a random sort of birthday

Ruby is 282 days old today. And no, that number has absolutely no significance, but it's sad to think she's only 83 days away from her first birthday. Oh, and in case you were ready to declare me completely psychotic for keeping track of how many days old she is, I just calculated that with my calculator. So there you have it, I'm not that obsessive at a mom. And I'm not even good at math.

At a little over 9 months old, Ruby amazes us every day with the things she knows. The biggest thing I love to watch is for her to connect a word you say (sans demonstration) and be able to do the action. I can tell her to clap, wave, or kiss and she'll do any of them appropriately. She recently has started this hilarious fake laugh any time she hears others laughing. And on hearing others: she definitely knows her name and will usually stop everything to turn towards whoever said her name.

She already has a bit of a diva attitude which we'll just go ahead and call the preview of years 12-18. I have taken things away from her, and she gives me such angry faces. I try my best not to laugh, but it's nearly impossible; they are so funny.

At 282 days of age, she has two and a half teeth, with one trying its best to ruin every night of sleep break through, but hasn't yet. We get a little more brave and feed her new things here and there, but it's such a touchy area, still. We'll still call her the Carb Queen-so far, the biggest hits are bread, cheese, and plain noodles. But don't be fooled, her favorite part is feeding the dogs, not herself. And she can successfully sign for milk which she has made quite obvious that it's her preference.

Oh the dogs. Ruby loves those furry little things so much. When she hears them coming by the tags on their collars-she sits straight up and just shakes with excitement-be prepared to hear plentiful amounts of screeching. I should take them up on their entertaining abilities and use them as babysitters.

Last night, we said goodbye to Uncle Corey as he prepares to leave for college (don't even get me started-I don't know how I feel about my baby brother going to college), and he gave Ruby a little stuffed giraffe who Ruby hasn't put down for the majority of today. It's fun to watch her choose favorite toys, favorite things in the house, favorite sounds, etc.

What an amazing job-that of a mother's. Absolutely nothing in this world compares.

Happy 282-day birthday, lovie. You are an amazing person, despite standing a mere 28 inches tall (who said size matters?!) and unable to formulate recognizable words.