happy heart day.

gosh i love this girl. 

Splish Splash

Ruby has never disliked baths, per say. She just has never really loved them.

 Until Daddy put on his swim trunks and hopped in and showed the little lady how it's done. 

Boston.

via

Ruby and I are heading out on our second cross-country trip. 

We're going to see the grandparents in Massachusetts. I cannot say how much I love going Back East. 

Here are some pictures from our last trip. I have the feeling that our next trip will look pretty similar because we always do the same exact things when we come to visit. 

Shop & Eat. 

It's a dream. 

 

All these pictures are from my instagram feed. follow me @candaceworkman

Ruby - Six, Seven & Eight Months

Alright, I've been meaning to do a Ruby update for months now. Every time I've gone to plug my camera into the computer, it didn't recognize that there was anything plugged in. Talk about frustrating. It's REALLY time for a new computer! But, today it all decided to work! So here's a mega update! 

Ruby was sick at this time, hence the weird expression and chapped face. 

Holy Grown-Up Baby, Batman!

Ok - Where to start?! Since the last update, we've celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years and Ruby's gone on her first airplane when we visited Massachusetts. That alone is a ton of stuff (that I really should blog about!).

I feel like Ruby is totally out of her newborn phase and is officially a BABY. She is such a good little girl. We love her so much.

Last time I updated, she was just starting on solid food and now she eats three solid meals a day plus snacks. She is surprisingly good with finger foods. She can transfer a cheerio from one hand to the other. She ate a whole meatball today too (cut up into little pieces, of course) We finished up breastfeeding at the beginning of the month and I'm sorry to say that I'm kind of relieved. Breastfeeding was hard for us.

Ruby has mastered rolling over and is getting a lot better at sitting up. If she has something to keep her occupied, she can sit for quite a while. No signs of crawling yet, but that's totally fine. Our house is definitely not baby-proofed yet. Also no teeth yet.

She sleeps through the night (usually) but still doesn't really nap during the day. This makes getting anything substantial done in the day quite difficult. It's a good think Dan works from home. We've tried the crying-it-out method, but it feels like we're torturing our baby. Apparently neither Dan or I were very good nappers so I guess it's just Karma.

Ruby has started to babble more. She makes the sounds "bababababa" and "mamamama" the most. She blows raspberries all the time now and not just when she's upset.Sometimes she'll even giggle to herself and it's the cutest thing ever. She also hasn't been sucking her thumb as much, which is awesome.

Just when I think she can't get any cuter, she surprises us with something new. Ruby gives really slobbery open-mouthed kisses. She basically just opens her mouth and tries to eat your face. It's really cute.

Monthly Stats: 

Weight - Probably around 15lbs? She was 12lbs at her 6 Month appointment. She is dropping in the percentiles, people! I try to feed her more but I don't know where it goes. I guess she inherited her daddy's physique. 

Diapers - She's between the sizes on the Costco Diapers, so we're in Huggies Size 2. 

Clothes - 6 Month pants fit her great around the waist, but are total high-waters! I'm buying 9 Month clothes now but she still fits in to most of her 6 Month (and even some 3-6 Month...)

Likes - playing in her exersaucer, cheerios and puffs, when momma shares frozen yogurt with her, reading books, going to the mall (especially when she's strapped in the baby bjiorn), petting dogs and playing peek-a-boo. 

Dislikes - pooping and sleeping. enough said. 

Ruby - Five Months

This month has been such a fun one with Ruby. She's really starting to develop her little personality! I keep saying to Dan, "I just love Ruby right now! This stage is so fun!". I think I'll keep saying that for a while. 

(Also, I couldn't seem to get a picture in her usual monthly pose without her hands in her mouth! I think she was hungry during our photo shoot) 

Monthly Stats: 

Weight - At our Doctor's Appointment last month, Ruby was 12lbs. So i'm guessing that she's probably around 13lbs this month? I don't know why I have this item on her monthly stats because I never know her weight. 

Diapers - Still Costco 1-2. This little girl grows vertically not horizontally, so I think she'll be in this size for a while. I don't really want to go into diaper details here, but let's just say that we started solids this month and the dirty diapers got a whole lot more interesting...gross. 

Clothes - We're in the transition time now. Some of the 3 Month clothes are getting a bit small (and I'm tired of her always wearing the same things) so we're pulled out the 6 Month clothes! This means a lot of laundry getting them all washed and ready. But I discovered that Ruby has quite a few cute sweaters and colder weather clothes that I'd forgotten about!

Likes - Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Bananas and Peas (we started her on some solids and so far, so good!), when Mom barks like a dog (it makes Ruby giggle so hard!), Sophie the Giraffe, meeting Uncles and hanging out with family, sticking EVERYTHING in her mouth, Baby Lap Time at the Library and sucking on her pacifiers the wrong way. 

Dislikes - Green Beans, getting her clothes changed (Onesies in particular - I don't know when this one started), and getting water in her face during bath time. Ruby gets pretty messy when she eats and then she's not too happy about it afterwards...

And here are some more pictures just for fun because my brother, Sam, says he checks my blog and I don't put enough pictures on. These are for you Sam! 

This next month should be a big one too! Ruby's First Halloween (so excited about our Costumes!) and Ruby's first Plane Trip (so not excited about the plane but very excited about the trip!). 

Love you Ruby Roo! 

California Travelogue: Part 2

One of the big highlights of our trip was our visit to the Ronald Reagan Library. Right now, hey have a Disney Archives Exhibit. Since Ruby is too young to take to Disneyland, this seemed like a good idea! And it was! We really had a good time. Both sets of pictures are from the Reagan, in case you're wondering! The lighting was pretty weird and they didn't allow flash, so that's why there are strange shadows and such. 

The Black Pearl // Ruby "riding" one of the Tron Motorcycles // Ruby and Daddy hanging out with some Pirates
Hitchhiking Ghosts! // Captain America's Get-Up // Inspecting the Ship
Princess Dresses // Iron Man // Pirates of the Caribbean Movie Costumes
(There were a lot more cool artifacts, but I thought it'd be boring to just have pictures of random stuff on here. My favorite Disney artifacts were: The Opening Sequence Books from Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, Walt's Office, First Disneyland Ticket, Reference Costumes for Snow White and Pinocchio and Mary Poppin's Costume) 

Ruby & Mom // Presidential Helicopter // Ruby for President!
Air Force One // Ruby's First "Horse Ride" // Secret Service Exhibit
Ronald Reagan loved Jelly Bellies! // Piece of the Berlin Wall in the Gardens // Berlin Wall Exhibit

We snapped these Family Pictures right before we left - gotta document these things! We really had a great time in California! It was so nice to just get away and relax. Ruby did really well in the car and kept sleeping through the nights and such. We can't wait to go back! 

A Whole Bunch of Workmans

"I had so much fun at Grandma & Grandpa Workman's!" 

Ruby and her Uncle Ben 

(I love this one.) 

Ruby - 4 Months

I was looking back over the past Monthly Updates and I cannot believe how much Ruby has grown. Just look at 1 Month. And to think, she seemed so big then! Just look at her now... Ruby keeps getting more expressive and cute! We have discovered the little things that make her laugh and smile. We are getting better at being parents and she's getting better at being a perfect little angel baby. I had a really tough time choosing out her monthly picture, so here are some of the runners-up:

Weight -- Doctor's Appointment is on Monday so I'll have more specific stats then, but in the meantime I'll say she's around 12 lbs. The Doctor on Monday also means another round of shots. Oh, Joy...

Diapers -- Still in the Costco 1-2, but she's been having some crazy blow-outs recently and I really hope that doesn't indicate that she's growing out of them because we have a whole new box waiting for her.

Clothes -- Ruby is a long, skinny girl! She's still in the 3 Month size, mostly. She wore a pair of 3 Month Corduroy Pants today and they practically fell off of her! But, with footy pajamas she's in 3-6 Month so I don't really know what to tell you...

Likes -- Riding in the Baby Bjorn (front-facing only), Her Uncles, Being Held by Others, Her Owl Car Seat Toy, Blowing Raspberries and Putting EVERYTHING in her Mouth.

Dislikes -- Being Left Alone in a Room (She's developed a Banshee-like shriek to let us know her unhappiness at being left alone), The Nasal Aspirator, and Tummy Time (Still).

i'm inspired by:

This is so smart. I want Ruby to know that she is beautiful, but smart and capable too.
These would make a perfect Halloween dinner.
This is a really cool idea.  I'd love to go some day.
This photo shoot is almost exactly what I'm looking for in our upcoming family photos.
This would be perfect for baby Ruby.
This isn't available anymore online, but I think I could probably make knock-off version.
This will probably come in handy if we end up going anywhere this fall.
These are some fun ideas for the autumn. I'm so excited that the seasons are changing.

picture from here

Ruby Tuesday - So Long Summer

Here's what a typical day looked like this summer: 

ruby'd wake up around 6:00 am. and have her first breakfast.  (yes, she slept for most of the summer in her swing. she's fully transitioned to her crib now, though, and things are good.)

 after first breakfast, we both go back to sleep for a bit.

at around 8:00 am, ruby wakes up and it's time for a diaper change - usually pretty frightening first thing in the morning. 

the morning light is just beautiful. after the initial change, it's time for second breakfast and good morning america.  ruby usually plays on the floor for a bit while i eat breakfast. then we both go upstairs and i take a shower and get ready while ruby hangs out in the bathroom with me in this pink bouncer thing (that's ended up being really useful!).  i usually give ruby a bath at right about this time, too.

then, if it's monday, we do laundry and go grocery shopping. if it's not monday, we hang out and have a fun day at home.  

sometimes we read books,

sometimes we have visitors, 

 and ruby usually takes a afternoon nap. i eat lunch and check my blogs and stuff.

sometimes we'll run to the library or something in the afternoon. i try to tidy up the house.

by this time, daddy is done with work and it's getting close to dinnertime. dan plays with ruby while i make dinner and then we all sit together at the dining room table to eat. ruby is a little young for her high chair, but seems to like it anyway. it reclines way back so that she can sort of sit in it.



after dinner ruby has her whiny, unhappy time of night...



 so we usually take a walk after dinner or go visit people in springville and then she's much happier.





when we get back it's time for jammies!

{this trick is called "the half roll". she's also got the foot grab down pretty well now.}

you can usually catch ruby sneaking a look at the tv if we are watching an evening show.
this girl loves the tv. it makes me pretty worried. 

then it's time to get ready for bed. which means being nursed and swaddled. and then placed in her swing (or now, crib) 

 good night ruby jane! we love you!

then, dan and i watch tv, clean up, and get ready for everything to happen all over again the next day! it's been a simple but wonderful summer.