I have got to write these things down more often because we do forget them so fast in the rush of our every days.

Very first thing she said to me upon wakening a few weeks ago:
"Mama, B is for bubblegum, you blow it up and then you pop it."

Another time, when I asked her to give another kid who was having a hard time some space:
"Mama, what does that mean, giving space?"
"It means you leave him alone for a few moments, and don't talk to him."
Ruby gets up and walks away from me, as if to go look for the other kid. "But mama, I have to talk with him."
"Why?"
Ruby is still slowly walking away. (What a cute butt she has, now that we can see it without the diaper bulge.) She raises her hands up, palms up, clearly with a need to emphasize her words. "Mama, kids talk each other. That's what they do. They just do."

Today I talked with Ruby on the phone. She's visiting her family in Massachusetts with David. She's been very excited about this trip because it was Grandma Pat's birthday a few weeks ago and there was going to be cake. Besides loving that she just talks to me on the phone as if it's the most normal thing in the world (where did my baby go?), I love the enthusiasm with which she says "Hi mama!" My ears will invariably ring for a few seconds, because she hasn't yet figured out the lower phone voice thing.
So, "Hi mama! Mama, it's not Grandma's birthday yet." (Translation: I haven't had any cake yet.)
"Oh no, when will it be?"
"Later I think."
"Okay, what are you doing now?"
"I'm walking in circles mama."