One step at a time

People sometimes ask if Ruby is walking yet. It’s hard to say at what point she is officially “walking” — her preferred method of mobility is still crawling — but today she took 23 steps in a row.

Whee!

Yesterday, we found a plastic slide on Craigslist and got it for Ruby. She figured out how to climb the ladder in a few tries, and got more and more excited as she went up and down. Watch her having fun!

There are a bunch of new pictures in the photo album as well, including some from Easter. I particularly like this portrait of us:

Naptime, again?

The development of Ruby’s sleep sign has been surprising: she’s now the one initiating bedtime and naptime.  For the past month or so she’s been having a two-hour nap around 2pm, and then going to bed around 8pm.  Yesterday, she signed for a nap at 9:30am and then slept for 2 hours.  Then she signed for another nap at 2:30pm and slept for another two hours.  And then she signed for an early bedtime at 7:30pm.  Without her signing that it was naptime, we’d have pushed her into cranky-baby stage and then wondered what the hell was wrong.

Again this morning, she signed for a morning nap, although she didn’t seem particularly sleepy.  I have a theory about this, though: since she turned 1, we’ve taken away Ruby’s pacifier.  The only time she’s allowed to have it is when her diaper is being changed or when she’s going to sleep.  So, my theory is that she’s deliberately signing for a nap just so that she can get some quality time in with her soother.

  • Categorized in life

Vocabulary

We’ve been signing at Ruby since a very early age.  Our vocabulary isn’t big, but Ruby is starting to pick them up more quickly.  Like her words, though, she tends to latch onto a favorite sign and then use it for everything.

Ruby’s verbal vocabulary right now is limited to “down” and “this”.  She has said other words in the past (“up”, “mama”, “papa”, “gargoyle”) but for now, those two words are just about all she uses.

Similarly, her favorite sign right now is “more”.  She uses it to indicate that she wants to eat, which apparently is all the time.  She also knows how to sign “all done”, “bedtime”, and she can nod in agreement.

“All done” and “more” can sometimes be confusing for her.  When she’s eating I’ll ask if she’s all done and she’ll sign it.  Then I’ll ask if she wants more and she’ll sign that.  Then I’ll ask if she wants down and she’ll say, “Dooooooowwwww…”.  Then we’ll start over from the top.  Sometimes, I’ll see her run through a bunch of her signs — “milk”, “more”, “all done” — as if she’s not quite sure what she’s trying to say.

Baby Step

Ruby is very close to walking. She can stand up unsupported as long as she doesn’t think about it too much — like most toddlers, she’s more stable when she’s distracted. We’ve been able to entice a single step out of her by holding a stuffed animal just out of reach, but that’s it. She’ll probably be walking like a champ in a few weeks.

Rubies Cubed

Yesterday I read a Ruby on Rails book and drank Ruby 18 tea (a cross of an assam with a wild Taiwanese tea plant, processed as a black tea but with faint oolong notes) while feeding Ruby her lunch.

  • Categorized in life

State of the Baby: One Year Old

Ruby is one year old! Here are some things about her:

  • She is suffering through her first serious cold. We were worried about her coughing and thought about taking her to the doctor, but then we looked in a few reference books and found that her symptoms are normal and don’t warrant a doctor visit. All the same, she’s coughy and snotty and tireder than usual. This means we get more cuddling than usual, which is the silver lining.
  • She has said the following words/phrases (in context): mama, papa, up, down, light, shoes, gargoyle (long story), all done. She also has a very large vocabulary of gibberish that uses many vowels and consonants, and can often be heard talking to herself.
  • She regularly uses these signs: all done, water, up. She has also taken our gesture for “come here” and made it into a sign that can mean “come here” or “give me that”. She claps, waves, nods, and points as well.
  • She is not afraid of heights and loves to climb up on big-kid playground equipment.
  • She giggles delightedly if you toss her, face-first, onto pillows.
  • She likes to climb, and often climbs into her toybox, her wagon, and a low bookshelf (that usually holds her stuffed animals). Going up and down stairs are a piece of cake by now. She also really enjoys climbing on some cardboard boxes we put in her playroom for just that reason.
  • She seems to have especially acute hearing and will pick up her head for any unusual sound. The microwave and telephone always cause her to react (usually by looking up and saying something we don’t understand).
  • She often has a minor rash on her cheeks that looks like acne. We think she must be allergic to something but haven’t figured it out yet.
  • One of her favorite places to play is near the front door where we keep our shoes. She loves to take the shoes off the shelf and strew them across the floor.
  • She isn’t crazy about grass, and when forced to touch it (with hands or feet), she recoils in disgust. We hope to get her used to grass very soon, when the weather improves.
  • She still uses her soother, especially for bedtime, but we’re working on minimizing the non-sleep times that she has it.
  • We have weaned her off mid-day breastmilk for the most part. She still nurses before bed and in the morning.
  • She can stand up without holding on to anything if she is a little distracted. As soon as she realizes what she’s doing, she’ll sit down.
  • She has one nap every day, in the afternoon. It usually lasts at least an hour and a half. Her bedtime is around 8pm, and she wakes up between 6 and 7am.
  • She eats oatmeal with banana every morning for breakfast. For lunch and dinner, she usually feeds herself diced food such as cheese, chicken, fruit, Cheerios, or sweet potatoes.