More teeth are in the works. New techniques are developing for fighting naps and sleep. Words are beginning to form. Feedings are getting easy, if messy, since Ruth often insists on feeding herself. The appetite is growing, and she is always in need of an audience.
I saw Ruth thrive when the entire family was around her all the time. Having people at her disposal seems to make her even more curious and eager. It makes her more talkative and excited. It wears her out, and she sleeps better. It's been a good lesson for me, teaching me that yes, it's okay that I can't give her every little thing she needs, because sooner or later she'll need to know to look for excitement other places besides mommy. She needs to know that all people, and the whole world, are very, VERY interesting.
Now that things are more quiet after the holidays, I do have more time to get work done. I use that phrase loosely, though, as it turns out to be more like "try to concentrate as hard as possible for 5 minutes and then get interrupted". Many things don't go according to plan. So much so, that I've stopped planning too much. I still get frustrated when I get less accomplished than I hoped.
But enough about me. Ruth is delightful. She's taken to hanging on me more often than not, and I suspect that's because she can see more of the world from my eye-level than two feet from the floor. It's also more exciting to see what I'm doing (obviously, since I'm so cool).
What's ahead? The terrible twos to be sure.