Jethro's World

Emily's daycare provider, Ericka, has two young children of her own, Lili and Josiah. Lili had a tea party last week, and Ericka got a few photos (click to enlarge).

The whole gang. :-)

Posted by Jeff at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Click on Image to Enlarge

"Take a picture of me and tell papa that this is what I want for Christmas!" Hopefully by the time she's 16 she'll be willing to drive something a little less pricey than a pink Escalade. :-)

Posted by Jeff at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by Jeff at 6:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Emily's tumbling class had a recital last week. Here's a compilation of a few clips -- my digital camera went out of focus for the best runs, so this is all I have left. Then, before Em could do somersaults, the music ended and she had to wave goodbye. In case you can't tell by the poor video quality (and the poor operator technique), Emily is the one in pig tails. :-)

Posted by Jeff at 4:46 PM | Permalink

Emily is taking tap dance. I was able to go to her lesson today, and it was as cute as could be...

I'll post more later as she improves... :-)

Posted by Jeff at 8:46 AM | Permalink

This past weekend's weather was absolutely positively drop-dead gorgeous.

Saturday brought a few thin, high clouds and a temp right around 70, which made it perfect for getting the yard whipped into shape. We awoke Sunday to perfectly clear blues skies that beckoned one and all to the out-of-doors... and it just so happened that our friends Paul & Pam had invited us to do a little 'family fishing' down at a pond on one of Paul's nurseries. Here is the mayhem that ensued (in glorious 78 degree sunshine)...

Dustin and Noah.

Pam and Emily.

PJ and Courtney.

Paul and one of the little fish that got released. Em helped reel this one in.

It's hard to think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon... thanks Paul, Pam, Dustin, PJ and Courtney! :-)

Posted by Jeff at 9:30 PM | Permalink

My mom sent home Emily's birthday present a few days early, and Miss Em just couldn't wait to open it...

The 'puppy shirt' and tea set were both part of the gift.

The weather today was absolutely gorgeous -- 59 degrees and sunny -- so Emily wanted to have her tea party outside. We brewed some iced tea and served iced animal cookies for the crumpets. She was quite the gracious little hostess, and made sure that I had all the tea and crumpets I needed. I think she had fun. :-)

Thank you Grandma Sue!

Posted by Jeff at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

From our little family to yours... Merry Christmas everyone!

Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Noah with the latest addition to his train collection.

Emily with the latest additions to her kitchen collection.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

Luke 2:10-11

Posted by Jeff at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Putting the antique sled to use.

Fun in the back yard. [Click this one to enlarge]

Little Miss Snow Bunny.

Not everyone enjoyed the snow.

Taking a break from playing in the snow.

Canada came to visit, and now it won't leave! Portland got hit by a pretty big snow storm this weekend. Saturday brought 6 to 12 inches to most of the Portland area, and 2" to the banana belt of Molalla. Saturday night brought 1/2" of freezing rain before it turned back to snow again. We got 2" of snow in Molalla last night, and another 5" today -- it's been snowing all day today!

We have over 12" total at the box factory, which we tried to keep cleared off the concrete today, but it just kept falling. I went down to my mom's to do a few things for her, and I got stuck while backing out. Luckily I had a snow shovel with me, and was able to dig myself out. I sent the guys home at 1:00 PM because one of them had to leave anyways, and because running the forklift was becoming an exercise in futility.

We did manage to get a set of chains for the truck, but did not run it on a delivery today -- just got them fitted and ready to go. We will wait until tomorrow when the visibility is better. If this is any indication of what the rest of the winter is going to be like, I may need to get my own set of chains for my pickup -- as much as I hate to resort to such measures. My pickup did good most of the day, but it wasn't much fun having my back end slide around with traffic coming the other way -- 4-wheel-drive traffic that seemed to think they could still do the speed limit in 6" of fresh snow.

The snow is beautiful, but I just wish we could shut the box factory down for the week so we could actually enjoy it. Oh well, such is life...

Posted by Jeff at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

...unfortunately it was in weather form only. Still, the snow falling early Sunday morning was absolutely beautiful, and watching the kids' excitement was even better. :-)

I got up at 7:00 Sunday morning and looked out the window to find big flakes falling on the already dusted grass. I climbed back in bed and debated whether or not to wake the kids, but decided to wait and see how long it would take them to notice. At about 7:30 we heard quite the commotion from Noah's room, and he came and jumped on our bed exclaiming, "It's snowing! It's snowing!" He immediately ran to wake up his sister and they danced around excitedly together as the snow continued to fall.

We had just finished our toast & jam & coffee when we received the call that church had been canceled -- it seems as though the steep entry into the parking lot was pretty slick, and the elders didn't want to take any chances. Woo-hoo! We worshiped the Lord in our own way out in the front yard instead, and we even had a visit from the Associate Pastor -- she was delivering an apple pie as a thank you for my part in helping make improvements to the church's A/V system. It didn't feel right to hog the whole pie ourselves, so we invited some neighborhood friends over for coffee... in true Canadian fashion -- the pie was delicious. :-)

Unfortunately the temperature warmed to 37 degrees, and the snow all melted before the arctic front finally moved to the south of us and the NE wind kicked up. This sent us into the deep freeze, where we will stay until Wednesday or so. Steph absolutely loves this weather because it reminds her of home, but I could use a little bit less wind with my clear, cold days. :-)

The forecasters are calling for more wintry weather later this week... we'll see if it comes true or not.

Posted by Jeff at 5:55 PM | Permalink

Emily just finished her first session of Swimming Lessons...

"Parent and me" swimming lessons.

Steph first enrolled Em in the 3-year-old class, but it was clear that she was not ready for that level of skill (or independence) -- she pretty much cried the whole time. Luckily we were able to switch her to the 'Parent and me' class, and she did much better, and completed the class. Way to go Em! :-)

Posted by Jeff at 10:58 AM | Permalink

Emily loves putting things on her head -- hats, scarves, blankets, buckets, whatever -- if she could put a lamp-shade on her head she would. She's just a ham... :-)

Pastry chef in training...

Isn't this what the Mr. Potato Head bucket is for?

Princess Turtle... any good ham knows to wear the hat wrong whenever possible.

Posted by Jeff at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The kids got all dressed up last night and went around begging for candy. I boycott the holiday (which I will not mention), but I did end up putting a good 6 hours into Noah's costume. I was going to make Steph do it, but once I started on it, I just had to see the project through to the end...

R2D2 from Star Wars -- Noah helped make the 'dome'.

Raggedy Em :-) This was Steph's handiwork.

We hit up a few friends in our neighborhood, David & Ericka's house, my mom's house, and then went to a party at Joel & Julie's house, where the kids did a little more door-to-door candy begging. Julie had dinner to eat at her house, but all our kids ate last night was candy... and it showed by the time bedtime came around.

This kids looked cute in their costumes, but I'm all for abolishment of this 'holiday'.

Posted by Jeff at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Now that Steph is cleared to return to normal life until next summer (when they will do another scan), it's time to turn back to the other important people in my life. The weather lately has been absolutely gorgeous, and the Fall colors especially vibrant this year -- all this combined means it's time to take some pictures (click on photos to enlarge):

Noah with his new favorite toy. (Photo by Ruth Swartzendruber)

Emily enjoying the weather. (Photo by Ericka Gingerich)

Noah, Lili and Emily. :-) (Photo by Ericka Gingerich)

The photo of Noah was taken at my cousin Ben's place on Saturday. The other two were taken by Ericka, our two-day-a-week daycare provider. Her daughter Liliana is the one in the middle on the last photo -- the kids had a blast diving in the leaves. :-)

Posted by Jeff at 4:31 PM | Permalink

Click for larger images...

My silly blue-eyed girl. :-)

Noah and Em sharing the blue chair... a very rare occurrence.

Emily relaxing in the back yard.

Posted by Jeff at 9:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

When I get home from work, Emily always greets me with a big, warm, snuggly hug and tells me, "I lud you, Papa". :-)

Posted by Jeff at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sure, she can be cute and cuddly, but most of the time she's...

...a complete ham! She's ornery and feisty and every bit as stubborn as her mother (if that's possible), but she's sure got her Papa's sense of humor -- which she and I find to be quite hilarious, thank you! :-) She can be a bit of a drama queen at times, but she's still my little baby girl... and now she's a two-year-old drama queen, so watch out!

Happy Birthday Little Em!

Posted by Jeff at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Emily, who was hamming it up for the camera, strikes a serious pose (photo by Noah).

Posted by Jeff at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Our friends Sabino & Kim celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary yesterday. Noah had wanted Antonio & Diego to come over anyway, so they just threw Isabel in with the deal and went out for lunch.

I wasn't here, but Steph said all the kids had a great time...

Emily actually sharing a chair with Isa? I don't believe it... Em never shares!


Diego, Noah, and Antonio... trains and race cars... trains and race cars... :-)

Posted by Jeff at 8:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Emily is finally starting to say a few words... and not just animal sounds! :-)

For a few months now, If you would ask Em, "What does a dog say?" she would respond with, "Woof. Woof." Just recently she has added, "Yeowww." to her repertoire (when asked what a cat says). I figured duck, cow and monkey were next, so I've been working on those animals with her...

Well, today after work I asked her, "Who's that?" as I pointed to her. Her response was a very clear, "Sissy". At that point I realized she had tried to say it the other day, too; but I thought she was trying to say, "silly" -- as I often tell her that she's silly (and she is :-). I had kind of forgotten that we really do call her, "Sissy" (short for 'Sister') quite often.

She also said, "What's that?" very clearly today. She has been pointing at things and saying an unintelligible word that sounds like, "whatzzzt"; with a definite 'question mark' at the end of it... and today she said it loud and clear.

Yay! Our little Em is going to speak after all... I just hope she doesn't become too much of a chatter-box. :-)

Posted by Jeff at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by Jeff at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

by Emily Roth (no relation to Emily Post)


Start with a bowl of Macaroni & Cheese ('Kraft Dinner' for the Canadians)...

Posted by Jeff at 7:37 PM | Permalink

I did not manage to get any good photos from Emily's 1st birthday party, but my mom did. If you would like to see the photos, please click on the following link: Suzanne R's Life

"What a pretty light... I think I'll try to touch it."

Posted by Jeff at 9:55 AM | Permalink

Can you believe it? One year ago today my sweet little baby girl made her grand entrance into the world...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE EM!

Posted by Jeff at 9:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Emily is officially walking...

Em walking to her Papa... :-)

Miss Em has gone from a few steps to full blown walking in a hurry. She still moves pretty slow, but she is gaining confidence every day. She can walk all the way from her room, down the hall, and into the kitchen with out ever touching a wall.

My favorite part about her walking is that she likes to walk towards me with arms (and mouth) wide open and give me a big hug. It makes up for all the late nights I've been staying up with her while she's teething.

Posted by Jeff at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Little Miss Emily officially took her first steps the other night. I wouldn't say that she is walking, but she is definitely doing more than just surfing furniture.

Sunday night was the first time she actually let go of furniture and took a few steps to another piece of furniture. In this case, it was from the side of the coffee table to the couch (where Mama was sitting). Since, then she has become braver and braver. She is even doing a good job of walking down the hallway holding on to nothing but my index finger.

Last night, she even let go of everything and walked out into open space for about three steps before deciding she was in over her head... so she just sat down. It's just a matter of time before she is walking all over the place... God help us all!

This photo has nothing to do with walking, but I think it's cute...

Em with a scraped up nose.

Posted by Jeff at 8:56 AM | Permalink

Emily is beginning to get very mobile. While she does often end up in crawl position, she hasn't officially learned to move forward... yet. At this point she is happy rolling -- and she is pretty good at getting where she wants to go, too. It's just a matter of time before she figures out how to crawl -- and then Lord help us all!

"I'm coming to get you, Papa!"


My sweet little baby girl. :-)

Posted by Jeff at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So I'm a little late getting this posted... big deal! For Little Ems 6 month post, I thought I would just put up a few pictures...

'Half Birthday' cake from Cutsforth's Thriftway


Emily gets her first taste of sugar... and loves it!

I wish I could wake up looking so chipper...


Like mother like daughter... yes, that is a toothbrush. :-)

Posted by Jeff at 9:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Emily with her prizes

That's right. This morning we headed into the fair because we were just sure little Em was the cutest baby around. Steph claims that I wouldn't let her enter Noah into the same contest a few years back; so I guess that means I've softened my stance a bit, eh? Or maybe it's just because Noah and I could go check out the sights while Steph and Emily looked pretty... :-)

It looked like we were going to be shut out of the prizes there for a while, but miss Em managed to come up with two blue ribbons right at the end. She probably would have taken the prettiest smile category, too; but she got a little pooped out (literally) while waiting in line for the judging of that category - which came at the very end, when all the babies were a little pooped out (figuratively). Steph quickly changed her diaper and made it to the judges just in time to at least win the longest hair ribbon (which was judged at the same time).

Emily won a couple of receiving blankets for Longest Hair, and she won the beautiful little hand-made quilt (that she's sitting on in the picture) for the Bluest Eyes category. All-in-all, it was pretty fun!

Posted by Jeff at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

It's fun watching Noah and Emily interact with each other... they really are very cute together...

:-) :-) :-)

Posted by Jeff at 11:59 PM | Permalink

We had a special request from Grandma Sandy (who lives in the great white north) for more pictures of Little Miss Emily -- the little girl that takes up the rest of our free time (see the previous two entries for our other time consumers ;-)

Emily with the big red bear. (May 18th)


In the backyard with Noah's old shades on


Next to the bear on May 25th -- 3 months old :-)


And from tonight... she just didn't want to smile!

Posted by Jeff at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

It's so much fun having your little girl give you a big, cheezy smile. Miss Emily has been doing that quite a bit lately, but I'm usually so mesmerized by her that I forget to take any pictures. Well, I tried to get some shots yesterday afternoon, with limited success...

Posted by Jeff at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

We are trying to get a good photo for Emily's Birth Announcement, so we had a little photo shoot today. We're still not sure we've found the photo, but here are a few taken during the session...

Photos by Steph:

Photos by Jeff:

Posted by Jeff at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Noah and 'baby sister' hanging out with Papa on the couch. :-)

Posted by Jeff at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Emily got a visit from her Great Grandma Louise (G.G.) on Monday...

Posted by Jeff at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

My Aunt Virginia asked the following question in the 'Little People' comments section: "Does Emily look as much like her Mom as Noah looks like his Papa?"

I will skip the one-thousand word entry and just post this photo... you make the call. :-)

Steph at a very young age (6 weeks).

Posted by Jeff at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Noah thinks his baby sister is pretty neat.

Noah and Daphne in awe of all that hair... :-)

Noah and Emily spending some quality time together... at home. :-)

Posted by Jeff at 9:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

We are pleased to announce the arrival of 'little sister', Emily Lenae. She was born February 23rd, at 9:08 AM, and weighed 7lbs, 13oz -- she was 20.5" long. Noah and I need to get back to the hospital, so here are some quick photos:

Mama and baby... it doesn't get any better than this... :-)

Emily Lenae Roth, 1 hr old.

Contentment is a full belly... :-)

The proud papa.

You can find another write-up at JD's site: foldedspace.org, and more photos at my mom's site: Suzanne R's Life.

Thank you all for your prayers, we are really enjoying our little blessing.

Posted by Jeff at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)