Happy Easter!

NOTE: I am writing this on the day Ruby turned 11 months old (4/14), although I won't post it today because we still have to upload our Easter photos from the camera. I can't believe we only have 1 month and counting left of Ruby's first year of life. Time passes too quickly! 

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CHRIST IS RISEN! The Griffin family had a wonderful Easter weekend reflecting on the sacrifice Jesus paid for us--dying on the cross for our sins and conquering the grave so that we can live forever with him! We especially enjoyed watching the live-stream feed of the Mars Hill Ballard Campus services and baptisms. 347 people total were baptized on Easter Sunday! Praise Jesus! :)

Ruby also enjoyed her first Easter. We spent the weekend (and a few extra days on top of that) with Crystal's family in Maple Valley. Before we left our house, though, Ruby received her first Easter gift in the mail--a personalized Easter basket! She loved it so much it was difficult to snap a good shot of her with it. Take our word for it, the back of her basket says "Ruby" not "Rub"! :) Thanks, Grandma Sue and Poppa Smooch Monster! :) (Her cousins also got matching baskets, and their momma snapped much better photos--check out "The Stewart Family" on the right.)

We colored eggs with Kolby and Skylar, and Ruby just wanted to put all the eggs in her mouth. She almost did a not-so-magic trick when she pulled on the newspaper protecting the table from the dye! Yikes! She got to color one egg, and then it was off to bed!

Saturday we were pleasantly surprised by Nana and Papa who visited for the day from Kennewick. Ruby loved seeing them and showing off how big and smart she's gotten. That night the kids left out carrots for the Easter bunny, who left quite a generous sugar-fest for everyone. I didn't get any shots of all the baskets, but maybe that's better... no incriminating evidence of all the junk we've (I've?) ingested.

After church on Sunday we had an indoor egg hunt due to the rain. We made sure all the real eggs were located! Ruby got to open her basket after church and before her nap. She loved all the foil-wrapped candies that were for her mommy and daddy (especially the ones with money taped to the backs!). :) 

After a rainy weekend and a snowy day (!!), the sun finally popped out long enough for Ruby to try her new swing and bubble machine from Nani and Papa. At first she wasn't too sure about the bubbles, but eventually she started to squeal and enjoy them. Overall, it was a very nice long weekend with family!

Growing Up Big and Strong

Sorry it's been a while since we've updated. We have some new stats to share. As you most likely know, Ruby has always been on the very small side. The doctor said that's just how she is. However, when we started trying to feed her solids, she would refuse, and just gag and cough. It was as if she physically could not eat them yet. We tried from 6 months to 9 months of age (November-February) without any success. Also during that time she had multiple colds and of course did not even want to nurse very well when she was sick.

Then at her 9-month appointment, we found out that her weight had dropped dramatically off the charts (she had only gained 2.5 ounces in 3 months) and her length dropped from 20% to 5%. The doctor was obviously concerned and said we needed to make sure she ate solids. I tried to convey that we had tried EVERYTHING we could think of (ALL types of foods, in ALL types of presentations, etc, etc). But we would try. Thankfully, just 2 days prior to our doctor's appointment, Ruby experienced what we are calling "the miracle at Miner's." Miner's is a burger joint in Yakima that our family loves. My mom and younger siblings, and Ruby and I drove to Miner's to meet my mom's parents. While we were at Miner's, Ruby was VERY interested in all the food we were eating. So I tried giving her bits of bread and whatever else I could find that was healthy enough to give her. She loved it and really wanted to eat it all! That was a Monday, our doctor's appointment was on a Wednesday, and since then she hasn't looked back!

The miracle at Miner's:

At her first weight check-up (at about 10 months old--one month ago), she had gained 1 pound in 3 weeks (up to 13.5 pounds). We just had her second weight check-up, and she has gained 2 whole pounds in a month! So she now weighs a grand total of 15.5. pounds! If she continues growing at this rate, she will be back on the charts (around the 5%) by her first birthday. We are VERY excited about her growth and we can tell she is happy about it too!

Hey, look, she's bigger than another baby! :) (This is Della, and she was only about 2 weeks old here!)

I love this photo because she looks so chubby, so she'll probably hate it when she's older!

She loves every food we've offered her, except for avocado. Some of her favorites are bread/bagels, cottage cheese, plain yogurt, roasted peppers, pineapple, sweet potatoes, and practically any fruit. But she does love her veggies and savory dinners too. We basically puree whatever we're eating with our Magic Bullet, and she scarfs it down. She's even learned to drink from a straw and a sippy cup, which she can hold by herself.

Eating some veggies:

Blueberries and bagel:

Now that she's eating three solid meals a day, plus some nursing, she is so playful and joyful and is such a character. She loves to laugh, loves to play with her balls, and loves to make her music toys play songs (and then dance along).

Our little girl is getting so big, she even has TWO teeth now! She got her first (bottom left) about three weeks ago, and she just got her second (bottom right) today! We are so proud! :)

Is that a tooth? Oh, nope, just a piece of cottage cheese!

HERE'S her first tooth (can you spot it?):

Some of Ruby's favorite activities:

* Singing into the microphone

* Playing with her giraffe (she's caused a traffic jam with her fire truck)

* Playing with her cousins (here's Jaxon) and her friends from church (here are James and Asha)

* Looking cute

* And her most favorite thing to do... Read stories about Jesus with Daddy!