Way too long...

I am a bad blogger! It's been way too long since I've updated and I was inspired by a friend to start it up again. So here's an upate:

Ruby is a hair over 22 months now and has an ever expanding vocabulary. She is so much fun and so willfull too. She absolutely addicted to Dora the Explorer and her band of animal friends. Any of you who know me well, know that I was hell-bent on NOT being a party to the commercialized takeover of my child's imagination. There is just no fighting Dora - the chic really has it going on. She actually makes my kid smarter. She has taught her a whole host of Spanish words too. Ruby can count to 5 (sometimes 7) in Spanish and she counts to 10 (sort of) in English. It kind of goes, "1, 2, 3, 9, 10!" She does however know her entire alphabet - in order or randomly. I swear this kid is a smart one!

Here are some of our favorite words/sayings of hers aand their translations:
"I la" = I love you
"logurt" = yogurt
"yamas" = music
"puck-Rock" = punk rock of course
"kee-koo" = thank you
"duece" = poo-poo (Daddy's favorite)

As of her last doctor's appointment (about 6-7 weeks ago) she was 30lbs. and 34" tall. That puts her in the 75% for weight and the 90% for height. She's bound to be tall with Rene and I as her parents.

This weekend was Memorial Day so we got an extra day with Daddy. Thank god the sun came out after all the rain we had last week. We went to the tidepools and daddy saved a pelican who got a big fishing lure caught in its wing.

happy birthday ruby!!

Happy Birthday Ruby!!

Our little girl turns one year old today. I feel like I have known her forever. I look back and realize how incomplete my life was before she graced us with her presence. This last year I have learned so much about myself. I have learned patience and compassion for a child who doesn't speak my language and for a husband who sometimes feels like an outsider to the bond Ruby and I have and for myself because I have overcome so much physically and emotionally and still have the ability to make my daughter laugh. She is the greatest gift I have ever gotten. She is the greatest teacher I will ever have.

This time last year I was getting ready for surgery to have her extracted from my womb. I had a scheduled c-section exactly 40 weeks from the day we conceived her. A good friend of mine reminded me that if we had been in a third world country that Ruby and I both may have died during childbirth because she was not only breach but very large. Without modern medicine it is quite possible that I may not have been able to pass her. So how insanely grateful I am that we have those luxuries here in America. I am no less a mother because my vagina wasn't engaged during childbirth. I have known many women who have had c-sections and I always felt sorry for them - somehow they had missed out on a rite of passage. I realize now how silly that is. Being a mother at all, be it by vagina, surgery, or adoption is truly the greatest rite of passage. I hope for Ruby that she will one day know this feeling of being a mother and having this incommunicable love for another being.

Okay so now for her stats...

• Unassisted steps taken - 0
• Seconds standing unassisted - 1
• Drawers/Cabinets opened & emptied on a daily basis - 7
• Daily naps - 2
• Average daily hours of sleep - 12-14
• Words - ba ba (bye bye), ki ka (kitty cat), maow (meow), ma ma ma ma ma (mommy), pa (daddy), ga (all gone)
• Sign language - milk, bath, eat, change diaper, nap, all gone, hello/good-bye
• Body parts she knows & can point to - toes, belly button, ears, tongue
• Teeth - 7
• Favorite book to read alone - The Cat in the Hat
• Favorite book to read to her - My Pretty Kitten (at least that was her favorite yesterday)
• Favorite Lovey - Rattone the Rat
• Favorite Pastimes - Chasing the cat & playing in the bathroom
• Favorite Food - Bananas

I think that pretty much solidifies what a totally normal and exceptional child she is. I am honored that she chose me to be her mom. I love you Ruby. You are my shining star!