Look who's talking!

Ruthie has been just exploding with words lately. And whenever she sees something she recognizes and can say, she just has to say it...loudly...and often! Here are a few of her favorite words:

mama
dada
ball
cat
car
door
keys
flamingo (it doesn't sound at all like flamingo, but is the cutest word she says :)
many of her friends' names
Ruth ('wooo')
duck
bath
baby (probably the most clear word she says)
sock
shoe
coat
butt
eye
toe
go
a growing assortment of animal sounds

Of course, most of this is in Ruthie-speak, which only I and sometimes daddy can decipher, but she is getting better and better at repeating sounds and words. She has also added a few more signs to her repertoire (help, baby, eat). It's so cool to see her learning and doing new things every day. I hope it never gets old!
I'll try to get some good video of her talking soon--it's hard to do since she can spot the video camera a mile away, and just needs to look through it!

Some New Do's

I've been trying to get Ruthie to keep clips and ponytails in her hair for quite some time now. I recently had a run of small successes. I think the trick is to keep her distracted enough that she will immediately forget that there is something in her hair. The problem is, she thinks it is a game to pull them out. She gives the clip back to me and points to her hair to put it in again, just so she can find it and pull it back out!

A Day at the Domes

Monday mornings are free to get into the Mitchell Park Domes. So what better way to spend a cold, snowy, February morning than to walk around in a beatiful, warm/tropical/arid environment? The Ebeling family joined us, and Ruthie loved walking around on the paths!

PHoto Challenge #49

I was really excited about this challenge when it was posted....about 4 weeks ago.... It just sounded so fun! I just haven't been able to find anything that fit...until today! This is just the perfect, cute little cartoonish face. On a computer monitor stand. Anyway, here's the instructions:

Find faces/facial expressions in inanimate objects.Submit 1-5 photosTweaking allowed.





Oh, and in my attempts to get something usable for this challenge, I tried to create a smiley face in a pancake. It kind of worked...look really close. This isn't a real entry for the challenge, since I didn't take the photo. I was too busy feeding the baby and blowing my nose.


-Katie

Dizzy Blonde

Show me the Love

Ruthie has been learning and practicing ways of showing affection to others. Her 'kiss' has been tamed from a wide-opened, slobbery, licking mouth to an only slightly-open-mouthed and almost no tongue quick peck, followed by a giggle.
She has surprised me with her hugging lately. In the last month or so, she has been hugging her friends without any prompting from me. I guess she just really likes them :) She loves hugging Josiah. Her hug has also evolved from a strangle-hold to a slightly more gentle, but still hearty wrangling. Here are examples of both.





Note: The second video was taken after I witnessed a similar hug, followed by both of the babies looking at eachother, and simultaneously leaning in for a kiss, after which they both started giggling! So wish I got THAT on tape!

Eating Like a Big Girl

Ruthie has been getting better and better at using a spoon. She usually at least holds one when she eats. She has begun to actually scoop up food herself. Here she is eating her typical breakfast of yogurt (with Cheerios in it).

Nice grip, and good scooping technique:

On the way to the mouth:

I think she got some in!:

Sometimes her natural spoon/fork is just easier:

And sometimes two spoons are better than one!: