Forgot the link!

I forgot to add the link to the photos when I posted my previous post. Here it is:

http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/82508

Month of August Update

I've uploaded some new photo's of Jackson. In the first few you can just start to see him kind of crawling. He gets up on his toes and does these pushups. It's really cute because he grunts the whole time. He has started to move himself around though. He can spin around on his belly, and if he really wants a toy he puts his arms out in front of himself and he can drag himself forward in a kind of army crawl. I've got some video of him doing it, and I'll post it when I get a moment to convert it for the web.



Jill's mom, Jody, is out for a few days before she has to start school again, and we have a few photos of her and Jackson.

Then we have photos of our plot where the house is being built. We also went inside of a house in our neighborhood that is under construction. It is the same plan and layout as our house so we took a bunch of photos of the inside.

Need a Jackson Pic

I just noticed that we haven't posted any pics of Jackson recently. So, here's a couple to satisfy his ravenous fans.



Jackson and his Aunt Nicole


Jackson and Mommy


Jackson watching Sesame Street in the morning

Buying a house

After a year in Texas we decided to really lay some roots, and we put some money down on a new house. Jill, as usual, spent a lot of time researching different areas of Austin and the surrounding communities. We decided on focusing our search in the city of Cedar Park which is just north of Austin's city limits. It's a relatively small city, but it has lots of new developments and new stores, restaurants, and the like. We're going to be about 15 or 20 minutes from downtown Austin, which is not too bad. Most importantly, we're going to be pretty close to a Alamo Drafthouse (not that we get to go see movies anymore).

We chose a house being built by KB Homes in their Silverado Ranch community. The house itself is 2,446 sq ft, with four bedrooms and two baths. We had our appointment with the Design Studio and we went through all the options that are available (the option list is 50 pages long) and made our basic choices. We're pretty excited.

We actually got this process started a couple of weeks ago, but we haven't posted anything because we were waiting to be approved for the loan. We just received the phone call from our Loan dude yesterday and he told us that we've been approved. Now we have to go through the remainder of the loan process, which, for those of you who haven't applied for a loan before, is a lot like being groped in public.

However, if everything goes well, then we're hoping that we'll be able to move in around mid-December.

Here's a picture of the lot where we'll be building:

Flat tires suck

In the last week I've had three flat tires, two on the Scion and one on the Vue. Now normally you'd think that some kids were running through the neighborhood slashing tires, but all of my flat tires were caused by FOD, or Foreign Object Damage. The Scion had one flat caused by a a screw and the other by a nail. The Vue had a flat by a screw again. I don't remember driving both our cars through a construction zone any time recently, and I don't think kids are going to go through the effort of driving a screw in to tire.

The only good thing is that Discount Tire fixes flats that can be repaired for free. Go Discount Tire!

Our First Texaversary

One year ago today Jill(still pregnant with Jackson) and I arrived in Austin, Texas. We had to spend our first couple of days in the La Quinta Inn while we waited to pick up our keys for the house we would rent. It was hot, muggy, and a very strange place for us. However, over the last year we've explored a lot of the city. We've found the great parks, some good restaurants, a few good bars, and the good shopping(for Jill). Just like any city it has its good parts and its not so good parts but overall we've come to really enjoy Austin and all it has to offer.

People ask us what we think of Texas, and we don't really have an answer to that because we haven't traveled anywhere else in this state except one short evening trip to the outskirts of San Antonio. So, we don't really know what Texas is like. But, Austin is fantastic.

Jackson's first pseudo-words

One of the signs of Jack's continuing development is his ability to begin vocalizing. At first he just coo'd a lot. Then he started to make raspberries ( where you blow bubbles with between your lips). Next he started to giggle (which is amazing).

Next on his list is to make vowel-consonant combinations. Things like BaBa, DaDa, or GaGa. He just started doing this a couple weeks ago, but it wasn't until this last weekend that he really started stringing together long combinations of these sounds. They are not words, more like pseudo-words. Almost words. He's babbling. Here's a clip of them I recorded in our car on Sunday:




To give you context, he sounds so fussy because he was in his car seat when we were stuck at a stop light and he does not like it when the car stops moving.


Jill and I have talked a lot about how fast things change in Jackson. Sometimes he'll start doing something new everyday. Things that you would never even consider significant, but when you see them happen it amazes you. Jackson is the most fantastic thing that has ever happened to us.

iPhone fever

I've given in to the iPhone fever and I received mine in the mail today. All I have to say is that this is an absolutely amazing device. It really delivers on what Bruce Stirling said at his 2006 SIGGRAPH keynote, that mobile phones are no longer just phones. They are computing platforms from which you can deliver an entire experience to. We'll be picking Jill's iphone soon. :-)

This is a short post but it's the first from my iPhone.

Monthly update

Here is our monthly update for the blog. :)

Let's see what's happened in the last month or so.

My mom came out to visit for a long weekend. She got to see Jackson and spend some time with him. Here are a few pictures of that visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/NanSVisitToSeeJackson

Nan's visit to see Jackson

We also went to Livermore, CA for Jerin and Kim's wedding. It was a wonderful event all together. The rehearsal dinner on Friday was at a place called Stacey's at Waterford, and the food was fantastic. Saturday had a picnic at the Concannon Winery, which was held under a trellis of grape vines. The ceremony was on Sunday at the Wente Vinyards which was absolutely beautiful. Many congratulations should go to the bride and groom, who are at this moment enjoying Hawaii.

Again, here are many pictures of the event:
http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/JerinSWedding

Jerin's wedding

5th Anniversary

Yesterday was Jill and my 5th wedding anniversary. 5 years ago we were married at the College United Methodist Church in Ventura, CA. This is the same church were my parents were married at.

It's been a great 5 years, and we wouldn't trade away any of it.

Jill got me a great picture frame with an engraving that said:
" I love you more and more each day,
Still forever yours in blue jeans"

Which is a reference to our first dance at our wedding to Neil Diamond's Forever in Blue Jeans.

I got her a necklace with three small diamonds; one for her, one for me, and one for Jackson.

For dinner we went to the Domain and ate at North, a nice Italian fusion restaurant. We had a caprisi salad to start, followed by a nice pasta with a Parmesan cream sauce with pine nuts, and an herb crusted pork tenderloin and potatoes.

Jackson had a good time while were there, and you can check out the pictures at the link below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/5thAnniversaryAndOthers

A month of updates

Well, what has happened in the last month? Not a lot, and at the same time, a whole bunch. To name a few:

- Jackson started solid foods
- I tried to climb Mt. Shasta
- Jackson started giggling
- Jill and Jackson went to Kansas City for a week.
- Jackson went to the pool for the first time
- Jody came out for mother's day

Here is a link to a bunch of pictures from the last month:

http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/May08

Jackson's Baptism

We went to Ventura this last weekend to celebrate Jackson's baptism. The pastor that married Jill and I five years ago, Rev. Dave Horning, did us the honor of officiating Jackson's baptism at the St. Paul's Methodist Church in Oxnard, Ca. It was a wonderful service and there were many tears in church that day.

The trip was fantastic, and it was wonderful to see all of our family. It's amazing and humbling to know that so many people love Jackson just as much as we do. We took lots of pictures and you can see them here:

Jackson's Baptism

Jackson did a great job on the trip and he slept or just hung out for the flights and didn't fuss too much. It's strange now being the person with the baby instead of the wary traveler who scowls at the families with young children.

Getting ready for Mt. Shasta

Jackson and I have been taking walks in the morning to help get me ready for my attempt in May to summit Mt. Shasta in California. Jackson adds about 13.5lbs to my walk, and I wear 5lbs ankle weights on each ankle to help build muscle strength.

Walkies

Updated pics of Jackson

Here are some new pictures of Jackson. He turns three months old in just a few days, and we're so excited to see him grow up. He can recognize Jill now and knows her voice. He smiles a lot, but only when he's well rested. He's started to grasp things, and he can hold his head like a 4 month old, or so the Dr says.

Click on the picture below to see more pics:

3-27-08

Baby photo madness!

We're uploading even more photos! We're crazy with photos of the baby!

Tara came out to Austin this weekend to see the baby and hang with me for my birthday. Tara just fell in love with Jackson, as I'm sure the rest of our family will when they meet him. Here are some photos of Tara and Jackson as well as some others. :

http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/31008

It's a Photo Bonanza!

Click link for more Jackson photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/3808

Some more smiling

Here is the new toy that Jeremy and Heather got us. It really is just amazing. He can watch this toy, and it makes him smile and laugh.

Jackson is almost 2 months old

Jackson is two months old tomorrow, and he's growing every day. He's almost 11.5lbs now, and he's outgrown his newborn clothes. He's fitting just right in to his 0-3 month clothes.

Also, it's like his brain just turned on in the last week or so. He now notices things that are going on in the world. Instead of looking at bright lights all the time he can look at and follow objects across his vision. He can focus on our faces, and will smile back at us when we smile. It's really amazing to watch him grow!

I have some new video of him watching a toy and smiling. I'll try to post it tonight.

Finally a video

Here's a video of me trying to get Jackson to smile. I'm not very successful and I only get about a quarter of a smile. And, yes, that is American Idol in the background. Stupid writers strike.

Baby bath time

 

Jackson is getting a bath!