Ruthie Grows

As many of you know, I'm a new mom.

On Sunday, I went to D.C. with Melanie and Sig to catch the tail end of the cherry blossoms. While we were there, Mel snapped this shot of me and Ruthie together. I love it because of the emotion I get when I look at it. She won't be little for very long, and I really like having adventures with her.

I can't stop taking pictures of Ruthie!

She's so beautiful.

So I'm slowly but surely working on training Ruu (or Roux, as my french-loving friend Emily likes to spell it) to actually take naps. It makes her a much happier baby overall, although it can sometimes take as much as 20 minutes for her to give in to sleep. I don't let her scream and wail the whole time, of course... I set a timer for five minutes so that I *make* myself give her the chance to settle down on her own. If she's not settled after five minutes, I go in, check her diaper, see if her swaddling has come undone, pat her, comfort her as needed, and start the process again.

It's gotten to the point where I'm not sure what constitutes Ruth News anymore, since everything she does FASCINATES me. All I know for absolute certainty is this: I love my daughter, deeply and completely.

There's really nothing like this romance and intimacy. Like marriage, it's a unique bond formed by hormones, time, will, and emotions. There is so much touch, so many hours, and so much effort put into the relationship that I can't help myself: I'll jump in front of a train for her.

It's been quite awhile since I've written about Ruth, so here I go!

Tomorrow, I start teaching photography at Park Camps. It's a day camp, and the session I teach will last for three weeks. While I'm teaching, I have to leave Ruth behind.

What? Me? Messy?! Never!

When she gets up in the morning, she can now peek over the edge of the playpen and make noise until we notice her. It's wicked cute.

She looooooooooooooooooooooooves her daddy!

Isn't my daughter gorgeous?

Daddy wrote my name!

Now that Ruthie can move around, she's very interesting in grabbing my camera, whereas before she used to just ignore me and smile at it.

Isn't she adorably monstrous in this fisheye shot?

Daddy likes to help me walk around!

Ruth is definitely walking now. Absolutely, undeniably walking. She doesn't always initiate it, but it's clear that she's got a new kind of balance.

Please forgive the scary facial expression at the beginning.

In the last month, I haven't been so great about updating the family and all about Ruth's progress. Let me just say that it has been astounding.

What's great about this photo is that it's the complete antithesis of Ruthie's attitude in the bath, coupled with a Rembrandt-like style of lighting.

We are oh so seriously clean.

Some of my favorite photos of Ruthie of late:

Loves sticks.

Eats with THREE spoons.

And she's the cutest baby ever.

Ruth turns one today.

A year ago, I became a first-time mom. A squealing little five pound bundle was handed to me, and I got lost in a whole new world.

Today, Ruth turns one. She's walking, jabbering, interacting, giggling--her own little miracle of a person.

Today I am lucky to be her mom. I am lucky to have her in my life. Who knows what other worlds-within-persons I may get to meet as time goes on.

The road ahead is hard but beautiful and full of love.

Ruth, happy birthday!

Ruth was such a crazy girl at her party. Here are some photos to prove it.

She said hello to all her friends!

She had her first taste of sweets!

And her favorite present was a big rainbow silk scarf that we waved in her face.

So as much of the East Coast knows, we were hit by a snowstorm that made Marylanders cringe. It was blisteringly cold and still snowing in the morning, but I took Ruth out anyway so she could experience the weather. We lasted all of 10 minutes, but oh, they were 10 glorious minutes!

It's official: my daughter is now officially All Grown Up. Over a week ago, she stopped nursing, cold turkey.

I breastfed her nearly exclusively for the first 6 months of her life, and never expected it all to last as long as 14 months. I'm not sure what I expected, honestly. My big plan was that if she could ask for it with words, we'd stop.

That never happened. Towards the end, she was nursing just once a day, in the mornings. And what people have told me is true: in spite of the headaches that came with it, I kind of miss it now.

She really is a totally different kid now!

Ruth and Julia like to play together. Ruth is just 5 months older than Julia, which makes the age difference about the same as me and my favorite cousin, Heidi (sorry, every other cousin I have). You can't beat two babies playing together, especially if it involves a piano.

Ruth in particular likes to rock out, which excites Julia.

They're a bunch of monkeys!