My Baby

Those little clasped hands. Sweetest thing in the world.

When we said 'smile'? 

That tongue is pretty much hilarious.

Cutest little chees-er grin ever. 

She thinks she is so funny.

Ruth seems so GROWN UP lately! She understands when we tell her 'no', she loves to please, and she can respond with so many words. Baby, mommy, daddy, uh-oh, stinky, no, grandpa, grandma, puppy, peek-a-boo, are just a few, along with our newest and favorite addition: please. We recently had her and some of her cousins running a race, and I decided she really needs some running lessons-it was hilarious! She bounced so much it threw off her balance, so she'd have to come to a complete stop to correct herself, and then she'd get so excited she'd have to stop and clap for a minute...needless to say there really wasn't much 'running' involved. It seems like she just barely was this crazy little person in the tub that would spray water EVERYWHERE and now she plays nicely, or nice...er, while thoroughly enjoying soaking in the water. She has such a sweet personality and I'm almost sad to see it coming out so much, because it means she's not just a happy little baby like a lot of other little babies. She's a toddler with her own ideas and her own things to figure out. I LOVE this new stage, but it makes me a little sad to see her so completely independent. Today she played for an hour and a half all by herself, just happy as could be, toddling around doing her own thing and jabbering away the entire time! I've tried catching her jabber on our camera, but she gets too intrigued by the camera. She jabbers and jabbers, non-stop, always. Mom and Lindsay Ann were laughing so hard at her over Christmas because she was walking around the kitchen table, stopping here and there to play, and the whole time she was just talking and talking in her own little language. Its a fast language too...you gotta be quick to keep up with her! Haha. She loves toys that she has to figure out, right now her Ikea stacking cups are the biggest hit. She'll sit and stack and unstack them (usually with every single one right except one that she can't seem to put in, haha) for longer than she ever used to be entertained by toys. She does the same thing with the new nesting dolls she got for Christmas, stack and unstack. She loves giving hugs and kisses now, and will go up to pretty much anyone and lay her head down on them to give a hug. It is so sweet and precious, and every time she does it I just want to squeeze her and squeeze her. She is hilarious to rough house with, she laughs and laughs and will run away and run back for more as long as you are willing to play for! She also throws tantrums. But she is getting a lot better about obeying once she has been in trouble, and after being in trouble she always holds out her arms for a big hug and it is so sweet. I am really excited for her new baby brother, but it makes me a little sad that Ruth won't stay my baby forever. How come nobody tells you that you don't get to keep your baby forever?