Jibber Jabberz

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:44:00 +0000

cassie rolled over today! 2nd time ever, its been over a month since the first time. yay!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 04:08:00 +0000

Cassie just rolled over by herself for the first time!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 03:06:00 +0000

Green beans and rice. Mmmm...

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noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:19:00 +0000

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noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:18:00 +0000

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noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:05:00 +0000

20 dlr kitchen starter

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noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:21:00 +0000

Ana woke up dry & went straight to the bathroom without being told!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:04:00 +0000

Big grins!

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noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:33:00 +0000

Our beautiful baby girl! It's time for breakfast but she's not ready to wake up.

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noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:42:00 +0000

Baby Cassandra Jane arrived at 7:35pm! She weighs 8lbs 3oz and is 20in tall.

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Ana got glasses!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:57:00 +0000

Ana has glasses, although she is reluctant to wear them. I'm sure she'll get used to them soon.

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noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:10:00 +0000

Catching up...

It's been awhile since I posted much about what's been going on, so here goes...

In the last nine months or so, we:
- fenced our yard (back yard still a work in progress)
- found out we are having another baby girl
- connected to public water lines (we were on a well)
- had a sump pump installed in the basement to keep it dry
- went to Disney World in Orlando, FL
- demolished the old carport
- got layed off (just me)
- went to Paris (me, with my sisters)
- had our big redwood tree limbed up
- started building a new room to move the computers into
- had several bushes and small trees removed from our property
- built a small swingset and setup some outdoor toys
- had the entire roof replaced on our house
- potty-trained Ana during the day (still not ready overnights)
... and probably a few other things I'm not thinking of at the moment.

It's been a busy time!! We're now nearly finished with the new room and getting ready to bring home our new baby, Cassandra, who is due to arrive any day.

Bart is busy every day with finishing the new room, or at least whenever he's not working. I've been trying to clean the house and keep up on the housework - and just when I think I'm starting to get a schedule together, I'm suddenly feeling very pregnant and can't get off the couch to do anything. Hopefully I'll get my motivation back again soon.

I've also been trying to post pictures more often of everything going on, so you may have seen some of those. There will be more new ones posted tonight as well.

There's one set of pictures I'm strangely excited about - newspapers from 1953, found inside one of the walls of our house a couple days ago. They were apparently used as insulation when the kitchen was last remodeled. The papers were old and gross, but fascinating and I took pictures for as long as I could stand to keep the dirty pages in my hands (and kept a bottle of Purel handy!). While the last wall was being built tonight, I slipped in the free Columbian I get every week so the next person to tear into this place can find an old paper too - I'm curious when that will be, who it will be, and if they will be as interested in finding it as I was.

So anyway, if you're in the area and see our cars in the driveway, feel free to stop in and check out everything we've been doing or just say hello. Friends and family are always welcome to drop by, and soon we'll have a new baby to show off too!

Hope you are all having a good summer!!

~Jen~

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 18:55:00 +0000

Back from Disney World

Bart and I were on vacation in Florida from Dec 6-13, and are happy to be back home. Although we knew Ana was in good hands at Bart's sister's and their mom's, we missed her a lot and called to check in almost daily. Apparently, she didn't even realize we were gone! She went to my mom's a couple days before we got back, and when Mom told her it was time to go home to see us, she said "NO! Grandma's house!!" and stubbornly refused to get her coat and shoes on to leave. She was all smiles and hugs when we got her back though, so I know she must have missed us at least a little... or maybe it was just thanks for the new toys we brought back to her.

Anyway, pictures have been posted for your enjoyment. Check out the Disney World link from our www.jabberz.com home page to see them.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:41:00 +0000

Going Hairless

As many of you have probably heard, I received a package for laser hair removal services on my legs last year for Christmas. I've just completed all 8 treatments and absolutely LOVE not having to shave. The hair removal is permanent and guaranteed for life.

Now, Bart is getting the same treatment done on his face and neck (leaving his mustache and goatee). He's had two treatments and is already starting to notice a difference. I've been taking some pictures of the treated area so we can keep track of the progress, and will be posting them over the next few months.

If you're interested in hearing more about the process, please give us a call or send us a message.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:37:00 +0000

Site Updates

I spent a little time today and updated Ana's part of the site. There's an updated list of her ASL signs (over 100 now!), some of the words/phrases she knows, and her stats from her latest Dr appt. She's growing up so fast!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:05:00 +0000

The Miracle Potty Training Tool

Last week Bart and I were discussing how to stay consistent with Ana's potty training, since our schedules are pretty hectic. We've heard from several "experts" (aka - other parents that have gotten past the potty training stage) that it's really US that need to be trained first, to take Ana to the bathroom once every hour. The problem with this is that we're busy, and we lose track of time easily (apparently, more easily than other parents). To help us, I decided to buy a simple kitchen timer to set whenever Ana uses the bathroom, to remind me to take her again before an accident happens.

I never imagined how powerful a $3 timer could be! By the fourth time it had gone off, and Ana had heard from me only three times "When the timer goes off, it's time to go potty," she perked up at the sound and said "Potty!" She was in her high chair at the time, so I got her out and she ran to the bathroom. That was Saturday morning (we started the timer Friday night) and by Sunday night she hadn't had any accidents - an entire weekend accident-free, with diapers only overnight and at naptime (which she woke up from dry both days), and no messy, wet clothing changes.

We're finally getting there... it's only a matter of time now before she's staying dry overnight too.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:31:00 +0000

The end is in sight

The end of potty training, that is. Ana has been getting much better about using the toilet, and is having fewer accidents. Today, we made a trip out to Fargher Lake to a birthday party, spent a couple hours there, and made it all back home again without an accident. It was our first successful outing without changing diapers or clothes!!

It seems that she is starting to catch on, and with consistent support at home and daycare she should be out of diapers by the end of the year - hopefully much earlier though.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:14:00 +0000

Our Little "Big Girl"

Ana had her 2 year check up today and weighs in at a whopping 26lbs! She's moved up to nearly the 50th percentile for her weight (she was closer to 25th I think) and just over the 50th for her height (was around 35th before). Apparently, she had a growth spurt over the summer!

Current stats:
26 lbs
34 inches tall

Most height predicters guesstimate that she will be approx 5'8" tall as an adult... I guess we'll have to wait and see on that one.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 05:19:00 +0000

The Perfect Mommy-Daughter Date

Ana and I just had the most fun night together, and she was an absolute angel through the whole night! I've been feeling overwhelmed by her lately, with Bart at work so much, and tonight made it all so much better.

First, I picked her up from Mom's. She had a chance to ride Mom's horse while I was there, and then said goodbye, gave kisses, and we got in the car and left. The fastest and easiest pick-up in quite some time.

Then, we drove to Kid's Club in Salmon Creek. We played for over an hour, climbing through the jungle play yard and sliding down slides. We both had a blast. I was exhausted, and she was giggly and playful the whole time - even with the other kids. Once again she left without a fuss when I told her it was time to go.

On the way home, we stopped at Fred Meyer for a little shopping. We wandered around a lot of the store, but she didn't fuss about being in the cart the whole time. An off-duty employee noticed us by the bakery and brought her a cookie, and she didn't get shy like she normally does. She was talkative and friendly with the cashier too, and on the way out, showed off her ASL skills to another customer. I'm not trying to encourage her to talk to strangers, but it's nice when she doesn't start screaming the moment somebody looks at her.

At home, she played quietly when I was on the phone and then got ready for bed when I asked. She got on the toilet and went potty, then got her jammies on and climbed right into bed. I tucked her in and she gave me three sweet kisses - one on the lips, then one on each cheeck - a nightly ritual she started on her own a few weeks ago.

My little angel is growing up so fast...

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:02:00 +0000

Ana's Birthday Party

Pictures (and maybe video) will be posted soon - hopefully by the end of the week.

In case you're wondering, the day was okay ... not as good as I had hoped, but overall I guess I can't really complain - Ana seemed to enjoy it, and that's what really matters. Here's how everything went... (It was a long day)

Since the park picnic shelters are reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis, I tried to get there around noon to reserve a shelter. Failing this, a good friend of ours got there around 12:30 to hold the shelter until I could make it (Thanks again Don!!). After picking up the cake, ice cream, and nearly a dozen balloons, I got to the park at 1. WalMart's company picnic ended up being at the shelter by the playground, so we got the big shelter by the parking lot.

Don and I sat around chatting and doing a little bit of setup at the shelter until a family with a few dogs arrived around 2:30. They took a seat at one of the picnic tables in the back of the shelter, and Don and I decided they were probably just taking a break in the shade and would leave before the guests arrived. We were wrong... they were soon joined by several other families, and within a matter of minutes had taken over the entire back half of the shelter. Errrrggghhhh. They weren't exactly rude to us, but certainly not friendly either, and NOT keeping track of the kids at their party, who kept coming over to our party. At one point, I had to ask one of their guests to stop smoking inside the shelter because the smoke was bothering our guests, and later, they stripped down a young boy in the sink (which happened to be in the front part of the shelter with our guests) completely nude to wash him off, and LEFT HIS DIAPER IN THE SINK!!! Yuck!!

Anyway... I had decided this year to invite some guests at 3pm and others at 4pm, since it seemed that there were people uncomfortable last year when everybody was there together. The idea was to have a chance to party with the 3pm guests, then anybody uncomfortable in the crowd could leave and anybody that wanted to could stay and party with the 4pm guests. For me, it was like planning a really long party... but it was really two parties back-to-back. We had two pinatas and two cakes, and plenty of snacks and drinks.

Bart arrived with Ana at 2:50, fresh from a nap and ready to play. None of the 3pm guests arrived, but Don was still there, with his two sweet girls going back and forth between the shelter and the playground, and his wife Erin stopped by for a little while as well. A few of the 4pm guests showed up early, and we got the party going around 3:30. We broke open one pinata when the first group of kids got restless, then had cake and melted ice cream (note to self: ice cream does NOT stay frozen in a cooler full of ice in 80 degree weather for 3 hrs). Ana opened her presents with a little help from some of the younger guests, who were bored with her "open a toy and play with it for 5 minutes" approach and finally, we broke open the second pinata.

Thank you to everybody that made it to the party, and many, many thanks to the guests that lingered until the end to help clean up as well. I appreciate you all very much.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:27:00 +0000

5 year anniversary!

Bart and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary over the weekend with a relaxing massage at Athena Day Spa and then a trip to Long Beach. We stayed in an ocean-view room at Edgewater Inn, the same hotel we have been to for special occasions in the past.

We had a great time just kicking back and sleeping in, and Ana spent the night at her Grandma's watching movies and playing with her cousins.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:13:00 +0000

A big-girl bedroom for our Big Girl

Ana's crib has been converted to a toddler bed, so she can now get in and out on her own. We also rearranged and reorganized her bedroom to make it a fun place for her to play with her toys. She picked out a new Tinkerbell sheet set that matches her purple walls, and we added a Tink growth chart to see how big she is getting.

Saturday morning she woke up and opened her bedroom door on her own to join us in the living room. She was wearing her pajamas with the onesie unsnapped and hanging out on the outside of her pants. Closer inspection showed that she had already removed her pants, unsnapped the onesie, removed her diaper, and then pulled her pants back on. She proudly showed us her dirty diaper in the pail in her room too. She's practically changing herself these days!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:55:00 +0000

Potty Training Update

Ana has been letting us know more regularly when she needs to use the toilet, but for the most part only for us at home. She has shown that she doesn't like being in a wet diaper though, which is a really big step.

She has made a habit of removing her diaper - and any clothes in the way - each morning when she wakes up. To prevent this, we have had to use a diaper pin to keep her onesie on (she can undo the snaps). Even so, she has occasionally managed to undo the tape on one side of the diaper and move the diaper enough to cause a small mess.

This morning however, she managed to pull the onesie down from her shoulders and all the way off, and then removed the diaper. After putting her on the toilet, I made the call to her daycare and asked if she could wear panties today, and they agreed that it's time for her to move her up to "big girl" status. So, for the first time ever, she wore panties in the car and at daycare!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:26:00 +0000

First Trip To The ZOO!!!

We took Ana to the zoo for the first time today and had a blast! Her latest favorite movie is "Happy Feet" and she says/signs "Penguin" all day long, so we took her to see the real penguins right away. She went wild watching them; she was really excited.

We also saw fish, elephants, zebras, a giraffe, baby goats, turtles, monkeys, bats, bears, and a whole lot more. On our way out, we stopped at the gift shop and bought a toy penguin to take home.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen, Bart, and Ana) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:45:00 +0000

Awesome concert

Bart and I went to the Tim McGraw concert last night and it was fantastic!! Jason Aldean opened - he's a great artist and a terrific performer. Tim was awesome, as could be expected. He played a few new songs from his next album, which hasn't been released yet.

Pictures have been posted on our site.

~Jen~