Merry Christmas!

We can't believe Christmas is in just a few days. We've had fun preparing for Jeremy's first Christmas. The tree is decorated, stockings hung and presents bought. Most importantly we have the camcorder charged so we can show Jeremy what a great time he had! Jeremy is "talking" up a storm lately...he's probably telling us what a good boy he's been this year.

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday with family and friends and best wishes for 2008!

SoCal Debut

Jeremy just completed his Southern California Debut over the Thanksgiving holiday. With 6 cities in the tour he had multiple engagements along the way.

Stop 1: Seal Beach
Jeremy settled in quite well at Grandma and Grandpa's House. They had the bedroom all set up for him and tons of new books to read. Jeremy visited the beach for the first time and met Cymbre's college roommate, Michelle. Aunty Michelle had Jeremy laughing away the entire time. Truly big "Belly Laughs".


Stop 2: Long Beach
Jeremy visited Great Grandma and Grandpa's House deeeep in Long Beach. It was fun to go out to lunch with Papa Gene and Gramma Kay and get the backyard ready for Thanksgiving.

Jeremy also met more of Cymbre's friends from grade school...Caryn and Helen and their kids, Ava and Nicholas. Ava and Nicholas are 2 and 3 years old so Caryn and Helen were able to impart lots of "mommy wisdom". Finally Jeremy met Aunty Michelle at her house. Supposedly she's the one to know because she's promised lots of presents in the future.

Thanksgiving was definitely the highlight of the tour. The day started out cheering at the Turkey Bowl. Then Jeremy met 50 of his aunties, uncles, and cousins. It was quite a day for him, but surprisingly no major melt downs. He loved hanging out with everyone and being held the entire day. Jeremy found another favorite laughing buddy in cousin Kristen. He couldn't stop smiling and giggling with her.

Stop 3: Fountain Valley Jeremy visited Grandpa at his classroom and enjoyed seeing what a wonderful place school will be.








Stop 4: Tustin
Jeremy got his first taste of the OC when we visited Aunty Melissa in Tustin. He met a dog for the first time, Lola. But, I think he knew he was in control...he probably weighs more than Lola.




Stop 5: Culver City
Jeremy ventured up to LA and visited on of our favorite cuban restaurants. There he met more friends from mom's architecture life, Jeff and Julie.






Stop 6: Huntington Beach
The tour wouldn't have been complete without a visit with Rick and Lori. And here Jeremy got to bond more with Uncle Tim. He showed Jeremy a new perspective on things.

CAL v. WSU Football Weekend

This weekend was full of football, fun, family, and friends. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather for our traditional CAL football weekend. Jeremy met so many new family members and friends, including his great grandparents, Papa Gene and Gramma Kay. The weekend started out with dinner at Henry's. It was a late night for Jeremy, but he managed to fall asleep with Daddy. And he must have known it was going to be a busy Saturday because he slept straight through the night.

On the day of the game everyone came over for a BBQ. We had such a fun time having everyone here. Gramma Kay, Aunt Kate, cousins Samantha and Sara were wonderful to take care of Jeremy while we went to the football game. He had a great time playing and listening to Gramma Kay sing him songs. The evening ended well (for everyone except Jeanette) as CAL ended their loosing streak beating Washington State.

And no weekend would be complete without breakfast at Homemade Cafe, our favorite breakfast spot. Grandpa Paul may try to convince you Fat Apples is better, but don't be led astray. And Sunday ended perfectly as we relaxed in the backyard and Jeremy had more time with his grandparents and the rest of the family.

We had a fun time with all of you at the game and BBQ. We are so thankful to have such loving family and friends. We posted all the pictures from the weekend on the Kodak Website. The link is to the right.

Happy Halloween!

VIVA LAS VEGAS! Yes, the King is back!!
Jeremy thoroughly enjoyed his first Halloween. And as you can see we had lots of fun getting him ready for his first holiday. I'm sure most of you knew he had to be Elvis for Halloween. What else would be the fitting given all his hair! We had a fun day carving our pumpkin, hanging out with one of Jeremy's friends, Kaimana, who was a punk rocker, and handing out candy to a few kids who came by the house.


We also enjoyed visiting a pumpkin patch in Half Moon Bay. It was quite a trek out there, but since we'd never been it was a mini-adventure. Thank goodness Jeremy isn't old enough to go on any rides because we could have been there for hours. There were so many fun activities for the kids, but we'll save that for future years. We just had a nice time picking out our pumpkins and taking a few pictures.








Jeremy seems to have a look of "Are you kidding me right now...prop me up against pumpkins for a photo shoot?!?" He should be used to it though...we can't take enough pictures of the little guy.

2 Months Old!

It's hard to believe that Jeremy is already 2 months old. He just had a doctor's appointment and weighs 13 pounds 10 ounces and is 23 inches long. He had a few vaccinations so it was a bit of a rough day for him.
The only prescription was for more tummy time. It's not Jeremy's favorite activity, but he did smile yesterday when we did it and now that he's found his hand that keeps him distracted for awhile.

We've seen so many exciting changes in Jeremy in the last month. He's like a little man! At 6 weeks he started to sleep about 6 hours a night. Of course "night" to him is from about 7pm to 1pm, but we'll take it! Some nights he even sleeps 8 hours. The first time it happened it scared us a little bit. Being the worried first time parents we are...we pretty much woke him up for fear he was in a sleep coma! We also get lots of smiles from the little guy. He'll look right at you and flash a smile that makes you melt and gush all over him. About a week ago he followed up the smiles with lots of "talking". He loves to have a conversation with us, but he'll talk up a storm all alone too.

Jeremy is also a pretty alert, always looking around and straining his neck and eyes not to miss anything. It can make breastfeeding quite a challenge sometimes. But, it is fun to move around and watch him follow us wherever we go. He's always ready to show off his smile and gorgeous hair for all the ladies we see on our walks or at the stores.

Grandpa Paul and Grandma Jeanette had to go back home a few weeks back as well. I'd be lying if I didn't say it's a lot harder without them. We miss all their support and good dinners! And I think Jeremy was pretty confused when he didn't have them around to play with. But, we're doing well going on new excursions and meeting other mommies and babies.

Our latest trip was to Sacramento. John and I went to his High School reunion and Jeremy stayed with Uncle Phil and Aunty Rose. Jeremy was great on the way up, sleeping soundly for the full trip. The trip back home was a different story, but I guess you can't expect a dream trip on your first try! He had a great time at Uncle Phil and Aunty Rose's house. The rest of the family came over so he had a lots of people to pla with. And when it was time to go to sleep he quietly closed his eyes...all by himself. That's a first so John and I are hoping it sticks now.

We posted lots of pictures to the right. There's one of all the visitors with Jeremy. That has been so much fun...to see Jeremy with all of you.

Getting ready for Cal v. Washington State

Hi everyone, Jeremy here! I just wanted to let you know how excited I am for the Cal v. Washington State game in November. As you can see I've been hanging out in the backyard getting ready for some BBQ action. Most of the time I relax in my animal bench. Grandpa Paul bought it for me and put it together. It's quite a nice spot to take in all the activities in the backyard.

Of course once in awhile I help out too. Daddy seems to do better when I hang out with him to water the lawn. Come November we'll be ready for a fun time.

You know it...You tell the story....

YOU TELL THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD THIS IS BEAR TERRITORY!


'nuff said.
(Cal beats Oregon 31 to 24)

Our favorite picts of us with Jeremy

Here are a couple of pictures John and I like best of us with Jeremy. He's just 7 weeks old.

Our Bathtime Superstar

Well it took a little over a month but Jeremy finally likes bath time. He flashes us smiles now and is content the entire time. We tell him it's just like going to a spa for a massage and facial. Once he even fell asleep while in the bath...talk about relaxation.





Here he is in his Superstar bath towel from Meghvi and Carlos. Doesn't he look like a little happy buddha?

One month old!

Jeremy is a month old and is 21 1/4" long and 10 pounds 10 ounces. Only 1/4" longer, but almost 3 pounds heavier. Yup, he's getting chubbier!



We've gone on a lot of excursions with Jeremy. Unfortunately he's been asleep for most of them so he doesn't know how wonderful Target and Costco can be. He does have some "QAT" time though. That's "Quiet Awake Time". We're also seeing if he can have "QAAT"..."Quiet Awake Alone Time". That's not quite his specialty yet...seems to like to have someone around all the time.

Visit from Grandpa David, Uncle Phil, & Aunt Rose

On Labor Day Grandpa David, Uncle Phil, and Aunt Rose came to visit. Phil and Rose were with us when I went into labor on August 4th. They came to the hospital that evening and stayed all night until the next morning when Jeremy was born. Such troopers!! John and I were amazed that they lasted and were so thankful for their support and love.

Newest CAL fan

Over the weekend of September 1st Jeremy joined in family tradition and experienced his first CAL game.

The weekend started out with a visit from Rick and Lori. Jeremy loved them both and enjoyed all the time they spent playing and holding him.

On Saturday he put on his CAL outfit of a blue onsie with a bear on the front and joined his dad and family with some pre-game activities. Jeremy opted to stay at home with Mom, Grandma, and Lori to watch the game in the comforts of the living room. While he did sleep through most of the game, he practiced the CAL cheers and enjoyed seeing CAL take revenge against Tennessee.

Photo shoots...my parents favorite thing to do

We've already logged in a ton of pictures of Jeremy. Pretty much every day we have a "photo shoot" of the little guy. Here are a few of our favorites.


































And what do Dad, Grandma and Grandpa do when the photo shoots are over. Pretty much look at the photos on their Macs!

Trying on my cool new outfits

Jeremy is definitely not at a loss for clothes. At this point he has way more than his mommy. Here he is modeling or should we say advertising some of his favorites.

The pictures were all taken after he ate so he has that "I'm satisfied" look. We think he looks a little bit like he's drunk. On milk, of course.

Jeremy David Ruiz has arrived!

Jeremy is almost two weeks old. We are enjoying every minute with him. John and I still can't believe he is our little bundle of joy. Everything he does is absolutely amazing to us, from the "smiles" we think we see to the stretches he does to wake up. He has been a very happy baby so far. He gets us up a couple of times during the night to eat, but goes right back to sleep. Otherwise he is very alert most of the time checking out his new home and family.


Grandma Jeanette and Grandpa Paul have made this transition very easy as they are taking good care of us and Jeremy. We could not have managed without their love and support.



Jeremy has had a few visitors so far and is not lacking at all for people to hold him. Good thing it's impossible to spoil a newborn!




We want to thank all of you for your phone calls and emails. It is so comforting to know you are all thinking of us and Jeremy.