February 04, 2007

January 2007

Dear Kids,

This month marks a change in how I write my monthly updates. Ruby, it’s been fun documenting the minutiae of your development thus far but stuck deep in the back of my mind I realized that there is no way I’ll be able to give all of my children the same attention (providing of course that we have more children). So in an effort to make all of our children (providing of course that we have more children) feel included I’ve decided that I’ll spend my little bit of free time on the first Sunday of every month to sit down and write about each an every one of you (providing of course that we have more of you).

Now, I know that this seems a bit ridiculous seeing how we only have one child so far, but for some reason it seems like it’s time to make the switch with Ruby just celebrating her first birthday. As a parent I am amazed at how much I have forgotten this past year and how much I rely on these monthly updates to jolt my memory. Life seems to move so quickly now and it’s good to pause for a bit and take note.

Ruby, as I write this I hear you crying in your bedroom. I just gave you a bottle and thought that you were tired enough for a nap, but it turns out that you weren’t quite ready. Your mom has intervened and now I hear the two of you in the kitchen scrounging around f or food. You have become quite sassy and your temperament is beginning to spike in opposite directions at the drop of a hat. For the most part however you are pretty mellow and fun and love to interact with people.

This winter has been a cold one and the inversion has been stuck in the Salt Lake Valley which means that you and your mom have been confined to our house while I am away at work, school or church. Though this has been driving your mom crazy she has been putting the time to good use reading you books and teaching you all kinds of things. You can now point to your toes, ears, eyes, mouth and bellybutton on demand. You also have a real knack for pointing to things and waving “hi”. At times you wave to nothing, which both confuses us and makes us wonder if you’re waving to a ghost. “I wonder if she sees dead people,” you mom comments. “I don’t know,” I reply.

Your vocabulary has also taken strides and you are beginning to associate words with objects. A bird is a “duck”, a cat is “meow” and a dog is a “gog”. A cell phone is a “hello” and a banana is a “yana” (which by the way, you can’t seem to get enough of). We hear you jabber all the time speaking your own language to whomever will listen. You continue to be fascinated with all things “hat” and have a real knack for picking them out in just about any scenario. Lately your favorite word has be “happy” and you like to say it whenever you can.

I think that most of these words you are amassing come from all the time we spend reading books. I am so glad that you love to read books with your mom and I. I can’t tell you how much I love to read and how many hours of fulfillment it has brought me. One of my wishes for you is that you are always in the middle of a good book. Few things in life are better than that.

I thought for sure by now you’d be walking, but it seems that you are quite content doing the crawl. In the kitchen you like to walk with the aid of the step ladder much like an elderly person pushes a walker. Today I saw you crabbing (on your feet rather than your knees) so maybe your first steps are right around the corner.

You are becoming more and more interactive when you play. You love stacking your blocks and banging things together, which makes the percussionist in me happy to see. You have these puzzle pieces with handles on them that you bang like crash cymbals. I’m tempted to break out a pair for you but am afraid that they might be too loud for you and scare you into submission.

Speaking of banging, you love to give five's whenever possible. This coincides nicely with how much you love to hit just about anything. You bang on the table, my head...just whatever is in front of you. At some point we may have to have a little talk about just what is appropriate to hit and what isn’t appropriate to hit. But for now you have license to bang away.

One of the saddest days for your mother happened this month when she officially stopped breast-feeding you. She’s been weaning you for the last few weeks, but one night when I got home just after you’d been put to bed I found your mother sobbing as she walked out your bedroom door. At first I didn’t see what the big deal was and then it hit me that this was the end of an era, one of complete dependance you’ve had on your mother. You’re growing up so quickly, Ruby. Sometimes it’s hard to accept that.

We didn’t travel anywhere this month, or do much exciting. I’m back in school for my last semester (hooray!!!) in addition to work and my Bishopric duties. Your mom continues to accept her role as housewife and full-time mother. Secretly I am a tad bit jealous of her life as she has a bond with you that I will never have. She loves and adores you to no end. When we talk on the phone I hear you in the background and long to be with my family again.

Alright then kiddo, I gotta go and get ready for church.

love always,
Dad

Posted by patatomic at February 4, 2007 12:33 PM

Comments

I love the bemused "what the heck is going on?" face she sports in the first clip while you are all singing to her.

Cute!

Posted by: jon deal at February 5, 2007 12:03 PM

Becca, reading about you weaning Ruby made me cry. And to think, just a few minutes ago I had the thought, "Is he hungry already?" Sometimes I feel like all I do is breastfeed, but I need to remember that it doesn't last forever!

Posted by: Aunt Suzy at February 6, 2007 09:51 PM

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February 04, 2007

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