I think I spent the dog food money

Stats after two months

March 2, 2009 in family, home | Tags: baby, family, home, video | 3 comments

Jackie had her two-month check up with her pediatrician the other day, which can easily be described in two parts.

The first part was the good part. They weighed and measured her while Katie and I looked on, eager to hear the results. We realize that these numbers are simply a snapshot of her as an infant, and not any kind of indication of future growth, but it’s always fun to quantify her development. Here are some stats and their parenthetical percentile rankings:

Weight: 12.75 lb. (90th)

Height: 24.75 in. (98th)

Noggin circumference: 16.8 in. (99th)

Of course, no one at this house is “keeping score” or “comparing babies” or even “emphasizing baby benchmarks”, but Katie and I were pleased with the doctor’s evaluation. It means that she’s eating and growing well. And, she has a big head like her old man.

The bad part of the doctor’s appointment involved her two-month vaccination. Three needle stabs, several baby screams, and one distraught mommy later, we headed for home.

Finally, here is some assorted video footage that shows off her newly-extended vocal range:

It’s getting better all the time

February 28, 2009 in family | Tags: anniversary, family, holiday, image | 1 comment

I’ve got to admit it’s getting better. It’s getting better all the time.

Five years ago today I married my true boo and I’m happier than ever to be Katie’s husband. Thank you Katie. I love you.

I know what you're thinking, but it isn't cheesy if you really mean it.

Flying discs

February 28, 2009 in family, home | Tags: dog, home, house, image, Raleigh, visualization | 2 comments

Baxter, Robah, and I had an epic frisbee session today. No records were broken, but that’s primarily because I didn’t push them too hard. Their individual and combined records are detailed below:

Consecutive catches by Baxter: 11
September 25, 2007
Avon Drive, Raleigh, NC

Consecutive catches by Robah: 6
December 6, 2008
White Oak Road, Raleigh, NC

Consecutive alternating catches by Robah and Baxter: 10
October 10, 2008
White Oak Road, Raleigh, NC

If you’re not impressed with these numbers, keep in mind that a single frisbee route is in the range between 70 and 90 feet. In a single session, Baxter will run around 50 routes, and Robah around 30 routes. That’s the equivalent of Baxter sprinting a mile-and-a-half. Robah runs close to a mile during a session. Our poor grass.

Here’s a diagram that illustrates our playing field:

frisbee_diagram

I did, however, have to pull Robah aside today and talk to him about never taking a play (or throw) off. It’s not that he has a bad attitude or the kind of prima donna approach to the game that seems so common among today’s elite receivers. But, there are times when he doesn’t finish a route and he’s been known to take his disc to his favorite patch of grass and rest for awhile in the middle of a session. His brother Baxter, aka Psycho B, is a frisbee-chasing machine; his motor never stops. I wonder how Roy Williams handles it when Hansbrough is running circles around a teammate in practice.

I haven’t set up the camera to record Bax and Robah snagging frisbees, but Katie did capture Baxter’s weird sleeping position a couple of weeks ago:

Breaking news: Burns-Reilly merger imminent

February 28, 2009 in event, family | Tags: event, family, holiday, image | 2 comments

There is other Burns family scoop — Eric proposed to Sarah recently and she accepted. We’re very excited for them. Anyone who knows them knows what a good couple they are, and what a good wife and husband combo they will make.

Congratulations you two crazy kids!

There was ice in the mountains...the picture doesn't do justice to the rocks on her finger.

Burns Mountain Weekend

February 28, 2009 in family | Tags: baby, family, holiday, image, video | 1 comment

My apologies to Nana. It’s been nearly three weeks since I posted any Jackienews here on ITISTDFM (if other blogs can go by initialisms, then so can mine). If it had only been a couple of weeks, I would blame a new work project and other distractions for the gap, but three weeks is too long.

The weekend before last was spent in the North Carolina mountains with the Burns clan. Special thanks go out to Ben & Janet for the wonderful accommodations. It was Jackie’s introduction to her great grandmother and great aunt, and I’m sure they enjoyed meeting her as much as she enjoyed meeting them. I’ve posted a video and some pictures.

Note to the grandmothers: More Jackie news is forthcoming. Check back on Monday.

The past week in video and pictures

February 8, 2009 in home | Tags: baby, dog, education, home, Raleigh, video | 5 comments

This post is exclusively Jackie. As you can see in the videos, she’s really starting to verbalize. She still hasn’t mastered the words, “cool whip.” Practice makes perfect.

Eating time comes after sleeping time, and after sleeping time comes playtime. Playtime occurs on a very cool jungle mat (including lights, toys, and music) that Rich and Mindy gave us. Two distinct activities make up a typical playtime session with Jackie. First, Jackie lies on her back for about 20 minutes and looks up at the colorful toys, squirming back and forth and sometimes reaching for a hanging stuffed animal. Second, Jackie is rolled over on her stomach for tummy time, which is not nearly as fun or relaxing. She still doesn’t really like being face down. The video below captures the first half of playtime, and not the second, less enjoyable half. There’s also a Baxter cameo.

Finally, I’ve posted a few images from last week.

8_jackie_bumbo_lean

8_jackie_incredulous

8_jackie_victory

Dinner for the grown

February 8, 2009 in home | Tags: food, home, Raleigh | Leave a comment

Katie and I don’t claim to be expert parents. Our decisions about our daughter have been a mix of bad and good, and as a result, we’ve ridden the emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows that most parents experience during the first couple of months. If our parenting skills were ever evaluated by an objective observer, I’m confident that our evaluation would read like this:

They are competent as parents. They have really good taste in music. And most importantly, whether a parental decision earns them a black eye or a feather in their cap, their parenting is motivated by love for their daughter.

Now that I’ve shown how humble we are, allow me to brag on my wife. I came home from a long day documenting technology in RTP, and Katie treats me to the meal pictured below.

Grown-up dinner for real

This was the menu:

Pan-seared salmon with a homemade Greek yogurt sauce
Haricot verts
Roasted potatoes with seasonal herbs
Sparkling white wine
Double fudge brownies with Mayfield ice cream (not pictured)

So, just in case Katie isn’t an early frontrunner for 2009 mother of the year, consider this a nomination. Three cheers for the cook:

Hip hip hooray!

Hip hop hooray!

Nana, Judy, and a gaggle of Watsons

February 8, 2009 in event, family | Tags: baby, family, video | Leave a comment

Nana was with us last weekend, and she brought Burns family relafriend Judy Hall along for the ride. For those who might not know, a relafriend is a friend who is treated by a family as their relative (did Shannon Martin coin this term?). Nana and Judy got in a little late Friday night, but if Nana was tired from a long week of teaching followed by a six-hour drive, it wasn’t obvious when she arrived. I think she got her second wind when she pulled up to our house and saw her granddaughter through the front window. I have to give Nana credit though; as she made her bee-line from the car to the baby, she stopped long enough to give hug Katie and me hello. We all really enjoyed having Judy here too. Unlike the majority of our first-time visitors, she found Baxter and Robah to be more amusing than annoying.

8_jackie_and_nana

8_jackie_and_judy

Last Saturday, Katie, Jackie, Nana, Judy, and I hopped in Nana’s minivan and headed west on I-40. I drove the minivan, which wasn’t nearly as distressing an experience as I thought that it would be ten years ago. I can see why new parents give up form for a functional “living room on wheels” as my friend Jay calls his van. My Aunt Carolyn, and her sons Will and Ryan, hosted all the local Watsons at their house in Burlington. The food was great, and catching up with the 20 or so Watsons in attendance was even better. Jackie met some of her extended family, received several gifts, and sat in between both her grandmothers for awhile that afternoon. I’ve added an assortment of pictures from the day below.

Animals behaving better (toward each other)

January 29, 2009 in family | Tags: dog, home, Raleigh | Leave a comment

We had a great weekend with Nana, and we even introduced Jackie to some of the Watson family at a gathering in Burlington. I’ll post on the weekend events a little later in the week when I have time to go through video and pics. In the meantime, I wanted to give quick propers to Baxter and Robah (so I can look back on this someday soon when they chew up a shoe or dig a big hole).

The baby is really getting settled in, and so are her canine brothers. It’s funny to see how much closer they are now — literally closer, as in their proximity to each other in and around the house, and emotionally closer in terms of their relationship. A couple of months ago, Baxter wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out in the same space as Robah. Now, they often sit side-by-side.

7_brothers_looking_up

I even caught them sunbathing earlier in the week. They reminded me of high-school BFFs checking out the action at the community pool during summer vacation.

7_brothers_looking_out

Aunt Ali visits Raleigh

January 29, 2009 in home | Tags: baby, dog, home, Raleigh, visit | 1 comment

Last Thursday, Alison Saville flew all the way from Denver to visit Jackie and the rest of our household for the weekend (she also attended a wedding in Durham on Saturday). We always enjoy having Aunt Ali around. She didn’t bring Steve, but she did bring kool gifts for the baby and a desire to help out with whatever needed to be done around here.

7_aunt_ali_dinner

We really appreciated the meals she cooked, dishes she washed, groceries she bought, and everything else. She even changed some diapers, fed Jackie the bottle, and accompanied Katie and Jackie on their visit to the pediatrician last Friday. On top of that, she coined the phrase “Beanie Katie” to describe Jackie’s resemblance to her mom. We’ll wait until Jackie is a little older to tell her about her Aunt Ali’s behavior in high school (hehehe). Thanks for coming Alison!

7_aunt_ali_lunch