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December

17. Ruby loves the late afternoon light that glows on our walls. She loves to screech when she's found something good to sink her teeth into. Ruby loves to slowly swing her arm around like she is doing the free style swim stroke while nursing. She smiles when Kurt comes home at night. Ruby laughs when she sees the cat cleaning herself. She has just discovered the joy of clanking her plastic keys around. Ruby is very good at finding her soot when she is getting cranky and putting it in her mouth all by herself.

16. Today at yoga class Ruby sat on her own playing and watching her friend, Alice, for a very long time. I got to do more yoga than I had since she was born.

12. Today she has mastered blowing spit bubbles. She is in her Johnny-jump-up right now blowing raspberries in the air over and over again

10. Ruby sits unassisted! It happened at yoga class when I walked away to get a mat across the room. When I returned she was right where I left her sitting on the carpeted floor.

9. Five months old?! Time flies. Her two bottom teeth are really coming through now (watch that finger!)

November

30. Another appointment with Dr Gilgoff. 14.5 pounds and 26 inches long! And a little earwax in the left ear. I borrowed a Excersaucer from a neighbor who is between kids and Ruby loves it. So do I as in "Can I go make some lunch now? Thank you!"

29. Ruby's first night out in Tribeca. Blocks from Ground Zero we experienced Fantastic Light, an experimental ensemble by dear friend Drieky Caprice. Ruby loved the decorative lights and the sound of many expressive voices. We loved the space and want to return for more. (Roulette on W. B'way and White)

26. Did we come back from WI with the right kid? All of a sudden Ruby is huge. She has a tooth on her bottom middle gumline! She is starting to screech! She plays comfortably on her belly! She loves using a sippy cup filled with water! She REALLY wants to eat food!

21. Ruby's first airplane ride. She had a good time until the second flight to Rochester, MN wore out her nerves. Mom's too. We were glad when that part was over so we could enjoy the weekend with Kurt's family in LaCrosse, WI. She loved seeing her cousin Madison, her Farmor and Grandpa, and the dogs. Unfortunately, everyone but her and her grandparents got the 24 hr flu. Despite it all we had a great visit. We celebrated an early Christmas and Ruby scored some great gifts. We immediately gave the Johnny-jump-up a test run in front of the whole family and she laughed out loud with excitement. That's my girl!

19. Kurt met Ruby and I at the holiday window opening at Saks 5th Avenue Monday evening, They are amazing this year. Go see our favorite children's author/illustrator and friend Chris Raschka's (Waffle) work in 3-D!

18. Things Ruby hates: Getting her mouth wiped after spitting up, being put down when she isn't ready, and objects that she wants in her mouth but are out of reach (or too big). Things Ruby loves: rubbing her feet together while nursing, taking a bath, teething rings, being sung to, and being naked.

17. Out to SW Connecticut with friends Gillian and Jody to take in the country air and the Leonid meteor shower early Sunday morning. Great to see a bit of New England we have never been to before. Ruby discovered a beach ball, rode in a backpack carrier for the first time, and mastered rolling from back to stomach. She also drank her first sips of water from a big glass.

14. Ruby is rolling around all over the place. She's sleeping on her side a lot and sometimes her stomach. Also. She has started inching forward on her stomach like a little inchworm. She pulls her knees up underneath her belly, buries her face in the bed and squirms forward in a sort of proto-crawl.

13. A four hour nap! Good grief!

11. Ruby and I attended the Metropolitan Doula Group monthly meeting where we and 9 other doulas were honored. We all gave birth this year in our chosen ways. The other doulas present gifted each of us with a pomegranate, a paper white bulb, a crown and homemade eye covers. We were asked of our experiences and showered with admiration. I loved being in that circle with other women who birthed with dignity and love for their families. I was the only one who had had their first child but everyone had great stories and words of wisdom to share. It was great to put all those babies together!

10. First trip to the mall! Kurt needed some pants desperately! Ruby could have cared less about the whole trip. Shopping's boring.

9. Four months old! One year ago today we found out we were pregnant! Also, Ruby's first trip to the MOMA. We saw the Giacometti show & she really enjoyed it. She was wide awake and totally engaged. Needless to say, she stole the show for some folks

8. Teething... Ruby had an uncomfortable afternoon an ended up chewing on a frozen toy. We can feel one tooth coming through on the bottom left side.

7. Ruby's getting very interested in watching us eat. She sits in my lap sometimes during a meal and tracks the fork's path from the plate to the mouth, moving here mouth as I chew. It's very cute. She also reaches out for the plate and the glass when drinking. Yesterday I held my drinking glass in front of her and she grabbed it with both hands, held it without my help and put her lips to the edge, looking very grown up. Of course, she puts everything in her mouth, but this seemed like a deliberate imitation...

6. HUGE laughing spell. Ruby and I were hanging out with Kuntz who was visiting from Madison. We were at his friend's place on the Lower East Side watching the dog compete for attention. It had a stuffed animal that made a moo can noise which the dog repeatedly sounded by shaking its head violently. Ruby giggled. The dog did it again. Ruby laughed. The dog went nuts shaking the toy over and over again making Ruby bellow with as much laughter as a baby could possible make. We all got a good laugh from the whole scene. It was a glorious moment. I hope Ruby never goes 3 1/2 months without laughing for the rest of her life.

4. Felix's 6th birthday party. The first birthday party Ruby's attended. It was loads of fun. The kids had a treasure hunt, and the final find was a delicious cake that Kurt made. Later, Jen called to say that Marisol has developed chicken pox, which means she probably exposed all the kids at the party. Since it spreads very easily, we're now watching Ruby for any red bumps.

1-2. Shela and Stacey went to the Jersey shore for a night... leaving Kurt home alone. We had a great time! Rode bikes to the beach, strolled around Pleasant Point, chilled out in the back yard, and hiked around a local state park. Ruby was so easy to hang out with the whole time. I think she loves the ocean!

October

31. First Halloween. Ruby went down to the kids' costume parade in the LES dressed as a snow leopard. She inherited the costume from Layla. Afterwards, we wandered around the neighborhood a bit and made our way to the Living Room to see Dawn McCarthy sing (Ruby slept through the performance in her stroller parked outside. We took turns being inside or outside). What a treat! With her boyfriend Nels, Dawn continues to amaze. We ran into Jane and Dorian and Alice there, too.

30. Ruby discovered her feet today. She was sitting in her reclining bouncy chair with Kurt facing her when she suddenly caught sight of her feet kicking around. She paused, looking at her feet for a couple seconds, and then reached down and grabbed her right foot with her right hand! She seemed genuinely pleased with her discovery and continued to grab at her feet and smile and giggle about it... One thing to note -- I've been wondering whether she was right- or left-handed, and I think this confirms her right-handedness. When she first discovered reached out for a foot, it was her right hand reaching for her right foot. When I tickled the left foot, she tried (unsuccessfully) to grab her left foot with her left hand. It took a day or two for her to get the coordination together to grab her left foot with her left hand. After only a couple days, she loves her feet so much, grabbing them both when getting her diaper changed and pulling them up to make it easier to wipe her butt. She's even trying to pull one foot (with both hands) up to her eager, hungry mouth...

25. Ruby woke up sneezing and coughing. Her first cold. Mom is devastated but calm. We go about our day as usual. First to the chiropractor on the upper west side then a long walk to a toy store for Ruby. Then on the train down to the West Village to a workshop on how to photograph your child followed by some playtime in Washington Square Park. It is there that she has her first runny nose, Awwww! We then met up with dad at our friends' Mark and Alyssa's for dinner. Ruby hung in there till the end.

24. Ruby refuses to play lying down so mom pulled out the boppie breastfeeding pillow that we haven't used in months to support her in a seated position. She loves it! At first she spent a lot of energy staring at the fabric on the pillow making her eyes cross then she played with her cloth toys like the big girl that she is.

20. Long hike in Bear Mountain State Park. Mom and dad got lost so our 3 hour tour turned into a 5 hour survival quest. Ruby found the whole thing so amusing that she literally laughed in dad's face for a few minutes. Saw her first walking stick bug, bright orange maple trees, and some nice German tourists. Stopped by a friend's birthday party on the way home; Ruby's first late Saturday night out. She loved the salt water fish tank

19. Visit to the pediatrician. 13 pounds and 24.5 inches long!! (but who's counting..) First anniversary of her conception!

16. First really long stroller ride with mom along the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge and back.

15. First laugh for mom while mom was doing the bow pose in yoga class. Ruby loved seeing mom rocking back and forth in her face.

13. RUBY LAUGHED! A real out-loud giggle for dad! She loves getting her diaper changed, and often gets really happy and excited. Kurt was changing her and the two of them were making all kinds of noises and faces at each other and then in the middle of it all she sort of chuckled, laughed, giggled. Later we had another great day at the beach. Waves almost too powerful for dad to surf so mostly we relaxed onshore, walked and ate pumpkin pie with Lomo.

10. Rolled over again! This time she was on the grass in the park with other babies... showing off, apparently. The other mothers in the group were very impressed, naturally. Ruby loves the Dr Seuss book, Mr. Brown can Moo! How about you? and Chris Raschka's Waffle,

4. Talking! Coo, goo, and so on. The monologue has started. She gets a real kick out of conversing, especially when she gets to stick her tongue out occasionally.... She has recently discovered her tongue and loves to stick it out. She is also grabbing things and licking them or shoving them in her mouth... including her fists... her favorite thing to suck on...

2. Met Hugh Gilgoff, Ruby's new pediatrician. An astute observer might recognize his last name... Well, it just so happens that Hugh's mom (Alice) was our midwife! And we like Hugh, too. (and if we didn't, I guess we could go talk to his mom about it...) She weighed 11.5 pounds and measured 23.5 inches. So Big!

September

26-29. Left with Mom, Jane and Alice for the Jersey Shore. Without Dad!! Spent two nights there before Dad got away from the City and joined up in the fun... While there Ruby started rolling over suddenly. Back to front and front to back! Weather started turning cold, so there wasn't much beach activity, but there were waves for surfing when Dad finally made it down for the weekend.

25. RUBY LOVES BOOKS! Mom read her a bedtime story and she paid close attention to each page. Runaway Bunny, Goodnight Moon, and Guess How Much I Love You were her first books.

21-23. Aunt KC came for a much too short visit. Had loads of fun doing all kinds of stuff. Ruby got her second bottle while Mom and KC were out... Took her first stroller ride at Fort Tryon park. Slept rather well in the stroller. I think she liked it.

19. A day in Fort Tryon Park with the Mother's group where Ruby met a baby girl, Ariana, who was born three minutes before she was!!

15-17. Family flees the city for a long weekend. The smoke from the WTC disaster was making it up as far as our neighborhood (about 180 blocks)... We went to Massachusetts to visit Reenie and Tom. They live in a beautiful house on a lake near Amherst/Northampton. While there, we took the cute pumpkin picture.

11. World Trade Center Bombing. Kurt got stuck outside Manhattan and so it was Ruby's first night sleeping without him. She didn't seem to notice much, but it was very hard for Kurt.

8. First trip to the beach. Stayed in the shade of the umbrella. Slept to the sound of the waves.

7. Met her cousin Madison.

3. Ruby has fallen in love with a pink mermaid doll that has a little electronic sound when squeezed. She loves it and can stare at it endlessly. I think it's the big smiling face. Whatever it is, she will track it from side to side or wherever we move it...

2. Visit to PS.1. Rather bored with most of the art, and some of the video pieces made her squirm in the Baby Bjørn.

1. Trip to NJ to visit Megan and Gus and Aja (3 mos. old).

August

31. Ruby took her first bottle of mama's milk (given by Kurt) without a single hesitation. Wow!

30. First trip to the New York Botanical Garden.

29. Had lunch at Rockefeller Center with Nana.

28. First trip to the American Museum of Natural History with Nana and Poppy. Later, Ruby has her first dinner at a restaurant. She was OK most of the time, but then around dessert, she was ready to leave. Unfortunately, our route home went right through Times Square, so it became her first trip to Times Square... Not exactly where I wanted to take our precious little 7 week old baby.

27. First yoga class with Mom... Rikki Lake is also in the same yoga class with her baby (also a homebirth).

24. Back to the City from Vermont... (Vermont trip from Aug 7 to the 24th)

22. First nail trimming by Dad. No blood drawn!

18. THE SOOT!!! (a.k.a. the pacifier) She loves it! And so do we. It is the cure-all for her fussy evenings!

14. Meets Auntie Kristina. They get along famously!

12. First bath in the big tub with Mom. She loves it. A real water baby

10. Hiked up Mt. Ascutney

9. One month old. First fussy evening.

8. Gives up her first smile to her Grampa!

7. First road trip! Going to Vermont to escape the 100+ heat of the City. The pavement is reflecting the sun... Heading for the trees!

6. Shela's birthday! Farmor and Grampa arrive!

1. Outing to Tompkins Square Park. The proud parents' third wedding anniversary

July

26. Farmor visits for a few hours during a long (planned) layover on her way to Denmark.

23. Second doctor's visit (to the second doctor). Not quite what we expected, so the search for a pediatrician continues...

22. First trip to Central Park! Met Alice -- born one day earlier.

21. Slept great. first trip down to Riverside Drive for sunset.

20. Awake all day! First trip down to the LES to visit Jen's new baby, Makonen.

19. Nana leaves.

18. First outing down to the upper west side so mom could buy a nursing bra. How exciting!

17. Tried to go to Benjamin's birthday party... Left late, then as we sat in standstill traffic on the FDR Drive, a thunderstorm-downpour began and we gave up and went home.

15. Nana arrives for a visit.

13. First time out of the apartment!! We had to go up to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital to have her heel pricked for the PKU test (required by law). She did great, barely made a peep. (The technician who pricked her heel also did well, very nice and efficient). Umbilical cord fell off after we made it home. I put it in a little vial.

10. First visitor: Doris. Later, Stephan & Mary; Soren; Mariella; Gillian.

9. Born, 8 pm. 7 pounds exactly. 18.5 inches. Alice and Mariella were the midwives attending, and Jenna was our super doula.
Same birthday as Nicoa Tesla (born in Smiljan, Yugoslavia), the brilliant man who brought us AC power.