Ruthie Says...

I was 51 weeks old!


Three things about me:
1. I like to kick my feet in my umbrella stroller
2. When Mommy opens the dishwasher I try to climb onto the door.
3. I love to play with Daddy. He is so fun!













Guess how old I am in this picture: 52 WEEKS!

Three things about me:
1. I think my cousins Armand and Juliet are fun.
2. I weigh 17 pounds 5 ounces.
3. I like to pull things out of their boxes. Things like tissues and wipes.

Behind the times

I will say that once I find myself behind in posting it is difficult to get caught up. The longer I wait the more difficult it is. I have not yet posted the last two weeks of Ruthie's weekly photos, our trip to Utah, and Ruthie's 1st birthday. I vow to post some of this tomorrow!

Just Videos

Ruthie says...

Mommy is so behind on posting that I have decided to take control.

Here is a picture of me when I was 48 weeks old.
(That means I was 11 months old)

Three things about me from that week:
1. I can climb the stairs.
2. I am getting curls.
3. I like to read books at bedtime,










Here are some pictures of me from two weeks ago.

Mommy and I on the stairs

My Curls

Mommy and I reading book right before bed

 Then I was 49 weeks old.
Here are some things about me that week:
1. Mommy uses the chairs to make a barricade to keep me in the living room. I like to drop things over the top.
2. I like to play in my room and read all the board books. I can make a bzzzzz sound for the Buzzy Bee Book.
3. Right now my two favorite books are the book Mothers and Daughters that Grandma made and the book When Jessie Came Across the Sea that came from Great-Uncle Frank.












Here are more pictures of me.

I am eating a yummy lunch

This is my barricade. I use it to pull myself up

Now I am 50 Weeks old!
Here are three things about me now:
1. I bite toes and ankles... not just mine.
2. After I get my hair brushed I like to hold the brush and try to do it myself.
3. I am very brave at library Story Time and will crawl away from Mommy to meet some other kids. Mr. Steve the story man doesn't mind if you crawl around the room.







By the way, this post was ready on Sunday, but Daddy accidentally put the wrong numbers on my onsies so we had to wait until he could fix them. He is very busy with school, work, homework, and playing with me so it took a few days.

Ruthie says...

I am 47 weeks old!

Three things about me:
1. I am starting to pull myself up.
2. I like to try to climb on and over things.
3. I don't like having my face cleaned after I eat.

Ruthie says...

I am 46 weeks old!

Three things about me:
1. After Mommy puts me to bed I flip over to my tummy to sleep. That is the cozy way to sleep.
2. I try to play with Matdy's water dish, but Mommy won't let me. She keeps blocking it off with the stroller.
3. I enjoy some pretty fun games. Like the one where I hand you something, and then you hand it back. And then we do it again... and again... and again... and again...

Family Dinner

"Daddy, thank you for letting me wipe my fingers
on your suit pants

We like to eat dinner together as a family. Ruth likes to try anything Christian and I are eating. Depending on what the food is, a bib may not be enough. We sometimes strip her down to keep messy food from being smeared on her clothing. We had found out that this does not prevent her from placing messy fingers on our clothing.

Ruthie says...

Did I mention that I can crawl?
 It comes in handy sometimes.

I am 45 weeks old!

Three things about me:
1. I can click a pen...and then write on my clothing...and Mommy's arm.
2. I LOVE bananas. If you even say banana I will ask for some.
3. I like to go grocery shopping and sit in the cart.

Laundry Helper

Ruthie loves to help with the laundry. Here are some cute pictures of her helping me.

Organizing the Hangers

Checking that everything is hung properly

Overseeing sock folding

Pulling off clothing that is not hung to her satisfaction.

Ruthie Says...

I am 44 weeks old!
(That's 10 months)

Three things about me:
1. I like to throw things down... not drop - throw.
2. I can unscrew a lid.
3. I love food that I can pick up with my hands like bananas and peas.

Crawling

Ruthie started crawling on Saturday. This is some video of her minutes after she started to crawl. 

Isn't she so cute. 

Ruthie Says...

I am 42 weeks old!

Three things about me:
1. I can say "More" in sign language. I always want more snacks
2. I can wave to say goodbye.
3. I can CRAWL!

She Only Does Cute

Cuddle with Daddy

Visiting Daddy at work

Ruthie Says...

Why are there no numbers on my onsies?
Daddy says... because the computer program we use to do that is not updating to match the new Mac operating system. Let's go ahead and make the weekly post even though your onsies don't have numbers.

I was 41 weeks old!
Three things about me:
1. I was sick for the first time.
2. I like to pick up any speck I can find from off the floor and then put it in my mouth.
3. Sometimes I growl.







Now I am 42 weeks old!
1. Mommy won't let me play with paper any more because I try to eat it.
2. I can smack my lips.
3. I can move from my tummy to sitting, but i have to back up about  two feet to do it.

Banana Baby Take Two

Today I sat next to Ruthie while I was eating a grapefruit. She kept trying to grab some but she is too little for citrus. She was quite put out that I wouldn't share so I gave her a banana to hold. I figured it would keep her occupied until I finished the grapefruit then I would share the banana with her. I wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing and when I was almost done with this grapefruit this is what I found.

Banana Baby

Ruthie will snatch up anything within reach. Yesterday she stole my banana. She looked so cute exploring the shape and texture of the banana that I didn't have the heart to take it back (she didn't look ready to give it up either). I ended up getting another one for myself and let her keep the first one until something else caught her interest.

Ruthie Says...

I am 40 weeks old!

Three things about me:
1. It is easy to make me laugh
2. I love to sit in the shopping cart and smile at everyone I see.
3. I can be a stubborn-stinker. Mommy insists on putting me on my tummy even though it doesn't make me happy, so today when she wanted to take my picture I decided not to make her happy. I wouldn't be happy on by back so this was the only way I would take a picture. I don't understand why Mommy and Daddy were happy even though I wouldn't lay on my back like they wanted.

Rapha Rising Challenge

Christian Completed the Rapha Rising challenge this week. What is Rapha and what was the challenge? Rapha is a company that makes clothing for cyclists. In honor of the Tour de France entering the Pyrenees and tackling a series of climbs known as the Circle of Death where competitors climb 22,575 feet. I think the tour completes this massive elevation climb  in one day. This Rapha challenge was to climb the same elevation between July 15-22. Christian did a great job splitting his time between mountain and road bike and getting his elevation in in two less days than the challenge offered (the 15th and the 22nd were Sundays). Here are some of the fantastic pictures he took during his rides.

Ruthie says...

I am 39 weeks old!
(That's 9 months)

Three things about me:
1. I like to kick my feet agains the tray of my high chair.
2. I love to go swimming! I start squealing as soon as I see the pool!
3. I don't want to learn how to crawl because it means I have to be on my tummy. I learned to roll over so I wouldn't have to be on my tummy. And I won't roll from my back to my front either because where will that put me - back on my tummy.

A Video for Family

This video is long and probably only of interest to grandparents. Ruthie was sitting on the Kitchen floor while Christian and I ate dinner. We are pretty quiet in the background because we are having to much time watching Ruthie. Anyway, She is just so cute playing on the floor.

Two Years

Two years ago we were married! It is hard to believe it has been that long and it is hard to believe it has only been two years. We love being married and look forward to all of eternity together.

Ruthie says...

I am 38 weeks old!

Three things about me:
1. I love snack time. I especially like the little baby yogurt bites.
2. I like to ride in the backpack and play with Daddy's head.
3. I do not like to take my late afternoon nap. I try to tell Mommy that I am only very grouchy because I know she is going to make me take a nap, and not because I need a nap. She doesn't seem to believe me.

Goldwater Lake

This Saturday we decided to go on a short hike to Goldwater Lake. Tiffany and Kevin were kind enough to give us there baby backpack so Ruthie rode on her Dad's back in style. This is a pretty easy half mile hike and Ruthie did great. We spent some time walking around the lake and then found a bench to relax and let Ruthie get out and eat some snacks. After relaxing by the lake we headed back.

Ruth: "Hurry up and take the picture so I can eat my snacks"

About fifty yards from the end of the trail Ruthie started to fade out. Christian tried to walk as smoothly as possible as she fell asleep. She was so worn out she didn't wake up while being moved from the backpack to the carseat or from the carseat to her bed. She had so much fun and so did we. It is so wonderful to have Christian back and to be doing stuff as a family.

Waking up

Ruthie takes three naps every day. She takes the first one around 7:00 am (Yes, that is a real nap time - just take a moment to thing about what that means in terms of wake-up time), The second nap is around 11:30 and the last one about 4:30 or 5:00. Ruthie wakes up the happiest after her second nap. She just lays there, laughs, and plays with her toes. It is pretty cute.

By the way I take a nap during that 7:00 nap too.

Ruthie Says...

I am 37 weeks old!

Three things about me:
1. I went swimming for the first time.
2. Daddy says that I am "so insanely fun." I agree.
3. I know how to drop things from my highchair on purpose. Don't worry though, I just get Mom or Dad to pick them up for me when I want them again.






Ruthie also says...

Welcome home Daddy. I LOVE YOU!

and

Happy 90th birthday Great-Grandma Ruth Mahoney! Wasn't it clever of them to put a "Great" on your name so everyone would know how fantastic your name was?

Swimming

Ruthie had her first swimming adventure. We took her down to the YMCA pool. Our YMCA has a regular lap pool and a great little kid pool. It ranges from about 1 inch deep to about 4 feet. The loud echoey sound of the pool room scared her at first but as soon as we sat in the water she loved it. We started shallow and slowly inched deeper until we had to hold her. Ruth loved being held under the arms and kicking her legs behind her. We really had a lot of fun.

Crazy Hair after the Pool

On an unrelated note: Hooray for elderly couple we saw on a Harley on our way home. Did they look like really old bikers? No. They looked like they could have come straight from any senior center or Florida retirement community only they were ridding a Harley. That rocks.

Ruthie says...

I am 36 weeks old!
Three things about me:
1. I like to play with water (in the tub or sitting on the floor with a dish of water to put things in and take them out again - So FUN!).
2. I weigh almost 16 lbs.
3. I am getting good at picking up snacks with my fingers.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Christian!

Because Christian would be away for Father's Day we celebrated back in May, so I don't feel so bad that this post is a little late. Christian loves being a dad and he does a wonderful job being one. Ruth loves him and he face light up with a big smile whenever he comes home.  

Ruthie Says...

I am 35 weeks old!
            (That means 8 months)

Three things about me:
1. I weigh about 15 1/2 pounds.
2. I have two teeth now!
3. When I get upset I cry and arch my back. Grandma calls it the dolphin.

California Trip

The day after we said goodbye to Christian, Ruth and I set off for California. Ruthie enjoyed meeting her cousins Jacob and Joshua as well as Uncle Blake and Aunt Sara. Ruthie laughed at everything the boys did, unfortunately I don't have any pictures of them together.

Swinging with Grandma and Grandpa

We all took a quick trip to Avila Beach. Ruth, Sara, Joshie, Grandpa and I enjoyed staying in the shade, while Blake, Jacob, and Grandma had fun flying kites and playing where the waves came in.

Ruth and I also took time to visit with Emily and Eric. Ruth had a change of heart about their dog Claus. She loved him the last time she met him, but this visit she didn't like him at all. I think that she is more aware of his size (he is a German Shepherd) and it makes her nervous.

Aunt Emily and Ruth Emily

We spent a weekend up in Tehachapi with Oma and Boppa. Ruthie loved being outside in their beautiful yard. While in Tehachapi Ruthie got to sleep with Christian's old baby blanket - what a treasure! We ended up using ti for her 34 week picture.

Lots of love from Oma and Boppa

We also had visits with Grandma Mahoney, Aunt Kathy, and my cousin Amanda and her son JD. All and all the trip was lots of fun. Ruthie hit a milestone while in Calfifornia when she got her first tooth. By the time we left she had two. We had a wonderful trip but were happy to come home to our regular routine. 

Ruthie says...

I was 33 weeks old!

Three things about me:

1. I like the beach.
2. My cousins Jacob and Joshua make me laugh.
3. I am a good traveler. If we go at night I will sleep the whole way.








Now I am 34 weeks old!

Three more things about me:

1. I like sitting with Mommy on the swings at Oma and Boppa's.
2. I have a tooth!
3. I like to gnaw on dry toast.