Ruybalid Family!

Gizdich Ranch - Summer 2010

2011-08-10T00:16:00.000-07:00

Our dear friend, Vanessa, grew up south of San Jose in beautiful Monterey. As a child, her family visited Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville and when we moved to California, she insisted that we needed to make the trip down to try their apple pie. So we did!

We piled into the car and made the hour trip south to Gizdich. We went with the intention of apple or strawberry picking but once we got there we decided to forgo the manual labor and just enjoy our day. On the property there was a WONDERFUL bake shop. We ordered turkey sandwiches and fresh apple juice to eat there and an apple pie to go. The food was absolutely amazing and I am salivating just thinking about it. We ate our amazing lunches in the picnic area behind the bake shop, surrounded by apple trees.

Besides the bake shop, the grounds also held a great gift shop filled with jams and preserves, fresh picked fruits, more pies, honey, and more. We brought home some raspberry jam and honey. There was an antique shop on the property but it wasn't terribly impressive when we went. We were pleasently surprised by the whole trip and we hope to go back this year as we get closer to apple picking season [early fall].

There are not a lot of photos from that day and the ones I did take were with my phone. Our camera bit the dust when we went to the beach with Grandma and we had not replaced it yet. Here are the photos we did take below.

Enjoying the ranch and our lunches.

Dad and James enjoying lunch.

The gift shop.

I've never seen so many pies in one place.

James enjoyed playing with the toys in the picnic area.

A visit from Grandma Ruybalid - May 2010

2011-08-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

Way back in May of 2010, we were blessed with a visit from David's mom, Denise. We were so glad that she was able to spend some time with us.

James was on his worse behavior while she was here. Her visit came during the month that James was going through a hitting phase. I'm sure glad that phase is over and I hope Grandma isn't too tramatized and will decide to visit again. James' behavior aside, we had a great time with her. We especially enjoyed our trip to Santa Cruz.

Dining in Scott's Valley before heading to Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz

Grandma Ruybalid and James strolling down the beach.

Memorial Day BBQ

2010-06-10T12:22:00.003-07:00

Photo by Joel Even

Morning at the Park

2010-03-05T01:45:00.004-08:00

Conversation with an 18 month old.

2010-01-10T18:26:00.003-08:00

Me: 'Do you love Mommy?'

James: 'Yeah'

Me: 'Do you love Daddy?'

James: 'Yeah'

Me: 'Do you know Mommy loves you?'

James: 'Yeah'

Me: 'Do you know that Mommy loves you more than Daddy does?'

James: 'Hmpf'

The Pumpkin Patch [Better Late Than Never]

2009-11-18T10:30:00.004-08:00

Over The Hill We Go

2009-07-14T09:52:00.001-07:00

I love being able to take quick trips over the mountains to the beach. We headed over the mountains to the beach a couple of weeks ago. We drove along the coast and just took our time enjoying the scenery. We had no map and no agenda. We drove through Santa Cruz and Capitola. The traffic was awful, I felt sick, James got really fussy in the car because it was so hot and all three of those things put David in a slightly bad mood but it was still worth the trip and we had a good time despite all that. It's nice to get out with the family.

This one is my favorite. James is even smiling!

James could only smile for so long. The cold wind blowing off the ocean changed the temperature pretty quickly and let us all know it was time to go home.

Thanks for visiting!

1

2009-07-10T20:29:00.007-07:00

James turned 1 on July 4th!!!
We can't believe it's already been a year!

We celebrated the 4th of July with some friends. We were all pretty tired and left before the fireworks even started. We are old.

James showed his patriotism by chewing on the American flag.

Our friend Nichole made him a cake! Amazing!

...................................................................................................................................................

We celebrated our son's 1st birthday on Sunday the 5th.

This is what a genuine one year old looks like.

James was looking at the balloons that we hung up.

Someone forgot to buy decorations and candles for the cake so we had to improvise. The "1" is made out of chocolate- that's why it is so wobbly looking.

James wasn't really sure of what to think of the cake.

He kind of just poked at it.

Mom had to intervene and helped him out by smearing frosting all over his face. It's a frosting goatee!

After cake, James got a quick bath and it was time for presents! James was spoiled! Thanks everyone!

Topless Tuesday

2009-06-30T14:38:00.003-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T18:24:00.007-07:00

Our wedding. January 2007. David's dad, Rick, was our best man.

The beautiful lady on Kellie's side? That's Renee. Back off. She is married.

Kellie's dad, Herb, walking her down the aisle.

Kim, James, and Rick. Christmas 2008.

Kellie and Herb. April 12th 1986.

Happy Father's Day. Thanks for everything.
We love you.

A Video!

2009-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Little Drummer Boy

2009-06-05T14:00:00.001-07:00

James likes to drum.

No take that back.

James LOVES to drum.

Mommy wishes she had earplugs.

Mommy took pictures for all of you so that you could enjoy James' drumming without having to purchase earplugs for yourself.

Let's hope the neighbors don't complain.

David has a blog. Read it.

2009-06-04T14:54:00.001-07:00

David has a blog. You should check it out. :)

www.DavidRuybalid.BlogSpot.com

Visiting

2009-06-04T13:48:00.002-07:00

[This is an old post that never made it up on the blog. These photos are from right before we moved to California. Don't forget to check out yesterday's post. Enjoy!]

Visiting Heather and Miriam!

Visiting Vanessa [and Brody]!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

GQ Baby Interview with James

2009-05-11T23:21:00.005-07:00

Exclusive Interview with James Grey Ruybalid
by Ida Poo D'mipants

We got the chance to sit down and chat with James Grey, 10 months, famous for his good looks and charm. We got the exclusive on his love life, what he does to keep in shape, what he does in his spare time, and how he feels about being a baby.

GQ: How do you stay in such great shape?
James: I’m on a very healthy diet of formula and solids. I love sweet potatoes and oatmeal. I also eat a lot of crackers through out the day. I stay pretty active which helps to burn off the calories. I spend a lot of my day crawling, pulling myself up, attempting to stand, and playing.

GQ: Do you have a favorite game?
James: I have several. I love hanging upside-down, playing peek-a-boo, being chased around the apartment, and being tickled when I’m with mom and dad. When I am playing by myself, I love playing with plastic hangers and anything that lights up and makes noise.

GQ: First thought in the morning?
James: Food!

GQ: What do you drive?
James: A pimped out blue BMW.

GQ: Favorite Movies?
James: I love ‘Finding Nemo’.

GQ: Favorite type of music?
James: Anything my mom listens to. She has great taste in music.

GQ: Hobbies?
James: I have quite a few. I enjoy crawling around. Lately I’ve been trying to stand without holding on to anything or anyone. I’ve been doing pretty well and have been able to stand for a few seconds before I fall on my bottom. I’m currently learning to clap. I also love chewing [and drooling] on anything I can get my hands on – I have five teeth now and am working on number six.

GQ: Do you get along with your parents?
James: Most of the time. I actually spend all day with my mom. She is pretty cool. We tend to argue when she doesn’t let me get my way. For example, I think it’s totally okay when I pull her hair out but for some reason she really doesn’t like it. The same goes for when I try to pull things out of the cabinets. I love her but she needs to relax a bit and not be so uptight about those things. As for my dad, he is my hero.

GQ: Favorite song at the moment?
James: It was ‘Single Ladies’ by Beyonce but now I’m really enjoying Adele’s ‘Chasing Pavements’ and ‘You are My Sunshine’ which my mom sings to me.

GQ: Craziest or Silliest Person You Know?
James: My mom. Hands down. She is always doing the craziest things to make me laugh.

GQ: We heard you have someone special in your life? Is this true?
James: It’s very true. Her name is Sarah and I’m going to marry her some day. She is seven years older than me but I’ve never been so in love. I just need to work on her dad. We get along well enough but I don’t think he is too keen on his daughter dating at her young age.

GQ: Do you think there will be a wedding any time soon?
James: WOAH. I said some day. Like when I am 30 and old. I still have my whole youth ahead of me. Besides, I’m currently jobless, without much of an education, and living with my parents.

GQ: If you could have any occupation when you get older, what would it be?
James: I would like to cure cancer and HIV/AIDS, become president of the United States, and a drummer for a famous band like Coldplay.

GQ: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
James: Probably in 10th grade with a full ride scholarship to an Ivy League in the works. Only time will tell though.

GQ: Overall, what is your favorite part about being a baby?
James: It’s hard to pick just one thing. I love it all. If I have to pick I would say I love the attention I get from everyone. Everyone loves me and I get spoiled because of it. This is the life.

Day at the Park!

2009-04-29T16:30:00.006-07:00

I Love French Toast

2009-04-13T21:22:00.002-07:00

I love French toast. It is by far my favorite breakfast food of all time so when I came across this recipe for Crème Brûlée French toast, I knew I had to try it. After having the recipe for months, I finally made it last week. It was so delicious [and easy] that I just had to share the recipe with you.

[Picture an awesome photo of French toast here and start drooling]

Crème Brûlée French Toast

Ingredients
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1 loaf French bread, sliced
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half (I used the fat free kind and it was fine)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Melt butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup together until blended. Pour in the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish, making sure the bottom is covered.

Arrange the bread slices in the pan over the syrup.

Whisk together the eggs, half and half, vanilla, and salt. Pour over the top.

Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down to make sure the bread soaks up all the cream mixture. Refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

Bring to room temperature and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Serves 4-5.

The lady whose blog I got this recipe from suggested serving this with powdered sugar and raspberry sauce on top. She also suggested serving this with bacon to contrast the sweetness of the French toast. I think both ideas are brilliant and I will be doing both the next time I make this. YUM!

Sweetness

2009-04-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

Guess what?
No really. Guess what!

I'm 9 months old.

Sweet huh?

What's NOT sweet is the fact that Mom and Dad gave me a bath to celebrate. Someone needs to talk to them about that.

Not an April Fool's Joke

2009-04-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hello Stalkers. It has been a very long time since I have posted anything hasn’t it? Well guess what? I will be posting all sorts of goodness in the next coming weeks. I’ll be telling you about our wonderful move [yes, we moved], our handsome little goober, and all things about us because this is after all our blog and you do come here to read about US right? Thought so.

If you want to know about new blog posts as soon as possible without having to constantly visit our page, you can subscribe to us by clicking on the nifty little subscription on the side bar. Awesome right? Yes.

I love this little guy.

2009-03-20T12:46:00.001-07:00

What Could Be Better Than PEAS?!?!?!

2009-02-15T19:49:00.009-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we decided to introduce James to Gerber's puffs. These little star shaped puffs dissolve so there is a reduced chance of choking. Thank you Gerber. James hesitated a little at first but once he realized they are edible, he jumped right in and has not regretted his decision since.

While James has figured out how to palm these little babies, he hasn't figured out how to drop them in his mouth [in the picture below, he has them in his hand] so I decided to help him out a little. Since I love you, I thought I would share the experience with you.

Meet the cast of characters.

I'm not sure if this counts as self-feeding or not but it sure is funny.
James actually sucked up the puffs that I placed on the lip of his high chair's tray. Way to go kid.

Now these are MUCH better than peas.

James wants to Say Something

2009-01-31T07:08:00.000-08:00

Peas are the grossest thing I have ever put in my mouth. Eww.
Thanks for hearing me out.
- James Grey

The Good, the Bad, the Hideously Ugly - The Bloom Christmas Party

2009-01-30T07:15:00.000-08:00

I realize that Christmas has come and gone but I HAD to post these photos from the Bloom Christmas party. While we call Calvary Bible Church in Erie our home church, we visit Bloom in Denver whenever we are able to. Check out both websites if you have time. If you do not have a home church and live around these churches, we would love to see you! Service times and locations are on the websites.

Anywho - back to the party. Who doesn't love an ugly sweater party?

Adults, yes. Boring, no. The party decorations quickly turned into party hats. You can thank the mulled wine.

And then they started dancing. I wish I had a video camera!

You can't even imagine how funny it is to watch three people dance around with these huge tree's on their heads - unless you were there of course.

Other than the mulled wine [am I the only one who thinks its gross?], the food was amazing! In the photo below, David chows down on some yummy soup.

James chows down on some yummy formula while showing off his cute Christmas jammies.

Now we don our gay apparel. Fa la la la la la la la la.

Chuck wore a fetching vibrant blue and white, belly sweater.

Since Emily couldn't make it, Shawl wore one of his wife's darling sweaters. Unfortunately this photo does not show the fantastic flowers that wrap around the whole cardigan.

Here comes Brad, modeling a fantastic red sweater with a crocheted collar! Now that is something special. The plaid shirt underneath really makes it pop.

Stephanie wore a delightful oversized sweater with... Actually I don't know what it is on her sweater but it sure is festive!

Of course we cannot forget the wonderful founders of Bloom, Lisa and Michael Gungor! They wore coordinating knitted pullovers which featured some of Santa's helpers. Thanks for such a great time guys!

Also, check out their music at the links below. They are really amazing musicians.

Michael Gungor Band
Lisa Gungor

How To by James Grey

2009-01-29T08:20:00.004-08:00

How To Drink from a Bottle

How To Play on Your Activity Mat

How To Take a Nap

How To Wear your Shirt

Happy Anniversary to us!

2009-01-27T08:31:00.000-08:00

Dearest Husband,

We did it. We survived. We've made it another year in one piece. We've moved. We moved again. We've dealt with job changes and losses. We had a baby. We've had trips and holidays. We've had laughter and we've had fights. It wasn't always easy and it wasn't always fun but well worth the time and effort to make our marriage wonderful. I love you and can't imagine doing life without you.

Happy Anniversary Hubby.

Did you know?

2009-01-05T15:32:00.003-08:00

Did you know that our sweet baby boy is already six months old?

Did you know that he is already 27 1/2 inches long?

Did you know that he is eating solids like a champ?

Did you know that James loves to stand up and sit up?

And that he can sit up all by himself for a little while before falling over?

Did you know that he is 16 pounds and 15 ounces already?

Time flies.

We're back!

2008-12-30T10:41:00.006-08:00

My boys are so handsome!

We had a wonderful Christmas and we hope you did too. We really enjoyed our time with family in Nebraska and we are now at home relaxing. We will post more photos from our trip and other festivities from this past month sometime soon so check back soon!

One more thing...

2008-12-18T23:19:00.006-08:00

Okay so I know I just posted, but I figured I better put these photos up before I get lost in a world of Christmas parties and traveling, where blogging does not exist.

Last Sunday, the three of us met up with David's dad, step mom, and little brother at Cracker Barrel [yum]. They were in Colorado to referee a couple of basketball games and luckily had some time to visit with us before they headed back to Arizona.

Rick, James, and Diego. Don't you just love the Santa hat's on James and Diego?

Diego, Kim, and James. I don't know why my kid was looking off into space.

So once again, Merry Christmas. We appreciate and love all of you guys dearly and hope you have a great holiday.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

2008-12-18T23:04:00.006-08:00

It's hard to believe that December is almost gone. It seems like I blinked on Thanksgiving and it was suddenly December 19th. Reality should have set in once we experienced a couple of snowy days with temperatures in the negatives and attended a couple of Christmas parties but I still manage to be in denial and our Christmas cards haven't been sent off.

A week from now the three of us will be in Nebraska to spend a few days with some of David's family. We can't wait [well except for the eight hour drive which I would gladly miss] to spend some time with the family.

So time to get to the real reason you visit our blog - photos of James. Being the wonderful mother I am, I shoved James in his huge, fluffy, warm snowsuit and put him in front of the tree for an impromptu photo shoot before we left the house. I hope I didn't overheat our poor child.

In case I don't get on here to post again before Christmas...
Merry Christmas from the Ruybalid's!

Because when you are this good-lookin', you have to be a model.

2008-12-17T03:02:00.005-08:00

My favorite.

But I love this one too.

Wait - Maybe this one is my favorite...

I can't make up my mind. I love them all.

Pictures of James

2008-12-10T15:56:00.003-08:00

Thanksgiving Photos

2008-12-10T15:39:00.004-08:00

It's December 10th already? Where did this month go?

Here are some photos from the wonderful Thanksgiving week and weekend. Enjoy!

Four reasons to be thankful. Miriam, Kaelyn, James, and Kyla. James doesn't mind being the only boy [so far] and has promised to protect all of the precious girls in the family. Yes, he told me this.

My husband is a stud.

Did you miss me?

2008-11-25T16:55:00.008-08:00

Hey Everyone! Sorry it's been so long. Honestly, I wish I could post every day but it's just not a reality. So I'm very sorry that there are such large gaps between posts. I have been taking photos of the little one though so there are a lot of photos to look at.

James is taking a break from his stressful day and napping in our bed.

His onesie says 'cuddly' but this little one likes to push Mom and Dad out of bed on occasion.

He looks so much like his daddy.

James got to see G-Ma while she was in town a couple of weeks ago. We had so much fun and can't wait to see her again!

James loves his G-Ma.

James loves the camera's flash.

Did I mention that our little one is already eating solids! I wish we could have put it off for longer but our growing boy needs it. James is already 15 pounds and 10 ounces! Here are some photos of his first bites!

[My nails are technically dark plum not black]

This food is bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Things got much messier after this point.

James is so cool and he has the sunglasses to prove it! They even have puppy paws on them!

David and I fall more and more in love with our baby boy everyday. He is now rolling over and he giggles and laughs all the time. He is working on sitting up too! He still needs my assistance but he is getting stronger everyday.

We hope that everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving and is able to spend time with their loved ones this holiday.

Whatcha Lookin' At?

2008-11-25T12:02:00.002-08:00

Halloween

2008-11-04T10:53:00.006-08:00

Being the horrible people we are, we did not dress up on Halloween or shove out child into an adorable little outfit and then parade around collecting candy so that David and I can eat it all later. However we did put James into this adorable bib that Heather got for him.

Not only does it look good but it tastes good too.

Where is that bright flash coming from?

Hope you all enjoyed the photos!

Sneaking in a nap

2008-10-24T13:15:00.003-07:00

2008-10-17T08:42:00.002-07:00

Like most of America, I'm getting very sick of all of the political ads, signs, debates, and so on but I stumbled upon these political party ideas from Hostess with the Mostess which allow us to be cheerleaders for our favorite candidate in a whole new way. Happy voting.

PHOTOS!

2008-10-09T14:47:00.005-07:00

Since I was a horrible person and haven’t updated the blog in a while I thought I would make it up to everyone by posting a ton of photos. That always makes everyone happy. I might have to rename the blog to ‘Squish’s Fan Club’.

James has been chewing on his hands and drooling like crazy lately. Maybe he is teething?!?

Poppin' that colla'.

James got to meet great-grandma and great-grandpa Ruybalid a couple of weeks ago.

Yummy Yummy In My Tummy!

2008-10-09T14:46:00.002-07:00

What is better than getting flowers and chocolate? Getting fruit flowers that is covered in chocolate! We arrived home from MOPS the other week to find we had received this from Brooke. YUMMY!

Where's Waldo Kellie?

2008-10-08T10:04:00.004-07:00

So a certain unnamed couple asked why I haven't been blogging and I really don't have an answer for that. So until I have something exciting to write and more photos to post here is an adorable photo of the cutest kid in the world. Enjoy.

Go Ahead... Laugh

2008-09-21T17:38:00.002-07:00

Just a moment ago James was acting fussy so I thought maybe he just wanted to be held. So I picked him up and laid him on my chest and he calmed down. He just stared at me with his big eyes and it seemed like he was much better now that he was with mommy. Cute right? Yeah that is until spit up started pouring out of his mouth and DOWN my tank top. AWESOME.

Go ahead and laugh your head off. You know you think its funny.

High School Choir Paid Off

2008-09-21T16:45:00.003-07:00

This afternoon I sat James in his adorable new Bumpo seat [Thank you Dad and Christina!] and started talking to him and singing to him. As soon as I started singing, James starting SMILING and 'SINGING' along!!! I about cried.

He had stopped smiling by the time I got the camera out but he is still the cutest thing ever. [Yes I realize my kid is wearing a sweater and no pants]

Just perfect

2008-09-19T21:50:00.003-07:00

Taken today during his afternoon nap. So handsome.

Smile for the Camera

2008-09-18T13:16:00.007-07:00

James has been smiling for a few weeks now but I still hadn't pulled out my camera to capture one yet. So two days ago [I'm behind] I decided to try. 50 some photos later.... I got what I was looking for. So even though I only got one smile I sure did get a lot of cute photos of James. I won't post all of them but here are my favorites.

Well that definitely isn't a smile.

Almost there.

Yay! There is the smile I was searching for!

What is that in your mouth?

2008-09-18T13:01:00.004-07:00

James discovered the joys of thumb sucking two days ago. I'm glad I caught this moment on camera because I haven't seen him doing it since.

Random thoughts for the day

2008-09-16T15:05:00.006-07:00

Thank goodness for coffee. Some days I wouldn't be able to survive without it. Today it's helping to keep me energized so that I can get some cleaning done. In case you are wondering - It's Starbucks Verona blend with a lot of milk and sugar.
My kid has the worst smelling farts in the world. I do not look forward to him eating solids since it will only make the smell worse. I actually had to open up the windows this morning to air out our apartment after a gassy episode.
I really look forward to watching TV tonight. A new season of 'House' starts tonight! I really do believe that TV is an awful waste of time other than the occasional news story or educational program... the problem is that I really LIKE TV.
We got our family photos in the mail today and I'm really upset that the frame we ordered didn't come with glass. Hello!?!?! I could have gotten three frames of the same quality and for the same price at Target... but they would have had glass. I'm wondering if I can send it back. I really assumed that all picture frames came with glass. Am I crazy?
I would love to wake up tomorrow morning and own everything ever created by Chanel and Oscar de la Renta. Let's add to that list everything in Victoria Beckham's closet [that's Posh Spice for you un-hip people].
I'm hoping that Heather and Daniel and little Miriam are adjusting well. Bringing home a baby is a big deal.
I'm now taking applications from people who want to clean our apartment [for free]. You can apply by leaving a comment below or emailing me at Mrs. Ruybalid@hotmail.com.
I am also taking applications from people who would like to cook us three gourmet meals a day [also for free]. You can apply the same way as above.
Martha Stewart would be horrified by me. I'm the worst housewife [or 'household manager'] on Earth. Are there superwoman pills I can take that will convince me that our apartment is not a dump and I should keep it clean?
I totally added things to my To Do list that I have already completed just so I could cross them off and feel better about life. I feel like I accomplished something already. What a great day!

Just an update!

2008-09-13T20:23:00.003-07:00

I posted some photos earlier without really saying much of anything about whats been going on so I just wanted to take the time to give everyone an update.

James is now weighting in at just over 12 pounds. He is huge! We are currently working on getting him to sleep through the night. The last two nights we have gotten him to sleep a glorious 8 hours! He still needs a little help and I've had to hold him until he falls back asleep both nights. I'm hoping tonight will be different.

On Thursday, David's cousin Heather gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who has yet to be named. We are sooooo excited. Unfortunately David decided to get sick that night and we had to leave the hospital shortly after she was born. I am still mad that we haven't been able to see her yet. I might be mad at David until we die. Seriously... It's not like he had to get the flu. Isn't she adorable? She looks so much like her mom [although her mom has less wrinkles]. She was five pounds and fourteen ounces at birth. SOOO tiny and sweet.

So like I mentioned, David decided to come down with the flu and was sick for the last couple of days. Poor guy still had to work a ton Thursday but he got off of work early yesterday and then was back to work today after his fever broke. He is such a trooper. He is feeling much better tonight and hopefully will continue to feel good tomorrow morning for church service.

Well I'm gonna go fold some laundry before I get too tired to do it!

Cutest baby on the block

2008-09-13T09:25:00.010-07:00

Isn't he adorable? We are so in love with our little guy.

Estes Park 8.29.08!

2008-09-01T07:32:00.009-07:00

On Friday, James and I headed to Estes Park to meet Daddy. He was up there for a staff retreat. Families of staff were invited to come up to dine before everyone headed home. It was so fun and the dinner was tasty!

David and James are just chillin'.

James isn't sure how he feels about the beanie.

But he sure likes the shade and his daddy!

Look Ma... I found heaven.

One of the Britton kids jumping on the trampoline in the lake. So adorable!

David and I took out a kayak while miss Susie held James. I wish we could have stayed longer.

James was very upset that we had to leave this wonderful place... and he didn't even get to eat any of the good food.

Wonderful Wakeup

2008-09-01T06:50:00.002-07:00

David and I woke up on Wednesday morning at a glorious 6:50 am to frantic knocking at our door. 6:50 is very early to a couple with a new baby since we were just up feeding him. Anyways, back to the story. So I answer the door and our adorable upstairs neighbor is panicked and trying to let us know that SEVEN cars got their tires slashed the night before including ours. AWESOME. So this is what we found when we came out.

There is my car. You can also see the damage on the car from the hit and run a few months ago.

Someones car down the road.

The truck and the silver SUV got their tires slashed too.

David's car had two tires slashed.

Our neighbor above us had both of her tires slashed and her son's car got slashed too. Cool right?

The cops were called and a police report was filed but there are no suspects as of yet. It seems to be completely random... but then again... maybe someone doesn't like David's singing at church?

Life as a baby is SOOOO hard!

2008-08-27T15:25:00.002-07:00

Sleeping, eating, pooping, and playing is way too much for James to handle as you can see in this photo.

The window.

2008-08-23T09:11:00.005-07:00

I never thought I would say this but I'm jealous of the vertical blinds in our living room. Yep. Blinds. We have rattles and colorful keys and toys that make music but instead of paying any attention to those toys, James has given almost all of his attention and affections to our blinds. They fascinate him. Actually all light seems to captivate him but the blinds are definitely his favorite. Sometimes he pays more attention to them then he does me. During feedings I catch him lovingly looking at the blinds instead of me! I'm pretty sure he smiles at the blinds too. I'm so jealous.

Bathtime!

2008-08-23T09:01:00.010-07:00

Bathtime for Baby James! He was pretty content until I took him out and the cold air hit his skin. Then he was in hysterics until he dried off. Here are some photos from the experience.

I loved that he held his binky in his mouth the whole time.

No peeking.

Poor kid was a little confused about what was going on.

This last photo is my favorite. He is so adorable.

Just some photos of James

2008-08-15T15:55:00.007-07:00

Asleep in his swing.

Just doing what he does best [sleeping not pooping].

Baby Shower 7.19.08

2008-08-15T13:26:00.009-07:00

Two weeks after baby James was born it was time for our baby shower! Lisa, Tara, and Mandy put together a fantastic shower for us. We couldn't believe how great it was. We were really blessed. Here are some photos from the event.

James got to meet his great grandmother.

Look how tiny he is here. He was just over 7 pounds in this picture. He is so much bigger now!

2008-08-13T09:42:00.003-07:00

Sorry it's been so long. For some reason Blogger.com wouldn't let me log in for about a week. I think it might hate me.

I finally got David to let me take a photo of him with James. Okay... He really didn't have a choice as I caught him while he was feeding James. I'm just glad he smiled for me.

James is now an astonishing ten pounds and getting bigger every day. He is making all sorts of baby noises these days. We are still waiting for our first real smile. We can't wait.

Poop happens

2008-07-31T12:01:00.005-07:00

I have been told stories of mothers who willingly catch their sick child's vomit in their hands and have heard mothers casually talk about getting peed on or seen them glance at the spit up on their outfits like it was no big deal. At the time I thought all of these things were absolutely disgusting and just didn't understand how these women could think these things were okay.

My Mom actually told me about the time she walked in to find that one of my little brothers [I won't tell you which one] had actually taken off his diaper and smeared his poop all over the wall. He was standing in the middle of his crib smiling when she found him. She told me she just laughed. I couldn't imagine laughing at that when she told me [at the time I was pregnant]. A few days ago James starting peeing while I was changing his diaper and the 'safety wipe' had moved. I started laughing hysterically as soon as I felt the warm pee on the hand that was holding his legs up. Most of my friends would think this is absolutely foul as I would have just a couple of months ago but I think I get it now.

In the short couple of weeks that James has been home, I've been peed on, had poo get on me, have been spat up on, etc. It only gets worse from here. It's just something you can't avoid but it's okay because it's your child. If your child needs you to be there to catch his vomit, fine. You might not win any mommy of the year award but thats okay because it's your job.

Instead of doing something productive - I'm blogging.

2008-07-30T19:37:00.004-07:00

Right now I really should be working on the thank you cards that I should have sent out last week according to thank you card etiquette. If you are reading this and have attended a shower, sent a gift, or brought us food, I'm very sorry for the delay. Please forgive me.

James is doing so well. I love watching him learn and grow. He still isn't doing much but even the little changes fascinate me. At this point he is probably close to eight pounds. We can hardly believe it. I'm surprised that he is still fitting into newborn sized clothing and diapers but I'm sure it won't be long before he is in the next size up.

I'm still waiting to see a real smile [not a gas smile, although I enjoy those too]. Since James was born a month early, we need to adjust the milestone time line to reflect his prematurity. So as much as I would like to be experiencing a smile at this point, I can't really expect one for another 4 weeks or so. As soon as I get one I'm going to have the camera clicking away to take photos of my little model. I hope no one is getting sick of the photos of James. I know I'm not.

James and I took a little trip to the grocery store today and he was so well behaved. I hope he keeps it up :). I barely got a peep out of him from the time I put him in the car seat to the time I took him out. It seemed I stopped on every other aisle just to check to make sure he was still breathing since he was so quiet. I can only hope he will be this good during his toddler years. HA HA HA.

David and I put a poll on the blog to see who people thought James looked like since we can't tell ourselves. It seems almost everyone thinks he looks like me. We both couldn't see it until the night before last. We opened up my baby album and starting laughing hysterically. My baby photos look like the could be photos of James. It's scary to see how much James looks like me when I was his age. I wish I had a scanner so I could post the photos to prove it.

Well it's about 9 at night and I'm going to try to work on those thank you's before the next feeding.

:)

Mommy and James

2008-07-27T09:38:00.003-07:00

Snug as a bug!

2008-07-16T10:14:00.004-07:00

It's wonderful to be home. The three of us are adjusting to our new life pretty well.

We had an appointment with the pediatrician on Monday. James had another bilirubin test done and we found out that his levels are low enough that we no longer have to watch his levels. He is gaining enough weight and is an all around rockstar. We are so happy to have a healthy baby!

Home Sweet Home

2008-07-12T09:38:00.003-07:00

Yay! It's finally time for us to go home. The pediatrician came in this morning and gave us the green light. James passed all of his tests with flying colors. We do still need to come back tomorrow to test his bilirubin levels as they typically go up a little once the lights are taken off. So hopefully that testing will go well. I can't believe we get to take him home! He is really ours!

Can we take a baby nurse home with us?

Home tomorrow? Maybe?

2008-07-11T08:50:00.003-07:00

Well we were hoping that we would be able to go home today but we were thrown a curveball - James didn't gain any weight last night. It's amazing since he is drinking anywhere from 20-40 milliliters more than his required amount. At least we are learning a lot while we are here.

The good news is that his bilirubin levels seem to have gone down further so the bililights are off right now. Hopefully his levels will be okay tomorrow so that we can go home. His little goggles are gone and later the nurses will remove the special lights and blanket and take off the tape from his face. I'd remove the tape myself if I knew it wasn't going to hurt the little guy but it's on there pretty well and it's even in his hair so I'd rather the nurses be the bad guys. :)

This will be the first time that I get to see James without tape on his face other then when he was first born! I can't wait. I've gotten used to seeing my baby with wires and wrapping and tape all over him. Once the tape is removed I'll take some more photos and post them up.

Well both of the men in my life are asleep and the room is nice and quiet. I'm going to take advantage of this time and take a nap myself!

We'll be home before you know it

2008-07-10T07:02:00.003-07:00

Dr. Miller, one of the pediatricians we have been working with, came in this morning and told us the latest he could see James going home is Monday. How exciting! He could potentially come home as early as tomorrow. I'm a little nervous too. I hope we are prepared at home for him.

James is still under the lights but his bilirubin levels have gone down. Hopefully they will go down even more today and tonight. Here are a couple of photos of him this morning. I know we have a ton of other photos that look exactly the same but I can't help myself. Since he is still under the lights he does still have his goggles on. I can't wait to get some photos of him without them and without all the icky wires and tape. :)

Just a small update!

2008-07-09T10:39:00.003-07:00

I can't believe I'm awake right now. I think I have gotten 5 hours of sleep in the last two days. I know every mother reading this is thinking 'Welcome to motherhood'. Thanks. David can apparently sleep through anything. The night before last I attempted to wake him on three separate occasions. On the third try I finally kicked him [gently] in the side to get him to tend to the baby since I had my hands full. As I write this its almost noon and David is still sleeping. I think he has been asleep now for 14 hours. This isn't fair.

James is currently sleeping like an angel but last night he gave the nurse and I hell. We couldn't believe how hungry he was. Between his hunger, his diapers, and gas, it seemed that he was much more vocal than usual. It was just one thing after another. I think he is preparing me for when we get him home.

He is using the bili-blanket again to help assist the bili-lights in reducing the jaundice. Hopefully between the lights and the dirty diapers, his levels will be normal in no time. Since he is feeding so well, he is off of the IV completely now. It's nice having one less cord attached to him. Currently he has four cords attached to him which all work together to monitor his heart rate, his oxygen levels, and his respiratory system.

Things are looking really good. The swelling and bruising on his head [trama from labor] has gone down quite a bit and his head is almost perfectly normal. I'm so happy that he is as healthy as he is. We look forward to taking him home.

Day four

2008-07-08T22:59:00.001-07:00

Now that I have been released as a patient from the hospital and David and I are boarders, we can come and go as we please. David and I went out to dinner last night and this afternoon we took a trip to our apartment to work on some of the chores that got left undone when I went into labor. Leaving James was almost as difficult as labor. I know that we are leaving him in wonderful care when we do leave and we have nothing to worry about but I just miss him like crazy. David and I are head over heels for our little guy.

The first question we get asked when talking to friends and family is 'when does he get to come home?'. We still don't know an exact date and we probably won't know until the day of or maybe the day before he is release. So many things can change from day to day but things are really looking good.

He is feeding really well. I think he might be bent on being a 20 pound baby by the time he leaves this place. Since he is feeding so well he is pooping and peeing a lot which is helping to lower his bilirubin levels and means he needs less from the IV's. The more bilirubin he disposes of, the less light therapy he needs. Once he is off of the IV's and lights, he can come home!

While I look forward to taking him home, I greatly appreciate the fact that James is in the care of such a wonderful nursing staff and that I am able to continue to recover in such a safe place. It's nice knowing that my child has around the clock care while I can take it easy. If we were at home... I wouldn't have that luxury. I'm really getting spoiled here.

Half way outta here

2008-07-07T17:18:00.006-07:00

Well I have officially been released from the hospital and am now a 'boarder' here. So I'm no longer under medical supervision but since James is still here, David and I get to stay here too.

James is doing well. He is still under lights but we managed to get a few photos of him while he was out from under them. Here he is being fed by mom. He is being fed donor milk by bottle until mom's milk comes in and his sucking reflex matures.

I am feeling better and better as each day goes on. It won't be long before I'm not on any painkillers. I'm still a bit swollen but I know it will go down before too long.

We are so grateful for all of the support and prayers we've received. Thank you everyone. We will continue to write updates as we get them.

Baby update.

2008-07-07T05:42:00.006-07:00

After spending a couple of days in the special care nursery, James is finally in our room with us. He is currently under special lights which are causing the blue glow in the photos. Since the labor process was so eventful, James has quite a bit of trama to his little head. As the bruising on his head breaks down it releases bilirubin into his blood stream. This causes the skin and eyes to yellow... aka jaundice. These special lights help James to release the bilirubin through his urine. The faster it gets out of his system the better. This morning we were told that while he is looking so much better, his bili levels are up. They've turn the lights up on him a bit to help out with that. Don't worry - It just means that his bruising is disappearing quickly.

We thought he looked pretty cool with his little goggles. He almost looks like he is tanning. We can't help but think that he is getting cuter and cuter everyday.

James flashes the peace sign for the camera. He was born in Boulder after all.

Look at his little cheeks!

All of the wires on him are to monitor his vitals. Mommy looked the same for a while. If you are wondering where his other foot disappeared to... its there but its covered in another diaper so that the wiring that is on his foot doesn't get messed up by the bili lights.

Daddy has huge hands in comparison to little James.

I'm working on recovering. I feel decently okay after everything but I am still a bit tired and in a little bit of pain. My blood pressure has gone up and I have a good amount of swelling so we are turning away visitors right now. It's not unusual for this to happen especially since I had so many medications in my body I'm not used to anything stronger than excedrine. James isn't expected to go home anytime soon. He could be here another week or two.

We will post more updates when we get the chance!

James Grey Ruybalid is here!!!

2008-07-05T13:15:00.008-07:00

On Thursday I was working around the house and getting things ready for the baby's arrival. I finished folding the clothes that I had washed the day before and a few other things like hanging the letters I had painted for his room. I was planning to head on over to the hospital to pre-register but decided to take a nap before I left. At about 2:20 I woke up from my nap and I felt a small trickle. My first thought was 'Am I peeing my pants?' and wrapped my blanket around me. I felt a little bit more and thought 'Is my water breaking?!?!?!?!?'. I dropped myself to the floor from our couch and felt a huge gush! 'What just happened?' I thought. I could hardly believe it as I sat on the floor in the blanket. I knew there was no way I had lost control of my bladder like that. No way.

I called David and I tried to act casual.
'So where are you? and how much work do you have left to do?'
'I'm at the office, why?'
'Not to freak you out but I think my water just broke. I could have also peed my pants. I'm going to call the doctors office to see if I need to come in. Come home when you are finished with your work.'

During our brief conversation I worked to finish packing my hospital bag and wash the blanket. The more I did the more I panicked. I knew it was my water but I was secretly hoping it was urine. I know thats gross but I'm not due for another month! There was no way this could be happening. After all, we weren't ready and we hadn't even taken a hospital tour yet!

I called the doctors office and they told me to come on in. At this time I can feel the contractions coming on. I started timing them and while they were tolerable, they were only five minutes apart. I told David and he looked at me and asked what that means 'It means we should head to the hospital'. Our doctor's office is at the hospital so they told me to just head on to the labor and delivery area. Ekk. Once we got there, I was tested to see if it was my water that broke. It was water. I couldn't believe it. It was time.

By this time its around 4pm and we are settling into our room. I'm being monitored and being given pain killer [thank goodness]. Getting the epidural wasn't bad at all. I had pictured in my head that it was awful and almost as bad as labor itself. I barely felt the needle go in. They also gave me another painkiller that I could control with a button. I referred to this painkiller as my 'magic button' for the remainder of the stay in that room. It really was magic. Before I knew it I couldn't even feel the contractions.

They continued to monitor me and see where I was until I was fully dilated. About 4 in the morning, my doctor came in and told me it was time to start pushing. This meant I couldn't press the magic button anymore. Boo. I pushed for four and a half hours. I pushed well according to the doctors and nurses who were helping me but we weren't getting anywhere. James head was just not moving any further. We changed positions to see if that would help. Nope. We tried the vacuum next without success. We finally realized that I had been pushing for a while and barely had energy to push anymore and he wasn't coming out willingly anymore.

It seemed that our little guy, who was so eager to come out, had changed his mind. It was time for a c-section. At this point I was very sore from pushing for so long. It seemed that I might as well have been without an epidural since it seemed it had worn off so much. They wheeled me into the operating room and transfered me onto a new bed. There they numbed me from the ribcage down. That was spectacular. Other then some pushing, I couldn't feel a thing. They put up a sheet so that David and I couldn't see anything going on during the surgery [because it's gross] and one of the doctors helped to keep me warm since I was shaking.

The surgery was over before we knew it and they were holding James above the blanket for us to see. He was red and crying like most babies do when they are first born. David accompanied James and the nurses to the nursery while the doctors stitched me up.

James Grey Ruybalid was born on July 4th, 2008 weighing in at 6 pounds and 11 ounces. He is 19 1/4 inches long. He is currently staying in the nursery while the nurses monitor him. He is no longer on oxygen but is under light therapy for jaundice. He is doing amazingly well for being premature. David and I finally were able to hold him today and I attempted to feed him. Feeding didn't work out too well since he just wanted to sleep :).

We are not sure of how much longer the baby and I will be at the hospital. It still seems unreal. I feel a little more like a mom every time I hold him. We will keep everyone updated when we can. Right now David and I are taking advantage of James being in the nursery and sleeping every chance we get. We appreciate all of your support and prayers. We've received a ton of phone calls, text messages, and emails over the last few days and each one has brought a smile to our faces. Thank you again! Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

The baby's room

2008-06-30T18:20:00.001-07:00

Here are the letters that I painted to hang on the wall in the baby's room. You can't tell from the photo but the brown color is actually a sweet metallic brown and the 'J' has green dots all over. All of the letters also have a gloss finish on them.

We got the curtains up. We will change the long curtains for a valance once James is crawling so he doesn't pull them down. For now these will keep out the light the best.

This is the crib! I put it together not too long ago and I'm very proud of myself. It wasn't terribly hard but I did it in the middle of the night, by myself, at seven months pregnant. The bedding is a green and white gingham print which you can't tell from the photo. It looks great in person.

Tons of fun at the Ruybalid's

2008-06-29T17:33:00.005-07:00

Alright, I got some complaints about my last photo that I posted since it was from the front and I was wearing black. Well here is a side shot of me and the baby bump. I look massive but I promise I'm only having one baby! Just be thankful that you are not the one who has to push him out! :)

David and I are still working on settling into the apartment. I haven't put everything into place as quickly as I originally thought. I actually ended up nannying for a family who used me for the last five weeks. I had a blast watching the kids and hopefully will be able to watch them again in the future. Sydney is 9 and Brandon is 12. Both of them are very active in various activities [baseball, soccer, girl scouts, piano, camps, acting] and a lot of my job required me to drive them around from place to place. It was a great way for me to get to know the area too.

David has been very busy with work and other activities. At the beginning of the month, David's good friend and old roommate, John, got married! He married his long time girlfriend, Rindy. They are such a perfect match. Their wedding was absolutely beautiful. David ran the music and sound for the wedding. Below is a photo of the bride and groom during their first dance as a married couple. They both looked beautiful!

David has also been playing for various events. Last weekend he was in Colorado Springs playing with his good friends, Boyce and Rebekah Burley, for SpringsSpree. Earlier in the afternoon he played for a charity event in Woodland Park. This Saturday he was finally able to take a little bit of a break after the events of this month.

While David was relaxing, I took my car down to Castle Rock to be worked on. My dear friends, Chris and Vanessa, entertained me for the day and Chris replaced the brakes in my car. They are two of the sweetest and selfless people I have ever met. They are a true example of Christ's love. After Chris was done working on my brakes, we helped one of their neighbors get ready for their party. I had a ton of fun and it was great hanging out with their neighbors.

After I left Chris and Vanessa's house, I headed down to Colorado Springs to hang out with my old roommates and friends. Two of my roommates are actually getting married next weekend! It's going to be busy going to two weddings in one weekend but it will be a blast. I'm so excited for both of them. I know their weddings are going to be absolutely beautiful too!

This week should be decently relaxed for the two of us. I'm going to continue working on the baby's room and the apartment. The baby's room is looking great! I'll post photos of the room soon. Hopefully it will be complete before James joins our family! :)

7 weeks left...

2008-06-10T10:34:00.006-07:00

TheNestBaby.com kindly reminded me this morning that there are about 55 days left until my due date. That's if the bump doesn't decide to show up early. AHHHHHHH. I can't wait for him to be here but at the same time... we are not prepared for him. We just got the crib put together the night before last. His room still needs to be painted [it's a third of the way done] and the shelves need to go up and his clothes need to be washed and we need to babyproof the house as well as a ton of other things before he arrives. Ekkk! Hopefully everything will get done in time.

We met with the new doctor last week. Dr. Jensen is great. We are lucky to have found yet another great doctor! The hospital looks great too. We still have to do a tour though. I wish we could have moved up here a little earlier though because I'm going to be waddling while we do the tour. Waddling? Yes, I'm kinda like a penguin now with my big belly and swollen ankles. Yay.

Long time no talk...

2008-05-22T15:32:00.004-07:00

WOW! It's been a while.

David and I are currently without internet access at our house so unfortunately I don't have any photos to put up.

We have finally moved up to Longmont and are working on getting settled in. It's great being up here but it's tough adjusting to all the 'newness' of it.

James is getting bigger and bigger everyday. My bellybutton is almost an outie!

David has been working a lot more since the church increased his hours and I've been babysitting a couple of times a week to fill up time.

Hopefully it won't be too much longer before I get some photos up but don't hold your breath, it might be a while.

Living out of boxes!

2008-05-02T12:30:00.004-07:00

It's finally time for us to move! Yesterday, David and I signed the lease and got the keys to our new place. It will be nice to have a place to call home for a while. We plan on being in this place for a while!

Tomorrow, Saturday, David and a crew from church will be helping us move in all of the heavy boxes and the little furniture that we do have. Thank goodness for friends and family because I'm not any help right now! I just get to 'boss' everyone around and tell them where things go.

David and I also finally picked out a couch. We've been needing one for a while since our futon has been on the brink of falling apart for the last year. Now we just need to give the furniture place all of our hard earned pesos and pick it up! The couch we picked out is above. Once we get the living room painted and the sofa in, I'll post a photo on here of the completed room.

Once we get settled in, we hope you will visit! :)

Welcome to the World Kyanna!

2008-04-20T14:28:00.004-07:00

On Saturday at 10:30 in the morning, Kellie's step sister Samantha, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Kyanna! Welcome to the family little one!

It seems that this is the time to have babies! Heather, David's cousin, is also pregnant. She and her husband Daniel are just 8 weeks behind us. In addition, there are two other couples on staff at Calvary [Where David works and where we attend church] who are due the SAME week that we are! We are very excited to have so many little ones around us!

2008-04-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

David and I finally found an apartment in Longmont, Colorado! We move in on the first of May. We are excited to have our own place again and I can't wait to start decorating the baby's room!

An Update

2008-03-31T16:40:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update since there have been a lot of changes in the last few weeks.

Our lease for our apartment in Castle Rock is up at the end of the month. We've really enjoyed the year that we have spent here. Castle Rock is a fantastic quiet family community and we are really going to miss it.

Our plan is to move to the Boulder-Erie area so that David can be closer to his job and so he won't have to commute as much. Currently it is about an hour commute depending on traffic. It's a lot of time and a lot of gas!

Kellie was working at Messenger International but has recently left which means we no longer need to live in an area that is in between both of our jobs. Kellie was driving about 30 minutes south everyday and David was driving north on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

We are currently looking for a two bedroom apartment in the Longmont, Louisville, or Layfette areas. Housing is a little bit more reasonable in these towns then in Boulder. Erie is a 'bedroom' community without any apartments at the time and a townhome is too big for us. These areas will be about a 20 minute commute from Erie and Boulder. We want to be between the two towns since David works in offices in both places.

David's dad and stepmom, Rick and Kim, have been kind enough to open their home up to us during the transition. Since we still have not found an apartment and since our income levels are changing in the next month, we will be staying with them in Colorado Springs for the month of April. We are very lucky to have family so sweet. Hopefully they will be able to deal with us when we come back from Boulder/Erie grumpy because of the extra 45 minutes that has been added to the commute!

The Promised Photos

2008-03-26T15:40:00.001-07:00

Here are the photos we promised you from the follow-up ultrasound. We got to see little James in 3D this time! It's a little weird and really cool to see photos of our unborn child.

It's a little hard to make out but here he has his hands over his face.

Here is another profile shot. The doctor kindly labeled all of his features for us, just in case we can't figure it out ourselves. :)

The cord is blocking half of his face but you can still make out his arm, his hand, his nose, an eye, and his mouth.

He looks a little bit like Trevor in this one!

This last one is our favorite because you can see everything so clearly. He looks so sweet and angelic. Let's hope that he will be well-behaved and nice when he comes out!

Our Follow-Up Ultrasound

2008-03-25T16:08:00.002-07:00

Well we had our second ultrasound today at the hospital. We needed to go in for a closer look at our little boys heart. The doctor's who helped us today were extremely helpful and very sweet. They were really comforting the whole time. I think David and I were both a tiny bit nervous.

The ultrasound showed that our baby is perfectly healthy. His heart has a small calcification on it but it's a very common thing and it will not cause any health problems in the future. He can play as much soccer as he wants and even run a marathon when he gets older!

The doctor's also double checked and measured all of his organs. He is developing very well. They gave us some more photos but unfortunately they were not on a disk like the last ones. They were able to give us some 3D photos and they are really neat! It's not nearly the same as the regular ultrasound photos. He still looks like a little alien at this point but he definately looks more like his dad then he does his mom!

When we get the photos scanned in, we will post them. Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Oh boy!

2008-03-12T18:11:00.009-07:00

Well for those of you who voted on the gender of our little one... half of you were right and half of you were wrong. David and I were surprised that the results really were 50/50.

We were so excited this morning when we woke up. We both couldn't wait to see our baby! We were very excited to see the baby swimming and squirming around in my belly. We can finally stop calling our baby 'It' and calling him or her by name!

Our ultrasound showed that we are having a little boy! We are still debating names but for the time being his name is James Grey Ruybalid.

The photo above shows his handsome profile!

Ultrasound photos make the baby look a little bit like an alien!

We did find out that there maybe something wrong with the left ventricle of his heart but we are believing that he is 100% healthy! We are going in for another ultrasound in a couple of weeks to double check but we know everything is fine. It's just another excuse for a photoshoot for James.

Estes Park

2008-03-06T08:51:00.009-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, David and I stayed in the beautiful Estes Park in Colorado for a weekend. David was playing drums for the band 519 at the YMCA camp up there so we decided to make it into a mini vacation. When David wasn't playing we cruised around the area and had a blast hanging out with one another.

This photo can't capture the beauty of this place! This is Estes Lake.

David was forced to pose for this photo. He is such a great sport.

Below is the famous and historic Stanley Hotel. They filmed 'the Shining' here and 'Dumb and Dumber'. It's a fabulous building with wonderful detailing all throughout.

There is wild life everywhere in Estes. We saw deer, elk, and big-horned sheep! It was fantastic. None of these animals seemed to be bothered by the people taking photos of them. This deer was actually so people friendly that it let me pet it. :)

After wandering around all day - look what we found - Noah's Ark!!! Okay so it's the real Noah's Ark but it was kinda fun to find. Inside was a stuffed animal store. It was a little weird and they played really bad music. We had a hard time trying not to laugh.

David and I had a blast and we cannot wait to go back sometime soon!

Sorry it's been so long...

2008-02-04T09:03:00.004-08:00

We’ve been very busy.

The holidays are always a busy time of year. In addition to our normal festivities, David and I took a trip out to Santa Cruz, California. While we were there we visited Santa Cruz Bible Church and David played for them one night. He did such a great job. He was really able to show his creativity and used some electronic loops in some songs. He sounded so great. I wish you all could have been there!

We enjoyed seeing what Santa Cruz has to offer. It has a very different atmosphere then conservative Colorado [Boulder excluded!]. As we were leaving a restaurant in the downtown area, a couple actually asked us for our leftovers, they didn’t look deprived and homeless either. That was a first for us. There were a handful of people who were painted and decorated in silly costumes who walked up and down the main street talking to themselves and to strangers. It was very neat but I did cling to David the whole time.

Santa Cruz was absolutely beautiful.

In addition to our trip, David and I found out some big news. Early in the month I was having a lot of pain in my lower abdomen. It lasted for about a week and David was beginning to get concerned. Then for a couple of days straight, I was unable to hold any food down. We didn’t know if both things were related but we weren’t going to take a chance so David took me to the hospital.

It was my first adventure to the ER and I was very willing to cooperate. They poked me with needles and IVs and took blood from me. We were there for about 4 hours just to find out that I’m okay [thank goodness] and I am pregnant. PREGNANT! We could hardly believe it. While we were there we had an ultrasound and we were able to see the tiny, tiny heartbeat of our 5 week old child.

We are now officially 14 weeks along and in the beginning of our second trimester. After a wonderful first trimester filled with morning sickness, I’m finally regaining my appetite and it seems that it is making up for the time that I was sick. I want to eat all the time. It’s horrible. We might go broke because of how much food I want!

We are also looking to move in the next couple of months. We are still waiting to see if we will stay in Castle Rock or if we will be moving up closer to the Boulder-Erie area. There are a few factors that will decide that. We are doing a lot of waiting to see at this time. We will make sure to keep everyone updated though!

A New Addition!

2008-01-01T17:05:00.002-08:00

Yesterday, our family welcomed a new addition to the family. A little girl named Kaelyn joined Rebecca [David's sister], Jeff, and big sister Kyla just before noon.

She is just precious!

2007 in Retrospective

2007-11-23T18:45:00.003-08:00

This has been an amazing and eventful year for David and I.

We were married on January 27th, 2007 by our brother-in-law, Pastor Jeff Stone. We had the ceremony and the reception in The Barn in Palmer Lake, Colorado. We were thrilled that so many family members were able to come and celebrate with us.

Afterwards we headed to the Breckinridge area for our honeymoon. We had a blast and it was really nice to relax after all of the wedding planning and moving.

Once we returned from our honeymoon, we took the next week to settle into David's apartment in Westminster. Kellie immediately took to adding 'a woman's touch' to the place.

Two months later, David and Kellie decided to move a little bit closer to Kellie's job and settled into another apartment in Castle Rock, Colorado which is just about in the middle of both of their jobs. David's sacrifice paid off and Kellie was promoted to Manager of the Call Center a few months later.

Currently David is a Worship Leader for Calvary Bible in Erie, Colorado. He also pursues his musical talents outside of church. He has also been working on producing songs and albums for local artists in the area. This last year, David has done a lot of traveling. In April, he went out to Nashville, TN to hang out with friends and record some of his music. Early this summer, he went to Nebraska a couple of times to play at a camp.

Kellie is working at Messenger International, a ministry of John and Lisa Bevere, in Palmer Lake, Colorado. She enjoys creating and selling cards, scrapbooking, and crocheting in her free time. She also loves her monthly Bunko games with friends and co-workers [even though she has been on a losing streak the last several months]. She has also been putting time and effort into organizing and decorating their apartment.

We both enjoy seeing each other as much as possible but in our free time love to hang out with family and friends. We enjoy watching movies [at home or at the theaters], and learning how to cook together. Its been an exciting and eventful year. We look forward to 2008 and the posibilities that it holds.