Dallas Zoo

We spent Thanksgiving weekend in Dallas and took a short hike around the zoo. We were a bit disappointed that there were many empty cages and not too much to see. The highlight was a carousel ride at the end of the day.

Pumpkin Patch

For Jason's birthday, we drove out to Elgin to take in some fun fall festivities at a little farm. It started raining right when we arrived, but after chasing some kittens around in a shed and a BBQ lunch, the rain stopped and we were able to check out the animals and pumpkins!

Pumpkin Patch #2

Marin had great fun today with her friends at the YMCA Pumpkin Patch. Notice the sleeveless non-Halloweeny shirt? Yep, it was over 90 degrees today and her cute long-sleeve pumpkin shirt stayed in the closet. As you can see from the smile on her face, her attire didn't matter!

It's surprising that I'm already ONE!

Marin's Latest Tricks

A fun new video of Marin showing off everything she can do, squeezed into ~2 minutes. Enjoy.

Happy Easter!

Two more Easter pics. We couldn't skip Marin's debut with the Easter Bunny!

Happy Easter!

Easter 2009 with Marin. :-)

Marin: Laughs and Kisses

So far, definitely one of our all-time favorites of the Marin videos.

Marin and Family - March 2009

A new slideshow of pictures of Marin from the last month. Enjoy!

6 months old!

Marin is posing with Teddy on her 1/2 birthday!

Marin is busy working on learning to crawl, sitting up by herself, and experimenting with all sorts of fruits and veggies. She's taking more interest in her toys and expresses complete distress if one of them drops or rolls out of ther reach. Overall, she's a very happy, social baby and we couldn't ask for anyone more fun to hang out with at 4 a.m. :)

Happy New Year!
We hope this letter finds you healthy, happy, and snuggled in closely with loved ones. As we update you on our 2008, we’re sure you’ll be happy to see that the tradition of including an educational game continues this year (We even cheated for you and filled in the solution, despite strong objections from the teacher in the family).

7 Across – Before the arrival of the new baby, we decided to tackle a few projects. Jason put a floor down in our attic using enough wood to rebuild the arc (the floor is done, work on the arc is scheduled for 2009). Our new neighbors cast more than a few sideways glances when they saw Jas setting up the circular saw in the driveway shortly after moving in… The Griswolds had arrived! Jas did a great job and now we have a roomy (and incredibly well-reinforced) storage space. And just when the neighbors thought they’d seen the last of “Tool-Man Tim,” Jas (and one of his much more talented friends) pulled out the saw again a couple of months later to build a riser for a second row of seats in our media room. Everything looks great and we’ve heard rumors that AMC Theaters ® is seriously considering a franchise opportunity with us in 2009. :)

4 Down – We were showered with love (and lots of pink) in June during our three baby showers. We had a great time back in Norfolk and Columbus (Nebraska) seeing many family and friends that we hadn’t seen in years! Back in Austin our friends showered us too. Thanks to everyone who helped fill Marin’s closet, dresser drawers, bath tub, and changing table. What an awesome head start into parenthood!

3 Down – Being nine months pregnant is not a fun thing. Being nine months pregnant in Texas in August and being overdue is simply torture! Before we knew it, our due date had come and gone and Jenn was induced a week later. Shortly thereafter, on August 11, baby Marin Marie came kicking and screaming into the world. For those wondering, through an incredible force of will and courage, Dad soldiered through the challenge of childbirth without incident (and 100% naturally, no drugs required!)

5 Down – We found that naming a baby is nearly as hard or harder than childbirth. For Jenn, ten years of teaching took many names out of the running before the first syllable left Jason’s lips. After eliminating the names of all former whiners, criers, nose-pickers, and tattle tales, we stumbled upon “Marin.” Simple, phonetic (for those of you not phonetically inclined, it rhymes with Karen), and best of all, one of the few names on which we both agreed.

2 Down – In the blink of an eye, the stretch marks, swollen ankles, and aching back all vanished from memory when we laid eyes on our sweet baby. Marin is a source of great joy for us and makes us constantly aware of how quickly time passes (and how much we have to learn). Now four months old, she is giggling, enjoying rice cereal, trying to roll over, and best of all, sleeping through the night! You can always check out Marin’s latest exploits (and a few of ours) on our blog: http://cumberlands.blogspot.com/

1 Down – Jas took 2 weeks off to help out and enjoy Marin. He continues to work from home for OpSource, a small “managed hosting” company based in California. Jenn went back to teaching half-time and enjoys her afternoons with Marin at home. She thinks she has the best of both worlds.

8 Across – Parker still continues to be the king of our castle. His duties have expanded beyond napping all day to carefully guarding Marin’s crib (while napping all day). Parker loves his new sister and makes it a point to greet her each day with a wet lick across her face.

6 Across – If recent political activities have you contemplating a run for the border, remember that you’re more than welcome to make a stop in Austin on your way out! :)

We wish you good luck, good health and good cheer throughout 2009!

With love,

Jason, Jenn, and Marin (and Parker too)

Marin's 4-month pictures

Just a couple of pictures of our little bundle of Christmas joy. :-)

Marin's new videos

Here's Marin showing off her new sunglasses.



And below are a few clips of her newfound baby laughs. :)

Marin: 3 months old

Marin turned 3 months old today! Here she is posing with her favorite bear. :-)

Marin's First Halloween

Marin was disguised as a not-so-scary kitty for her first Halloween. We went to a neighborhood block party where Marin (and her eyes) were a big hit!

Marin Meets Her Great-Grandmas

While making the rounds in Nebraska, Marin had the opportunity to meet her great grandmas! Some good snuggle time was had by all! Marin is fortunate to have such neat women in her life.

Marin's First Flight

Here we are at the Austin Airport around 5 a.m. awaiting our first flight with a 10 week old baby. You can clearly see that Marin was up for the challenge! She slept all the way to Dallas, ate a snack at DFW, and continued to saw logs all the way to Omaha.

When we landed in Omaha, a business man across the aisle from us put down his Blackberry with a sigh of relief to tell us we had 'the best baby ever!' Everyone else around us chimed in telling us how thankful they were that we didn't have a "screamer"! Ah shucks, we were flattered.

On the return flight to Austin, Marin decided to scream all the way to our seat as we boarded the plane. We could feel people staring and silently praying that we weren't sitting next to them. Jason nearly broke out in hives as he reminded me what a terrible idea this was to travel with a newborn. Fortunately, the screaming subsided and it was smooth sailing once again all the way home. Whew.

Overall, it was a successful trip and we were so happy Marin got to meet her relatives in Nebraska!

Marin is 2 months old

Marin is all smiles for the camera with her bear! We are amazed how quickly Marin is growing and changing. She'll be heading to Nebraska in about 10 days to meet more of her family. We're hoping the roar of the airplane lulls her into a deep sleep and not a frantic crying spell!