Some Favourite Pictures from 2006

I was looking at some pictures today & decided to post some of the best ones that haven't made it onto the blog. It brings back some great memories of 2006.

Our darling dog, Cody. He's been pushed out a bit since Jack was born but we try to spoil him when we can. He does get told to "move" a lot though, poor little fella.

I'm 8 and a half months pregnant, taking data at the turf plots. Marcela was a student from Chile that worked for me this summer. My boss, John, is on the right. I enjoyed being pregnant so much, I actually miss it!


Jack Craig - one minute old, hanging on to daddy's finger while he gets a bit of oxygen. I saw him and thought "oh my word, look at that chin!"

One of my favourite photos of Jack at 3 days old. I wish I had taken more the first week but we were just too tired and manic. He loved that dummy/binky but he doesn't care for it now.

Fast asleep on the couch after playing naked for a while. I keep thinking "what an awful mum I was, he must have been freezing" - but I think/hope it was warm in the house at the time!

My mum - she was such a trooper for the 6 weeks she was here. Feeding the animals, walking Cody, doing all the housework. Through all that she had a sprained ankle and didn't complain once. She's 70 next week and I really miss her.

Craig's mum Dot and dad, Harry, came to visit and we took them to a party at Lynn and Debbie's house. I love this picture of Harry & Lynn.

Jack and I were playing in the bathroom mirror and I took this picture. He's such a cheery soul.

My best friend Sue's little boy, Noah. He's currently 2 and a half and into everything. He's also quite the dare-devil as you can see!

A Buckeye Game with friends. Brian is very happy because his hat is signed by Laurenitis. I would love to get Jack's number 10 shirt signed by Troy Smith after the championship game.

Craig and I were on the sidelines together for the OSU:Michigan Game. This was taken with my phone camera the minute the game ended and captures the moment perfectly. Makes me want to break out in Carmen Ohio everytime I see this.

Multi-Coloured Monkeys

We went to Matt & Gina's house last night for dinner. As well as a gift card to a local restaurant & the offer to babysit they got Jack a great present that he loves - a huge monkey that's made of squishy material...
Gina is really good with him. He was laughing & babbling for ages on her lap. Hard to believe he's 6 months old on Wednesday. Where has the time gone??

Jack & his monkey. His t-shirt says "mom" with a big red heart around it but it's scrunched up.

Back to Reality

Craig went back to work this morning and I took Jack to day-care so I could get some work done on the house. I'm clearing out & painting the laundry room in the basement. It feels so strange being in the house without Jack - I keep thinking I can hear him crying but I'm just obviously going crazy.

We withdrew Jack from child care - our last day is 26th January. Jack will be going to a good friend of ours, Michelle, who has an 18-month old girl. Michelle used to run a day-care center and she does arts & crafts & stuff so I feel good about it. We'll also be saving about $400 a month!

Jack has started to babble now - da and ma and bab etc. We were trying to get him to say "baba" last night and clear as day he said (wait for it) "BOOBS"! OMG, my son't first word was boobs! Craig was so proud...

Jack's 1st Christmas

Jack woke up at 8am, had sweet potatoes for breakfast then we got all Christmassy! Shame it's raining but it is supposed to snow Boxing Day. We got the Christmas music on, paper hats & got in the mood...

We had a traditional Xmas dinner - including crackers with crap jokes & silly hats. Jack had bananas for the first time & loved them! Our trifle was a huge success! Craig is such a great cook.

We opened all the presents then we went on the phone & web-cams to our families & friends. We all got great presents - too many to mention and I've had a couple of glasses of Baileys so don't want to offend anyone by forgetting to say thanks to someone. Thanks everyone!

A true English lad showing his love for his homeland. Course I would prefer a "Liverpool" bib but it made Craig happy.

Mike, Sue & Maura come to visit. Maura has grown like a bean-pole since we last saw her. She's a great soccer player and fab girl.
Uncle Eric bought him this - I LOVE the caption!

Time for bed after a fun-packed day. Now me & Craig can party all night - woo hoo. Ha ha ha, yeah right. We'll be in bed by 9pm!

Christmas Eve

It's been very warm again today - so warm that Craig wore shorts & t-shirt! Looks like snow might come along on Boxing Day though.

We did some last minute shopping today - Craig wanted brussel sprouts (yuck) and we tried to find a Birds Trifle mix but no joy. We bought all the ingredients though so we are making our own trifle and hoping it tastes okay. We also have a 12-pound turkey so will be eating turkey sandwiches and having turkey curry till March.

We had a lovely phone call off Dennis tonight - we do miss him. We'll probably spend 5 hours on the phone tomorrow ringing friends & family in England. I got horribly homesick today - the Pogues Christmas song came on the radio and it set me off. Strange what makes me homesick!

Jack has come along leaps & bounds, even today seems like! Everything goes in his mouth now (even his feet) so we have to be careful what he grabs. He's rolling all the time and it's impossible to change his nappy in less than 10 minutes. He's babbling & cooing a lot and smiles & laughs. He's also started dropping his toys all the time and loves to see us bend down to pick them up, little bugger.

We are excited about tomorrow - our first Christmas together! Santa'll have a job coming down our fireplace tonight though as we are lighting a fire. Our little lad will be oblivious this year anyway. Merry Christmas everyone!

Milestone ~ Sitting up!

Today our little fella reached a new milestone and can now sit up on his own!

We put the boppy around him in case he fell back and hit his head (paranoid parents) but he doesn't need support now.

I am so proud of him but also sad .... our baby boy is growing so fast!

More Christmas Parties!

It was my Xmas party at work today so I picked Jack up from child care and brought him along. He did great - smiling & laughing and not getting moochy, even though he got tired.

He spent quite a bit of time with my mate, Debbie - as you can see from the picture he enjoyed himself!

Look who else was there! His 2024 prom date - Katy

Weekly Message from Jack

I had my first mini tantrum last night! Mum was trying to change my nappy but I wanted to roll over and chew the edge of the changing table. Man, I tell you - what's the world coming to when a boy can't chew stuff.

I'm talking a lot now - trying to sing songs and tell mummy & daddy all the fun things that I'm thinking. I love it when they swing my upside down, it makes me belly-laugh so hard!

I wish you could all see me in my flying saucer now ~ I go from zero to speedy in no time. If mum puts me in it near the kitchen door, I sneak up behind her and bang it into her heel to make her jump! These things keep me amused.

Will write more over the weekend. Merry Christmas everyone!
Jack xxxx

Tree is up!

Jan came over with some lovely decorations for our tree - Char is currently travelling back from Florida. We got the tree up and decorated and put all the presents underneath. About 90% of the presents are for Jack - all from family & friends in England.

After the tree was up & Jack was snug in bed we had a few drinkies and put the world to rights. Jan stayed over and we all woke up this morning a little worse for wear but nothing a good cup of coffee couldn't fix. Jack was amazed by the tree and gazes lovingly in its direction. We are so excited about spending this Christmas with him.

Today we are going to mooch about the house doing some gardening & housework. Ahhhhh the exciting lives we lead....

Jack's First Christmas Party

It was Jack's first Christmas party at child care this week. It's always nice to see all the kids dressed up and to chat with other mums and dads. Check out his dinosaur t-shirt - very cool.

Our Jack has been poorly again with my head cold. They were offering free babysitting Friday night at his daycare center so Craig and I were excited about going out to eat and then to watch Borat but Jack was too sick so we couldn't leave him. Poor love.

Today we bought a Christmas tree and started getting his presents ready. Our friends Pat & Christina are in town so came by to visit, Gina swung by and so did Mike O' - so a fun day all-in-all!

Jan's coming over tonight to help get the tree decorated and to have a few drinkies with us...

Christmas Lights

As you can see from the picture, right, we put some Christmas lights on our old apple tree. Our neighbours, Pam & Dave, have a huge conifer outside their house that has thousands of lights on it (picture left). It takes Dave about a month to get it ready for Christmas but it's worth it. We have people driving by to see them all the time. Kind of puts ours to shame.....

14 days till Santa comes!

I've been trying to get cards & presents sent out, especially to England. Anyone from England reading this - I hope they get there but they might be a tad late so sorry. I'm usually organised but the little fella keeps me so busy that I've fallen behind.

Not sure what to buy him yet. I saw a great toy today that has music & colours and a hammer so he can bash it! It's called a Learning Toolbench by Fisher Price. I think that would be a great gift from mummy & daddy and it's not ungodly expensive. He has a ton of presents from England too. Ohhh, I'm so excited this year!!!

Weekly Message from Jack

So much has happened this week!

Dad set up my high chair and I now sit at the table when we have dinner. Mum puts squishy food on my tray and I get to rub it all over myself and sometimes taste it. I found out that I love green beans - they're scrummy.

I am rolling over all the time and I now sleep on my tummy. Mum keeps coming into my room convinced I'm not breathing but I'm just messing with her. Next I'm going to try and sit up. I kind of do already but it doesn't take much for me to topple over.

It's my Christmas party on Thursday at child care so I'll ask mummy to take lots of pictures..

Ta ta for now peeps.
Jack xxx

Christmas is Coming!

Took Jack to meet Santa on Sunday. He was very chilled and even pulling on the old guys beard at one point! We are really getting into the Christmas spirit this year and are very excited to spend the first one with Jack. He already has a load of presents off family in England. I can see this lad is going to be spoilt.

He goes back to child care tomorrow after being poorly. He's miles better now though - just a cough and bunged up nose to contend with.

It's my work conference the rest of the week. Then in January I'm going to San Antonio, TX and in March to Massachusetts. Craig's not looking forward to single parenthood while I'm away but he's a smashing dad so he'll be fine.

Brrrr, it's got COLD here now and even snow flurries this morning. I'm not ready for an Ohio winter!

Little Red Sleepy Head

Poor Jack got sent home from child care on Wed. afternoon with a fever and can't go back till at least Monday. Doc says he has a chest/lung infection that's pretty bad the first time they get it until their immune system gets going. His temps are around 100-102 which is very scary. Last night he had projectile vomit and trouble breathing. Craig and I are nervous wrecks! Today he seems a bit better and is currently fast asleep in his swing.

It's Craig's birthday tomorrrow! He'll be 37 - time flies by so quick. Can't say what we've got him as he reads this, but he knows we're paying for him to go paint-balling next weekend. Friends are coming over tomorrow night to drink beer & eat pizza. The only other weekend plans are swapping out the upstairs loo - what a lovely thought.

Little Red Head. Well Jack is growing great. He now weight 17lbs,10oz. His hair always looks dark blonde in real-life but in pictures looks red - and so do his eyebrows. Oh no, are we going to have a ginger child??? Only kidding. My nephew Perry has red hair & he's gorgeous!

More later.

Weekly Message from Jack

I've had 4 great days at home with mummy & daddy but I am ready to go back to school tomorrow. I have a cold right now and they keep shoving this thing up my nose to suck out my brains (well thats what it feels like).

I found out that I love sweet potatoes! They are "yammy yummy" - get it??! I'm so funny. I am going to eat solids at school now too. Next I get to try squash and then they are going to make me eat green stuff but I'm on to them.

I love this boppy that Emily & Brian bought for me - I can chew all the cool toys while I lie on it. Next I want one of those bouncy things that hangs from a doorway - I bet I can get up to all kinds of mischief in one of those.

It was Auntie Jenny's birthday today but she is in England so I couldn't celebrate it with her. I'll have to give her loads of kisses next year when we go home for a visit.

Later Peeps.
Jack xxx

Jack's First Thanksgiving

Our friends, Lynn & Debbie, invited us to their home for Thanksgiving today. We had a lovely afternoon of traditional food ~ pork, turkey, corn-bread dressing, pumpkin casserole, corn casserole, green beans, also some Louisiana pumpkin & squash dish that was lovely but I have no idea what it was. Too many sweets to mention.....

We had a lovely time with these friends and it made us feel so at home. I guess that's the whole point of Thanksgiving - thanking your blessings.

Jack is in the All-together

Thanksgiving got off to a great start. Craig and I went to watch Casino Royale yesterday while Jack was in child care. Daniel Craig was FAB as Bond. Pains me to say it but better than Sean Connery- yes, really! We both loved it.

At night we watched "The Break-up" - which I thought was a comedy but it didn't make me laugh and it was a bit too "real" to be enjoyable. If we want to watch 2 people arguing for 2 hours we can just set up a camera at home!

Here's a picture of our lad in the nuddy. He's such a cheery soul.

Weekly Message from Jack

This is a moment caught on camera where mum isn't actually blinding me to death with her flash.
I am rolling all the time now, especially when I'm on my changing table or any other high & dangerous surface. I like to grab all kinds of things too and stuff them in my mouth - fists, toys, blankets, you name it I'll chew it!
Cody keeps licking my head, which is okay but sometimes he has dog-food breath. I'll just have to let him carry on though as I don't want to hurt his doggy feelings. Frank ignores me for now but will soon know who I am when I'm old enough to pull his tail.
Mummy & daddy tried to mask the wall-paper paste by mixing carrots with it tonight but I wasn't fooled and spat it back out. I covered my dad in orange stuff but he saw the funny side.
That's all for now peeps.

First Class Photo

This is Jack's first class photo - how cute is that!

This morning he got up at 4am again (nice) but did go back down till 7.15am after a feed.

He smiles & laughs at me when I go in his room so the little bugger knows how to win me over..

It's Thanksgiving here this week so only in work for 3 days - woo hoo!

Beloved Buckeyes did it!

The Buckeyes Won!
They beat Michigan 42-39 in a nail-biting game that had me praying on the sidelines for the whole last quarter! Craig and I were on the sidelines together & there were 105,708 people there.

At the end of the game, the crowd piled onto the pitch to celebrate (pic left) - we were about half way up on the right (pic right) - phew what a close game - I definitely don't want a repeat of that in a national championship game with Michigan!

Jack was at home - it was our first baby-sitting experience. Debbie & Lynn came over to look after him for what turned out to be 10 hours! - sorry guys. They were joined by Char, Jan, Eric & Dave. They are all Buckeye fans and obviously got excited. They said every time they cheered Jack cried (awww), so Debbie & Lynn took him downstairs to play with him instead. I guess our friends' little girl, Katy reacts the same.

Next for the Buckeyes -will Troy Smith get the Heisman (he better) and who will they play for the National Championship??

Jesus is a Buckeye Fan!

How funny is this!!!!!

All Fired Up

Well, the field is looking good in Ohio Stadium. The rain tarp is coming off as I write this and we should have dry conditions now right through to the game, which is great.

Here's a few pix taken today to show some Buckeye spirit. All the kids at child care had OSU gear on - it was too cute!

John Mott at the intramural fields painted a big Brutus at Fred Beekman Park on Kenny Lane.

I'm so excited I can't concentrate on anything. I even dreamt about the Buckeyes last night.......