These Boots are Made for Cooing

daddy post: i spent the last weekend over at mt. bachelor for a bachelor party and when i returned ruby looked as though she had grown significantly. she is now holding her head up with ease and she had her first rollover that was only confirmed after the fact. i guess it's still possible that she had some help from jack. she is also drooling up a small flood. those are probably my genes. sorry kid.

last night we celebrated (great) grandma alice's 85th birthday over at amy & joes. happy birthday grandma and thanks to amy & joe for hosting another great family get together. ruby mainly slept and fed most of the night. but that doesn't mean she didn't find time to coo over her new boots (see picture). hopefully, this is not the beginning of a shoe obsession. we're heading down to LA this friday to attend mark's art show. it will also serve as an impromptu celebration of mark and cindy's recent engagement. congrats to the two of them. we'll post some pictures when we return this sunday.

Ruby's Roadtrip

Momma Post: I'm taking the liberty of adding to Matt's post below, since introducing Ruby to the Southern Oregon excursion is a true initiation into our family experience. With two sets of grandparents in the area, both Matt and I can't remember a time where our parents weren't loading us up in the car for the four to six hour (time depending on age of the travelers) drive down I-5. In the photo to the upper left, Ruby's enjoying a cuddle with her Great-Grandma Martha.

A recent addition to the Southern Oregon experience has been our ability to visit with our dear friends Ryan and Maisie (see photos). A warm welcome to Dylan, seen here with his Mom. And, wow - Aidan's a cutie and at such a fun age. We will enjoy watching Maisie and Ryan's boys grow up.

Other highlight's included Ruby discovering the fascinating world of ceiling fans, which is the first object to hold her interest for 20 minutes. Ruby met several generations and branches of my family and got reaquainted with Matt's Grandpa Doyle. We felt honored having so many relatives make the trip and will enjoy visiting with them in Portland later this week. Lastly, I was able to share my favorite, off-the-beaten path roadstop, Tolly's in historic Oakland, Oregon with our girl. Tolly's is an old fashion ice cream parlor/general store that was a I-5 tradition of my Mom's - literally a sweet ritual to continue.

Visiting the Great Grandparents in Club Med

daddy post: a busy weekend in medford. ruby did well on the drive down, but took a little more attention on the way back up. her new developmental milestone is pooping on people, namely marty and myself. beware of ruby's revenge!!!

also, in case you weren't aware you can enlarge a photo simply by clicking on it.

Sweethearts

Momma Post: Ruby spent time with her special Valentine, Great-Grandma Alice today. These two had quite the conversation and were a joy to watch. Ruby and her parents send their love to all those near, dear and far. Happy Valentine's Day.

Sixth Week Summary

Momma Post: We have been really enjoying getting to know Ruby's personality each day. Ruby's equally learning about us, too. Ruby likes to flirt with those who sweet talk to her, including with that cute baby in the mirror. She's smiling more with two types of expressions, the flirty/bashful side smile and expressive full, wide open grin.

Our girl is also going through a stage where she doesn't want to be put down, which has redefined the term a "handful". I hope to gain nice upper arm definition by warm, tank top weather. This past week, Ruby only naps during the day if she is in the sling, in the car or laying sprawled out on a tired parent. A plus side to this is that she sleeps pretty well from 8:30pm to 7:00am minus feedings.

Her Dad mentioned the latest visit to the pediatrician, ending in three shots - boy was she mad. Good news is that we don't have to go in for the next round until April. Ruby's now 11 pounds and 1 1/2 ounces while reaching 23 inches in height. She's been gracefully dealing with a bout of baby acne, which Dr. Lin said is caused by hormones just like the adolesent kind. Thankfully Ruby doesn't have to worry about Clerasil and breakouts before prom, just yet. Fortunately this time around they should only last a couple of weeks before her skin clears up.

This past week Kristin and I took her baby daughter Karen and Ruby to the movies for their first time. Our good friends Kristin and Tommy shared our childbirth and newborn care classes with us. The movie experience with the girls was great, although the film The Family Stone with Sarah Jessica Parker was forgetable. Both babies slept for the most part, but if crying does happen in the future, they'd have plenty of company as there was a chorus of wee wailers. Mommie Matinee on Monday and Tuesday afternoons is a wonderful service provided by McMenamins' Kennedy School (see link). I look forward to making Mommie Matinee afternoons a weekly ritual through the rest of maternity leave.

Family Fun

Daddy Post: it's been a good week around here. ruby's doing great and she had a swell time with mom and dad at the beach yesterday. we spent our day exploring Ft. Stevens before moving back south to Gerhardt and Cannon Beach. it was a beautiful day which made it easy to forget that it was february. last weekend, my second family in the MFT program at lewis & clark had a fun get together at leticia's casa. they generously provided an amazing gift basket for ruby that consisted of what seemed to be at least 20 stylish outfits that will keep ruby in the "popular" click throughout her first year when she's in daycare. thanks to all of my adopted sisters and andrew for their generosity and support. marty and i will also put the gift certificate to Le Happy to good use.

on friday, ruby got her first substantial round of shots. she was not amused. i had forgotten the camera but had i remembered you would see how quickly she can get the color of her face to match her name. thanks again to everyone for everything. we're truly lucky to have such great people in our lives and to be able to call them family.

The Hands of Zeus!

daddy post: grandpa steve aka Zeus came into town last night and we went out to dinner at Gustav's with grandma, amy, joe, john, and jackie. ruby was well behaved and her mood fortunately carried into this morning where she was a little chatty kathy upon waking up.

Pictures 2.5.06

daddy post: here are some great pictures taken by marty. i'm posting them as she's giggling and kicking me on the couch. i think she's giving me a hint so i'd better keep this short. hope everyone is doing well. -matt

Welcome and Fifth Week Summary

Momma Post: I decided to start this blog as a way to organize my thoughts on the "second love of my life" Ruby Michele, our daughter born on Christmas Day, 2005. Additionally, I thought this would be a great tool to send photos to family and update everyone on Ruby's firsts. I can't believe that as of today Ruby has been with us for six weeks now. The time has gone by fast and this is my way of capturing the little moments.

Milestones - Ruby's cooing and mimicing several sounds. Specifically, "oooh", "hi" and "yeah" (Fifth week). Her Dad has been great initiating this daily conversations. She's indiscriminately grabs at Mom's hair and Dad's glasses. Either in an active alert stage or in a hunger panic. Smiling and giggling are also heartwarming introductions to Ruby's personality (Fourth week). Although the first time she giggled was in her sleep, so it's anyone's guess to what the trigger was.

Ruby still isn't thrilled about the process of getting dressed. It's not that she doesn't like clothes, it's just that Mom and Dad aren't fast enough with pulling onesies over her head or tugging sleeves down her little arms. New, clean diapers are much more pleasant.

Sleeping (see photo) and eating are favorite pasttimes and as long as both activities frequent and plentiful, everyone is happy. Two nights ago, Ruby made her parents particularly proud by sleeping from 9:30p.m. to 5:15a.m. straight through. She enjoys her swing and being carried in her sling (again, see photo).

Specifically to this past week, Ruby visited with Great Grandma Alice, Auntie Amy and Uncle Joe, while her parents had their second adult dinner out, celebrated Uncle Clark's 25th Birthday over at Grandpa Bill and Nana Jan's, had her first river walk along the Eastbank Esplanade and slept through the Steelers' Superbowl win.