The (pdx) Denison Family Blog

Jasmine is 2!!??!!

2011-01-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

Wow... I can't believe it has been over six months since I last posted something. I knew time was flying, but that really puts things into perspective.

So...we got ourselves an HD camcorder for Christmas and I had some fun playing around with it over the holiday break. To test out the different video editing software that I had available to me, I decided to put together some clips to see which program I preferred. It turns out that I had plenty of shots of Jasmine getting upset with her older brother. Sibling rivalry at its finest, folks:

Jasmine at 20 months...man how time flies!

2010-07-31T08:16:00.001-07:00

Whaaaaaat???? Two posts in as many days? Sure. We're just making up for some lost time. Check out this video of Jasmine showing off some of her talents as a 20 month old girl. Man, is she a cutie or what? Enjoy.

Jiffy Pop Wars, Camping and here we come Rinoville!

2010-07-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

I've been so poor at keeping this blog up to date! I have no excuses. I could very easily have jumped on here and gotten a few updates going. For those of you who actually follow this blog (when I post something) I apologize. I haven't been very considerate have I?

Well, things have been busy since the sun FINALLY came out to visit us here in Oregon. It took a while to get there and we're still having some pretty cold mornings but the warm weather did finally arrive and, since it has, we've done everything we could to get out there and enjoy it.

We've made several visits to various city parks and gotten out of town for some camping. First camp-out was a one night affair in Eastern Oregon at Pine Hollow Lodge. The place reminded us of the set of the movie, Dirty Dancing. Any campground that sports an Arcade doesn't really qualify as "camping" to me, but we did get to have a campfire, sleep in tents and eat grubbin' camp food while spending time with good friends.

The second and third camp experiences were much different. Erika had business to conduct in Boise on a Friday so we loaded up the Sorrento and made the drive to Boise on Thursday. There, we stayed in a Hotel while Erika got her business taken care of. On Friday afternoon we departed Boise for the Fort Boise Wildlife Management Area where Erika and Spencer discovered "roughing it". It was dusty, hot, muggy and an all around inhospitable place but we made the most of it and had some fun! On Saturday, we packed up and moved about 3 hours down I-84 to Hillgard Junction State Park located 10 miles west of LaGrande, OR. What a gorgeous place. Take a look at the following video to see what we did with some of our time there.

We've got more camping adventures, a family reunion and a family vacation all coming in the next three weeks. We'll have more to share then. Hope YOUR Summer is going well!

Where have we been?

2010-02-24T13:16:00.000-08:00

Well, mostly to the doctor. That is, for the last week or so. Just got my super duper antibiotic prescription today. Can't wait till it does it's thing on this ridiculous double ear-sinus infection with side of chest cold. Playing trumpet in this condition could possibly kill a man. I learned this the hard way last night. Anyway, check out Jasmine and I saying hello again:

Happy New Year to ya.

2009-12-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year.

Baby likes to Boogie

2009-12-12T15:55:00.000-08:00

Vlog number 3. Jasmine loves these musical "stress buttons" Erika got for me a while back. She's just a little dancing machine. I caught some on video one day and wanted to share it here. For some reason the right edge is getting chopped off, so I recommend double clicking to watch at youtube.

Jasmine's Birthday Vlog

2009-11-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

Vlog number 2! Featuring Jasmine, Caleb and an unfortunate incident with a Mocha. Enjoy.

The First Time

2009-11-11T15:31:00.000-08:00

For some reason I thought it would be a fun idea to attempt producing a vlog.

It started when I tried to capture Jasmine in one of her funnier states. I took several video clips then realized I needed to stitch them together. The next thing I know, I'm throwing together the random blabbing that I did in between Jasmine clawing at my face and attacking the camera. It took longer than I figured it should to get used to the software, butI kept hacking at it. Wouldn't you know it, I blew almost two hours on this "lesson".

Since I spent so much time on it (sad, isn't it?) I thought I should publish it. Otherwise, it really will have been a waste of time.

Booty Shakin'!

2009-11-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

Jasmine loves the Dragon Tales show on PBS. We record it every day because we get so much mileage out of the show during the day. If she's in a bad mood, this song will cheer her up. She usually has some sort of new dance move to show us in the mornings. This video was taken first thing in the morning, just minutes after she had woken up. It's never to early to dance, I guess!

The Jasmine Show

2009-11-06T16:08:00.001-08:00

Jasmine is growing up quickly. For us, it is easy to overlook how much she changes over such short periods of time. So, we wanted to get a few videos up for family members to check out. Jasmine's 1st birthday is right around the corner on November 22, 2009. Can you believe it?

And then it was fall...

2009-10-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

Wow. Another summer has come and gone. Many lasting memories were made and several blogs went unattended. Were I trying to actually make money with this blog, I'd be in serious trouble. Fortunately, this is more of a family journal.

I've kept busy writing reviews for Digital Trends magazine. Two reviews I published have been quoted by Klipsch and are making it to their website for promo purposes. The Klipsch HDT 500 home theater speaker system and their amazing little ipod dock, the iGroove SXT. Check them out here and here. I also got the chance to audition some AMAZING headphones from Sennheiser. The $1400.00 HD800 headphones are a bit pricey, but I dare say that you get what you pay for. Here's that review. I'll be publishing much more and, as I do, I'll link to them here and at my gadgetdaddy blog (coming soon)

When I'm not writing, I'm usually cooking, cleaning or taking pictures and video of Spencer and Jasmine. I'll share some of those videos here via youtube and will post photos, too.

Good to be back, ya'll!

Jasmine grows up fast!

2009-06-11T09:59:00.001-07:00

Wow! Jasmine is quite the little sprout. She's growing quickly. She's up to 25.5" long, which puts her in the 90-something-eth percentile. For those of you who wait with baited breath for another super cute vid of my daughter (and who ISN'T, really??) Here ya go. Two of them, as a matter of fact.

I should add that while I've always been a fan of Sesame Street (just ask my folks) I've never been a huge Elmo fan. It figures that Jaz would LOVE him. He's red and he talks funny. What's not for a baby to like?

Time to feed the baby...

Belated birthday present packs added surprise

2009-05-06T13:35:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

Had a great birthday weekend capped off with a fantastic birthday BBQ. Thanks to all who participated!

An especially big thank you to my wife Erika and stepson Spencer who went out of their way to make me feel special all weekend long. I hope I can repay the favor soon.

Check out this little clip I just did re: the packaging for the gift my sister Suzanne sent me. Genius! Now, I just need to get Republic of Tea to pay me for endorsing their product. Or at least send me some cools stuff ;-)

Spencer's Poetry Slam

2009-04-23T20:24:00.001-07:00

Hi!

Today, Spencer's first grade class had a Poetry reading. Erika, Jasmine and I all made it down to his classroom where the event was held. They videotaped each reading but what I have here is video taken with our digital camera. It's less than ideal, but it's what I've got.

Oh yeah, that reminds me. It's my birthday on May 1st so, you know, if you wanted to buy me a digital camcorder, that would be sweet.

Anyway. I was extremely impressed with the writing these kids did and, of course, very proud of Spencer. They were tasked with writing observations about objects like shells, marbles and rocks in ways they hadn't experimented with before.

Here's the video followed by a transcript of Spencer's poems (it's tough to hear him). He was so enthused by the project that he wrote two pieces! He was the only one. Good job, Spence!

The Strongest Drill
By Spencer Sullivan

The shell is a drill
Strongest drill in the world

It can go through
Wood, metal, crystal
Anything
Hard to use

It smells like chocolate
Feels hard
Like crystal

The Radio of Light
by Spencer Sullivan

In the radio
Might be an opera
Or my favorite band

It could be
Funky people
Old school people
Rock people

Do you know
What keeps the power going?

Rubber Ducky!

2009-04-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

Well, it was bound to happen. The obligatory "bath" video that I'm sure will embarrass my daughter for years and years. It's rated G ;-)

Warning!!!!: I knock a plastic cup over just a few seconds in and it is LOUD. So, keep that volume low for a second.

Happy Easter Everyone!

2009-04-08T10:59:00.001-07:00

Hey Everybody!

Jasmine and I recorded this video greeting. We miss everyone and hope you're all doing great!

Hi- Ho!

2009-04-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

OK... So I'm pretty sick. I downed some Robitussin and now, despite the product label's claims otherwise, am drowsy. Jasmine is not. In fact, she's got a pretty amazing amount of energy today.
Still, I couldn't pass up the chance to share what I think is a pretty cute video of Jasmine chatting with her Kermit doll. Kermit is actually a bit larger than little Jasmine but, as you will see, she has no problem wildly wielding him about. This is also the most vocal I've seen her to date. "Pretty cute" yawns her sick dad Caleb, "I just wish she would take a nap with me.. or make me some chicken soup or something"

Dig it:

Nom Nom Nom

2009-03-31T12:05:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone...

Jasmine is teething. The oral equivalent of Multnomah Falls began a couple of days ago, quickly followed by the urgent need to chaw on anything she could get her hands on. She's still talking a lot and growing at a quick pace. A once balding head is now full of little hairs. There's some strawberry blonde in there amongst some very brilliant, almost white hairs.

A week or so ago Jasmine managed to roll over from her tummy to her back. She's just now managing to roll from back to tummy. When on her tummy, she tries SO HARD to crawl. You can tell the sweet one wants to be mobile. It's amazing to watch her grow up.

Here's a video of Jaz munching down on a toy whilst working on her core strength. Yes, I'm aware of the dangers of leaving an infant unsecured on a couch, which is why I never leave her side ;-)

Packed Friday

2009-03-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

Dude... Today is going to be seriously busy. First up this morning is Spencer's Jog-a-thon, followed immediately by playdate/sleepover madness that leads into Mom's birthday party hosted here at the house. Kazow! It should be fun.

I wrapped up my speaker review last night and sent it off. Writing reviews is weird. It fits somewhere between more conventional journalism that focuses on facts and an opinion piece. Where the former tends to lack the personality of the writer, the latter tends to lean heavily on witicisms and personal insight. I haven't been so nervous about something I wrote since the 11th Grade of High School. Funny.

Jasmine keeps yapping away and I just can't keep myself from picking up the camera and shooting off videos. If you're interested, here she is having a "chat" with Mom this morning.

For those readers who will be coming over tonight: See you soon!

A Fistfull of Firsts

2009-03-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

Last night Jasmine had her first real laugh. While getting ready for bed, Spencer extemporaneously broke out in some sort of spastic interpretive dance (he's been know to do that from time to time.) Apparently, Jasmine was SO MOVED by the artistic display of spazzitude that she busted out laughing! Unfortunately, I missed the event but you know I have been working the dance moves trying to replicate whatever it was Spencer did to get her laughing. So far, not much luck.

I have recorded a few videos of Jasmine doing her baby talk thing. I know I'm probably one of the few that finds this SO adoreable but, hey, it's my blog and I'll post lots of videos if I wanna!

Here's one of Jasmine playing in her chair:

Another of Jasmine talking to her mobile:

And here's a random video of some squirrels building a nest out in our back yard. I found this pretty fun to watch. Hope it translates well to video. My apologies in advance for the really, really bad Aussie Wildlife Narrator impression:

Writing gig

2009-03-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

So I heard back from Digital Trends and they've decided to have me do a speaker review for them. Sweet!

Ironically, they are having me review a pair of speakers from a company that competes with my former employer. I think this puts me ahead of the game because I'm fairly familiar with them already. They are a fun set of speakers to audition and I'm having a great time gathering data for my review. I'll post the published review as soon as it is up on Digital Trends' site. Werd.

In other news, Jasmine continues to amaze us with her vocal prowess. She's discovered that if she needs something, she doesn't need bust out with the crying. Instead, she starts trying to talk to us. I love it. Anything beats the tears and anguished red face of a baby who doesn't know how to get what they need. Here's a shot of Jaz having a chat with Mom...

Spencer has his Jog-a-thon this week! On Friday, he's going to shoot for 25 laps. To prepare, we have a big breakfast planned with plenty of hydrating liquids leading up to the event. Erika will be volunteering and tallying laps. If you live in the area and can stop by The Madelleine School at 10:30 to cheer them on, please do. The address is 3240 NE 23rd Ave
Portland, OR 97212. We'd love to see you. Also, ff you've already pledged, THANK YOU! If not and you would like to, please give us a call or shoot us an email. Thanks for supporting Spencer and his great school!

"I myself dabbled in pacifism once... not in 'Nam of course" -Walter Sobchak, The Big Lebowski

2009-02-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

Another landmark event! Jasmine started taking a pacifier yesterday, which is a bit of a breakthrough. Previously, she was never interested in a "binky". In fact, she usually acted insulted that we would ever put a piece of faux anatomy in her face. Hey, if there's no food involved, then why should I be interested? Recently, Jasmine has been gnawing at her hand and experimenting with jamming various toys, plastic and otherwise, at her face. She hasn't quite got the hand-eye coordination down just yet, so sometimes those objects hurt when they make contact. Since it seemed obvious that she needed something safe to stick in her mouth, I decided to try a pacifier again. She bit! Literally. Of course, she doesn't know how to hold it or pick it up when it falls out just yet, so I have to be on constant standby to give it back to her lest she start yelling for me.

This experience with pacifiers brings up memories of my parents adding honey to my "kerr" (that's what I called it- wasn't I cute? ;-), which is seriously frowned upon these days. Did they just not have Bochelism back then or did the threat not seem as severe? No... they knew well of Bochelism. I know this for certain because I can recall a certain CHiPs episode where Ponch and John had to save Southern California from a baby food Bochelism threat. At the end, Ponch ended up holding the baby and then she spit up on him. Everyone thought it was hilarious then they did the staggered freeze frame ending that was so popular in the '70s (and awesome!) Would you beleive there is an entire DVD dedicated to those endings? Man I miss that show. Is it on DVD yet? LOL. Here's a quick video of The Sweet Pretty doing her thing.

And here's another sweet video. Not as pretty, though.

Getting in the groove

2009-02-23T08:48:00.000-08:00

I'm surprised that it has taken this long to get into a good writing groove. Ideally, I would post a new blog each weekday with a weekend catch-up, but it is tough to make myself head up the stairs and away from the baby while she's sleeping. I don't like feeling disconnected from her for more than just a few minutes. Maybe I'm an overly concerned parent or maybe I just like having that strong bond with her-like I know how she's feeling based on her noises and movements. Whatever the reason, I've decided that a laptop would solve my issues by allowing me to jump in and blog whenever the urge hit me. I think this would do great things for my creativity as well, which I think is crucial because who wants to read a boring blog? So, if any of you readers have a line on a simple laptop with a built in wireless card, please let a brother know.

Jasmine continues to make remarkable advances in her new life. She's become extremely vocal in the last couple of days. You can tell that she's starting to grasp the concept that she can use the noises that she makes to communicate emotions. She's also figured out that she can control her hands and GRAB things with them! What a cool new trick this seems to be for her.

We're on to 6 month onesies now as the 3 month onesies just don't cut it. I seem to be hearing this same sort of story from other new parents/friends and it makes me wonder if we're just growing 'em bigger these days. If so, it would seem that the clothing designers and manufacturers are a little out of touch with the average baby size. UNLESS, they know exactly what they're doing and they just manage to sell you more clothes that way. Hmmmm..?

More later. I want to tell you about this horrendous TV show I saw the other day. In fact, it has me so riled up that I'm considering starting a sepearate, perhaps ocassionally more R-rated blog just so I can use some expletives to adequately communicate my utter disdain for this show. I'll get back to you on that.

One fine Friday

2009-02-14T11:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was sweet, both figuratively and literally. Spencer got out of school at 11:30 yesterday so I took off to go pick him up at about 11:00. I had to break up Jasmine's slumber to load her in the car seat, then into the Kia (We've got to come up with a name for that car. I'm tired to referring to it as "The Kia"...suggestions appreciated) Somehow, I made it through the 16 minute drive to school, into the schoolhouse for 10 minutes, another 16 minutes back to our neighborhood, through a 20 minute whirlwind shopping trip at Fred Meyer and right up to the self check-out without Jasmine making a PEEP. Not a sound! What a good girl and what a huge blessing that turned out to be. Of course, the second we hit the self check-out, she announced she was done waiting for food and began demanding to be fed in a very loud, vocal manner. Fortunately, I had a bottle handy and Spencer was kind enough to hold it for me while I scanned through. Success!

After some lunch and little clean-up, I decided to bake some bread. Since it is such a hands on process, I asked Spencer to do it with me. I remember the first time I started working in the kitchen with my Mom. The science, the measurement and the creative aspect of baking makes for great little lessons.

The recipe I used made three loaves worth of bread, so I decided one regular loaf, one cinnamon swirl loaf and some cinnamon rolls would be a good plan of attack. Spencer really stepped in and did a great job. He managed the temperature of the milk and water, got the yeast going and helped get it all into the mixer.

With all the ingredients mixed together and kneaded, we let the dough rise. About 45 minutes and 7 games of Wii Fit later, the dough was ready to get punched down.

While that was going, I started to get dinner ready and thought I would share this little steak marinade with you. Take a flat iron, flank or London broil cut, and put it in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Add a cup or two of Florida's Natural Orange Tangerine juice (hey, can I get an endorsement over here?) Add 2-3 tablespoons of chopped garlic, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and some steak seasoning. You really can't beat that stuff, it's got everything you need in it. Let it sit for about an hour and a half for flat iron, 2 hours or so for flank or London broil. Then toss it on the grill and sear the living daylights out of it. The juice adds a hint of sweetness and a acidity to the savory flavor of the steak and, trust me when I tell you, it is the shiznittiest.

Mr. Mom is in the house. Literally.

2009-02-12T10:34:00.000-08:00

Blog Numero Tres

Shame on me! I let a whole two days slip by without a visit. My bad, ya'll.

But I'm back now, and things are great. Jasmine and I have a routine going that seems mutually agreeable. She eats, she smiles, she sleeps and feed her, smile back and work my tail off around the house.

My domestic hormones have kicked into overdrive. Yesterday, I managed to plow my way through about nine loads of laundry, set the stage for cooking dinner, get momentarily distracted by one of the worst sci fi films ever (and, not surprisingly, one of Erika's faves), Armageddon , and wrap up the evening with a nice meal of tangerine chicken, pasta and zuchini. YAYER!!

Jasmine is real gem of a baby girl. Her demeanor is so sweet and affectionate and at a surprisingly young age. Though I have little frame of reference, I'm pretty sure she is the most amazing 3 month old girl that has ever been born. Yeah.. pretty much.

In other news, I've decided I need to bake more bread... you know, in general. Particularly, Cinnamon bread. So I'm about to head off to see about some yeast. I'm pretty sure there is some buried up in my cabinet. Let's create some carbs, ya'll!

That's all I've got right now. Most of my creative juices (of which there are only a few ounces) are tied up with a writing sample I'm creating for a potential writing job with Digital Trends online magazine. Wish me luck!

CD