Strangers.......

Ruby has visited or been visited by her Great Grandparents almost every week since she was born. So why would she all of a sudden take to crying every time we visit them? It all started a few weeks ago on a visit when Ruby started crying when Great Grandpa came home from the shops - which Great Granny thought was very funny. Now it seems we can't even make it through the front door without her crying.

Apparently babies can start to get scared of strangers at around 6months of age, sure, but these aren't strangers and better still, they are the only people she does this to. She will smile and giggle for people she doesn't know at the shops, big smiles for friends she only sees every now and then but take her to see Mummy's grandparents and the water works start. Mind you, she will have a cry and seem all stressed out and then you put her down to play and she then turns into their best friend. Crawling backward and forward between them.

Mummy has taken a recent photo of GG and has put it in Ruby's family book which she looks at everyday, so hopefully next time we see them she will react a bit better....fingers crossed.

It seems Ruby's teething has subsided. Nothing has popped through yet but she has stopped screaming at night and is sleeping better during the day - if only she would start sleeping better at night.

Ruby is also being a bugger when she is in the car, being held or restrained. All she wants to do is be on the ground and going. If she is wide awake and ready for a game and we are in the car or going for a walk or even in her high chair, you wouldn't believe the carry on. If you give her something to play with she will throw it back at you, laugh and then start whinging when she realises that you aren't going to give it back or can't reach it cause it is under the accelerator. If the car trip is a short one you can usually get away with stuffing a number toys around her seat and hope she wont throw them all before you get to where we are going. Otherwise, singing Old MacDonalds Farm or 5 Little Ducks is a sure fire way to keep her from whinging. Only problem is that 5 ducks usually isn't enough and will sometimes turn into 25 ducks.

Ruby has also developed a thing for her bath time rubber duck. She will try to jump out of the bath to get it if you haven't given it to her first. She cries and cries if you take her out of the bath without it and if you try to take it off her to get her dressed, she carries on like you've cut off her arm.

This week is also the first week ever that Ruby hasn't put on any weight. After 3 weeks of massive weight gains - 200 grams each - Ruby didn't put anything at all on this week. We think this could be due to all the extra activity of pulling herself up and crawling everywhere. It's not like a little less weight could hurt her - Little Miss 90th percentile!

Slow down Ruby!

Guess who has worked out how to pull herself up this week

Unfortunately Ruby is not the best at landing....just yet. Yep, we are in for some spectacular falls over the next few weeks.




Ruby has also started clapping hands this week and is back saying 'bubba'. Everything is bubba, which at the moment sounds more like 'baa baa' and sometimes sounds like 'dadda'. She will jump up and down on her one legged stance and wave her arms around and yell 'baa baa baa baa'.

On top of this Ruby has had the worst week with her teeth. Mummy can now feel the molars like hard lumps under her gums. Poor little muffin has not been sleeping and has been screaming and screaming at night when the panadol/bonjela wheres off. Mummy and daddy are a little worse for wear with the lack of sleep also. Fingers crossed they pop through soon.

Ruby had all her measurements down this week as she was 8 months old on the 13th of this month:
Weight - 9,150grams
Height - 72cm
Head circ - 43.5cm

Ruby's height and weight have remained on a fairly regular scale but her weight has jumped from being on the 75th percentile to the 90th percentile in the last 4 weeks. Must be all the good food mummy is making for her. At least she is still on the scale.

Happy Father's Day!

Finally we get to celebrate a day for the best daddy in the world....

Well, daddy went fishing and the girls went to the beach but an afternoon BBQ at Kingscliff topped off the day a real treat.

Cyril and June have now gone home and life as we know it can go on as normal. We can catch up on some sleep and the house work. I think everyone was exhausted after the three weeks of touring but Ruby is really going to miss her new playmates.

Last weekends touring involved a trip to DFO, to Manly harbour side (for another supposed festival) - the highlight was the gigantic blow up slippery slide - and to Kingscliff for a beach BBQ.

If you get a chance to enlarge this photo from within her album, it's worth checking out Ruby's 'go fast' hair.

Ruby has started trying finger food this week. This is very scaring for mummy as she nearly looses a finger every time Ruby looks like choking - as soon as you put your finger in her mouth down come the teeth and try to bite it off.

Ruby's latest trick is to blow kisses - this is random and only occurs when she wants to. She is also making weird throaty noises that sound like she is speaking Arabic. Soon we are hoping she will go back to saying words.

Oh yeah, and her hair is starting to look decidedly strawberry coloured!!!

Termite Protection

Ruby's new nickname from Daddy - Termite. She is in to everything, the pot plants, your shoes, a dead bug on the ground - she will find the tiniest piece of dirt on the ground and will be after it from across the room.

Ruby has also started having big girl meals now, mummy has made her Tuna Bake, Shepherds Pie, Chicken and Veg Pasta, Porridge and Banana Pudding. Yep, you guessed it, she loves it and her weight gain this last week is a massive 250 grams and that's with all the crawling.

We all had a exhausting time last weekend touring around Brisbane with Cyril and June. We took them to Mt Tamborine and checked out gallery walk, did a bit of shopping, eating and wine tasting. We also went to South bank, to see the supposed River Festival - not much going on there, so we headed up to Mt Cootha to check out the view of Brisbane and see the gardens. All in all a massive weekend for everyone, especially Ruby. Ruby just took it all in her stride and napped when she could and was a treasure both days. Who'd of thought 6 months ago that mummy and daddy would be able to go out and enjoy themselves without Ruby screaming the place down .......not mummy!




Some family news, It's only been 10 years coming but finally Uncle Jamie proposed to Aunty Emma and they are getting married on the 18th of April at Kingscliff.....hooray!