May 14, 2009
Dearest Ruby,
Today you are one year old—where did the year go? We have cherished every precious moment we have had with you. We are so grateful that God chose us to be your parents. Thank you, Jesus, for our Ruby-dooby, silly Billie, sweetie pie Ruby June.
We love you more than anything else in the whole wide world. We could never have imagined how much we would love you.
We couldn’t ask for a better daughter than you. You have captured our hearts with your gentle and carefree spirit. Your smile lights up a room. You laugh and we can’t help but laugh too. You are a bundle of joy and cheer and everyone who meets you is drawn to you. You must take after your daddy in that regard. You are the most beautiful baby in the world, and yes, you will always be our baby.
You laugh whenever you hear any sort of laughter—when other kids are playing, when Mommy and Daddy are laughing with each other, or when you hear people laughing as they walk by.
You like to copy anything that Daddy does, especially any weird noises he makes. Words you can say include: Daddy, dog, duck, book, ball, hi, yeah, up, and (sometimes) Mommy. Words you can sign include: milk, Mommy, Daddy, bye-bye, good night, sleepy/nap, potty, Jesus, book, eat, more, all done, and cheese. You can blow kisses, give kisses, clap, and give hi-fives.
You love to throw your balls and other toys. You can even roll your balls back-and-forth with Mommy and Daddy. You love it when we play music with a beat, and you dance and clap along.
You love to read and you love being read to. Your favorite books are your “Jesus Book” (Bible stories) and Great Day for Up by Dr. Seuss. Last night when we read your Jesus Book, you got so excited you crawled all over Daddy, trying to reach the book. Because of this passion for books and reading, you can sign “Jesus” and “book” and you can even say “up” out loud. You love to say “up” over and over when we read your “up” book. You also follow along when we read you stories—sometimes in the book we are reading, but sometimes in your very own book that you hold yourself. You also read yourself stories when you find books in your toy pile.
You absolutely adore doggies, and especially enjoy chasing Toby around the house now that you can crawl. He waits until you are about to grab him, and then he runs away from you. But that doesn’t deter you! You can spot a dog a mile away, like when we are on a walk, or even on a quick TV commercial.
Now that you eat solid food, you cannot get enough! You love bread and bagels, yogurt, cottage cheese (well, any kind of cheese!), berries, carrots, and pretty much anything we offer you (except for avocado!). You also like Puffs and Cheerios. You drink plenty of cow’s milk and water, but haven’t tasted juice yet. You are getting so big and strong! Sometimes you will eat two pounds of food a day!! But if we give you too much or if you don’t like something or if you’re full, watch out, because you will not spit it out or swallow it, no matter what! We have to fish it out, which makes you cry, but at least you open your mouth after that!
When you get sleepy you suck your right thumb, and it is so darn cute. Sometimes you even suck your thumb when you aren’t tired, which confuses Mommy and Daddy.
You have two little bottom teeth that are adorable, and we’ve been waiting for your first upper tooth for the past few weeks, but it is taking its time cutting through.
Your favorite thing to do this week has been making fishy faces and (almost) blowing raspberries. Maybe you will even be able to blow out your candle on your first cake! We’ve been trying to teach you to say, “I’m one.” So far it just sounds like “Duh”—but you are definitely trying! You’ve also been pulling yourself up on our few pieces of furniture, which makes Mommy nervous. Sometimes you pull yourself up and end up sitting on your knees, but you still bounce and wave your arms without losing your balance!
We could go on and on about all the wonderful things you do and say and all the things you have learned in the past year. All in all you are one amazing little girl and we are so lucky that you are our little girl. Happy birthday, baby girl.
We love you with all our hearts,
Mommy and Daddy
