for the love of books

this little one loves her books. i like to think i influenced that a little bit. i took her to the library for a puppet show and story time the other day and brought my camera. i couldn't pass up the opportunity to capture the way her eyes light up when she sees stacks and stacks of books. at one point she was running top speed through the rows, yelling "BOOKS! BOOKS! BOOOOOOKS!" with crazy eyes.

oh honey, i get it.
i totally get it.

sneaky, moody, funny little rascal

i can't stop laughing at these outtakes from the other day.

It looks like the "terrible twos" have started early for our little lady. She's been ahead of the curve with everything else, so I shouldn't be surprised she took on this milestone early too. We've been dealing with a lot of tantrums and power struggles. she's started to be super sneaky, sleep has been especially hard, she loathes the carseat, grocery shopping is always a lesson in humility and patience, and taking Roo to restaurants is reserved for days when i feel like being tortured. 
BUT 
there are so many perks that have come along with this age. 
-she's eating like a champ. there were days when i thought she would never ever ever never ever eat. ever. now she'll eat an entire apple, peas by the handful, omelets, almost anything i serve for dinner, and she'll try just about anything we give her. it's amazing. 
-she can be so sweet with her friends. she hates seeing any of her little buddies go to time out and she'll give away all her toys just to make them happy (sharing is a new development. i think she's just realized sharing makes people happy) 
-she loves to help. this is a blessing and a curse depending on the task, but the willingness is so endearing. 
-she likes to people watch (as long as they keep their distance). 
-she loves music and dancing. as soon as an upbeat song comes on she starts clapping, dancing, and giggling. it's great when we're walking through the mall because every store is like a new dance party. 
she's such a sweet little funny thing. 

we are so smitten with this rascal of ours. tantrums and all.

this week

downs:
-"NO MINE!!!" i hear this about a gazillion times a day lately, and i looooove it! not.
-sleep training. oh did i mention this last week? that's because it still takes me an hour and a half to get Ruby to sleep every night and nap time.  she has quite the arsenal of sleep-avoiding tactics
-the way Roo likes to stash food in the couch cushions
-trying to joke with a cashier and getting absolutely no response. you know when you're smiling and they're like, "um, what?" and you think about trying to salvage it, "i said... never mind." and then walk off feeling super lame. yeah, that
-that time i took the babe shopping and i had to give her 15 crackers, 2 packs of fruit snacks, and a sucker, just to get through the checkout line

ups:
-girls' night out
-the way Ruby says "here you go, baby." every time she hands someone something
-friends who offer to babysit my little rascal so i can have a mini vacation. have i mentioned i have the greatest friends?
-bijou market
-friendsgiving
-how Roo recognizes different places now. she knows when we're getting close to a friend's house or the park. it's really neat to see how much she remembers each time we go back
-that time Ruby shared! to say it's rare would be an understatement
-krispy kreme
-the way little miss adores socks. every time she sees a pair of socks, she begs to have them put on her feet. over her footie jammies? absolutely
-Ruby learning to say "i la-la!" (i love you) and saying it on her own. heart. melted.

life lately according to instagram

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currently

dear Roo,

i am currently in love with

-the way you knock on the pantry door when you're hungry

-the way you talk (house = "owss", ok= "okey", candy= "condeh", hug= "heck", soother= "thoowheh", book= "beck", dirty doggie= "turdy goggie", good= "get", blanket= "binket", etc)

-cuddling with you every morning

-how you try to clean up the "mess" (the fallen leaves) every time we go outside

-the way your breathing changes right before you fall asleep

you fill my heart.

love,
mama

monthly photo: 20 months

20 months:

click here for previous months

this week

downs:
-Roo deciding she was done with the crib. she hopped the coop a few too many times, so we took off the front rails. this pushed us back to square one of sleep training. her bedtime has moved from 8:30 to whenever-she-feels-like o'clock. usually 10:00ish. you better believe she still wakes up at 5:30. it's been a blast.
-people who dress up in scary masks and gory costumes for halloween. my child (and i) will now have nightmares thanks to you (technically last week, but...)
-that time i was walking through target, looked over and saw a woman pressing her body against a display of dvds. i was so confused, i couldn't take my eyes off her. what was she doing? was she hiding from someone? had she fallen asleep leaning against the display? she looked fairly sane. was she trying to read the titles... from way up close? i never found out the answers because i promptly rammed my cart into a guy who was crossing my path. the poor guy didn't even see it coming! oh man it was embarrassing. i apologized profusely and then walk-ran away... and dangit! i still can't stop thinking about what that seemingly normal lady was doing pressed up against the dvd display! unsolved mystery!
-that time Ruby threw up in the car (twice). scrubbing puke out of clothes and carseats just earned itself a top spot on my list of most-unappealing-things-to-do, right above moving.
-when Tyler butt-dialed Siri in the middle of fast and testimony meeting (during an awkward, in-between-testimonies silent moment) in church on sunday. side note: one of our friends thought it would be funny to program Siri to call Tyler "Big Daddy".  think "i'm sorry, Big Daddy. i didn't understand what you said" issuing loudly from Tyler's pocket. ugh.
-taking Ruby to a restaurant around the same time she usually takes her nap. there was a lot of screaming and throwing food. may i just say, moms who give other moms crusty looks when their children misbehave deserve to have a breadstick thrown at them.

ups:
-Ruby becoming more and more patient with story time. she used to get so impatient she could hardly make it past the first couple pages before she took over and started flipping through on her own. now she'll sit quietly and listen through some of her longer books without interruption. i love it.
-a birthday party for one of Ruby's favorite friends. i can't believe she's already two! and Ruby's only four months from it! i can't even think about that right now! what is happening to our babies!? ...oh but the party was heaps of fun
-"FREEEEE MEEEEAL!!"s at cafe rio
-the way Ruby gets jealous when we cuddle without her. she yells "no!" and weasels her way in between us every time. it's hilarious.
-christmas music. what? at least i waited until after halloween.
-purging toys. Roo's toy bin has been overflowing lately and it's been driving me nuts. some of them were thrown away and some weren't age appropriate so they were packed up. toys are overrated and i'm so glad to be rid of a little clutter. now i just need to come up with some storage solution for the books. i love them but they're all over the house!
-watching Ruby play pretend with her buddy. they take turns feeding each other fake food out of little bowls and cups. i know this isn't much, but it was just about the sweetest thing to see Roo pretending and saying "oh! mmmmm!" with such enthusiasm.
-dark chocolate peppermint ice cream with oreos. oh coldstone, you wily temptress.
-that day my friend came over to visit, then watched my kid while i took a shower, and took me out to lunch. i have the greatest friends.
-the look on Ruby's face when she saw the "no" (snow) outside. pure joy. i truly feel like i'm seeing everything with fresh eyes when i'm with Roo. i love seeing her experience bits the world for the first time

snow day

we had a nice little snow storm yesterday ...which hasn't stopped. it just keeps coming down. i get the feeling the cold weather is here to stay for the year. for some reason i'm all sorts of excited for this winter. it's no secret, i'm not a big fan of the cold, but i love the holidays and watching Roo tramp through the snow is adorable. bring it on winter!

taking my camera out into a snow storm was kind of nerve-wracking, but totally worth it. this was one of those times when i couldn't narrow down a favorite photo to save my life. 

life lately according to instagram

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