Benjamin Richard

Hi everyone! We are proud to announce the arrival of Benjamin Richard. He was born at 9:28am this morning, weighing 7 pounds 9.3 ounces and 20.5 inches long. He's a good sleeper and a good eater so far. I've posted some photos at the link below. http://www.fleaandcompany.com/Photography/20090320_Ben1/index.html Take care! Don & Tiffany (and Jackie and Ben)

The really long, really overdue update

So life has been a little crazy since the last post at the beginning of December. I really did mean to get an update on here shortly after the start of the new year, but a lot has happened in those short weeks gone by. Don has been better than I and has already updated the photos with several new galleries. To start from where the last post left off:

Russell and Joanna's Wedding in Texas

Jackie was an amazing traveler to Texas and back, just like always. US Airways lost Jackie's carseat and my suitcase with her dress in it on the way to TX, and as my luck would have it, they lost the same bag on my way home. Yep you read it correctly lost bags both ways. Luckily for us the bags were found and delivered to us within just a couple of days each time. 

On to the more exciting portion of the trip, the wedding itself. Jackie was as you know a flower girl and she was fantastic. During the rehearsal she actually performed the task quite well. Jackie was handing the petals from her basket to a few people near the stage. But her performance at the wedding itself was quite cute. She first of all wanted to head down the aisle before all the bridesmaids instead of waiting her turn. Since she wasn't allowed to do that, she ended up carrying her snack trap full of puffs down the aisle instead of her flower basket. She still ended up running down most of the way before stopping to tell her Daddy hello and to hold up the progress of the other children. Savannah, the other flower girl, was a little annoyed when Jackie stopped right in front of her and wouldn't move. After surveying the crowd a bit, Jackie finally made it up the steps of the stage where she roamed throughout the first half of the ceremony. She ate her puffs and smiled and chatted and even pulled on her uncle's leg to try to get him to pick her up. It was a very adorable scene. The last part of the ceremony she sat with her grandparents and behaved as well as can be expected.

We had a nice visit with my family and as best as we can tell Russell and Joanna are now happily married. They have survived the honeymoon on a small boat in the middle of a lake so the rest should be easy, right? Of course the honeymoon probably isn't over for those two yet. And by the way, when's the baby coming?

Christmas with the Foster Clan

Two days after returning home to MA from TX began the family Christmas experience. When we returned on Sunday, Anthony was already up from VA. Mary and her gang came in on Wed. (Christmas eve) and Christmas had officially started, so had 10 people living under one roof with 2 1/2 baths and four bedrooms. Space was a little tight but everyone is still alive and all of us are on speaking terms. So I think it was a success. 

Christmas eve we had a nice family dinner with pasta and seafood in the Italian tradition and tamales in rice and beans in the Texas tradition. After dinner, Don, Jackie, and I went to evening Mass with Anthony. It was nice driving to church with snow along the way. The choir was very nice for the Christmas Eve service and Jackie couldn't resist dancing along with the music. When the music is playing Jackie has got to groove. By the time we arrived back home on the house had pretty much settled down for the night. It is nice to enter a peaceful house after a reflective Christmas Mass.

Charlie woke everyone up for Christmas morning and he gave us all a nice gift by not getting up at 5 am. Present time was a little chaotic just because of the sheer number of people all gathered into a single room already filled by the tree and presents. It was difficult to watch everyone opening presents because there was so much activity, but it was a nice family time spent together and no one opened the wrong gifts. 

The week of Christmas was a nice time spent with family and three young children enjoying each other. Jackie is so cute with her cousins running around the house together.

Life since Christmas

Life since Christmas has been a bit of a blur. It has taken over a month for me just to get this update typed and posted. I started to write in the beginning of January and it is now the beginning of March. Some of the delay in getting this post up is that in the middle of January we moved Jackie into the room with the computer. So nap time, when I used to write posts, is no longer a good time to update everyone since Jackie is trying to sleep. She is doing very well in a room by herself and only woke up in the middle of the night the first couple of nights she slept alone. Now she sleeps a solid 10 to 11 hours each night. And I still get at least one good nap time in a day. Lets hope that survives the new baby disrupting her life.

Jackie is still the little dancing queen. She is still dancing at church and to pretty much any music that itches her need to groove. And she has some pretty fancy moves these days, she just keeps refining her style. Don is working on getting the video uploaded to his computer so he can begin editing and posting it to the site. There are some nice clops of Jackie's dancing he will put together for everyone's enjoyment. We'll let you know when he gets it up, but it probably won't be until after the baby is born. 

As for the little baby, things are still going well. I have fallen three times this pregnancy and been ok each time. It is pretty amazing though that the baby hasn't gotten tired of the bumpy ride yet. We keep thinking this baby is going to come anytime now, but it seems to want to come closer to its due date and make sure mama has plenty of time to get everything done. Well after I post this, everything I wanted to get done will be done. And since the little baby didn't come with the snow storm last weekend, it would be nice if it would come with the 60 degree temps this weekend. I am tired of being pregnant; I did the math and I have been pregnant nearly 20 months of the last 28 months. That is well over half and I want to have my body back to me.

We will let everyone know as soon as possible all the details of the little baby's entrance to the world. That is if the little baby ever decides to show us its pretty baby face.

I guess for now that is all I can remember I wanted to update everyone on. Hopefully there will be more exciting news to post soon. And if I get bored before this baby shows up I will post a list of Jackie's words. Until the next post (hopefully it won't be three months from now).

~Tiffany (March 6, 2009)

Finally a new update

So I jinxed myself by saying I had done a  good job at keeping everyone updated. But I am finally here with a new post. Since I last posted we have run into problems with the router here and our website. Basically if we connect through the router we are unable to do anything to the website, even view it. Don has connected directly to the box and put up photos for everyone but I haven't even seen what it looks like. I am still able to update the  blog through Blogger which seems to still function correctly. So on to the updates.

Thanksgiving was nice. There was a big crowd here although not as big as the crowd will be for Christmas. The food was good and the company nice. It was basically the traditional Thanksgiving feast so not too much to say about it. Anthony came up from DC and it was nice to spend time with him. Jackie definitely taught him a few new games. She had a blast playing with him and he was a great uncle and went along with all her tossing, and him picking up, of her stacking cups. I think she will really enjoy spending time with him again at Christmas.

Since Thanksgiving, life has been a bit of a rush. With Russell getting married the week before Christmas, all our preparations and December appointments had to be made before Jackie and I leave for TX on Saturday. Thus a crazy first half of December with this week being the worst. Jackie and I had to finish the last bit of Christmas shopping, which we did today. Then everything needed to be gift wrapped, which I spent some of the last two weeks accomplishing. Laundry has to be done, Jackie needed a flu booster shot (she got it today and did her brave; there were very little tears), I have a doctors appt. tomorrow for the little baby and Don's work Christmas party is Friday evening. In the midst of all these things I have to find time to get organized and packed and we needed to decorate for Christmas. It has been a crazy week already.

Last night we decorated the Christmas tree and Jackie was so excited. She helped Nana put the star garland and the pearl garland on the tree, she was holding onto  the strand and placing it on the lower branches in between little dances of excitement at all the glittery-ness of the garland. She was also draping it on herself and walking around with it. Jackie also helped Don hang her first Christmas ornaments on the tree. And she had fun carrying around Jackie safe (unbreakable) ornaments before they were hung on the tree. Jackie has so much wonder about all the decorations and lights, it is wonderful to see her face all lit up and full of joy. It reminds you of what this season is all truly about. It isn't the gifts or even the decorations but about the joy and wonder we should feel because of the birth of one special child and all he means for Christianity and humanity. It is a great gift to be able to teach Jackie about Christ and for her to teach us about Joy and wonder.

Have a very Merry Christmas with your families and try to focus on what Christmas is truly about. I'll post again the week of Christmas to update everyone on Jackie's Christmas experience.

~Tiffany

Weekly Update

So I guess I am getting pretty good at actually keeping the posts up to date. Maybe I can keep up these weekly installments on our lives. Don worked on photos a little this week and uploaded some to the web Monday night, he just needs to link them in. He is also hoping to get a few more galleries together soon for everyone's enjoyment. 

We spent the weekend with Don's sister and her two kids who made the trip up from NC. It was great to see them and Jackie enjoyed her first truly interactive visit with her cousins. Charlie and Jackie had a lot of fun running up and down the long hall by the kitchen with Kaelin, still a little wobbly on her feet at times, trailing behind. The concept of yours and mine was a little lost on Jackie who thought any cup or food item must be for her and not for the other kids. But they played very well together and Charlie even tried to teach Jackie about sharing toys. It was pretty cute to see a 3 year old telling a 1 year old about sharing especially since the concept was pretty lost on Jackie and Charlie couldn't figure out why she didn't understand. The visit was a bit of a dry run for Christmas when the whole family will be together for the holidays. We just have to keep Jackie taking naps and things should be just fine if not a little chaotic in the best of ways.

Today Jackie and I ventured forth for the third time this week. Having a car is turning out to be quite convenient and I am getting better at finding my way around MA. On Monday Jackie and I went to the outlet mall and did a little shopping. She now has some pretty pink boots to wear when we get the first snow of the year. We also bought her a little outfit for next winter with a cute penguin in honor of her dad. And I found a few more pieces of clothing to help make it through the winter with my basketball belly. Still need to find more pants but I should find some soon. 

Tuesday, Jackie and I had to drive over to my OB in Norwood to get the little baby checked on. It is doing well and has a heart beat around 140-150 bpm. Everything is growing nicely. This afternoon Jackie and I had to head back over to Norwood for an ultrasound of the little baby. One of my tests showed a slightly elevated level of a hormone and they just wanted to check to make sure everything was fine. No worries, the little baby has a nice, strong, perfect spine. But because they couldn't find the reason for the elevated AFP (alpha-fetoprotein) they will continue ultrasounds every four weeks just to check the baby's growth. That means we get new pictures of the little baby once a month. Don should have the pictures up the weekend after each visit but we'll let you know when they get posted. Today we were able to see the little baby in 3-D which is a little odd at first but is pretty neat. We were also told that the baby is a little over 1lbs which is right where it should be.

So I guess that is about all that has been going on in our lives this week. I think the rest of the week will be spent in the pursuit of clean clothes and diapers. Not too exciting. Maybe in the midst of the laundry I will do a little baking. I'm sort of in the mood for something a little sweet.

Until the next post,

~Tiffany and Jackie

Exciting News

So we have a big announcement to make. 

We bought a car!!!!! So that was the big announcement. I guess you might want some details about the car now, right? Well it is a 2009 Toyota Camry. It is a lovely shade of gray which is entitled "Magnetic" by the car company. Does that mean things will start sticking to our car? I think the shade is closer to the color of graphite, a nice medium gray. Jackie likes the view from her carseat and the smooth ride of the car. It is nice and compfy and is probably the first car Jackie will ever drive. She didn't seem too thrilled with that last bit. I took a few pictures of the car yesterday after it was delivered. I will try to have Don put them on the website this weekend along with the anxiously awaited pictures of Jackie at Halloween.

And as for Jackie we had her 15 month check-up on Monday. The doctor said she looked great. By the way this is the same doctor Don had growing-up and he asked me to tell the family "hi."I thought that was kind of neat that he  remembered the Fosters. Jackie is now 21 lbs 7 oz , which is in the 20% and although I don't have her exact height (the nurse didn't tell me, I forgot to ask, and they didn't give me a hand-out with her stats) she is in the 90% for height. So she is nice and tall and her Papa is already talking about a career in basketball. But other than the three shots they gave her, she seemed to like the visit. And she got a cool orange squeaky fish, I only ever got stickers. 

That is all for now. I have another appointment for the new addition on Tuesday and will try to give an update then. 

~Tiffany

Jackie's Trick-or-Treat

Since we haven't given an update in the last month, I thought it was time to fill you in on what life has been like in MA. Jackie has had a blast with all the leaves. She and Don and Papa raked leaves last weekend and she loved playing in the pile raked for her. I missed most of the excitement because Joann and I took a bread baking class at a nearby convent. Let me tell you those were some very earthy-crunchy nuns (and I only met one of them). But we brought home loaves of yummy bread which have been enjoyed by all. 

Besides all the bread baking, I have been getting a head start on holiday baking. So far I have made an apple pie for Thanksgiving and will make one for Christmas this week. That way there is less to do around the holidays and the pies are made with fresh, local, yummy apples we won't be able to find in a month. I also need to make a pie for Dave and Don to eat soon or they might kick me out of the house. ;-) 

As for Jackie's Trick-or-Treat: it went as well as can be expected of a 15 month old. She went as an adorable Starbucks' short cup, which she only sometimes enjoyed wearing. Don should post the pictures this weekend so everyone can see how it turned out. Jackie had a very shortened trick -or-treating experience. She went to visit Nee, she walked across the street to the neighbors there and she had to ask Nana for treats at home. So although short, she was pretty cute on her first outing.

Jackie has also gotten a new puppy since we last updated everyone. It is an adorable little yellow lab and she carries it almost everywhere she goes. She even sleeps with it at night and nap-time. But don't worry, it is stuffed so it tolerates her tossing it to the side when something more important grabs her attention. She is so cute with the little puppy though; she even will take a drink from her water cup and then put it up to the dog so it can have a drink too. 

As you can tell Jackie is as cute as ever. We will try to keep posts coming more regularly. But this is all for now.

~ Tiffany

New Photos

Don spent part of the holiday weekend working on the digital pile of photos from the last several months. He uploaded them last night so they are ready to be enjoyed by all. To find the new pictures, click on the family photos tab under photo gallery. These three sets are just the first of the group, there will be more to come before too long. Also photos of the coming addition will be up shortly. So stay tuned for more updates and more pictures.

New Addition

Just to let all of our fans out there know, who might not have heard yet, we will have a new addition to Flea and Company around mid March. If the doctor's guess is right it will be here on St. Patrick's day and no there will be no naming the addition after the saint. We should have more updates coming soon, including pictures. 

In other exciting news, Don got a job!!!!! He is working for a small pharmaceutical company in Cambridge. He is enjoying the train ride in every day and likes his new boss and the company. They work on RNAi which is nicely explained by PBS "Nova: Science Now" if you follow this link:  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3210/02.html . The company's website also has some information on RNAi at  http://www.alnylam.com/science-technology/index.asp .

We meant to get this important information on the website a few weeks ago but with Don's new job and me and Jackie doing the stay home mom- daughter thing (really I couldn't figure out Don's new blog thing until now) we didn't get it up until now. We do have the new edition of Lightroom so as soon as Don gets a little spare time he will get a photo post up as well.

Welcome to September!

Hello World!

We've all moved up to Massachusetts, and I (Don) am looking for jobs. I decided to finish grad school with a Masters of Science in Pharmacology rather than continue about three more years to finish the PhD, for a variety of personal/family reasons that I can go into later. Regardless, I'm hoping to get a job in the pharmaceutical industry soon! I had a few interviews in the Philly area, but no offers. Since moving to MA, I've had one interview (of which I don't yet know the result). I also got a few more "bites" today, so hopefully those will turn into interviews!

Jackie is doing well, and walking everywhere. Still no words, apart from "mommy"- and "daddy"-sounding words. She was about 20 pounds at her last doctor checkup, about three weeks ago. And she was about 29 inches tall then too!

I've got a lot of photos to post... but unfortunately my trial of Adobe Lightroom 2 just ended, and I can't easily go back to version 1.4 (which I own)... my fault, not Adobe's.

Also, I have video to edit and post.

And unpacking and settling in to do!

I'll post photos when I find $100.

Take care!
Don

Photo galleries updated!

I updated all of the baby photo galleries to the new format.  That means that photos can be downloaded by first right-clicking (or control-clicking for a one-button mouse on a Mac) on the photo and selecting "open in a new window".  Then right-click/control-click on the photo in the new window and save the file.

Also, the photos are larger, so stretch the photo gallery window as large as you can to make them bigger on your screen!