The Faces of Ruben

I would say Ruben has more personality than any other baby I know. I'm biased of course, but seriously, this kid does it all. In this post I hope to outline some of the far reaching personalities that are encompassed within this small child.  As you will see, you never know what you're going to get when he wakes up in the morning, and you definitely won't have the same thing when he goes to bed at night. Everything in between is a joyful surprise.

More than anything, I would characterize Ruben as a lover.  He snuggles like a teddy bear. He loves to lay his head on my shoulder and even shares that love with Karl, Nana, Papa,  Jan, and Carol Lindquist. He can express his love so clearly in this way.

June, however, does not elicit this "cuddly Ruben" persona from her brother.  She gets this Ruben.

This is the Ruben that always shows up when June enters the picture.  He is so excited to see her that his body can't contain the excitement and he squirms and wiggles out of the arms he's in. If he's already on the floor, his excitement comes out through is arms as they flail up and down until he propels himself forward or June get pummeled by the excitement. This personality also shows up (less frequently) for other exciting things like bathwater, Nova (rarely), and his water bottle.

The super excited Ruben often gives way to CRAZYMAN Ruben. When in this kind of mood, Ruben spends a lot of time shaking his head from side to side and yelling.  This is best when we give him a baby faux hawk.  Crazy hair and crazy Ruben!

The most difficult Ruben is the whiny Ruben who has been spending a lot of time around our lives lately.  When he wakes up on the wrong side of the crib, you can tell.  I am not allowed to leave the room, or put him down at all for that matter.  Child watch at the YMCA is strictly forbidden. Loving caregivers at church and in the neighborhood are shunned and treated as if they are second class citizens.  Dad manages to pass most tests, but mom is definitely the preference.  How can you tell when this Ruben is present, you may ask?  Well, this Ruben is most often accompanied by high pitched screams that really do pierce your ears.  I don't think anyone is particularly fond of this face of Ruben.

Another particularly fun side of Ruben is his self-entertaining side.  He will sit in the entranceway of our house, looking out the glass door, watching Nova or passing squirrels for long stretches of time.  He'll stand up and bang on the glass, or just sit and talk to the shadow of his own reflection in the glass. This side of Ruben comes out during June's naptime when the house is quiet and I'm trying to get some work done.

Nose crinkle Ruben is just super cute.  His nose crinkle is most often accompanied by a soft snort and is used in place of a laugh.  It is almost as if he's too sophisticated to laugh out loud so he holds it in and ends up snorting through his wrinkled nose.

Finally, last but not least, is babbling Ruben.  For almost a month now, Ruben has been making motor boat noises through his lips for large portions of the day.  He brrrrrrrr's all through play time. Every toy sounds like it is racing in some never-ending incredibly slobbery race.  The sound can be made with or without his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Almost every adult he meets (including his parents) tries to mimic his motor boat sound, but unless you've spent time doing lip exercises in choir, it is incredibly difficult to do. 

Every day, we learn something new about this amazing child of God. What he has in store for us in the future is definitely a mystery, but we're excited to see ALL the ways he will grow!