7 Months!

As I sit down to write this, I realize that it's late November. Baby girl is already 7 1/2 months old! My sweet and active daughter is more than halfway to her 1st birthday! How am I so behind on realizing this? I think to myself.

Perhaps it has something to do with the Big News that we announced last month? And us needing to pack up our whole house in a matter of days...and having to list our house for sale...and all those house renovations...oh, and our long-awaited trip to visit my family in Hawaii? Yes to all of the above. This past month has been ridiculously intense. Ken got a job offer in Eastern Washington the day before my 30th birthday (read about that here), and within a few weeks, we were packed and headed to Hawaii for vacation, en route to Washington for this next chapter in our journey.

And somewhere, in the midst of all these changes, Ruby turned 7 months old. Bubs is learning and growing in extraordinary ways, with each passing day.

Here are some of Bubs' latest milestones:

• She can almost crawl !!!
• She can rollover both ways and when she can't reach a toy, she rolls over to it.
• Bubs can say "Da-da!" and "Hi!" and "Ok!" She also looks at Daddy and smiles when I say "Da-da" more often than not. 
• She has said "Ma-ma" or "Mah-mee" a couple of times, but doesn't say it nearly as much as "Da-da!" (So, I'm not counting it yet as a real word. Hehe.)
• Bubs can sit up on the floor (without support) for longer periods of time. 
• She can also stand, with support, and almost pull herself up to standing position by holding on to me.
• Bubs can recognize her name! She loves it when I call her "Ruby" or "Baby Girl."
• Baby girl loves to smile and chat with just about anyone friendly who gives her attention.  
• She has tried lots of new solid foods in the past few weeks (such as green beans, rice, carrots, sweet potato, bread, chicken, peas, and poi) and likes most of them, while continuing to nurse full-time. 
• She still loves her jumperoo and bounces happily in it each day. Just this weekend, Ken moved her jumperoo to the highest height setting. (I'm not sure what we're going to do when she grows out of this!)
• Baby girl's eyes are currently hazel colored (greenish-brown toward the center and blue around the outside.)
• At Ruby's 6-month checkup, she was in the 92nd percentile for height and weighed around 18lbs - so healthy and strong. I'm looking forward to seeing her measurements at next month's checkup! 
• Last but not least, baby girl seems to be teething again! I can just barely see her top two front teeth trying to break through the gum-line. Her baby teeth are so cute!

Ken and I praise God for our little lady. She's so full of joy. Her middle name means "reflection of the Sun/glistening moonlight." That, she is.

Here's a video of our baby girl's contagious laugh. Click here to watch. And one more video of Ruby's first time swimming in the pool with my Dad, Ken, and me on Maui.

And before I head out, here are some of our latest pics. :)

Baby Girl's First Tooth & Other Highlights of Turning 5 Months Old!

It's official, baby girl's first tooth sprang up through her gums, seemingly overnight, right around the 5-month mark. Bubs, our current nickname for Ruby (which may have started as a quicker way of saying "baby girl" or "babes"?), had been showing signs of teething for the past couple months - nonstop drooling, the desire to bite down on anything or anyone, restlessness, and nighttime fussiness. And then lo and behold, out comes a tooth! Or, rather, in comes a tooth. I had been nervous for weeks wondering what nursing would feel like when she got her first tooth in, and now I know. Ouch! Hehe. 

Here are a few of Bubs' latest milestones:

• Jumping is her favorite sport! She likes to play in her jumperoo as much as possible.
• She can rollover almost both ways.
• She's trying desperately to crawl (!) and can lift her belly up real high using her leg muscles.
• She can now roll herself out of the baby bouncy chair and out of her carseat (Eek! When not buckled in, of course.)
• She grabs for toys, especially her dolly (thanks Wendy!), whenever they fall out of her hands. 
• She recognizes Penny, our puppy, smiles at her and likes to pet her (read: grab at chunks of her fur without letting go.)
• Squeals, screams, razzes, and says lots of "ah-goo's" and "ah-yee's" - her vocabulary of sounds is constantly growing.
• She can sit up for moments at a time, unsupported, but then likes to reach down and try to eat her feet. She ends up in a ball shape.  
• Baby girl wakes up chatting in the night and occasionally in the mornings. 
• She and Mama now have a game that we play together where I kiss her on her chin and then she blows raspberries on my face. She loves it and starts giggling almost instantly!
• She loves to laugh! (When she's not crying because of the pain of teething, of course.) 
• She is fascinated by food (!) and watches us eat with intense focus. Bubs is going to be a great [solid] food eater, I can tell. 

I could go on, but I don't want to overwhelm you with the things-parents-love-about-their-kids-that-others-might-not-care-as-much-about. Lately, I've been obsessed with reading all things Molly Wizenberg (creator of the blog Orangette, arguably one of the best blogs in the world), and am so inspired by her writing. I want to write like that. Share my heart and share my stories, as if we're sitting across from one another at the dining room table. 

I look forward to sharing more on that in future posts, and also updating you on baby girl's newest developments. She is such a joy!

Here is a link to a video of Ken making her laugh: Bubs Laughing

xoxo

P.S. Here are a couple photos of Bubs' new baby bibs. Bibs are all the rage in our house right now, especially since baby girl is teething like crazy. She helped pick these out at the resale store yesterday. Note: If anyone is reading this and has extra bibs to spare and would like to send them our way, yes, I would love that! We can never have enough. ;) 

4 Months and Counting!

 Hello, my sweet 4-month-old! I proudly whispered to baby girl today, as I cuddled with her in bed, breathing in her fresh scent of milk, and tracing the outline of muscles forming along her dimpled arms and cherubim-like legs. She's growing stronger with each passing week.

Ruby's latest developments include her current obsession with turning over - or trying to, as much as possible throughout the day. The other night, Ken watched baby girl turn over twice. And then yesterday afternoon, Ruby was able to turn from her back to her stomach nearly five times in a row. She isn't quite sure how to get from her belly onto her back again after the initial turn, so I assist her in returning to a comfortable starting point. Baby girl is very active, and tries to put everything in her mouth these days. Rattles, toys, fingers (hers and mine), bibs - everything around her seems equally tasty. I keep checking for teeth but there's no sign of them yet.

Our little one loves to smile and makes all sorts of fun noises throughout the day. Ken and I refer to one such noise as 'the pterodactyl', which is a high pitched scream. Ruby enjoys our daily walks to the nearby park and seems to focus on the trees swaying in the summer breeze. Green might be her favorite color.

Baby girl's hair has changed from light brown to blonde, and her eyes are now a more pronounced hazel-green, with blueish-gray edges. We are so curious to see what color her eyes and hair become and eventually stay, by her first birthday hopefully. She is such a beautiful little girl, loved deeply by family and friends.

This past month, we've been blessed by Ken's mom in coming to watch Ruby for intermittent date nights. Being a mom is a unique and wonderful blessing, and I recognize that in order for me to be great at this new role, I need downtime to recharge and rest (when possible) as well as quality time with Ken. This space during dates has allowed Ken and me to dream together, and consider our goals for the future. Where we might live next, what we'd like to pursue vocationally, and travel ideas - there are so many fun things to discuss as we consider our vision for family, community, and living intentionally.

As Ken and I prepare to celebrate our 5th anniversary in a few weeks, I can't help but praise God for this special season of our lives. We became parents this year to a very special little girl. Ruby, we love you so much.

*In sitting down down to finish this blog entry (writing is something I come back to throughout the day as Ruby allows), Ken got home from work and surprised us with a slice of dark chocolate raspberry cake from one of my favorite bake shops. What a treat. He knows me so well!

Happy 4 months, baby girl!

First Family-of-Three Road Trip: Salmon Fishing on the Kenai!

Spontaneity. A word I've felt far removed from in becoming a parent and yet, with a little forethought and preparation, Ken, Baby and I - along with our rambunctious border collie, Penny - embarked on our first family road trip this weekend! We got wind that "the salmon were running" along the Kenai River and decided it'd be really fun (and potentially challenging with a baby in tow) to try our hand at fishing, specifically dip netting, which is open only to Alaska residents. In a spirit of adventure, Ken put in extra hours at work Monday through Thursday, and we hit the road roughly five hours later than planned on Friday morning. I mentioned that we were bringing our 3-month-old, right? We eased into the drive by grabbing our favorite Starbucks beverages (mine: a tall coconut-milk latte, Ken's: a tall Americano with room, despite the fact that he does not add anything extra into his cup), and filled up our gas tank. Our giant dip net and extension rod firmly tied to the roof of our car, along with countless baby supplies, sandwich fixins', and camping needs stuffed into our car, and we were ready to take on the road ahead. 

The mouth of the Kenai River where we planned to fish is about a three-hour drive from Anchorage with no traffic, and miraculously, baby girl slept the entire drive there, so we made it in about that time. Ironically, that same distance took us about six or seven hours on the way home, as Ruby did not sleep much nor did she enjoy being fastened in her car seat. To accommodate baby, we stopped along scenic lakes and took breaks as needed. 

While in Kenai, we were blessed to stay at our friend's parents' house. We relaxed each evening in the comfort of our room and cooked meals in their lovely kitchen. It felt like a home away from home. It's hard to imagine what it would've been like trying to camp on the beach after so much traveling and fishing, with a baby. Thank you again to our generous hosts! 

I had a blast watching Ken catch his first salmon in the Kenai River, and was equally impressed at his skill in cleaning and filleting the fish he caught. My Alaskan husband! Ruby was very proud of her daddy as well, and enjoyed the extra quality time we got as a family this weekend. Meanwhile, Penny's favorite part of the whole trip was most likely swimming in the lakes and catching sticks. She's easy to please in that regard.

Here are photos from our road trip! The views on this trip were breathtaking. 

(Click to enlarge)

3 Month Mark!

Happy 3 Months, baby girl!

Ruby turned three months old last Friday and we marked the occasion by celebrating a friend's wedding. Baby girl is blossoming into quite the talker and on the way home from the wedding, she kept chatting - perhaps in an attempt to share how much she enjoyed herself! She is growing and developing dramatically these days. She loves to smile and clasp her hands and just last week, started giggling. I love her laugh! In the mornings, after her first diaper change, I like to blow raspberries on her belly. She gets such a kick out of that. Ruby has dimples just like her mama, and is growing into a bubbly and social little girl, very curious about the world around her. She also loves to put things in her mouth and suck on her hands, occasionally guiding my hands into her mouth as well. So funny. 

We are curious what color Ruby's eyes will be, as they have changed from blueish gray to a more pronounced green. Her hair has also lightened from medium brown to a light-brown-blonde. She is our little beauty!

Here's a video of Ruby's first father-daughter dance I posted on Vimeo. Click on the underlined link or go here (https://vimeo.com/133296476) and make sure that your volume is turned up. :)