Christmas, Christmas Time is here!

This was Jack's 5th christmas, and Catie's first. We put a number of photos of the big event in our Picasa album. This year, uncle Jimmy and Aunt Gina took us to Warm Beach in Snohomish County to see the great light display. Of course, the best part of the trip was getting to eat the "Tasty donuts", fresh out of the hot oil and piping hot. Jack also enjoyed the pony ride, the wagon ride, and the train ride. But mostly he loved the donuts. And Frosty.

Then on Christmas Eve eve, Mama, Papa, tante Rie, Owen, Nicholas and Matthew took us all to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium to see the Zoolights. Now some might think that two light displays are too much for one Christmas. But the two places are VERY different, thought they both had a petting zoo. The lights were in a different style, with the incandescents at Warm Beach contrasting with the vibrant colors of the Zoolights all LED display. Then the activities at each place were largely different - the ponys, trains etc. of Warm Beach and the aquarium and carousel at Zoolights. In the end, we thoroughly enjoyed them both!

But of course we must remember the real meaning of Christmas. The presents! This year Jack asked Santa for a Smart Cycle. And lo and behold, Santa actually listened! Jack was VERY excited. He said...well, I'll let him tell you what he said:

Jealousy...

We expected that bringing home a new family member would generate some jealousy. We were warned that the older siblings might show some regressiojn, trying to act like the baby in order to recapture some of the attention that they used to get before the baby came around.

And sure enough, that's exactly what has happened. We just sort of thought it would be Jack that acted like a baby, not Finn...

Three weeks...

Catherine turned three weeks old on Thursday. I posted a new web album with pictures from her first three weeks (including the one at left) at our Picasa web site. The link is below.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mindrebo/1007BabyFamily

The picture above is how I see her once or twice a day. Most of the time she looks a bit more like this:

And every once in a while, she looks like this. There is some hope that she too can someday be President...

Another funny Jackism

So we were driving around Marysville, mainly because Catherine was sleeping and therefore quiet, and while Jack was awake, having Catherine quiet without being attached to Kelly was well worth the fuel expenditure.

Driving nearly at random, through neighborhoods with few straight roads, and abundant dead-ends such that we're not fully sure which direction we're going anymore, we turn a corner, Jack says "Bradley takes me there some days!"
"Oh really?" we ask, because after all, Bradley is three years old, and it seems pretty unlikely that he takes Jack anywhere, much less some place that we managed to drive through at random.
"Yeah, Bradley's grandma and grandpa live there."
And while we've never actually been to Bradley's gradnparent's house, we are both pretty sure that they live in Arlington, which is surely at least 10 miles north of where we were at the time. So Kelly says, "That house must look like Matt's dad's house". Matt, of course, being Bradley's dad.

Then Jack starts to complain that we aren't stopping to see Bradley's grandma and grandpa. So to head off a potential melt-down, we use Parenting Tactic # 17: Distraction.

"What is Bradley's grandpa named?" Kelly asks Jack.
"Ummm, I don't know, what is it?" he replies.
"I don't know, Jack, that's why I asked you. So, what does he look like?" she asks him.
"Ummm, he's big....and he has an old face".
Kelly and I try with some success to not laugh out loud at that. Then Kelly, who recovers more quickly than I, and knows that Matt's dad has been divorced and remarried, and has met both the former and current wife, but doesn't remember which is which, asks about Bradley's grandma too.
"Bradley has THIS many grandmas!" He says holding up five fingers...
Then he asks "Why is Daddy laughing?"

Then we hear Kelly's phone ringing. She answers it, and it's Heather. I hear "Really?...No way! Seriously? That house on the corner?"

Turns out that Jack was right all the time. It WAS Bradley's grandparents house that we went by, and they evidently DON'T live in Arlington, but less than a mile from our house, and Heather, Bradley's mom, just happened to be visiting when we drove past, and furthermore just happened to look out the window as we drove by and called us to see what we were doing in that neighbohood. Go figure!

Catherine Solveig Indrebo!

After nearly 9 months of hard work and sacrafice, Kelly finally finished her work on Catherine Solveig. She was delivered at 4:39 PM on 10-04-07, at the very healthy weight of 9 lbs 14 oz, and 21.5 inches long! It's a good thing she came a few days early!

Mommy and baby are both doing well. Jack is REALLY excited to be a big brother, though he was quite disappointed to find out that becoming a big brother didn't actually make him any bigger than he was...

They took pictures at the hospital, which are avaialble to view (and no doubt order for a huge fee) at the following site:

http://www.our365.com/webnursery/webnursery/Baby/BabyPageDirect.aspx?BabyCode=23331215658804

We have more that I'll be putting on Picasa. But here are a couple of my favorites so far:

Jackisms

When told his preschool was taking him on a field trip:
Will there be corn there?

I have a skeleton at my room.
Really? What's his name?
Hmmm....Fluffy!

After squeezing onto the too-small seat and riding around on a little girl's battery powered Barbie motorcycle:
My penis hurts!

As we were cajoling him to eat his mixed vegetables:
I don't love these very well...

Jack, do you want a baby brother or a baby sister?
I want a sister.
You want a girl?
No, a boy sister!

After meeting a Vietnam vetran who was missing his left foot in the Everett Burger King:
Daddy, is his foot broken?
Well, his foot is gone, Jack.
Oh. Did it get blowed up?
Yes, it got blowed up.
Did it die?
Yes, it died. When your foot comes off, it dies.
Oh. Why did his foot come off?
Because it got blown up.
Why did it get blowed up?
Jack, eat your french fries!

Then about a week later, as he was waking up one morning:
Daddy, why is that mans foot broken?
What man? Did you dream about a man with a broken foot?
No, the man in the WHEEL chair!
You mean that man we met at the restaurant? The one with the beard?
Yes! Did his foot get blowed up?
Yes, Jack, his foot got blowed up.
Is he in a wheel chair?
Yes!
Why is he in a wheel chair?
So he can get around better. It's hard to walk on just one foot.
[Long thoughful pause...]
But...wheelchairs can't go up stairs!?

Jack, would you like your brother to be named Woodrow Guthrie?
Yeah! Roodrow Guffy!!

Mommy, where was you married?
We were married at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Was I there?
No, Jack, you weren't around yet.
{starting to cry} But why not I there?!
Because it was before you were born.
{now wailing} But I want to be at your wedding!!!

Harry Potter Character

My sister had a link to a quiz to determin which Harry Potter character you most resemble. Oddly enough, we came out the same.

What Harry Potter Character are You? Hermione Granger You are a smart and intelligent person. You use your smarts to help out friends. You can be emotional at times but you always seem to be in the mood to help someone out. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

Kelly's came out a bit differenly....

What Harry Potter Character are You? Fred & George Weasley You're the class clown, you would much rather have fun pulling pranks than to get involved with serious matter. You don't want to have a serious job, but would rather have a fun relaxed job. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

4th of July

Jack's first 4th of July was spent in Everett. We went to the parade downtown. Evidently Jack wasn't very impressed....

His next few 4th's were evidently just as exciting. I can't find a single picture of them.

This year, we went to Boom City and got a big box of fireworks. Jack was looking forward to them all day. So much so, that he couldn't take a nap.

So as the rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air, Jack drifted off into sleep. After the final explosion, I carried him inside, with a brief stop to capture this picture.

The Wisdom of Jack

Jack, what is your favorite song?

Puff the Magic Dragon, Pajammin (Jammin by Bob Marley), and Freight Train, and the Rainbow Song (Rainbow Connection).

What is your favorite color?

Blue.

What is your favorite thing to do?

Play toys.

Which toys?

Dragon toys.

What kind of birthday party do you want this year?

A monkey birthday!! A chocolate (cake) with rainbow monkeys on it.

What's your favorite car?

Lightning McQueen.

What is your favorite car to ride in?

Aunty Heather's van-car because it has a TV in it.

What is your favorite movie?

Over the Hedge.

Who is your favorite doggie?

Cassidy and Finn.

What is your favorite place to go?

Number six (we have no idea what that means).

What is your favorite store?

Haggen with the play area so I can play with Janie.

Do you want a baby brother or a baby sister?

A baby brother... and a sister.

What would you name your baby brother?

Kate-a-lynn

Where do babies come from?

Bellybuttons

What is your favorite food?

Green beans and chalk and ranch (puzzlement from parents with this response)

How many chickens equal a pig? (puzzlement from Jack with this question)

Six

On Sesame Street, Who is your favorite monster?

Oscar the Grouch

Why?

Because.

There are no machines in heaven. But there is one.

What is it?

A gumball machine!!

Do you know what bread is made from?

Uh-huh

What?

Spaghetti

What is spaghetti made from?

Ham!

Finnegan Begin Again

Finn is a Border Collie/ Australian Shepard mix that we adopted from a rescue group just before Thanksgiving 2006. He has been a fun and challenging addition to our family. Finn is a very active boy and enjoys agility tunnels and frisbee. He isn't to Charlie's skill level yet, but at only eight months old he can catch most throws. Besides the frisbee, he LOVES climbing Jack's swing set to go down the slide. We all get a kick out of that! He isn't afraid of much, except Jack with the vacuum cleaner, but that is totally understandable. He is an agility dog in the making.

Comparisons

Poor kid isn't even here yet and already we are comparing him/her to Jack. This is Jack's ultrasound from about the same point of development. They could be twins except for the four year difference!

Welcome!

This is the blog I just created for my family. Eventually I hope that it has all kinds of cool stuff. Until then....

Here is a picture of our newest addition, ETA October 12, 2007 at about 3:30 in the afternoon (since we're guessing, might as well choose a good time of day).