Day in the life of Ruby, 21 months…
Wakes up around 8 am chattering away. (For the past month or so she has been sleeping from around 7 pm to 8 am). She speaks in short sentences now and can say things such as ‘I love you,’ ‘I like it,’ ‘I want one,’ and ‘Ruby jump on bed.’
On our way downstairs she tells me the names of all the toys and objects we pass in the playroom. She has been able to say most words that we say for a while now. Interestingly she is able to say octopus, helicopter and avocado. She understands spicy, hot, warm and cold, big and little, dark and light, on and off.
We remember to grab BIG kitty and BABY kitty before we go down the steps. They are loved companions (not necessary all the time, but she loves on them quite a bit). She likes to have BOTH the mama kitty and baby kitty together.
Starts eating raisin bread for breakfast, but then realizes that she normally eats cream cheese on the bread so says to mama, ‘cheese on it.’ If I give her some cereal in a bowl she knows to ask for ‘a spoon and milk.’(She eats cereal like a big kid now). She enjoys grapes for breakfast most days, but today I chop up some kiwi and she loves it. She asks for more and notices that some chopped pieces are ‘big bites’ and ‘baby bites.’ Recently she discovered that she likes the taste of olives and pickles so one day she asked for these to go along with her breakfast.
Ruby notices I’m pouring my coffee. She likes the taste of coffee and sometimes I will give her a sip of mine. When Alex and I are both enjoying our morning coffee she will say, ‘mama coffee…daddy coffee’ (pointing to our cups) and then she says ‘two coffees.’ I’m so excited that she is starting to get the concept of numbers, the fact that sometimes there is more than just one thing. Randomly she will comment on things like two shoes, two legs, two hands, two kitties, two doggies, two ducks, etc. Occasionally if you count with her she will say the number following what you say.
Usually she spills a little of her breakfast whatever it is on the ground. She knows to ask for ‘paper’ (paper towel) and says ‘wipe it’ as she cleans it up. I’m glad that she finds this amusing at this point. She knows how to take things and put them into the trash for me.
We head upstairs to get dressed. It is usually a bit of a struggle…I usually have to pry her away from her slide or her cat keyboard. She loves to dance and sing to its music. The cutest part is when she tries to spell out the letters in B-I-N-G-O or dance to the hokey pokey. Anyways, eventually we get around to getting dressed. Ruby is wearing mostly 2T size clothes now and is still pretty tall for her age. She wears size 6 shoes. She is getting better and better at her colors and we talk about what color her shoes and clothes are as we get ready for the day. I recently got her some hot pink shoes which are too cute! She loves to play with her hairbows, but there is still not quite enough hair on her head to hold one securely.
Then it is my turn to get dressed. I let Ruby play in my makeup drawer. Her favorite thing is my chapstick. She loves to take the top on and off, and put chapstick on while looking in the mirror. She puts chapstick on me and daddy if he is around.
We head out the door to our weekly gymnastics class. Ruby loves it because she gets to run and jump across the sprung floor, and climb all over the equipment with her friend Maddie. I think all the playdates and activities we have done have really helped Ruby to become pretty confident and comfortable in new situations. She is happy to try new things like the balance beam, hanging from the bars or rolling across the floor. Ruby is always eager to say hello to new kids at the playground or the store. Overall she is a pretty easygoing and sociable little girl. She loves playing with all her little friends and gets excited when I say the names of the friends she is going to see.
After gymnastics my friend Lori and I decide to take the girls to a local playground since it seems they still have energy! I used to be nervous letting Ruby on the tops of the slides without me, but now she is more steady on her feet and seems to be getting more conscious of dropoffs.
Then it is time to head back home for some lunch. Luckily Ruby still takes a 2 hour nap after lunch. If I’m not cleaning or preparing for dinner I usually work on one of my various projects in my craft room. Some recent crafting projects include a St. Patrick’s day wreath, a spring wreath, The beginning of Ruby’s birthday decorations, sewing Ruby simple dresses, planning a ‘color blue playdate’ and making tutus for friends.
When Ruby wakes up we head over to her buddy’s house. I’m co-planning a St. Patrick’s Day party with a friend, and the kiddos played on their swingset while we talked over the menu. While playing Ruby bonks her head on the beam of the swingset, but she doesn’t let out a peep. She is a pretty tough cookie. I’ve seen her fall on her knees and even take a tumble down some stairs without crying. I’m so glad that she is so good natured and doesn’t fake cry to get attention.
Since it is nearly rush hour we drive home. Luckily daddy is finished with work around 5 so we go for a walk down to the duck ponds. Ruby knows how to throw bread to the ducks and we keep our eyes out for fish and turtles too.
It’s dinnertime. Luckily I’ve had beef stroganoff cooking in the crock pot all day so there isn’t much to be done. Ruby eats a few bites and then it is time for a bath.
Alex still bathes Ruby in our kitchen sink. We’ve tried baths in the tubs, but the sink is so much easier for now.
Bedtime is around 7 pm. Daddy is a pro at this routine. He brushes Ruby’s teeth (with some resistance), gives her the big kitty and baby kitty, and puts her into her crib with her cozytime blanket. She doesn’t cry anymore when we put her down. I think she is just worn out from exploring her little toddler world.
Now she is 21 months old. Her second birthday is just around the corner!
