That kid is fast!!

Although the video quality is garbage, I thought this was a fun video to share with everyone. This is Jackson putting together his dinosaur floor puzzle.

(Click the arrow in the bottom left hand corner to start the video)

Do You Know The Pumpkin Patch?

Last weekend we took a trip to yet another pumpkin patch to try and get that perfect Halloween photo. You know the one: kids both looking at the camera and smiling. Perfect lighting with no wandering idiots in the background. Of course we did not get that elusive picture, but we did have a good time trying. Check out the pics and a movie clip. Oh yeah, and I am trying out a new photo sharing site called tabblo (thanks to Clay & Kim for this tip!). I have always been a big fan of snapfish, but tabblo appears to be a lot cooler even if the name is goofy. Check them both out and see what you think!

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Click here to see the movie of the pumpkin patch

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Jackson and Emily at the Pumpkin Patch SnapFish Album

Some More Pictures of Emily

Here is the latest round of pictures. No Jackson in this batch, just the baby girl:

Pictures of Emily at 5 Months SnapFish Album

Severe Weather Alert!!!

Man, there is som pretty crazy weather outside right now! We have been seeing all kinds of warnings on the news about different types of weather advisories, but it's like... well what are we supposed to DO?!? I guess we could sleep in the bathroom, but who knows exactly how bad things are? Probably not too bad if I am sitting here blogging, right :)

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So, just to give you an idea, here is what I get when I go to www.weather.com:

So if the big tornado sweeping through the banner wasn't enough to get me concerned (wasn't there for other zip codes), maybe the fact that there were so many severe weather alers that I had to SCROLL TO THE RIGHT!!!! This is ridiculous. Gonna go make sure everyone is OK. Over and out...

Do the DewBerry

We have just returned from a fun-filled morning of birthday action. We started out the morning with a short drive out in the country to DewBerry Farm. Luckily for us we already live way out west of town, so the drive was quick. We were meeting up with the McKennas who were celebrating the 2nd birthday of their son Travis who is one of Jackson's good buds.

This place had all kinds of cool stuff ranging from a gigantic pillow jump to acrobat goats. There was a petting zoo and playground, and Jackson was having a blast playing out in an area where he could safely run around and be a boy. Of course he was muddy within about 10 minutes of our arrival! Emily patiently watched as she was a bit too young to join in on most of the fun. Check out the pictures in our snapfish album below

Pictures From Travis's BDay at DewBerry Farm SnapFish Album

And we also took this short movie of Jackson picking out a pumpkin. It is a big file, but worth the download.

Next stop was to see Jack Clinard celebrating his birthday at Pump It Up -- one of Jackson's favorite places to burn off some toddler energy. He was able to play on all of the inflatable attractions on his own now that he is bigger, but this didn't stop Dad from joining in on the fun. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures because our camera ran out of batteries!

Now we're finally back home after an exhausting day and the kids are taking their naps. I think Daddy is going to follow suit...

Yes We Don't!

So the latest thing is Jackson's polite defiance. He learned that although it pleased Mommy quite a bit when he said it, "No thank you" was not always effective in getting what he wanted. So he has moved on to trying "Yes we don't" to see if it yields better results. Here's an example of the catchy phrase in action:

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Jackson: I need to hold my DVD

Daddy: No, Jackson we need to put it away

Jackson: No thank you

Daddy: Yes, we do

Jackson: Yes, We Don't!

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So you can see that by the time we are beginning to crack up he siezes the opportunity to divert our attention and usually end up getting what he wants.

Speaking of what Jackson is interested in, he made Daddy proud this past weekend while we were at Halloween Express, a store run by some close friends of ours. They were kind enough to invite us to a pre-hours opportunity for the kids to run around and try on different costumes without having to fight the crowds. Before leaving, we had to change Emily in the back room, and Jackson was a little too curious to just sit there and wait. His curiosity led him to a gigantic pair of fake plastic breasts that one would use for a nice adult gag costume. Upon examining the enormous mammaries, Jackson was perplexed but intrigued: "What are these? These are BEAUUUUUUTIFUL!"

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Datra's Pictures From Halloween Express SnapFish Album

Free Coupon for Halloween Express

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Mamo and Nana are Back in Town

This week we have been fortunate enough to see both Mamo and Nana for both planned and unplanned reasons. You see, Emily got really sick for pretty much her first time ever last week. So, Mamo was here taking care of Emily and Jackson during the week. Thanks so much to Mamo for once again coming to the rescue at the drop of a hat! We really appreciate all of the times she has helped out when things like this unfortunately come up.

Nana had been anxiously awaiting her planned visit to Katy, and our weekend together began on Thursday when she came in from Salt Lake City, Utah. While here, Nana has enjoyed seeing how much Emily has grown and playing with little J-Man. Jackson was eager to show off his awesome golf skills to Nana outside in the gradually cooling Texas summer. Most of the weekened has been spent at home due to the sick kid(s), which has given Nana even more time to get to know Emily. She commented that Emily now seems to always be moving, kicking, cooing, and just trying to get familiar with her surroundings. Right now Emily is showing off how well she can grab her little orange fishie on the Aquarium take-a-long swing.

This picture here was taken on Saturday while Nana and Jackson were playing with the carnival fun park thingie. Jackson was hamming it up and getting a kick out of Nana laughing and clapping her hands when the little cars would zoom around the track.

...like scary smart!

OK, so we have always known that Jackson is pretty amazing. Sorry to all of you that we often brag to, but we just love the little guy so much that we can't shut up about him .

He is now a few months past 2 years old, and we continue to be amazed by the things that he can do. Here is a list off the top of my head

• Count to about 15


• Count to 10 ... in spanish


• Identify any color


• Melt mommy's heart with a smile


• Hit practice balls with his plastic golf clubs


• Pick out over half of the US states by flag (and many by shape)


• Fly through wooden puzzles


• Read ~20 page books from memory (ie Just Keep Swimming, Bubble Hunt, etc)


• Read a few small words randomly written like red, dog, blue, etc.


• Pedal his tricycle by himself


• Make deals with daddy (sealed with a handshake, of course)


• Match up all of his DVDs with their cases (although he likes the cases more )


• Recognize every one of the letters in the alphabet & their sound

What's Happening To ME?!?!?!??!!?!?!

So Jackson really loves to have pictures taken of him. The only thing he loves more is taking pictures with his family. So when he and Emily were laying down together in their portable gym, he asked Daddy to take a picture. While Daddy was grabbing the camera from the office, he heard a cry from the living room where the children were playing together. "What's happening to me... WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!?" I ran in to the living room to see what was the matter and Jackson was laying on his back with a petrified stare on his face repeating the phrase over and over.


I was pretty scared myself because I had no idea what the answer was to his frantic inquiry. Almost immediately I noticed that nothing was wrong with Emiliy, however she had a fistful of Jackson's hair in a playful attempt to get her big brother's attention. Apparently Jackson didn't think this was a very fun game, but with a bit of coaxing I was able to convince Emily that this was not a good way to get Big Brother's attention. To this day, any time we repeat the "What's happening to me" story Jackson usually spoils the punchline by commenting that "Emily pulled my hair!" before we get to the end of the tale.

She's a Cutie

I just wanted to post some of the recent pictures of emily. Happy Labor Day!

Emily 3 months SnapFish Album

A-goo

Ah yes, we have now arrived at that time when the traits that develop into a personality begin to show in a baby. Emily is growing up more every day, and she is beginning to connect with us in ways that are more and more specail. Her stares are turning into gazes, her confusion into excitement, and her cries into smiles and the familiar sounds of an infant discovering their vocal cords. A-goo!

Our little baby girl visited Dr. Lentsch last Saturday for her 2-month checkup. She was a trooper with the shots, and only a few tears snuck their way out. With some tender comforting from Jackson she was as good as new in no time at all. On the sleeping scene, Emily is still a dream of a child. Last night she went to bed at 10pm and didn't wake up until almost 7am! Since she is in the 90+ percentile of height and weight for her age, we know she is getting the nutrients she needs, so the doctor says to count our blessing (and our sheep) and let her sleep as much as she can overnight.

In other family news, I just had my 30th birthday and our good friend Mike Sieger and I will be meeting up with some friends for an embarassing night of karaoke tomorrow night. I am still torn between "This is it" by Kenny Loggins and "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. Maybe I'll just sing both?

Mommy to lay down. Daddy to take the baby!

So I know that Jackson loves his dad, it is just that it is pretty apparent that right now he loves Mommy more :) Each night after giving Jackson a bath, we brush our teeth and the come out to meet back up with Mom and Emily. If not the first words out of Jackson's mouth, surely soon we know that we'll hear the nightly signature phrase: "Mommy to lay down. Daddy to take the baby!" This is a reference to the fact that when he says this, Mommy is usually holding or feeding Emily, and Jackson has probably had enough Daddy time to hold him over until tomorrow. We are very happy that Jackson is able to express himself like this at such a young age, and we are happy to accomodate his need for some Mommy time.

This of course gives me, Daddy, some one-on-one time with baby Emily. Recently she started smiling, and those first smiles are unforgettable. It is amazing to watch her begin to experience happiness, and we can only hope that her life will be filled with many, many more smiles.

Here are some recent pics of the kids:

Emily thru week 7 SnapFish Album

4th of July

Although Emily is still very young, we have been pretty brave about taking her places. As of the 4th of July this year, Emily will be just over a month old. Fortunately, she has been excited about exploring the new world around her. Whether it is the sounds of a restaurant for dinner, hanging out at a swimming pool, or watching one of daddy's hockey games, Emily has already experienced quite a bit outside of our home.

Because she has been such a great baby when we go out, there was no hesitation to make a short trip to the house of some friends to celebrate our country's birthday. Here is a picture of dad and Emily from the 4th.

We were hoping to see how she handled fireworks this 4th of July, and started our evening off visiting with friends at the Scarborough's place. We had a great time catching up with the crew from Jackson's playgroup. He was having a blast getting up to speed on all of the latest kiddie gossip.

After dinner, we were waiting to see the Katy Mills firework display but the constant drizzle looked like it was going to rain on our 4th of July parade. We were able to catch a few backyard shows on the drive home, but this year the only exciting fireworks were on TV. This didn't stop the kids from having a good time as they popped fireworks, then proceeded to play with the confetti inside.

Here is a picture of Emily chowing down her 4th of July feast -- mmmmmmm formula :)

The First Weeks

So we are just about to the 3 week point, and things have been going pretty smoothly. I think we're getting the hang of this dual parenting thing. Jackson was a little bit of a stinker the first couple of days, but he has since adjusted to Emily's arrival and is now a great helper. Whether it is reciting Humpty Dumpty for his baby sister or fetching diapers, he is making the transition much easier.

The nights have been pretty smooth. Emily is a very good sleeper at this point. Last night she slept for 5 hours, so it is a much simpler experience than Jackson. Let's just say he was eager for life.... at all hours of the day :)

My Dad is in town for the week spending time with his grandchildren. It has been great getting to see him, and he is teaching Jackson lots about swimming, playing with trains, and making music.

See all of the pictures here: SnapFish Album

Emily's First Morning

While at Jackson's birthday party last weekend, Brent Owen commented that the biggest adjustment for baby #2 was shifting back into a pattern of little or no sleep. After last night, I can concur. Although Angel and I feel OK today, last night was rough. For those of you who are not parents, I'll give you an idea of how things go in the hospital.


Newborns spend quite a bit of the first day in the nursery. However, this time is split up into many small chunks interspersed with vists to mommy and daddy. The attending nurses check vital signs and make sure the baby is getting nutrients each time they breastfeed which occurs every 2-3 hours at first. This means that every couple of hours you are feeding the baby, burping the baby, and probably changing their diaper. Luckily, after that is done the nurses want to see her again so you can catch a couple hours of sleep. However, just as you get comfortable it seems, the little one is back for the next round of feeding. Of course there is a separate nurse to make sure mommy is doing well, so they are coming in at various hours to draw blood, bring food, etc. Althought it is tough, Emily has been an outstanding eater and is sleeping very well. Up to this point, we feel very lucky that Emily is cooperating so well in order to get her the vital necessities she needs in these first critical days.

I also wanted to mention a few of the visitors we have had share this awesome experience with us. Angel's mom, Barbara has been here with us through the whole experience. Yesterday Roger, Angel's father, came by to meet his new granddaughter. He also brought some sweet BBQ from some place in Luling. Aw, man that is some good stuff! Thanks grandpa! We also had a visit from the Faraces before we snuck out of the hospital mid-day Wednesday. And, of course, Emily's big bro Jackson stopped by for a visit after a fun day at day care.

Emily's Arrival - Part 3 (12:38pm)

Emily Dakota Bateman entered this world at 12:38pm on Tuesday 5/23, 2006. She is a healthy baby at 8 pounds 11 ounces with a length of 20 1/2 inches.



Mommy is doing terrific and is currently talking on the phone and laughing out loud. Mamo (Barbara) was here for the joyous arrival, and Dr. Ronen performed a flawless delivery. Of course the real accolades go to Angel for being such a trooper through the entire pregnancy, labor, and delivery.

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See all of the pictures here:
SnapFish Album

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Emily's Arrival - Part 2 (10:54am)

Ah, relief…. The epidural has been administered. Mom is doing well and buckling down for the final hours of delivery. Despite having a sore hand from the nurse blowing out the veins in her hand, Angel is doing great. Dad is feeling great, too. Quite possibly this is in no small part due to the prenatal vitamin I accidentally took last night. It was easy to swallow compared to the Spurs game 7 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Emily's Arrival - Part 1 (6:37am)

Well, we are sitting here in the waiting room….. Waiting…. We were supposed to arrive at Memorial Hermann hospital at 5:30am today, but we got here a little bit late. Upon arriving we found the waiting room already populated with other couples anxiously awaiting induction just like we were. After checking in, we settled in for what hopefully is a short wait while they get our room ready. Emily is kicking quite a bit, so we think she is as excited as we are to meet her mommy, daddy, and big brother.



To recap, we are planning for a 5/23 birth of Emily Dakota Bateman. Dr. Ronen recommended the date, and we thought it would be great if Jackson and Emily were able to share the same birthday. Under any scenario, their birthdays would have been a week or less apart, so we didn't see any reason to challenge the doc's suggestion. I also talked to some friends that had birthdays close to other siblings, and I think it will be something they will both grow to appreciate and cherish.

I am watching Angel (not my beautiful wife, but the TV show) for the first time ever. It is not bad as long as you are too tired to read something else and you don't have a remote control. It is a show about vampires and they are on some Nazi submarine that… no, I take it back. This show is really bad.

Jackson's 2nd Birthday Party

Yesterday was Jackson's 2nd Birthday party, and again we had his party here at the house. As Jackson grows, and the attention span of he and his friends grows shorter and shorter it is increasingly tempting to go to one of the popular BDay party places like Pump It Up, The Little Gym, or Gymboree. However, we opted for the home option and ended up having a great party with friends, family, and Jackson's new bouncy-house (Thanks to the grand-parents)!

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See all of the pictures here:
SnapFish Album

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The day was perfect, although it is Texas so it was pretty hot! Luckily we had some shade for the adults, and the kids didn't seem to mind much. Here is a picture of Jackson's new bouncy-house being put to use by the party-goers.

We also had Jackson's train table out since it was a Thomas themed party.

Before long, it was time to gather around for birtday cake. Angel's good friend Diane made an awesome Thomas cake for Jackson. Jackson was old enough this year to know about birthdays, and was really excited for everyone to sing happy birthday for him. He was practicing his singing quit a bit leading up to the big day.

Thanks so much to everyone for the great gifts that Jackson received. He will be busy playing with all of his new gifts this summer when he isn't helping out Mommy and Daddy to take care of baby Emily.

Well, that is all for the recap of Jackson's BDay. We've got to go finish getting ready for Emily's arrival this Tuesday (or before)! Thanks again to everyone who helped put on and participated in Jackson's birthday. Everyone had a great time, and now we've got a bouncy-house for permanent use!

The Pool Trick Didn't Work

Since planting a tree for Emily wasn't enough to bring her into this world like it was for Jackson, we thought there must have been something missing. For those of you who remember, Jackson was born after a day playing and planting in the backyard. You see, Angel's family was in town helping with some yard improvements. The highlight of these green additions was Jackson's tree. A Red Maple that we planted so that it could grow up right along side little J-Man.

We had the inflatable pool out and were enjoying the warm (not too hot) early summer in Katy. Once we had the tree in the ground, we barely had time to put the pool away before Jackson decided it was time to meet his family.



Fast forward 2 years.... stop. OK, now you're in 2006 again. We thought we'd bring out the ol' inflatable pool and have a repeat performance. We would go to bed on Saturday night, and Angel would calmly wake us up at about 1am saying, "Nobody panic, I just wanted to let you all know I am going into labor."

Although we had a great time playing in the sun, no sign of Emily yet. Here is a pic of Jackson and Mommy having fun in the pool:

However, we do have a pretty good idea when Emily will arrive. It is looking like next Tuesday (Jackson's Birthday!) if she can wait that long. We'll keep you posted. 

May in Houston

Well, it is mid-may and that time of year in Houston when it starts to get ridiculously hot. We have already had several days over 90 degrees, and I am beginning to remember how hot it gets in the summer. Heat or no heat, I am really excited to spend lots of time outside with Jackson this summer playing soccer, riding bikes, and going to the parks and pools in Cinco Ranch.

We are equally excited to meet Emily, and today Angel went to another appointment with Dr. Ronen. 2cm dilated as of today, so we're getting closer. Angel is hoping to finish out the school year, but if I were a betting man I'd say she ain't gonna make it. Sorry, babe :)

1 Centimeter!!!

Well, Emily Dakota Bateman has begun her journey into this world. On Thursday, May 4th, Angel went to go see her doctor and he mentioned that she is 1 cm dilated. We are all anxiously awaiting her arrival. Any guesses on what date she'll get here???