Noteworthy

Every night we are upstairs by 7 or 7:30 and Ruby is asleep by 8 or 8:30 pm. Woo-hoo! Been working on it gradually since the end of summer and she is so into the routine now that she actually asked up to go to bed tonight right after dinner. (It was 7ish). Yea!

Took her to Little Gym on Wednesday for the first time since Spring. She LOVES it more than ever. On the way there I explained that she is bigger now and would be going in without me. (I never posted about it but dance class did NOT go over well because she didn't want me to leave the room. Cried through half of it and I ended up yanking her out of the class after 2 weeks lest I traumatize her with something that was supposed to be for fun. She had started dance and school the same week and it was way too much separation from Mommy. Ironically, now that we stopped the class she will charm me with her ballet moves every night before bed. "Mommy, look! First p-sishion, shecond p-sishion, turd p-sishion, now TURN!" And then she twirls around the room. Go figure! It's really quite cute and I am tempted to take her back but I think I need to find another dance studio. One with a more gentle instructor. 

Anyway...back to Little Gym. She did not fuss one bit about going in without me. The people there are GREAT. Her old teacher Miss Kristen sat on the floor with Ruby and explained that Mommy would be watching through the glass while the kids played with the teacher. Her new teacher Mr. Evan came over to introduce himself. Boy Ruby loves men (yikes) and she was quite smitten with him immediately. When it was time, she marched on in with the kids, gave me a few smiles through the window and had herself a BALL! I was seriously fighting to not tear up. Yea, I know how sappy I am. But she was so excited to be there again and was laughing and smiling uproariously! Got up on the balance beam and walked ALL BY HERSELF for the first time! She had done that with me last year for a few seconds here and there before grabbing my hand. But this time (with Mr. Evan spotting her) she walked the whole length of the beam! I was all ear to ear grin.

Something I may or may not have told you about Ruby...this kid was made for gymnastics. Her favorite position is "up down"! (Upside down). She is often hanging, jumping, hopping, flipping, and climbing on something. LOL, usually that something is ME. When you hold her she goes total ragdoll on you and wants you to swing and flail her around or hang her upside down. She's such a trip. Anyway, watching her hang from the bar with the biggest smile on her face was just great. I'm so glad we went back there. Gonna try to do it regularly now.

Other stuff...she is doing great with her speech teacher and learning to say more connecting words and phrases. Been doing well at school, too. They are working on the alphabet sounds. She knows all the letter names (and sings the ABC song) and I'd say she knows most of the sounds. Still it's good for her speech to be working on the sounds so much. She is working on writing her name and comes home asking to do so with me every day. Her R and B are not really resembling much right now, but her U and Y were actually pretty close today. Also wants to color every day and asking for the TV less. Hooray! Another thing I have worked long and hard to change and it's finally happened. She can watch a movie once or twice a week and just in the afternoon. Other days we let her watch a couple favorite shows (like Sesame Place, Little Einsteins, or Cat in The Hat). But a LOT less than she was before and I am so glad for it! At bedtime it is all about reading books now. Happy she is into them!

I have learned that Miss Ruby does not miss a trick. I have been telling her what day of the week it is for months now. Showed her the calendar many times and recited the days but had no response. Some times I wasn't even sure she was listening. Seemed more excited to grab all the magnets off it and play with them, LOL. So one day when we were doing Starfall.com I decided to look at their calendar page. I started reading them to Ruby who shooshed me and said "Wait! I do it! I do it!" Sure enough she knew some of the names! Then a week later I took her to the calendar again after breakfast. I read through the days of the week once. She grabbed at the magnets. We talked about our week then I pointed to the word "Sunday" and said "What's this?" She said "Sunday" and then recited EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK! Is it just me or this pretty exciting? I think she is one of these kids that takes it all in and will let us know exactly how much she knows when she is good and ready! Cracks me up! And makes me real darn proud, too!

On a happy (or sad) note - depending on how you see it - I put away all Ruby's "baby" clothes today. I have to admit I teared up a few times putting away diapers and onesies and sweet things that she had worn just a year ago. How did she grow so fast? But now that the task is done I feel so good. Got 3 bags to give to charity, a bin of stuff to keep (just in case we need it again), a bin of her 24 months summer clothes still in the closet (in case we go anywhere warm) and a bin of 3 T's waiting. Her dresser drawers are clean, organized, categorized and color coordinated. Closets were de-cluttered too. I even put together a weeks worth of outfits and put them in the weekly hanging bin. Not sure how long I will stay this organized, but for today, I am real happy!