'ringlets'

Ruby is 4 and a half going on 16!  She has really excelled academically this year.  She was accepted into kindergarten but we are going to put her in young fives instead so that she won't be drastically younger than her classmates would be in K.  She can write her name really well now (she used to write every combination of the letters of her name, including 'buRy') and she's got her numbers, letters, and shapes down.  She takes her schooling and homework very seriously!  She still has this attitude where she's in charge and she's got everything under control.  So many times throughout the day I hear, 'Mom, I know...'  And she tries very hard not to smile while staring me in the face.  She also has a way of locking you into a one-sided conversation all about herself (some people have this tendency but we're hoping she doesn't always talk only about herself!).  She talks for minutes without stopping and with one continuous sentence that doesn't allow interruption!  She can squeeze 500 words+ into one sentence in 5 minutes time!!  Yup, once you make eye contact, you're locked into conversation!

A little more about Ruby in a nutshell: dancer, singer, princess, queen, biker babe, barbie and polly pocket fiend, baby-thigh squeezer.  More than anything, I think she loves her skirts and dresses and her baby sister.  Ruby changes her outfit many, many times each day.  Even throughout the winter, it was skirts and/or dresses with tights.  She came out in jeans one morning and Jordan and I gasped!  Maybe I should take more control over what my kids wear but most days, I let them pick out their outfits.  And sometimes Ruby does a really great job at it!  Except for when she wears bows in her hair from one ear to the other!  She has beautiful hair that naturally curls into ringlets, especially with the humidity.  So pretty (except for when there are hair accessories all over!  It's a common theme of Ruby... everything is overkill!!  When she's not playing with her hair or barbies, or changing her outfit, she is riding her bike- hair and dress blowing in the breeze, bell sounding.

And at the end of everyday, Ruby wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me over and over.  And then I kiss Natalie good night and Ruby needs another hug and kiss.  Five minutes and ten minutes later, Ruby is out of bed because she thinks she has forgotten to hug me.  And almost every night just before Jordan and I head to bed, Ruby comes out of her room, her hair everywhere, and she is dancing on her tiptoes.  Everytime she means to walk to the bathroom but instead she walks past the door and then heads back to her own room, and we have to go in there and redirect her to the bathroom!  It's hilarious!  (She actually interupted me as I was writing this!) 

We love you, Rue!  You add such flair to this family!  I am so proud to be your mommy!