Ruby-isms

Just wanted to jot down a few fun facts and cute stories about Ruby:

Rabbits are largely nocturnal, resting during the day and being more active in the evening, night, and early morning--and this includes Ruby. But Ruby is also a social little rabbit, so that means that she doesn't want to just play by herself, so twice (or more) a night, when she's ready for some company, she comes and scratches at our bedroom door so that I'll get up and play with her. She is very cute and usually wants to do lots of cuddling during these times. She has a routine all worked out--she'll lick my hand for a little bit, and then she nudges my hand with her head, nestling her head beneath my hand, indicating that it's my turn to pet her. So, I'll pet her and then after a little bit she'll lick me and then tell me it's my turn to pet her and so on. She also likes to put her nose against my nose and have me pet her--and then shows her love by licking my face. Then she puts her nose back against mine for a little bit and wants me to pet her, then she licks my face, and so on. I love her little routines--and I like that she's just as happy to give love as receive it. It makes me super happy to hear her little happy noise (a slight teeth-clicking, if you were wondering). She has also recently decided that sometimes she wants to sit in my lap and let me pet her, which is something she didn't used to do. All that sweetness makes it totally okay that she wakes me up in the middle of the night...twice.


Ruby is a smarty-pants...and she knows where the kitchen is and what the sound of the fridge opening and then water running means--that she's getting a treat. When Adam or I go into the kitchen, she is very attentive to what we are doing--and if I call her while I'm in the kitchen, she's more likely to come than if I call her while I'm in a different room. Also, with our little nighttime play sessions, I usually go back to bed once she starts munching on some hay...but sometimes, as soon as I turn off the light so I can go back in my room, she runs to my door because she knows I'm going to open it...and I think she knows she's not really allowed in there. Why, you ask? Well, she chews cords and I don't want to have to unplug the clock and stuff to keep it out of her way, and because she likes to hide under the bed and it's hard to get her out...especially when she finds a tear in the material under the box spring and hops up inside it and wanders around!

Ruby is very protective of her carrots. If we give her lettuce or cilantro, she's content to just eat it right there, but if we give her a piece of a carrot, she grabs it and and "hides" in her box to eat it. I'm not sure why she thinks we're going to take the carrots away--we haven't ever done that--but I think it's funny to see how consistent she is.


Ruby is way more popular than Adam and I are. Some proof:

I stopped by a friend's house to drop something off to her. She is my visiting teacher* from church, so she comes over once a month, and usually brings her youngest two kids with her. However, since I'm the Primary president*, I also see her kids every Sunday at church. Well, when I stopped by, her little boy said to me, "Hey, I know you! You're the girl from the bunny house!" Never mind the fact that he sees me every week at church; what's important is that once a month, he gets to see Ruby!

Our home teacher* brought his two-year-old son Paul over when he came for his monthly visit. A few days later, Paul was out for a walk with his mother and his friend, Jane. When they were walking past our house, Paul told Jane that it was "Ruby's house" and tried to bring her to the door to meet Ruby. (Unfortunately, we weren't home to accommodate his wish.) A week or so after that, Paul's mom made some strawberry jam and Paul and his dad came by to give us some. Paul's dad told him they were going to "Adam's house"; Paul informed him that that was "Ruby's house."

I taught a group of six-year-olds at church a couple weeks ago; the topic for the week was prayer, and in sharing an experience I've had with prayer, I talked about Ruby's illness a few months ago and the fervent prayers that Adam and I and our friends and family offered that she would get better. One of the girls (and actually the one I would have least expected to say something like that) said, "I wish I was your kid because then I could play with Ruby every day"!

Well, I can't say I blame the kids; Ruby is the cutest little rabbit ever. And even though they probably like her better than they like me, at least I get some coolness points for being Ruby's mom. :)

(*Visiting teachers are women who are assigned to each woman in the congregation and visit at least once a month to provide a spiritual thought, any needed assistance and just general watchcare. Home teachers are men who are assigned to each family and provide watchcare as well. Primary is essentially the children's Sunday school.)

Ruby's Emergency

So, now that we seem to be safely removed from Ruby's health emergency, I thought I'd explain to those of you who are interested what happened.

On Sunday, Feb. 12, I poked my head in Ruby's room to see how she was doing and was alarmed to see that she was sitting in kind of an unnatural position. She has a few different positions that she likes, and this wasn't one of them. Adam and I took her into the living room and we tried petting her a little, but she wouldn't let us. She wouldn't lick us, and she didn't even try to play and jump off the couch and run around the room, which is normally one of her favorite things to do. She also was making a clicking noise with her teeth--and while a quiet clicking noise means she's happy, a loud one means that she's in pain. So, we took her to Pet Urgent care, where the vet took x-rays, which showed Ruby had a GIANT gas bubble in her abdomen, which you could actually SEE distending her poor little abdomen. She wouldn't eat, drink, or go to the bathroom, so she was diagnosed with gastrointestinal stasis...which is really bad for rabbits because if their GI tracts freeze up, it can quickly lead to death. The vet gave Ruby some pain medication and a couple of shots to keep her hydrated. The vet sent us home with her, with instructions to get some follow-up care the next day.

Sunday night was miserable; I got up every hour or so to check on Ruby, and every hour, she broke my heart. She was obviously in pain, and she kept pushing and pushing, trying to get that stupid gas bubble out but she couldn't, and then she would flop down on the ground, completely exhausted. By morning, I could tell she was completely worn out, and I was really, really worried that when we took her to the vet, we were going to be told that she'd have to be put down.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were up and down. We took Ruby to the Family Pet Hospital, and everyone there was very nice, but Ruby still wasn't eating or drinking or going to the bathroom. In addition to the GI stasis, the vet added anorexia and hypothermia to Ruby's diagnosis. Adam and I would go in to be with her periodically and hold her and try to get her to eat, Dr. Madsen actually decided that she might do better at home with us overnight, since she seemed to perk up a little when we were there. The vet gave her enough meds and tube feeding to get her through the night, and she actually did well at home Monday night, but she didn't seem so good on Tuesday, so we took her back in. Again, we got to take her home that evening, and she did well for awhile but then wasn't doing so well again, so I took her back to the vet Wednesday morning. Luckily, with some more treatment, she did somewhat better, and we got to take her home again. The vet actually told us to try taking her out into the yard, since she normally loves that. Adam took her out while I went to work, and he said she was definitely slower and more tired than she normally is but that she enjoyed being there, and she did seem better Wednesday night, although definitely not back to normal. Thursday morning, she was doing okay but still did some of her pain-indicating teeth-clicking. Calling the vet, he said she might still have some discomfort and they could give us an oral medication for her pain if she kept up the clicking. She actually didn't keep it up, and over the next few days, she gained strength--and a gigantic appetite! I couldn't believe how much she ate! We don't know if she was trying to make up for lost time or what, but she turned into a little piggy rabbit and ate voraciously. Since then, her appetite has slowed down slightly (back to normal), and she seems pretty energetic and happy--and she's even gotten a little extra affectionate with me. I guess maybe with all of the babying and holding and checking on her that I did while she was sick, she decided I deserved a little extra love in return :)
Since this ordeal, Ruby has become an indoor rabbit, and one fun side effect of that is that, since I apparently have a small bladder and wake up every night to use the bathroom, I get to see Ruby and take a few minutes to play with her. (Turns out that Ruby really likes midnight to one-ish.) I'm trying not to freak out every time she does something that seems slightly off to me, but I guess that it to be expected. We nearly lost her, and I am not ready for my baby to leave me.
I truly think that the prayers and support we received from family and friends made the difference here. Monday morning, I was certain she was in too much pain to make it, but she pulled through like a champ. So, thank you to all of you who prayed for us. Adam and I are very happy our little baby is doing well and will be able to celebrate her first birthday in a couple weeks.

What a Year

It's hard to believe another Christmas is here already! I know I think every year goes by pretty quickly, but this year has been especially fast! It's amazing to look back at everything that's happened--Adam's completed his first full-time year with that company that I don't always like very much, we bought our first home and planted our first garden; we got our first pet baby, little Ruby Rabbit Everitt, and we continued falling in love. Not bad, 2011, not bad.

My first "mom" gift :)

Ruby is keeping me warm so I can play with her (by getting me slipper socks).

My little baby

Ruby's gift (a salt block)

Our little family

My Little Sprinter

Ruby likes to run around the back yard--which we discovered when she jumped out of her hutch and took off. She has also invented a little game--she'll let me get within a couple steps of her (or sometimes, even lets me touch her) and then she'll run off a few steps, stop and wait for me to come closer, then run off again. She'll also do her little happy jumps and occasionally, she even abruptly changes directions to jump back at me! She's pretty entertaining :)

Ruby Got Mail!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I went out to get the mail and was a little surprised to see an envelope addressed to Ruby...but it turns out Grandma and Grandpa Perry sent their littlest granddaughter a little surprise.

Ruby wasn't exactly sure what to do with her money, but she knew exactly what to do with the cilantro we bought her with the the money. :) Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!

Silly Rabbit

Ruby is hilarious! She has certainly kept me entertained over the past few days.

Today, she was literally running circles inside her cage. She also kept grabbing a hold of her "litter box" (which is really an old square cake pan) with her mouth and dragging it back and forth around her cage.

She likes to jump up on EVERYTHING. Currently, since it's wet outside and she needs to run around, we're in the sewing room, and she keep jumping up on all the boxes (we haven't completely unpacked) and trying to eat the cardboard...even though I have carrots out for her.

My personal favorite story: On Saturday, I put Ruby on her leash (which we attach to a spike in the middle of the back yard) so she could run around or dig under the apple tree or whatever. While I was out there, I thought maybe I'd just jog around the yard, even though it's pretty small. So, I started jogging laps around the yard, and my cute rabbit kept running after me! It was SOOOO funny. I was worried I might actually startle her, but I guess not because she kept running around with me. :) Totally made my day.

Bunny Baby

Ruby and her "daddy"...awww...

She used to be the size of my hand...

My Little Leaper

Ruby did some new tricks yesterday--she jumped on top of some books on the book shelf and crawled across the top of them, she balanced precariously on a box that wasn't quite flat (because it had a ball inside it), and she did a running leap into my lap! Usually when Ruby and I play, I'll sit on the floor and read; she'll explore things in the spare room, and she'll run behind my back (she especially likes it if I'm wearing something that gives her room to hide in the sags and bags), and she'll sniff around me and then hop into my lap. But yesterday, three times, she came running across the room and jumped straight into my lap, like there was nothing more exciting than jumping up to sit with me! It was super cute...and I don't know how I'm going to go out of town without her for 2 days.

Ruby Pictures

It's hard to tell from these pictures, I think, but little Ruby isn't quite so little anymore!

Taking a little rest

Hiding by the books

Our little family

Ruby's leash...which she doesn't like because it makes it harder for her to get into those places that it's hard for us to get her out of.

Ruby!

So, we've had Ruby for just over a week now, and she is adorable and hilarious!
The first day we had her, she was very timid--she would stay in the corner of her box or right next to me. However, since then she has slowly started figuring things out and getting braver; when we take her to a new environment--like a new room in the house or the backyard, she will sniff things out a little bit, then come back to me for some reassurance, then go back out, until she gets brave enough to leave me behind. When she reaches the point where she is ready to explore without coming back to me, it makes me a little sad, but it's also fun to watch her.

The other night, I got home from work and asked Adam how Ruby was ("Good") and then stepped into the living room to see her. Well, she was on the floor, and she and I startled each other; I said to Adam, "Oh, you should have told me she was out!" to which he replied, "I didn't let her out." Turns out, our little Ruby has decided to take running leaps in the box and succeeded in getting out on her own!! So, we've had to tape the box sides up a little higher and keep a closer eye on her. She gets a little riled up in there sometimes and tries to jump out...which is good indication that she needs the chance to run around. But yeah, my shy little rabbit isn't so shy anymore :)

rubbing her ear

cuddling
licking my hand

rubbing her paws on her face (I'm not entirely sure what the point is, but it's cute)

cutest Easter bunny ever

Changes

On Tuesday, we closed on our house; on Thursday, we received the keys and started moving in! It's an older home and needs a little TLC, but overall, we're very happy with it. And the people in the neighborhood seem nice; the Relief Society president stopped by on Thursday and the ward's membership clerk stopped by on Friday. He told me the neighbors' names (which I forgot) and when trash day is and stuff like that. Everyone seems very friendly so far. (And, to my single friends, I haven't seen him yet, but I've been told one of our next door neighbors is a single guy...)

So, come take a photo tour of our house:

Front of house (obviously)

front room

bedroom

bathroom

spare room (which is being used as a library/craft room/music room/exercise room)

kitchen/dining room

stairs down to the basement (it's not finished so I didn't bother taking pictures down there)

We also decided it's time to expand our family, so...meet Ruby:

Ruby is our tiny little rabbit, and she's adorable and funny. When she's in her box, she stays in one corner, and yesterday when I took her out, she was pretty content to stay in one place as well. However, today, she has already become braver; she will run all over the house, sniffing everything. And she realized that she can jump over some things (like my legs) and squeeze under others, so she has set off exploring everything.