Bursting at the Seams

Strike a pose.

I think she's got it down.

Ruby is becoming quite the ham these days. She has a cute little sense of humor and is very intuitive with her facial expressions and dance moves when she sings. Just tonight she found a stick outside and told Hugh she was an old lady with a walking stick. She then began walking around hunching her back and talking with a feeble voice. Where do kids get this stuff?! I keep thinking about dance and gymnastics for her...but maybe we should scratch that and try theater!

Ruby is such a gem in my life....fitting for her name, right? She keeps me smiling throughout the day with her quick wit and enthusiasm for life. Most mornings she wakes up and asks, "What do you have planned for today, Meg?) (yes, she still calls us Meg and Hugh...with an occasional mom and dad thrown in.) And I am always amazed at how quickly she goes from one pretend game to another. Reminds me of my youth, always living in a pretend world with my sis, Mal. Too bad I'm not as good as I was then at playing pretend...my attention span for these games is not even close to where Ruby would like it. Sometimes I leave the room and end up on the computer, only for Ruby to find me and say, "Did you get distracted, Meg?"

Lately, Ruby gets distracted by crafting. She will cut, paste, glue, color, and paper clip for hours on end. I am constantly finding paper scraps on the floors and supplies strewn in all different spots of the house. As much as the mess drives me crazy, I can't help but smile at her budding imagination. She also loves cooking when I'm cooking. She gets out the bowl and measuring cups she got for Christmas and then rummages through the pantry and fridge for things to use in her creations. She always makes it clear that whatever she is cooking is not for her to consume, but just for the rest of the family. Once again she  makes a big mess in the kitchen, which she usually counters with, "It's okay, cooking is messy, right Meg?" Too bad she doesn't have the same enthusiasm for cleaning up!

I wish I could just bottle 3-and-a-half-year-old Ruby up, and preserve her awesomeness. I often randomly say to her, "Ruby, have I told you that I love you today?" Just the other day when I walked into the room where she was playing on the computer, she turned around and said, "Mom, have I told you that I love you?" Doesn't get much better than that!