Getting to know Ruby

Smiling at Great Grandma. It's the first smile caught on camera!

Her eyes are the color of the sea after a storm. They are deep and I feel like I could get lost in them as she gazes intently up at me. Her eyes look mature to me. They look like they are filled with wisdom.
Her soft cheeks have the aroma of honey sweetened chamomile tea.
She spends a lot of time in my arms, gazing up at me. She started smiling recently and gives me lots of smiles. I think she likes me.

She is a very easy, predictable baby. She wakes up, we take her to the bathroom to potty (we hold her over the toilet or sink and she will poop on command), she eats, burps herself, gets the hiccups, spends some time awake and calm, then she gets tired and wants to go back to sleep. It's incredible!

She doesn't like to be on her back and cries every time she's in the car seat. She won't sleep on her  back, so be put her to bed on her stomach and she sleeps for 3-4 hour stretches. If I put her there when she is drowsy she will often drift off to sleep on her own.

She only cries when she's on her back for too long, in her car seat, or very hungry. She likes to be held and is very snuggly. She enjoys being in an upright position, able to look at the world around her.

She is much easier than my boys. I thought they were easy, but compared to Ruby they were colicky babies. I keep remembering things I read in parenting and sleep books that were really frustrating with the boys. It seems like those books were written for babies like Ruby.

The hardest part of having three kids so far has been managing Ammon. He's had a sudden surge of naughtiness since Ruby was born. I think it's age appropriate, but it's still frustrating. He seemed very interested in and ready for potty training right before she was born, but our meager attempts have been frustrating. I don't have the energy to do it and I've been in the slump of despair of "he'll never be potty trained!" I know it will happen, it just seems insurmountable at the moment.

Quin has also gotten into a naughty disobedient patch. Although, he is helpful and reasonable at times. He adores Ruby and I love seeing him hold her and coo and fawn over her. Ammon likes her too and enjoy brief snuggles with her.

And now, for some sleeping baby photos:

Our first walk. It was a disaster. Ammon darted out into the street and then went past the mailbox towards the bike path and out of sight. There was lots of screaming on my part that day. 

Grandma Brewster came for several days and helped out. She held Ruby and played with the boys and let me get lots of sleep. A little too much sleep. I slept in past 1 PM one day. That was super embarrassing. The boys enjoyed listening to her play "Lava" and "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" on her ukulele.

The boys entertained us by running laps around the house to the tune of "William Tell Overature" 

Tiny Ballerina

 We got a couple inches of snow two days after Ruby was born. I was grateful that we didn't have to drive in it during labor or home with our new baby. We just sat inside and watched it. Then it snowed again the following week and Michael had to stay home a couple days because the roads were so bad he couldn't get to work. The boys really enjoyed playing in the snow with him.

I built a snow family with Quin and Ammon. They mostly supervised the construction

 We've gone to visit great grandma in her new house several times.

I love the little tuft of hair that sticks up in the back

 We had the baby blessing on March 10 in the Pioneer Ward in Lebanon Oregon. There was a potluck gathering after where we ate Hawaiian Haystacks.

The baby blessing dress and headband I crocheted

Silly Daddy!

 After the late snow dump we've been enjoying some really sunny spring weather.

Quin soaking up as much vitamin D as possible

Buddies