Top 52 Photos of 2006, Part 3 of 6

30. This is one of the first times Jack got really dressed up for daycare. Most of what he'd worn up to this point were onesies and sleepers. Tina Kitt got this outfit for his baby shower and we couldn't wait to put it on him. It seems like his personality changed the second he started wearing it. This picture was darker than I like, but it was taken before I learned how to adjust the exposure on the computer through my program. Why didn't I adjust it for this post? I'm lazy, that's why.
29. Aunt Susan took this one of Jack laying on his Boppy on her living room floor. He was so smiley the entire time we were in Des Moines and this picture pretty much sums up his general demeanor during the trip--except during the ride from our town to Gretna. EEK!
28. Camden came over to visit Jack one morning and it was pretty easy to get Da Boyz smiling for this photo. It wasn't staged either; Camden was rolling all over the place, he flopped down beside Jack-Jack and the smilefest promptly began.
27. Totally cliche, but completely cute. And truer than true can be. Daddy should get a bib that says the same thing. Aaaahhhhhh....

26. This is one of the pictures we put on our Christmas card. He wasn't sure what to think when we put him in that poky bucket with all that greenery, so he decided to smile a couple times. It was an interesting photo session for ol' Dad to get some good ones. Usually getting cute ones of this kid is like shooting ducks in a barrel, but he was rather uncooperative this time around.
25. Granny Janny was at the house when this was taken. He was sitting with Mommy just being cute. The sly grin is hilarious and definitely worthy of the Top 25. The sly grin is also funny because Mommy was exhausted and Jack stayed up until 10-10:30 wanting to nurse. Foreshadowing?24. Jack, Nathan and Matthew get together occasionally. This photo was not an easy one to get taken, but Aunt Missy got a good one where the oldest baby wasn't Matt-handling the other two!
23. We totally love his smile in this picture. This was soon after he was born. He was lying with Daddy and smiling like crazy. I think this is when we realized we had a real happy one on our hands. Yay!
22. What a great moment...Jack was inconsolable before Gramps got ahold of him. The bouncy knee did wonders in distracting him from the teething. Either that or he was just plain worn out from crying so much. Whatever the reason for the slumber, we considered it a Thanksgiving miracle. What a good Grandpa too...
21. Sleeping and smiling. Gotta love that baby gas. We like several things about this photo: the dimples, the white legs, the video camera showing how much this kid's life is chronicled thus far. And, of course, the fact that something in his dreams was totally cracking up this little few-weeks old!

Tomorrow we dive headfirst into the TOP 20! Yippee Skippers!

Top 52 Photos of 2006, Part 2 of 6

40. We chose this photo because he was making the best face. It looked like he was really considering something extremely important. Probably whether to poop or not.

39. It's so fun to see these two together. Jack was in such a good mood in Des Moines and Grandpa K really took to him. And vice versa. It's very interesting to see the contrast between the two family members ages too.
38. Grandma Elaine and Jack were hanging out before Thanksgiving din-din. Jack was really hamming it up and this was one of two really cute pictures I took of the two of them in Gramma 'Laine's rocking chair.
37. This was right after Jack was born. Minutes after actually. This picture is funny for several reasons: 1) he looks very unhappy; 2) he looks nothing like Jack Parker; and 3) he has a little blister on his right hand from sucking on it in the womb.
36. Aunt Susan caught this great shot of Jack sitting on Daddy's lap in the sun. The lighting in this picture is so cool.

35. Granny Janny took this picture of us at the Pumpkin Patch. It is probably the only picture taken of all three of us since Jack was born. I love the colors and textures in the picture. Now if we could have only got that boy to look up!
34. The smile on Jack's face in this after-bath photo is just too sweet. It was one of his first baths and he was so smiley after it was over. While it was happening, not so much.
33. This one was taken in his crib while he was watching his brand new Care Bears mobile go 'round and 'round. He was having the time of his life (so far) and this was the best photo of the bunch of them I took. I love the look of wide-eyed wonder on his face. He still loves those Care Bears. This morning, in fact, we could hear him talking to them when he woke up. Yes, he is now in his room at night. When we got back from Grandma 'Laine's we put him in there and it's gone okay. That was a huge step for us, as you all know.
32. This is signature Jack. We sat him on the couch between two pillows. He did the rest.
31. We love this picture for two reasons: 1) Jack looks bored and disaffected. 2) Daddy looks skinny, too, which as you all know is not exactly the case. This was taken by Mommy at the Pumpkin Patch on an October afternoon. We had a great time.

Tomorrow, we'll recap numbers 30-21 for your viewing enjoyment! Don't agree with any of the choices? Let us know! And tell us your favorite of each set of ten.

Leftovers From The Holidays

One big happy family at Aunt Susan's.

Jack playing with the carseat play thingy from Gramps & Grams K.

Jack really liked hanging out in Grandma P's high chair.

Breakin' rules, sittin' in the table, all in a day's work.
Getting tickled by Aunt Sarah on Granny's comfy cardinal blankie.

Top 52 Photos of 2006, Part 1 of 6

Since this is mainly a photo blog, we thought we'd do a recap of the past year and show you the Top 50 Vrbi Photos of 2006. We've posted nearly 500 photos of miscellaneous stuff throughout the past year, so we thought we narrow it down to about 50 and give you the backstories to the photos. Well, we ended up with 52, so deal with it! Plus, there are 52 weeks in a year. Yeah, that's why we did it! Sure...

We'll start off with the bottom 12, numbers 52-41. Enjoy the trip down memory lane, y'all!

52. Jack was just lying there asleep with a monster smile on his face. Chock it up to either gas or bliss, but this photo starts out the Top 52 with a smiley bang!

51. It's a rarity when Mommy will let her picture be taken. Not to mention posted on here! She and Jack were talking and Daddy moved in for the photo op.

50. This photo was of Jack's foray into solid foods. He had been eating strictly cereal and formula bottles until we gave him these carrots. He's never looked back!

49. Always big on the art of the smile, Jack's first few smiles were hilarious. This was a couple months after he was born and he just laid on the boppy on Daddy's lap and hammed it up for the camera.

48. Jack's first bath was crazy but we'll have a photo of that coming up in another section. This particular picture was cute because of the look on his face. He looked at us like "I trust you guys; don't hurt me" and this was one of the first photos that really captured his blue eyes.

47. This was the night of the Vrbi Halloween Bash. Daddy was Larry Bird and Jack was a baby bird. We didn't plan it that way at all...seriously...you're giving us way too much credit if you think that!

46. We like the look on his face in this one and the fact that he's with his favorite toy: Sassy the horse. When Daddy and Jack-Jack bought the horse in Target, Daddy started calling it Sassy because he read it on the package. Turns out it was the name of the toy company. So his drum set is also called Sassy and so is his toy cell phone.

45. This photo pretty well speaks for itself. This was the best one of the bunch when he just made face after face after face.

44. Grandma Peterson was holding him at our house in this photo. He was having a good time with her!

43. And this one was taken on Grandma's porch swing. Whenever all the cousins are together, we make sure to get a group photo. Peyton, Matthew, Nate, Tori, Jack and Luke were all pleased to be getting their photos taken. Much more so than on Thanksgiving. Fo' sho!

42. This picture is so cute. It shows off Jack's blue eyes and the wall his Daddy spent two full days painting for his nursery. That project was a labor of pure love and we're so happy with the result!

41. Jack was hanging out in his Bebe Pod being a little dude. This was a rare moment when he was sitting up in the thing instead of chewing on the yellow part!

Feel free to leave comments and tell us what you think of the list so far. And tell us which one you think should be number one. Stay tuned for the unveiling of numbers 40-31!

Happy Birthday To You!

Okay, since Aunt Heidi refuses to let us photograph her for some reason (she's a vampire); we had to make do with photos of two other famous people who share her name and some weird logo from Sweden to serve as pictures of her for the site. I looked in my files, but can't find a picture anywhere!

Tomorrow (January 7) is her birthday, and we want to wish her a great one. Happy birthday Heidi! Be ready for a photo next time we're around!

Love, The Vrbi

Tori In Action

Thanks to the fine folks at the Wauneta Breeze (Gina, Tina, Kerry), we have this photo of Tori (#35) duking it out against some Hayes Center girls a few weeks ago. As a freshman, Tori's seen quite a lot of varsity action this year, and the team is doing quite well. Keep working hard, Tori!

Snowed In...Away

Aunt Sarah, that tickles!
Peyton, Tori and Jack have a discussion about lollipops...or somethin'...
I looked at this picture forever until I finally realized why I love it so much (besides the fact that it is adorable). Both of these kids' smiles exactly match their respective daddies' smiles at the same age. It's uncanny! Peyton and Sarah help Gramma 'Laine wash dishes after another delicious meal.
Just chillin' at Grannie's house.
I'm the only one in the house right now that can get away with sitting on the table. Boo-ya!
Tori, how much you benchin'?
Peyton, Grammy Tami and Jack-Jack.
Peyton, Tori and Jack
Aunt Sarah helps me onto my feet.

Jack started eating Stage 2 Foods this week. These are just green beans he's enjoying, but he also enjoyed chicken and apples and other assorted yumminess.
Funny story: We got home tonight and Jack ate some Cherry Vanilla Pudding a la Gerber 2nd Foods, and loved it more than anything he's ever eaten. After he got done, he was demanding more, so we decided to try some Gerber Turkey with Gravy. Opening the jar, the stench resembled that of Fancy Feast, but we gave it a try. Three bites into it, Jack gagged his spoonful down, coughed forcefully and puked up everything he had just eaten. We stopped feeding at that point.
How is it possible that this child get any cuter? It keeps hap'nin' though!
And those blue eyes...
Me and my funny sox on the dining room table!

We had an fun and interesting post-Christmas experience. After we got back from Des Moines and got the water problem fixed (it was a wire on the pump), we loaded up in the car and headed to Palisade to see the other side of the family. The day after we arrived, a major blizzard came through and we were stranded at Great Grandma Elaine's house. Fortunately, we couldn't think of a better bunch of folks to be stranded with! Joe, Sarah and Peyton were right across the street, so we spent a lot of time with them, and we played plenty of board games, card games and, of course, dominoes! Great Grandma made a lot of delicious food and she always treats us like royalty, so we just enjoyed our extended stay! Grandma Tami and Grandpa Jerry were over frequently, as well as Heidi and Tori, but we didn't get to see enough of the other boy cousins. They were under the weather so they stayed at home to get better...

The roads were too messy on Sunday when we tried to get back, so we got as far as McCook and dropped by to spend the night with Granny Janny on New Year's Eve! None of us three made it up until midnight, but Granny Janny and Rick made it. We took off early today and the roads were somewhat cruddy until we got to Elwood. The rest of the journey was smooth though! Yay!

As always, it's great to be back home, but we had a great time! Daddy's back just in time to start his new gig tomorrow, and fortunately he doesn't have to drive to Lincoln for federal jury duty this week. We'll see about next week though...

Stay tuned for information about the Dave & Amy Challenge!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! from the Vrbi

New Friend/Relative!

We just got word today that our friends, Justin and Cricket just had another baby! (Justin was a groomsman at our wedding.) Here's the scoop from the proud papa:
"Cricket, Sawyer and I received the best Christmas gift imaginable this year... a beautiful baby girl. Kiera Dee (pronounced keer-uh) was born at 1:05 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 23. For all you statisticians, she weighed 8 pounds, 1.5 ounces and was 20 inches long. Cricket and Kiera are both doing great, and even made it home for Christmas Eve just 36 hours or so after delivery. Sawyer keeps commenting about how "cute" and "pretty" she is. Of course, her parents couldn't agree more. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Love, Justin and Fam"

Congrats to Justin, Cricket, Sawyer and Kiera!

From the Vrbi