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Puppy Update

Puppy has been found!!! Someone picked him up at Nana & Papa's church (where we thought he went missing) and left him at the church. Nana & Papa went back up to look the other night and there he was. I think Karla was more relieved than Jakson.

Labor Day Snapshots

Here are a few shots of what our Labor Day weekend was like. We spent a few days in Sioux City and then Monday here in SF at a few parks.

We started on Friday by picking our first watermelon of the season. It was pretty, almost ripe and it tasted OK. You can see Aesa's rear-end - she's a notorious cucumber picker. She finds smaller ones and picks them right of the vine.

On Saturday Karla and I went golfing, and took Jakson along. Here he is teeing off on a par 3 and I think he made it 4 or 5 (he beat Karla on that hole too)

Saturday was the Art Splash festival down by the river. Jakson got to make some neat projects. Here he is making a sand candy tube. Nothing like flavored sugar and 5 year olds!

I have been spending time with Jakson outside, catching bugs, frogs, snakes (that's right Nana - snakes...) He took some time during our golfing to nab some grass-hoppers. He isn't afraid to try and get some bugs.

I don't think Kamryn touched the ground with Papa around. She spent some quality time with her pappy.

Nana and Papa celebrated 45 years of wedded bliss on Sunday. Quite a feat anymore, so kudos to them. We helped them celebrate by eating at Kahills from Sunday brunch. Always tasty.

Sunday also marked the end of an era. We lost the blue puppy! After 5 years of nearly constant companionship - Jakson misplaced his puppy (in church we think) and we have yet to find him. We do have puppy's twin brother still - but I don't think it's quite the same. Jakson is taking it like a big boy, but we are kinda bummed - it's been a lot of places. We're hoping someone found it and will return it, but have accepted that that may never happen. (that's also why we bought a set of bunnies for Kamryn just in case.)

Cool Weather = s'mores

Since we have had unusually cool weather for August, we took the opportunity to fire up the pit and make some tasty s'mores.

Karla and Kamryn getting comfortable.

"Ho-hum....I'm sleepy and so comfy in my blanket...."

"Oooh - did someone say s'mores!?!?!?!?"

We've had to dismantle the playset temporarily to get some replacement parts, so the slide now makes a handy canoe. I'm just thankful it's not my kid making the funny face. That's the next door kids Kai and Kyra.

More Kamryn

Sorry - it has been almost 3 weeks since Kamryn was born and we haven't been very prompt at adding new blogs posts of anything. There is so much going on in August that it's been hard to just sit down and write. Jakson starts school on Monday, the garden is starting to take over, plus all the other day to day stuff just gets in the way! Anyway - out little girl had her first bath (real bath) the other night.

Kamryn didn't seem to mind getting undressed - unsual since she normally screams at getting her diaper changed. "Um - mom - I'm not so sure about this - this isn't just washing my hair...should we be doing this?!?!?!?"

"Ahhhh-this feels good! Mom - you can do this all day long...."

"Wait? What? - I don't like this - what are you doing!?!?!?"

Jakson loves his little sister - except when she cries. he wanted to watch but not listen.

All snuggled and clean in my little chick towel.

A few pics of Kamryn

A few hours old.
Not too big and not too small....

Jakson is a proud big brother.

Kamryn Rae Santi

Little sister arrived today at 11:39am. Full head of hair and all 10 fingers and toes. Karla did great and only had to push once! At 7lbs 11oz - Kamryn is a healthy size and is happy and content. I'll post pictures later once we get settled into the suite upstairs.

Jakson's Birthday Party

This past weekend we hosted Jakson's birthday party since the week of his actual birthday will probably prove hectic and busy with the arrival of his little sister. We had invited 12 of his friends, and 5 could come so it was a good size group for the day. He decided he wanted a "Hot Wheels" themed party, and it turned out to be pretty cool. We rented a jumper/bouncy play set (one of those inflatable doohickeys) for the kids to jump around, plus the swing set, and Jakson' numerous other toys provided good entertainment. Karla and I made a yummy chocolate cake and we had "octane" juice for the kids. Here are some of the pictures:

I made candy race cars and this neat tank (my favorite) out of gum and various other goodies

This was the spread outside. We are lucky enough to have some nice neighbors who had this picnic table and canopy we could borrow. The weather was perfect Saturday.

Here is Jakson and one of his best friends Cade jumping around.

Jakson got all the candles in one breath. (Notice he has the girls sitting by him Lyjona and Kyra)

There was no shortage of help opening presents.

Here is Jakson's cake and the Pit Passes (name tags)

We had a lot of fun. I can honestly say I think I had as much fun jumping around in the bouncy bus (yes it was a bus - the monster truck was taken already) as the kids did. We had it most of the weekend. Jakson is excited to actually turn 5 next week, although if you ask him now he'll tell you he's already 5.

Visit to the Dairy Farm

A few weeks ago a local dairy was having an open house so we decided to expose Jakson to the experience. We didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be a great little trip. Here are a couple pics from the excursion:




Here I was trying to explain how the milking process worked. It would have been easier if the cows were present.

Jakson's second breakfast of the morning. Free milk and fresh real butter for the pancakes... yum! The pancake feed was sponsored by Land-O-Lakes - we had no idea this was part of the open house!



Overall, Jakson learned a lot and it was a beautiful morning to visit the farm. Plus, you can't beat a free learning experience (and breakfast).

Summer Swimming Lessons

This summer, Jakson was enrolled in the Pre-K class for swimming lessons. He had a blast! He really loves the water. You can see him in the picture below with the fair skin (a not-so-fortunate gift from me) and red swim shorts.


The class focused on the basics like making "ice-cream scoop" motions with your arms and not being afraid to put your head in the water. Jakson spent most of the class diving under the water to show off. Unfortunately, he thinks he can actually swim, so we're very cautious with him in the pool to remind him of his lack of buoyancy. Below, he's in front of the blue frog smiling wide. He passed the class and gets to move to the next level next year!

Camping Trip '09

Last month we were able to take a little camping trip to Split Rock Creek park in Jasper, MN. It's not too far from here, but worlds away from our usual routine. We slept in a tent and "roughed it" for a weekend. We lucked out and had perfect weather with no wind and few bugs. Someone was definitely watching out for me that weekend. Here's a pic of our campsite (and Aesa):


We were able to do some hiking and fishing. Here's Jayson giving Jakson some pointers:
Jakson can actually cast quite well - he's got a kid's reel that he's gotten the hang of. He was a bit impatient, but got in the groove one night when the little bullheads kept nibbling on his worms and kept his bobber busy.

Overall, the trip was a great time. I hope Jayson can take Jakson another time before Kindergarten starts (only 6 weeks away - they start mid-Aug here in SD). It's trips like this that make me really miss my dad. He would have loved to take his grandson fishing and tell fish stories! We went camping a lot as kids, albeit in an air-conditioned camper with a bathroom & kitchen... now that is my style of camping!

Summer is here!

Before I dig in sharing the camping trip details from a few weeks ago, I thought I'd share that I am sitting on our patio with my laptop enjoying the beautiful weather this evening. Jakson is over at the neighbors playing with their kids and I'm keeping an inconspicuous eye on them. I just looked over and he is now shirtless, so I'm not exactly sure what he's up to (trying to impress the girls, I guess). Jayson is out golfing at his Wed. night Men's league. Here's a live pic of me, courtesy of Photo Booth and my MacBook Pro's built-in camera:


I'm due in a few weeks, but Lil' Sis is measuring at around 6 lbs, 7 oz. already. Not sure I'll make it to the week of the 20th. Getting a bit nervous about traveling to Sioux City this weekend and throwing a birthday party for Jakson next weekend. Hopefully, she'll be content in there for a couple more weeks at least. We had another ultrasound yesterday and she seems to be healthy with no issues with her growth, which could have been the case with my blood clotting disorder. We're thankful things have been smooth thus far. Let's hope things continue that way!!

Blog Status

I guess it's now my job to post out here on the blog. I'm not good at keeping up with Facebook or this blog, but maybe I'll have a bit more time to devote to it after a few more weeks pass. I am also currently in the process of moving our blog to a different blogging platform and a new domain name (not that any of you care what that is or means). What it essentially means is that it will be soon found at http://www.nobarkingallowed.com and will have a bit different design.

Not sure if you guys remember this site: http://jaksonhenry.com Man, Jakson really had some red hair!! As you can see, I think I was able to maintain that site for Jakson's first year. It is a lot of work!! I'm not sure Lil' Sis will get one at all... we'll have to play that by ear. I'll at least update the blog to keep you all in the loop!

Lil Sis

Here are a few scans of Jakson's little sister-to-be. These are not from the latest ultrasound that we had last week, but from the month before. She was being stubborn and pressing her face against the placenta which caused a kind of "blobby" picture of her. In these pics, you can see her umbilical cord is right next to her face... so that is what that odd looking thing by her mouth is.

I see the my OB doctor every two weeks now and I'll see the perinatologist for another ultrasound in a couple weeks. We've had a lot of ultrasounds this time around, so it is really neat to see her grow. Last week, according to her measurements, she weighed 3 lbs 15oz. Right on track... so far so good.

In other news, Jakson has been putting in some time on his bike. We wanted to raise up his training wheels, but apparently on his Trek bike you have the option of "on" or "off". Kind of a bummer considering we had to search high and low for a bike that actually fit his smaller frame.



Jakson is also the proud new owner of his own set of golf clubs! He was sooo excited! We took him out golfing last Friday night. As you can see in the photo below, we'll need to work on his technique a bit, but he can crack the ball pretty good for a 4 year old.

Here he is taking a few pointers from Jayson:

Jakson also took a field trip to a Canaries baseball game this week. He had a good time, although probably not as fun as going with Nana & Papa, who let him eat whatever he wants and play on the inflatables. That's what grandparents are for, right?

This upcoming weekend is our camping trip, so I'm sure we'll have some new pics to share soon. Let's hope for good weather!

Mother's Day to Memorial Day

Since I never participate in posting to the blog, Jayson has handed me the assignment of updating the blog from Mother's Day to Memorial Day. Normal bloggers would have a post for each interesting event as it occurs, but you'll have to accept a condensed summary of what we've been up to for the last month.

We have been traveling all over the place lately... it seems like we're never here. We were able to spend Mother's Day here at home, however, and the boys treated me to a special breakfast at Spezia after chuch. They hand-made me a cool stepping stone with Jakson's hand prints and some beautiful stained glass pieces. Below is a picture of me and my boy that morning.


Jakson had been looking forward to helping to plant the garden for a long time. Jayson had been planning what we're going to plant this year for quite some time and also took some suggestions from our little gardener. This year, they planted corn, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, sweet peppers, a pot of strawberries, lettuce and watermelon. We've already seen some of the crops peek through the dirt, so Jakson is getting pretty excited to see them grow larger.

Something else the boys are really looking forward to is an upcoming camping trip! We're going in June to a campground not terribly far from here, but worlds away from our usual routine. There is a swimming beach, fishing, a playground, hiking and of course the best part.... smores and cooking out over the fire. We went on a field trip to check out campsites (online shopping for campsites just doesn't cut it) and the picture below was taken on that crisp, Spring day.

Most recently, we've taken a couple trips back to Owatonna, MN where my mom and my sister & her family live. It never fails we end up going there two weekends in a row. The first trip back was to attend my neices dance recital. They both go to the dance acadamy that I attended for 15 years, so it is interesting to see how the styles of dance have changed over the years. The second trip back was over Memorial Day weekend where we tackled Mom's to-do list around her house. Owatonna had a really nice little parade on Memorial Day and the weather was perfect! Jakson enjoyed it and even scored a little flag to wave! We had a good time, but were exhausted after the long "vacation".

We spent this past weekend at home!!! Yay! We were able to tackle a few things on our own list... planted a few new bushes, planted flowers in all our outside pots, finished some projects we had started and dug into a few more. We also were able to catch a movie - we went and saw Disney's "Up" in 3-D. Great movie! We also had some old friends from Lincoln, NE stop by our house this morning for a quick visit.

Tomorrow we're headed back to the perinatologist for an ultrasound to check to make sure our Baby Girl is growing OK. Since this time around I am labeled "high risk" due to my blood clotting disorder, we've had lots of ultrasounds and gotten to see her in 3-D too.... that is pretty cool. Hopefully if they take some new shots tomorrow, we'll scan one in and post on out here on the blog.

OK, assignment completed. I'll try to take a bit more time to post in the coming weeks. Time seems to get away from us and I don't anticipate that getting any better anytime soon!

Races, worms and Dogs....oh my?

Today was the The 21st Annual Avera Race Against Breast Cancer. I ran this year as Karla is loaded heavy in the front with little sister and today was probably one of the few years that it has been sunny, cool - but sunny. Given that it rained all day yesterday. Jakson and Karla cheered me on (as much as Jakson will - early in the morning, hungry and cold). I finished 30:35 - or 692 out of 997

I felt pretty good finishing, knees and all. Jakson was only slightly impressed until he found out we could get bagels at the race tent afterward.

The rest of the day was going to spent trenching another sump line. As I moved rock (and more rock) and dirt (and my lord more dirt) Jakson hunted for worms to rescue and put into the garden. He was concerned for their safety and wanted make sure he got as many as I could find.

We have ALOT of worms! All the robins in the area must have sensed this because it wasn't long before I had an audience. Jakson rescued at least a dozen worms (I didn't even give them all to him, there were just too many) and diligently moved them all to the garden.

While Jakson rescued worms, Karla mowed and I dug trenches, the other member of the family did her duty also - never waivering or leaving her post........

It's rough and exhausting.

Get Your Rear in Gear - Twin Cities 2009

It's over, it's official - I finished 781st with a time of 32:46. Not as fast as my race last fall, but I am still pretty happy about it. Of course the weather wouldn't cooperate - it was a cool and rainy. The day started early with Jakson taking part in the kids fun run. He ran the whole thing (1/2 mile) and pretty much sprinted the entire way. We might have a track star in our midst...we'll see.

Jakson ran with Jessica and Karla. The Kids' Fun Run was in memory of Anne, and Jon was the race starter. Allison also ran but her long lanky legs put her way ahead of these three.

The kids all got medals for finishing the race. Jakson is very proud of himself. We're very proud of him too. He has never done anything like this before.

I felt like I was running in place as pre-teens and chubby dogs seemed to pass me en mass - but I made it and am happy I did. My knees don't disagree with me this time.