Well, You Can Tell By The Way I Use My Walk...

I'm a woman's man...

No time to talk.

Happy Festivus!

As we are traditionalists, and we do not yet have mulitiple children who can participate in a wrestling match, today Adam will grab at Sliver's tail and Sliver will retaliate with a lick or two to Adam's face.

In addition today will include me lifting Adam and other feats of strength.

The airing of grievances is ongoing.

This year's theme is: Following in his footsteps.

2008 Recap - It's all about Adam (UPDATED W/ PICS)

Happy Holidays from Jean, Ted, Adam, and Sliver!

We had quite the year - lots of changes in the Jones household! After waiting and waiting for months, Adam Robert showed up on Jan 24th, four days early. Jean's parents arrived on the 26th and stayed for two weeks, and then Ted's parents were in town for 4 days after that. Once they were all gone, we had to figure out this baby thing on our own! It seems to have gone pretty well so far. I credit having the dog with getting us at least a little ready for kids. Of course, now that Adam is here, she is totally neglected (or at least she thinks so).

Anyway, back to the year.... Ted had been working out at the gym and Jean joined him again after Adam was 6 weeks old. We rapidly discovered the need for good daycare at the gym, and shortly thereafter changed to a different gym with better hours and different staffing. This was vital, because Jean and Ted were scheduled to do several running events, triathlons, and other sporting things during the summer, and Adam needed the interaction with other kids, adults, and germs (we are exposing him to build immunity).

Jean went back to work in April, and Ted became the full time stay at home dad. This involves daily trips to the gym where Adam can spend 2 hours in day care, so Ted is not only in shape, he keeps his sanity! They also run errands, and come to the office every day so Jean can feed Adam his lunch. Nice of John Deere to have a "mom's room" with privacy for such things!

In May Jean and Adam took advantage of a work trip out west to visit the families and introduce Adam to most of them, since only the parents had met Adam up to that point. It was a good trip, and at 3 1/2 months he was perfect on the plane. Ted stayed at home and enjoyed a nice vacation from child care - these things are needed every once in a while!

In June Jean's parents made another trip to visit, and we did the zoo, lots of trips to the park or long walks, and enjoyed getting out and seeing the sights. June was also the kickoff for the Corporate Challenge, which is the month and a half long series of sporting events that companies can sign up for to build employee morale, encourage participation outside work, and get people in shape! So Jean was biking, running, swimming, playing soccer, volleyball, softball, and triathloning during the month. It was fun, but exhausting by the time it was over! And it was worth it, as John Deere came in first in our division!

After the Corporate Challenge ended, we still kept working out, since Beth and Holly were coming for a triathlon in July. We did take a break on the 4th of July to hang out on the patio with our friend Toney, eat grilled foods, and talk a little politics, religion, and all the other fun subjects. The triathlon was fun - Beth and Holly drove up from Texas and stayed with us, and we did the .6 mile swim, 19 mile bike, and 4.2 mile run in Shawnee Mission Park. Jean particularly enjoyed it because she had been worried about being last, and finished ahead of both Holly and Beth!

In August we headed out to WA to visit the families, and spent 11 days. It was fabulous to see everyone, to participate in two birthday parties, visit the beach, do some hiking, see all the siblings, and just relax. Of course, the plane ride home was a little stressful (tired cranky baby who did a big poop that needed changing on the plane, melted chocolate on Jean's shorts that had to be cleaned off, etc, etc).

September and October were the usual routine - as usual as it can be with Adam, who likes to mix it up with changes in sleep patterns (he went from sleeping until 7am, to 6am, to 5am, and is now back to 6:30am), the occasional restless night with a cold or fever, or just not wanting to nap during the day (poor Ted, Jean is glad to be at work on those days!).

Adam was a popular guy for Halloween this year - he had 4 costumes, and managed to wear 3 of them (the 4th was just too small for his huge head!). Unfortunately Jean was traveling for work part of that time, and missed two of the parties, but made it home in time for Halloween night.

Around this time, Ted decided to start training for a Marathon, so he is getting ready to go out and run the Phoenix Marathon in January - anyone who wants to come and join us to cheer him on is welcome. It will be the MLK holiday weekend.

In November and December Jean had trips for work, and Adam, Sliver and Ted made sure the house was still standing when she got back. Luckily her travel is done for a while, as it is tough on everyone when she is gone for 4 or 5 days in a row. In a fun change, Jean stayed home for 5 days in November while Ted took a trip out to WA to do a roadtrip and see a WSU football game with some college friends. While WSU was terrible (it was so bad they left at half time), they had a great time touring WA and reliving some of the good old days.

In mid-December Jean's parents were back for a trip to visit, which was fun, because they brought plenty of holiday cheer with them, and got us all organized and ready for Christmas. They even helped with some home repairs, so they left us in better shape than we were when they arrived! They had to go home before the holidays, but it was a great visit, and much appreciated, since we won't make it out to WA this winter. We will try to get out there next summer when the weather is better, the planes aren't as crowded (or delayed), and Jean has more time off!
So as we finish the year, Adam is almost 11 months, is standing and balancing on his own, is eating us out of house and home with his very healthy appetite, and our lives revolve around him. We wouldn't change it. Sliver is 10+ years, starting to slow down a little, and not sure the baby is all good - although any food that gets dropped for her or she can lick off his face is appreciated. She would like it if he didn't pull her tail so much!

So that is our year! If you want to see pictures or see more of Adam, just scroll down and check out some of the previous posts. And leave a message if you would like - we would love to hear from you!

Have a Lovely Holiday Season, and keep in touch! Jean, Ted, and Jean

It's The End Of The World As We Know It, And I Feel Fine

Adam is mobile.

What began with his patented commando crawl:

Has now become this:

Game over, man. Game over.

Probably Much Better Than Drugs

So this whole "running a marathon" thing? Turns out you have to train for it. And one of the ways you do that is to run really freaking far. Last Sunday was my first 20 mile run. I did it, but I faded pretty badly after about mile 18. By the end, I was hallucinating, thinking I had just killed a bunch of Soviets/Cubans (it's not really clear in "Red Dawn" either), so I raised my Gatorade bottle in the air and shouted "Wolverines!!!" At which point one of the other gym patrons shut off my treadmill and led me to the showers.

I am a golden god.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

Jean goes away for a few days, and the boys hit the bottle.

Turkey Day #1 (posted by Jean)

Yesterday was Adam's first Thanksgiving. He "helped" throughout the day, from the safety of his highchair - every time the oven was open, he was contained at a safe distance, and then he could roam the house while we were waiting for the cooking to happen. He thought making food was pretty fun - the mixer made cool noise, the smells were good, and he had his own pan and spoon to bang around and "mix" with.

We cooked a HUGE turkey (for the 2 1/2 of us), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad, stuffing, and then orange rolls for dessert.

Adam loves turkey and stuffing, and he gobbled those down (Get it? Gobbled? Turkey?).

Then we tried mashed potatoes. And his facial expressions and flapping hands said it all. "What did you just put in my mouth? EEEWWWW! Get it away! Are you trying to poison me? Never do that again!"

As a special Thanksgiving treat Sliver got to lick the tray when he was done. After which the tray was cleaned and disinfected.

Then we all had to take a walk around the neighborhood to digest and work off a little of the feast.

And for the next week we will be thinking up new ways to eat turkey leftovers. Sandwiches, soup, lasagna, casserole, tacos, and anything else we can think of that can have turkey in it instead of other meats.

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving too!

Toilet Bowl!

Well, that was a pleasant surprise.

Oh yeah. Coach Wulff? Worst. Celebration dance. Ever.

... ADDED:

Food: It's What's For Dinner

As you can see, Adam has taken to solid foods. He'll eat most anything, including vegetables, fruits, yogurt, cheese, etc.

At first, we focused on the classic baby foods, i.e., pureed peas, carrots, etc. with an occasional foray into oatmeal or similar. However, when we went out to Washington, Grandma Beth began pushing all sorts of new foods Adam's direction, and there was no turning back.

Cheerios quickly became a favorite. He wasn't likely to choke on them, and he could work on his manual dexterity by practicing his "pincher" motion. Sadly, we've created a monster with the Cheerio thing. He's gone through approximately three pounds of Cheerios in the last three months.

I'm not kidding.

And, as an added bonus, we find stray Cheerios everywhere! We're such lucky duckies!

Apple makes him happy. Fruits in general tend to be big hits. Mmm, natural sugar.But not everything agrees with him.

I think the pickles are as much for our amusement as for his benefit.

This is what happens when the apple finally does make it in. He just keeps chewing off more bits until his face is stuffed like a chipmunk. Then he tries to swallow.

(It's a pineapple core. Like I said, mmm, natural sugar.)

Eventually, it will be all people-food all the time, but for now it's a combination of milk and food. At least we know that there are few foods he's not interested in when the time comes to make the switch.

Laugh And The Whole World Laughs With You

Cry and you're mom's problem.

Washington, My Washington: Part Four: Denouement

The return from Anacortes included Adam's first ferry ride. He was impressed with the pulling-away-from-the-dock part but was so hungry he immediately demanded food after this picture was taken and spent the entirety of the short trip attached to mom.

He enjoyed his short time in Centralia before heading back to KC. First, by reminding his toys who's boss:

Some blackberry pickin':

A trip to Borst Park:

A stop at the Chehalis Kiddy Park spray pool:

A chance to torment grandma's doll:

Feeding apples to the neighbor's horses:

A visit to Grandpa Ted and Grandma Mary's to try on dad's old baby hat:

Helping Grandpa Ray play the guitar:

And then it was off to the airport, where grandma and grandpa found a way to carry Adam without carrying Adam.

The flights home were "interesting." In deference to your appetite, I will spare you the details of the Seattle to Dallas leg, as you really don't want to know. Suffice to say, it was unpleasant, especially for Jean. But the Dallas to KC leg was fine, the highlight being that we sat across the aisle from Cesar Millan (the Dog Whisperer guy) and his wife. They were quite nice, and he probably didn't mind sitting near the two people on the flight who didn't have a clue who he was (it was only later that we found out).

All-in-all, it was a good trip, and we're glad we got to see so many family and friends. Unfortunately, it will be a while before we make it out again. I guess that means people are just going to have to visit us.

I'm subtle, aren't I?

Is That Mom's Musical Ability Or Dad's?

They say Mozart began composing at the age of five. They never say if what he wrote was any good.

Washington, My Washington: Part Three

Anacortes was fun. Adam enjoyed the beachhouse, even if he couldn't quite appreciate the view of Deception Pass. We did lots of walking, mostly on and around the beach. On the down side, his top two teeth decided that would be an excellent time to come in. He wasn't feeling great, but we got him one of those vibrating chewy thingies, and that helped.

Thoughtful, Cogent Election Analysis

As the "political scientist" of the fam, I guess it's up to me to explain the election results. Here is a summary, from the Democratic perspective (h/t L, G, & M):


And for the Republicans:

Sorry for the low quality of the video. They're in a bit of a state right now.

Boo at the Zoo... and other places

(also posted by Jean)

Adam has been quite the social butterfly lately. He has been to two Halloween parties (and counting), and also attended the "Boo at the Zoo" on Saturday. Luckily we have 4 different Halloween outfits for him, so by the time we actually get to the big night, he will have occasion to wear them all.

Outfit # 1: Frankenstein. Worn at Tegan's Halloween party on the 19th.

Outfit # 2: Pumpkin. Worn both for the Pumpkin Run and for the Boo at the Zoo.

Outfit # 3: Leopard (there was some conjecture as to whether it was cheetah or leopard, but thanks to the internets, we know the smaller spots equal leopard). Worn at the "Give what you Got" Halloween party and fundraiser.
Outfit # 4: Skeleton. Adam is going to debut this look on Halloween - probably covered up by a big coat, if the weather stays cool.

What are Adam's mom and dad dressing up as? Frazzled parents of a small child. Not very original, but a true depiction.