Tyndall 411

Catching Up

2009-06-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

Well, let's see, it's been 5 months since my last post so there's a lot to catch up on. So to start, I'll just post some pics of some of the things that have been going on in our lives the last 5 months. You'll see below our newest addition, Lucy Jane Tyndall who arrived 3 days after Jack's bday on February 22. She's now 3 and a half months old and yes that's Scott's red hair he passed down. We love having a little girl, Jack does to, well the truth is he's loving it a bit less and less each day but still a great big brother.

Marine World

2008-12-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

Jack's cousin Avery who is newly potty trained was given the reward of going to Marine World for being done with diapers. And, lucky for Jack(still in diapers):), we were invited to come along, Jack's highlight was going to Thomas town and riding Harold the Helicopter and Thomas the Train. He was in heaven. We spent the rest of our time seeing the animals - Jack's favorite were the penguins. We also saw a sea lion show and a dolphin show.

Celebrating Christmas...

2008-12-29T07:46:00.000-08:00

This Christmas we had a lot of fun and activity. One of the most exciting things that happened was the birth of Jack's cousin, Owen David Ahlem. We're sad we can't meet him because he's in Texas but very excited to have a new cousin.
As for Christmas, we headed into Turlock Christmas Eve and spent the evening with my cousins and brother at the Annual Ahlem Christmas Eve. Surprisingly Jack wasn't scared and walked right up to to sit on Santa's lap with cousin Avery (who was a bit less enthusiastic).

We spent Christmas morning with my twin brother Mark, his wife Lindsay, Avery and my grandparents. Here's Jack and Avery in their matching pajamas. That night we had Christmas dinner with my parents who just came in from visiting their new grandson nephew in Texas.

And, although we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas day, we still felt like we had a somewhat "at home" Christmas the next day opening stockings and Jack opening gifts from Grandpa John and Grandma Christy

Tree Time

2008-12-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

We decided because we won't be traveling a long distance this year, it was definitely time to get a tree. So, we headed down to Santa's Tree Farm in Half Moon Bay and cut down our own. It was a lot of fun, although it did take us longer than expected to find the right tree. Jack mostly enjoyed running around the trees, falling in the dirt and directing dad as he sawed down the tree.

A Holiday Week of Travel

2008-11-30T16:46:00.002-08:00

We had a full week of travel this past week, and a great time seeing family. We started off visiting Scott's dad, Grandpa John, in Borrego Springs at his house in the desert. It was beautiful and relaxing and Jack had the time of his life digging in the sand and playing in Grandpa's fish pond.

Next we headed to Scott's mom's house and spent Thanksgiving with the whole family. We did a 5K Turkey Trot which has become a tradition over the past 3 years. Jack enjoyed playing with his cousin Noah and all of his aunts and uncles, going to the beach and being spoiled by Grandma;) Thanksgiving was delicious as always when Grandma Christy cooks.

On the way home we visited friends from college, Jason, Amber and Hayden in San Clemente and headed back up north making a stop at my parents to shorten up our drive. Jack spent the morning with Grandpa Chuck having breakfast at the coffee shop and riding around in a dump truck.

We laughed when at one point in the trip Jack said, "We're going to a lot of houses". We're back at home now and Scott's looking forward to starting a new job. Not sure if I mentioned it earlier but Jack has given up his naps now so I'm hoping this week we survive:)

2008-11-30T16:46:00.001-08:00

Fire Engine Tour

2008-11-16T06:26:00.000-08:00

This weekend we took a tour of the fire department around the corner from our house with a bunch of Jack's other fire-crazed buddies. The firefighters showed the kids the inside of the fire department including what was in their fridge - which Jack was pretty interested in. But, the highlights of tour were spraying water out of the fire hose and sitting in the fire truck.

Fishies!

2008-11-15T17:10:00.000-08:00

Scott's had some time off before starting a new job, so we are taking the opportunity to do some fun activities. We took a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with Jack this week to see all the "fishies". We also had a chance to see Jack's friend Claire who recently moved to Monterey.

In Texas

2008-11-06T05:45:00.000-08:00

My brother and sister-in-law, David & Cari and their kids, Claire, Eric and a baby on the way moved to Texas a few years ago and Jack and I finally visited them last week. They live in Dalhart, a town which is very opposite from Redwood City, in almost every way:) The cousins had a great time playing and it was fun for me to catch up with Cari in person. Here's some photos.

Chicken on the Run

2008-10-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

We were wondering if Jack would fully "get" the concept of trick-or-treating this year but he proved to have no problem with running wildly from house to house collecting candy. He and 14 other friends rampaged the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun and chaos. Here's a photo of him in his chicken outfit, just imagine him clucking and flapping his wings and you'll have a visual of the evening.

The Baby Inside

2008-10-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

Jack joined us today when we had our ultrasound of the baby. Most of the time he was trying to tamper with random items in the room, luckily Scott kept him pretty busy. To answer everyone's questions, we are still not finding out if it's a boy or girl. At one point the ultrasound tech asked us to look away so we wouldn't be able to see and Jack said, "Look at that!" So, maybe he can tell you whether he's having a baby brother or sister. He also repeatedly said, "there's the mouth". It took an extra long time for the ultrasound because the baby kept moving around and they had a hard time getting pictures of the spine.
We'll all just have to wait till March to find out the news...

Grandpa John

2008-09-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Jack's Grandpa John came up to visit from Oceanside (near San Diego) for Scott's birthday. We celebrated all weekend long. Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market in SF and headed to Half Moon Bay for the evening. Sunday we hung out together and Scott's dad took care of Jack so we could go out, always much needed:) Jack loved having grandpa here and is already asking for him to come back.

Beach Day

2008-09-23T15:37:00.001-07:00

Jack has had a cold/cough this week and although it isn't enough to keep him from bouncing off the walls we're trying to keep from spreading it to his friends. So today I decided to take advantage of the proximity of the beach and head over there for a picnic. We had fun playing with his diggers in the sand, laughing at seagulls and getting our feet wet.

Family Vacation in the Northwest

2008-09-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a great time away in Seattle for vacation with just our family and then the San Juan Islands to see our friends Chris & Jen and their new baby Thomas. We spent our first two nights touring around Seattle. Jack enjoyed the fountain near the space needle, Olympic Park, the Pacific Science Museum, running around Pike's Market and eating at the Spaghetti Factory (oh how our restaurant choices have changed with a toddler in boot).

At Pike's Market he loved seeing all the fish and in his exuberance slipped in fish juices so we took got to hang out with a fishy smelling boy for one day. Another place in Seattle we enjoyed were the locks. We were there in perfect timing for Jack to see a drawbridge open for boats to come through the locks and then have the bridge close again just in time for a train to cross over - near heaven for Jack.
Our friends Chris and Jen treated us to a great weekend in the San Juans. We left from their place in Bellingham and Chris drove us out in their boat, which Jack loved. We spent the weekend visiting Henry Island, Roche Harbor, hiking and eating really good - Chris and Jen are amazing hosts. A plus for Jack was the small excavator parked right outside the house we stayed at. Washington was beautiful and catching up with old friends was the best!

Pretending to Be...

2008-09-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

Lately Jack has been pretending to be lots of things. This photo shows his most recent occupation: a construction worker. However he is also quite talented at being a cat, a mouse, a snake and right now aspires to be a fireman. He even practices putting on his imaginary fire boots.

God is in the Bible

2008-09-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

This week Jack moved up to the 2 and 3 year old class at church and he loved it. Mostly he talked about the big grey open trucks they had. This class is a bit more structured, they have a singing time, go to the park for a bit, do a craft and Bible story. Later that afternoon Jack opened his hands and put them together like they were a book and told Scott, "This is the Bible Daddy. Do you know who's in it?" Scott asked Jack, "who?" Jack replied, "God, and now we close the Bible". I love how kids process things. Later Jack took me to his room, pointed to his children's Bible and said, "God is in the Bible."
We've been telling him God tells us about himself in the Bible but he's with us everyday. Obviously a hard concept for even I to grasp.
Anyways, this is a great age!

Round 2!!

2008-09-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to share that we are expecting a baby, due March 1. I'm going to use this as my excuse for not blogging in awhile because this time around I quite a bit worse than in my pregnancy with Jack.
Jack seems excited about all the talk of a baby however I'm not sure he completely understands what is going on. Most of the time he says I have a baby in my tummy but sometimes it is daddy or even himself that has this baby in their tummy:) I'd like to keep the gender a surprise for us this time around but Scott doubts I can hold out (which makes me only stronger). So, we'll see.
The next year will be busy for our family because my sister-in-law Cari is due in December and my sister-in-law Lindsay is due in February...we're excited to have kids so close together.

Hanging out with Cousin Avery

2008-09-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

Lisa's twin brother Mark, wife Lindsay and daughter Avery were recently in San Francisco for a mini vacation so we had the opportunity to take the train up to San Francisco to meet them for dinner. It was so much fun to catch up with them. Avery is just 3 months younger than Jack and they loved chasing each other and running around the streets of San Francisco. The night was a little later than expected since we missed our train back to Redwood City by 2 minutes and had to catch the last train at 9pm. Oh well, it was well worth it and there's no place Jack would rather be stuck than a train station.

Grandma and Grandpa's House

2008-09-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

We've been very fortunate in the last month to have Jack's grandparents take him for a few days...first just to give mom a break and the following weekend to let us take off for the weekend to Stinson Beach to celebrate our anniversary.
Jack did all kinds of fun things with grandma and grandpa such as playing at the river, swimming, driving grandpa's loader and flying to their house was probably the highlight.
Although he's been well taken care of, he's been having a lot of bumps and bruises. Here's a photo of him after he came back from his vacation with the grandparents (he fell on their brick sidewalk and immediately scratched his face at our house when he got home). Since then he's multiplied his bruises and cuts.

A weekend with family

2008-09-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a fun weekend with all of Scott's siblings and their families(3 sisters and one brother). We rented a house in Morro Bay and had a great time at the beach, playing bocce ball, eating too much Mexican food and hanging out in San Luis. Jack loved seeing his aunts and uncles and baby cousin Noah.
It was a lot of fun to hang out because most of the time when we see them its not all together. Unfortunately I did an awful job as the photographer because I only came home with a few photos of Jack and Noah and none of the rest of the family - sorry!

All Boy

2008-06-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

We're having a great time with Jack right now because he's talking a lot more to us and getting more and more active. This last week he had several experiences, both good and bad that goes along with being a boy:
Among the bad were a split lip on the playground & some bruises from having 2 fingers in the path of a closing window in our house. He's fine, but it was a really sad experience for the parents.
Other than that he's jumping off everything possible and does a lot more pretend play mostly involving animals and trucks. However, we've learned that all animals growl with Jack, even rabbits.
Here's a photo of Jack at Half Moon Bay this past weekend.

Fire Truck!

2008-06-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

If you are ever in the car with Jack and a fire truck passes by you'll hear an ecstatic "fire truck, fire truck, woohooo". So, you can imagine his excitement when he got to meet a fireman, touch the hoses on the truck and even hug the wheel at the Foster City Arts & Wine Festival. Here's some photos to document this obsession.

Hello Lizard

2008-05-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today, while peacefully typing away (Jack was napping), I heard "movement". It sounded as if something was moving a piece of paper. At first I jumped, but it subsided so I typed more. Again it happened, this time I fled the room and peaked back inside, but nothing. So, this continued for a few minutes...typing, noise, Lisa running out the room, bravely re-entering...repeat.
Finally I swore I saw a lizard's head pop out from behind a box lid that was leaning against the wall. I took up position near the door jam and lobbed Jack's toys at the lid until it toppled over revealing a lizard at least 6 inches long. The next logical step was to leave the room and lock the lizard in by stuffing pillows in the doorway (ok, so the lizard could still escape under a pillow, but it made me feel safer).
I have finally re-entered the office, but no lizard. I imagine he has taken up residence nearby, inside the walls or the closet. And, I don't feel very comfortable about a reptile being able to enter my home. Will I see something larger tomorrow? I have a feeling I'm going to have a nightmare about a lizard bringing one of the neighborhood squirrels in.

Cruising in the Caribbean

2008-05-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

We just came back from a week long cruise in the Caribbean with Lisa's family. Here are a few of the highlights (& lowlights):

- Family. We had a great time catching up with each other and watching the cousins play.

- Wildlife in Barbados - we were right next to turtles, monkeys, wallabies & even touched a peacock

- Clearest Water Ever - the water was gorgeous, especially in St. Maarten & St. Thomas. Jack loved the beach and ran right into the water even regardless of whether he was in his swimming gear or not.

Food - It was plentiful and great, but Jack went almost 4 days eating hardly anything. He did not consume one vegetable or fruit (even a banana) while we were there. He had a fever one night, and actually through up on the dining room table near the end of our cruise (yep, disgusting...I whisked him back to the cabin pretty quickly after that). So, although he had a great time in the pool and on the beach he was out of sorts.
Oh, you can order room service anytime for free so that was cool. Here's cousin Avery below enjoying her cookies for dessert.

Scuba - We went for our first scuba dive and it was amazing. We aren't certified yet, so it was a 25 foot dive but we still saw a baracuda, lobster, and other colorful fish.

Cruise Ship - The thing is HUGE. Jack loved seeing the ocean from our room and woke up every day saying, "I see the ocean". We even went to an ice skating show. This is a great photo of my niece in front of the ship.

A Reason to Blog

2008-04-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot going on so I have no excuse for not blogging. But, last night, something fairly funny happened and I thought it would get me back into the blogging spirit to post this photo.
Here's the story, I began to pull our coffee table back and it completely split in half! Scott and I both still can't stop laughing about it. However, since Scott built it for us 5 years ago, it is a particularly painful experience.

Jack & His Great Grandpa

2008-02-26T15:13:00.000-08:00

A priceless photo of Jack and his Great Grandpa Ken.

Birthdays

2008-02-26T15:03:00.000-08:00

In our family, we now have 4 birthdays on the same day - Jack, myself, my twin brother Mark, and Jack's cousin, Claire. Because Claire and her family were in town from Texas we were able to spend our birthdays together in Turlock. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and was almost like a mini-Christmas.
Jack woke up on his actual birthday saying, "fire", "cake". He's been asking for cake for his snack ever since.

Wedding Weekend

2008-02-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, we flew to San Diego for Scott's sister, Renae's wedding. She looked absolutely gorgeous, her husband Todd is a lucky man. Another great thing about this trip was Jack stayed home under his grandparent's care, so we were able to relax and hang out with family. Side note: You learn things about what you have taught your child when he is under the care of others. For example, Jack was crying so his grandpa pretended like he was crying too to distract him. Jack immediately ran up to him and said "tylenol" and ran to the cupboard where we keep this miracle elixir.

Choo-choo...

2008-02-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

This morning we took Jack on the ride of his life...the Caltrain. We rode it from Redwood City to San Mateo, had lunch and came back home. He couldn't contain his excitement as he continuously yelled, "people", "train", and "choo-choo". As soon as we got off the train he wanted to go to the airport....hmmm.

Christmas Trek to San Diego

2008-02-04T15:12:00.000-08:00

We decided to make the trek to San Diego for Christmas in the Minivan. Here's the recap of this adventure...
Leg #1 - Cayucos Pit Stop
We stayed the first night in Cayucos at our friends Amy, Garett & Ruby(their dog). Jack loved chasing Ruby & we loved getting ou of our car;)

Leg #2 - Down to SD
The trip the rest of the way was great, no traffic, and just a few stops for Jack. We stopped in Ventura and he ran in the opposite direction when we tried to get back in the car. But, he settled in after a bit and very intently read his books.

The arrival in SD was a rocky start for Jack. Just as we began to tuck him in for bed - after the 6+ hour trip from Cayucos - he bolted to the front door proclaiming, "car, car, car!" Scott took him to the car, he climbed into his car seat got out and climbed right back in and pointed to the steering wheel loudly demanding, DRIVE!".

One of our first priorities was to see the train set Jack's grandpa John & Uncle Chris set up their (one that John had received when he was a boy). We huddled around the track while Jack derailed some of the trains, switched the tracks and loaded and unloaded the milk car.

The rest of the week was filled with activity, Jack was a bit overwhelmed but on Christmas Eve he did feel comfortable enought to run streaking through the living room several times before bed.

We made gingerbread houses, went bodyboarding, and Jack planted himself in a large puddle on the beach.

Our final event was visiting the San Diego Zoo. Jack enjoyed the monkeys and turtles. I personally liked the camels. All in all it was fun to spend time with family and the 10.5 hour trek back home was long but in the minivan extremely comfortable.

My Chrome Airplane

2008-02-04T15:04:00.000-08:00

We were a bit overwhelmed bringing this large chrome airplane home after winning it at a raffle for Scott's work Christmas party. I guess it's a good thing we bought the minivan. But, Jack loves it. His jaw dropped the minute he saw it and although he can't move the pedals yet, he loves to sit in it, turn the propeller, and can often be found laying under it checking the "engine".

Jack's Tree

2008-02-04T14:54:00.000-08:00

I've received many complaints about my lackluster blogging activity. So, I'm playing catch up here and posting much of what I've failed to over the past 2 months.
We had a Jack-sized Christmas tree this year because we were traveling down to San Diego for most of the holidays and we also feared having to keep Jack from attacking the tree. Here's our attempts of taking photos of Jack running around at Half Moon Bay with the tree. I'm not sure what he's trying to communicate to the tree in the second photo.

Hanging Out

2007-12-02T08:35:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of Jack and his buddy Russell. These two are hilarious together. They both love trains. And, although Jack's slightly more rambuctious, Russell may be a bit more mischevious - as shown by him dropping cheerios when we weren't looking and snagging Jack's puppy whenever he turned around:)

SF Zoo

2007-11-30T15:18:00.000-08:00

We took a family trip to the San Francisco Zoo this last week and had a great time. Jack thought the sea otters and prairie dogs were hilarious. He literally broke out in hysterical laughter when the prairie dogs stood up. He also took a ride on the carousel, he refused however to ride the horse.

Thanksgiving Flight

2007-11-30T15:08:00.000-08:00

We had planned to make the drive home to Turlock for Thanksgiving late at night to miss traffic and were certainly not looking forward to it. So, we were incredibly grateful when Grandpa Chuck called and asked if he could fly us home. When I asked Scott this week what the best part of Thanksgiving was he said, "the flight". Jack was in awe. He loved seeing the cars below.

Identity in Question

2007-11-14T19:18:00.001-08:00

If you watch this video you'll see that Jack currently identifies himself as "me". And, if you take it a step further, show him a picture of himself and ask him who is in the picture he'll confidently reply "you"! (We always say, "that's you Jack").

Happy Birthday Christopher

2007-11-07T19:32:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we celebrated my brother, Chris' 21st bday. My mom, Christy and sister Ruth came along for the festivities. Here's a photo of Chris making a wish. - by Scott (typed by Lisa)

Weekend at the Beach

2007-11-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

We used Scott's 30th birthday as an excuse to spend time with friends this past weekend in Cayucos. Jason and Amber Ficht made a long 7 hour haul from Irvine on Friday with their son, Hayden (9 months). We were excited to finally meet Hayden. Amy & Garett who are lucky enough to live in the area also hung out and cooked their famous fresh fish tacos Saturday night.
So along with eating great food, Scott & Jason body boarded (reminicsent of their college days), and Hayden and Jack enjoyed the Morro Bay "aquarium" and the beach. The word "aquarium" is in quotations because when you think of an aquarium this is not what you think of - but the boys like it.

Monkey Time

2007-11-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

Halloween this year was much more animated than last year when Jack was a pumpkin and not very mobile. This year, he was again true to his costume, a monkey. The first time he tried it on and looked in the mirror he smiled and said "hoo, hoo, hoo". And from then on he wore it many times. Yesterday he learned about jack-o-lanterns and tried to reach into the mouth to grab the light (pretty unsafe since the light was a candle) . He also ran around with his buddy Owen in their matching monkey costumes.
We didn't trick-or-treat but we did go to a neighbors house for pizza where Jack was surrounded by girls or really a care bear and princess. I've been told that next year he'll have an opinion about what he is, so I've enjoyed this last chance at choosing his costume.
Oh - and for those of you who thought he was going to be a lion, you are correct. However, after trying on the lion costume, let's just say it was a bit snug and hampered Jack's mobility.

New Boots

2007-10-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

Who says a new pair of shoes can't give you confidence? The minute Jack put on his new rain boots, he had a new attitude.

Reading the Morning Paper

2007-10-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

We recently celebrated Scott's 30th birthday and Jack gave him a Thomas the train birthday card (it was for a 3 year old, we added the "0" to make it 30). However, Jack seems to be much more interested in the card than Scott. We laugh everytime we watch this, he's so serious and focused.

First Trip to the Zoo

2007-10-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

Jack and I met our friends Tiffany and Regan at the Oakland Zoo on Tuesday. The boys loved the animals, from the howler monkeys to the elephants. They went wild in the petting zoo, those poor goats had to have breathed a sigh of relief when we left.

Good Morning

2007-09-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today Jack deviated from his normal 6:30 wake time and summoned me at 5:45am with an ear-piercing cry. Since we were up so early, we headed out to explore. We drove to a running path I had read about - The Dish in Palo Alto, next to the Stanford Campus(the dish as shown in the photo is actually a radiotelescope that's still in use). It was beautiful and quiet, the sun was just beginning to push through the clouds and the sky was a brilliant blue. I love being outside and seeing the vastness of God's creation.

Circling the Tent

2007-09-13T06:46:00.001-07:00

Camping

2007-09-12T06:21:00.001-07:00

We took our first camping trip with Jack this past weekend(Butano State Park). He absolutely loved it. He spent most of his time running wildly around the tent and picking up dirt and pine needles with his buddy Owen. It was great to get out for the weekend - our campground was great, and only an hour from home:)
Here's a few pics, I'll post a video soon....

Stopping Time

2007-08-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

Many, many people have told us to enjoy the time we have with Jack b/c "they grow up so fast". And to be honest we really are enjoying Jack - well most hours that is. Here's some of the things that bring us joy right now about Jack:

- His hugs and kisses
- The sound of "chooo-choooo" that constantly comes from his mouth
- Sleeping in past 6am (new in the past 3 days)
- When he obeys a firm "no"!
- Playing - he's into stuffing our pockets with whatever is handy (blocks, etc.)
- New words: nigh-nigh, car, banana, choo-choo, Jack, more, milk
- Reading books over & over - and right now they have to be about trains
- Hugging his puppy, and doing downward doy into his blanket
- Walking around beating his tummy like a drum
- Running anywhere he can
- Taking us on walks around the block

These are just a handful of great moments with Jack. We'll omit the moments we want to sell him on Ebay (Scott's words);)

Friends

2007-08-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

I think being friends at 18 months really means occasionally playing with another child but more often hitting them or stealing their toys. However, Jack and his friend Owen did have a breakthrough the other day and gave each other a hug - it was really cute. Here are a few photos of them playing at the park. You'll notice they weren't too excited to be in the same stroller on the walk over to the park...

Developmental Milestone: Dance

2007-08-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

At this stage in our lives we hear the phrase "developmental milestones" at almost every turn. This can refer to a wide array of things in Jack's life - learning to crawl, then walk, the number of words he can utter, mastering the pincher grasp, etc. Dance is one of these skill - at least I think it is. Jack's been bouncing and doing what we call the "squat walk" to music for a while, but we are beginning to really work on refining his dance moves.

Now, any of you who know how Scott and I dance might hesitate to watch this video. But if you are so bold, enjoy. We're working on more dance moves such as the running man and break dancing...:)

You Bought a What?!!!

2007-08-09T05:57:00.001-07:00

We just purchased a....minivan. And yes, some may say (and have said) that we've sold out. I personally am eating many comments I've made in past years about how I would never own one of these ugly beasts. The truth is, I love our new car. It's great, and somehow I don't think it's so ugly anymore:)
Here's some great things about our new wheels:
- I don't have to wrench my back leaning over to put Jack in his car seat
- It has something like 17 cupholders - that's actually obscene
- Window shades that Jack loves to pull up and out of the doors
- automatic doors - yes!
- It doesn't feel like you're driving a tank - a plus for my driving style;)
- we don't have to strategically pack and leave items out for our next trip
- I can take my bike everywhere:)

Jack loves the car. He'll see it out the window of our house and say "car" and try to coax me to take him to it. Scott spent almost a half hour watching him the other night roam around the car. It's like a Jack-sized house.

So yes, we bought a minivan and I'm still standing. Smiling too.

A Hearty Reputation

2007-07-31T05:51:00.000-07:00

Jack's beginning to develop a reputation for a lot of things such as his contagious smile, speed in getting around and comfort in using the word "no". However, he is also quite famous for his ability to consume large amounts of cheerios, Joes' O's, etc. Here are just a few quotes and stories from different aspects of Jack's life:

After picking up Jack from the nursery at church, all of these statements have been used:
"He can really pound those cheerios"
"He ate a lot of cheerios"
"Jack loves those cheerios"

Parental Instruction:
"One at a time Jack"
"Slow down"
"You need to finish swallowing the first handful before you can have more"

Social Interaction
At play dates, and library storytime, no matter what time of day it is, if another mom pulls out a snack for their child Jack is on the quest to take a share of the food. I find myself constantly holding him back from consuming other children's food. He puts on his big smile and then earnestly and rigorously signs "more".

The Ultimate Park

2007-07-22T15:11:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we took a morning outing to Golden Gate Park. One of our destinations within the park was the Koret Children's Center. We didn't know it then but it was just reopened after remodeling a week ago. If any of you have a chance to visit I highly recommend it - even if you don't have any kids in tow. Scott and I had plenty of fun climbing the rope structure, sliding down the concrete slide and spinning on the crooked seat (on this I laughed hysterically).

For more info and pictures of the park go to the SF Gate article at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/15/BAG5ER0QD71.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

Birthday Party Flashbacks

2007-07-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

Scott's parents, John & Christy had their milestone 60th birthdays just a few weeks ago. Because there birthdays are only 4 days apart, we kids through them a joint party. After MANY ideas and discussions, and with the leadership of Sarah, one of Scott's sisters, we planned a party. In the end it wasn't very creative at all because we merely recreated birthday parties past. We decided it would be fun to have his parents play all the games they had their 5 kids play at their birthdays. Among the line up were Pin the Ear on Snoopy (Australian twist on the classic), Dropping clothespins in a small vase, Cottonball game (race involving spatulas and cottonballs), and a pinata (I think that was a new one).
After the party, I had a few thoughts. One: Watching family together playing games and reliving childhood memories is the neatest thing. The energy and laughter was contagious. It makes me excited to grow up. Two: When deciding whether to have a pinata or not, always have the pinata. We kids thought it wasn't going to be a hit because there are many non-candy loving members of the family. A pile of wild screaming Tyndalls fighting for candy proved that it's the competition, not the candy that motivates action.

Jack's Best Friend

2007-07-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend before the 4th in Cayucos with our friends, the Stapps. This is an annual vacation that we look forward to each year. This year was especially fun with the addition of a new member, Ruby, the Stapp's brand new boxer puppy. Jack loved having Ruby lick his hands and when Jack wasn't chasing Ruby, she could be found close behind him.

Like Father, Like Son

2007-07-05T17:07:00.003-07:00

Anyone see a little resemblance here? Jack has become dad's boy lately - following him around, wildly waving goodbye in the mornings, screaming with joy when he gets home and giving him big hugs all the time. It's fun to watch.

Premeditated Uh-ohs

2007-07-04T16:48:00.000-07:00

The other morning, Jack woke up happily talking in his crib. However, the only word he said was "uh-oh". Over and over, in different tones, he practiced this one phrase. It was as if we was preparing himself for the day, planning all ways he would test the rules and then sweetly cover it up with an innocent "uh-oh". And sure enough, the first offense started early and was quickly covered by you guessed it, "uh-oh".

First Boat Trip

2007-06-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, Jack had his first boat ride in Sacramento on Grandpa Chuck's boat. He wasn't too thrilled about the boat at first - in fact he was at a rare state - speechless and motionless. However, after a while he was very excited to roam around and try to take over the steering wheel himself. He even went fishing and watched Grandpa catch a fish.

Reverse Skinny Dipping

2007-06-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

As always Jack loves the water. Whether he's charging the icy streams of the water hose, running through the sprinklers or sprinting towards the waves at the beach, he's all about water. He's also taken a new approach to fashion in the water. In my hands he'll approach the water in his bathing suit. On his own, with my back turned, he doesn't care what he's wearing as long as he's in the water. As you can see, by his fully dressed body, he doesn't waste any time getting into his pool.

The House that Jack's Parents Built

2007-06-06T20:33:00.001-07:00

Jack absolutely loves his new house. Never mind that it means he's living in a cardboard box. In his house there seems to be only one thing he is responsible for...entering and exiting. He'll open the door and then close the door. Open. Close. Over and over again all the while laughing hysterically. I wish we could be that happy in a cardboard box.