the Schulz family

Saturday, November 21, 2009

It's Very Safe to Operate

Actually, I didn't have it locked. You have to lock it ...

Thursday, November 19, 2009

New Sleeping Position

I found Jack sleeping like this when I went in to wake him up this morning. He usually cries when he ends up on his tummy. Maybe we have made a breakthrough.

Scamming the Scammers

I enjoyed reading this exchange between a Nigerian scammer and a guy named Benjamin Waters.

"So I decided to sell my Ford Laser, and I listed it on a used car website. I was promptly contacted by a Nigerian scammer who called himself Nicholas Smart (nicholaszx002@yahoo.com). I was feeling bored at the time, so I decided to have a bit of fun with him."

See what he did here.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

5 Things: Our Trip to Bass Pro Shops

We took Ella to Bass Pro Shops in Altoona for her birthday. It was all for her. Really. I don't even like the place. Too much outdoor gear. Here are 5 photos from our trip to the greatest collection of dead animals she has ever seen.

New Blog Header

RSS readers may be interested in seeing our new (temporary) blog header:

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Ella @ 24 Months

speaks clearly about 90% of the time
loves to sing songs such as "Twinkle Twinkle", "Jesus Loves Me", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "ABCD", "I Love You" by Barney, The Cleanup Song, etc.
Can count to 10 and counts objects
she uses 4-6 words sentences
she talks about herself such as: "Ella's coat is red"
we can carry on simple conversations with her
she can name the color red (we are still working on naming all the other colors correctly)
she is starting to recognize letters and can recognize the letters in her own name
jumps with both feet
can easily go up and down stairs one foot at a time like a big girl
toilet trained during the day (still hasn't perfected going #2)
recognizes the differences between boys and girls
climbs on everything
Has good manners and most of the time says please, thank you, excuse me, bless you and asks people if they are ok when they cough

Jackson @ 7 Months

weighs 19 1/2 lbs
sits very well without support for long periods of time
lunges forward when sitting and usually ends up on his tummy
jabbers/babbles "da da" "ba ba" "nay nay" and I heard him twice say "ma ma"
imitates waving hi
stands by himself while holding onto something
beginning to understand object permanence
passes objects from one hand to another
loves to jump up and down
loves to blow bubbles with all the extra saliva in his mouth (no teeth yet though)
imitates the sign for "all done"
loves to give hugs and sucks/kisses faces
shakes his head no (just because he likes the feeling)
nurses 4 times a day with 3 meals of baby food and oatmeal
sleeps 12 hours at night and takes two, two hour naps a day
he loves his sissy (when she gets close to him he always grabs her hair)
his daddy can make him giggle very hard
he is such a smiley and easy going baby

Birthday Breakfast

We have a tradition of celebrating Ella's birthday with a big breakfast (see last year). We were happy that G & G Schulz could join us this time.

What's Wrong with this Photo?

from the birthday party...

Thanks Grandma Sue!

for the cake and quilt.

Birthday Photos

Monday, November 16, 2009

5 Things: Auto-Tune

Heard of Auto-Tune? via Wikipedia,

Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed many musical artists to produce more precisely tuned recordings.

The topic of auto-tune has been finding its way into some recent conversations with Melissa. So here are 5 auto-tune videos that will lighten up your day:

1.Obama auto-tuned

2. TK McKamy and niece auto-tuned
(Melissa, Ella, and I really enjoyed this one).

Auto Tuned The Niece from TK McKamy on Vimeo.

3. Charlie Bit Me (Auto-tuned)

The last two videos need 5 points of explanation.

I really wasn't going to waste anyone's time by posting this (first) video.
Then someone creatively applied some much-needed auto-tune to the original.
The video features Shane Lee. He's going to sing 5 "oftaves" (octaves) on the piano for you.
He's closing in on 1 million views. Unbelievable.
If Josh Milton had a twin ... it would be Shane Lee.

4. ~~Josh Milton~~ Shane Lee Sings 5 Octaves

5. ~~Josh Milton~~ Shane Lee Sings 5 Octaves (Auto-tuned)

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Ella Turning Two

Ella turns two on Monday, November 16, 2009.
Here are some highlights from the last year.

Ella Turning Two from TMS on Vimeo

(RSS subscribers may need to click through to view the video)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Birthday Weekend

Ella's birthday is Monday, but we're having her big party on Sunday night. We'll post the video recap of her second year of life soon. Until then, enjoy some memories from her first year...

Ella's First Year from TMS on Vimeo.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Ella & Michael

I enjoyed a nice lunch today with Michelle & Micheal Sage. We snapped a few photos of Ella & Micheal because we think they look like brother & sister. Ella is only 5 months older than him.