The Happiest Place On Earth

We went to Disneyland on Saturday with my two sisters, Rachelle and Audra, my Aunt Gina, and Cousins, Devon and Dalen and his wife Lisa and their Daughter, Monroe. (Whew!) If you would like to read the captions, enlarge the slideshow and make sure the "info is turned on". We had a really wonderful time and we really appreciate Golda for facilitating our experience!

Frustrating Evenings

Anslie has been really almost unbearably fussy during the evening time over the last few weeks. She usually takes her last 30 minute nap for the day between 5:30 and 6:30pm. When she wakes up from that nap, she is MONSTER BABY!!! Nothing I try will get her to stop whining. She doesn't want to nurse, eat finger foods, play with her toys, read books, watch tv, play with the dogs, get tickled, crawl, walk, have her diaper changed, be carried around, go outside, or play with any other goody she finds laying around the house. I don't know what it is. The rest of the day she is an angel, finally eating and sleeping well. It's almost like she has colic again and she goes crazy for at least an hour every single night. Any recommendations or ideas from any mommies out there?

Welcome to the world, baby Ethan!

I just wanted to share a really special day with everyone! My sister, Tera, gave birth to her fourth little baby today, Ethan Andrew Schneider. He weighed 8 lbs 5 ounces and was 20 inches long. Her C-section went smoothly and she said that she is recovering well and that Ethan is healthy, nursing wonderfully, and that all of her other kids are brimming with joy. Congratulations Tera and family! Your new little baby boy is beautiful!

Lovin' my new camera!

I just purchased a new Canon Rebel Xsi to start my photography business and I am LOVING it's capabilities! Can't wait to put it to use!

Spaghetti Baby

Here are a few pictures of Anslie eating spaghetti for the first time. She LOVED it and wasn't satisfied until she had it EVERYWHERE!

Expanding My Photographic Endeavors

I first of all have to say that I am so lucky to have a husband who supports me and encourages me to develop my talents!

At the suggestion and companionship of a friend I have decided to take a photography class (that will hopefully and eventually turn into classes)at the UCSD extension center starting in October. I have always had a passion for taking pictures, although I have to admit that I have been really lazy with it over the last few years. I am now at a point in my life where I can really take the time to delve into the photography world. I hope to someday soon be able to do it at least semi-professionally and earn a few extra bucks for our family. So, if you know anyone who might be interested in family, maternity, infant, or any other kind of portrait photography, send them my way! I'm really excited!

More Adventures...

Anslie has a thing with playing with items other than her toys. She is much happier playing with a string or piece of trash she finds on the floor than her stuffed animals, noise makers, or blocks. She really likes the dogs' toys and got stuck in their basket while doing it...
and she also likes to play with the spring thingy that prevents doors from hitting walls...
I know the lighting is terrible but the video is entertaining anyway. Anslie is such a funny baby!

Let the Games Begin!

Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that Anslie is finally crawling. But trouble has a new face and she looks like little girl that I know of by the name of Anslie Rae! She is sooo pleased with herself that she can finally get to all of the interesting things she has been eyeing around the house. Her favorite items to crawl after are the dogs' bones. Yay. Not only has she used those for teethers, but this morning I had her playing on the bathroom floor as I was taking a shower. I heard Anslie chattering and the dog bowls clanking and then...silence. I knew something was up. I peaked around the shower curtain just in time to see her sticking a piece of dog food in her mouth! I jumped out of the shower and had to fish it out, leaving a huge puddle on the floor. She has also taken great pleasure in pulling all of the DVDs off the shelf...

...pulling all of her clothes out of their baskets under her crib and all of her bibs, burp cloths, and hats out of their place...

...and when I couldn't find her for a while, I checked under the desk and found her lounging on a photo storage container checking out the world from that perspective.

Let the games begin!

Bath Time or Bust!

Does this girl love water, or what?!

Look who I caught crawling!!!

I walked out of the living room where Anslie was playing for a minute and noticed that it had gotten awfully quiet in there. I peaked around the corner and couldn't believe what I saw. I quickly grabbed my camera and captured Anslie crawling for basically the first time. Yay for crawling!

My Little Ladybug Sleeps Like a Stinkbug

9 Month Update

This was yet, again, another big month for all of us! Besides having visitors for about 3 weeks straight and getting to enjoy all that San Diego has to offer, Anslie has had several accomplishments that are all really exciting! So, let's get down to it and inform everyone of all of Anslie's new 'tricks':

First of all, we finally got her into the Occupational Therapist who came to the conclusion that the reason why she is so fussy when she eats is because it seems like her reflux is still bothering her. He gave us some ideas on how to help Anslie in other ways but suggested that we contact her pediatrician and have her medication adjusted. Well, after doing that Anslie was worse off than she was before, so we put her back on the old medication and she has been doing really well. She is eating a lot of food, both jarred baby food and chunk foods right of my plate. She really enjoys anything that she can chew on so I let her have at it, as long as it is something that is appropriate for her to eat. Anslie has become an expert at drinking through a straw. There are times when she is too busy to nurse so I will pump breast milk and then let her drink it through her straw so that she can still see what is going on in the world. It seems to work really well.

Anslie's first tooth has finally broken through the surface of her gums. It is still pretty tiny, but it's totally visible and she is even starting to chew with it. She stuck her finger in her mouth one day to chew on and accidentally bit herself with it. I think that was the first time she realized it was there. I see another blister on the gums right next to it (on the bottom right) and it also looks like her two front teeth may be coming in soon as well. Anslie did pretty well during the teething process. She was a little fussier during the day but that was about it.

Not only can Anslie now roll over in all directions, she is also getting into a sitting position from a laying position and vice versa. The first time she did it was in the middle of the night. She woke up crying so I went to get her to feed her and instead of being on her back like I expected, she was sitting up in her crib staring at me. A couple days later she was a pro at it. Learning to sit up has also enticed her to push over onto her hands and knees and she will even lay on her tummy (finally!) and play with her toys. While Walt and Connie were in town, they really practiced a lot with her and got her to rock back and forth on her hands and knees and even attempt crawling. For the first time tonight, Anslie crawled from our couch to our entertainment center and pulled all the dvd's off the shelf. I expect her to be crawling completely within a couple days now!

Anslie is also really good at pulling up on things. She will pull up on anything now and can get into a full upright position. She will also let go of whatever she has been holding onto and turn around, cruise a little bit, and then attempt to stand on her own for a few seconds. While I was reading her a story last night she actually stood up on her own twice without holding onto anything and stayed standing for about 5 seconds each time. I will bet that as soon as she figures out how to crawl she will be on her feet in no time!

Anslie can shake her head no when she doesn't want something or when she is finished eating, point to things that she wants, and shares her sense of humor by breaking into laughter when she thinks something is funny, even if no one else gets the joke. She loves to bounce up and down and give mommy and daddy wet, sloppy kisses. Another thing she likes to do is stick her hand in my mouth while she is nursing, or grab people's noses and chins while they are holding her. Weird.

Anslie is still pretty sociable. She hasn't really been affected by stranger anxiety and as long as she is entertained she doesn't seem to experience separation anxiety either. I was able to leave her for about 4 hours with my in-laws while they were in town (the first time I have ever really left her with a 'babysitter') and she was great! Whew!

We love our little girl so much and she is definately getting more and more fun as she gets older. Anslie is my little sidekick and I love having her around! She makes her daddy and I laugh all the time with all of the silly faces she makes and I love to make her laugh too. We are truly blessed to have such a sweet little spirit in our home!

Love,
The Ruffners

PS - I couldn't decide which of her 9 month pictures I liked the best, so I sent them all. Enjoy!

A Vacation Marathon

We have been so fortunate over the last couple of weeks to have so many friends and family members come and visit us! It started with the Rawsons towards the middle of July, then my Aunt Gina and cousin Devon came to stay with us for the weekend while they attended Comicon, and then Kevin's parents finished everything up with a really enjoyable 10 day visit. Some of the things we have been able to do during this time was take a tour of the Cabrillo Monument in Point Loma with Gina and Devon and enjoy the sunshine at the beach and pool with Connie and Walt. Kevin took his dad on a deep sea fishing trip where they caught some sea bass and baracuda. So far we have tried the sea bass, which was delicious! Connie and I took advantage of that time and went shopping at the outlet mall. We also went to a delicious dessert restaurant called Extraordinary Desserts (I think Connie REALLY enjoyed that!!!). We spent a day at the Wild Animal Park where we got up-close and personal with some furry and feathered friends

and also made sure that we "got some culture" by visiting Balboa Park and the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Photographic Arts, and also the San Diego Mission. I think Anslie had the best time out of everyone because she had all of the attention and adoration of her grandma and grandpa! It was wonderful having someone to entertain her and they even gave her a good head start on crawling! We loved having our friends and family here so much! It made us remember how blessed we are to have so many people in our lives who care about us and our baby. Anslie is so lucky to have grandparents who love her so much. Let's not wait too long before we see each other again!

A Vacation Marathon (Continued)

Doggy-back riding

Mommy and Anslie at the Museum of Natural History

Worshipping the sun

We couldn't wake her up!!!

A Vacation Marathon (Continued--again)

Anslie on a slide at the fabulous Outlet Mall

Anslie and Grandma Ruffner

Grandma and Grandpa Ruffner and Anslie

So tired!

Mommy and Anslie