Most of these pics are from our trip to Florida over Christmas. There are lots more photos of this trip in 2006 Adventures but these are some of the better ones of Ruby. We were gone for almost 2 weeks and Ruby even changed while we were away! Although she's still not sitting, her balance is improving quickly so she doesn't tip over quite as quickly. She's really into grabbing and reaching for absolutely everything and seems to have a bit of a strange fascination with Dasani water bottles...
Ruby is such a happy baby! She has really started to take interest in all sorts of baby items that are slowly taking over our living room...bumbo seat, activity centre, exersaucer, bouncy chair, jolly jumper. We're getting rid of our couch to make room (just kidding). She's getting to be more and more expressive, making lots of cooing sounds. If there was any doubt that she was our child, that was put to rest yesterday at Costco where she could be heard talking to herself 3 rows away! I hope this isn't an indication that she's going to be a LOUD child.
Ruby & Java
Ruby continues to change by the day. She's starting to really notice Java now and likes to follow her with her eyes as she walks around the living room. She loves to be on the go, flailing her chunky legs around like a maniac and trying to pull herself up. She smiles a tonne now and Grandma is winning the game of making her laugh the hardest. Her grip is getting stronger and she's starting to take interest in rattles. She absolutely loves being sung to and Nicole is learning some French songs so she can teach Ruby her terrible anglophone accent! Ruby went to her first Canucks game this past Thursday and was a real hit.
Canucks #1
Canucks #2
Canucks #3
The majority of these pictures were taken in Ontario where Ruby visited a whole bunch of friends and family on a fun 10 day trip. Lots more photos of this trip are also in 2006 Adventures but these are some of the better ones of Ruby. We travelled to Pickering to see Den's family for a few days, then to Jarvis to hang with Brooke and Rob, Jen and Andra, then to the London area to visit with some of Nicole's family. A jam packed trip but Ruby was a fantastic little traveller and now has her first big flight under her belt!
We've had a busy but fun few weeks. The weather in Vancouver has been spectacular so we took advantage and went for a big hike at Mt Baker with our friends John and Nikki. We also just spent Thanksgiving with the Kelowna gang so Ruby got to hang with her big cousins once again. Ruby's changing so quickly it's hard to keep up. She is smiling and laughing lots now and is sleeping longer at night (at least for now!).
Most of these pics are just from around the house and neighbourhood. The shots from the pumpkin patch are from right outside our back door. We have a HUGE pumpkin patch in the farmer's fields out back so we very cruelly dressed Ruby up in her Hallowe'en costume and took some shots in the nice light. There's also a couple of shots of Ruby in the shower with Dad, one of her most favourite activities.
These were a couple of pretty exciting weeks for Ruby. Grandma Sandy, Nicole, Ruby and Java headed over to Pender Island (one of the Gulf Islands between the Mainland and Vancouver Island) to hang out with the Kelowna gang and their friends Jim and Muff, who had rented a cottage for the week. We all had fun hanging out and exploring the Island. We visited some artisans and a winery, hung out on some cool beaches, watched for whales (unsuccessfully) and did a fantastic hike up to a viewpoint. We hosted the Kelowna gang the following weekend on their way back home and then Dennis, Nicole and Ruby headed to Fernie for the Labour Day long weekend. Ruby did an awesome job on her first long distance trip. She slept for the bulk of the 11.5 hour trip in both directions! Thank goodness she likes the soother... :)
Life with Ruby continues to be lots of fun. In her third and fourth week of life she has seen a lot of action. There have been lots of "firsts" for Ruby these two weeks - her first walk in the Endowment Lands, her first walk out on the beach at low tide, her first hike around Buntzen Lake. She received lots of visits from friends including Dawn, Mike and Carla, and Leslie, Kirsten and Ali. She also met her cousin Rick, his wife Lynn and their daughter Molly and cousin Erin for the first time as they visited on their cross country summer vacation.
For the past week Ruby has had the most fun of all visiting with her Grandma Nicole (aka Mamie/Den's mom) and her boyfriend Gord. We've spent lots of time outside, walking to the village and eating outside on the deck at home.
We've had a pretty smooth first couple of weeks at home. We're a little behind on sleep but otherwise, we're all doing great. Ruby is a pretty easy going baby. She is becoming more alert everyday, opening her eyes and checking out her surroundings.
We've had some extra help over the past number of days. Nicole's cousin Dana, her daughter Kaitlin, and other cousin Ryan came to visit and help with Ruby from July 27-31. We had a fantastic visit. Between mom's already tireless help and the addition of a few extra bodies, the last few days have been extremely sane. We had a very active few days, taking Ruby for lots of walks into the village and running lots of errands. Auntie Dana and cousin Kate spoiled baby Ruby, giving her tonnes of cuddles and dressing her in some fantastic new sleepers.
Our beautfiful baby girl was born on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 at 2:57PM Pacific time at BC Women's hospital in Vancouver. Ruby weighed 7lbs 13oz and measured 19.75in. Her full name is Ruby Nicole Staples (middle name after mom and grandma Gagnon).
The birth went quite smoothly (as far as these things go) with Nicole labouring for about 15 hours and pushing for just over an hour. The hospital stay went very well and we were able to go home on the morning of July 20th. Taking a page from her father, Ruby has no problem latching onto the boob.
