I love this little guy.

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

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

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

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

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!

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?

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!

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...

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

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.

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