One? Already?!?!

I can't believe this little booger is one, already.

She is an extremely quirky kid.  This is one of her default faces, and I worry that people who do not know this is her "teasing face" might think she is Rosemary's Baby.

Ruth is also extremely sweet and loving.  She gives us all hugs and kisses all day long.  If I catch her doing something she knows she shouldn't (like touching the laptop)  she will immediately bend down and give the offending object (like the laptop) the head-bump that for her means a hug and a kiss.

She loves her family so much!  When the girls come downstairs in the morning, Ruth will literally cheer for them, waving her arms and squealing with delight.  When Chris comes home from work, Ruth can tell by the sound of his footsteps and she goes off like a shotgun, crawling with abandon over any object that might be in her way, to get to her Daddy.

 Ruth is a people-person.  She loves to wave to strangers, and she will often work very hard to catch the attention of sour-faced people who ignore her.  I've witnessed her coax smiles out of surly teenage stockboys, leather-clad bikers, gigantic gangster-looking guys hanging around streetcorners and bitter faced old ladies.  This kid is a miracle worker.

She also has a dark side.  When mildly upset, she will shriek in a register that can only fully be heard by dogs.  If she is slightly annoyed, she will cry big crocodile tears that would break your heart if you only weren't aware that, by 7  months of age, this baby was already a consummate actress. 

She makes us all laugh every day, and she torments us all with her constant desire to get into the good stuff.  She can tell the difference between banana slices and donuts, and woe to anybody who thinks they can sneak it past her.  She is so, so loving - if anyone is sad you can bet that Ruth will be right there, bending down her big bobble-head to give them a hug.  She has a sense of humor, loving to shake her head "no" to solicit laughs or to play hide-and-seek when she should be going to sleep.  She has a way of concentrating her face, a look that says, "Yes, I know that you have this or that on your mind, but can't you see how hilarious I am?"  and it works, every time.  We laugh, and forget our cares, and are so thankful to have this crazy baby in our lives.

Seriously, though, why is this her default face???