(Ruby enjoys her white chocolate raspberry mini-bundt birthday cake...yum!)
To my darling Ruby on your first birthday…
I just boxed up the last of your baby toys (the black and white mobile, black and white books, the colorful links, the fluorescent crinkle bugs, the keys, the jingley pink caterpillar that used to clip on your stroller, the soft rattles and taggies things). We’ll keep out the rubber ducks for now because you still love them (Thanks Leslie for the cool British duck!) We have to make room for all the big girl toys…the things that roll, light up, open and close, the dolls, farm animals, blocks, and puzzles.
We read books everyday. Right now your favorites are ‘Ten little ladybugs’ and ‘Hooray for fish.’ You also love to look and point at pictures of dogs and cats. We’ve been to weekly storytimes at three different libraries. You pull books off your bookshelf and happily flip through the pages on your own.
I need to give away those last few jars of baby food in the pantry. You love table food now (especially strawberries, blueberries, pulled pork, spinach, avocado, garlic zucchini, pasta and sauce, Cheerios, and baby mum mum crackers). We can always tell what you like because there will be less of it on the floor and in the bottom of your highchair. You are really ‘careful’ to make sure your favorite foods make it to your mouth. Recently you have started ‘feeding’ us bits and pieces of stuff (you are especially generous with the things you don’t like).
You still have beautiful blue eyes (with a few brown or hazel specks) and there is only a smidgen of light brown hair on your sweet head (still a ‘baldie sweetheart’ as my friend Carolyn once said of her own daughter!). Everywhere we go people say how much you look like the Gerber baby (with your round chubby cheeks) and we get numerous comments about how tall you are. At your 1 year doctor appointment they said you are in the 95th percentile for height and you are now
What a social butterfly. You have been so busy with fun activities over the last 12 months and have made so many friends. I have noticed that you are really interested in other people, especially young kids. You squeal with delight when we pass a baby or toddler in the grocery store. You point and wave and motion you want to ‘talk’ to them. While you keep close to me when we are at home, when we are out and about you are quite the explorer…crawling up to strangers to say hello. I hope this confidence continues so that you can make even more friends in the months and years to come.
You love to point at things and still have a fascination with ceiling fans and lights. Opening cabinets and drawers, switching light switches on and off, emptying baskets, playing with zippers, ripping up paper, knocking over blocks, unstacking nesting cups, spotting birds in the sky, picking flowers, digging in mulch…these are some of your favorite activities.
Since you were a late crawler, we are expecting that it may be a while before you take your first solo steps. You are great walking with my fingers, but sometimes get a little nervous standing on your own, and so sit down. We still like to think you are focusing on your mental capacities and talking instead of your physical abilities. You'll get there soon.
Sleepwise, we are still struggling. You take your morning nap sleeping on your mama and your afternoon nap in the car usually. If we let you, you would probably play all night because you are increasingly alert in the evenings (in fact, earlier this week you would not go to sleep until after 1 am!!!) We think you are ready to drop the morning nap (which I will miss as that was our special cuddle time!) which may help you get to sleep better in the evenings.
Your daddy and I have been so fortunate to be able to spend so much time with you over the past year. With him working from home, he has seen many day to day moments. And you and I have been able to do so many fun seasonal things…play in the pumpkin patch, take fall walks to see the leaves changing, build a snowman, visit Santa, see spring flowers at the arboretum, take multiple trips to the zoo, pick strawberries, catch the bluebonnets in full bloom, and enjoy our new neighbourhood spray park. You are my shopping buddy and always seem to enjoy even the most mundane trip to the grocery store.
I feel a bit sad to lose your ‘baby-ness’ as you become a toddler. Right now simple silly faces and sounds make you laugh, an empty water bottle is a thrilling toy, you make the cutest excited noise when you crawl really fast, we are able to give you a bath in the kitchen sink, your babbling repetoire is multiplying by the day, and singing the ‘teefers’ song is all I need to do for you to let me brush your teeth. Pretty soon there will be no more bottles, hair will eventually grow on your bald head, and you will start telling me no. But we can’t wait to see how you will grow and develop. We love you sweet Ruby. Happy Birthday.
