Monthly Archives for June 2007

Really Actually Playing

Yesterday, Ruby had a visit from her friend Gus (and his mom Becky). We were delighted to watch as they played together. Ruby has a push wagon, and she pushed Gus back and forth in it for a while, then they switched. Both kids had a blast, although while Gus enjoyed the motion of the wagon, Ruby seemed to prefer the demolition derby aspect of banging the wagon into the wall (or whatever) at the end of the run.

It was especially exciting for me because it’s the first time Ruby and another kid have intentionally done the same activity together and enjoyed it. She’s played alongside kids forever, but this was different. They were interacting, and I couldn’t stop smiling. Or videotaping…

I’ve also posted some new pictures in Ruby’s album.

Gender identifier

I’ve realized an easy trick to avoid that awkward conversation where someone isn’t sure if Ruby is a girl or a boy (and uses vague pronouns until I clue them in). If Ruby is wearing a clip in her hair, I can put her in whatever outfit I want and everyone knows she’s a girl. Since we avoid frilly pink stuff like the plague, this makes life easier when we’re out and about.

clips.jpg

  • Categorized in gear

No money?

Ruby has gotten to the stage where many of the things she says have a meaning (instead of just babbling). We understand a fair amount because most of her words are ones we’ve worked to teach her. Here are some newish words she knows and says:

  • car
  • truck
  • bicycle
  • thank you
  • bow wow (for dog)
  • sock
  • shoe
  • hat

Recently, though, she has started saying a word and we can’t figure out what it is. It sounds just like “no money”. Sometimes she just says “money”. It seems to be in context when she’s having her diaper or clothes changed, but I can’t think of what word(s) she means!

  • Categorized in life

“In” Jokes

We’ve been having fun with Ruby for her whole life, often finding amusement at her expense. She’d do something silly, clumsy, or weird and we’d laugh about it.

Now, things have risen to a whole new level – I often find myself sharing the joke with Ruby. One of us does something funny, and we both laugh together, sharing eye contact and a chuckle, enjoying the mutual moment. It’s so much more fulfilling to be laughing with her instead of just at her.

Granted, the jokes are pretty unsophisticated and mainly consist of funny faces and silly noises, but it still feels like substantial progress.

  • Categorized in life

This one’s for Uncle Michael

Today, I printed out some pictures of far-away relatives for Ruby to see. One of them was my brother Michael (who lives in Singapore). Something about the phrase “Uncle Michael” tickled Ruby’s fancy and she repeated it, sort of. She kept saying it all day. I decided to capitalize on this and associate his picture with his name.

For her first birthday, Michael gave Ruby a book about airplanes. So, I printed a tiny picture of his face and added him to the first page:

Airplane book
click for full-size

Then, I taped Ruby talking about it. The way she says “Uncle Michael” sounds like a cross between “taco” and “cuckoo”. Take a look…