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!!