Rohin will be a big brother!

Well -- it's official, mommy and daddy went over today to the doctor and found out that you are going to be a big brother! The new baby will be coming in late May and will be a _______ -- sorry -- we can't tell everyone till after Christmas!

In other news, you've been very sick this week again with an ear infection (your second one). You spent all day Saturday sleeping on daddy and then spent the last couple days at home with Ammu-ma. Santa clause is coming very soon and you've been a great little boy! All of your grandparents are coming into town to see you open your first presents.

Well -- it's been pretty amazing to see you grow this month our little boy. You have started crawling December 5th and only crawl when there is a computer nearby. You love technology -- cell phones, laptops or anything with electronics. In addition to crawling, you are now even pulling yourself up. One morning, mommy and daddy heard a noise on the baby monitor and mommy came in to find you standing in your crib grabbing the side of the crib rail and banging it back and forth. You love to commnuicate now and continue to say dada a lot! Sometimes you will whispher it and sometimes you will say it loud. You love when someone says dada back to you. You also love to eat solid food now, including broccoli and potatoes. You also love your yogurt and make grunting noises when you want more! Just tonight your daddy and you laughed so hard together. You would grunt while he was feeding you yogurt and dad would grunt back and you would laugh and he would laugh so much. You also seem to love running water and really enjoy your bath time (until we have to take you out). Mommy and daddy will soon find out if you are going to have a little brother or sister (on December 22nd). Mommy and daddy love you so much Rohin!

Our 1st Xmas is Coming!

Well -- it's been pretty amazing to see you grow this month our little boy. You have started crawling December 5th and only crawl when there is a computer nearby. You love technology -- cell phones, laptops or anything with electronics. In addition to crawling, you are now even pulling yourself up. One morning, mommy and daddy heard a noise on the baby monitor and mommy came in to find you standing in your crib grabbing the side of the crib rail and banging it back and forth.


You love to commnuicate now and continue to say dada a lot! Sometimes you will whispher it and sometimes you will say it loud. You love when someone says dada back to you. You also love to eat solid food now, including broccoli and potatoes. You also love your yogurt and make grunting noises when you want more! Just tonight your daddy and you laughed so hard together. You would grunt while he was feeding you yogurt and dad would grunt back and you would laugh and he would laugh so much. You also seem to love running water and really enjoy your bath time (until we have to take you out). Mommy and daddy will soon find out if you are going to have a little brother or sister (on December 22nd). Mommy and daddy love you so much Rohin!

Thanksgiving

We had your first Thanksgiving together with the family, with 31 people. You were such a good boy and even ate some of the turkey and potatoes. We got everyone together the next morning for breakfast and than spent time just relaxing.

First Words!

Well, it's November already and it's been a busy month. Sorry for not posting more regularly. The big news this month is that you said your very first words - DADA. Dad was driving home after picking you up from daycare and heard you say these first words. When we got home that night, you kept saying DADADADA. Now you're saying it all the time. It's very cute!

You've been trying to stand-up more and trying to crawl more as well recently. You are such a wonderful son and always have a smile on your face.

In other news this month, you grandpa and grandma was welcomed into the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher. You spent the evening with your fairy godmother Judy and fairy godfather George!

Your First Halloween!

Well -- it's your first halloween and this year, FCC, your pre-school held a halloween parade! So all of the kids got dressed up - you were a tigger from Winnie the Pooh! Mom, Dad and Dow all came over to see how cute you look. It was such a wonderful day and you had a great time watching all of the people. Mom was dressed up as a baby today and had just came back from work in time to parade with you!

Splish Splash!

Bath time with Rohin! At the last doctor's appointment, you are now over 17lbs and 26" long!

First trip to the zoo!

Today, mommy and daddy spent the whole day with you and we relaxed and went to the Reston ZOO, where you got to feed the lambs, goats, lamas, and swans. You loved the lambs and had so much fun!

Family growth

Well, you're almost 7 months now Rohin! Mommy and daddy cannot believe how big you've grown this year. You love to eat solid foods and don't like milk as much anymore. You love sweet potatoes and applesauce. You trying to talk more now and still have your cute high pitched shrill! You get that from mommy who loves to play with you in that voice. You have so many cute names too -- you're known as Rohin, Rohinder, Tinder, Rohinder Tinder, Bum Bum, Pum Pum, and quite a few other ones.

Unfortunately this week, you're sick with another cold. Last night, you didn't sleep very well and weren't too happy when we got you up this morning. Lately, you've been waking up more often at night and mommy has been letting you fall asleep on her legs at night as she rocks you to sleep. She loves when you sleep on her.

In other big news, you're going to be a big brother soon! Mommy and daddy are expecting a boy or girl to come in May of 2009! We're so excited that you will have a brother or sister to play with and grow with. We love you so much Rohin! You're such a wonderful boy and we're so lucky to have you in our life.

Fall begins!

Well our little boy, fall is here! The biggest news of all is that we found out that soon you will have a brother or sister in May of 2009!

It's been a buy fall so far. You've been in FCC (Federal Children Center) and absolutely love it. They take such good care of you while daddy and mommy work. You're 17lbs now on your 6 month birthday. You smile a lot and laugh for some reason like laugh when we sing the letter "H" in the ABCDs.

On September 14th, we went with ammuma and thatha Pal and went for your first game of golf at the country club in Purvellville. You loved being on the golf cart and had a lot of fun with ammuma who sang to you.

On September 20th, mommy and daddy took you to visit grandpa and grandma Jopp. You had a cold this weekend, but that didn't get in the way of you having a great time!

Great Flood of Sept 6, 2008

Well, today our home, Providence Meadow was underwater! We received a tremendous amount of rain from tropical stom Hanna. It came up the coast and dump 6+ inches of rain in one day. According to your fairy godparents, George and Judy, it's the highest they ever seen the water. We had water on all sides of our house -- it was impassable raging waters. So our house and George / Judy's became an island. Mommy worked today and wanted to get home so badly to see you, that she walked across the water in the back yard to get home! You spent the day with daddy having fun playing and reading! We had so much fun watching all of the water! We also figured out that you like to laugh when I say "meow" in your ear -- you would giggle out loud.

Of course, the Great flood is on top of the Great tree collapse that we had early this summer. So many great things happen in your first year of life little boy!!! First lesson -- life is always an adventure!

Rohin's Lineage - Part III

Well little boy -- time to look at your mother's side of the family. We're going to look at Sandhya's mom's side of the family (Valsala Pal). They are from Kerala in the south of India. They are from the old Cochin state. They were Samanyas and Rigvidens, belonging to Viswamitra Gotra (lineage to sage Viswamitra).

Going far back into the 1800's, your great-great-great Krishnan Namputiri had your great-great grandfather Valia Krishnan Namputiri. He married your great-great grandmother Savitiri Antarjanam.

Your great-great grandfather on great-grandfather’s side was Cheria Krishnan Namputiri (1881) and your great-great grandmother on great-grandfather’s side was Devaki Antarjanam (1889). They were from Rishi Illom in Ayankudi of Vaikom Talik

Your Great—great grandfather on great-grandmother’s side was Pulliat Chandrasekhara Bhattatiri. Your great—great grandmother on great-grandmother’s side was Ayankudi Rishi Illom.

Cheria Krishnan Namputiri and Devaki Antarjanam had your great-grandfather A.M.N. Chakiar (1907) who married your great-grandmother P. Thankamma.

They had your grandmother, Valsala Pal (Chakiar was her maiden name), who married Shivaraj Pal. They had your mommy Sandhya Pal who married your daddy Devin Jopp and had you!

Labor Day Weekend

Well our little boy, you're over 5 months old now and words cannot describe how incrediblely lucky we are to have you in our life. One highlight this month is that you started vegetables and fruits this month. You love sweet peas and applesauce. Not a big fan of squash and carrots. We have had such a busy month so far. You got to spend lots of time with you aunt Savitha this month while mommy and daddy celebrated their anniversary in cape cod.

Grandmom and Grandpa Jopp came over this week and spent lots of time with you. We went one evening out to Clyde's in Reston, where mommy and daddy first met, for lunch and then the next day went to great falls together.

That evening, we had all of the grandparents over along with both of your aunts. It was ammuma's 36th :-) birthday. We had such a great time, but you were a little tired and slept through the dinner but woke up in time to say good night to everyone.

August 10th! First Rollover, Asian Fest, and Best friends!

So the weekend of August 10th has come and is about to go! It was quite a week actually. The big news is that August 8th, you rolled over for the first time at grandma Pal's house while mommy and daddy were working. You did a repeat performance on the morning of August 9th. One minute you're on your back playing and the next minute, you're on your tummy! You continue to get so big and are about 15 lbs at this point. You still love your milk and have a difficult time with solids (rice cereal).

So this weekend, mommy, daddy and grandpa Pal took you over to the Asian Festival in Reston. We had a good time and I have a photo from before we left when you were with grandpa Pal and another with your mommy at the festival.

On Sunday, we had a brunch and you had two of your best friends over -- Jovin and Akhil. Here's a picture with you and Jovin and another one with the three amigos all together, you, Jovin and Akhil.

Update 8/7/2008

Well, things have been so busy, it's been difficult to update the blog recently. On July 29th, you had your first laugh! It was so cute -- come to find out -- you're ticklish under you arms and laugh if someone kisses you there. You also love it when daddy picks you up in the air and brings you close to his face -- you're all smiles.

You're sleeping through the night after mom and dad figured out that you were waking up in the middle of night just for fun :). You go to bed around 8pm and sometimes don't get up until 8am! Daddy had to wake you up so he could go to work yesterday! You love daycare and were in the toddler room the other day (not with the other infants).

That's it for now!

Rohin's Lineage (Part II)

Well -- little boy, we've moved on to looking at your grandmom Maragret's side of the family:

We traced back Maurice Wallace (her father) and it looks like the original Wallace to the U.S. on our family was Thomas Wallace (Thomas' father). He was born in 1877 and immigated tothe US on Mary 31, 1892 from Liverpool, England (but was listed as aresident of Ireland -- city undisclosed. He married Mattie Wallace(also of Ireland), born 1877. They lived in Pittsburg. They had Thomas Wallace (1900) who married Lucy Wallace (1903).

Lucy Wallace's (Whidbee) history:

The earliest we can find of the Whidbee's is a Thomas Nelson Whidbee and a Thomas Nelson Whidbee Jr. from Perquimans county in North Carolina in the 1790 census. It looks like Jr. had a son, Thomas Nelson Whidbee (1803) who married wife named Mary Scarborough (1806). They had John Nelson Whidbee (1837-1886). Wife's name Mary Jane Vandyke (d.o.b.1849). Maiden name listed as Foster. Do not know how authentic the maiden names are.. Have a record of their children being Maude, Nelson, Peale, (spelling) Willoughby B. (nicknamed Whib?), Ezekiel Williams Whidbee (your great-great-great grandfather), Prudence, and Mary Ann (no dates of birth). They were from the Frisco/Salvo/Buxton N.C area. Your great-great-great-grandfather (Ezekiel Williams Whidbee) 5/12/1871-3/16/1922) married Hannah Mariah Vandyke (8/9/1875-9/21/1946). They had your great-great grandmother Lucy Whidbee, who married your great-great grandfather, Thomas L. Wallace in 1918 in Buxton. They had your great-grandfather Maurice Wallace (1922) who married your great-grandmother Margaret Smith (Kochisky). He married Margaret Wallace (your great-grandmom - maiden name smith -- really kochisky), who had Margaret Jopp (married to Harold Jopp Jr), who had Devin Jopp, who married your awesome mom (Sandhya Pal) -- who had you!

We also found out more about your great-grandmom's mother (Margaret Wallace). Her mother was nammed Carrie Smith (actually Kochisky but they changed their name). Her maiden name was Skelly. So here's her lineage:

The six Skelly brother who originally came from Ireland—probablycounty Antrim—included John, Philip (Felix), Hugh (Huey) and Patrick.See: All Surnames in Family Tree on Firstmom's Genealogy Resources &Records. Michael Skelly, who is listed in the 1790 census of Cambria county, Pennsylania, who was born in 1745 and died on November 27,1827 (Ledoux, volume 1, page 168) was probably another of thebrothers. Sources list the county of origin of these Skellys as both county Antrim and county Down.

William Skelly was born in County Antrim, Ireland, and came to Americain 1729, landing at Philadelphia, according to the family record inhis own Bible. He resided there for several years, and then went toBucks County, Pennsylvania. Later, with his wife and children, hesettled near Elk Gap in the Woodcock Valley, in what was then Bedford County. It was probably as early as 1758 that he settled in theWoodcock Valley, as such has been the family tradition. He had three sons—Philip, Hugh and Michael. Both Philip and Hugh were killed at the massacre of Captain William Phillips' Pennsylvania Rangers, near the present Saxton, Bedford County on Sunday July 16, 1780, an account of which massacre is given elsewhere in this booklet, the same being the historical address delivered by the noted Pennsylvania historian andauthor, C. Hale Sipe, as the occasion of the re-interring of the bones of the victims on Sunday, May 18, 1933. J. Simpson Africa, in his History of Blair and Huntingdon Counties, says that the Indians, but does not state the time nor the place, killed Michael. William Skelly,the father of these men died in the Woodcock Valley about the end ofthe Revolutionary War.

Philip Skelly, who was massacred, left a son, Philip Skelly, Jr., whowas often called Felix in order to distinguish him from his father. He was born in Bedford County (in the Woodcock Valley), on December 16,1759. According to Jones' History of the Juniata Valley, Philip(Felix) Skelly and Mrs. Elder, who was his aunt, the wife of WilliamElder, were both captured in May 1780. This was near Cove Station.They were carried to an Indian town on the Allegheny River, familytradition says Kittaning, and later to Ohio. Both were compelled torun the gauntlet. Skelly escaped from his captors somewhere in Ohioand made his way to Fort Pitt. Mrs. Elder was taken to Detroit, whereshe lived in the British garrison in the capacity of a cook. Fromthere she was taken to Montreal where she was exchanged and made herway back to her home by way of Philadelphia. Philip Skelly remained atFort Pitt for about two weeks after arriving there from his escapefrom the Indians. From Fort Pitt he went to Fort Bedford in companywith a band of soldiers going east to join Washington's army, and fromFort Bedford he returned to his mountain home. Upon his arrival athome, he learned the news of the murder of his father (Philip Skelly,Sr.) at the hands of the Indians.

This Philip (Felix) Skelly, Jr., married Margaret McAfee, a residentof the Woodcock Valley, about 1794. A few years after his marriage,he, in company with his brothers and Luke McGuire, Michael McGuire,Daniel Dimond, Michael McAfee, Richard Plummer and several otherneighbors, migrated to the vicinity of the present Munster, CambriaCounty. Shortly after arriving there, he bought a 300 acre farm nearthe present Wilmore, in Summerhill Township. Here he spent theremainder of his days, dying July 2, 1835. He is buried in St.Michael's Catholic Cemetery, Loretto, PA. His wife died on January 11,1851, and is buried in St. Bartholomew's Catholic Cemetery, Wilmore,PA. [See St. Michael Cemetery, Loretto, Allegheny Township, CambriaCounty, Pennsylvania where these entries are found: Skelly, Felix 16Dec 1759– 2 Jul 1835—see Philip Skelly —same dates (LB/K); Skelly,Margaret (McAfee) 12 Jun 1771–11 Jan 1851 w/o Philip (LB/K); Skelly,Mary Ann 19 Jun 1809 19 Mar 1886 (K). See also Margaret McAfee Skellyposted on GenForum by: Patricia J. Bobbitt on : September 05, 2001.]
Daniel Skelly was the eldest of the children of Philip (Felix) Skelly,Jr., and Margaret McAfee Skelly were

(2) Daniel, born April 19, 1796, married Susan Noel, and died December7, 1870. He is buried in the above cemetery.

So picking up after Daniel... He was born in 1798 and married Susan Kelly (1808).
William Skelly was their son (born 1838 or 1840) and married Julia Skelly(1838).
They had a son named Charles Skelly (1867) who married a Sadie or Sarah Skelly (1873).
They had Carrie Skelly (born 1895) who married Bernard Kochisky(1892), who in turn had your great-grandmother Margaret Wallace.

Margaret Wallace married Maurice Wallace who in turn had MargaretJopp. Who in turn married Harold Jopp Jr. They had your dad (Devin Jopp) who married Sandhya Jopp who had Rohin Jopp!

That completes the story of the Skellys or as they probably known in Ireland- O'Skalley or O'Skally. Skelly was the anglicized version of their name.

4 Months Already!

So our baby boy is now 4 months old! It's amazing how fast time flies. He's really getting quite a personality now. A couple milestones along the way. July 20, 20008 he got his first cold. Don't worry grandomoms -- he's back to full health! Also, a huge milestone for mom and dad. He slept through the night (8 hours) on July 26, 2008! Also, he is now eating real solid foods starting July 10, 2008 -- well, real if you consider oatmeal and rice cereal solid :).

So here are a few 4 month pictures! You can see that he really likes to look at himself in the mirror and loves to be entertained by mommy and daddy! He also loves being outside! Daddy hopes that you learn to use the lawn mower very soon!!

Rohin's Lineage (Part I)

Rohin -- we're going to tell you all the stories of where you come from. Today, we will write on the Jopp / Karpinski side of the family (daddy's side)! Stay tuned for information on mommy's side of the family.Josef Karpinski (1861) married to Eva Karpinski (1872) came to the US from an area of Poland (now Ukraine) called Zabie back then -- now it's under a different name:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZabieHere's the map:http://europe.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&country=UA&addtohistory=&city=Verkhovyna

The Karpinskis originated in Zabie and we believe we are related to Franciszek Karpiński, a great Polish Poet from the same area. We believe our family was nobility in the area. So that would make you a Prince :)!Josef came over to the USA in 1896 along with a son named Johan. A year later, Eva Karpinski came over with the rest of the family, including your great-great-great granfather Alexander Karpinski (1886). He married Agness Karpinski (1888) whose maiden name was Helminiak.

Agnes (Agnastasia) came over to the US with her parents at the age of 4 with her father Josef Helminiak (1852) and his wife Marianna (Mary) Helminiak (Rolinema was her maiden name- 1862). They originally were from Souiglow Poland (means owl’s head). Their family came through Ellis island and settled down in Baltimore, MD.

The Karpinski family originally settled in Baltimore and then bought the farm on the Eastern Shore. They had several children including Violet Karpinski (1925), your great grandmother. She married Harold Jopp (1922). They had several children, including Harold Jopp Jr (XXXX), your granfather. He married Margaret Jopp (XXXX), your grandmother and they had several children, of which your father was one of them - Devin Alexander Jopp (1974).Going back from the Jopp side:

This is interesting and evolving actually. I found out more information and thought we would start off with John Jopp. So your great-great-great-great-grandther's name was John Jopp (born 1827)from Wurttemberg. From searching on the web, I believe that most of our family came from a town called Zepfenhan, also known today as Rottweil. I'm pretty sure this is where they came from. What's unclear is that there were two John Jopps born in 1825 from the same town. There was Johann Nepomuk Jopp (May 9, 1825) and Johann Evangelist Jopp (born December 12, 1825). If I can find out a specific birth date, I actually have information that allows me to trace them back several generations even earlier. So stay tuned.

John Jopp later married Kate Jopp (1840) from Bern,Switzerland. They had children, including William Jopp (1873). He died early, but met Martha Jopp (1878 - later married to a Richard Henning) and had William H. Jopp (1897). He was married twice, once to Ethel and then to Marie. With Marie, he had Harold Jopp Sr. (1922). He married Violet Karpinski (1925) and they had Harold Jopp Jr (XXXX), your granfather. He married Margaret Jopp (XXX), your grandmother and they had several children, of which your father was one of them Devin Alexander Jopp (1974).

Stay Tuned for More on the Pal side and the Wallace side!!!

Rohin's Gonna Knock You Out!

Here's our little tiger posing for the infant golden glove award while we were on our way to Virginia Beach for July 4th, 2008!

3 weeks old

So time goes by so fast! Here's Rohin when he is 3 weeks old.

The Birth of Rohin Alexander Jopp

Rohin Alexander Jopp was born March 20, 2008 to Devin & Sandhya Jopp!