CLICK HERE FOR FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES, LINK BUTTONS AND MORE! »

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Sit to Stand - Finally!

Sunday night - big night for the Ruffing family...I went from a sitting position to standing all by myself :) Dad and I were playing in the living room while mom took a nap...and I saw a sock on the couch that I wanted to play with - so I shimmied on up and snatched it! I'm still a little wobbly at the sit-to-stand thing but I'm getting the hang of it! I did it a lot today! One more step towards being mobile! Oh boy mom...watch out... (video to come)

Mom and I really missed dad while he was in Vegas. It was hard without you dad :( Mom was pooped out by the time she went to bed every night! Thank goodness we have you!

I'm still saying a lot of words...here are some new ones...'moo', 'baby', 'door', 'cheek'

I LOVE vanilla pudding (thanks to Grandpa Ruffing). It's actually helping a lot with the weaning of my afternoon nursing session. It seems to be the only thing that makes me happy. I had 2, yep, 2 full containers of vanilla pudding today! Go me! And today was day #2 of no afternoon nursing. Does that mean we are officially down to 2 nursing sessions a day? Just one in the morning when I wake up and one at night before I go to bed? Mom's goal was to have me down to one nursing and/or completely weaned by the time we left for Texas in April...and that's about 2 1/2 weeks away...so things are lookin' good!

Mom is still trying to get me to drink my whole milk - but I'm not liking it. Any suggestions out there? So far, the only thing I will drink out of my cup is water. No juice. No milk. Just water.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The Passing of an Era

So today, my grandpa's best friend's father died - Mr. Gray. He was somewhat of an icon in Ashfield, MA and I am sad that he's gone :( But my grandpa was there with him in the hospital during his last few days and I'm so glad for that. Hang in there gramps - I love ya.

When my mom was a little girl - her dad (my grandpa) used to take her, my Uncle Donny and my Aunt Laura to Gray's Sugar House every year. It was their tradition. They used to all wait outside in the long line...in the cold weather...when it was sometimes snowing...and wait - smelling the sweet smells of pancakes flipping, bacon frying and sugar on snow melting. It was, to say the least, one of the best memories mom has from her childhood.

They used to sit on these old, handmade tree trunk stumps when they ate and at the end of their meal they'd go up to the register and pick out a couple of pieces of maple candy. Since grandpa was best friends with Raymond - (who's family owned the place) - mom, Donny and Laura got to head back to the house and get maple candy 'scraps' for free. Auntie Laura and mom would make themselves sick off of it b/c they'd eat so much!

Secretly, mom always wanted to take her kids there when she grew up. But - the sugarhouse has been closed now for quite some time. Maybe someday someone will reopen it? I never got to meet Mr. Gray - but I heard he was quite a nice man.

Dad left for Vegas today and I miss him already. But I know he's probably having a great time and he said he'd place a bet for me on one of the teams. Go dad!

It was quite a trying day for mom and I. We had yoga this morning which dad was able to come to - and I held up pretty well considering I didn't take a nap on the way there like I usually do. I fell asleep on the way home, ate lunch, played and then mom tried to put me down for my afternoon nap...yah right mom. We found ourselves back in the car on our way to Springfield for the 2nd time today. Definitely NOT what either one of us wanted to be doing. BUT, it got me to fall asleep for at least 30 minutes...and mom splurged at Starbucks and got a frappacino which she hasn't had in like 10 million years. It was just one of those days where a bit more caffeine was needed and mom didn't feel like counting any WW points.

I have my 15 month checkup tomorrow and Bailey is getting groomed...so it's another busy day. Maybe it will be better than today? I sure hope so.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Lazy Saturday

We started weaning back in January - towards the end of the January I think - and today we are down to 3 feedings in a 24 hr. period. Not too bad? I'm surprised at how well this has all been going actually. I thought it would be harder than this. Although, this afternoon session just seems to be the hardest one yet. Mom has been trying to wean me off of that one for about a week now and sometimes she's successful and well, sometimes she's not. So - we'll just keep chippin' away at it. I definitely think we'll be able to eliminate it by next weekend with Aunt Erica being here and all. She can help distract me from wanting to nurse.

We're having a pretty lazy Saturday today - which is nice. I woke up at 6am (wish that would stop) again - I think that's my 'normal' wake up time these days...and I ate 1/2 a banana while mom ate her cereal. Dad got the coffee ready and then we headed to Walmart for some groceries. Then it was off to Republic to pick up some pictures for my baby book and then we headed home. Dad got his hair cut and mom went tanning. We all had a nice, simple lunch together and just played around the house.

I can now get on and off of my sit n' spin all by myself. Pretty neat huh? I have my 15 month checkup next week - dad leaves on Wednesday for Vegas and Aunt Erica comes in on Thursday night for a few days. It's going to be an exciting week!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Tooth #10

I got my 2nd molar in folks - so that makes 10 teeth in all! Today was a good day but a lonnnnnnnng morning. Mom and I were supposed to go on a playdate but we had to leave the house earlier than expected because I was really clingy and I wouldn't let mom put me down! And she needed some 'quiet' time so we got in the car and I fell asleep :)

We ran some errands...I had a little meltdown in the car on the way home...but was fine within a few minutes. We got home - ate lunch with dad - and then mom put me down for a nap. I slept for 2 hours in my crib! This nap thing during the day is getting a little easier. Not much...but just enough that mom will keep trying the crib thing during the day.

The crib thing at night though - we've got that down pat. I'm doing so well! We did our nightly routine...and when dad put me in my crib and told me he loved me and said goodnight - I didn't cry. For the very first time in my life - I did not cry when I was put in my crib. It took 1 month folks! But we did it!

This picture is of me and dad. If you look real close you can see that my shirt is half off...lol...I somehow got it off...and dad pulled me around the house in our laundry basket. Cute! Oh, and for some reason - this blog posting says Tuesday but today is Thursday?!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Branson or Bust!

I got some new clothes yesterday! Mom and dad took me to Branson and bought me some new pjs. We had to buy size 2T! And I'm only 15 months old! Whoah! We got some great deals. My pjs were only $5 each. Pretty good, huh?

Not much on the agenda today. Mom has a baby shower to go to so dad and I are going to hang out. I think we might go to the mall. Dad bought this shirt a few weeks ago and it's too small so he's on the 'hunt' to return it before he leaves for Vegas.

Let's see...what's new with me...I have a molar now. Wow, did that one hurt. So...I have 9 teeth in all. I'm still scooting around the house and my favorite thing to play with is my mylar balloon. (And no, mom and dad don't let me play with it alone). I scoot around the house holding the string or the tab on the balloon. Mom can always hear me in the house because the weight on the end of the string slides around on the wood floors...lol. I'm already on my 2nd balloon...I had the first one for so long that it finally deflated!

Last night I talked to grandma and grandpa Longley on Skype for the first time! How did I not know about this FREE service before? Mom watches Oprah - surely she would've known about it by now. We had the best time! I could see and hear them loud and clear! We're supposed to meet up again but this time with Uncle Donny, Aunt Katie and my cousins Coleman and Ethan. I can't wait!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Too Early!

Today is not setting up well...I woke up at 5:58 AM (way too early)...mom nursed me and then dad rocked me and well, that was that. I was up. She tried to eat breakfast, make coffee, read me some books, play with my toys but I was grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. So...mom changed my diaper and then plopped me right back in the crib - where I am currently crying my tail off. She layed me down at 815 and said if I wasn't settled down and/or asleep by 845 then she would come and get me and try again later. It's now 833...(can you tell that mom doesn't like to hear me cry?) She's got everything down to the minute.

I'm supposed to meet up with with my friend Grace for story time today at B&N. It's Dr. Seuss day and I was really excited about going but I think we might have to cancel. Plus, we have the BUG MAN coming today b/c we have silverfish...ewww...and then we have a new cleaning lady come this afternoon to clean our bathrooms. What a busy day...and mom is only on cup o' coffee #1.

On a more exciting note...I have a new cousin! Ethan Hezekiah Longley was born at 558pm last night! He weighed in at 8 lbs. 12 oz! Big boy! Congrats to my Uncle Donny, Aunt Katie and Cousin Coleman on their new addition. I can't wait to meet you baby Ethan! It seems so surreal that I have another cousin...that makes #5...wowzers!

We had a fun night last night. Our friends Mike and Jackie came over for a farewell dinner. They're moving to St. Louis this week :( Dad grilled steaks...mom made mashed potatoes...salad...texas toast...and Jackie's favorite - Lemon Cake. All in all, it was a great way to say goodbye to our dear friends.

Well, that's about it folks. I have a feeling it's going to be one of those days. But, that's okay...mom and I will make the best of it and do something fun today! Maybe...race around the house on my bike and chase Bailey? Or...watch Baby Einstein like...a million times?