The Schneller Teller

Jackson's Holiday Performance

2011-12-14T09:52:00.000-08:00

Audrey Anna Schneller

2011-05-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

Many more pictures here.

Audrey Anna Schneller

19 inches

7 pounds 11 ounces

May 16, 2011 at 6:27 pm

Growing Down

2011-05-07T13:36:00.000-07:00

Jackson: "Mom, when I grow down, can I sleep in the baby's crib?"

Etch-a-Sketch

2010-11-30T20:39:00.000-08:00

Mila and Jackson were drawing on their etch-a-sketch this morning and Mila yelled "a triangle, Mommy!" She had scribbled something that resembled a triangle.

Jackson immediately grabbed the pen and said, "I'm going to draw a vagina."

I never checked to see what he actually drew.

Soft Spot

2010-11-30T20:37:00.000-08:00

Mila started crying at dinner tonight because I wouldn't give her milk to drink, just water.

Jackson got out of his chair, walked over to her and said, "Mila I'm going to wipe your tears off your face (wiped them off). But I don't want you to cry anymore because then I'll have to keep wiping your tears and I'll get really tired."

The cutest thing Mila has said so far. . .

2010-10-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

"I wanna go. . .pun'kin patch."

Aaaaand I'm caught up

2010-10-12T11:42:00.001-07:00

Sept-Oct 2010

Summer pics!

2010-10-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

Summer 2010

Minor Issue

2010-07-27T10:18:00.001-07:00

A quote from Jackson this morning:

"I can't go poo poos on the potty, because I don't have a penis on my bottom."

He's right, you know.

May-June pics of kids

2010-06-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

The kids are growing so fast! I was just looking back at old pictures of Mila and can't believe how much she has changed.

Jackson has his Tues/Thurs school program through July and then has August off. In September he'll start going M-W-F from 9 to 1. I'll miss him, I am sure; but I think we both need it!

May-June

Let's be honest. . .

2010-05-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

From here on out, my "blogging" will consist of me cutting and pasting a link to our latest pictures. I assume everyone is ok with that. If not, let me know and I've got some great blogs that you can follow (haha).

(I'll try to sneak in a random story every now and then.)

April-May2

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

April-May

I know this is mean but. . .

2010-03-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my pictures and realized, like any good mom should (haha), I took a bunch of Mila crying. I think in most of these, I was just trying to get a picture of her outfit.

For all of you softies out there (a.k.a. grandmas) I put some nice ones at the end so that I don't seem too spineless.

First ponytail

2010-03-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

It's an airplane!

2010-03-14T16:49:00.001-07:00

Jackson was playing with his blocks this morning and said "I made an airplane!" I swear neither of us helped him with this. Pretty good, eh?

Downgraded to Chauffeur

2010-02-24T08:54:00.000-08:00

This an exchange I had with Jackson the other day while I was driving:

Me (singing): Head, shoulders, knees and toes. . .
Jackson: No, I don’t like that song.
Me (singing): Apples and cherries. . .
Jackson: No, I don’t like that one.
Me: Ok, how about- (singing again)Caaaaaaaan you do this. . .
Jackson: Don’t sing anything. Just drive.

Mila's latest word

2010-02-10T12:31:00.001-08:00

"Mine"

I wonder who she learned that from?

Jackson's favorite phrase

2009-12-16T09:38:00.001-08:00

"Oh my gosh."

Checking out the Christmas tree

2009-12-15T15:47:00.000-08:00

Do you think I'm sexy?

2009-12-15T15:44:00.001-08:00

Yes, it was really THIS funny

2009-12-15T15:35:00.000-08:00

I was hiding behind the island and shaking the utensil crock. This is the best sound ever!

A medley of our favorite songs

2009-12-15T14:15:00.000-08:00

An artist at work

2009-10-07T14:42:00.001-07:00

I finally sucked it up and decided that it's ok for my kitchen to get dirty once in a while. We opened the paint set for Jackson's easel over the weekend and he LOVES it. It's so much fun watching him "create". I actually think these are pretty good!

Here are the rest of the pics.

"Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool."

2009-09-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

Helpy Helperton (not that I'm complaining)

2009-09-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

Talking with Jackson

2009-09-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

Here is Jackson doing his best Gollum (Lord of the Rings) impression and a few other things.

Jackson and his girlfriend

2009-09-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics of Jack and his girlfriend, Kate.

Mila update

2009-09-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Mila is already 8 1/2 months old. She is still the happiest baby ever, which just makes my day. . . every day. She is finally sitting up on her own, and is using rolling as her mode of transportation. I've noticed her getting a little more frustrated lately when she can't reach things, so I am thinking crawling is just around the corner.

Jackson still loves playing with Mila and making her laugh. Riding in the car with them in the back is my favorite because they have taken to entertaining each other. Lately, this has involved them spitting and it's the funniest thing to hear. I'll take Mila out of her carseat and it looks like she's foaming at the mouth.

Every now and then, Jackson will get a belly giggle out of her. He seems to be the only one who can do it these days!

Jackson's 2-Year ND pics

2009-09-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

Edie and Adam's visit

2009-09-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

Jackson still comes into the extra bedroom and asks where you are.

Here are the rest of the pictures from the weekend!

Edie and Adam's visit

Why Aunties Were Made

2009-09-01T21:40:00.001-07:00

And. . .a few Jackson videos

2009-08-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I think this is cute. I think I just like the way he is chewing.

Our very own Jackson Paul(ock)
I love the face his makes and his behind-the-back move in this one.

A few Mila videos

2009-08-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

Daddy's girl

2009-08-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

Jackson turns 2

2009-08-18T16:28:00.001-07:00

Jackson's birthday fell on a weekend this year, so we were able to have his party on the actual day (August 9th). We invited a few of his friends down to Los Altos to celebrate with the rest of the family at Papa Bear and Grinny's house. He fell asleep at 6:30, so I think he enjoyed himself!

I just can't believe Jackson is already 2 years old. Actually, I can believe it, because he is a little turd these days, but it all just happened so fast! He is really becoming quite the chatterbox and loves to play with Mila. By playing, I mean he loves to pile his toys on top of her. That's a hard one because she enjoys every minute of it- I guess maybe she doesn't need as much oxygen as the rest of us (kidding).

Jackson knows all of his letters (I'll try to post a video of him showing off soon) and numbers 1-10. He is speaking in complete sentences (short ones) and repeating EVERYTHING. It's awesome. We also put him in his bed a few weeks ago and that is going fairly well. He naps just fine, but at night he has been waking up more, which is a bummer since now we have to get up with him. It's been a loooooooooooooong time since both kids have slept through the night.

Here are a few more pics from the last month:

New "Thomas" shirt

Auntie Stacey and Mila

Swimming with Daddy

Bella and Mila

The best family pic we could get

Happy Birthday, Jackson!

More party pics here.

Jackson's new game

2009-08-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

Lately Jackson has been into building forts and making trains with pretty much everything he owns. I was able to capture this little number the other day. Yes, that's Mila lying there- I guess she can provide our audience with a little scale?

Augy and Kelly's visit

2009-08-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

Augy ("Bebo", as Jackson calls him) and Kelly came to visit us last weekend and we had a great time with them. We only wish they could have stayed longer!

Mila in her "office"

2009-08-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

I think they like each other

2009-07-27T23:09:00.001-07:00

A few photos

2009-06-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

Can I help?

I love my Daddy

And my mom, too

What, you've never seen a Bumbo before?

Playing with Bella

Trying to snuggle with Mila (he was going to lay on her)

Bless you, Mila May

2009-06-02T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was driving Jackson to music class and Mila sneezed. It was a quiet for a few seconds afterward until Jackson said "Bless you, Mila May." It was the cutest thing ever.

No doubt about it, this is Missy's daughter

2009-05-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Choo Choos

2009-05-14T10:03:00.001-07:00

We went a little overboard with the train stickers on Monday.

Colvin Marie Cooley

2009-05-13T21:02:00.001-07:00

The Cooley family had a baby girl early this morning. Here is the link to their blog. We can't wait to meet you, Colvin!

Mila's Specs

2009-05-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I haven't really said much about how Mila is doing. She has a really great disposition, very mellow and happy. She's actually a lot like Jackson was but is an even better sleeper. We'll usually put her down around 8:30 or 9 each night and she'll just wake up once at 3 or 4. She'll then wake up for the day any time between 6:30 and 9 (that's right, 9). Last night we got a 9-5 stretch out of her, so that was exciting.
For everyone out there who's been told that you can't have two good babies in a row- ohhhhhhhhhh yes you can.

Below are few pictures I took when she and Cas were snuggling.

Mila's Smiles

2009-04-30T15:34:00.000-07:00

For those not on Facebook, here are a few of my favorite pictures of Mila, so far. We're still not so sure who she looks like. She definitely has Cas' dimples when she smiles, but for now, that's all I see. If you ask my mom, she's looks like Laurie, Madelaine, Edie, Grandma Lorraine. . .

Easter

2009-04-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

Easter was so fun this year. I thought that Jackson was still too young to get into the festivities, but he really had a good time. Of course, the Easter Bunny came to our house, hid eggs and brought both kids a basket full of goodies. Jackson actually understood the concept of finding the eggs and found all twelve with just a little coaching.
Once we finished up at our house, we headed to Los Altos for church and then on to Papa and Tutu's for brunch. Here are the pictures from the day!

Easter 2009

Rock Star

2009-04-26T14:19:00.000-07:00

We had some friends over the Saturday before Easter, and the afternoon ended with a little thing I like to call Rock Band. Jackson absolutely loved it.

I was on the microphone, and a few times he grabbed it out of my hands to perform his version of whatever song was playing. That pretty much consisted of him trying to fit the entire thing in his mouth. Mostly he was sitting on the couch, applauding our amazing synchronization (i think you get extra points for that).

Finally, we set him up on the drums and I must say, he looks like a natural.

Every 80's rocker mom's dream. . .

Here is a slideshow of the rest of the pictures.:

Grandma Cathie and Papa Jim's Visit

2009-04-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Both Grandma Cathie and Papa Jim were able to visit us after Mila was born. They couldn't come at the same time, which was a bummer, but it was actually nice to have some alone time with each of them. I know Jackson enjoyed the attention!

Random pictures from the past two months

2009-04-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

I finally got the last of the pictures since Mila's birth organized. This is probably my favorite picture of Jackson so far this year.

I don't know who's picking out those clothes, but that dude needs a stylist, pronto.

Auntie Natty's visit

2009-03-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Auntie Natty was here a few weeks ago and we had so much fun with her! I think the biggest event that occurred while she was here was Jackson's haircut. In case you haven't noticed from some of the pictures, we gave him a buzz cut. I personally like his hair better long, but it was a fun thing to try. . . for us. Jackson didn't enjoy it one bit. Thanks for coming, Nat! We're excited to see you guys this weekend.

Wheeeeeeeeere's Mila?

2009-03-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

Once Jackson decided that he loved his little sister, he was always wanting to cover her with blankets, give her drinks from his sippy and even give her food. The sippy cup thing wasn't a big deal, because he would just set it beside her. The food thing is a little scary, but I don't ever leave them alone together, so it's an easy thing to stop. Now, you would think that covering her with blankets wouldn't be a big deal, unless it's like this:

Yes, those are her feet sticking out. We kept saying "Jackson don't cover her face", but all he understood was COVER HER FACE, which only made things worse! Now we make sure to tell him to "just cover her toes" and he gets it.

Here is a link to some pictures of the two of them.

A Mila May photo shoot

2009-03-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Mila is already 10 weeks old. She was being cute in her crib the other day, so I had a little photo session with her.

I finally have my "To Do" list tackled, so I should have more posting time in the next few weeks. We are headed to South Dakota tomorrow morning to introduce Mila to the rest of the family and I am so excited! Don't worry, Cas is coming too. I'm definitley not ready to hop on a plane with two of them yet.

The Cooleys were here!

2009-03-13T14:44:00.001-07:00

Dan, Sharis and Ryan were in town last weekend and we got to spend some quality time with them. It was really fun to see Jackson and Ryan play; they seem to be on the same wavelength and got along pretty well.

Here are some pics from our time together.

We miss you guys already!

Eating a gourmet breakfast (scrambled eggs are so complicated)

Not sure what was going on here. Apparently we spent a lot of time at the table.

Wrestling with exotic animals (the lizard, not Dan)

Playing with new toys

Telling dirty jokes

Snuggling with Daddy

Better take advantage of naptime

2009-02-19T12:24:00.000-08:00

Not to overwhelm everyone, but I have a little free time so I had best use it to avoid the wrath of Edie. These are some pictures from Mila's first month and some funny ones of Jackson, who is becoming quite the little boy.

Mila May- 1 Month

Jackson has started to repeat EVERYTHING and it's so fun. I guess it's time for Cas to cut down on his swearing- just kidding. Anyway, it's just cute to hear how they interpret the sounds we make.

Here is a short list of his words, so far:

Avocado - he knows what they are and loves them. Only in California. . .
Triangle - he's great with the sorting cube
Star
Ball
Dog
Cat
Pig
Duck
Juice
Berries
Oh boy!
Oh wow!
Cheese
Done
More
Thank you
Baby
Mama
Daddy
Nigh-night

Also, a belated congratulations to Ben and Heather Volkman! Little Bella was born a week early, on January 31.

Buddies

2009-02-19T12:11:00.001-08:00

From Mila May- 1 Month

Finally!

2009-02-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

Mila May - Week 2

Ok, I realize it's been way too long since we've posted some pictures of Mila. My excuse is that I took two weeks to enjoy her and then I went to work since it's year-end reporting time for my company. I work at home, but it was still crazy busy. I am glad that everything is winding down now and I can actually start taking in what it means to be a mother of two.

Jackson had a rough couple of weeks once Cas went back to work and my mom was gone. I think it was then that he realized that it was just going to be the three of us during the day. He has now adjusted to having her around and likes to put blankets (on her face) and stick her pacifier in her mouth. Usually he misses and tries to stick it in her eye, so I'm always there watching. He also tries to smack her in the head every once in a while, but I think that's just his version of a love tap. In short, I think he likes her!

I am going to try my best to put up regular posts from here on out!

Mila May pictures!

2009-01-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

Mila is doing great. That girl can eat! She's already started to gain weight since leaving the hospital. As far as I can tell, she eats about as much as she sleeps and that doesn't leave much time for anything else (ahhh, the good life).

Here's a link to pictures from the hospital and our first few days at home. We're going to shift over to using Google web albums instead of Kodak Gallery because it's a lot easier to upload and has all the same features (including the ability to order pictures online). Let us know if you really don't like it, but otherwise we'll stick with Google web albums.

Thanks to everyone for all the nice notes of congratulations. We really appreciate it!!!

Pics from a trip to Baker Beach

2009-01-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

Baker Beach is really close to where we live now, so while it was still nice out, we spent a few hours there letting Jackson run around. He loves to chase the dogs and watch the waves. Every now and then, he gets a little bold and heads for the water, but I don't worry about him too much. The second he feels how cold the Pacific is, he'll never go near it again! Here are a few pics from the day.

Mila's Birthday pics

2009-01-12T13:00:00.000-08:00

In case you're wondering

2009-01-11T21:57:00.000-08:00

We make posts on a delay sometimes (so when Missy gets motivated to do 3 or 4 at once, we post them over the next week). So, no Missy did not start posting about power wheels shortly after giving birth!

Mila May Schneller

2009-01-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

She has a name!

Testing out the Power Wheels

2009-01-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

Test 1

Test 2 (Getting better)

We will continue to document his progress. . .

It's a Girl!!!

2009-01-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful little daughter was born at 4:46 am this morning. 8lbs 1oz, 20.5in.

Missy and I got to the hospital at about 4:20 am and next thing you know we're sprinting through the hospital with the nurse pushing missy in the wheelchair. Very exciting, just like the movies! There was a brief moment where I thought baby would be born in the car. Thankfully we're only 1 mile from the hospital.

Missy did absolutely great. Looks like she was never even pregnant.

Once we name her, I'll make another post.

Christmas pictures

2009-01-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! My New Year's resolution is to post to the blog more often (riiiiiiiight). I will do my best.

Here are our Christmas pictures from 2008. I am writing these posts ahead of time, just in case the baby comes early- we can only hope.

Christmas was great this year. We spent Christmas Eve and all of Christmas Day down in Los Altos. The weather has been pretty chilly this year, so it made things even more festive. I know those in the Midwest won't feel a bit sorry for us, but we've actually had a little frost on our roof a few times.
Jackson can say "ho ho ho", but didn't really understand the whole Santa thing. I guess we didn't push it much either, so that's on us! He was interested in ripping the presents open though, so that was fun to watch.

Real 39 Week Belly Pics

2009-01-05T11:38:00.001-08:00

Old pictures

2009-01-05T10:32:00.000-08:00

I realize that not everyone is on Facebook, so here are my pictures from Thanksgiving at the Tognetti house (and some other random ones). My whole side of the family was there, so we had a mini-Christmas celebration. It was so fun, as always, especially with having all 8 grandkids together under one roof.

On another note, my due date is this Saturday. Three words: I AM READY. This baby feels heavier than Jackson did at this point. I guess it could be because it's a second pregnancy, and the muscles are a little looser, but I won't be surprised if this kid weighs more than the 8lbs 2 oz that Jackson was. More than anything, we are just excited to find out if we've got another little boy or a little girl. Not knowing this time has been much harder!

Still working on those b-ball skills

2009-01-04T10:48:00.001-08:00

39 Week Belly Pic

2009-01-03T11:42:00.001-08:00

Imitating Mama

2008-12-30T21:12:00.000-08:00

We couldn't understand why Jack was making a funny, exasperated noise every time he bent down to pick something up the last few weeks. It's the kind of low grunt you'd make if you were on your 20th sit up or something.

Then we noticed that Missy, given her abdominally-challenged 39-week pregnant state, seemed to be making little grunts every time she had to bend down to pick something up (like Jackson's lunch on the floor, or a baby einstein dvd case or even Jack himself). Hmmmm.

We finally put two and two together and realized that Jackson is just imitating Mom. I guess he now thinks that he is supposed to grunt when he picks stuff up! It's really cute.

SD Trip (14 Month Pics)

2008-11-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post these for about a month now! Here are the pictures from our trip to SoDak in October and a few others from when Grandma Cathie was out to visit in September.

2 notes to the Cooleys:

1: Sorry, but I didn't put any comments on the pics. I am lazy.
2: Dan, looks like my patience has paid off and Kodak is adopting the Flickr way of life. Take that.

On with the show. . .

Dumb Mom Moment

2008-11-06T17:29:00.000-08:00

Jackson and I just got back from the park, where we were meeting our new playgroup for the first time. Jackson was playing on slide (climbing up from the bottom, of course) and since he was the only kid who could walk, the other moms and I were just standing by the slide, getting to know each other.

After today, I am faced with a new reality: Jackson is a boy. While we were chatting, Jackson managed to climb all the way to the top of the slide. Keep in mind that it's about 7 feet from the ground at the top, and I am 5'4" (with shoes). Upon realizing what was going on, I grabbed what I could reach of Jackson's sweatshirt, which resulted in him having a nervous breakdown because all he wanted to do was make it to the top. One of the other moms climbed up the other side, while also holding carrying her 11-month old daughter, and was able to meet him just as he reached the summit. At this point, he was just mad, and probably scared because of the way we were all reacting.

GREAT first impression.

Bump update! 30 weeks

2008-11-05T16:12:00.000-08:00

Lookin good!

An Exciting Day at the Zoo

2008-11-05T15:31:00.000-08:00

We went to the zoo with Danielle and Henry today. The picture below was taken about an hour into our trip and he napped until 5 minutes before we left the zoo. (I didn't touch the hat, it just sort of worked it's way down.)

Lesson learned: Jackson is too young to care about zoo animals. I think we'll wait a few months before buying the annual membership.

Jackson's Shelf

2008-11-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

Jackson has been obsessed with the refrigerator lately, and unfortunately none of the child locks will work on our doors. He started to take everything off of the bottom shelf and then leave the door open, so we moved everything up hoping that he would lose interest.

Well. . . this morning I opened the door to see that he is now using that once empty shelf to store his treasures.

Contents:

1 blue Lego

1 blue Tupperware lid

1 empty Gatorade bottle

2 teething rings

Gramma Cathie in town!

2008-11-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

We are WAAAAY behind on posts, as some of you have pointed out in the comments section. Gramma Cathie was actually in town during September. Without further ado, some pics:

Where to next? Spin the globe...annnnnd...Australia!

"How YOU doin?"

2nd Annual T-Shirt Picture

2008-11-02T16:30:00.000-08:00

Our loyal readers will recall that we took a picture of Jackson in an XL Notre Dame jersey shortly after he was born. If (and this is a big 'if') we remember take a picture of him every year in this same t-shirt, it will make a very cool album for him to take to college and use to meet chicks. ("My crazy parents could be your in-laws!" - girls will melt).

Year 1 picture:

Year 0 pick is here .

Guess I should have paid attention to Baby Einstein

2008-09-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

So. . .Jackson gets to watch those Baby Einstein videos that teach sign language. I've just learned that I should have been paying better attention to them. He just looked at me and was moving his hands in a way that I know he's trying to sign something and I have no idea what he is talking about. Oh well- next time, Buddy.

Giants Game

2008-09-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

We all went to a Giants Game a few weeks ago, thanks to Ashley, who did a great job of organizing everything. Cas and I were a little worried about how Jackson would handle himself, but he actually made it to the 7th inning. We thought that was pretty good. The trick: take about 15 relatives with you so that each person can entertain him and/or take him for a walk every 10 minutes or so. No big deal.

Here are a few pictures from the day.

Playtime

2008-09-07T07:29:00.000-07:00

Jackson likes to play peek-a-boo in our living room curtains. Every now and then, it will get really quiet in there, so I'll look around the corner to make sure he's not doing anything illegal (by Mom standards, of course). There he'll be, covered in curtains, waiting to be found. Here are a few more 12 month pics of the kiddo.

Long overdue: Pictures from Jackson's birthday party

2008-09-02T17:09:00.001-07:00

Here is a batch of pictures from Jackson's 1st birthday party. We just got back from a fun weekend in Lake Tahoe (yes, I have pictures). Jackson slept surprisingly well for being in a new place, so we were excited about that. He loved throwing rocks into the lake- here is a teaser. . .

Boys will be boys

2008-08-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

I took this video of Jackson last night, while he was eating dinner. I have never in my life shown him how to do this, and I don't think anyone else has either.

Birthday Video

2008-08-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I didn't get much of Jackson actually eating the cake on video, but I do have plenty of pictures, so you'll see the end result. I love his face at the beginning of this, right after the candle is lit.

Jackson's 1st Birthday

2008-08-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here are the first of many birthday cake pictures from Jackson's party. Sorry this is taking me so long to put up here, but all of my free time lately has been dedicated to catching up on the Olympics. Hopefully I'll get a video posted later today!

And now for my next dive. . .

2008-08-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

These pictures are really blurry, partly because Jackson wouldn't stay still and because the lighting was really bad, but I had to post them. It looks like he's about to do a swan dive.

I now have to regularly check the banisters to make sure they are all intact because Jackson thinks he can fit in between them. We don't use that staircase very often since we always go out through the garage, so for him, it's unchartered territory.

Jackson is so excited about his. . .

2008-08-12T09:56:00.001-07:00

Brother?

Or is that a sister?

We'll all find out together on or around January 10, 2009!

No Girls Allowed

2008-08-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

Lately, Jackson finds it necessary to close the door to his bedroom and play by himself. I usually let him go for about 5 minutes or so if I can hear toys, etc. making sounds. After that, I'll open the door and he'll either leave it that way and continue playing or get up and close it again. Should I consider that "me time"?

Happy 1st Birthday, Jackson!

2008-08-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

We love you very much!

We are having Jackson's party tomorrow, so we'll have pictures up tomorrow night. Get ready to see some serious cake action.

Look Mom, no hands!

2008-08-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is a video from our visit in SD. I don't know what inspired Jackson to do this, but given our reaction/encouragement after, I am sure it won't be the last time he tries it.

Hiking in Marin

2008-08-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

We went for a hike in the Marin Headlands last weekend, which is now just a short drive from our apartment, over the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was actually pretty nice, given the usually chilly SF summers. Here are a few pictures from the day:

Red is nice

2008-08-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

In this photo, Jackson (if you can find him) shows us one of his early birthday presents. Thanks to Grandma Cathie and Papa Jim! This thing is so awesome, it even reclines. . .Cas' first reaction was "Where's mine?".

Although Jackson looks perfectly comfortable at the moment, I must admit that he has fallen out of the chair about 4 times. Practice makes perfect, I guess.

The big birthday is this Saturday (Aug. 9th) and I can't believe it. What a fast year.

SHOW YOUR T@$#!!!!

2008-08-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

Thank you cousin Rodney!

2008-07-31T19:47:00.000-07:00

A bunch of our relatives on the Biocini side recently took a trip to the island of Brac in Croatia. All of my Mom's family originated from Brac and I'm 50% Croatian. As it so happens, Missy is half Croatian as well. I thought it would be fun to calculate what percentage Croatian Jackson is... (let me see...divide both sides by x...carry the two...add a decimal...round to the nearest decible). Obviously, Jackson is 100% Croatian*

Check out the AWESOME hat cousin Rodney brought back for J Boogie!

You steppin to this?

Chug! Chug!

Farts smell funny

*Please send complaints regarding with my arithmatic (and speling or gramar) skills to St. Nicholas School, Los Altos Hills, 5th grade department

South Dakota Trip- July 4th

2008-07-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Ok- I have time to do some posting now, but I promise not to do too many at once. I need to pace myself so that certain people (Hi Edie and Marta) can get their fill over time. Oh yeah, that's for you too, Jen.

Here are the pictures from are trip to SD over July 4th. Jackson and I were there for about two weeks (Cas, for a week), and I think I could have stayed another two weeks. It was so fun to have ALL of the kids there, with no one being in school and no one working, for the most part. Plus, it's hard to beat the summers at home.

Sunday Morning Paper

2008-07-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

Speaking Jackson's Language

2008-06-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

Jackson's vocab is growing each day, both in spoken and in sign language. Here are some of his words/sounds:

dog= dog
dat= duck
dat= if not looking at a duck, anything else- haha
baff= bath
dad= dad
mama= mama

puts both hands in the air, above his head= "all done", in sign language
makes the shape of a circle with his hands= "ball", in sign language
hits tips of fingers together (sort of looks like he's clapping)= "more", in sign language

This all just started happing over the past few weeks and it's been so fun. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next. He also makes some serious eye contact when he blabs, so I know he's trying to talk to us.

Jackson gets his groove back

2008-06-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? Another post! I'm on fire.

Apparently Jackson has found his rhythm. He has this toy piano that plays different beats (Thanks, Granny Lin and Papa Bear), and no matter where he is, the second he gets one of the beats going, he finds something to stand up against and starts dancing.

He also did it this morning with our Sirius radio. We were listening to the very age appropriate Howard Stern and Jackson changed the channel to one playing music, pulled himself up on the dresser and started bouncing.

Pictures from SD visit. . .at the beginning of May (oops)

2008-06-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

I completely forgot to post the pictures from my visit to South Dakota over Mother's Day weekend. Here they are.

In addition to walking, Jackson has really started to become more independent in the past week or so. I don't know if it's just coincidence, or if the fact that he has so much more room (read: is no longer corralled by boxes in our small living room) to move around is helping him stay out of trouble. Just the other day, he sat in his room and played with Legos for about 20 minutes. Of course, instead of taking advantage and doing some unpacking, I just watched him. I couldn't help myself.

Jackson Walking

2008-06-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video of Jackson taking a few steps. It's not the greatest, but you get the idea. I got excited at the end because he moved faster and better than I thought he would and he almost got the camera!

Big Day

2008-06-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well. . . Jackson took his first steps today. I would imagine it will only be a few days before he's walking all over the place, or at least trying to. Cas and I will try to catch it on video tonight!

We are also all moved into our new place, for the most part. We were able to get quite a few things put away today so I am feeling much more relaxed than I was two days ago.

Pictures to come!