For Fathers’ Day this year, after the requisite breakfast in bed and a morning nap, we headed off to the KEXP Kids Dance Party at Neumos. We enjoyed the music, the breakdancing, and the free cupcakes. It was a fun time, even though Ruby’s idea of dancing would be more accurately described as “walking through the crowd trying to ditch her parents.”
“In” Jokes
We’ve been having fun with Ruby for her whole life, often finding amusement at her expense. She’d do something silly, clumsy, or weird and we’d laugh about it.
Now, things have risen to a whole new level – I often find myself sharing the joke with Ruby. One of us does something funny, and we both laugh together, sharing eye contact and a chuckle, enjoying the mutual moment. It’s so much more fulfilling to be laughing with her instead of just at her.
Granted, the jokes are pretty unsophisticated and mainly consist of funny faces and silly noises, but it still feels like substantial progress.
This one’s for Uncle Michael
Today, I printed out some pictures of far-away relatives for Ruby to see. One of them was my brother Michael (who lives in Singapore). Something about the phrase “Uncle Michael” tickled Ruby’s fancy and she repeated it, sort of. She kept saying it all day. I decided to capitalize on this and associate his picture with his name.
For her first birthday, Michael gave Ruby a book about airplanes. So, I printed a tiny picture of his face and added him to the first page:
click for full-size
Then, I taped Ruby talking about it. The way she says “Uncle Michael” sounds like a cross between “taco” and “cuckoo”. Take a look…
Welcome to Cousin Zizou!
Ruby’s cousin, Zacharie Georges Cybak Leroux, was born on Thursday the 31st. Ruby can’t wait to teach him the ways of the world in a few years…
click for full-size
Curls and Giggles
Here are some recent pictures of Ruby.
Also, please enjoy this short video of Ruby bouncing on her chair and having a ball:
In case you are shopping for a one year old
Ruby’s current favorite books, in descending order:
- Yum Yum Dim Sum
- Moo, Baa, La La La!
- I Kissed the Baby
- Spring is Here
- Belly Button Book
- Planes at the Airport
- What Makes a Rainbow?
She constantly asks us to read them to her. Weirdly, she has 15 other board books that she barely touches.
New Carrier!
Now that I’m at home with Ruby, I realized it was time to buy a new child carrier. When Ruby was an infant, I liked both the Baby Bjorn and the Sidecar sling. Now that Ruby is bigger, though, she doesn’t fit in the Baby Bjorn and is too heavy to be supported by just one shoulder.
Faced with the prospect of hauling a stroller everywhere, I began asking people about the carriers they liked. This past weekend, Steve and I were on a getaway in Bellingham and came across a cool little store: Portable Kid. They specialize in carriers of all kinds (as well as car seats and a few other items). All of the carriers they sell are on display, and you can try them on. The owners and their kids are also happy to demonstrate.
We chose the Beco Baby Carrier in dark brown. It’s sort of like the Baby Bjorn, and it’s streamlined and as stylish as you can get with a hip strap (which isn’t too much, I know). It can carry kids up to about 40 pounds, so it’s a long-term purchase. After deciding on it, we bought it at Portable Kid, and I was pleased to support a new independent business.
Today, I took it out on its first test, wearing Ruby on my back (she can go on back, front, or hip in this carrier). It was great! All her weight was on my hips and I was very comfortable. I felt like I could walk with her for at least a few hours. It’s very exciting to have this option because I like to travel light (and strollers are not that). Ruby didn’t seem to mind riding behind me – she can just barely see over my shoulders. On the next outing, I’m going to try carrying her on my front and see how that compares.
So far, I’d highly recomend the Beco. It can carry young infants as well. It comes with a little “sleep hood” which supports their head when they fall asleep.
The Great Switcheroo
In case you haven’t heard, Steve and I have switched roles for a while. He’s back at work (working from home at the moment), and I am home full-time with Ruby (my last day at work was a week ago).
I’m very excited to experience this time in her life where she seems to be adding skills daily. I’m putting together a big list of places I want to explore with her, and trying to find her some more chances to socialize.
Things that fascinate Ruby:
- birds
- trucks and buses
- airplanes
- holes she can stick her finger in
- hardware such as latches, hinges, handles, and knobs
- opening and closing doors of all sizes
- playing in sand
Things Ruby also likes:
- bananas
- shoes
- music (mostly KEXP)
- her Dim Sum book
- the fish in our pond
Declaration of Ambulation
Ruby is now officially walking. She stills crawls, especially if she’s eager to get somewhere quickly, but walking seems to be her preferred method of transport. Now that she’s got the overall hang of things, she’s much more persistent in standing up again after she falls down. And she falls down a lot. But her practice is paying off and we’ve seen a huge improvement in her stability just in the past day or so.
Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, we’ve also seen an increase in crabiness and overall attitude the past two days. She’s added the phrase “no no no no no no” to her repertoire, although thankfully she doesn’t use it very often. She’s become more demanding and a little harder to please.
If I fell over every six steps, I’d be in kind of a bad mood too.
Video here: https://www.mynameisruby.com/pix/second-day-of-walking.wmv