ruby's favorite toys

since this blog is pretty much ruby's only baby book, i feel like i need to record some of the random things about her toddlerhood. here is a list of ruby's favorite toys as of 13.5 months old:

1. "the bear" - in other lives he's been known as fritz, but he's just called "the bear" in ruby's world.

2. wooden clothespin doll - i made some of these a couple of months ago just because i thought they were so darn cute. a couple of months ago, i put one on ruby's shelf above her changing table and now she wants to hold onto it every time she gets a diaper changed. i kind of have to hide it from her sometimes.

3. mega bloks dump truck - ruby absolutely loves this! her uncle brad and aunt christina gave it to her for her birthday and she makes the cutest little car noises when she plays with it. you can usually find really random things in the dumping part.

4. ruby's "squeaker" - i had a doll really similar to this one when i was a little girl. ruby gives "baby" the sweetest little hugs and pats on the back. i'll tell her to hug the dollie and she listens and gives her little baby some love.

5. ball - best dollar store purchase ever.

6. play cell phone - ruby is getting to that point where everything is a cell phone. this one actually is one. it's fun because i recorded silly little phrases on it and it rings!

7. chubby little disney princesses - these are so fun and they are perfect to bring along to church and what not.

8. hot wheels cars - i've never met a little girl that likes hot wheels as much as ruby. i think she's gonna get a car mat for christmas...

9. walker - (not pictured, because it clearly wouldn't fit up on her dresser like the other toys) let me tell you! she loves cruising around in her walker, but it's deadly on adult ankles! she's really fast and sometimes i can't jump out of the way fast enough. please note: this totally doubles as a bookmobile!

maybe sometime i'll do a "ruby's favorite books" post! because that girl loves books.

ruby tuesday

since i'm not doing monthly updates anymore, i figured it would be fun to bring back occasional ruby tuesday updates. this girl does too many cute things that i don't want to forget about! 

• yesterday ruby was blowing on her little bits of peanut butter sandwich. i guess she has seen me blow on her hot foods so much she thinks that's just what you're supposed to do before you stick something in your mouth!
• we decided ruby's first official word (besides mama and dada) is dog. to say this girl loves dogs is an understatement. since it's summertime, we have the windows open and ruby hears dogs bark all day long. anytime she hears one, she'll perk up and say "dog!" and she'll point out the window. and then we usually try to take a walk to find a dog (which have been surprisingly unsuccessful lately!) 
• ruby is so darn friendly. if we're outside and someone walks by, she'll wave so intensely. the sad part is, the people usually don't see her waving till they've passed her. it's so cute though. 
• ruby loves the trampoline at uncle von's house. like, so much. 
• we colored for the first time this week and ruby may have inherited some talent! or she just is really good at hitting things and crayons just happen to make a mark when they are hit against something. 
• i'm not sure sure if this is just an extension of the dog lover thing, but ruby has started lapping up bath water. she'll bend over till her face is practically in the water and then try to drink it up. it's funny but i don't like her trying to drink soapy bath water! 
• ruby is so close to walking! her goal was to be able to walk by will & brittany's wedding (which is friday) but i don't think that's going to happen. 
• ruby loves dolls. we went to the disney store and she saw one of those super cute animator's collection toddler princess dolls. her eyes lit up and she was pointing and saying "ba, ba, ba". she was really unhappy when we had to put the dolly back and go home! maybe for christmas, ruby girl! 
• ruby cannot figure out sippy cups. i've tried a bunch of different kinds - even ones with a straw - and she just can't seem to get the hang of them. 

(all pictures by me on the front porch - I wanted to get some pictures of her new haircut!)

ruby's first haircut

Ruby's hair was getting really long in front and she kept pulling out her hair clips so I really had no choice but to cut it. I was nervous about doing it myself, but I figured it was just hair and that it would grow back! Dan helped me hold her still and I trimmed her bangs as fast as I could. She was not very happy. In fact, she screamed pretty loud. But she looks awfully cute (and awfully grown up). 

ruby's ice cream social

I really really wanted to throw Ruby a First Birthday Party. 

But, we were out of town, and then we were home for a couple of days, and then we were out of town again. By this time, it was about 10 days after Ruby's birthday. Our window for a party was closing quickly! I literally planned the party on the drive back from Las Vegas (that was a Friday and the party was on Sunday evening). 

Not too shabby for a quickly thrown-together party! Happy Birthday Ruby Girl! Your party was really fun. 

We had an Ice Cream Social with all the treats and toppings. It's a really good thing that Dan's Aunt Susan has a party rental business or I really couldn't have pulled this off. Having chairs for people to sit in makes such a difference! 

We got Ruby a cupcake from The Sweet Tooth Fairy (Strawberry Shortcake with a Chocolate-Covered Strawberry on Top). I've gotta say, this girl isn't crazy about getting frosting and stuff all over her face. She was quite dainty with the cupcake - not the typical cake smash. I think my brother, Ethan, ended up eating a lot of the cupcake because she didn't really care. I should have gotten her a Chocolate Cupcake. 

Thank you to everyone that came at such short notice! Ruby is so lucky to have such good friends and family. Happy Birthday Roo!

Ruby's non-messy cake smash. 

before. 

after.

christina, ruby, brad and great grandma and grandpa alleman - brad and christina gave roo a dump truck toy because she loves cars so much. it was really perfect. g&g alleman gave her a $10 bill! her first money ever. now she's got something in her piggy bank!

our neighbors and friends from around the block. 

ruby and her major haul. 

kenzie & mary.

this is my absolute favorite photo from the night.