Another trip to the zoo, just with dad this time while I was at work.
I worked A LOT this month. I worked 74 hours in one week, basically just coming home to sleep for a few days in a row. Up and out before Brian and Ruby woke up and back home again once they were already in bed. That sucked. But it was worth it. I'm really proud of the local food festival I planned and pulled off. It went pretty much perfect. And really, it was a lot like the flip side of when Brian was in Boston. I'm not going to say I'm mommy-guilt-free about work. But, since I have to work, I'm glad that I have a job to go to that I love. And that most of the time, it's only 3 or 3 and a half days a week away from Ruby.
My former boss, Tee, was in town for my festival, and when we went out to dinner at Pueblo Solis, Ruby smashed a plate. It's the only thing so far that we saved as a momento of her "firsts" of her first year.
Ruby is getting longer and leaner, but maintained the same weight for a couple months now. Her face keeps changing. It seems like I can start to see what she is going to look like when she gets a little older. Very neat.
She caught her first cold. We got sick together, and I made us some chicken soup. She recovered in one day.
She says Mama now and she learned how to switch the light on and off.
When she is really happy and excited she giggles like crazy and squeezes her arms forward like this
Two times, we babysat Cameron over here. It went pretty well, but honestly was tougher than I thought. I'm always so over-confident because of all my babysitting and daycare experience. Too bad that was from 15 years ago. I'm old and tired now, so getting up off the floor while holding two babies isn't as easy as it used to be.
Ruby still loves walking. She's walking on the furniture a lot and is taking more and more risks. Consequently, she's starting to fall a lot, which can be a little scary.
She still loves water. She would sit in her little tub forever if I let her. I have learned to have some work to do beside her on the kitchen counter at bath time, just to help her drag it out. She is starting to outgrow her tub though. She can reach out for too many dangerous things. She tries turning the hot and cold water on and off. And tonight, she pulled a houseplant right into the tub on top of herself. It was a big gross mess and it totally freaked her out.
She is so observant now - on both macro and micro levels. She checks out her surroundings in detail wherever she is. And she loves to trace the fine details of objects with her fingers. I can remember very much Tyler going through the same phase, and it's neat to see it in her now.
She loves her little interactive desk
And her favorite playtime activity is to dump out bins of toys.
She loves playing with Daisy
She still shows no sign of stranger danger. She still will go to anyone that wants to hold her and loves pretty much anyone that gives her attention. She loves getting complements. Somehow she can distinguish it in conversation and lights up every time. No one really turns her off. But she definitely responds with extra joy to a handful of people. The people she sees the most obviously, but then there are a few people that she rarely sees that she always is super excited to see. It's really interesting. I guess they are all people that have a really positive vibe about them in general. It's neat to know that she can already discern that. One of them is literally one of the checkout guys at the grocery store. She gets so excited when she sees him that she stiffens up, claps her hands, and gasps. It's very cute.
This month, Brian and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. We originally wanted to take a trip somewhere, but the timing with work was too crazy, so we upgraded from a full-size to a KING-size bed. It's the first new bed we've ever had. Over the years, we just keep lucking (I guess) into other people's practically new but no longer wanted beds. Having the two of us and oftentimes Ruby and Daisy all in one full size bed has been trying. The new bed rocks the house! My mom is horrified that we are keeping the set on the floor. I figure it's less far for Ruby to fall when she eventually rolls off. It's bound to happen sooner or later despite our best intentions. Also, we want to get a platform bed eventually, so we're holding out for that for now.
We also celebrated by going to see Ween. It was a good show, but probably not the best we've seen of ween. That night, we stayed out pretty late, so we had my folks keep Ruby overnight for the first time. She did great. Another day this month, my grandparents watched Ruby for a few hours for the first time, and she did really well for them too.
We had a big lull in going out on dates, but we're trying hard to get back into the swing. This month - 1 date. I'm going to try for at least 3 next month.
While she did sleep through the night for my folks, it was unfortunately still a rare occasion. In fact, she sometimes she wakes up for one or two or more hours in the middle of the night just to hang out and play. We're trying to break this cycle. I'm pretty exhausted.
October also means hockey season is in effect. When Brian gets excited, he yells. When he suddenly bursts out with some random celebratory exclamation, Ruby freaks out and cries. It's going to be a loooong season if she doesn't get used to it.
Halloween came and went. Everyone kept asking what Ruby was going to be for Halloween. Since she can't walk or talk or eat candy, I thought it was only logical to not waste money or energy observing the holiday. So many people kept asking, I finally started replying "a Jehovah's Witness". Someone actually said to me puzzled - "so is she going to wear a navy pleated skirt or what?" arghh. We ended up going over to Tom and Mindy's new house and handed out candy while Tyler and Cameron made the rounds. Afterwards, we ate chili for dinner and had bonfire in the backyard. It was just right. My favorite part of the night was when Mindy recounted how earlier in the evening, Tom told her that Matt was going to come over too. And Tyler added "Gonna drink a couple beers."
Since halloween is over, that means I've officially not cut my hair for over two years now. I really do want to get it cut because Ruby pulls it so often, and now, so hard. But selfishly, or I guess vainly, I'm waiting to get a picture of me and her that shows how crazy long my hair is at this stage in her life. I'm always the one taking the pictures, so there are very few of me and her together. And they are all on here. Everyone takes them up close - just faces. Hopefully, we'll get a good one soon so I can finally get a haircut.
At first, she couldn't understand why she couldn't just grab the stream of water like she grabs everything else she reaches out for. Since I figured out how to add pictures - I'm going to add some other swimming ones too.
That's Ruby with her swimming lessons buddy, Cameron. I'm sad to say she already outgrew that swimsuit before the session was even over. As you can tell from the pics - she was barely in it on the day they were taken. Ruby LOVES swimming. 
Since the first day that Ruby was born, I frequently am amazed that Ruby is real - that she is a real person and that she is a part of our family and will be forever. Sounds so lame, especially coming from someone who hates it when anyone states the obvious, but it's true. It happens all the time, and it is truly and profoundly stunning. The fact that it keeps happening with the same intensity, instead of getting a little more familiar as time passes, just might be the very best part. I hope it stays this way forever.
