The Robinson Family

Counting Riley

2012-01-10T19:04:00.001-07:00

January Pictures- Part One

2012-01-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

These pictures are the first ones we took with our new camera. Thanks to our family members who contributed to our wonderful new present. I haven't learned how to do the editing yet but the pictures already look so much better.

Jack Speaks

2012-01-10T18:35:00.001-07:00

Jack has been saying a lot more words. It's so cute hearing his little voice. A lot of the words sound the same, but he is using more and more words when he needs or wants something and he is imitating words when we ask him to. Here is a short list of his current words: Mama, Dada, Bye-Bye, Uh-oh, Thank you, Cookie, Elmo, Mickey, Cold, Coat, Milk, All gone, RaRa, Papa, Hi, Up, Touchdown, Broncos, and Cheese. The best is that he calls Riley, "RaRa," and he calls his diapers, "Elmo," since Elmo is on the diapers.

Santa's Christmas Gifts

2012-01-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

Christmas

2011-12-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year with our families. It was very nice to spend time with everyone and we are overwhelmed with how generous our families and friends are with our children. Riley has endless amounts of princess items and Jack is loving his cars, trucks, and everything Mickey Mouse. We hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Sledding

2011-12-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

We got about 10 inches of snow the last two days and about two feet in our driveway thanks to the wind. It took John an hour to shovel two of our driveway spaces. We're in the process of getting the snowblower fixed so hopefully he will not have to do that many more times. John took Riley sledding today and she loved it! She even went by herself and climbed back up the hill on her own as well. She is growing up so fast!

Baby 3 is a Boy!

2011-12-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

As I suspected, Baby 3 is a little boy. We went for the ultrasound today and we were informed after a few minutes that we will have another little man. I could tell as soon as she started looking at his legs and around that area that it was a boy. She zoomed in to confirm and it was clear as day, just like Jack. The baby looks great. All of his measurements were good and his heart rate was 132. We got a few pictures of his profile but we were able to see all of his organs and bones. He is also measuring right on track so our due date will remain May 19th. I know this will be really fun for Jack to have a brother so close in age and Riley seems okay with it. We're just happy that he is healthy and growing as he should. Next week I go for my routine 20 week check up and we will be half way there already!

Housevote Christmas

2011-12-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Riley, Emerson, Mackenzie, Jack, and Reese

Here are all of our kiddos opening a present (except for little Reese) and a picture of all of them together in their birth order.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2011-12-17T10:08:00.002-07:00

Christmas Program

2011-12-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the Christmas Program at Daycare. Riley was very excited to see Santa but Jack was not too happy. The kids were all so cute singing their song.

16 Week Checkup and Riley's Appointment

2011-12-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

Our very silly little girl

Last Thursday Riley and I both had our appointments. Riley's appointment went pretty well. The specialist went over all of the tests and blood work that they took in August and basically said everything looks normal. So far there is no explanation for her deceleration in height percentiles except they are predicting her to be short as an adult. According to our heights they say she should be about 5'3.5". If she stays at her current percentile, she will end up at 5'1.5". They want to monitor her every six months to make sure she does not drop any lower in percentiles. She measured 36 inches at the appointment which is the 14th percentile. To summarize, they will watch her and we're not worried. There are a lot of short people in both of our families so as long as she is healthy it's all good.
My appointment also went well. The baby's heart rate was at 152 and we will find out on the 23rd if it's a boy or girl. I am so excited to find out. I am thinking it's a boy but I really want another girl. John doesn't care either way. Riley calls it a girl. It's going to be sad if we let her down, but I bet Jack would love a little brother to play around with. I feel so much better than I did a couple of weeks ago so all is well. I am ready for Christmas break to spend some quality time with the kids and John and our families.

December Pictures

2011-12-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

We are loving getting ready for Christmas in our new house!

New Bundle of Joy

2011-11-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

Here are the 8 week and 12 week pictures of our new little love coming in May. Can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl!

Jack- 15 Months

2011-11-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

Jack went for his 15 month check up yesterday. Poor guy has an ear infection so he was not able to get his shots yet but other than that they say he is healthy. John said our doctor asked if Jack eats a variety of foods. That made me laugh since Jack will literally eat ANYTHING put in front of him. He loves eating but he is only weighing in at 21 pounds, 1.5 ounces (8th percentile). He is also 32 inches tall (75th percentile) and his head circumference is 18.25 inches (25th percentile). He is catching up to Riley's height quickly!
In the last three months Jack has become very good at walking and running around. He definitely is walking now instead of crawling around. He is also saying a few words, "Dada, Daddy, Mama, Papa, Thank You, and Uh-oh." John swears he said Riley but I'm not so sure. He understands so much too. He will follow commands and pretends to talk on the phone, change the channel on the TV, or brush his hair. He loves reading books and banging toys. Plus, his eyes are turning brown. Hooray! A trait from mommy!

Halloween

2011-11-04T12:40:00.000-06:00

Here are pictures of our princess and our lion.

Gymnastics

2011-11-04T12:21:00.001-06:00

Riley is taking a gymnastics class on Saturday mornings. She took a tumbling class in July and really liked it so we thought we would try this. She LOVES it! It is definitely different than her tumbling class. She has to wear a leotard, which is funny but she looks very cute. So far they have worked on forward movements and Riley has mastered her forward roll. They also have them on the uneven bars, the balance beam, the rings, the floor, and the trampoline. The class is for 3 to 4 1/2 year olds so she is one of the smallest but she does a great job. I think she will definitely want to try this class again in the spring.

Jack at the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-16T18:16:00.000-06:00

October 2010

October 2011

Riley at the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-16T18:03:00.000-06:00

October 2008

October 2009

October 2010

October 2011

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-16T17:52:00.002-06:00

Our Annual Trip with the Flicks, Sudars and our now FIVE children!

September Pictures

2011-10-08T18:44:00.000-06:00

We don't have too much to update in the last month. We really love our new house. The kids are doing good in daycare. Jack has really taken up walking as his primary means of getting around and he has three new teeth since his first birthday. He also is transitioning into the toddler room at daycare from the infant room. He is drinking from a sippy cup and like I said, he is walking a lot so he is getting ready to move over. Riley is great as well and enjoys learning a lot in "school." Happy Fall!

Riley's Birthday Song

2011-08-27T20:50:00.000-06:00

Happy Third Birthday Riley!

2011-08-27T20:15:00.010-06:00

Last weekend we celebrated Riley's third birthday. I can't believe my baby girl is three years old. She is a pretty spunky little girl, very independent, and a wonderful big sister. She is so caring and really tries hard to please everyone. She is a great talker and has taken an interest in tumbling and dancing around. We plan to have her take another tumbling class this fall because she really liked the one she took this summer. She's also into everything princess. She loves the Disney movies and singing songs. She knows her dinner prayer, bedtime prayer, and the Hail Mary which was my summer goal. She also counts to 20 and indentifies all of the letters. She recognizes her own name and Jack's name if she sees it written. She can also spell her name and Jack's name.
She also had her check up this week. She is now 35.75 inches tall (20th percentile) and weighs 28.5 pounds (25th percentile). They also took her blood pressure which was 90/58. She was quite interested in the blood pressure cuff since she has a toy one at home. She also had a great time talking to Dr. Booth and was quite concerned about Jack getting his shots. She is really sensitive to when he is hurt which is very sweet. She also, unfortunately, had to have some blood drawn. The short version of the story is that she did not grow that much in the last year so they want us to see a specialist and get things checked out. We are not too concerned considering our heights but we are hoping to hear everything is okay soon.
Thanks to our families and friends for being so generous to both of our kids on their birthdays this month. We are very blessed with both of our wonderful children and looking forward to their next year. Two years until Kindergarten! :)

Our New Home

2011-08-27T19:57:00.010-06:00

We are loving our new house. We have already met some very friendly neighbors who have little kids! I am so excited because there were almost no little kids near our old house. We are all unpacked and are starting to order more furniture so we don't have an empty living room and dining room for too long. We really like everything so far and the kids LOVE having their playroom. The three minute commute is not too bad as well :)

Jack's Birthday Song

2011-08-25T21:15:00.000-06:00

Happy First Birthday Jack!

2011-08-25T20:37:00.013-06:00

On Friday the 12th, Jack turned one year old! I can't believe my little guy had his birthday already. That year went so fast. On Friday night we took Jack to Red Robin with the Robinsons and then on Saturday we had his birthday party. He was a pretty lucky guy to have his first birthday with so many family members and friends. Thank you so much to all of you who came to celebrate Jack's first year.
Jack had a lot of fun opening his presents and eating his cupcake. I think he also really enjoyed crawling around on the grass and practicing his walking skills. He has really picked up the walking in the last couple of weeks and now he can stand up on his own and go. Riley gets very excited when he walks and lets everyone know that Jack is not a little baby because he can walk now. In check up news, Jack is doing great. He is now 30.5 inches tall (70th percentile). He weighs 20 pounds, 11.5 ounces (20th percentile), and his head circumference is 18.25 inches (45th percentile).
Jack is drinking whole milk now and we are working on getting him off of the bottle so he can use a sippy cup and get moved into the toddler room at daycare-no more infant room for Jack. This makes me sad because I really like the infant room teachers and the toddler teacher is not my favorite there but I am sure it will be fine. Riley started in the toddler room when she had just turned one and she is doing great.
Jack still only says Dada and uh-oh with the occasional Mama. His hair is brown and he needs his second haircut very soon. His eyes are still blue but much darker than Riley's were at one year old so we'll see if they are still going to change. Well, that's the best Jack update I can give for now. We are really proud of our little guy and so excited for his second year of life.

Swing Swing

2011-08-06T23:08:00.001-06:00

Jack Walks!

2011-08-06T22:59:00.001-06:00

She Loves Bubbles

2011-08-06T22:56:00.000-06:00

So Long Umatilla Street...

2011-07-18T21:32:00.013-06:00

Riley Saying Goodbye

House

Porch

Upstairs View

Riley's Room

Master Bathroom

Jack's Room

Basement Bathroom

Master Bedroom

Basement

Office Area

Basement

Dining Area

Kitchen

Stairs

Family Room

Well, we closed on the sale of our home this morning. It has been a pretty stressful couple of weeks to say the least. It took over a week and a half to figure out if the sale was even going to go through and that left us with about a week to pack everything up, put our stuff in movable storage, and move to the Robinsons. I am glad we were able to sell our house. It took three months which seemed long while we were going through it, but in this market it is fairly reasonable. This morning was tough for me. I did not expect to be so emotional about it but as I was standing in our empty house I kept thinking about all of the projects we did especially making Riley's nursery and then Jack's nursery. I could picture Riley walking across the living room for the first time and Jack crawling on the rug. It was our home for four years and I am going to miss it even though I am happy to move on.
I was telling John that I realized that I lived in that house longer than I have lived anywhere else. We moved a lot when I was younger and I moved every year in college so I think I will always remember our first house as a special place. I saved the pictures from our listing so I could remember how our house looked right before we moved. We are excited about finding a new house and hopefully we will be on the road to moving soon.

Riley vs Jack- 11 Months

2011-07-18T21:26:00.003-06:00

Jack

Riley

Jack- 11 Months

2011-07-18T19:39:00.012-06:00

My baby Jack Jack is 11 Months old! I can't believe that we will be celebrating his birthday in just a few weeks. I have been working on what to do for his party and I am so excited for him and I can't wait to celebrate the first year of this amazing little guy. At eleven months Jack is cruising around everywhere. He has taken three steps but usually just takes one or two and then falls forward. He is into EVERYTHING! I definitely chase him around more than I chased Riley but he is a little boy. Jack is also a biter which Riley was not. He bites pretty hard so we are working on getting him to stop that. I remember Riley got bit at daycare but I don't want Jack to go around biting the other babies- don't want to be the parents of the biter :)
At eleven months, Jack also puts toys into containers, stands alone for longer periods of time, blows kisses, high fives, understands "No," and loves chasing his sister around. The two of them get such a kick out of each other. It's so adorable. Jack still has his blue eyes and his hair has turned into a lighter brown. He eats almost all people food. John calls him a little moocher because if anyone is eating he wants what they have. He is just a really happy smiley guy. He makes the BEST faces to express how he feels. I will try to capture some of them in pictures soon.

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-05T22:06:00.008-06:00

We had a great time this weekend celebrating the 4th of July. On Saturday night we went to the Rockies game. The beat the Royals and we got to see an AMAZING fireworks show. Well, Riley and I got to see it. Our seats were very close to where they were setting the fireworks off and Jack was not a fan of the loud noises so John had to take him and walk around where they couldn't see them.
Sunday we took the kids swimming with the Flicks and Sudars and then we had a BBQ at the Flick's house. We took the kids and parked close to the fireworks being set off at Jefferson County Stadium. We could see the Invesco fireworks and several other shows at the same time which was fun. Plus we made smores in the back of the Sudar's truck (using a lighter) and they were delicious. Riley actually did not like the marshmallow and just wanted the chocolate and Jack found a new snack he loves, graham crackers.
Monday we went to my aunt and uncle's house for another BBQ and then we went to the Broomfield fireworks show. It was completely packed there and the show was okay. We could see the Thornton show and the Westminster show from where we were sitting and the Thornton show was so cool. They had skydivers with light up parachutes and a lot more fireworks than the Broomfield show. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. Happy 4th of July everyone!

One Underwear Picture Can't Hurt

2011-06-30T19:43:00.010-06:00

Well, we have finally made it. Riley is potty trained!

Disclaimer: this post is about potty training and going potty
Last night was her first night going all the way through the night in underwear. She begged me not to put a pull up on her and since she has been dry every night for a couple of weeks I agreed. She only went number two one time during the night which she let me know by yelling out at three in the morning, "I have to go potty!"

She has been doing great. Sometimes she has one accident during the day, usually when she is playing and distracted, but for the most part she is accident free. She LOVES going potty at any store which John says is very ironic due to my hatred of public bathrooms. The Walmart we go to has a little sink for kids so sure enough as soon as we walk in she requests to go. I think it is mostly so she can use the sink but we are trying as much as possible to encourage her to ask to go whenever she feels like it.

Riley in her big girl underwear with Rapunzel on them. She is a BIG fan of character underwear!

We are very proud of our little girl. Her daycare teacher told me she can't believe that Riley is potty trained already and how impressive it is. I thought that was kind of funny because I have been super worried about her being behind. I think we did learn that all kids will do it in their own time. She was way more resistant when we were pushing her and once we relaxed a little bit, it was much easier for her and for us. Way to go Riley Bug! We love you!

Yea! My sister is potty trained!

June Pictures

2011-06-21T10:09:00.005-06:00

Riley vs Jack - 10 Months

2011-06-21T10:02:00.004-06:00

Jack

Riley

Jack- Ten Months!

2011-06-21T09:44:00.005-06:00

After

Before

Jack turned 10 months old on the twelfth of June. He is getting so very big! Jack spends most days crawling around and cruising. He loves walking along the couches and pulling himself up on everything. His new favorite thing to do is point to what he wants which is usually a remote or cell phone. He also has continued to say mama and dada and has started to figure out which one of us is mama and which one is dada. He also stands alone for several seconds so we know walking is coming soon, hopefully by his birthday!
At ten months, Jack sleeps 10-11 hours at night and also takes two naps during the day for about an hour and a half each time. He eats pretty much everything but really likes all meat, beans, cheerios, and fruit. He also eats more vegetables than Riley does right now. He also got his first top tooth when we were in Florida.
Here are pictures of Jack's first real haircut and a ten month shot.

When the Parents are Away...

2011-06-21T09:36:00.007-06:00

Disney World

2011-06-21T08:58:00.006-06:00

John and I spent nine days at Disney World to celebrate our five year wedding anniversary. It was wonderful! We had a great time going to all of the parks and riding the rides. We also got to relax at the pool and get some much needed rest. We really did miss Riley and Jack a lot. They will definitely go with us next time. We made sure to take a lot of pictures and video to show Riley especially of the princesses and Mickey and Minnie. Thank you very much Mia and Pop Pop and Nonni and Papa for taking such good care of our kids while we were gone. We know they also had a lot of fun while Mommy and Daddy were gone.

We took almost three hundred pictures but I am just going to post one from each park.

Bubble Bubble Pop

2011-05-17T19:43:00.001-06:00

Riley vs Jack- Nine Months

2011-05-17T19:26:00.002-06:00

Riley

Jack

Back to looking A LOT alike!

Jack- Nine Months

2011-05-17T18:57:00.012-06:00

We need to break out the baby gate!

Mother's Day

Jack is nine months old! He is doing great crawling all around, pulling himself up, and he has started to cruise a little. Jack is a super active little guy. He definitely does not like sitting still which made trying to cut his hair pretty impossible. He also has started eating more people food. He prefers to eat what we are instead of any baby food although sometimes he will eat the baby food still. In other development news, Jack will wave, clap, try to drink from his sippy cup, and has been saying mama and dada a lot to us.
Jack went for his check up today and he now weighs 18 pounds, 9 ounces (15th percentile). He is 29.25 inches long (80th percentile) and his head circumference is 17.5 inches (25th percentile). Dr. Booth says he looks great. Both of the kids go back in August for their one and three year check ups. One benefit of having kids with birthdays nine days apart- one doctor's appointment.
In other Robinson news, Riley is doing great. She is as talkative as ever and has become quite the little negotiator. She also remembers everything! Last night when I was putting her to bed she did not want to kneel down for her prayers. I told her I was going to take her blanket until she said her prayers and she said, "Daddy never takes anything away." Oh boy, am I in trouble. To top it off, first thing this morning she reminded me that I did not take anything away from her last night because she was good and said her prayers.
John and I are doing well. There is only six more days of school with kids until summer break! We are getting ready for our trip to Florida for our five year wedding anniversary/golden birthdays. I can't believe we are leaving in two and a half weeks. Crazy!

May Pictures

2011-05-17T18:41:00.005-06:00

Frank never saw it coming

Jack's first haircut

Riley's blackeye from jumping on the bed

Easter Comparison Pictures

2011-04-25T21:30:00.004-06:00

I can't believe this was Riley's third Easter. I also can't believe my little girl is almost three. This time has gone so fast and she has changed so much. She really looks like a little girl now and not like a baby anymore. Although it makes me sad, I love watching her grow up and experience all kinds of new things. She is just a great little person and I hope she continues to be as loving and kind to us and her brother as she is now. We're so proud of our beautiful daughter.

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T21:19:00.004-06:00

Jack and Riley had a great Easter this year. The Easter Bunny visited them and they were able to open their Easter baskets after church. Riley was very excited to get the movie Tangled and Jack got a play phone and some toy rings to chew on. They were also pretty good in church considering the length of Mass and the amount of people there. Jack decided to fall asleep for the second half which was a nice little rest for him and it helps if we know one of them is being quiet. We had lunch at my aunt and uncle's house after visiting with the Robinsons on Saturday. Riley and Jack also got books from their grandparents any my grandparents and Jack got some toy cars that are soft so he can chew on them and play with them. Thanks to our families for a great time this weekend!

We Have a Crawler!

2011-04-20T20:59:00.004-06:00

I walked into daycare this afternoon and he was crawling across the floor. I tried to get a good video but our sound is being weird on the camera and Jack was extra tired tonight so the only video I can get doesn't have much sound and he kind of throws up at the end. Ignore that part. Way to go Jack!

Little Rockies Fan

2011-04-20T20:55:00.002-06:00

She even got his autograph and was so happy about it...until she bent it up and tore it in the car on the way home. Oh well. I guess Daddy will be taking her on another walk to meet Dinger again!

April Pictures

2011-04-18T19:47:00.004-06:00

Riley vs Jack- Eight Months

2011-04-16T21:39:00.002-06:00

Jack

Riley

Jack- Eight Months

2011-04-16T21:06:00.007-06:00

Jack is eight months! That means we have four months left to plan a first birthday and third birthday party and a whole lot to do before then. Jack is doing great. He is so close to crawling. He is scooting and rocking on his knees. He even gets up on his feet like a push up position which looks very funny. Jack has also mastered going from laying down to sitting up so he is just sitting in his crib playing with his stuffed animal after he wakes up from sleeping. He also got TWO teeth within a couple of days of each other the last week of March.
Jack enjoys eating any "people" food we give him like crackers, cereal, bananas, bread, and noodles. He is starting to get jealous watching us eat dinner and cries until we share. He says mama and dada (not to us, just in general) and other baby sounds like baba and eeeeeeeeeee (Jack screams).
Jack claps and laughs with Riley. He will hold onto something while standing and even rocks back and forth to music. He holds his arms up when he wants to be held and will wave occasionally. His hair is still light brown and completely out of control. It looks like a mohawk- google image the Nuggets Birdman. He also still has blue eyes. This week I am taking Jack to a checkup for his left eye. I am hoping that everything is fine because we have never noticed any issues with his vision and his eyelid is MUCH better than when he was first born. Check out these comparison pictures:

Two Months Old

Eight Months Old- What are we going to do with this hair? :)

So, all is well with Jack and the rest of us. John has been at his new job for a month now and is really liking it. Riley is awesome and makes us laugh at all her antics and crazy sayings. I should really start writing down all of the funny things she says so we don't forget. She is almost three going on thirteen with the attitude sometimes but it's mostly just funny. As of now, my job is still in tact for next year. I have gone from being very nervous about it so feeling that I would be really surprised if I am let go. I don't want to jinx myself though. By law, I will know for sure by June 1st. What's another six weeks? Oh, and our house is on the market as of last Saturday! We have been keeping busy keeping it clean and just taking it day by day. We look forward to the day when we will have more space!

Gymboree

2011-03-27T22:06:00.006-06:00

Much better!

Riley's first drink of juice- only took two years and seven months for me to cave. She took about three sips and then asked for water.

Hi Mackenzie!

Emerson-birthday boy!

Under the parachute

Go Jack Go!

Today we went to Gymboree to celebrate Emerson's 2nd birthday. The kids had a blast. Riley loved everything there and Jack liked playing with the toy balls and trying to crawl. It was a great time and I think it confirmed how much Riley likes running/jumping/crawling activities. We are going to sign her up for a little tumbling class that is one morning a week this summer so she can have more time to play on mats and go crazy like she likes to.

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick

2011-03-27T21:45:00.006-06:00

It was a cloudy day and the Rockies ended up tying the Angels in ten innings, but the complex was absolutely amazing. It is definitely the nicest of the seven spring training parks I have been to and it is a complete upgrade, to say the very least, from Hi Corbett Field. We had a great time. I tried to get Tom Helmer's picture for John because he was sitting in the row in front of us on a break from broadcasting and then someone who I am guessing is Tom's wife turned around and asked if I wanted my picture with him instead of just a picture of him. I couldn't exactly say no at that point so we took the picture. It was a little awkward but whatever. Amy and I also got autographs from Todd Helton (he wouldn't sign Amy's ball since she was wearing an Angels hat), Huston Steet, Greg Reynolds, and Matt Daley. In all the games I have been to, Todd has never come out to sign autographs so I am glad that I got his to add to our little collection. I highly recommend a trip to Scottsdale if you can because it was awesome!

Riley vs Jack- 7 Months

2011-03-27T21:43:00.003-06:00

This is the first time I think they look really really different.

Jack- 7 Months

2011-03-27T21:11:00.007-06:00

I thought this one was funny and you can really see his crazy hair.

First St. Patrick's Day

Riley is a wonderful helper!

A little behind on the blogging....

Jack turned seven months on March 12th. He is doing great meeting his milestones. He sits by himself for long periods of time and has even started to lunge forward. He will get on his hands and knees and then move one knee and then fall on his tummy. We can tell he is frustrated and wants to move but he just can't do it yet. I am sure he will get there soon and I will miss the days when he just sat and played.
Jack also is into his toys a lot. He passes them back and forth or bangs them together or puts them in his mouth. He really enjoys all of the music toys the best. We have noticed a little bit of stranger anxiety but he mostly smiles and flirts with anyone who talks to him. He is a pretty happy little guy and we just love him so much.
This last week he also had his first big sickness with a double ear infection and RSV. He has to use the nebulizer that Riley used when she had it and is on all kinds of medication. Poor little guy. He has been taking long naps and seems to be doing a lot better. I took him to the doctor on Friday and he weighed 17 pounds, 10 ounces. Next step is to move him to a bigger car seat so we can stop carrying the infant seat around. It's just too heavy and he is definitely outgrowing it.
What else? Jack has light brown fuzzy hair that sticks up straight. His eyes are blue still but a much darker blue than Riley's were. He loves eating his solid foods and those little baby puffs. He sleeps from about eight o'clock at night to six-thirty or seven in the morning and is taking two naps when he is home with us. Well that is the best Jack update I can give for now- he is doing great!

For their Future Spouses

2011-02-27T20:09:00.005-07:00

Jack's Voice

2011-02-27T20:05:00.002-07:00

Jack has started babbling a lot lately. He started with ba ba ba and now is on ma ma ma. I think that means he will say mama before dada :) We just love his little voice!

More February Pictures

2011-02-27T19:55:00.005-07:00

Phase Two Potty Training- She's in underwear!

Hi Uncle Matt. Glad we got see you!

Riley versus Jack- Six Months

2011-02-14T21:43:00.002-07:00

Jack

Riley

Jack- Six Months

2011-02-14T21:10:00.010-07:00

The kids and their bears

Drinking Iced Tea is Riley's favorite special treat. She loves it!

This Saturday Jack turned six months old. To celebrate Jack turning six months and Riley turning 2 and a half this month, we took them to the mall and they each got to build a bear. Riley did this when she was four months old but she enjoyed it a lot more this time. Riley picked out a black bear and a Disney Princess shirt. Jack got a brown bear with a Rockies shirt. We named Jack's bear Cargo since Riley already has a brown Rockies bear named Tulo. We are definitely ready for baseball season in this house.
Jack went in for his well checkup today. He weighs 16 pounds, 8 ounces (30th percentile). He is 27 inches long (70th percentile) and his head circumference is 16.75 inches (20th percentile). He also got four shots today- poor little guy. The doctor says he is completely healthy and he has met all of the six month milestones. At six months, Jack can roll over in both directions, turn toward sounds and voices, imitate sounds, eats solid foods, sits without support, mouth objects (mouths everthing), passes objects from one hand to another, jabbers or combines syllables, and drags objects toward himself. That's a lot for a little guy!
Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

15 Months vs 30 Months

2011-02-06T21:24:00.004-07:00

February 2011

November 2009

Riley was almost 15 months when John first put her in this outfit and took her out to plan in the snow. Now she is almost 30 months and she went out in the snow again wearing the same outfit exactly! I think she will definitely need a new coat and pants and boots for next year.

February- already?

2011-02-06T20:04:00.007-07:00

I am so thankful that January is over already and we are already well into February. Bring on the warmer weather (soon, please). Maybe the groundhog is right and we will have an early spring. Here are some updates on the family:

Jack:
On the 12th Jack will be six months old. He is getting so big and so cute. He is already wearing a lot of nine month clothes and has been a pretty happy little guy lately. His new accomplishment is sitting up for longer periods of time. He can sit for several minutes before he falls over. Usually he just falls on his tummy and rolls around. He actually enjoys his tummy time which is great and he has gotten his knees up a few times like he is going to crawl. Jack loves moving around so I think he will really like crawling when he is ready.
He is doing great at daycare. He really likes all the other babies in his class. I guess he has a couple of baby friends that he spends most of his time with during the day. He just laughs and laughs at other kids. It amazes me how they know other kids at such a young age. He soaks up all the attention Riley will give him at home too. Jack also loves eating his solid foods. He eats all the vegetables and fruit we give him and really enjoys his oatmeal too. There is not much else to report. I am looking forward to his checkup next week to see how big he is.

Riley:
This month Riley will be two and a half. I feel like she just turned two. Riley is just so much fun for us. She is always making us laugh and she is really a very good little girl. When she first turned two she would throw some fits when she did not get her way and we were worried about the "terrible twos." Now she will still get upset at some things like naptime or going to bed but she really does not have fits very often. She is very kind and caring to us and Jack. She has never been mean to Jack or shown much jealousy at all. I am just amazed by her and her ability to adapt to new situations and be flexible.
Right now Riley is working on her potty training. She loves wearing her pull up diapers and she does go on the potty whenever she feels like it. Sometimes she does not want to so we kind of go with whatever she feels up to for right now. There are some days on the weekends when she will go on the potty almost every time and there are other days when we have to get her to try often and she just doesn't want to. I think it will be easier when I am home for the summer and can be with her all day. Many people have suggested to buy her underwear and change her clothes through out the day if she has an accident. I guess little kids do not like being wet- who would-so it encourages them a little more to use the potty. We'll see how that works.
Another fun thing Riley is doing right now is talking about the past and future. She pretty much understands later, tomorrow, this weekend, etc. However, when talking about the past, she refers to everything as yesterday. For example, "I was a baby yesterday, Mommy marry Daddy yesterday, I went to the beach yesterday." This makes us laugh a lot. She also counts to 13 and then goes to 17. We're working on that.

John:
The biggest news about John is that he was just offered a new position at Amgen on Friday. He had three interviews last week and they called him after the last one on Friday and offered him the position as a Process Engineer. He will be leaving manufacturing and Boulder to work as an Engineer in Longmont. It is about the same commute as going to Boulder but the big change, besides the position itself, will be his work schedule. He will be working Monday-Friday like the rest of us but he will get to work for less hours- eight hours a day instead of ten. John is very very happy about this new job. He has been wanting a position like this since he started working for Amgen five and a half years ago. Amgen went though a lot with hiring freezes and not filling open positions so we did not know if this would happen any time soon but we are so grateful that it did. John has gone through a lot and worked in a job he has not loved to support our family so I am so happy that he will finally be doing something that he really enjoys. We will hear more about when he starts and the other details of the job this week.

Vicki:
Good ole Rocky Top...my school that is. This school year has been very very busy for me. I am working more hours than ever and it has been challenging trying to delegate my time properly. A couple of weeks ago I was having horrible headaches and blurry vision for about two straight weeks. I would have had it checked on earlier, but again there is that issue of time. I finally had to go to Urgent Care and have an MRI done along with several other neurological tests. The MRI was clear- a huge relief and they sent me home with a batch of vicodin and nausea medicine and told me not to go to work. Well, that is not an option since my school district only gives you maternity leave after they take all of your time off first so I literally do not have any days off this school year at all. Then I went to see my doctor and they diagnosed my with postpardum stress migraines. The doctor gave me a steriod to take for six days to break my headache cycle and another pill if I feel a migraine coming on. For the most part, I do feel a lot better. I have not had a bad migraine since then just a couple of regular headaches. As far as the stress relief goes, talk to me on March 17th.
Why March 17th? On March 17th, I will know if I get to keep my job or not for next year. My school district cut 22 million dollars from the budget last year and they have to cut another 25 million dollars this year. Last year they made most of the cuts in our support staff like counselors, social workers, technology and literacy coordinators, and other central office positions. This year we have been told over and over again that the schools will be taking the major cuts and that means teachers.
Right now there are three teachers for every core class (math, science, language arts, and social studies) in every grade. So I am one of three 7th grade math teachers. I have about 130 students in four classes and so do the other 7th grade math teachers so there are almost 400 students in each grade for a total of almost 1200 students in grades six, seven, and eight. The school is massive. It's almost as big as my high school. Right now I teach four 67 minute classes and have two 50 minute planning times. If we keep that schedule, I should be okay. You can't split 400 students into eight classes which is why there are three teachers to make twelve classes.
However, if they go back to the old "junior high" schedule the class periods will shorten to about 45 minutes and there will be seven of them through out the day. The teachers will teach six out of those seven classes and have one planning time. That means they only need two teachers on this schedule because the two teachers will have six classes each for twelve total classes which is what we have now. Granted those teachers will have almost 200 students each which will be a ridiculous amount of work but it would eliminate twelve core teachers in each middle school and since I am the low man on the math totem pole, I would be cut. It's really frustrating because I have worked very hard and all of my reviews have been great so if I do get laid off, it is not because I have not done well at my job. Oh stress, apparently I don't handle it as well as I thought.
Long story short, (wow that is a lot of writing, if you are still reading, I am almost done) we are praying that they will leave the schedule and my position in tact. We know that whatever happens will be for a reason so we are holding onto that and just trying to make it through the next six weeks until I find out. It's just like life that John just landed his dream job and now I might be out of work :) At least we have what really matters which is our health, our families, and our friends to help us through it all. I think this was stress relieving just to type this all out!

Riley vs Jack - Five Months

2011-01-17T21:40:00.002-07:00

Riley

Jack

Undecided again. I'll just go with they are both too cute. I can say that about my own kids, right?

Jack- 5 Months

2011-01-17T21:20:00.007-07:00

Baby Jack is five months already! He is getting cuter by the day and we just love him so much. He is such a great addition to our family and Riley adores him. Jack has really turned a corner lately in terms of his fussiness and spit up. We got him on a higher dosage of medicine and he it a much happier little guy and he is doing a lot better at keeping his food down. Speaking of food, Jack is eating solids twice a day now. He eats oatmeal at lunch and dinner and then with dinner he gets a fruit or vegetable. So far he has had peas, carrots, bananas, and sweet potatoes. This week we are going to try green beans and squash. Other milestones for Jack at five months: plays with hands and feet, recognizes his own name, turns toward new sounds, rolls over in both directions, sits momentarily without support, passes toys from one hand to the other, and mouths everything! He is now pretty content in his walker. I think he really likes to be upright. He loves laying on his tummy and he is sleeping great from 8:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning. I have to wake him to feed him in the morning before we leave. Next month Jack goes for a well checkup and we will be able to see how much he weighs and how tall he is. He is growing so quickly and we are just trying to enjoy his baby time before he turns into a stubborn little loveable chatterbox like his sister!

Jack and Mommy

2010-12-27T23:18:00.003-07:00

Jack

Mommy

People have been telling me that our kids look like John since the day Riley was born. The hospital worker who delivered my dinner that night said to John, "Well, I guess you can't deny her." More recently the ladies that take care of Jack at daycare told John that if they put tiny glasses on Jack he would look like John's twin. It doesn't really bother me that much but I really have always loved it when (the few) people have said that our kids look kind of like me. In her defense, my mother-in-law has said that she doesn't think they look like John so I've got that going for me :) But really, what mother doesn't want to hear that her children, whom she loves so much, look like her?
I only have a couple of baby pictures of myself so it is hard to compare our kids to me at a young age. My grandma gave me a picture from when I was an infant and I have not paid much attention to it until I pulled it out recently and to my surprise and excitement, JACK LOOKS LIKE MOMMY! I almost can't believe it. I have been trying to get Jack to make the same face that I am making in the picture so you can really see the similarity but I will post the best match that I have. Now he still has John's ears but that's another story. I think I am more convinced now since I can look at Jack and watch him make the same expression that I am making in my baby picture. YEA!
By the way, if you still think that Jack looks more like John, that's okay. I am just really thrilled to see myself in one of our kids.

December/Christmas Pictures

2010-12-27T22:43:00.018-07:00

These pictures are out of order but capture some of our fun moments from Christmas and this last week or so that we have been on break. Riley and Jack were cuter than ever Christmas morning and really enjoyed all of the family time, presents, and good food. Riley was so excited that Santa brought the present he discussed in his video to her (http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/YBQEw7M4IYUA-DBlb-wIGQ). The challenge now has been getting her to understand that Christmas is not coming again until next year. She still wants to sing all of the songs, watch Rudolph, and open more presents. I think she is going to be very sad when we take the tree down. It's really our own fault for getting her so excited but she had a wonderful Christmas (we all did) so it was worth it. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and thank you to all of you who have been so very generous with us and our children. We love all of you!

The Family- my side

Papa and Grandma (Nonnie)

Jack loves giving kisses

Sam, Me, Amanda

Sassy Face

Happy Face

Me and Doug

Me and Doug Again

Doug and Nick

Sad Face

Surprised Face

Sad Face Again

Our Smiley Little Man

Loves his gift from Uncle Bob!

Cookie Making with Nonnie

Riley, Jack, Emerson, and Mackenzie

A new bike!

Jack's First Solid Foods

2010-12-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

Riley vs Jack- 4 Months

2010-12-14T17:03:00.001-07:00

Riley

Jack

4 Month Jack

2010-12-14T16:49:00.005-07:00

I want to sit up!

Little man is four months old already! I kept thinking that when Jack turned four months it would be almost Christmas. It seemed so far away but it came quick. Jack is doing great meeting all of his milestones. He is such a smiley little guy. He smiles at everything. He really just loves for people to talk to him. He coos back and laughs. It is all very cute. He is starting to sit on his own a little bit. We can prop him up like a little tripod and he will stay momentarily. He alos loves holding rattles and shoving his fists or a cloth or our fingers or really anything he can get into his mouth. Teething already? Who knows.
Jack went for his four month well visit yesterday and he is now 25.5 inches tall (70th percentile). He weighs 13 pounds, 8 ounces (20th percentile) and his head circumference is 16.25 inches (20th percentile). Basically he is long and skinny right now. We knew that going in. Jack got three shots and the doctor said we can start giving him solids so we are trying out outmeal. It's hard to say if he likes it or not yet. We did get some good pictures and video of him trying his first foods. Big sister Riley really wanted to feed him so we may let her try to soon. Other than that we are doing well and looking forward to Christmas and some time off together.

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-12T16:34:00.005-07:00

Riley and I got to make sugar cookies together this weekend. She loved putting her hands in the flour and smashing the dough. She did a really good job and was very happy until we had made them all. She really wanted to make more. My grandma always makes sugar cookies with the grandkids (and now great grandkids) so Riley will get to do that next week too. I really love making these memories with our family.

Christmas Pictures

2010-12-12T16:02:00.005-07:00

It takes a lot to try and get a good picture of all four of us. Thanks to Papa and Nonnie for being patient and doing their best trying to work our camera.

Jack's 1st Thanksgiving

2010-12-12T15:44:00.006-07:00

Here are some pictures from Jack's first Thanksgiving and from all of us decorating the house for Christmas that weekend. I am sure Jack will enjoy Thanksgiving a little more next year when he gets to eat actual food like the rest of us. I know Riley enjoyed herself quite a bit and has taking a liking to cranberry sauce- not with turkey- just by itself. She also really enjoyed being able to eat pie. She got to try pumpkin, cherry, and apple. Of course she loved all of it and was demanding her own piece. She did not want to share with anyone. Gotta love two-year-olds and their demands. Keeps life interesting.

Riley vs Jack - Three Months

2010-11-15T20:08:00.003-07:00

Jack

Riley

Still a resemblance but I think they are starting to look different from each other.

Jack Rolls Over

2010-11-15T20:05:00.001-07:00

Jack- Three Months

2010-11-15T19:48:00.004-07:00

Last Friday Jack turned three months old. He does not have another doctor check up unitl four months so we will wait until then to see how much he weighs and how tall he is. Jack has been doing a lot of cooing and laughing lately. He smiles back when you smile at him and enjoys any musical toys. He also really likes being in his swing with the music on. He has started blowing bubbles and and he loves to bat at his toys, especially the animals on his car seat. In the last couple of weeks he has started sleeping through the night 4-5 times a week (yea!) and on the seventh of November, he rolled over from his tummy to his back on a solid surface. He rolled over on the couch and bed when he was just a couple of weeks old. Last week Jack had a little stomach bug which kept him home a couple of days and this week he has a little cold. Poor little guy can't catch a break. On top of that, he is going bald. He has been losing his hair for the last month. Riley did this too at this age and we know it will grow back. My prediction is that we will not have another little blond baby though. He also still has blue eyes. For the most part he has been doing pretty well. We are still battling some colic/fussiness issues at night. Hopefully that will subside soon so we can enjoy our evenings together a little more.

November Pictures

2010-11-15T19:37:00.006-07:00

Riley's Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T21:35:00.001-06:00

Jack's First Halloween

2010-10-31T21:34:00.001-06:00

More Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T21:22:00.006-06:00

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T21:08:00.008-06:00

John and I love Halloween and I think it is safe to say Riley is following in our footsteps. She was an amazing Trick-or-Treater for her first time. I thought for sure she would be shy and John would have to say Trick-or-Treat for her but she was awesome! She talked to all of the neighbors and shouted "Trick-or-Treat!" and "Thanks!" It was so unbelieveably cute. Jack stayed at home with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Sarah. I won't take him until he can say Trick-or-Treat for himself like Riley did this year. When we got home Riley loved handing out the candy to the kids who came to the door and she got to pick one piece from her pumpkin bucket. She chose a little bag of candy corn. It was a great time and I think it will be even more fun in the years to come.

More Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-30T17:43:00.002-06:00

Jack Smiles

2010-10-24T13:49:00.003-06:00

We're trying to catch Jack smiling on film. Ignore the baby talk please :)

Cute Kids!

2010-10-24T13:41:00.001-06:00

Jack, Emerson, Mackenzie, and Riley