to Indiana the next day. It was a fun Thanksgiving (see the Thanksgiving post for details:))!

On our "girl trip" back home to WI, we stopped at a local bakery close to home. I let Ruth pick out her own cookie (having your child pick out something sugary is sure an interesting experience, especially at the age of one [in terms of guilt/sense of spoiling/bad habits/etc.), but it was a fun girl treat adventure that we were having, and it was fun!). I made sure to get something to take home to Tom, too!

While in Indiana....
Ruth started climbing up in her rocking chair on her own. She even figured out how to stand in the chair:)...and with that she also learned that she's not allowed to do that:).

Ruth started saying "I love you" consistently and clearly when prompted (was saying earlier this month, but now it's consistent). She says "I wuv woo". It's sooooo cute!

Fast forward just a few days...Ruth started saying "I wuv woo" on her own without being prompted. I love it! So much can change in just a few days!

Ruth and I...
 - visited great grandma (my dad's mom) who was recovering from a recent surgery
 - hung out with Aunt Payge at college (got to see her apartment, had dinner with her and her friends, got a drink at the school's coffee shop, and ran into some people that we know); we had a great time!
 - got together with some friends at Starbucks! It was great to see everyone!
 - went to lunch with Aunt Maddy one day
 - went to school with my mom for a Thanksgiving potluck lunch one day (got to see lots of her friends and one of her students)

I....
 - got to hang out with a few friends while going to one of our local gyms to workout
 - also went with my sister to the gym one morning
 - visited the education department from undergrad; since it was near Thanksgiving, not many professors were in, but it was great to see the few people that were in there. Ruth went, too, so they got to see her as well. It was fun!!
 - stopped in to see one of the ladies (a dear friend!) I used to work for (cleaned her beauty shop); took Ruth, too, so she could see her!

Ruth started counting to 5! We practiced in the van while on our way to Indiana. We get lots of counting practice while in the vehicle.

Aunt Payge taught Ruth how to make a donkey sound. It's super cute! Now we can add "donkey" to her animal noise repertoire.

While in Ohio...
Ruth was tickling everyone a lot!! She says "tickle tickle tickle" and doesn't necessarily touch them but moves her hand like she is tickling them. Seeing someone's toes or feet can trigger her to want to "tickle" someone:).

Grandma introduced Ruth to "cream" (as Grandma and Ruth call it; aka whipped cream). Grandma would squirt some on Ruth's finger, Ruth would eat it, and go back for more. I'm pretty sure there was a lot of "mmmmm"-ing going on.

Ruth had a great time with Grandpa's trains. She kept saying "Grandpa, woo woo". She even went to his office at one point, knocked on the door, and said "woo woo" (train noise). She especially enjoyed the smoke that came out of the engines.

It was fun being able to see a lot of Tom's friends from childhood/high school at the wedding. Some are now my friends, some I had heard about from stories, and others were new. It was special being able to share Ruth with them, too (Tom's the first of his group of high school buddies to have a little one). Ruth found a boy just a few months older than her to run around with. She even gave him kisses a few times (Apparently, we have a go-getter on our hands! Ruth doesn't wait time!). She was also doing a bit of dancing on the dance floor and really just had fun running around and exploring (and eating a cupcake).

It was a fun month!!