Ruby Hope McKee Starling

DRAMA.  That's what we've had around here.

On our drive back from Denver we got stuck in traffic 30 miles from Austin for almost an hour.  Only on I-35 can you hit traffic at 8pm on a Thursday night.  Follow that with a washing machine that decided our garage needed a good washing in the form of a flood.  Then add in a baby who is about three months delayed in every aspect of life other than talking and tantrums.

Oh the drama.  It's hard not to laugh.  We've had several full on laying on  the ground screaming tantrums the past few days.  Sometimes I  too want to throw a fit when I don't get to swing RIGHT NOW.  It's especially hard when Mom or Dad want to actually use their cell phones to you know call someone.

I will say it's wonderful to see her so determined.  She's got some spunk and has no problem as always telling us what she wants.

Chris is looking on Craigslist for a couple unicorns and a stable to keep them in.

Pictures to follow later today.  I just need to get out from under the MOUNTAINS of laundry a water spewing washing machine left me with.

I just wanted to post a couple pictures form my birthday.  We've been busy doing a whole lot of nothing on this trip and it's been great. We did manage an outing to the zoo yesterday.  For my birthday we had a wine and cheese tasting complete with chocolate cake for dessert.  Ruby ate alot of brie or butter cheese and we like to call it.

Here's Ruby's yum face during my birthday dinner.

Here's my yum face about my birthday cake.

To make the yum face you have to take a bite of something good then exclaim "YUMMMMMM" while holding up the food for all to see.

Ruby was a good little traveler for the second half of our trip, really only getting fussy in the last 45 minutes.   Along the way, we stopped in WaKeeney, Kansas for lunch and to let Ruby run around in the park:

Eisenhower Park in WaKeeney has an F-14, so I tried to get Ruby and Holly to pose under it, but it's very difficult to get a picture of an enormous airplane and a tiny baby:

Ruby has enjoyed hanging out with our friends here in Denver and playing around on their patio:

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It has been great relaxing, laughing and just catching up.

We are en route to Denver and drove from Austin to Wichita, KS today.  The original plan was to do all 17-ish hours in one marathon overnight drive while Ruby, at least in theory, was sleeping quietly in the carseat.  Luckily, Grandpa, who travels a lot, donated some hotel points and told us to take our time getting there.  Ruby is a true Road Warrior.  As long as we let her take a break every few hours and she has plenty of books to read and snacks to eat, she is happy to ride in the car for hours on end:

For the most part, the drive across the Great Plains is a whole lot of:

The most exciting sight we saw today was our stop at this McDonalds:

Once at the hotel, Ruby had lots of fun blowing off steam she'd built up all day in the car by...

... pushing the luggage cart up and down the hallways:

and swimming in the hotel pool:

We at pizza in the room and she promptly went to sleep.  We rise early tomorrow for the 2nd leg of our trip to Denver. 

Sunday Mornings are Chris's morning to sleep in.  Frequently Ruby and I meet  friends for a run and feeding of ducks and swans.  With our friends on vacation and me not needing the mileage we stayed home. I filled up the baby pool and water table.  Then started the sprinkler as Sunday is our watering day.  For those not in Texas we can only water our lawns on Sundays and Thursdays.   Ruby wasn't into the sprinkler very much.  In fact she avoided it at all costs.  When she swims in the back yard I usually just strip her naked.  It gives her some naked baby time, it's the best thing for diaper rash.  Plus what's cuter than a naked baby?

After a while I put her diaper back on and we had a snack on the back porch.  She was obsessed with a cicada skin that was on the ceiling.  She kept pointing and saying "Wazzat?"

I was able to drink my coffee, knit, and listen to This American Life while she played.   I'm trying to finish up a dress for her to wear to wedding in a couple weeks.  I've also got a couple sweaters to finish up before I need to start on some holiday gifts.  Just in case everyone was wondering about my crafting.

When it got too hot which was around 10:30am we went inside and started making breakfast tacos for when Daddy woke up.

We're headed to Denver on Wednesday to visit our good friends Becky and Jason for a week.  While we're there I'm going to head up to Leadville, CO to pace a friend for her last 23 miles of the Leadville 100 mile race.  Carolyn is going to run 100 miles starting at 4am on Saturday and finishing before 10 on Sunday.  No naps.  100 miles on her feet.  It's my job to get her from mile 77 to 100.  I have a feeling some tough love is going to be involved.  Chris and Ruby will stay down in Denver.  We got permission from ALL of Ruby's doctors both at CHOP and here in Austin for her to go to Denver.  We can only stay a week and she can't go any higher than Denver.  So, I'll be heading up to Leadville on my own.  It'll be my first night away from her since she left the NICU.  All in all it will be just over 24 hours.  I'll be focusing on getting Carolyn to the finish line and hopefully not missing Ruby too much.  We're looking forward to cooler temperatures.  We just have to manage a 16 hours over two days in the car with a toddler.  I got her a couple new to us books and toys that will hopefully keep her occupied.  We have plenty of stops planned, too.  I have a feeling though that some where around Dallas she's gonna be "All Done" with the car seat. 

We'll post pictures from our trip along the way.  The next couple days are going to busy with packing, therapy appointments, and normal summer time fun.

This morning as were getting ready to go to the Grocery store Ruby brought me a Harry Potter book to read.  She had also some how gotten my wet sweaty sports bra out of the hamper and put it over her head.  That's my girl, Harry Potter and sweaty clothes.

The bra is seriously gross.  I ran 8 miles then soaked in Barton Springs.  Crazy Girl.

Please ignore the basket of ironing.  Some of the things have been in that basket since before we left for Philadelphia.

Just a quick note to announce Ruby's latest milestone.  Her weight stalled out around 17lbs 10oz for about three weeks while she had that weird stomach problem.  But we're back on the weight gain train.  I usually do the nightly weigh-in because I usually do the 5 B's -- bath, brush, book, bottle and bed.  Here she is at the moment of truth:

So, in my best Richard Dawson voice, "Survey Says":

Eighteen pounds, one and a half ounces.  That's roughly 8.2kg for our metric friends (Hi Alina!).  She's actually been in the 18lb neighborhood for 4 days now, so I think we're moving in to stay.

Ruby is 16 months old today.  A year a go we had just gotten home from Philadelphia.  We were "training" her Austin Doctors and in just trying to keep our heads above water.  I can remember so many days when I wasn't sure how I was gonna handle it all.  Some how our little family made it through.  Our house might not be super clean, the yard might not have gotten mowed, but Ruby has done so well.  It's amazing that she has made to 16 months without having to be readmitted to the Hospital.

As we head into the cold and flu season this year we've decided to be careful but we can't be as careful as last year.  It's easier to keep a 6 month old baby isolated.  An active toddler is another story.  I got Ruby a little purse with a mirror on it.  Mostly it's a decoy so I can pull out my wallet and pay for things without her insisting on playing with it.  She LOVES my driver's license, it's a horrible 10 year old picture.  She will grab her purse and start telling the cats "Bye Bye"  when she wants to go somewhere.  She will also point outside and demand to go "ou ide".  She's not content laying on the floor anymore. 

To help her gain social skills we're going to be sharing a nanny with another family in the neighborhood two mornings a week.  It'll be Ruby and Maddie.  This way I won't have to bring her out on errands with me.  She has also started "group" occupational and speech therapy.  Meaning Ruby and another little girl who has the same developmental issues are having therapy together.  This helps us get around our health insurance saying they won't pay for Speech Therapy until she is 18 months old, even though she's HAD IT SINCE BIRTH.  We're a little frustrated over this and trying to make do. 

Ruby is so close to walking.  She is cruzing around like crazy.  Her balance is getting good enough for her to stand on her own for a few seconds.  We're in trouble once she starts walking.  She doesn't really seem to cautious.  She loves to bounce which means the couch cushions spend more time on the floor than on the couch these days.  Everyday is fulled new things.  She is saying new words all the time.  Yesterday she said "bath" for the first time.  It's just amazing how much her little brain develops overnight.

Another huge milestone is that Ruby has started holding her own bottle.  She still wants to snuggle while taking it and sometimes she doesn't want to hold it.   For so long we thought we'd never see the day that she drank from a bottle much less held it herself.

Having a snack before we head into the Art Museum. Not to brag or anything but I made her dress.

Snack time.  I've had to forgo the only eating in the kitchen rule.  She seems to snack better when she is free to roam around.  Since we need her to gain weight more than we need her to sit in a high chair we've decided to go with the flow.

Nothing like closeup of a happy Ruby.

I STILL can't post pictures.  Sorry guys.  Chris has been really busy with work stuff.

We've had a busy week this week.  On Tuesday Ruby and I went to Mama's and crawlers yoga class.  It was basically 20 toddlers running around while the Mom's tried to do yoga.  It was so much fun.  We are definitely going back.  Then yesterday we went The Blanton Museum of Art.  They have Montessori exhibit.  We spent 1.5 hours playing with wooden blocks, shapes, and pushing benches around.  We've also been continueing with our swimming lessons. 

Rubys is getting closer and closer to walking.  She's started standing unassisted for 2-3 seconds.  She so proud of her self when she does it.  She gets so excited and starts clapping her hands which makes her loose her balance.

We had a her 16 month check up on Wednesday.  She's actually 15 3/4 months, but scheduling wise it worked out.  Now for the numbers:

Height  29 in.  (8%)

Weight  17lbs 12ounces  (1%)

Head Circ  45.8 cm (40%)

We are back on the charts weight wise!  Just barely but we are.

We also got her stool sample tests back they were both normal.  Ruby's stools have returned to normal also.  It appears that she just had a little bug.  It's so worrisome when she gets any little bug.  We don't want her to loose weight.

We've got a full day planned for today.  Errands, PT, and the park.  Chris and I have a date tonight!