New word, travel plans

You all are probably going to think that Ruby and I live at the zoo with how often we go. But, we went with our friend Connor and his mom on Monday and had a blast. The zoo was a perfect place to go for Ruby to show off her new word. She now says "monkey" and everything is a monkey!

Also, Ruby and I are flying to Omaha from April 11 - April 18. Jason will be on a business trip in California for most of that week, so we're going north for a visit.

Anyway, here are some pictures of Ruby and her "boyfriend."

Ruby the spaz.

How cute.

Ruby being kissed by a baby camel.

Walking ...

Yesterday Ruby and I were visiting a friend and Ruby decided to walk! She took two steps toward me and then realized what she did and sat down. She tried to do it again a little later, but got distracted by a dog. She hasn't done it again since, but who knows, she might really be walking soon.

Today she is 10 months old. It's hard to believe how fast she's growing up. We went to the doctor yesterday as well (to get her ears checked) and she is up to 21 pounds 5 ounces! And today she woke up with a nasty cough and stuffy nose. It seems the poor girl's gonna pick up every bug -- but maybe that means by the time she's in school she won't get sick nearly as often.

Here are a couple of pictures of Ruby playing with our "mean" cat. (Even when she's being swatted at, Ruby thinks they're playing).

Zoo Party

Today we went to the Little Ponderosa Zoo for our friend LeaAnn's second birthday party. There couldn't have been a nicer day for an outdoor party -- about 65 degrees and sunny. And the animals were a blast. The zoo is "interactive" meaning that most of the animals are friendly and can be petted and fed. Ruby fell in love with a yak and a camel and loved playing with the ducks. She also went on her first pony ride. We took about 200 pictures and I still need to sort through them, but I'll post a few here and try to get an upload to Flickr while I'm at it. Enjoy!

Yakity Yak ...

Please can I climb in and play with the turtle??

Daddy, I want a pony ride!

It's kind of like a giant dog ... sort of.

Here ducky ducky ducky.

Standing, Talking, Etc.

Ruby's been up to a lot since the last post. She can now stand on her own for 15 seconds or more before realizing that she's not holding onto anything (then she promptly sits down). And she's quickly expanding her vocabulary. She now says "mama," "dada," "kitty," "dog," "uh-oh," and "gentle." I think the "gentle" came from us telling her to pet the kitties "gentle."

She also got to go to a birthday party last weekend and has another party tomorrow -- two of her friends turned two. Through that, we discovered she really likes frosting ... it's a good thing she's not going to have that every day. And, she has decided that she likes to eat more real food -- shredded chicken from the local Mexican restaurant is one of her favorites (along with rice and cheese from the same restaurant). She also likes ground beef, waffles, and of course toast with grape jelly.

The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous -- we are out walking almost every day. Last week Ruby and I went to the zoo with some of our friends, and she stayed in her stroller the whole time! (This was a big accomplishment because usually she wants out of the stroller after about five minutes).

Right now we're just enjoying some time with Jason. He leaves for California in April for a work conference and will be gone almost a week. I promise to take more pictures at the zoo tomorrow (it's a petting zoo), but for now, these few will have to do.

Much, much better ...

Ruby had her checkup this morning to make sure her ear infection was gone. I knew she was feeling better because she was eating really well again and was generally happier. Both of her ears are clear, which is awesome. And, she gained a full pound in the past two weeks! That puts her at 19 pounds, 13 ounces. I'm going to have to find some new clothes for this girl -- she's starting to look like she's wearing highwaters. No new pictures today, sorry.

New Tricks

Ruby has learned a few new tricks over the past few days. First, she learned how to flush the toilet! Luckily, she hasn't started to put stuff in the toilet before flushing ... And, she has also learned how to climb into things (like toy bins). She also keeps growing! I either need to stop feeding her or guy find some 18 month clothes! (Probably wouldn't be good to stop feeding her ... I guess I'll go shopping.) Here are some new pictures to enjoy.

Yes, another update ...

Thought you might enjoy some more pictures. I seem to have some more time on my hands for updating the blog and putting pictures on flickr. Enjoy! (Oh, and if you can't tell, it's absolutely gorgeous here!)

Walking with daddy.

Fiber, right??

Come on, let's get going!

Really pretty out here.

Happy baby!

Thought you'd like to see our new house.

9 month photos!

Playground!

Ruby has become very adventurous and she proved that today at the playground. She loved climbing up the steps on the jungle gym all by herself and sliding down the big slide (with adult supervision). She had a blast swinging on the swing set and her laughter made everyone around her giggle. She's proving that she can keep up with kids twice her age! (She was "chasing" a two year old around the playground ...)

At home Ruby loves to do stairs and will crawl over anything -- even Mom or Dad -- if there is something she wants on the other side. I just can't believe how brave she is. Right now she is sporting a bruise on her forehead because she wanted to get something off of the blanket chest and fell. I didn't notice the bruise until later in the day because she didn't even cry when it happened.

We can tell by her change in attitude lately that she must be feeling better and we'll find out on Friday if these new antibiotics worked. She's also eating much better and I think shredded chicken is going to become a new favorite.

Enjoy some pictures!

General Update

Hi Grandma!

Clap, clap, clap.

I'm a Knoxville Girl!

So, I finished the bar exam and agree with many people who say it's a horrible, horrible test. I'm not sure how it went -- could go either way, but I won't know any results for quite a while. But, it's over and done with and that makes me happy!

Ruby is over 9 months old now. She is 18 pounds, 13 ounces and almost 29 inches long. We found out that she still has an ear infection, so we're on our third antibiotic to try to get rid of it. She'll go back to the doctor in a week or so to see if it's still there. Other than that she is doing wonderfully. And, she just learned to say "uh oh!"

Also, my mother came south for a visit. We were hoping it would be nice weather for her, but no, it stayed in the mid 30s and 40s for most of the time. The day she left, it warmed up to about 70. It was a nice visit and we got to work on a few new quilting projects which I'm excited about.

Today is Ruby's last day in daycare for awhile. We're not sure how long I'll be a stay at home mom, but it will definitely be at least until the bar results come out. I'm not actively searching for a full time job right now, but if the right job comes up I will probably apply.

Oh, and we got Ruby's 9 month pictures taken! I will post them later (I don't have the cd anywhere near me). But if you'd like a copy, just let me know.