What Would You Do If I Sang Out of Tune

Would you stand up and walk out on me?

Or would you grab me by the eyes, pull me over into the floor and beat me senseless? If you are Elmo and Ruth in our house the answer is like fighting in the octagon.

I am proud to say that we didn't go overboard with Christmas for Ruth. We were able to strike a nice balance in gift giving somewhere between a cardboard box (my idea) and a new car (Natalie's idea). Instead of a cardboard box painted to look like a new car Ruth got a few nice presents. One of which was an Elmo Live. Check it out on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVUPTTkIBVI). In Elmo's defense it is a pretty cool toy. It is completely animated and has quite a repertoire of material that includes jokes, songs, and things like hugs, kisses, and sneezes. For those of you who dance he even does jazz hands....believe it.

Unfortunately, Ruth hates him!

Don't think for a second that we didn't consider that Ruth might be scared of Elmo. He is the perfect height to look her right in the eye, he has red fur all over and bug eyes on top of his head. Not to mention that piercing voice of his and music that comes from nowhere. We suspected that she might be a little hesitant to play with Elmo but we enjoyed his antics so we bought him anyway. Christmas morning we took him out and pulled the tab that opened up the entire montage of Elmo's stand-up career and set him in the floor for Ruth to play with. She seemed interested when she crawled over to him while he was in the middle of telling us how he just flew in from Sesame Street but what we thought was interest turned into rage as she grabbed his eyes and pulled him forward into her lap and commenced to beat him about the back and legs. If this isn't funny enough (it wasn't) Elmo says 'Elmo fell down. Can you help Elmo up please?' repeatedly until you set him upright or he concedes defeat and goes to sleep. So the entire time Ruth is pounding on him, he is begging her to set him upright. After the third time asking he just gives up and 'Takes a nap' (his words not mine). If you have never seen a 10-month old put a toy into a full nelson it is a sight to behold. I could be wrong but I swear I saw Elmo try to tap out. Now when Ruth is around we try to keep Elmo out of her reach. We think that she will like him more as she gets older but she'll probably just be able to tear his limbs off.

On the up side. I think she may be the first MMA fighter on Spike TV. Ruth "Hammerin' Helen" Berry. Watch for it!!

Silent Night (or silent morning,please go to sleep)

Yes, you guessed it, Ruth is resisting nap time next door. Here is a picture of Ruth wearing a dress from at least 1971. My sister Malory wore it in her seven month photos. Ruth is almost 10 months but the dress still fits.

Ruth has put two things in her mouth that has caused me to have to dig them out. The first was a leaf that had blown in from the outside. I may have told you about this in the last post. I saw her chewing something and could see something brown in her mouth. After coughing and then vomiting, I could see it on the roof of her mouth. I worked with her until her tongue moved it to the front and when I pulled it out she thought this was very funny.

This morning I saw Ruth chewing and blowing bubbles in her room. I pulled what looked like half of a paper clip out of her mouth. I don't know where this came from except maybe from clothing or toy wrapping. Needless to say, I have to watch this kid like a hawk. And now I must go stick the paci back in her mouth. The glamorous life of a part time working mother.

Happy Holidays

I am here posting again while my baby tries to take a nap next door. She is closer today than normal.

No pictures or video today but some recap of our first Christmas with Ruth. We left on December 17th to go to Arkansas and made it in one day with Ruth. She was actually a great traveler both ways. We spent time in Arkansas until the 22nd. Every sister got to come home so Ruth was with the entire family except for two of her cousins who were with their dad. It was fun to watch Ruth inspect each family member. She has been army crawling for over two months now but started crawling on her hands and knees while we were in Arkansas. She had started pulling up a month or so ago (I can't believe I did not write all this stuff down immediately when it happened. I always thought I would) and now pulls up on everything and everybody. We have had a few falls but nothing major. She is into EVERYTHING!!! Nothing is safe anymore and I have to watch her constantly.

Also while in Arkansas we got to have lunch with a college friend/tri delta roommate of mine, Kara Balentine Ford. Her husband brought her son from daycare and we got to see what an 18 month old acts like. I will tell you that Eston seemed pretty nonchalant (spelling?) about everything shrugging his shoulders when asked what he thought of Ruth and when asked what Santa was bringing him for Christmas.

On Christmas Eve we got to go to our first ever Christmas Eve service. Since Brian and I grew up in small towns with churches that don't have this service and this is the first year I have not been at my parents' for Christmas, this was quite a treat for us. Ruth and I met Brian at a Target (of course) since he had to work that day and we drove to church together. Ruth was taken to the nursery and Brian and I sat in a packed service. I loved the candlelighting: it was very powerful to see how one light was the light that lit all the candles. We can be that light. Maybe the title of this post should have been "The Light of the World is Jesus." That is a great hymn. For those of you that don't sing hymns but sing rock songs at church, you have no idea what you are missing.

At the Christmas Eve service we saw the Scott family (Laura Liz, Will, Emily - all ballet students of mine either past or present- and their parents, Kathy and Rick). Rick was ushering so that was a neat surprise for us. Then we ran into the kids at a stoplight. I had LL turn her radio to the same station I was listening to and we sang to each other out our windows. I love this family. The are the ones who invited me to Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in the first place.

Well, I have gone on long enough and Ruth is not making any noise so this means my time to take a shower is now.

(By the way, Brian enjoyed the Holiday Inn movie. Awesome. Next up is to try to get him to watch Mrs. Miniver with me.)

I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas

Fat chance here in Georgia. We had a great Christmas morning just the three of us. But since we are about to go on a walk, I don't have much time to post. Here is some more video from the Smith Christmas in Arkansas.



When I started this post we were on our way to go on a walk. Now, at almost 8pm, we just got back from looking at lights. I will try to write about our first Christmas at our own home later. Right now I need to do dishes while Brian feeds Ruth and then it is bath and bed time because Brian promised to watch Holiday Inn with me. Awesome.

Well It's Christmas Time Pretty Baby

The first of several Christmas videos. Right now my child is in her crib not napping. After 45 minutes of crying with me trying to calm her down periodically, I have turned the light on. Hopefully, she will go to sleep. The problem: when we were in Arkansas, anytime she would cry someone would pick her up. Now I know my parents and sisters don't get to see her very much but come on!!!! She was taken out of her crib at naptime (or the naptime that wasn't) by both my mother and my father. No amount of me telling them she needed to nap made the difference. Again, I realize that they don't see her very much and want to spend as much time with her as they can when we visit but it throws Ruth off her schedule and it takes several days to get her back on a naptime schedule. I can hear her in there right now kicking the bed but at least she isn't crying.

Over the River Take 2

Obviously the last post was empty. The connection at my parents' house isn't the best. But we are in Mountain Home today at a coffee shop. We are meeting my friend Kara for lunch today and came over early to do some wireless stuff and to make sure we were not late. Mountain Home has changed so much.

But back to the previous post. It just said thanks to the moms with children of albinism who have posted to an older post. Thank you for the support. I will be contacting those of you who left contact information when we get back home in Georgia with a faster connection. In the meantime, if anyone would like to post, please do so on the most recent entry. It is only by accident that I found those other comments.

And have a Merry Christmas. (This weekend is Christmas for the Smith family so it seems like Christmas everywhere.)

Over the River Part 2

Over The River and Through the Woods

We are here in Arkansas at Memommy and Granddaddy's house. We did drive through what had been ice and snow the day before and we saw some remains of it in the fields along the road. Here on the farm the fields still have some white covering patches.

I want to thank the other moms with children

So This Is Christmas

This is the first year that I can remember Christmas being stressful. I have included one of the pictures from the Johnson Ferry Baptist Church Baby's first Christmas party. I am ordering the cd and will post more once I get the cd (and they will be a better quality). I am posting tonight trying to calm myself down before the big trip to Arkansas tomorrow. Let me just give you a glimpse into my mind.

This being Ruth's first Christmas I want it to be special. But so far I have baked less, put up less decorations, not had my annual tree trimming party (first year since 1997), and not sent my Christmas cards yet. Nor I have watched any Christmas movies or gone to see any lights or anything remotely Christmas except Nutcracker and only that because it is part of my job. For those of you who know me, I LOVE Christmas. I love the sights and the sounds, the smells and the hustle. But this year I have lost my mind!!!

After FINALLY getting Ruth to sleep tonight, when Brian got home I felt I had to run to the store and then vacuum the car. Well, my hand is hurting right now because I punched the machine at the car wash when it stole $1.75 and then wouldn't work with a credit card or give me a receipt. Of course, there was no number to call to file a complaint. What has happened to customer service!!!

I still have several things to do before turning in for the night. Maybe my blood pressure will be down before long.

It is Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

This is a hurried post since I am watching a very active Ruth climb, crawl and pull up on anything and everything in sight. We are going out of town tomorrow so I have many thing to do but wanted to post some pictures to tide you over. We took Ruth to see Santa last Friday at the mall and she did not cry at all. (Those pictures to come) and then we walked around Belk and Macy's looking for photo backdrops (the decorated Christmas sections work great). Yes, we took pictures right there in the mall. But the best ones are of us just hanging out waiting for our pictures to be developed.

We will travel to Arkansas where they have ice and snow. Please pray that we have a safe visit and that my sister from Kansas City gets to come in since she has not met Ruth yet.

And Here's To You, Mrs. Lynn (or Robertson, as the song goes)

Today I thought it was fitting to share a picture of Ms. Leigh Ann. We have been meaning to post a picture of her with Ruth for quite some time, but since Ruth is experiencing separation anxiety, getting a picture has been a little difficult. Ruth loves Ms. Leigh Ann but does cry these days when Mommy leaves. Because Ruth is such a smart kid (aren't they all), she knows when she sees Ms. Leigh Ann that I am leaving. So Ruth smiles when she first sees her and then start crying. Tough on all of us.

But today we thought we would brag on the best caregiver ever again because Ms. Leigh Ann is SSOOOO flexible. Brian and I have had quite a few changes in our schedule this week and often a late night text will ask Ms. Leigh Ann to be here at one time and a morning phone call will tell her another. We couldn't ask for a better caregiver for Ruth, or for us. (And yes, I am hoping this post buys us some forgiveness!!!)

Also today I want to ask you to remember those who are going through tough times. I won't share names but several people are coming to my mind this morning with varying degrees of hardships. Please spread a little good will today.

Here We Go, Here We Go Again

Today we had our second appointment at Emory Eye Center, this time with a pediatric ophthalmologist. If you remember two weeks ago a retina specialist at Emory said that she did not feel confident giving Ruth a diagnosis of albinism. Today we were told not to rule it out and that it is entirely possible that Ruth has a version of albinism. Ruth has nystagmus, the jumping of the eyes, that makes her tilt her head to the side (most often she turns her head to the right and her eyes to the left) to find the null point the stop the nystagmus. (Look at her pictures on the blog). This concerns the doctor the most and she recommended a surgery when Ruth is about 5 or 6 to correct this issue. However, since Ruth turns her head to both sides instead of just one side, this may make the surgery harder.

The doctor today said that albinism can be hard to find in infants if you do not know what to look for and the retina specialist deals with adults and usually not infants. She did say that Ruth seems to see well, although we still do not know how well until she is older and distance acuity still seems to be the issue. Today's doctor also told us that ocular albinism does not happen in girls because it is x-linked unless the parents have it. We knew this from our research and tried to ask the original doctor if Ruth could have OCA (albinism of the skin and eyes) but that doctor just dismissed us. Hence, our search for answers that has lead us to today.

The next steps for us are to have Ruth monitored and checked every six months and wait for the surgery when she is older. So does our daughter have albinism? I don't know. We suspect yes. I can tell you that Ruth is brillant and beautiful. She is eating very well now and enjoys feeding herself. She is crawling and pulling up and today tried to walk holding on to the couch. She crashed and got right back up and tried it again. She talks nonstop and has the best giggle.

I can hear her crying now and should go help Brian with the bath.

Thanks for the Memories

(I think the title of this blog is a Bob Hope song? Have you noticed that we try to use song titles for our titles? Anyone?) Thanksgiving day photos

We've Got So Much To Be Thankful For

(If you do not know the song I referenced in the title of this blog, you MUST rent Holiday Inn. It is sooooo much better than the movie White Christmas. You will love it)


I cooked my first Thanksgiving meal, although it looks merger in this photo, we actually had quite a bit of food. Ruth seemed to like what we gave her.

We Need Your Addresses!!!

Please e-mail me your mailing address for the cutest Christmas card this side of the Mississippi (well, at least out of this house)!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Our trip back from Warner Robbins last night took an extra hour and a half due to the wonderful holiday traffic. We had spitting snow this morning and Daddy took Ruth to the hardware store so I could have some time to exercise. This next Saturday Ruth will be nine months old so the saying "nine months up (weight gain) and nine months down (weight loss)" is fast approaching. I don't think I will make it. I got down to four pounds left but everything is redistributed (is that what Obama means?) that I don't look like my old self. And I think I have gain a few pounds since stopping pumping. (Chocolate is so good!!) So hence the need to exercise.

These pictures are from Ruth's seven month photo shoot. I will be including more in the days ahead as a sort of cyber Christmas present to you. Thanks to Kara and Katie for telling me how to update the blog for a more festive look. Now, can anyone tell me how to get Ruth's picture bigger?