Rasberries Anyone?

Ruby has become a professional in this department! It's a nice way to wake up in the morning! (But not a nice way to wake up at 3am, just sayin...)

In other developmental news, Ruby has started sitting unassisted, saying "Da Da", and pushing up onto her hands and knees to crawl! She even "revved her engine!" It's pretty amazing how quickly babies make progress, and of course a little sad for Mom. But mostly, I'm just a proud mommy who feels so lucky to have her baby, watch her grow, and be the happy and healthy little lady that she is =)

St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival

This weekend we took Ruby to Balboa Park to celebrate her Irish heritage at the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival. In honor of Ireland, the weather was cloudy and cool, which made for a good match for the uphill climb we had to tackle from our parking spot to the festival itself =).

First of all, Ruby does not like parades! haha. At least, she certainly did not enjoy the sirens and endless honking car horns. So we avoided that part of the festivities. Ruby did enjoy pony rides, llamas, carnival rides, spending time with her aunties, green haired children, as well as Irish music and dancing.

And I must say, she looked awfully cute!

8 months old!

I can't believe it, another month behind us. Ruby is 8 months old, 6 months adjusted and continuing to thrive. She's wearing 3-6 month clothes, which means more to pack away. She's mastered all of the Stage 1 foods and we're starting on Stage 2s. We tried stage 2 green beans and she gagged, so we'll see! She also had her first biter biscuit and she loved it. She finally figured out how that darn sippy cup works as well! My big girl =)

Here is Ruby in her jumper.

7 month Pictures

Ruby's First Cold

Having a sick baby is not fun. I'm happy we made it to seven and half months before it happened, but I still wish it would have been longer! It started with a little cough and graduated into choking, runny nose, and fever. Thankfully, she's fared pretty well and we think she is on the mend. After two nights of bad sleep, our little lady bug slept pretty well last night so we think that's a good sign! There is nothing worse than having a child who isn't feeling well and there is nothing you can do about it.

Ruby has managed to keep her spirits up the last few days, with lots of smiles and laughs, despite the fact that she wasn't feeling great. I think she liked having Mommy and Daddy home all day with her, spoiling her rotten, as best we could.

Keep your fingers crossed that this cold passes without incident. Preemies are predisposed to lung infections and other complications which would could mean a trip to the hospital. I disinfected the house, and now that I am back to work, my office as well. Don't forget to wash your hands =)

Here are a few pictures of Ruby hanging at home:

Valentine's Day

Generally, Valentine's Day is like any other day in our household, without extravagent plans or gifts, but a few extra hugs, kisses, and I love you's! Last year I was pregnant and sick, no fun. But Louis did get me a sweet card and a too much gift card from Victoria's Secret.

This year we decided that Louis and I would spend a day alone together, since that hasn't happened in such a long time! We originally had planned to go to the Wild Animal Park, but the storms coming through made us postpone the trip. So instead, we dropped Ruby off at my aunt's house without any real plans of what to do. We ended up having an awesome seafood lunch, followed by some shopping at Fashion Valley Mall where we went to get my ruby ring sized so I can actually wear it! After that we just layed around the house and took a last minute trip to Heaven Sent Desserts in North Park before picking up the baby. I had the best Red Velvet Cake ever! Yummmm!!!!!! And sneaky Louis got me another sweet little card, how does he do that without me knowing?!

Ruby had not been to Aunt Barbara's in awhile, and I think they both enjoyed it! (Although Ruby did have a meltdown when she heard my voice on the phone calling to say we were on our way, haha) Here are a few pics of Ruby enjoying the rest of the night home with Mommy and Daddy...

Ruby vs. Flu Shot... Ruby wins!

We had an appointment yesterday for Ruby to receive her second flu shot. We went to the doctor's office and signed in, only to find out that they had run out of flu shots! (Thanks for the call?) They said one is better than none, and since we're half way through February, we should be fine. All well... At least Ruby didn't have to get another darn shot!

We used the time to grab lunch and visit at my office for awhile, since I was working that day. And hanging out with Louis and Ruby is way more fun than working anytime! My boss and my sister Nicole, who works with me, were equally happy to have her around =)

Stay tuned for Valentine's pics... yay!

Adventures in Baby Food #2

Since our last blog about it, Ruby has been starting to really enjoy her food! She even opens her mouth when she sees it coming sometimes, (hooray!) She's eating about half a container of puree once or twice a day, and cereal once a day...

In the last few weeks we have added Peaches to her fruit purees. For veggies we've added Squash and Green Beans with success. Now Peas? That's a whole different story. Apparently Ruby HATES peas! She literally gagged on them, and made noises like she might vomit. We tried twice with the same result. haha... Poor Ruby, I won't make you eat peas! She does like guacamole though =)

In addition to purees, we've been letting Ruby sample whole foods too. She LOVES cold cucumber slices and melon, especially honeydew. She's also tried baby carrots too. I think she likes the mild flavors and the cold sensation on her gums. And so cute to watch her suck the life out of them. Now she just needs some teeth so she can chew!

Here a few pics of the Peas Experiment = FAIL

Winter in San Diego

We've been so fortunate to have some amazing weather here in San Diego since the new year started. We've been doing our best to enjoy it while it lasts. Last weekend we took Ruby to Mission Bay as well as Balboa Park to get some fresh air, see some new things, and play. We had a great time! Although Ruby ended up sleeping through most it...

This is also the only way I've been able to get any exercise, so that's a bonus. I walked twelve miles last weekend! Yay!

Here are some pictures of Ruby's first time on the swings. She was BARELY big enough haha...

Tummy Time

Now that Ruby is an expert roller, she's really enjoying spending time on her tummy! No more tears unless she gets stuck. And you can tell she wants to crawl so badly, but has no idea how to do it. In an attempt to create movement, she has taken to lifting up her arms and legs while on her belly. We call this "sky diving"... I'm not sure what she's hoping to do, but when it doesn't get her any closer to her toys, she yells. It's pretty fricken funny!

Here are some shots of Ruby enjoying tummy time!

Reflux Update

I mentioned that during Ruby's 6 month check up, our pediatrician requested that we do a trial off of her reflux medication, Prilosec. Most babies grow out of their reflux by this age, but for some it can take 12 months or longer.

Well, it only took three days before Ruby started vomiting. This is much different than the usual spit ups we've become accustomed too. We waited a day just to ensure it wasn't a fluke, but it just got worse. And we had a cranky baby on our hands. We started the medication back up and it took almost a week before Ruby was back to normal! I felt bad for even trying, but at least now we know we're not giving her medication unnecessarily.

I'm sure we'll try again after her next check up, but for now I'm just happy her reflux is back under control...

Adventures in Baby Food

With the ok from our pediatrician, we have been giving Ruby new foods to try. She had started on cereals, which went pretty well. She's had both rice cereal and oatmeal so far. Usually if she doesn't finish a bottle during the day, I'll add some cereal to the leftovers and see if she'll take some bites. A good way to get those ounces in!

For her first try at fruit we with went with banana. She opened her mouth wide and then looked at me like I was feeding her dirt! "It's food, I promise!" I kept telling her. She ate about 10 bites before being too distracted to continue. So Ruby got to eat bananas for dinner for three days, each time looking equally concerned for her welfare.

Next we tried her first vegetable, carrots. I happened to have loved carrots when I was a baby, and am told I even turned orange from eating so much! Ruby too seems to like them, although as with bananas, her first bites produced a look of horror. Again we waited three days to be sure there would be no reaction before moving on to our next food...

Applesauce! Babies love applesauce, right? Well, Ruby still looked at me like I was crazy, but ate it none the less. So for now, we'll keep introducing new foods, while letting her eat some of the old ones too. For the time being, all this pureed goodness is just for practice. I think once her adjusted age hits 6 months she might be more into it, but we'll continue to have fun with it in the meantime!

Ruby sure does L-O-V-E her high chair by the way! And so do we. We have the Fisher Price Space Saver and I'm so happy we do. I highly recommend it. We've also introduced her to the sippy cup, although so far all she's done is try to play it like a trumpet =)

Here are some pictures of meal time with Ruby. I believe this was the Bananas Experiment. I have more on my camera that I will be sure to share later!

Disneyland!

Ruby had her first trip to Disneyland this weekend! Amy's triplets turned 1 and we went to celebrate with their family. The weather was just amazing, and the crowds weren't bad at all.

Ruby did great, aside from the initial crying fit on the tram! (She did NOT like the guy on the loud speaker) After that, she was just a sponge, trying to take in all the new sights and sounds. I carried her in the bjorn most of the day so she could see, and she seemed happy as a clam. We had lunch at the Rainforest cafe, and afterwards Louis got ice cream and I got frozen lemonade! Yum! At the end of the day Ruby started getting wiggly. She wanted to be put down so she could stretch out and roll around. The last picture is of Ruby laying in the back seat of the car when we left. As soon as I put her down she was just laughing and laughing! She definitely slept good that night, we all did =)

I must say, Disneyland is an entirely different experience when you're trying to coordinate a bunch of little ones! Thankfully Amy is an expert, since she is the mother of 6. But at the end of the day, Louis and I decided that now we have to go back so that we can do more!