tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17473131767428077092024-03-12T16:57:05.301-07:00Milo & MadelineThis blog follows the progress of Milo & Madeline Stiles, born in June 2008 at 25 weeks, 2 days gestation, for their friends and family and anyone else who'd like to know about life with premature kids.
Please visit <a href="http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/fac.html">http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/fac.html</a> and consider making a donation to assist NICU families at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center.Elaine Stileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12480458679091208317noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-31465077444059351852015-03-30T20:59:00.000-07:002015-03-31T18:17:07.664-07:00Mostly March 2015 With Some Bonus February <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SwImrxfBdCo/VRoTk-eglCI/AAAAAAAAF-Y/JSZpQ-EITjk/s1600/2-14-2015%2BMaddy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SwImrxfBdCo/VRoTk-eglCI/AAAAAAAAF-Y/JSZpQ-EITjk/s1600/2-14-2015%2BMaddy.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Maddy at home - 2-13-15</div>
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Tilden Park Merry-Go-Round - 2-15-15 </div>
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M&M get ready for the school Chinese New Year Parade. Even louder than you might think.</div>
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2-19-15</div>
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Milo does his dragon look.</div>
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Milo at the Oakland Museum of Art's Chinese New Year Festival</div>
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2-22-15</div>
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Even yet still more swim lessons. They're getting pretty solid in the water! </div>
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Maddy and Ian. </div>
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My literary kids - 3-6-15</div>
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Fairyland, Oakland - 3-7-15 </div>
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The kiddos may be ready to try snowboarding. </div>
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Maddy and the usual pre-bedtime acrobatics. 3-7-15</div>
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A ride with the neighbors. Maddy has become pretty solid on the bike!</div>
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Milo's not far behind...</div>
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A visit with Matt and Michelle. 3-19-15</div>
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The usual ice cream evolution. 3-21-15</div>
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Milo shows Matt and Michelle how to rock the slide. </div>
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Grizzly Peak Road, Berkeley, CA - 3-21-15</div>
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Maddy helps me lock the bikes during a family ride to downtown. 3-22-15</div>
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I'm going to have her eat purple fruit snacks before her first date. 3-27-15</div>
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Another Happy Hollow visit. We still really like this place, but this is probably the last year the kids will enjoy it. Elaine and I watched Maddy take what's likely to be her final ride in the little police car above. This was the very first ride she took, four years ago now. The thrill isn't the same...</div>
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3-28-15 </div>
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They still like the roller coaster though.<br />
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Enjoying the Happy Hollow maze Milo style.<br />
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Milo lost his first tooth recently. Easy money!</div>
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3-30-15</div>
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Ole's Cafe for Breakfast for dinner. Notice Maddy is still in her ballet clothes. </div>
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3-26-15</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-54388560910238893172015-02-17T22:07:00.001-08:002015-02-17T22:08:31.403-08:00Early Summer 2014 to Feb 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">If all goes as planned, and - hey, why wouldn't it? - I'll be getting back to doing blog posts on a more regular basis. As I mentioned in the last post, the updates going forward will be more of a picture book. I'll still be providing some reflective information here and there about parenting, but I'll be more respectful of the kids' privacy now that they're getting older.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Along those lines, a few months back I was asked to write an article for the NICU Family
Advisory Council at Alta Bates (birth place of M&M). There's a lot
out there on premature birth, but nearly all the accounts are from the
mothers' perspective. Nothing wrong with that, but I thought it would be
a good thing to share the dad side of things. It's a bit long, but
give it a read (ignore the errata on page 4 - we're a low budget
operation). You can find it <a href="http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/ABSMC-NICU-Newsletter-Fall-2014.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">On with the show.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Milo at Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey - February 2015 </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> M&M together at the park, Monterey, CA - February 2015</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">February 2013 - Milo doing his homework. At this point, I'm still able to provide him some assistance. By next year, the 1st grade curriculum will likely exceed my bandwidth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OxDD6ln3p1U/VNf4EHouUQI/AAAAAAAAFxg/8SLlr4bIpQA/s1600/20140419_145731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OxDD6ln3p1U/VNf4EHouUQI/AAAAAAAAFxg/8SLlr4bIpQA/s1600/20140419_145731.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Botanical Gardens at Tilden Park. Berkeley, CA - Spring 2014. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcSsSSXg6kU/VNf4E1MNKII/AAAAAAAAFxs/VmEk5g9MXzg/s1600/20140426_114832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcSsSSXg6kU/VNf4E1MNKII/AAAAAAAAFxs/VmEk5g9MXzg/s1600/20140426_114832.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Spring 2014 - Train trip to Sacramento with some good friends</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DxtdaRWxkyY/VNf4FEtn5UI/AAAAAAAAFxo/68VRN2cl14c/s1600/20140429_174314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DxtdaRWxkyY/VNf4FEtn5UI/AAAAAAAAFxo/68VRN2cl14c/s1600/20140429_174314.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Summer 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X_TxPHJNynI/VNf4F7wIGQI/AAAAAAAAFx0/LcrShL4Qj8k/s1600/20140510_153612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X_TxPHJNynI/VNf4F7wIGQI/AAAAAAAAFx0/LcrShL4Qj8k/s1600/20140510_153612.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Milo, Maddy, and Nora hit up some sweet trails in Oakland. Summer 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aluIYrIjKpY/VNf4GtBfbDI/AAAAAAAAFx8/66G3woUwNcw/s1600/20140510_160407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aluIYrIjKpY/VNf4GtBfbDI/AAAAAAAAFx8/66G3woUwNcw/s1600/20140510_160407.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BGXd3qnkSbg/VNf4HGRobhI/AAAAAAAAFyE/KmpRxjafyws/s1600/20140511_153028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BGXd3qnkSbg/VNf4HGRobhI/AAAAAAAAFyE/KmpRxjafyws/s1600/20140511_153028.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The kids just haven't taken to yard work as hoped. The only way to get Maddy to push the mower around was to allow her to go barefoot. Even then she had a real chip on her shoulder about. And Milo mixed my drinks way too weak! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XVz_ny7s_ZQ/VNf4H6coiDI/AAAAAAAAFyM/NZjSaJ3rI_k/s1600/20140523_061524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XVz_ny7s_ZQ/VNf4H6coiDI/AAAAAAAAFyM/NZjSaJ3rI_k/s1600/20140523_061524.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Great Moments in Fatherhood </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Chapter 82</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">When the kids first got their fish tanks, the occasional death of a fish met with a shrug from M&M. So, last spring, when one of Milo's five red platys bit the dust, I dutifully scooped him out, walked down the hall (probably whistling), and gave him the typical gold fish burial at sea. When I emerged from the bathroom, Milo's jaw was wide open and - between his sobs - he pointed at me and said, "You [sob]! You flushed Robin down the toilet!" He was right, of course, that's exactly what I did. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I tried to settle him down, I think I told Milo there were "other fish in the sea" (not helpful), and I read him a Berenstein Bears book about the death of the family fish. When you hate the Berenstein Bears as much as I do, that's real sacrifice. Unfortunately, the book involved a complex burial and Milo was pretty upset that we didn't offer Robin the full Berenstein funeral rights. I promised him we would next time, and explained that there are many valid burial traditions. He needed to keep an open mind. After all, daddy was merely using the crappy-insensitive-father-who-didn't-consider-his-five-year-old-son's-feelings ceremony. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Then things went from bad to worse. After stories, Milo went to use the potty and sitting there in the bottom of that lousy, low flow California toilet was that dead fish. Not good. I spent the next hour constructing a small coffin out of a cardboard, digging a grave, and ensuring a proper headstone marked the spot. Of course, within a couple days, a raccoon dug up the grave, tore open the casket, and ate whatever was left of Robin. I discovered this as the kids were walking out our back door toward the grave to pay their respects. Naturally, I quickly kicked the remnants of the match box coffin under the grill with one foot, and then pushed sand back in the hole with the other. Somehow, the kids never noticed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Batman, Cat Women, and Joker all died a short time later. Those "burials" went much smoother. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BsK3Y4rHfH0/VNf4IeGcC-I/AAAAAAAAFyY/0fzpf48OMbA/s1600/20140525_122346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BsK3Y4rHfH0/VNf4IeGcC-I/AAAAAAAAFyY/0fzpf48OMbA/s1600/20140525_122346.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy gets tatted up. Summer 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xYw1ZIcdfVw/VNf4Iz6pAdI/AAAAAAAAFyc/quabUNMGIyA/s1600/20140526_143057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xYw1ZIcdfVw/VNf4Iz6pAdI/AAAAAAAAFyc/quabUNMGIyA/s1600/20140526_143057.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Milo and Dad built this sweet tower on a visit to the Lawrence Hall of Science. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jrJsnMOYmcA/VNf4JXsnFmI/AAAAAAAAFyg/H_XIxLBGCUc/s1600/20140526_151802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jrJsnMOYmcA/VNf4JXsnFmI/AAAAAAAAFyg/H_XIxLBGCUc/s1600/20140526_151802.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mVIXNGqZydU/VNf4KAxc-wI/AAAAAAAAFyw/dDUiejT015M/s1600/20140526_155446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mVIXNGqZydU/VNf4KAxc-wI/AAAAAAAAFyw/dDUiejT015M/s1600/20140526_155446.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy makes a friend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oPYkuBOOKy8/VNf4KwPGEZI/AAAAAAAAFy0/sJTsUqg9DaY/s1600/20140531_200342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oPYkuBOOKy8/VNf4KwPGEZI/AAAAAAAAFy0/sJTsUqg9DaY/s1600/20140531_200342.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Milo and Nicola playing at the Oakland Museum of Science during First Friday. Spring 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ztOe6sl6CA/VNf4LCJKs4I/AAAAAAAAFy4/L4Riw_p9Was/s1600/20140601_155947.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ztOe6sl6CA/VNf4LCJKs4I/AAAAAAAAFy4/L4Riw_p9Was/s1600/20140601_155947.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I don't let my son drink from just any toilet. Milo at the San Francisco Exploratorium. Summer 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLDNJEWR4uw/VNf4NJl_u_I/AAAAAAAAFzU/7T-lhMx8eEs/s1600/20140709_092438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLDNJEWR4uw/VNf4NJl_u_I/AAAAAAAAFzU/7T-lhMx8eEs/s1600/20140709_092438.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Visit to the Steep Ravine Cabins. Stinson Beach, July 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fXF6DtXIl0o/VNf4N3Tve7I/AAAAAAAAFzc/N8DtF2BaBqs/s1600/20140709_094258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fXF6DtXIl0o/VNf4N3Tve7I/AAAAAAAAFzc/N8DtF2BaBqs/s1600/20140709_094258.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D8pzr06Ob-M/VNf4OVugUzI/AAAAAAAAFzk/wOKUzr8WXLU/s1600/20140709_174526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D8pzr06Ob-M/VNf4OVugUzI/AAAAAAAAFzk/wOKUzr8WXLU/s1600/20140709_174526.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dHPKlKqM1u8/VNf4MS0bMWI/AAAAAAAAFzI/n-RiCL7zbWI/s1600/20140709_082846.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dHPKlKqM1u8/VNf4MS0bMWI/AAAAAAAAFzI/n-RiCL7zbWI/s1600/20140709_082846.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Breakfast overlooking the ocean at Steep Ravine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qv-rOWQKMXE/VNf4PLR2MeI/AAAAAAAAFzw/IBmQbNelSNM/s1600/20140713_121153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qv-rOWQKMXE/VNf4PLR2MeI/AAAAAAAAFzw/IBmQbNelSNM/s1600/20140713_121153.jpg" height="320" width="240" /> </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">One of many summer visits to Happy Hollow in San Jose. Summer 2014.The kids were big enough to ride the roller coaster alone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VQEOrdESbUw/VNf4P1amyiI/AAAAAAAAFz0/y_AMe-qA-bo/s1600/20140713_133923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VQEOrdESbUw/VNf4P1amyiI/AAAAAAAAFz0/y_AMe-qA-bo/s1600/20140713_133923.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And merry-go-round.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3MrpIYE8_qY/VNf4QUlsmpI/AAAAAAAAFz4/K-G8svz3myk/s1600/20140714_134509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3MrpIYE8_qY/VNf4QUlsmpI/AAAAAAAAFz4/K-G8svz3myk/s1600/20140714_134509.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy cruises the Bay Farm path with dad. She's gotten to be a pretty solid rider. This was one of her last rides on a her little 16" bike before stepping up to the 20" cruiser.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ww1shTz4m6o/VNf4Qzu2rpI/AAAAAAAAF0I/0r__e6tu1LI/s1600/20140727_122540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ww1shTz4m6o/VNf4Qzu2rpI/AAAAAAAAF0I/0r__e6tu1LI/s1600/20140727_122540.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Elaine and Maddy at the Oakland Pedal Festival. July 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vuLj0da5buU/VNf4RePyhEI/AAAAAAAAF0M/KzBmxXO6Hbw/s1600/20140804_125313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vuLj0da5buU/VNf4RePyhEI/AAAAAAAAF0M/KzBmxXO6Hbw/s1600/20140804_125313.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The annual visit to New England. Milo, Maddy, and Grandpa getting silly at Mystic Seaport. August 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pbkwYJXq6QE/VNf4RrE5R1I/AAAAAAAAF0Q/iglGMBESBc8/s1600/20140805_200313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pbkwYJXq6QE/VNf4RrE5R1I/AAAAAAAAF0Q/iglGMBESBc8/s1600/20140805_200313.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Milo & Zakk hanging out in Orleans, Cape Cod, 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wf9P50TkCdY/VNf4SZuZe4I/AAAAAAAAF0c/oXGzjWVTpnQ/s1600/20140805_200412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wf9P50TkCdY/VNf4SZuZe4I/AAAAAAAAF0c/oXGzjWVTpnQ/s1600/20140805_200412.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy and Nova.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QMcEWiMp25Y/VNf4S-I0TeI/AAAAAAAAF0g/h5qJc4WT5o4/s1600/20140806_111811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QMcEWiMp25Y/VNf4S-I0TeI/AAAAAAAAF0g/h5qJc4WT5o4/s1600/20140806_111811.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy & Mom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VHf4aaAzxt4/VNf4TT_ekGI/AAAAAAAAF0o/mYpIH2YKL9U/s1600/20140806_152034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VHf4aaAzxt4/VNf4TT_ekGI/AAAAAAAAF0o/mYpIH2YKL9U/s1600/20140806_152034.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">M&M & Uncle Nate</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MT7AfAtgCNU/VNf4UE4byLI/AAAAAAAAF04/Q_oYIXtcckw/s1600/20140806_153414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MT7AfAtgCNU/VNf4UE4byLI/AAAAAAAAF04/Q_oYIXtcckw/s1600/20140806_153414.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Uncle Armin and Maddy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPmpRsmrbZI/VNf4UqfqnnI/AAAAAAAAF08/5ErW8DsHHH8/s1600/20140807_120253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPmpRsmrbZI/VNf4UqfqnnI/AAAAAAAAF08/5ErW8DsHHH8/s1600/20140807_120253.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Even more Cape Cod.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kAX2fwqW8kc/VNf4VPvKILI/AAAAAAAAF1A/ILLdJ4kK3xY/s1600/20140810_102417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kAX2fwqW8kc/VNf4VPvKILI/AAAAAAAAF1A/ILLdJ4kK3xY/s1600/20140810_102417.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy demands payment. Kid City, Middletown, CT.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GR3lBpoWJVo/VNf4V0-bg4I/AAAAAAAAF1Q/H3sjZraHQtA/s1600/20140812_152147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GR3lBpoWJVo/VNf4V0-bg4I/AAAAAAAAF1Q/H3sjZraHQtA/s1600/20140812_152147.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">M&M hook up with Ella for a visit to Storyland. Jackson, NH. August 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy & Ella at Cinderella's Castle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy & Ella as Uncle Jeff looks on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy and Nana. Manchester, NH. August 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Castle in the Clouds, NH. August 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The whole mishpucha gathers for lunch at Castle in the Clouds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Milo with Cousin Jacob</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy and Nana.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy gets her new bike. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Fall on Ocean Beach. Looks kinda' like summer, eh? Yeah, that's how winter and spring look too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Tilden Park Steam Train. Berkeley, Fall 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Hiking in Joaquin Miller Park. Fall 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">San Francisco Academy of Science. Fall 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Thanksgiving Feast with M&M. November 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy. Academy of Science - Fall 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Elaine's 48th Birthday Celebration at Rockwall Winery. Alameda, November 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Milo gives me the finger. Perhaps it was unintentional or maybe it was the booze talking. Rockwall Winery. November 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy at gymnastics. February 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">One of many trips to Tucker's Ice Cream. Alameda, January 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Christmas visit from Grandpa. Aboard the Niles Canyon Railway, Christmas Train. December 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Bay Farm Island, Alameda. Christmas 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Christmas Eve 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Golden Gate Park. December 2014. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">New Year's Day Bike Ride with Maddy. 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Milo and Dad hit Tuckers. January 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maddy at swim lessons. February 2015. She's solid in the water!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FksAMCApXQ8/VNf4qEdLxHI/AAAAAAAAF5s/Y-4W9fnLsMQ/s1600/20150118_152025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FksAMCApXQ8/VNf4qEdLxHI/AAAAAAAAF5s/Y-4W9fnLsMQ/s1600/20150118_152025.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">One of many Joaquin Miller Hikes. February 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Hearst Castle. San Simeon, CA. Despite the outfits, it's actually January 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">San Simeon, CA. January 2015. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">San Simeon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">San Diego Zoo. January 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Legoland, Carlsbad, CA. January 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Breakfast Club. May/June 2014. M&M hanging out with friends Rob and Emma.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-80152727886735311872015-02-08T14:47:00.001-08:002015-02-21T23:43:32.802-08:00The Blog is Back - Heavy on the Pictures, Lighter on the Text.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
By far the longest stretch without a blog update and that means there would normally be much to catch up on. Turns out I started this post back in July and I finally got around to finishing it. When I opened it up, I noticed that I had written a lot about the kids' first year in kindergarten, the triumphs and difficulties, medical issues, etc. As usual, I included some candid thoughts and some of my half-assed attempts at humor. And then I deleted it all. </div>
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I've decided to take a different approach. As you all know, I'm pretty much an open book, and for most of the kids early childhood, I've spoken in honest terms about M&M, their health, and other family matters. Now that they're getting older, it's time for me to pull back on that. I'll talk in greater depth in other forums, but not to the same extent that I have in past. </div>
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The good news is that I'll be able to post more frequently, it's just that the posts will be primarily photos and videos and much less text. I will maintain all of the older posts. </div>
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For the first installment of the M&M blog v. 2.0, I'll get you caught up on pics from last year. Look for another post shortly with the more recent pictures and video clips. Enjoy! (And if you really want to know how I feel, just ask me.) </div>
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<b>M&M - Fall 2013 to Spring 2014</b></div>
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August 2013 - Maddy and Milo prepare for their very first walk to school.</div>
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M&M settle in at their desks for the big first day.</div>
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Alta Bates NICU Reunion - Sep 2013. Rocking out with Cowboy Jared!</div>
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Fall 2013 - Peace on Earth</div>
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Hiking with Dad in Tilden Park - Fall 2013</div>
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Milo, Maddy, and Mason - Maddy's first off road ride. Fall 2013.</div>
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Ocean Beach, San Francisco, Fall 2013.</div>
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Milo in Kindergarten. Thanksgiving week, 2013.</div>
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Maddy's K class. Thanksgiving Feast 2013.</div>
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My lovely family. Yosemite, December 2013.</div>
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Maddy & Mom. Yosemite, December 2013.</div>
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Milo. Guess where? </div>
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Adventurous Maddy makes her way toward Yosemite Falls. December 2013.</div>
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M&M with Grandpa. Christmas time, 2013. </div>
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Christmas 2013. </div>
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The Little Ice Rink. December 2013.</div>
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Rock City. Jan 2014.</div>
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Maddy at Rock City.</div>
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Maddy on the big hill. </div>
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M&M with Uncle Matt I. during his March 2014 visit. Much ice cream was eaten.</div>
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Tahoe Ski Trip. March 2014.</div>
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Maddy's first Tahoe intermediate run.</div>
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Easter egg hunt. 2014.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-64740019178537854262013-09-28T19:56:00.001-07:002013-09-28T20:00:58.579-07:00A Radio Show You Should Hear.Hello again folks. You probably weren't expecting me to be posting again so soon, but I wanted to share a link to a radio show I heard today. It was on Radio Lab and it was basically an hour focused on the story of little girl born at 23 weeks 6 days -- that's a week and a couple days even sooner than Milo & Maddy. That doesn't sound like too much, but it is for babies born before 28 weeks (in particular) every day makes a tremendous difference. <br />
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It's a great story and one that does a far better job than I can in detailing what life is like for a NICU family. You'll hear about the type of magical thinking that interrupts the thoughts of parents -- the kinds of thinking that we try to use to guide our decisions and create meaning out of a senseless ordeal that our children our forced to endure. <br />
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It really hit home for me. Set aside an hour and listen. <br />
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<iframe width="474" height="54" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.radiolab.org/widgets/ondemand_player/#file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.radiolab.org%2Faudio%2Fxspf%2F288733%2F;containerClass=radiolab"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-16027662465330313552013-09-21T09:33:00.001-07:002013-09-22T21:01:31.688-07:00The Late, Late Summer & Kindergarten Post <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's been a while, hasn't it? As you probably guessed, much has happened since my last post. Kids grew bigger and stronger; parents grew older and balder. And here's the part where I tell you all that I'll do a better job of posting more frequently on the blog... Really, I will.... Maybe.</div>
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The biggest news is that the kids have started kindergarten. How 'bout that, eh? Elaine and I were a little ambivalent about the whole thing - as I'm about to explain in excruciating detail. After all, had the kids been born on time, they would have arrived on September 26th, putting them within two weeks of the age cut off for starting school this year. Obviously, being 3.5 months premature didn't provide any kind of developmental head start. We didn't want to rush things, so we decided to have Maddy reevaluated this past spring along with Milo. (You might recall that Maddy was performing very well last year and no longer qualified for special education services.) I was all but certain I wanted to wait until next year to have the kiddos start school; as usual, Elaine was more rationale about the possibility. What can I say? I carry some childhood baggage - being the fat stinky kid for more than a few years of my childhood has left me permanently sensitive to the possibility that M&M might lag behind their peers and get teased. The special education evaluators at Alameda School District (ASD) didn't necessarily agree and they were generally unanimous in wanting the kids to start school "on time." </div>
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Milo's last day of preschool. June 2013.</div>
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We were somewhat less concerned about Maddy generally. The girl has really flourished in the past couple years and overcome nearly every obstacle that prematurity has sent her way. That said, she is still highly sensory seeking, which causes her to have fairly limited social boundaries. She likes to hug people a lot (even strangers). She's kind of a close talker which is caused by a mixture of her quiet voice and high level of enthusiasm. She is very active (ok, hyperactive), and God bless her little heart, she can be just a touch on the pushy side. Some kids can find Maddy a little overwhelming and she is also at an age where kids have really started to take notice of her Joplinesque voice. Mix it all together and the fat stinky kid buried deep in my psyche begins stuttering with neurotic anxiety -- and yes, I had a bad stutter too. <br />
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M&M at the March of Dimes Walk - April 2013</div>
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It's fair to say we were most worried about Milo (me especially). After all, the kid is between the 14th and 20th percentile on height and weight; he can be a bit impulsive and emotional due to his <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007301.htm">IVH</a> (yes, more than the typical 5-year-old); he often played alone at the Coast Guard Island (CGI) preschool unless younger kids or Maddy was around; he frequently conveys his feelings by acting out scenes from various stories, TV shows, and movies he likes - which can be a little confusing to other kids and folks who don't know him. Harkening back to my miserable experience as a chubby stinky kid with a bad stutter and terrible temper (yeah, I had I temper problem too), I worried a lot about other kids picking my boy. Last thing I wanted was for him to hate school as much as did and end up in weekly fights. <br />
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Milo - Stinson Beach - June 2013</div>
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So were my worries rationale? Based on my completely biased personal experience and observations as kid, it was (and is) my feeling that cute, pushy, blonde girls tend to get a bit more slack in life than short, brunette boys with mild <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001004.htm">strabismus</a> and a penchant for the theatrical. The very thing that occasionally gets Maddy in trouble with others (her pushiness and assertiveness) also helps her to quickly connect with any kids who are receptive to having a new friend. It's also interesting that Maddy doesn't really seem see her voice as very different from other kids - even though she has told us about kids who won't play with her because of it. <br />
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M&M quickly make a new friend at the Oakland Zoo - July-ish 2013.</div>
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Despite my skepticism, it was tough to quarrel with the logic of the special education evaluators; they made several good arguments. The fact was that Maddy was no longer receiving services at all (she no longer qualifies) and she had been attending a regular preschool full time on CGI. Frankly, Maddy was slipping through the cracks of the system. On one hand, she was academically and behaviorally strong enough that she didn't qualify for special education support. On the other, Maddy still has a number of sensory and attention issues that challenge her abilities. Although counter intuitive, starting kindergarten would mean Maddy could go on to a <a href="http://www.washington.edu/doit/Stem/articles?52">504 plan</a> and start receiving some support for her hyperactivity and peer interactions. No such 504 assistance is available in private preschools -- at least not ours. For his part, Milo was academically beyond what his 1/2 day special needs preschool was offering and he was also attending the CGI preschool for the second half of the day. Staying put might mean languishing for a year for no good reason. In terms of academics, both kids were basically on target with some exceptions (e.g., Milo in receptive language and Maddy in math concepts). Both were otherwise ready to move on, and the special education folks made another good point: enroll the kids now to ensure they'll both get some level of support.<br />
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M&M and their Coast Guard CDC preschool classmates - July 2013.</div>
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How did the kids feel? Although Maddy was more enthusiastic than Milo, they both looked forward to starting school. And that's what we decided to do. The worst case scenario is that they repeat kindergarten and get an additional year of reinforcement. Is that a bad thing? Not so much. The usual main concern is that the child will be stigmatized if they repeat, but repeating kindergarten is more and more common, and besides, there's a good chance we'll move before the kids enter first grade anyway. If there is a stigma it'll be short lived, and it's also possible the kids will do fine and promote to first grade with their peers. For those of you interested, there is data out there that shows that kids who repeat kindergarten are much more likely to have lower performance and behavior problems than kids who start school later or promote on time. However, once you control for the usual factors -- socioeconomics, demographic, etc. -- the performance distinctions are eliminated. Look <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2000/2000039.pdf">here</a> for more information.<br />
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Happy kids on their way to Back-to-School Night - August 2013</div>
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Kindergarten has turned out to be a pretty wonderful adventure for them both. They have great teachers and I really don't think I could have imagined a better school. It's pretty surprising how much of a step forward they've taken in just the first few weeks. So far it looks like they were ready.<br />
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So what else happened? Lots more! We paid a visit home to New England and visited family and friends. We did a couple camping trips here in Cali, and of course the usual glut of other summertime activities. Milo had another surgery -- hopefully the last one; Maddy learned to ride a bike. Below is the - more or less - chronological account of the fun along with my usual insightful and witty commentary.<br />
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Kiddos hanging out with good buddies here in Alameda. Right to Left: Mason, Robert, Milo, Emma, Sierra, and Maddy. You'll probably recognize the above crew in many of our photos on the blog. All the kids are children of other Coast Guard families we are close with out here.</div>
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Classic Maddy action shot. Alameda, June 2013.</div>
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Though they occasionally fight, the twins are very close. M&M at the Oakland Zoo - Summer 2013.</div>
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Family ice cream run at Tuckers in Alameda. Summer 2013.</div>
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First family beach trip of the year. Stinson Beach, May/June 2013. Although Stinson has developed a reputation for being a bit sharky, it's one of the prettiest beaches in NorCal. Since the kids generally don't go in much farther than knee deep, great white attacks are unlikely. </div>
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Maddy frolicking at Stinson. </div>
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I love this picture. Maddy looks almost like a teenager until you realize she's flying a kite. </div>
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In June, we loaded the kids up on a Southwest flight complete with clever flight attendants, and headed back to the motherland. We hit some of the kids favorite spots from last year, but we got to spend a lot more time with my sister's family in New Hampshire on this visit. </div>
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The first stop: Mystic Seaport. Milo, Maddy, Cousin Zack, and Uncle Nate checking out the beluga whales. June 2013.</div>
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Maddy and Cousin Zack at the stingray tank.</div>
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Milo, Grandpa, and Maddy petting and feeding stingrays.</div>
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M&M at the Peabody Museum, New Haven, CT. June 2013.</div>
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M&M with Grandpa at the Peabody.</div>
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Looking silly: Milo, Cousin Josh, Maddy, & Cousin Jacob. June 2013. </div>
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M&M figuring out video games together with their cousins. Mirror Lake, NH. June 2013. </div>
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M&M loving their first ride on full size horses. Castle in the Clouds, Moultonborough, NH, June 2013. A happy coincidence, the kids took their very first pony ride at a stable up near Jackson, NH during our vacation last year - see <a href="http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2012_08_01_archive.html">here</a>. Despite being a couple hours away from Moultonborough, the woman with the red hair (on the right) was the very same person who assisted us that day. </div>
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Above: The kids join Aunt Heather, Uncle John, and Joshua and Jacob for a carriage ride. This picture is unique because it's the only one I was able to locate that actually has my sister in it. You'd think she was Amish the way she avoids cameras. Castle in the Clouds, June 2013.</div>
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Standard cute-kid-with-a-pony photo. ;)</div>
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Maddy and Milo celebrate their 5th birthday with Nana at Aunt Heather's house. Mirror Lake, NH - June 15, 2013. Arrrrrrrr!</div>
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Nana, Mommy, M&M getting ready for the big moment.</div>
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Milo waits his turn for the Polar Coaster. Storyland, Jackson, NH. June 2013.</div>
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As our good friend Jeff Ugino has pointed out, if you bring your kids to New Hampshire without taking them to Storyland, Child Protective Services might have to get involved. I like long lines and junk food as much as the next guy, so why not? Kidding... Storyland is fun. It was even more fun since Milo loved the roller coaster there, which was reasonably legit. We ended up riding it 11 times throughout the day. When we weren't riding the roller coaster, Milo would ask about it about every 30 to 60 seconds. "Daddy, can we go on the roller coaster?" "No pal, not right now." [30 seconds later] "Daddy, can we go on the roller coaster now?"</div>
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Maddy was pretty much glued to Ella for the day. Storyland, June 2013.</div>
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A rare shot of Mom and Dad in the same photo. Storyland, June 2013.</div>
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Maddy joins the Uginos for a spin on the tractor ride. Storyland, June 2013.</div>
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Aunt Antina, Zack, and Maddy. Walden Pond, MA. June 2013.</div>
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M&M with Mom at Maudslay State Park. Newburyport, MA. June 2013.</div>
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No visit to New England would be complete with a visit to the Clam Box in Ipswich, MA. And no vacation would be complete without a tantruming child. As I recall, this photo was taken by a nice stranger who did his best to capture the magic. What you're missing is me saying, "come on pal, smile." The response was a very shrill, "No! No! I don't wanna be in a picture!"</div>
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We stuck around New England for a couple weeks before heading back to Cali. Overall, a very nice trip. Elaine was extra tolerant of the fact that I brought my road bike along and rode almost every day of the vacation and even squeezed in a couple races with my Stage 1 teammates. Good trip all around! </div>
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In July it was finally time to break in the new family raft with the Phillips family. Above: Maddy, Sierra, Milo, & Mason eat a quick snack before putting onto a class II section of the South Fork of the American River. It was a beautiful hot day on the river and much fun was had by all. Well, mostly...</div>
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Above: Quick picnic stop on the river. The C to G section, as it's called, is about four miles long with plenty of fun, bouncy class II/II+ rapids. Everything was going great until we hit a larger wave known as Barking Dog. Milo got splashed and decided that death was imminent. He spent most of the rest of the trip glued to Elaine and me. I don't get it: the kid loves roller coasters and loves to hold his breath underwater - which he can do for an impressive amount of time. Apparently mixing those two things, not so much. Luckily he seemed to recover his nerve for another raft trip later in the year. <br />
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Kite Fest - Berkeley Marina - Summer 2013.</div>
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One of the highlights of the summer was our camping trip to Downieville at the end of June. We got together with our friends the Tama family and some other folks for a pretty epic three vacation up in the mountains. I took probably 100+ awesome pictures on my iPhone. Unfortunately, the phone is sitting somewhere at the bottom of the Yuba River at the moment. The above photo is all that remains - I snapped it with another phone on our last day of the three day trip. Hope to make it back next year! </div>
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Now for some cinema Maddy. You might recall that Maddy began learning to ride a bike about a year ago, but she promptly gave up on the bike when she received a scooter for Christmas. During our trip to Downieville, all the other kids were zipping around on their bikes but Maddy's little bike with training wheels kept her from keeping up. That was pretty much all the incentive she needed. Within a week, she was riding on her own. That's the positive side of peer pressure.<br />
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We also spent time hanging out at home. Above: M&M playing with their Stomp Rocket. Probably one of the simplest, coolest toys around. (Thanks Uncle Nate.)</div>
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Poor kid... You may recall last year when Milo was wearing his eye patch. Unfortunately, the treatment it helped but not enough. In July, we brought Milo in to have his strabismus treated. He was not real happy about the prospect and the staff had to give him "goofy juice" to help calm him down a bit. Worked like a charm - just wish there was a enough for Mom and Dad too. <br />
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We took camping trip #2 with our good friends the Cowells in August up in North Lake Tahoe. Warm days, chilly nights, mountains, rivers, the Lake and good company. Doesn't get any better. Above: one of several awesome camp meals. <br />
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Milo gives rafting another shot along with the Cowell family. Truckee River, August 2013. Things went much better this time around. Despite some initial nerves, Milo braved the biggest rapids on the run without any trouble at all. The other kids (and parents) had a great time too. </div>
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Maddy and Robert playing at the Tahoe City beach.</div>
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Maddy and Emma, plank owners of the Lake Tahoe Ladies Book Club.</div>
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The annual family photo at Emerald Bay. Lake Tahoe, August 2013.</div>
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Behold: The world's greatest beach. Beautiful, clean water. Not a sign of Canada geese (or as they're scientifically known, the North American Flying Sewer Rat) or their horrible little cat turds anywhere. Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe. August 2013.</div>
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M&M, Robert & Emma and two new friends at Sugar Pine State Forest Camp Ground. August 2013.</div>
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Above: The kind of photo that parents wish for. A last hug before heading to the car for the four hour drive back to Alameda. Tahoe City, CA - August 2013.</div>
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Above: Aboard the Alameda Ferry in route to the kids first visit to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. September 2013. <br />
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M&M hiding out in one of many cool caves at Rock City, Mt. Diablo. September 2013.</div>
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Another Rock City photo. Really fun spot -- highly recommend it.</div>
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A relatively rare hot day in Alameda. Backyard pool play time with neighbor and good friend Chris. September 2013.</div>
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Maddy and Mason have fun in the pool. Alameda, August 2013. </div>
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M&M take their very first solo (non-adult accompanied) roller coaster ride. Happy Hollow, </div>
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San Jose, CA - September 2013. Notice M&M are sitting with other kids. It was nice to see them quickly make friends with a few other kids who were also getting to ride alone for the first time. Me and the other dad got to sit back, watch and snap some pictures. </div>
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Dad cam footage of the kid's first roller coaster ride without an adult sitting next to them. Definitely a strange feeling to walk up to the ride and see that the kids were tall enough to ride alone. Liberating too. So nice to not have to cram myself into a child's ride nine times in a row. </div>
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See you on the next ride!</div>
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<img height="72" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KEq55bxg9vE/Ui_jPh-ILVI/AAAAAAAAEt0/Ydhgl-J6q0U/s320/image066.jpg" style="left: 340px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 18877px;" width="96" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-78355390012314489852013-03-24T13:54:00.000-07:002013-03-24T13:55:31.323-07:00The Spring 2013 Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Spring has arrived in the Bay! Those of our friends back in New England may be wondering what a NorCal spring is like. Well, there are essentially two seasons here in the Bay. They basically correlate to May and September in Massachusetts. We occasionally get a few days in the summer that are about like late-June in Boston (without the humidity) and every so often a winter day or two that correlates to early November. Otherwise, it's low 70s sunny, pretty dry, and gets breezy in the afternoon. It's a hard life. Huh... I just had a moment of déjà vu, which means I've probably bored you all with that joke before. </div>
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It's been a rough couple months with lots of travel for Mom and Dad. I had to head back to New England for a week to visit with my family. My dad had a couple significant operations and my step father, who had been battling cancer for years, had to go on hospice care. My Dad is now doing much better, but unfortunately my step dad passed away a few days after I returned California. Tom was a great guy and will be missed. Very glad I got a chance to get back to see him for a last visit. </div>
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This month (currently) Elaine is off in Merry Old England looking at old buildings. That means I'm taking my first crack at single fatherhood for double digit days -- eleven to be precise. I've done several two to three day stretches and even a five day stretch in the past with no major incidents. I'm on day three as I write this post...</div>
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March 2013 - M&M motoring along. </div>
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As mentioned previously, scooters are the kids new hot ticket and the kids have become pretty good and maneuvering them and are getting much faster. In fact, I now have to follow them on my bike unless I feel like running the whole way. <br />
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On a health note, you may recall that Milo was due to have eye surgery this month. We brought him in, but because he had a cold the docs decided to postpone surgery. He'll probably head back in to Children's in mid-April for the procedure. We'll keep you all informed.<br />
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Woodminster Cascade, Oakland Feb 2013</div>
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You might remember the above staircase from an earlier post in August 2010 (see <a href="http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2010/08/big-steps.html">http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2010/08/big-steps.html</a>). Hard to believe that was 2.5 years ago. The kids easily climbed the stairs on this day and they went on to hike for another hour after that.</div>
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Done with stairs and off to the trails.</div>
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Grappling with arduous obstacles.</div>
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One of the very nice things about Alameda is the close proximity to the Oakland Zoo. As anyone who's seen the blog has noticed, the kids visit the Zoo and the little amusement park attached to it about once a month. It never gets old.</div>
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The gratuitous little car shot.</div>
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Train ride at the Zoo.</div>
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Maddy and Dad at home - March 2013.</div>
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Both kids are still on training wheels, but Maddy is getting closer to mastering a two wheeler. We haven't been able to work on it more than once a week of late, but I'm hoping to get back on it full tilt in the next few weeks. Milo was much less interested in bicycles, but yesterday the kids came down to Monterey and watched me do a bike race and that seems to have rekindled some interest in the bike. We'll see... </div>
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Above: Milo gets in the picture with Team Stage 1 (West) at the Monterey CCCX Mountain Bike Race on March 23, 2013. (Yes, I need new sunglasses.) Later, Maddy informed me she wanted to try a little kids' bike race. Sounds almost (but not quite) as good as her wanting to kayak. </div>
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A fine spring day at Crab Cove Beach in Alameda. March 2013. Despite very cold water, chilly air, and a promise not to go in more than ankle deep, the kids couldn't resist getting soaked. </div>
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M&M playing with neighborhood friends (back to front): Milo, Emma, Mason, Sierra, Maddy, and Robert.</div>
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Of course, no spring is complete without a visit to Happy Hollow in San Jose, still the reigning champion of small kids theme parks. Above, M&M model their sweet new shades before heading off to the rides -- March 17, 2013.</div>
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First up was a family trip on the roller coaster, which made for a pretty nice little video.</div>
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After a long day at Happy Hollow, Milo catches a few winks in the car.</div>
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With Elaine away for the next week, I've found that few things bring consolation like ice cream.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-9815478434026952012013-01-28T20:26:00.001-08:002013-01-29T20:06:40.635-08:00How Good? Pretty Darn Good....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK it's been a while... Of course that means that this post will be long -- horribly long and only a occasionally witty. On long posts, my material starts running slim, and Elaine already vetoed a few of my more choice insights. What can I say? I like to work blue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the way, thanks very much to the Mustache-a-Thon 2012 donors for their generosity!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now on with the show... While the blog was on hiatus Milo and Maddy did a fair bit of growing. As of mid-January, Milo weighed in at a still lean 34 lbs (14th percentile) and is 40.5" tall (21st percentile). Maddy tipped the scale at 37 lbs (45th percentile) and towers over her brother at 41.5" (53rd percentile). Health for both the kiddos has been good overall, though Milo will be headed in for an eye operation in February to correct his </span><a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001004.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">strabismus</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. You may recall from other posts that Milo was wearing an eye patch on his right eye for an hour everyday in hopes that his left eye would get stronger. Unfortunately, no such luck. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead, let's take a look at a brief video of Maddy's first ballet recital back in August. See if you can guess which one is Maddy. Here's a hint - she's a maniac, maniac...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One funny side note, I didn't start shooting this video until she had had already been spinning for about 20 seconds (really!). No wonder she's dizzy at the end. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C3YuDku-_hY/UP4AE9uv2TI/AAAAAAAADOQ/egR3UiE3nxY/s1600/2012-12-08+Milo+Maddy+Es+Camera+379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C3YuDku-_hY/UP4AE9uv2TI/AAAAAAAADOQ/egR3UiE3nxY/s320/2012-12-08+Milo+Maddy+Es+Camera+379.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Above: Maddy limbers up for the grand dance. I'd love to say that the class went perfectly, but Maddy was definitely a bit too enthusiastic at times. The ballet school was a very traditional one (think Russians), and it was believed perfectly normal (some how) for the other girls her age to sit quietly with their legs folded for 10 minutes at a time. I had no idea such a thing was even possible for kids that age absent the use of some kind of narcotic. As you might have guessed, with Dad's blood flowing through her veins, Maddy was far more fidgety than the average kid. Still, she'd have won the spirit award for sure -- if they'd had one that is. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I finally made good on my promise to buy a whitewater raft. I picked up this sweet ride in late August (on sale of course). Unfortunately this is the most action it's seen so far, but now that kids are getting to be decent swimmers, we'll head out for a few class II trips once the weather warms up a bit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The kids were also excited for a visit with their talented Uncle Armin. They were particularly impressed that -- unlike their dad -- he played more than just the first four bars of "Stairway to Heaven" and "Crazy Train."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another big development, Maddy can swim now. Milo seems to believe that he can also swim, and if you try to help him in the pool, he'll scream in protest. Unfortunately, the moment you let him go, he plummets to the bottom of the pool. At least he did back in September - he's gotten better of late. Both kids continue with weekly swim lessons and are making good progress. Milo hasn't advanced as quickly as Maddy, but that's mostly because he still has a tube in his left ear and he hates putting his head underwater. Not surprisingly, a willingness to submerge your head is fairly imperative to success in swimming. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In September, M&M attended their 4th NICU reunion picnic at Alta Bates in Berkeley. As a NICU Family Advisory Council member, I put in a plug for Cowboy Jared to play the gig. Everything was going great until the old man who lived a block away showed up and yelled at us for being too loud. The old codger then called the police on us. So much for Berkeley's hippie lineage. Luckily, the police were very nice and were not about to shut down a show for a bunch of NICU graduates. I'll make sure we get a sound permit this year when we book the AC/DC cover band.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cowboy Jared made another appearance a week later at a birthday party for another set of twins M&M are buddies with at preschool. Given the chance, the kids would gladly buy an old VW micro bus and follow him around to all his gigs. As you saw above, Maddy is definitely a spinner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In October, the family hopped in the car and headed north for some apple picking in Petaluma. Other than completely different geography and temperatures hovering in the mid-90s, it was almost exactly apple picking back in New England. Luckily, it was a dry heat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This fall the kids did a fair bit of hiking here in the Bay Area. This fine autumn day we were strolling in Tilden Park in the Berkeley Hills. If you look back at some old posts, you may notice the kids climbing on the same bench. Having said that, I took a quick look and couldn't spot one but I'm sure it's in there somewhere. This picture does a nice job of conveying the kids genuine affection for each other. Their relationship isn't so much like twins, but more like regular siblings born about a year apart. Maddy acts a bit like a bossy older sister, and naturally Milo gets irritated with her trying to push her will on him all the time. But in the end, they are their most significant and devoted playmates. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another birthday for M&M's buddy Nicola. This shin-dig was held in October at Ruby's Tumbling here in Alameda, the same place where the kids take gymnastics lessons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Halloween was another hit this year for M&M. Months and months in advance Milo made clear he wanted to be a giraffe and pretty much reminded us each day of that fact. Maddy was just as fixated on being Tinkerbell. She wore the little green costume with wings around the house nearly everyday for a week leading up to the 31st. Then, just before we were ready to head out for trick-or-treating, she wanted to switch to Cinderella (same costume as last year). It was actually pretty chilly out, so that worked just fine. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Milo rocks out - November 2012. Having grown up a drummer with less than enthusiastic parents, I've been committed to allowing the kids to rock out at high volumes on a variety of instruments. Milo seems to be developing a decent sense of rhythm, and obviously he's got all the showmanship he needs. Really glad both kids love music. Today I walked by the bathroom and Maddy was sitting on the throne; when she saw me, she yelled, "rock-n-roll will never die!" I nearly teared up.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0J6fQmMFRx4/UP35ZuJzWaI/AAAAAAAADLA/kFpe4nUfUqE/s1600/image012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0J6fQmMFRx4/UP35ZuJzWaI/AAAAAAAADLA/kFpe4nUfUqE/s320/image012.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And speaking of showmanship... There are two good things about rain in the Bay Area. First, the rain that falls here will fall as snow in the Sierras. Second, the kids get to go outside and stomp in puddles -- a prime source of cheap entertainment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another key purchase, this past fall I managed to pick up a couple used Trail-a-Bikes off Craigslist. By the way, never ever buy these things new. I bought two of them used for less than the cost of one new one, and they were in great shape. Kids love em' and it's been nice to get them out for bike rides at a reasonable pace. We managed to take them for a 10 miler the other day, and we didn't hear any complaints. They especially love to go fast and off road. It's also helped rekindle their interest in learning to ride their own bikes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past December 2012 included a few major firsts. (Above) the kids went ice skating for the first time on a warm, 70 degree day here in Alameda. Both kids loved it and after a while they ditched the plastic seals and tried skating on their own. Maddy did miss her triple Lutz, and the French judge was unreasonably harsh on Milo. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ~~~~~ And Now For A Brief Intermission ~~~~</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Please go freshen your drink)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I told you this thing is long...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The biggest event of all in recent months was M&M's first ski trip. We took the kids up to Lake Tahoe and got in a day of skiing at Sugar Bowl. They had a two hour lesson, and by the time we picked them up they were successfully snowplowing down the bunny hill. Maddy was committed to perfecting her form, while Milo just basically wanted to go really fast (too fast considering he's pretty bad at stopping). If there were an all out kamikaze event held on a bunny slope for novice skiers (and of course there should be), Milo would win the 4-5 age class hands down. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Above: Sugar Bowl Ski Area, December 18, 2012. Bound to be our Christmas card for next year...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And speaking of Christmas... Above, Maddy and Milo get the tree ready. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A visit from the big guy on the Niles Canyon Rail Road Christmas Train.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grandpa also paid a visit over the holidays. He came along for the railroad trip and was also very excited to see Santa. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maddy helps out with making Christmas cookies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The kids leave out some treat for Santa and the reindeer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christmas morning, 2012.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Milo was thrilled to get a new pair of boots and a guitar (from Nana) to help him in following in the footsteps of Cowboy Jared. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The kids also got new scooters, which they love. It took some practice, but they are zipping around at ludicrous speed now. Pretty impressive. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Post holidays, the family Stiles headed off to Pt. Reyes National Sea Shore for a rare, fair weather day. Typically it's pea soup fog or gusting winds. We caught the perfect blend of weather. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">M&M were troopers on the 300-and-something step climb back up from the lighthouse. It was nice not to have to carry them -- along with a diaper bag loaded with two changes of clothes, changing pad, snacks, wipes, etc. We were joined by our friends Jim and Gretchen and their one-year-old baby Dylen, so it was a reminder of how far the kids had come. Pretty soon they'll be carrying me, right? </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Ap6f-6W37A/UQdDJBoPZjI/AAAAAAAADPg/3yzCQGdgJYQ/s1600/2013-01-09+Milo+Maddy+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Ap6f-6W37A/UQdDJBoPZjI/AAAAAAAADPg/3yzCQGdgJYQ/s320/2013-01-09+Milo+Maddy+020.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim, Gretchen & Dylen - January 2013</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One side note: Maddy has become quite the observant blurter. She is hyper aware of everything around her, and anything that is unusual becomes an immediate topic of conversation. For example, while at Pt. Reyes, we were sitting quietly next to a nice older man waiting for the bus. After exchanging pleasantries, Maddy was enough kind blurt out to him, "Hey! You have great big yellow teeth!" Yes, he did -- the guy's mouth was straight out of the </span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w3GHVBnmNCY/T1fTiVE1neI/AAAAAAAACQM/lF59Bz2jvi8/s1600/thebigbookofbritishsmiles.png"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big Book of British Smiles</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. (Sorry Helen and Jenny.) Still, he probably didn't to hear it from a 4.5-year-old girl. The same goes for the poor people who Maddy noticed were tall, smelly, pregnant, etc. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow is this thing long. I'm sure I'm leaving valuable stuff out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also brought the kids on their first outing to Yosemite in mid-January. We spent three days hanging out there enjoying the sites and skiing at the little area in the park called Badger Pass. I was a long drive, but worth it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">M&M playing in the great meadow at the base of Yosemite Falls. The snow was actually pretty dry and not so good for making snowmen. Nevertheless, the kids found this guy already made and decided they needed to rescue him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Elaine, Milo & Maddy at the base of Yosemite falls around sunset.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my favorite pictures. Maddy with Dad on her very first ride on a chair lift. Milo rode the lift with me once at Sugar Bowl, but this was Maddy's first try. By mid day, she was getting off all by herself, but she still needed a little help getting on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Milo was also a big fan of the lifts and we took quite a few lift rides together during the two days at Badger. One of the side consequences of getting the kids into skiing was that I had to get back on snow skis for the first time in 17 years -- that's how long ago I switched over to snowboarding. You just can't help kids nearly as much on a snowboard as you can on skis. This particularly important for Milo who whips down the slopes at hyper speed, with no real concern for the fact that he's terrible at stopping. On one run he came just a few yards away from putting a sizable dent in a poor, innocent snowmobile that was parked quietly at the side of the slope. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another reason to love California skiing. This is a scene you will never, ever see in New England in January or any other moth for that matter. If there is snow on the ground in New Hampshire, Vermont, or Maine chances are it's below 20 and windy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maddy making a run down the bunny slope at Badger Pass. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a fun video of Milo dancing at a Latin jazz performance here in Alameda. It's completely out of sequence, since it's from back in August. It's entertaining though. That kid is gonna' do fine with the ladies. </span></div>
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<span id="goog_1052385155" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The parting shot: M&M hiking at Joaquin Miller Park in the Oakland hills with their buddies Sierra and Mason. </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-20411000005373618342012-11-24T11:31:00.001-08:002012-12-12T18:39:39.050-08:00MUSTACHE-A-THON - 2012!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The holidays are on the way and that means it's that time again. That's right, Mustache-a-Thon 2012 is in full effect! This year I've decided to pay special tribute to the great highway construction men of southwest Florida. Admittedly, my skin lacks the appearance of Corinthean leather peppered with asphalt and cigarette stains, my shirt is a bit too clean, but I'm trying my best to capture the mystique. What's it all for? Aside from the fact that Elaine loves this look, I'm trying to raise some bucks to assist families with sick babies in the NICU. </div>
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As you all know by now, Maddy and Milo stayed four months in the Alta Bates NICU. We spent anywhere from 6 to 12+ hours at the hospital every day while the kids were there. We were very fortunate to have great insurance, supportive employers, and enough savings to pay for all the expenses that come along with our daily visits. Many (most!) families are not so lucky. Please consider making a donation to help a truly great cause. Every nickel goes towards direct support for families. We've used the funds in the past to help NICU families purchase things like car seats and strollers; clothing and baby supplies; pay for parking and food at the hospital; purchase holiday gifts; and so forth. </div>
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So how can you help? Easy, contribute whatever you can - NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL (really!). Whether your reason is to spare my poor wife heartache and embarrassment or the more noble cause of supporting NICU families, please give! I don't have any particular system for collection, and you'll have to trust my accounting. You can donate a few different ways: OPTION (1) The method that gets you a tax deduction - visit this website <a href="http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/fac.html">http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/fac.html </a>and click the "Donate" button. Be sure to select the "NICU Family Advisory Council Fund." (If you want, you can indicate the donation is in honor of Milo and Madeline Stiles.) OPTION (2) If you have an account with PayPal, use PayPal to transfer money by going to www.paypal.com. Login, then select the "Send Money" tab; enter email address rstiles3 at gmail dot com (obviously write it like a normal email address - that's just to protect me from spambots); then enter the amount; and select the "Personal" tab and the "gift" option. OPTION (3) Send a check to me (email me for the address if you don't have it); or OPTION (4) the easiest, hand me cash. If you prefer, you can buy the gift certificate yourself -- there is a Whole Foods right next to Alta Bates and I'm sure something like Babys-R-Us would also be welcome.<br />
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Thanks very much and happy holidays!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-77074218857574054782012-08-21T19:29:00.001-07:002012-08-21T21:10:17.274-07:00New England Vacation - 2012Quick Note: I haven't really edited this post yet, so expect errors... I'll give it a little TLC in the next day or so. Really!<br />
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It was high times for the Stiles clan this month as we all boarded a snug Southwest flight and made the journey back east for a long overdue visit. We spent two weeks covering New England, from Southern Connecticut to Northern New Hampshire and several places in between. <br />
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<br />Early morning flight out of good ole' Gate 24. For those of you who know OAK terminal 2, you'll know that means we lucked out and avoided the long walk down to the gates numbered 26+ and were located nice and close to the coffe place and breakfast burrito place. Off to a good start!<br />
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First stop: Mystic Aquarium. M&M mug for a nice shot outside while Mom, Dad, and Grandpa get things together for the big day.<br />
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Milo was completely fascinated by the beluga whales, which were putting on quite a show for the spectators. Mating and all. In 38 years I've never come across mating whales. At age 4 it appears M&M can cross that off the list. I'll spare you all that picture.<br />
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<br />M&M make the very first trip to Chuck E Cheese's to see Nana and Tom (a/k/a Grumpy). <br />
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Maddy's first game of air hockey with Nana. Maddy appears to be up 3 to 0. I lost a fortune on that game...<br />
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<br />Next stop, a visit with Aunt Jan and Uncle Bruce at the fair. Maddy demanded to go on the Pirate Ship (one of <a href="http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/news/stories/img/quassy_galleon_apr08.jpg">these</a>), and I agreed figuring the ride operator would never let on a 4-year-old. Well, you gotta love carneys - safety concious they ain't. The nice, mostly toothless fellow was more than happy to let Maddy sprint by and grab a seat. He even gave a little tug on her lap bar to ensure she would be nice and safe. On the plus side, she loved it and we both kept our hands high in the air for the entire ride. Thatta girl!</div>
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Grandpa teaches M&M to feed the eel and lion fish. They managed to do so without the loss of any fingers. They are obvioulsy highly advanced children.<br />
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From Connecticut, we made our way north to Jackson, NH. We made a much needed stop in Putney, VT to grab some lunch. Man we miss Vermont style hippies. Altogether different than the Berkeley variety - much mellower and more into cheese. <br />
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We hooked up with our old friends Jeff and Laura and their daughter Ella for a great five day stay in the White Mountains. Maddy was very impressed with Ella, who taught her all about dressing up as a scary ghost.<br />
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<br />Apparently, if you don't take your kids to Story Land while in Jackson, you could be subject to a visit from social services -- so Jeff tells me. So we figured we ought to check it out. Milo, Ella, and Maddy above - not the least bit intimidated by clowns. By the way, you may notice that Milo is wearing an eye patch in several photos. He has to wear it for a couple hours a day for the next few months to correct a vision issue (his left eye likes to drift off, not unlike his old man). It's nothing permanent and he likes the patch - thankfully.<br />
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<br />Maddy takes Mom, Laura and Ella for a drive. </div>
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Maddy and Milo were both pretty fearless on the rides, though Milo wasn't so into getting wet on the log flume. Maddy loved it and did it a couple times in a row. The photo above is from our second trip. The video below is from the first. </div>
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Milo and Maddy also went for their first pony rides. Above, Milo climbs onto the mighty Tinkerbell. He repeatedly told me he wanted to ride a giraffe, but he was happy enough with the horse.<br />
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Maddy really took to the pony ride and of course would like to take it up as a hobby. I'm sure dressage lessons are very cheap and I hear the sport is the latest rage. Maddy is featured in the video below aboard Tinkerbell. <br />
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Milo, Maddy, and Ella enjoy one of many healthy, well-balanced dinners (note the carrots). <br />
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We also visited The AMC Highland Center and Crawford Notch - home of one of the collest playgrounds around. Above, Maddy happily juants across the bridge while Milo considers his options. <br />
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M&M building with the massive blocks at the Highland Center. Maddy preferred large scale projects, while Milo was going for mixed media. </div>
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Laura, Ella, M&M and Mom enjoying some ice cream in Barlett, NH.<br />
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Laura, Ella, and Milo - Jackson Falls on the Ellis River.<br />
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Maddy, Milo, Ella - Jackson, NH.<br />
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Milo and Dad explore the Ellis River Basin below Pinkham Notch. It needed a little more water and slightly less wood - otherwise I think it goes. Keep in mind there's a 64 foot unrunnable waterfall just below this pool. Milo agreed that we shouldn't run it just yet - at least not without setting safety.<br />
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Milo and Dad scouting the trails. He'll be ready to hike his first peaks next year we figure.<br />
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From Jackson, we headed south to visit Aunt Heather, Uncle John, and cousins Jacob and Joshua. Above, Milo and Joshua going big on the trampoline. <br />
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Joshua, Milo, and Jacob hanging out.<br />
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Aunt Pam, Maddy, and Unlce John (above) also came by Aunt Heather's for a little family reunion. </div>
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Above: (Left to right) Maddy, Elaine, Joshua, Emily, Jacob, Alex (who's actually only 14, really!), Rob, and Milo.<br />
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M&M get their first boat ride (not including a ferry ride to Angel Island) with Aunt Heather and Uncle John out on Lake Winnipesaukee. Maddy and Mom above and Maddy and Jacob below. </div>
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Above: Jacob, Aunt Heather, and Jacob.</div>
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M&M and Dad.</div>
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Maddy takes a turn at the wheel with Uncle John.</div>
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After a sweet boat ride, it was time to pack the car for another multi-hour drive (which the kids seasoned pretty well, all things considered) and head off to Boston for a stay with our friends Kevin and Toni and their daighters Leni and Zoe. For those of you in the Boston area, I highly recommend crashing at Kevin and Toni's place. It's very comfortable; comes with gourmet cooking at every meal; and their sweet; well-behaved daughters will be glad to entertain any children you may have. Needless to say, we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.</div>
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Milo (seen above with Leni) contunes to try and impress the older ladies. </div>
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Newton, MA - August 2012.<br />
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Maddy builds essential dog walking skill with seasoned professional, Toni.<br />
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Maddy poses with Susan and baby Alex.<br />
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It was also great to get together with our old friends, Stephan, Helen and their children Ottie and Monty. This was the first chance the kids had to meet and play together. Monty is a little younger than Milo and Ottie is a couple years older than Maddy -- which pretty much means Maddy immediately idolized her. The kids had great fun with minimal tantrums, which was a nice change of pace. It was pretty clear by this point in the vacation (day 10 or so) that all the travel (driving), new food, complete change of schedules, etc. was starting to wear on M&M. It's fair to say there were some pretty ugly moments.</div>
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And some sweet ones too...<br />
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Above: Maddy and Milo give Leni and Zoe a big hug good-bye and prepare for a quick visit with Uncle Nathan enroute back to Grandpa's house in Connecticut.<br />
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Elaine, M&M, and Uncle Nathan hanging out in Arlington (pronounced Ahhlington), MA.<br />
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After arriving back in Connecticut, we hopped in the car again for a ride out to East Haddam for a visit to Grandma's house. Above: Grandma Brown, Milo, Elaine & Maddy at Lake Hayward.<br />
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And from there, it was off to West Haven for a get together with the Farino Clan at the site of the old Savin Rock. Above: Maddy stands along at the shore of the Long Island Sound.</div>
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Grandpa Stiles, Elaine, M&M - West Haven, CT - August 7, 2012. <br />
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Farino family get together. Everyone was well entertained by Milo and Maddy, by this point, were completely wired on lack of sleep and sugary treats. West Haven, CT.<br />
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The following day it was time to head to the airport for the long flight home. This time, we had learned a few lessons. First, no point in bothering with car seats on the plane. The kids will be just as comforable without them, and they are a complete pain to carry. Just try sprinting for a connecting flight carrying kids, carry-on-luggage, and a couple car seats. Second, make sure (double sure!), that the kids pee (or, God help us all, poo) prior to getting on the plane. Third, don't let Maddy sit right next to anyone unless you're sure the person wants to spend the next several hours having a 4-year-old talk at them. </div>
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M&M home at last. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-43360326140950546052012-06-30T20:50:00.001-07:002012-07-01T12:22:32.472-07:00The Big 4!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Pictures for now... The words will follow.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-83448182406430206762012-05-27T10:01:00.002-07:002012-05-27T12:45:21.740-07:00May 2012 in Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
M&M discover tree climbing.</div>
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Warm weather visits NorCal for a few days. </div>
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M&M partake of their favorite food (cake frosting) at friend Kate's birthday. </div>
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Every day, several times a day, for the last month, M&M have asked to ride the merry-go-round at Oakland Zoo. We went on a bender last week, and the kids took 3 rides each, followed by the roller coaster, cars, and airplanes. The impressive part is that we squeezed it all into the last hour that the park was open. Leaving was the tough part... </div>
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Maddy takes the plunge -- eventually.... :)</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-49696660773813010512012-05-06T13:55:00.002-07:002012-05-07T09:40:43.843-07:00Milo's Makes the Growth Chart & a Farewell to Friends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here's a pleasant follow-up to our last post. As you may recall, our slim hero weighed in at just 28 pounds (clothed). That's roughly the same weight he was almost a year ago. Since he has a reasonably healthy appetite, this raised concerns about possible Cystic Fibrosis. Luckily, tests came negative, but the question remained: Why's Milo so skinny? We met with Milo's doctor at the end of April and apparently making the appointment was enough to solve the problem. During the visit Milo weighed in at just over 31 lbs. and was 38.75" tall. That's enough to place him in the 25th and 45th percentile, respectively, in both categories for his age. (If you're interested in taking a closer look, you can find the comparative growth chart <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41c021.pdf">here</a>.) Though, it's worth noting that most of the other calculators all come up with differing numbers. The stats above came from our pediatrician -- some fairly reputable sites with growth calculators place him lower, about 15th and 25th (or so). Regardless, it's good news and we'll take it. </div>
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What's the secret? Hard to say... Of late I've taken to making the boy Ovaltine with whole milk and half and half. That seems to be helping. Yeah, it's high in sugar, but it's also high in fat, protein, calcium, and a list of other good stuff that the kid needs more of. I had practically forgotten about the existence of Ovaltine, but a friend in New Zealand sent us a big tin of a drink called "Milo," which as it turns out is the down under version of Ovaltine, more or less. (Though there is a hot internet debate about the differences between the two. I'd pick Milo over Ovaltine base the name alone, but Milo is hard to come by in the U.S.) I also use the low sugar version of Carnation Instant Breakfast Drink with success.</div>
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Daredevil Maddy - April 2012 </div>
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The little girl has Moxy. She will generally attempt to climb to the highest point of every play structure we visit, and I usually have to remind her not to jump. She's been doing quite well of late, and during a recent parent teacher meeting, her teacher suggested it may be time to reassess her. You might recall that Maddy & Milo are both enrolled in a special pre-school program where they get pretty significant hands-on instruction, as well as occupational and speech therapy. At this point, Maddy is functional at her age level and beyond. She will still need some speech therapy to assist with her Janis Joplin voice and some OT as well, but she can get that in a mainstream pre-school program. </div>
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Milo is also doing very well overall and has made huge progress. He's still having trouble with speech, particularly answering "why" questions. For example, if you ask Milo why he likes to jump, he might say something like, "Well, you see, the caterpillar likes to eat pie and ice cream and salami and apples..." Essentially, he's quoting sections from the "Very Hungry Caterpillar." The good news is that he actually plays very well with other kids his age and he is ahead of his peers in a few other areas. He'll need another year of his present classroom for the added support, but that's no surprise. Frankly, we thought Maddy would too. </div>
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Easter - 2012.</div>
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Unfortunately Dad was away for a month during the Easter holiday attending training for work on the East Coast. The kids got to dress up and hunt Easter eggs with Mom and friends. </div>
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Oakland Zoo - April 2012</div>
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Oakland Zoo - April 2012</div>
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The kids bid farewell to Dad's beloved Necky Chronic - April 2012</div>
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For those of my paddling buds who follow the blog, you will be stunned to know that I've finally parted with the beloved Necky. It was probably the greatest playboat I ever owned and I've owned it longer than any other kayak -- since 2004. Alas, it was getting old and since I've put on about 20 pounds since I bought it, I'm just too big for it. Milo loved it because it was red. Out with the old...</div>
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M & M - Earth Day Festival, Alameda, April 2012.</div>
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The kids have come around to liking ice cream in a big way -- surprise, surprise. They were giving out free cones of green ice cream during the festival and the kids did nice job of polishing them off. By the way, the pictures above do a great job of illustrating the differences between the way the kids eat. Milo is very neat -- when he finishes a meal, his hands are clean and there usually isn't much mess anywhere. With Maddy, a hose is often needed. A powerful hose. I sincerely hope she eats this way on her first date. </div>
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Rockin' out! The kids still love music. Birthdays are coming up and I'm actually pretty tempted to buy them one of those DeRosa kids drum sets. Maybe in a year or two we'll look at some guitar lessons. For now, strumming along is good enough. </div>
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Maddy and Rea - 06 May 2012.</div>
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One of the tough parts about military service is that either you or a large number of your friends move to a new duty station each year. This year, several of the kids' pals will be headed to a new part of the country. Maddy and her friend Rea got to know each other pretty well this past year. Hopefully we'll get assigned together again soon. </div>
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Giada, Milo, Rea, & Maddy together for the last time for a while. 06 May 2012.</div>
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The kids will also be saying good-bye to a few other friends this summer as they move on. It looks like next year will be our turn to move on. Hopefully we'll land in the northeast and reconnect with old friends there. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-68464076340376266262012-03-11T21:01:00.050-07:002012-03-24T14:19:50.816-07:00The March 2012 Post<div align="left" style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Maddy Smothering Milo - as usual. December 2011</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">It's been a while, and much has happened since the last post back in December before Christmas. In a nutshell, lots of sickness (cold & flu); a major scare (Milo was tested for cystic fibrosis); and we had some good times too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">Some of you may have already seen my post on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Facebook</span>, but a couple weeks back the kids had to head to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">pulmonologist</span> for another check-up. They weighed Milo and he came in pretty light -- still under 30 lbs., where he's been hovering for a while now. He seems to eat well, and that fact combined with his size and some of the coughing issues he has lead the doc to want to test for cystic. Elaine and I felt pretty sure that wasn't likely, but I have to admit as the days went on it started to feel like it made more and more sense. Of course, from there I did the inevitable </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001167/"><span style="font-size: 130%;">research and learned just what an awful disease cystic is</span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;">. Luckily, the drama ended pretty quickly -- we were able to get the boy tested early the following week and he came back a resounding negative. It was definitely a big relief, and it's solidified my feeling that my kids, along with all preemies, have more than paid their dues and are owed a free pass on every other shitty, life-threatening disease out there. Who's with me?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">In other testing news, we also just received the results of Milo's latest speech testing. The results were a bit troubling, though not completely unsurprising. By comparison, Maddy is definitely more verbal than Milo and has an easier time with language in general. With all of the budget cutting and limitations on special education services, it's sometimes hard to know whether the results of testing are completely legit, or whether the evaluator might have massaged the numbers on your child to ensure a result of at least a 30 percent delay. As it turns out, 30 percent is, more or less, the magic number to qualify a child for special education services. In this case, Milo came back around 37% delayed in several areas of speech (receptive language, expressive language, and symbolic play). Though his articulation (speech production skills) was actually quite advanced - he tested at the 5-year-old level in that area. We haven't had a chance to discuss the results yet with the therapist, so it's hard to know exactly what it means right now. Ont he plus side, his teachers seem very happy with his progress. Hopefully there's a big break through around the corner - there usually is. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">The Run Up to the Holidays</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">As most of you know, the kids love music and dancing. We figured it would be nice to enroll them in some kind of dance class. Poor Milo. Even here in the Bay Area, he was the only dude in the room. The class was supposed to be a dance and movement class, so we figured it would be fine for a boy and it basically was. He had a great time, and while M&M were clearly the boldest and (if I may say so) the most gifted dancers in the room, they were also pretty chaotic and hard to control. That's the price of their gift of dance I guess. On the final day, they were supposed to do a recital but for some reason Milo decided he wanted nothing to do with it so he and I spent the session outside on the playground with Dad. From what I gather, teaching 3-year-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">olds</span> to dance is better left to the pros. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">This being the kids 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span> Christmas and the first that really seemed to click, I took every opportunity to use the old cliche of Santa as a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">omniscient</span> deity who was always watching and ready to impose charcoal for any act of misbehavior. Maddy still <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">occasionally</span> reminds me (as recently as today in fact) that "Santa is always watching." So it was a special treat when the big guy himself paid a visit to our <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">neighbor's</span> house a few weeks before the big day. The kids were completely impressed and not at all frightened. I'm glad to report that neither peed on his lap - which was nice for him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Maddy & Daddy Ride the Giant Slide at the Six Flags Great American/49<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">ers</span> Holiday Party</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">We also discovered that the kids love giant slides more than just about anything else, except maybe a giant bouncy house. Through a stroke of luck, we managed to get invited to a big holiday party the San Francisco 49<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">ers</span> put on for service members and their family. M&M spotted the giant slide, and after one trip Maddy had decided that this was her new purpose in life. Milo was almost as enamoured with the thing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OW8ER1Ij0yw/T114cpdFlkI/AAAAAAAACIY/OwKh62MEhCI/s1600/IMG_0437.JPG"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718859535389922882" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OW8ER1Ij0yw/T114cpdFlkI/AAAAAAAACIY/OwKh62MEhCI/s320/IMG_0437.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 213px;" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;"> M&M and Mom - Christmas Eve 2011</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">We did the whole program this year, including cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. We even bought the matching </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" style="font-size: 130%;">jammies</span><span style="font-size: 130%;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2oOvifm4hJc/T113lEVOyAI/AAAAAAAACII/jZUmKfamfq4/s1600/IMG_0459.JPG"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718858580532054018" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2oOvifm4hJc/T113lEVOyAI/AAAAAAAACII/jZUmKfamfq4/s320/IMG_0459.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 213px;" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;"> Of course, Grandpa was on hand for this year too. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-erBXBZbVWi0/T113k5I5K5I/AAAAAAAACH8/JN9mFLwlzTw/s1600/IMG_0483.JPG"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718858577527516050" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-erBXBZbVWi0/T113k5I5K5I/AAAAAAAACH8/JN9mFLwlzTw/s320/IMG_0483.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CJNp1K3Ck5s/T113kopo29I/AAAAAAAACHw/4zF1bYnNyKs/s1600/IMG_0492.JPG"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718858573101456338" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CJNp1K3Ck5s/T113kopo29I/AAAAAAAACHw/4zF1bYnNyKs/s320/IMG_0492.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 213px;" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PDMGYlhL6NE/T113kNEI28I/AAAAAAAACHo/nI8RFNknWjM/s1600/IMG_0496.JPG"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718858565696412610" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PDMGYlhL6NE/T113kNEI28I/AAAAAAAACHo/nI8RFNknWjM/s320/IMG_0496.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">In case you haven't detected the theme, Milo is pretty into fire trucks and firemen. His final present was a pretty sweet vintage fire truck I found for him. This thing was straight out of the 50's - made of heavy metal and sharp edges all over! I'm not even sure how this thing manages to get to market in the current age of safety recalls. I'm sure this truck will be around for years to come. Definitely built to last!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">All in all, a great Christmas...<br /><br /><b>Amusement Parks - the Next Frontier</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Maddy & Grandpa - Happy Hollow, San Jose December 2011</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">One of the things I've enjoyed most about the kids becoming 3-year-</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">olds</span><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;"> is their new found love of amusement parks. Sure, they liked the zoo when they were in their twos, and they've liked going to playgrounds for a couple years now. Still, it's only recently that Milo was willing to get on a merry-go-round. But these days they love rides in a big way!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: normal;">By the way, I think I've mentioned it before, but if you have kids age 3 to about 9 or 10,</span> <a href="http://www.hhpz.org/" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">Happy Hollow</a><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;"> is about the best park I've been to. They give a substantial discount to folks with Oakland Zoo memberships and parking is free (or seriously reduced) for military. Really nice place!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Milo finishing one a dozen (or more) trips down the massive slide at Happy Hollow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Maddy takes one of her first roller coaster rides with Grandpa at Happy Hollow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">One of the most impressive moments came when M&M spotted a </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">mini </span><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">roller coaster and demanded to "ride the train." And ride they did... The moment the roller coaster would pull in, the kids would jump off and sprint around to the entrance again to score another ride. I'm sure we'd still be there now if we didn't eventually carry them away.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Milo goes with Dad for his first roller coaster ride.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Milo conquers his fears and tames the merry-go-round in impressive fashion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">M&M at their first swimming lesson. Jan. 15, 2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">We've wanted to get the kids into swimming for a while, and we finally managed to get them going this past January. Despite a well heated pool, poor Milo was still shivering with bluish lips after the first lesson. He is one skinny boy. Maddy kept a bit warmer, but we ended getting toddler wetsuits for them both. It's pretty amazing to see how independent they are now; before the start of each lesson they have to walk around the pool to their station and line up along the wall and wait a couple minutes patiently while the other lesson finishes. If only we could get that kind of compliance at home. Well, with any luck they'll be swimming like champs by summer just in time to try out some whitewater boating.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Maddy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">kickin</span>' it old school at home. February 4, 2012.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Milo relaxes on the throne and contemplates an episode of Yo <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Gabba</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Gabba</span>. I know what you're thinking, "Rob, you really shouldn't let him watch so much TV." True, but in my defense he spends most of his time on the potty staring at Elaine's copies of the New Yorker. Sure, it's not the Economist, but it's impressive nonetheless. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">Maddy climbs on a giant fiber glass whale in front of the Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, Feb. 2012.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718857549292297874" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nPoWMnrWmvk/T112pCqg3pI/AAAAAAAACFs/w6YmdPCrmeg/s320/2012-02-29%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B074.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 239px;" /> Milo, Maddy (under Milo), & Mom having fun on the slides. The kids' friend Chris is coming down just behind Elaine. January 2012.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 21px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X3J10Jug4QA/T111kDte-mI/AAAAAAAACFA/rCT1jBrtWmE/s1600/2012-02-29%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B144.JPG"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718856364162218594" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X3J10Jug4QA/T111kDte-mI/AAAAAAAACFA/rCT1jBrtWmE/s320/2012-02-29%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B144.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 239px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;"> The kids other favorite pass time, digging in the dirt. Luckily, we managed to find the one stretch of grass in the Bay Area that isn't choked with the poo from Canada Geese (the most vile and hated of all water fowl).</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gI_tsFCW_sA/T111i0KKToI/AAAAAAAACEo/JP1svI-bsNs/s1600/2012-02-29%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B162.JPG"></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b1v_-9dLjXc/T111Xkj1kMI/AAAAAAAACEY/MWce47LS8_A/s1600/2012-03-04%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B032.JPG"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718856149641826498" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b1v_-9dLjXc/T111Xkj1kMI/AAAAAAAACEY/MWce47LS8_A/s320/2012-03-04%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B032.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 239px;" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">M&M on their first trip to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Monterey</span> Aquarium, March 2012.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">If you follow the blog, you probably recognize the wooden lion Maddy is sitting on above. I seem to include a picture or two of them sitting on the thing every few months. It's located in the visitor's center at </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" style="font-size: 130%;">Tilden</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"> Park near the petting zoo. Great place and completely free - that means we go there a lot. You just can't beat free. What can I say? It's hard to resist taking a picture of your kid on a big wooden lion.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718857570014002002" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8gM46Cz3_JM/T112qP28-1I/AAAAAAAACGI/mO17Pdz76vk/s320/2012-01-12%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B2.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 239px;" />M&M hanging out together at the park down the street. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DmUoapQ2YPw/T111WIJNa1I/AAAAAAAACD0/T5-5vDd9hls/s1600/2012-01-15%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B1.JPG"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718856124834081618" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DmUoapQ2YPw/T111WIJNa1I/AAAAAAAACD0/T5-5vDd9hls/s320/2012-01-15%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B1.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;">Probably my favorite shots of Maddy. Amy, our baby sitter, snapped this one a few weeks back.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Milo takes us out.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-36951578245268488872011-12-05T07:44:00.000-08:002011-12-06T06:58:56.404-08:00Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!<div align="left">M&M are gearing up for their fourth Christmas, and the whole experience is much different this time around. Unlike last year, they get the gist of the naughty and nice list, and my threats to rat them out to Santa no longer fall on deaf ears. I've gone ahead and purchased an Elf on the Shelf in order to hammer home the idea that Santa and his minions are always watching. I may need to hide the Elf under one of their beds to drive home the point. Just kidding of course....</div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pnEGFAYnznQ/TtzohA4VH8I/AAAAAAAAB_8/eKKcwROOR4g/s1600/photo%2B3.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682672483704315842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pnEGFAYnznQ/TtzohA4VH8I/AAAAAAAAB_8/eKKcwROOR4g/s320/photo%2B3.JPG" border="0" /></a>Milo & Maddy decorate their first tree. They went a little crazy with the red beads but a fine effort nevertheless. </div><br /><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><br /><div align="center">Of course, holidays being a time of reflection, I thought it might be fun to have a look back at the kids over the last few holidays. </div><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><br /><div align="center">First Christmas - 2008 </div><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6RP5XDEd5QY/Tt0VdlkPRXI/AAAAAAAACA4/INol9qMn6is/s1600/Dsc02846.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682721902855931250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6RP5XDEd5QY/Tt0VdlkPRXI/AAAAAAAACA4/INol9qMn6is/s320/Dsc02846.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><p align="left"></a>Ah, Christmas 2008. Fun times! We dressed the kids up in the above outfits with the hope of snapping a few nice photos for a holiday card. After taking something like 40 pictures, the above one was about the best we could come up with. That entire period is one giant, sleep deprived blur to me now. Thank goodness we documented things in the blog because I have nearly no recollection of the period from October 2008 to roughly March 2009. I seem to recall waking up twice each night (per baby) for feedings, though Elaine had the more difficult end of the arrangement. I also recall being in a constant state of worry about everything with the kids. Recall that this was the period when the kids could not go to any places that might have even small crowds of people due to their risk of contracting a virus or the dreaded RSV bug. Our big day out was the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">occasional</span> trip to a small <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">restaurant</span>.<br /></p><br /><p align="center">Christmas 2009</p><br /><p align="left"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OXjvDPKt5cE/Tt0UlLiHbKI/AAAAAAAACAQ/vp88ABwLUZI/s1600/2009-12-06_Milo_Madeline_111.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682720933795032226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 285px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OXjvDPKt5cE/Tt0UlLiHbKI/AAAAAAAACAQ/vp88ABwLUZI/s320/2009-12-06_Milo_Madeline_111.JPG" border="0" /></a> The following Christmas the duo become much more cooperative. It still took a while but I eventually managed to get a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">usable</span> picture. The kids were about 18 months in the above shot (14 months corrected age). They were both walking at that point -- Maddy had just started walking a few weeks before. Pushing that wagon around was about their favorite thing in the world. I must have a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">hundreds</span> photos of Milo running down the sidewalk with Maddy shrieking (happily) as she rode along. By this time, the kids were long since eating solid foods -- in fact I think they ate a much broader variety of food then than they do now. This was our last Christmas living in the cottage on Santa Clara Avenue. I also recall that the kids had to open their presents in two rounds since they still took two naps a day at that point. </p><br /><p align="center">Christmas 2010</p><br /><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LwD4KXucTUs/Tt0UlNDX4uI/AAAAAAAACAI/_0OsLwIhfJA/s1600/2010-12-12_milo_madeline_149f.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682720934202958562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LwD4KXucTUs/Tt0UlNDX4uI/AAAAAAAACAI/_0OsLwIhfJA/s320/2010-12-12_milo_madeline_149f.JPG" border="0" /></a>By last year, M&M were full-on toddlers if not little kids. The above photo required about 12 attempts. Maddy still isn't smiling but close enough. They were starting to get the whole idea of Christmas: they liked presents a lot and for a change they were more impressed with the gifts than with the boxes and wrapping. As typical 30-month-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">olds</span>, M&M were down to about 12 different non-fruit/non-candy foods they were willing to eat -- a condition which still persists. </p><br /><div align="center">December 2011 </div><br /><p align="left"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7WCI_Gzyh80/TtzogYcYt4I/AAAAAAAAB_0/ef4rO5Unm4c/s1600/photob.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682672472849692546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7WCI_Gzyh80/TtzogYcYt4I/AAAAAAAAB_0/ef4rO5Unm4c/s320/photob.JPG" border="0" /></a> Bigger, more social, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">occasionally</span> better behaved, but still not fully potty trained, M&M enjoy hanging out with their friend Chris who live a few doors down. Maddy especially loves Chris (who is also 3) and asks after him all the time. The kids are finally big enough to stand on a regular scale too, which is nice. If it's to be believed, Maddy now weighs in at nearly 34 pounds, and Milo still trails her at 30 pounds. Still, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">that'd</span> be a big weight gain for Milo, who up till a couple months ago was tipping the scale at just over 27 pounds.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7DpQX-dknkA/TtzogGh_85I/AAAAAAAAB_g/6AGJaNBV1rs/s1600/photo%2B2b.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682672468041397138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7DpQX-dknkA/TtzogGh_85I/AAAAAAAAB_g/6AGJaNBV1rs/s320/photo%2B2b.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s_pjjKSmuYE/Ttzof9PcKzI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/hWiWrawO8s8/s1600/photo%2B3b.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682672465547635506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s_pjjKSmuYE/Ttzof9PcKzI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/hWiWrawO8s8/s320/photo%2B3b.JPG" border="0" /></a> Two great pictures from this past Saturday at the play ground. Amazing how much bigger they are now. Notice too that Milo was finally willing to sit for a much needed haircut. </p><br /><p align="left">While I'm thinking about it, thank you very much to all of you who have contributed to the Alta Bates <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">NICU</span> Family Advocacy Counsel. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">FAC</span> has managed to raise over $3000 this year, and Mustache-A-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Thon</span> 2011 donors have contributed about $600 of that. Contributions are still greatly needed. If you have a few bucks to spare -- and no amount is too small -- please consider making a donation to help out a family with a child in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">NICU</span>. Very easy and tax deductible - just visit this link to learn more or donate: <a href="http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/fac.html">http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/fac.html</a> </p><br /><p align="left">Thanks very much and happy holidays!<br /></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-75731197677909972212011-11-19T14:29:00.000-08:002011-11-19T15:15:45.503-08:00Mustache-a-thon 2011 - Stop the Madness!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0pEs5Q7iUac/Tsg1xRFiBsI/AAAAAAAAB_I/W6ziegUiUUQ/s1600/Mustache2%2B004.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0pEs5Q7iUac/Tsg1xRFiBsI/AAAAAAAAB_I/W6ziegUiUUQ/s320/Mustache2%2B004.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676846450816976578" /></a><div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>It's that time again! Yes, that time of year when I hold my handsome face hostage to try and pry a few bucks out of my friends, family, and anyone else who finds their way to the M&M Blog. It's your chance to to give a few bucks to a very worthy cause and help Elaine and the kids (and everyone else forced to see me each day) to rid my upper lip of the third bushy eyebrow that has taken up residence on my otherwise exquisite kisser.</div><div><div><br /><div>What's the cause? I'm glad you asked... We're headed into the holidays and right now many families have a very sick baby or multiple babies in the hospital. Milo and Maddy spent about four-and-a-half months in the Alta Bates <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">NICU</span>, and we know first hand just how difficult it can be for these families. Elaine and I were relatively lucky - we had great insurance, great friends, financial security, very supportive employers, and benefit of having each other. Take away any piece of that puzzle and, well, an incredibly difficult time would have been nearly insurmountable.</div><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">NICU</span> parents want nothing more than to be able to spend time with their child in the hospital. That means daily travel costs, parking, loss of income, and many meals out. Add to that the normal costs of having a child, and you can imagine the financial toll. For most families it's overwhelming.<br /><br />So how can you help? Easy, donate a few bucks to a great cause. Any amount will help! Last year, the Alta Bates <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">NICU</span> started a Family Advisory Council (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">FAC</span>). Among our several goals, we raise funds to help support families with sick babies -- it's very important and even more so as we head into the holidays. Please visit <a href="http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/fac.html">http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/fac.html</a> to make a donation and to learn more about <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">FAC</span>. Why yes, all donations are tax deductible.<br /><br /><div>And if that's not enough to get you to give a few bucks, well, just remember this: the mustache stays until I raise at least $1000. Take a look at the photo below and decide if that's tolerable. ;-)</div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><br /></u></span></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rg7wEkf-4Mk/Tsg1xFqZs3I/AAAAAAAAB_A/EQRXhLv1Dtg/s1600/Mustache2%2B008.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rg7wEkf-4Mk/Tsg1xFqZs3I/AAAAAAAAB_A/EQRXhLv1Dtg/s320/Mustache2%2B008.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676846447750394738" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">We're all counting on you!</div><div><div><div></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-9327442886689514162011-11-12T08:38:00.001-08:002011-11-12T11:06:02.020-08:00Halloween 2011 and the "Movember" Campaign Kick-OffHalloween 2011 marked the first real trick-or-treating outing for the duo and it was a hit! Easily the most fun we've ever had with them, and that's saying something. Their costumes were not the most original -- Milo was an astronaut and Maddy a princess -- but that's what they asked for. We figured the kids would only last about 30 or 4o minutes at most, but we ended up staying out for close to an hour and a half. Pretty successful outing and way more candy than they'll ever be able to finish!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BB9g3bFbIEs/Tr6iDih9zRI/AAAAAAAAB9Q/oIR_tFblYSE/s1600/2011-11-12%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B077.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674150762225978642" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BB9g3bFbIEs/Tr6iDih9zRI/AAAAAAAAB9Q/oIR_tFblYSE/s320/2011-11-12%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B077.JPG" /></a> <br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Milo, Maddy, and Dad get ready to hit the street.</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a6lkWVWgNag/Tr6iDUMhROI/AAAAAAAAB9A/GAW9_mvs04U/s1600/2011-11-12%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B075.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674150758377932002" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a6lkWVWgNag/Tr6iDUMhROI/AAAAAAAAB9A/GAW9_mvs04U/s320/2011-11-12%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B075.JPG" /></a> <br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Little Cinderella poses on the stairs. </div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">So where are all the other pictures? Unfortunately this is it. We got carried away with the moment and didn't get any while we were going door to door. We tried to wrestle the kids back into their costumes to take a few in the backyard with the pumpkins (like last year), but Milo has refused to play along. We'll try again next year. </div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><br /></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">By the way, you may have noticed that dark area of lewdness between my mouth and my nose. It can mean only one thing. In honor of "Movember" I'm kicking off another NICU fundraiser in advance of the holidays. Set aside some cash and standby for more details on how you can get me to shave off my disgraceful mustache and help support families with premature children at the same time! </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-64207784444211724562011-10-18T21:05:00.000-07:002011-10-26T23:05:06.542-07:00FALL 2011Finally, the August post and only 2 and-a-half months late! Much has happened since our last post. Most significantly, the kids are no longer attending daycare. Instead they've started a great half-day program in the Alameda School District (ASD). You might recall me mentioning all the testing and assessments the kids had in preparation for the new program. We were a little nervous, but the class is great. Right now Milo and Madeline are the only kids attending and they have a teacher and two aids assisting him. Not often you see that kind of student-to-teacher ratio. It's especially good since Madeline technically did not qualify for any services based on her assessments alone and Milo probably would not have qualified in most other districts. The district was pretty concerned about their medical history and wanted to ensure that they got the best possible support early. How often does that happen?<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6ZX9Kd1_uoI/Tp5SjnU7IAI/AAAAAAAAB24/tvT18egtn5E/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665056153084305410" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6ZX9Kd1_uoI/Tp5SjnU7IAI/AAAAAAAAB24/tvT18egtn5E/s320/1.jpg" /></a> Maddy with hair long enough for pig tails.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><div style="text-align: left;">The original plan was to have the kids attend the ASD program then take a school bus over to the daycare. Turns out they were scared to ride the bus and there was no reasoning with them. It was probably too much to expect all at once anwyay. So, we ended up hiring a great woman named Amy to pick the kids up and watch them in the afternoon. Much better arrangement all around. The bonus is that Amy is pretty good at painting nails and doing Maddy's hair, which she loves of course.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7qoKAZSuM4/Tp5SjKx-qLI/AAAAAAAAB2w/qEkaj9mdVlY/s1600/2.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665056145421543602" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7qoKAZSuM4/Tp5SjKx-qLI/AAAAAAAAB2w/qEkaj9mdVlY/s320/2.JPG" /> </a>Milo with a giant cookie.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Despite packing down the cookies, Milo is still pretty lean. No concerns in particular with his weight at this point. He's eating a lot and is super active. There are worse things.</div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RHD3Np9wB5k/Tp5Siz1kXyI/AAAAAAAAB2c/xs060fyGE8A/s1600/b1.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665056139262582562" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RHD3Np9wB5k/Tp5Siz1kXyI/AAAAAAAAB2c/xs060fyGE8A/s320/b1.JPG" /></a> Milo, Maddy and Mom - Rodeo Beach - August 2011. </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Beach trips are probably one of the best activities around for the kids. They love it, and since they can't run that fast in the sand it's pretty hard for them to make a break for it. M&M both really like putting their feet in the water, but since the surf is generally pretty big and cold, they don't go in much further than their ankles.</div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-02ofk4_3sWw/Tp5Sim6rucI/AAAAAAAAB2U/UNU55fxujLI/s1600/b2.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665056135794375106" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-02ofk4_3sWw/Tp5Sim6rucI/AAAAAAAAB2U/UNU55fxujLI/s320/b2.JPG" /></a> One of Maddy's favorite activities - standing at the edge of the waterline and getting her feet wet.<br /><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BKBoKyh23hw/Tp5SietBsII/AAAAAAAAB2I/L2R4tMCxbbU/s1600/b3.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665056133589610626" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BKBoKyh23hw/Tp5SietBsII/AAAAAAAAB2I/L2R4tMCxbbU/s320/b3.JPG" /></a> Milo, Maddy and Mom making tracks on a chilly summer day.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b-NhJVZQxKY/Tp5RogDvM-I/AAAAAAAAB10/Jonr_3eAqDQ/s1600/b4.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665055137520890850" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b-NhJVZQxKY/Tp5RogDvM-I/AAAAAAAAB10/Jonr_3eAqDQ/s320/b4.JPG" /></a> </div><div align="center">Maddy on the board walk.<br /></div><br /><div align="left">We also took our first family camping trip in August. We headed up north to Humboldt Redwood State Park for a few days. Despite a long, rough drive up, we had a great time and the kids really enjoyed themselves.<br /></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rygyL7sAA08/Tp5RoAeCHHI/AAAAAAAAB1o/KQFkjQ1NX1A/s1600/c1.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665055129041247346" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rygyL7sAA08/Tp5RoAeCHHI/AAAAAAAAB1o/KQFkjQ1NX1A/s320/c1.JPG" /></a>Just north of Ukiah California. </div><br /><div align="left">The 5 hour drive started out well enough. Unfortunately, we got a flat tire enroute. Given that it was about 90 degrees, the car was fully loaded, and we had two 3-year-olds in the back seat it actually didn't go that bad. There was a tire shop nearby and they took care of us pretty quickly; we were back on the road within a couple hours and still made it in plenty of time to setup camp and cook dinner in the daylight. Definitely a beautiful spot and it was great getting to camp out under the redwoods.<br /></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JBq9bdUBBFU/Tp5RoBZRwRI/AAAAAAAAB1g/oqh7Qau1yNQ/s1600/c2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665055129289736466" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JBq9bdUBBFU/Tp5RoBZRwRI/AAAAAAAAB1g/oqh7Qau1yNQ/s320/c2.jpg" /></a>The first ever McDonald's meal.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Enroute to our campsite, we decided to do the logical thing and stuff the kids full of junk food. Turns out our finicky eaters wouldn't touch the Happy Meal - with the exception of a couple fries and some apple juice.</div><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n5kGCInGO_U/Tp5RnAhT8qI/AAAAAAAAB1M/zKSxePaOhLM/s1600/c4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665055111875130018" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n5kGCInGO_U/Tp5RnAhT8qI/AAAAAAAAB1M/zKSxePaOhLM/s320/c4.jpg" /></a> </div><div align="center">Our little tree huggers enjoying a hike out to the Founders Tree.<br /><br /></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xbs-nQEDT2E/Tp5QXehy4MI/AAAAAAAAB1A/CjchKHyGLjo/s1600/c5.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665053745540686018" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xbs-nQEDT2E/Tp5QXehy4MI/AAAAAAAAB1A/CjchKHyGLjo/s320/c5.jpg" /></a> Lunch time at the Women's Club Grove along the Avenue of the Giants. We looked for a larger table, but unfortunately this little one was the only one available.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xXkAKJMzuGQ/Tp5QW6NAf5I/AAAAAAAAB00/B3N52qE3VBI/s1600/c6.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665053735789821842" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xXkAKJMzuGQ/Tp5QW6NAf5I/AAAAAAAAB00/B3N52qE3VBI/s320/c6.jpg" /></a> Ambitious Milo decides to give climbing a go.<br /></div><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Th921Gm4HE/Tp5QWdnidFI/AAAAAAAAB0o/1HyF0lwh92U/s1600/c7.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665053728116470866" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Th921Gm4HE/Tp5QWdnidFI/AAAAAAAAB0o/1HyF0lwh92U/s320/c7.jpg" /></a> In addition to the great hikes, the Eel River flowed near our campsite. The water was a little chilly, but the kids had a great time swimming and playing there. Above: Milo cruises back and forth across the bridge over the Eel.</div><br /><div align="left"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668030414079139362" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0C13FMetHw8/TqjjoY9MHiI/AAAAAAAAB3I/KzuXJ_uAegg/s320/c9.jpg" />Tossing rocks in the Eel.<br /><br /><div align="left"><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZGnr5gUmdiI/Tp5QVnvR-EI/AAAAAAAAB0c/JZ7JEDpjY9I/s1600/c8.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665053713653430338" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZGnr5gUmdiI/Tp5QVnvR-EI/AAAAAAAAB0c/JZ7JEDpjY9I/s320/c8.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div align="center">First morning in the woods. Success.<br /></div><br /><div align="left">As much fun as we had, we ended up keeping the trip relatively short. Maybe too short... The ever present poison oak just became to formidable an opponent and it was near impossible to keep an eye ont he kids at all times at the campsite. We'll definitely go again though.<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-viQw6OuwmdI/Tp5PZZaAAJI/AAAAAAAAB0E/nJC0U7cUerA/s1600/c10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665052679013925010" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-viQw6OuwmdI/Tp5PZZaAAJI/AAAAAAAAB0E/nJC0U7cUerA/s320/c10.jpg" /></a> Food stop on the way home. The Lumberjack Diner. Classic Northern California dining.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N8BbWmW9wXc/Tp5PYwKyrpI/AAAAAAAABz4/pAR9bT0TPLw/s1600/c11.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665052667944283794" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N8BbWmW9wXc/Tp5PYwKyrpI/AAAAAAAABz4/pAR9bT0TPLw/s320/c11.jpg" /></a> M&M posing with their favorite vehicle, the fire truck! We ran across a group of several firefighter grabbing dinner at the Lumberjack of course.<br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8ovQ9eeveA/Tp5PYc8KtVI/AAAAAAAABzs/IpSt5Xwoz9U/s1600/f1.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665052662782670162" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8ovQ9eeveA/Tp5PYc8KtVI/AAAAAAAABzs/IpSt5Xwoz9U/s320/f1.JPG" /></a> </div>Back to the usual activities: Above, Maddy engaged in a little double barreled nose picking -- a highly advanced technique.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0wFxTSQdrvU/Tp5PX0yNlLI/AAAAAAAABzg/pYWgXv5V15E/s1600/l1.JPG" style="text-align: -webkit-left; "><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665052652003497138" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0wFxTSQdrvU/Tp5PX0yNlLI/AAAAAAAABzg/pYWgXv5V15E/s320/l1.JPG" /></a><div align="left"> I ended up bringing Milo and Maddy by my office one day back in September. We a have a staircase on the base that rises 123 vertical feet (202 steps). The kids really wanted to walk up it and made it all the way!<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ck5StkSRKHE/Tp5PXVDvKfI/AAAAAAAABzU/e6Xi8A9D44g/s1600/m1.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665052643487066610" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ck5StkSRKHE/Tp5PXVDvKfI/AAAAAAAABzU/e6Xi8A9D44g/s320/m1.JPG" /></a> A visit to the Lawrence Hall of Science, Berekeley.</div><div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wGAKmy_Ufiw/Tp5OYOBhg_I/AAAAAAAABzA/xBi91J_mOsQ/s1600/m2.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665051559266976754" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wGAKmy_Ufiw/Tp5OYOBhg_I/AAAAAAAABzA/xBi91J_mOsQ/s320/m2.JPG" /></a> Dad and Milo at Lawrence.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mHB425db8WY/Tp5OXwQZwTI/AAAAAAAAByw/FTjC5oCgqY4/s1600/m3.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665051551276319026" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mHB425db8WY/Tp5OXwQZwTI/AAAAAAAAByw/FTjC5oCgqY4/s320/m3.JPG" /></a> </div>Milo takes in the great view and enjoys a rare, relatively fog free day. He's pointing to the Golden Gate Bridge, by the way.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ppw2GBL8ZKk/Tp5OXIU9L1I/AAAAAAAAByo/SKALS9koZOE/s1600/p1.JPG"><img style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px; cursor: pointer; " id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665051540557999954" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ppw2GBL8ZKk/Tp5OXIU9L1I/AAAAAAAAByo/SKALS9koZOE/s320/p1.JPG" /></a><div><div> </div>A day at the Pumpkin Patch - October 2011, Near Petaluma, CA.<br /><br /><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aJ-xVpLQhcQ/Tp5OW6KAI_I/AAAAAAAAByY/hnNjhG1pKtw/s1600/p2.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665051536753959922" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aJ-xVpLQhcQ/Tp5OW6KAI_I/AAAAAAAAByY/hnNjhG1pKtw/s320/p2.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div>Maddy making strides.<br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Oh4Dr1rSFE/Tp5NZGXJF-I/AAAAAAAAByM/D5i1IF8R4YQ/s1600/p3.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665050474878408674" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Oh4Dr1rSFE/Tp5NZGXJF-I/AAAAAAAAByM/D5i1IF8R4YQ/s320/p3.JPG" /></a> Daddy, M&M enjoying a ride.<br /><br /><div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5P2EFsb9w8Q/Tp5NYnEPrLI/AAAAAAAABx8/jIUOI0qfrXU/s1600/p4.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665050466477649074" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5P2EFsb9w8Q/Tp5NYnEPrLI/AAAAAAAABx8/jIUOI0qfrXU/s320/p4.JPG" /></a> </div>Melita and Milo.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zzk589h4rw0/Tp5NYaFkNoI/AAAAAAAABx0/tpfU8H2kGnc/s1600/p5.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665050462993528450" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zzk589h4rw0/Tp5NYaFkNoI/AAAAAAAABx0/tpfU8H2kGnc/s320/p5.JPG" /></a> </div></div>Milo picks out his pumpkin.<br /><br /><br /><div><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oFcVTZUTpjc/Tp5NXesKryI/AAAAAAAABxs/5YcPjFYrEbY/s1600/p6.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665050447049305890" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oFcVTZUTpjc/Tp5NXesKryI/AAAAAAAABxs/5YcPjFYrEbY/s320/p6.JPG" /></a> </div>The Hay maze.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dir8W_FDa3I/Tp5NXICAyUI/AAAAAAAABxc/eyJ7vwsIlYk/s1600/p7.JPG"><img style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; width: 320px; display: block; height: 239px; cursor: pointer; " id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665050440966916418" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dir8W_FDa3I/Tp5NXICAyUI/AAAAAAAABxc/eyJ7vwsIlYk/s320/p7.JPG" /></a><div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /></div>PUSH! PUSH! Despite her super toddler strength, Maddy did not manage to cover much ground with the wheelbarrow.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxbahOUsCUaNmlJlnHa17B_uibIhPEEnhNG1DBYNR04E61DZV76WVVmqSdJ3goxpBUx6L-AE1z_qXeXjMg6LQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><br /><div align="center">Parting shot: M&M backyard gymnastics - sticking the landing.<br /><p align="center"></p></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-32132834136603542822011-07-30T11:19:00.000-07:002011-08-06T16:10:03.182-07:00Summer Time!<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UhkvX1adxsM/TjRRR0YD7iI/AAAAAAAABvU/eT84vRFR-sI/s1600/2010-07-02%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0032.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635218400306523682" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UhkvX1adxsM/TjRRR0YD7iI/AAAAAAAABvU/eT84vRFR-sI/s320/2010-07-02%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0032.jpg" border="0" /></a>Summer time! 4<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span></span> of July Weekend picnic at Big Basin.<br /></div><br />Yes, summer finally arrived in the Bay Area sometime in early July, though the weather occasionally lapses back into early Spring. Just this morning, Elaine was bugging me to put on the heat. I refuse on principle -- or as she puts it, "because you insisted it was broiling hot in here even though it was 64 degrees!" Same difference.<br /><br />Anyway, the kids are doing really well these days. Huge leaps forward in language in the last couple months. In fact Maddy's speech therapist may discharge her at the end of August. In the spring she had several notable delays and was referred for therapy, and by the time we were able to get an appointment with the speech therapist, she had already met or exceeded most of her goals. That's the tough thing with preemies (and kids in general I'd guess): you worry and worry about the things they can't do and then suddenly they wake up one day and do it.<br /><br />Milo has also taken big leaps forward. In fact during yet still another evaluation (unrelated to the series they had in May/June) he tested in the range of normal in all areas, though he was on the low side of normal on cognitive and language (just like Dad). The evaluator was very surprised that he qualified for any services at all with the school district. Huh?!<br /><br />We also paid a visit to the kids' pediatrician in late June for the 3-year check-up. Everything looked good under the hood. The kids were weighed and measured and here's the break down: Maddy weighed in at a robust 32 lbs. and was 37" tall. That places her in about the 60<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span></span> percentile for weight and the 45<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span></span> percentile for height for full-term girls. Who'd a thought, eh?<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_XfSwsDJqjQ/TjRRRqpKmUI/AAAAAAAABvM/j3dPUSLNTjI/s1600/2010-07-02%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0021.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635218397693909314" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_XfSwsDJqjQ/TjRRRqpKmUI/AAAAAAAABvM/j3dPUSLNTjI/s320/2010-07-02%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0021.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Maddy munches in the great outdoors Big Basin.<br /></div><br />Milo was a lean, mean 27 lbs (as of end of June) and was 36" tall. That places him in the 5<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span></span> -10<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span></span> percentile for weight and the 20<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span></span> percentile for height for a full-term boy. Milo is pretty jacked though - the kid's calves are far bigger proportionally than mine ever were, and he's sporting a six pack. Crazy.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zzNxBIYHr10/TjRRSA7gFTI/AAAAAAAABvc/fm0DQFQV37w/s1600/2010-07-02%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0073.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635218403676394802" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zzNxBIYHr10/TjRRSA7gFTI/AAAAAAAABvc/fm0DQFQV37w/s320/2010-07-02%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0073.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Standing tall - Milo mugs for the camera at Big Basin. </div><br />I was a little worried about Milo's lack of weight gain over the last few months, but he was just getting over being pretty sick. Overall, he eats well and is extremely active - so for now, no worries. He also looks like he may have gained a little weight since the check-up.<br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8R_8SgIsrkI/TjRNsz83TeI/AAAAAAAABuc/Aq1ZB2R8eYI/s1600/2010-07-02%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0484.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635214466002406882" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8R_8SgIsrkI/TjRNsz83TeI/AAAAAAAABuc/Aq1ZB2R8eYI/s320/2010-07-02%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0484.jpg" border="0" /></a> As you've probably noticed from the pictures above, the family braved the 4<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span></span> of July traffic for an outing to Big Basin State Park. Turned out to be a great day! The kids loved playing in the trees (see above) and ended up meeting another little girl along the trail. The three of them walked and ran the entire half mile loop through the woods, though with all the doubling back, it was probably closer to a mile or more. Ice cream and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">popsicles</span></span> were had afterward making for happy and sticky kids. (BTW: Maddy loves ice cream, but Milo will only eat <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">popsicles</span></span> - hence his low weight and toned tummy.)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yTalZVOlM8k/TjRNtMGvjDI/AAAAAAAABuk/cVeFmQGBp18/s1600/2011-07-04%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0185.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635214472486292530" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yTalZVOlM8k/TjRNtMGvjDI/AAAAAAAABuk/cVeFmQGBp18/s320/2011-07-04%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0185.jpg" border="0" /></a>Mom and M&M at the Alameda July 4<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span></span> Parade.<br /><br /></div>4<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span></span> of July also means parades. Alameda brags that it has the longest 4<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span></span> of July parade in the country. Not sure if it's true or not, but it seemed pretty long. Most of the floats were great, but a few were suspect. I'm thinking of the one entitled "People Who Weren't in the Alameda 4<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span></span> of July Parade Last Year!" Maddy was tired and a little overwhelmed by all the sites and spent most of the parade on Mom's lap. Milo enjoyed his giant cookie and took in the entire spectacle.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M05rIVeQI1M/TjRRRQ4aHHI/AAAAAAAABvE/Mdv1QDgYQoo/s1600/2011-07-11%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0558.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635218390778518642" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M05rIVeQI1M/TjRRRQ4aHHI/AAAAAAAABvE/Mdv1QDgYQoo/s320/2011-07-11%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0558.jpg" border="0" /></a>Maddy & Mom <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">rockin</span>' out!<br /></div><br />We probably let the kids watch too much TV, but the good news is they only seem to like shows with lots of music and they never stand still. Even Mommy can't resist a little jig. Notice Maddy has taken to picking out her own clothing. The fine outfit above was included in a little costume chest she got for her birthday. Maddy likes to wear the skirt with pretty much all of her other outfits. It makes a fine addition, doesn't it?<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-llMQhEjTYek/TjRNtVfJfhI/AAAAAAAABu0/GTok_wHHy48/s1600/2011-07-11%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0247.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635214475004575250" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-llMQhEjTYek/TjRNtVfJfhI/AAAAAAAABu0/GTok_wHHy48/s320/2011-07-11%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0247.jpg" border="0" /></a>Friends Chris, Baby Kate & Emily - July 2011.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This summer has also meant lots of visits with friends and many, many birthday parties. We got down to Redwood City to visit with our friends Chris, Emily, and Baby Kate who just turned 1. They happen to live next to one of the best city parks I've ever been to, complete with a mini-water park (see picture just below).<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JgGsSWSn89g/TjRNtKN1PXI/AAAAAAAABus/pASZICazqHA/s1600/2011-07-11%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0166.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635214471979154802" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JgGsSWSn89g/TjRNtKN1PXI/AAAAAAAABus/pASZICazqHA/s320/2011-07-11%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0166.jpg" border="0" /></a>Maddy & Mom enjoying the water on a hot day.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BDtocU8gWH4/TjRNNjc5fBI/AAAAAAAABuM/DM0hDGER4zI/s1600/2011-07-17%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B02911.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635213928997420050" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BDtocU8gWH4/TjRNNjc5fBI/AAAAAAAABuM/DM0hDGER4zI/s320/2011-07-17%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B02911.jpg" border="0" /></a>Ellie's 2<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">nd</span></span> Birthday.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Birthdays, birthdays, birthdays! I'm certain that a substantial portion of Maddy's weight comes from cake frosting -- the Pixie's favorite food. Above, Maddy eyes the goods at her friend Ellie's birthday. (Ellie is the younger sister of Callie, who at age 4 is Maddy's idol.)<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OcXehiuZ0Jk/TjRNsm0-EKI/AAAAAAAABuU/hmKiz0C7y2k/s1600/2011-07-17%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B04212.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635214462479634594" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OcXehiuZ0Jk/TjRNsm0-EKI/AAAAAAAABuU/hmKiz0C7y2k/s320/2011-07-17%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B04212.jpg" border="0" /></a>Callie & Maddy do some quality noshing - July 2011.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nHXW5ZfNR8w/TjRNNlH1tUI/AAAAAAAABuE/wSUPUYnEkZo/s1600/2011-07-17%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B02410.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635213929445963074" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nHXW5ZfNR8w/TjRNNlH1tUI/AAAAAAAABuE/wSUPUYnEkZo/s320/2011-07-17%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B02410.jpg" border="0" /></a>More birthday scenes: Riley's first birthday.<br /></div><br />Beyond cheap food and entertainment for the kids, one of the up-shots of so many birthday parties is that we've ended up meeting a lot of other families and discovering a few great new spots for the kids. Riley's birthday was at the Roberts Regional Recreation area, which ended having one of the coolest <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">playscapes</span> we've ever seen yet (except maybe <a href="http://www.hhpz.org/">Happy Hollow</a>, but that required an entry fee). It came complete with an enclosed slide, kids' boulder climbing area, and all kinds of other great stuff.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IophYXO12DY/TjYdxERbEqI/AAAAAAAABvs/F5ZQrBmbRKQ/s1600/2011-07-17%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B008.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635724712498369186" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IophYXO12DY/TjYdxERbEqI/AAAAAAAABvs/F5ZQrBmbRKQ/s320/2011-07-17%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B008.JPG" border="0" /></a>Mom awaits Milo - July 2011 - Roberts Reg. Rec. Area. </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2zkXbvKXGas/TjRNNVIa9ZI/AAAAAAAABt8/SEV0CORZflI/s1600/2011-07-17%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0049.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 255px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635213925153437074" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2zkXbvKXGas/TjRNNVIa9ZI/AAAAAAAABt8/SEV0CORZflI/s320/2011-07-17%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0049.jpg" border="0" /></a>Milo jogs back to the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">playscape</span> after grabbing a quick snack.<br /></div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8mf82y2gcD4/TjRNNDpUrEI/AAAAAAAABt0/MfB2gi0dvYg/s1600/2011-07-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B05118.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635213920459598914" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8mf82y2gcD4/TjRNNDpUrEI/AAAAAAAABt0/MfB2gi0dvYg/s320/2011-07-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B05118.jpg" border="0" /></a>Since the kids are now 3, we decided to try our hand at a family camping trip. We're headed out in August to Humboldt Redwoods State Park to give it a whirl. In the run up, I went ahead and set up my backpacking tent in the backyard and - of course - made a few key gear purchases for M&M. We've committed to at least 2 nights, but we're shooting for 3 or 4 if all goes well!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q4hKmMC5IIA/TjRMscGPlWI/AAAAAAAABtE/eRcblJ8IuqU/s1600/IMAG031720.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 213px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635213360087668066" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q4hKmMC5IIA/TjRMscGPlWI/AAAAAAAABtE/eRcblJ8IuqU/s320/IMAG031720.jpg" border="0" /></a>Above: M&M try out there new sleeping bags, which are a hit so far! Maddy has insisted on sleeping with hers several nights over the last week and not just because I'm cheap with the heat either.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwf1grLeS0tPsuXa7tksm5yLVvtK_YNKvFZMfPzo63mmKHLQI_hYXchZ4pYckcjzLtVcdBvWUYh6wMbNGpUmw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">M&M practice the essential art of entering and exiting a tent - repeatedly.<br /></div><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DgQNpa5uv1Q/TjRNNItKwtI/AAAAAAAABts/ECU-f6E2lXg/s1600/2011-07-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B04817.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635213921817903826" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DgQNpa5uv1Q/TjRNNItKwtI/AAAAAAAABts/ECU-f6E2lXg/s320/2011-07-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B04817.jpg" border="0" /></a>The kids also visited their giraffes, lions, and other pets, which we generously house at the Oakland Zoo. Above: Rhea, Maddy and backwards Milo.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DwcJVUZ3JEU/TjRMtM14ZxI/AAAAAAAABtk/KJbLw_blPI4/s1600/2011-07-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B02916.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635213373172377362" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DwcJVUZ3JEU/TjRMtM14ZxI/AAAAAAAABtk/KJbLw_blPI4/s320/2011-07-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B02916.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Rhea, Maddy & Milo checkout the alligator.<br /><br /></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PdlxXZiblLE/TjRMsySt-lI/AAAAAAAABtc/NLY2kjbjzow/s1600/2011-07-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B01915.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635213366045571666" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PdlxXZiblLE/TjRMsySt-lI/AAAAAAAABtc/NLY2kjbjzow/s320/2011-07-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B01915.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Milo pets the business end of the sheep.<br /></div><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yrxRzlnR9FA/TjRMs7jxJeI/AAAAAAAABtU/WnYYX4ghzxU/s1600/2011-07-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B00114.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635213368533001698" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yrxRzlnR9FA/TjRMs7jxJeI/AAAAAAAABtU/WnYYX4ghzxU/s320/2011-07-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B00114.jpg" border="0" /></a>The kids seem to be sleeping less and less during the day. Maddy in particular is starting to skip naps on the weekend. It really would do the little girl's disposition a world of good to sleep for an hour at least, but she'll typically have none of it. Above: Mom & Maddy work the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error">Gruffalo</span> puzzle while Milo sleeps soundly.<br /><br />To end on an up note... Summer is all about <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error">rockin</span>' out, and we've stumbled on to a nice free venue near the house. There's an open shopping center that's featuring some pretty respectable live music for free on Saturday evenings. And there's booze on hand! Yeah, I was shocked too. The first week we saw some pretty solid Latin Jazz by a group called <a href="http://www.musicandela.com/fr_aboutus.cfm">Edgardo & <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-error">Candela</span></a>. The kids absolutely loved it. Yesterday it was <a href="http://www.fishbearmusic.com/">Fish Bear</a> - a mix of ska, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-error">klezmer</span>, and rock that actually works really well.<br /><div style="text-align: center;" align="left"><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxCiiC-QKrERh5D26JPJ5Rd4ixlR-gF7lgXJWdXDBBTvuRLZl6hiWmv9tsBvJMonBpNegnl1PFdjL-vDDeFWg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;" align="left">Above: Maddy & Milo get down to business. As you can see, Maddy's dance is very pure, raw, and emotional. She leaves nothing behind.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;" align="left"></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_vvIHnxmKis/TjTNooJRlLI/AAAAAAAABvk/9YDnQ56ns74/s1600/2011-07-30%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B027.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 241px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635355131602113714" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_vvIHnxmKis/TjTNooJRlLI/AAAAAAAABvk/9YDnQ56ns74/s320/2011-07-30%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B027.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rockin</span>' out is even better with friends. Above: Nicola, Maddy & Milo playing games after dancing to tune the tunes of <a href="http://www.fishbearmusic.com/">Fish Bear</a> and having a nice Chinese dinner. What more could a kid want?<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />See you next month with a full account of the camping trip and other developments. Wish us luck. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-11915364096549338712011-06-26T12:42:00.000-07:002011-06-27T15:01:33.619-07:00The Twins Turn Three!That's right! M&M are three and you know what that means? It means I'm getting older and they're getting faster. In another year, we'll stand almost no chance of catching up to them. Hopefully the Toddler Death Wish will fade away by then, and dashing into the street won't be so alluring. It also means just 15 more years until I can start charging for rent!<br /><br />As promised, I dusted off Mr. Bear for the annual photos. Of course, they aren't growing quite as fast as they were a year ago, but I took a look back and the Ms definitely have gotten a lot bigger. Check out last year's bear pictures here <a href="http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html">http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html</a>; the year before here <a href="http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html">http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html</a>; and the very first pictures from October 2008 (their approximate corrected first birthday <a href="http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2008/08/long-march-to-september.html">http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2008/08/long-march-to-september.html</a>.<br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ybFPM2fmWvk/TgeMBxubXyI/AAAAAAAABqc/2Z9l3oxTVxQ/s1600/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B1162.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622616621951180578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ybFPM2fmWvk/TgeMBxubXyI/AAAAAAAABqc/2Z9l3oxTVxQ/s320/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B1162.jpg" border="0" /></a>M&M - 18 June 2011 - a few days after their 3rd birthday.<br /></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8r5I6Kd-ls4/TgeMBeebSDI/AAAAAAAABqU/eNxwiKBY3uI/s1600/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B1121.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622616616783792178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8r5I6Kd-ls4/TgeMBeebSDI/AAAAAAAABqU/eNxwiKBY3uI/s320/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B1121.jpg" border="0" /></a>Maddy</div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R6--Qi_ZY18/TgeMBJ86DzI/AAAAAAAABqM/w8dHF3lX75g/s1600/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B1213.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622616611274493746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R6--Qi_ZY18/TgeMBJ86DzI/AAAAAAAABqM/w8dHF3lX75g/s320/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B1213.jpg" border="0" /></a>Milo</div><br />We had a nice shin-dig to celebrate the big event albeit a few days late, but it all worked out for the best. We had great weather and a good crowd. Unfortunately, I wasn't so good about getting pictures of the party. The ones below are about the best I could come up with.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CM6MecTa-m8/Tgeb4I-Fy_I/AAAAAAAABq8/8yC-aIlS_Yg/s1600/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B05618.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622634048578243570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CM6MecTa-m8/Tgeb4I-Fy_I/AAAAAAAABq8/8yC-aIlS_Yg/s320/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B05618.jpg" border="0" /></a>Above: Maddy - In true San Francisco fashion, she wandered around the whole afternoon in her dress, a fleece and no shoes. And why yes, she still likes cake!<br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZLH2kSdaqw/Tgeb3wDvc3I/AAAAAAAABq0/71-C6i41s6Q/s1600/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B05317.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622634041891058546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZLH2kSdaqw/Tgeb3wDvc3I/AAAAAAAABq0/71-C6i41s6Q/s320/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B05317.jpg" border="0" /></a>Above: Milo and Jody contemplate the magic of the spinning flower.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-488dK5mmPNw/Tgeb3oGBQzI/AAAAAAAABqs/zSfcgOdiGRQ/s1600/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B04416.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622634039753130802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-488dK5mmPNw/Tgeb3oGBQzI/AAAAAAAABqs/zSfcgOdiGRQ/s320/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B04416.jpg" border="0" /></a>Above: Jim, Gretchen, Bryan and Riley (the baby in the foreground), and Milo.<br /></div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-00U50tRTWWg/Tgeb3VrkgFI/AAAAAAAABqk/n6i48jS5Ypo/s1600/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B038.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622634034810355794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-00U50tRTWWg/Tgeb3VrkgFI/AAAAAAAABqk/n6i48jS5Ypo/s320/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B038.JPG" border="0" /></a>The trampoline was a crowd <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">pleaser</span> as always. Look close and you'll see Maddy stealing one of about a dozen hugs from Callie.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FpbrFJRWNWA/TgedouoZ3jI/AAAAAAAABrE/Kjq0X1XdVM4/s1600/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B032.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622635982833180210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FpbrFJRWNWA/TgedouoZ3jI/AAAAAAAABrE/Kjq0X1XdVM4/s320/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B032.JPG" border="0" /></a>Grandpa also swung by for a visit (yeah, bad joke...). Above, Maddy and Grandpa take a ride on the swings.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bQuXXKAARtc/TgedpDsBnzI/AAAAAAAABrU/cHb2lpiYL1Q/s1600/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622635988485513010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 241px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bQuXXKAARtc/TgedpDsBnzI/AAAAAAAABrU/cHb2lpiYL1Q/s320/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B002.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hsSNs1otgvI/Tgedo8g2hEI/AAAAAAAABrM/FZ3drh-mWSw/s1600/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B005.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622635986559599682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 242px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hsSNs1otgvI/Tgedo8g2hEI/AAAAAAAABrM/FZ3drh-mWSw/s320/2011-06-25%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B005.JPG" border="0" /></a>M&M out for a stroll with Dad and Grandpa - 26 June 2011.<br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">One of the nice recent developments - the kids will finally walk home from the park on their own steam without running into the canal, traffic, or rolling around on the ground and having a tantrum (well, mostly without a tantrum).<br /></div></div><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XW31fyvR__g/TgeeHCB3W5I/AAAAAAAABsM/5_VEi0HGs18/s1600/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B0484.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622636503436319634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XW31fyvR__g/TgeeHCB3W5I/AAAAAAAABsM/5_VEi0HGs18/s320/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B0484.jpg" border="0" /></a>M&M off to the pool - June 2011.<br /></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">As summer arrives, the kids are asking to swim non-stop. They don't really know how yet, but they love the water and are pretty fearless. Hope to have them in a class shortly, and then it's just a few more steps to their first whitewater boats! One of the downsides of Bay Area weather is that we don't get many warm days without a cold breeze involved.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GE-lY6SjbBQ/TgeeG3TSZkI/AAAAAAAABsE/uotrxpQUS9M/s1600/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B0605.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622636500556604994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GE-lY6SjbBQ/TgeeG3TSZkI/AAAAAAAABsE/uotrxpQUS9M/s320/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B0605.jpg" border="0" /></a>Above: Some ugly, pale, bald guy and Maddy enjoy the pool together. I don't remember seeign the guy, but Elaine said he looked pretty seedy, so she chased him off.<br /><br /></div></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O5J8lprbGJg/TgeegBSwh5I/AAAAAAAABss/9qX43HTUX38/s1600/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B074.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622636932735469458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 254px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O5J8lprbGJg/TgeegBSwh5I/AAAAAAAABss/9qX43HTUX38/s320/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B074.JPG" border="0" /></a>Milo lounges at the pool side.<br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rJ-MZxcD5kc/TgfO90FRMpI/AAAAAAAABs0/qOnFOUMvB0s/s1600/IMAG0294.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622690221143437970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 219px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rJ-MZxcD5kc/TgfO90FRMpI/AAAAAAAABs0/qOnFOUMvB0s/s320/IMAG0294.jpg" border="0" /></a>Mommy, Grandpa, and M&M heading to the pool in their muscle suits. These swim suits are not only humorous, but they also provide some much needed flotation and warmth. The kids hated them last year but seem to really like them now. I guess the fact that the suits now fit could account for that.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-X3LjFYSf8/TgfO-O9gnFI/AAAAAAAABs8/B6Un-Zqi3as/s1600/IMAG0300.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622690228358650962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-X3LjFYSf8/TgfO-O9gnFI/AAAAAAAABs8/B6Un-Zqi3as/s320/IMAG0300.jpg" border="0" /></a>In other exciting developments, M&M received their first bikes for their birthday. Above, Maddy takes the first ride on her new bicycle as Grandpa looks on. Milo also got a new bike, but he's not so into it yet. He's still pretty fixated on his red tricycle and is determined to master that first.<br /></div></div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KjTtJ7jdj3k/TgeefgpAaRI/AAAAAAAABsk/izQ2dsk2JbY/s1600/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B0191.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622636923970414866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KjTtJ7jdj3k/TgeefgpAaRI/AAAAAAAABsk/izQ2dsk2JbY/s320/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B0191.jpg" border="0" /></a> Safety first! Our little diva rocks her helmet on the stairs while Daddy carries her bicycle across the bridge for her.<br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cSkgF50ssSY/TgeefKiJ5uI/AAAAAAAABsU/uVhVCPKd3TM/s1600/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B0393.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622636918036096738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cSkgF50ssSY/TgeefKiJ5uI/AAAAAAAABsU/uVhVCPKd3TM/s320/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B0393.jpg" border="0" /></a>Maddy demonstrates how all country music is written. June 2011.<br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OvM6rKbukUU/TgeeGcJTTXI/AAAAAAAABr0/UxtbJWAzpxU/s1600/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B1068.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622636493266963826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OvM6rKbukUU/TgeeGcJTTXI/AAAAAAAABr0/UxtbJWAzpxU/s320/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B1068.jpg" border="0" /></a>Milo shows off his blue eyes, straight teeth, and thick hair. The lucky little guy seems to have dodged his Dad's bad genes on all those fronts. Keep your fingers crossed: he seems to have inherited my temperament.<br /></div></div><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IDisOHTjPKg/TgeeGs_LUXI/AAAAAAAABr8/cv8eY5cGvgo/s1600/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B0817.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622636497787900274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IDisOHTjPKg/TgeeGs_LUXI/AAAAAAAABr8/cv8eY5cGvgo/s320/2010-06-24%2BMilo%2BMaddy%2B0817.jpg" border="0" /></a>Above: Maddy does her best Sean Penn imitation - "No cameras!"<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rmMw8L0Zyqw/TgeeGP1SX5I/AAAAAAAABrs/eVF7ke5bucE/s1600/2011-06-05%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0269.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622636489961791378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rmMw8L0Zyqw/TgeeGP1SX5I/AAAAAAAABrs/eVF7ke5bucE/s320/2011-06-05%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0269.jpg" border="0" /></a>Of course, sometimes she loves the camera!<br /></div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cmLjll9xEzc/Tgedqn9TzuI/AAAAAAAABrk/eZTZNO6NH74/s1600/2011-06-05%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B07810.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622636015401553634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cmLjll9xEzc/Tgedqn9TzuI/AAAAAAAABrk/eZTZNO6NH74/s320/2011-06-05%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B07810.jpg" border="0" /></a>Our silly boy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">rockin</span>' his sweet red ride in the backyard. This trike is a model of inefficiency. The little guy has another much nicer one and a new bike, but he only has eyes for the little red ride.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SFzfxHvqBZ4/TgedpszXTSI/AAAAAAAABrc/nGv4ETdsQFY/s1600/2011-06-05%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B09211.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622635999522147618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SFzfxHvqBZ4/TgedpszXTSI/AAAAAAAABrc/nGv4ETdsQFY/s320/2011-06-05%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B09211.jpg" border="0" /></a>Parting shot. Mommy and the new three-year-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">olds</span> clown around on the trampoline.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-7471649866394917092011-05-14T13:34:00.001-07:002011-05-22T12:12:23.646-07:00Yes, I Finally Added a New Post!First, May 6th was National Nurses Day. If you look back at our old posts, you'll see just what a tremendous role nurses played in saving M&M from all the numerous pitfalls of very early birth. If you are impressed with how well our 25 weekers turned out, the nurses at Alta Bates deserve a considerable share of the credit! Thanks. Thanks very much to all of you!<br /><br />It's been a while - as Auntie Janet has recently reminded me. In fact I think this is the longest I've gone without posting an update to the blog. Consequently, this post is long. Very long. Maybe my longest yet. Maybe not. Of late there just hasn't been much time - between the 15+ doctor/evaluation/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">IEP</span>/assessment appointments we've had over the last 5 weeks for the kids, along with the usual work schedule and so forth we've been busy. Really, really, annoyingly busy. Here's hoping that things slow down a bit with summer on the way!<br /><br />We did manage to find time over the last few weeks to have some fun with the kids. On the home front, Elaine got bold and decided to setup the kids' easel outside for an afternoon of painting. The kids loved it and some of their works will no doubt fetch a tidy sum at the next big Christie's auction. M&M dubbed the collaborative work below "No! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">noooo</span>! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">myyyyy</span> paint." It now adorns a wall in my office. The asking price is $5,000, but all reasonable offers will be considered. Dig deep people.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rbJEgYIZVOw/Tc7oc9_dHyI/AAAAAAAABpY/-syEMnVu25o/s1600/2011-04-18%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0051.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 241px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rbJEgYIZVOw/Tc7oc9_dHyI/AAAAAAAABpY/-syEMnVu25o/s320/2011-04-18%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0051.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606674170497539874" border="0" /></a>M&M at work. April 2011<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3DolxJf-MJM/Tc7ocWXG8GI/AAAAAAAABpQ/sp9YswvrFNY/s1600/2011-04-18%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0092.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3DolxJf-MJM/Tc7ocWXG8GI/AAAAAAAABpQ/sp9YswvrFNY/s320/2011-04-18%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0092.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606674159859331170" border="0" /></a>The aftermath. (Taken approximately 35 minutes after the above photo.)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Of course, April is also Easter time and the kids enjoyed their first ever Easter egg hunt down in the southwest meadows of our palatial estate. Maddy and Milo's older friend Callie showed the twins the ropes. Maddy was a quick study. Once she figured out that the eggs contained candy, she became a well-oiled egg-seeking machine. Milo doesn't have much of a sweet tooth. He filled his basket easy enough, but he was more impressed with the colors and just puttering around the yard.<br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wh1Ejetn8WE/Tc7ocJ0PfpI/AAAAAAAABpI/Jucditb15rA/s1600/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B013.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wh1Ejetn8WE/Tc7ocJ0PfpI/AAAAAAAABpI/Jucditb15rA/s320/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606674156491865746" border="0" /></a>Maddy & Callie - Easter 2011<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Leyg1NaoHV4/Tc7oAfseEbI/AAAAAAAABpA/IIJAlwvUo4s/s1600/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0123.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Leyg1NaoHV4/Tc7oAfseEbI/AAAAAAAABpA/IIJAlwvUo4s/s320/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0123.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606673681328509362" border="0" /></a>Milo checks his booty.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l5c3Eps-cbc/Tc7oAEm4BwI/AAAAAAAABow/wuVt2EzVLM4/s1600/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0245.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l5c3Eps-cbc/Tc7oAEm4BwI/AAAAAAAABow/wuVt2EzVLM4/s320/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0245.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606673674057287426" border="0" /></a>Maddy shares a little with Mom. The little girl loves feeding people.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-awO_fASyH4Y/Tc7n_gq07fI/AAAAAAAABoo/BBq7I9K5xRs/s1600/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0266.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-awO_fASyH4Y/Tc7n_gq07fI/AAAAAAAABoo/BBq7I9K5xRs/s320/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0266.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606673664410185202" border="0" /></a>Callie, Maddy and Milo on the hunt.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyyLhMdgfp8ipYMzFhQjfDe22wlDgR9h5edUBNQjWzYirLc76Uly0K0KTeX-rlbERIihyDShKtmn2J1Tmndig' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />The search is on.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yIY0k-uB8Fs/Tc7ntydEAMI/AAAAAAAABoY/7Lyf5tGY3-U/s1600/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0618.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yIY0k-uB8Fs/Tc7ntydEAMI/AAAAAAAABoY/7Lyf5tGY3-U/s320/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0618.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606673359946645698" border="0" /></a>Later on that day, we joined Callie, Ellie, and their Mom and Dad for Easter dinner. That's Maddy on the far left wearing Callie's princess dress. Elaine and Lara are toiling in the background prepping the beer glazed ham and various cheesy potato dishes. A delicious, low calorie meal!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Unlike Milo, whose hair grows in fast and thick, it's taken the little girl a while to grow her blond locks out. It didn't help that the poor kid got a butchered back in late January. Her hair is now long enough to require barrettes. And she definitely digs the barrettes!<br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BBZeLECUv3Q/Tc7n_vhyOYI/AAAAAAAABog/xbm7u3wC1so/s1600/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0497.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BBZeLECUv3Q/Tc7n_vhyOYI/AAAAAAAABog/xbm7u3wC1so/s320/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0497.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606673668398791042" border="0" /></a>Above: Maddy admires her look. If you look in the center right side of the photo, you'll see M&M's potty charts. It's a work in progress. Really, the potty training is largely a work with little progress so far. We had a few big moments several months ago when Maddy put together a few wees on the pot. Since then, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">nada</span> -- not a poo, not a tinkle, not nothing! Meanwhile, diapers only get larger and more expensive, and the poop only gets bigger. I'm hoping that - like a lot of other kids - there will be a tremendous break through one day (soon!). That's always the way it seems to go with them, so it would make sense.<br /><br />My dad tells me he got me using the potty by putting a small rubber ducky in the bowl and having me aim at it. Maybe we'll try that. Elaine just noted that I don't appear to have any strange duck peeing fetishes, so what's the harm? (Elaine also just asked me to delete the bit about the duck peeing fetish but I think it's pretty funny. Feel free to post a comment letting her know how funny I am and how my wit and irreverent humor keeps you all coming back for more!)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qfNMHvBitFw/Tc8ckHkxVvI/AAAAAAAABpw/Y50rlkWQkTI/s1600/IMAG0244.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qfNMHvBitFw/Tc8ckHkxVvI/AAAAAAAABpw/Y50rlkWQkTI/s320/IMAG0244.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606731467933701874" border="0" /></a>Another cute barrette shot.<br /></div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I_odkZBuYQM/Tc7ntuYIZbI/AAAAAAAABoQ/FiPUdYKmGAI/s1600/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0769.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I_odkZBuYQM/Tc7ntuYIZbI/AAAAAAAABoQ/FiPUdYKmGAI/s320/2011-04-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B0769.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606673358852220338" border="0" /></a>Milo tries on Daddy's work shoes. May 2011.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6vYH4n_u7NA/Tc7ntnUP_HI/AAAAAAAABoI/3OuNmeVQmKY/s1600/2011-05-09%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B00510.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6vYH4n_u7NA/Tc7ntnUP_HI/AAAAAAAABoI/3OuNmeVQmKY/s320/2011-05-09%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B00510.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606673356956892274" border="0" /></a>Above: Milo enjoys one of Mommy's famous pancake breakfasts. Usually Elaine and I trade off on who gets to sleep in late on the weekends. Whoever gets up early usually makes breakfast. I generally make french toast; Elaine leans pancakes. You really can't wrong either way.<br /><br />A couple weeks back, we managed to pull a few hours together to drive the kids down to Happy Hollow in San Jose. Despite the lame name, the place is probably my favorite children's theme park in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">NorCal</span>. That's saying something, because I've been to pretty much all of them over the last couple years. I just wish the place was a little closer to home!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BIzD4Q_61Ig/Tc7ntRuJN5I/AAAAAAAABoA/ooUxDQzVKY0/s1600/2011-05-09%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B02511.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BIzD4Q_61Ig/Tc7ntRuJN5I/AAAAAAAABoA/ooUxDQzVKY0/s320/2011-05-09%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B02511.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606673351159920530" border="0" /></a>Above: Maddy loves the merry-go-round! Milo talks a big game alright -- pretty much every day he says, "I go ride tiger. I go ride tiger. I want merry-go-round!" But when we go to the park, he chickens out and sits on the bench with Mom or Dad. It's pretty amazing that the little guy will jump from ridiculous heights, loves to rough house, and especially likes me toss him in the air as high as possible. Yet, the fake tiger on the merry-go-round and his "Very Clever Crocodile" Pop-up book both scare him (though he still asks for them both every day). Fair enough.<br /><br /></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a3PLzFGlhQU/Tc8X9e90zCI/AAAAAAAABpg/ZfVRU1yWm18/s1600/IMAG0255.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a3PLzFGlhQU/Tc8X9e90zCI/AAAAAAAABpg/ZfVRU1yWm18/s320/IMAG0255.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606726406151392290" border="0" /></a><br />Above: Milo climbs a steep, five foot rock wall at Happy Hollow. This bit was amazing! Milo spotted another older child climb this wall and he demanded to try it for himself. It took a couple tries, but he managed all on his own. He pulled himself up on the step in the top center, then he ran up the flights of stairs and took an enormous, enclosed slide down. I followed behind, but he took care of business without help from Dad. Pretty solid for a 2.7 year old!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><img src="file:///C:/Users/Rob/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1U-gIBb9gHk/Tc8aqcpN-MI/AAAAAAAABpo/jPE8D2pC5js/s1600/slides.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1U-gIBb9gHk/Tc8aqcpN-MI/AAAAAAAABpo/jPE8D2pC5js/s320/slides.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606729377645459650" border="0" /></a>Happy Hollow Slide Park. M&M did them all. The place also has a nice zoo, rides, a petting zoo, and a whole bunch of other great attractions.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ElOSJx8BGd8/Tc8d0TaqK-I/AAAAAAAABp4/MJ_ijhGLMo0/s1600/2011-05-09%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B038.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ElOSJx8BGd8/Tc8d0TaqK-I/AAAAAAAABp4/MJ_ijhGLMo0/s320/2011-05-09%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B038.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606732845502049250" border="0" /></a>Maddy keeps on trucking.</div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUkvfvGwsJQ/Tc7ntOCQeFI/AAAAAAAABn4/hGV64nD24Y0/s1600/2011-05-09%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B03212.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUkvfvGwsJQ/Tc7ntOCQeFI/AAAAAAAABn4/hGV64nD24Y0/s320/2011-05-09%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B03212.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606673350170540114" border="0" /></a>Milo - May 2011. Munching on snacks in the Happy Hollow Zoo.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzHmE2wIMTkmuMm1DW2WJKloOtfA93_qYaMPlNWOIQHg9gP4l7jP9Cc9JoRpobMHI25J1aGQ66JBRC9AQqFcA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">What else do the kids love besides big shoes and hats, candy, and amusement parks? Singing and dancing of course - the standard toddler array. Here M&M sing <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ABCs</span> with Mom. You'll see Milo strumming his guitar, which is easily his favorite possession.<br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyXI9eC464OVClOGP-mnu9Qy5MsUu7OlD6_QX9xcFNXoskTGhJtMfqEd8bXcRsRHWzw_zE_mHHCJfAWHRxIzQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Maddy's favorite possession these days is her tricycle. Since getting this new model, she's really taken off! The other day she rode down the street with me to a friend's house and back. It ends up being about a 1/4 mile round trip. Not too shabby! Milo can ride the tricycle, but he's not as nimble. He usually gets frustrated, jumps off and runs around on foot as fast as he can. Makes sense.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">That's all for now. See you next time. Please, don't forget to tell my wife how funny I am.<br /></div><br /></div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-67946395828145622762011-04-01T13:17:00.001-07:002011-04-11T20:37:09.263-07:00Testing 1, 2, 3. . . Test . . . Test . . . Test<div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-68NMkL1fchE/TZ0rQ21y5bI/AAAAAAAABng/EPJEPp6ESYU/s1600/2011-04-04%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B001.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 276px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592673880863073714" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-68NMkL1fchE/TZ0rQ21y5bI/AAAAAAAABng/EPJEPp6ESYU/s320/2011-04-04%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B001.jpg" border="0" /></a> Stiles Family Calendar - April 2011<br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Notice all those crazy scribbles? All that writing represents the 10+ appointments and evaluations the kids have scheduled this month, not including the twice weekly visits from the developmental specialist. Since the kids are approaching 3, soon they'll transition to the local school district. That means a barrage of assessments... How unusual, eh? We figured the school district would want to observe the kids, but M&M are basically getting the full work-up, from withers to brisket. It's a scheduling nightmare, but the upshot we should have a really good idea of where the kids are at relative to other kids their age. We won't have the comprehensive results until the end of the month, but we at least got some good news about Milo today. He had a follow-up check on his hearing and it turns out he's hearing just fine. This was good news. Back in December, Milo had to have ear tubes inserted and a lot of heavy fluid removed from his ear canals. Since then he seems to be hearing much better, but sometimes it's tough to tell. The little guy definitely picks and chooses what he wants to acknowledge. I can whisper "cookie" two rooms away and he comes running. I can stand over him and ask him to put his shoes away, and he doesn't even turn his head. We figured that was going to happen eventually, but figured it was at least a few years a away. I blame the Wiggles. </div></div><div><div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nzOVhUEOXBU/TZqZ7myZ97I/AAAAAAAABnI/A54lNw64u9w/s1600/2011-03-10%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B052.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591951136637188018" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nzOVhUEOXBU/TZqZ7myZ97I/AAAAAAAABnI/A54lNw64u9w/s320/2011-03-10%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B052.jpg" border="0" /></a>Maddy, Milo, & Ella<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In other news, we had a great time hosting our friends from back east - Jeff, Laura, and their daughter Ella. Ella assumed instant idol status with Maddy, and Maddy still says "Go see Ella?" at least every few days. </div></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Na9m8-G-C0/TZqZ7fiJ-7I/AAAAAAAABnA/NhvEpSnuzBQ/s1600/2010-03-13%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B094.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591951134689983410" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Na9m8-G-C0/TZqZ7fiJ-7I/AAAAAAAABnA/NhvEpSnuzBQ/s320/2010-03-13%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B094.jpg" border="0" /></a>Milo & Jeff<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Milo hanging out in his favorite place in the world, the front seat of my car. The little guy can easily kill an hour playing in the car. The tough part is trying to get him out before he's ready. That usually involves a fairly nasty tantrum -- something else that will hopefully pass with time. </div></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ODFF44md5nk/TZqZ7JxZVHI/AAAAAAAABm4/Kopjf5U-PHo/s1600/2010-03-13%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B062.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591951128848323698" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ODFF44md5nk/TZqZ7JxZVHI/AAAAAAAABm4/Kopjf5U-PHo/s320/2010-03-13%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B062.jpg" border="0" /></a>Milo & Ella - Oakland Zoo - March 2011</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UPOAacLQR_s/TZqZ6ug7XYI/AAAAAAAABmo/O-IsORlGb-s/s1600/2010-03-13%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B003.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591951121531493762" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UPOAacLQR_s/TZqZ6ug7XYI/AAAAAAAABmo/O-IsORlGb-s/s320/2010-03-13%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B003.jpg" border="0" /></a>I told the designer over an over, it ends in "y" not "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ie</span>." Maddy - March 2011<br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XwlMHLDQsKs/TZqZ6-AR9QI/AAAAAAAABmw/issvUQMyYCE/s1600/2010-03-13%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B032.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591951125689529602" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XwlMHLDQsKs/TZqZ6-AR9QI/AAAAAAAABmw/issvUQMyYCE/s320/2010-03-13%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B032.jpg" border="0" /></a>Maddy & Mom - Oakland Zoo - March 2011<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Maddy loves the merry-go-round, so much in fact that she was able to happily tolerate the completely overwhelming skunk that took up residence under the ride. Every time the merry-go-round started, the skunk would scent. It was unbearable to all the adults -- several of whom nearly got sick. The kids didn't seem to care though. The video is below.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dye42zpJZlXuxbGYC28vXD-YEu9icWwrZkofQukrMj5CG4-2BihyydCmQkl-G2IRyuRgFzg7mhNUG9EPFW3' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Good times!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0IDV2bICNgU/TZqZV3-NlVI/AAAAAAAABmA/DHhUV0a6iLM/s1600/2011-03-10%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B078.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591950488415081810" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0IDV2bICNgU/TZqZV3-NlVI/AAAAAAAABmA/DHhUV0a6iLM/s320/2011-03-10%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B078.jpg" border="0" /></a>Enjoying a snack at Little Farm in Berkley - March 2011.<br /></div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RgTFPA-_Kgg/TZqYDSEkLbI/AAAAAAAABlg/VSoiF7sT_CY/s1600/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B027.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591949069491908018" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RgTFPA-_Kgg/TZqYDSEkLbI/AAAAAAAABlg/VSoiF7sT_CY/s320/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B027.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_7GOz7r7gCA/TZqZW3nXjBI/AAAAAAAABmg/Lmf2w9c3GCs/s1600/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B019.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591950505499134994" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_7GOz7r7gCA/TZqZW3nXjBI/AAAAAAAABmg/Lmf2w9c3GCs/s320/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B019.jpg" border="0" /></a>Maddy rocks her new shades at Little Farm.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hczU2Sno9dU/TZqZWjtz9SI/AAAAAAAABmY/KmCp84gP_Ug/s1600/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B005.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591950500157453602" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hczU2Sno9dU/TZqZWjtz9SI/AAAAAAAABmY/KmCp84gP_Ug/s320/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B005.jpg" border="0" /></a>Daddy & Maddy - Little Farm - April 2011 </div></div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L2PdjiZTJ5s/TZqZWa3_f2I/AAAAAAAABmQ/bbi6Zh-PxD8/s1600/2011-03-31%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B029.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591950497784233826" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L2PdjiZTJ5s/TZqZWa3_f2I/AAAAAAAABmQ/bbi6Zh-PxD8/s320/2011-03-31%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B029.jpg" border="0" /></a> Milo's favorite toy - his guitar. Whenever we're at home, he's usually carrying it around and pretending to be <a href="http://www.cowboyjared.com/cj0909/Home.html">Cowboy Jared</a>, the singing cowboy who visits their daycare every Thursday. Though he's a huge fan of Cowboy Jared, Milo's approach to guitar showmanship is much more in line with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Jimi</span> Hendrix. I've had to re-glue the poor thing at least a half-dozen times. I expect one day I'll walk into the living room and see him squirting lighter fluid on it.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Hlze6ztyOA/TZ6Ysb3TJEI/AAAAAAAABnw/fxw1TNOilCA/s1600/2011-03-31%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B024.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 236px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593075676402099266" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Hlze6ztyOA/TZ6Ysb3TJEI/AAAAAAAABnw/fxw1TNOilCA/s320/2011-03-31%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B024.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">See what I mean?<br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zaRDZpO41PA/TZqZWABsNVI/AAAAAAAABmI/dcdzOqGMMX4/s1600/2011-03-31%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B017.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591950490577155410" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zaRDZpO41PA/TZqZWABsNVI/AAAAAAAABmI/dcdzOqGMMX4/s320/2011-03-31%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B017.jpg" border="0" /></a> Maddy's favorite things? Basketball and wearing big shoes. That and she also loves macaroni cheese, Cowboy Jared (yes, her too), and other little girls who are her age or a bit older.<br /><br />The kids have actually surprised us quite a bit with how much they love music. They basically want a stereo on at all times, and they have a pretty broad range of taste. They like kids tunes, rock, country, classical, and the recently developed a taste for reggae.<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0IDV2bICNgU/TZqZV3-NlVI/AAAAAAAABmA/DHhUV0a6iLM/s1600/2011-03-10%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B078.jpg"></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hge0ZX3emaw/TZqYD_arT3I/AAAAAAAABl4/YoWlkynGYkE/s1600/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B120.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 243px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591949081664245618" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hge0ZX3emaw/TZqYD_arT3I/AAAAAAAABl4/YoWlkynGYkE/s320/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B120.jpg" border="0" /></a> The little girl also loves her hats. Maddy hanging out in the backyard - April 2011.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mAZZDNlNlHY/TZqWDhtWX3I/AAAAAAAABk4/XFSHm1R73eI/s1600/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B024.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591946874666246002" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mAZZDNlNlHY/TZqWDhtWX3I/AAAAAAAABk4/XFSHm1R73eI/s320/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B024.jpg" border="0" /></a>Our latest visitors, our good friends Jenny, Matt, & their son Nathan came for a visit in early April all the way from England.<br /><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MGA__2Ysaik/TZqYD-jeUTI/AAAAAAAABlw/htKjJpdLVHo/s1600/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B116.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591949081432707378" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MGA__2Ysaik/TZqYD-jeUTI/AAAAAAAABlw/htKjJpdLVHo/s320/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B116.jpg" border="0" /></a>Nathan & Milo playing at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Tilden</span> Park (Little Farm) - April 3, 2011.<br /></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oim8kQrwYAw/TZqYDvNUsXI/AAAAAAAABlo/IoBGEAt9I7Y/s1600/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B065.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591949077313270130" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oim8kQrwYAw/TZqYDvNUsXI/AAAAAAAABlo/IoBGEAt9I7Y/s320/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2B%2526%2BMadeline%2B065.jpg" border="0" /></a>Jenny, Nathan, & Milo playing on the stairs at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Tilden</span>. Milo's other favorite thing - walking up and down stairs repeatedly. That and funny noises...<br /><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz1-o3f8bLXDoXIbkkduNFzz7B2uAJqVwxq08gbEb3lRCA9qyXepbVRwVn1BSj7n5SLGTdBijc_cgSiqBF_' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Matt entertains the kids with a few blades a grass and a good strong breath.<br /></div><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--EZ02JtOoio/TZqWDFqLdpI/AAAAAAAABkw/1yeOJM6hs28/s1600/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B006.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591946867136755346" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--EZ02JtOoio/TZqWDFqLdpI/AAAAAAAABkw/1yeOJM6hs28/s320/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B006.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">M&M enjoying the first warm day of the year in the backyard pool. April 4, 2011<br /></div></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_qu3JjNDQsU/TZqWEo1ZxZI/AAAAAAAABlQ/S1NPcvewLFg/s1600/IMAG0238.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 214px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591946893758940562" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_qu3JjNDQsU/TZqWEo1ZxZI/AAAAAAAABlQ/S1NPcvewLFg/s320/IMAG0238.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AEA7j4TIPqw/TZqWEI96QFI/AAAAAAAABlI/U_p2v9PDF1o/s1600/IMAG0237.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 214px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591946885204688978" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AEA7j4TIPqw/TZqWEI96QFI/AAAAAAAABlI/U_p2v9PDF1o/s320/IMAG0237.jpg" border="0" /></a>Mommy & the kids - USCG Sector San Francisco - March 2011<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LuQ9tzSfjuY/TZqWD9xqy0I/AAAAAAAABlA/nB6vAb8R458/s1600/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B037.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591946882200554306" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LuQ9tzSfjuY/TZqWD9xqy0I/AAAAAAAABlA/nB6vAb8R458/s320/2011-04-03%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B037.jpg" border="0" /></a>This is Elaine early in the morning, eating a banana, before getting a chance to get cleaned up. I took the picture to harass her a little and thought I really ought to add it to the blog for posterity. :) See you next time!<br /></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-43991595131080470472011-03-01T20:44:00.000-08:002011-03-07T14:25:20.250-08:00Bona Fide ToddlersIt's pretty amazing how far they've come, and even harder to believe that in just 3 more months, the "babies" will be 3 years old. Of course they haven't been babies for a while now, but it's still hard to get used to the idea.<br /><br />Much has happened in the last couple months. I returned from a 20 day kayaking trip on the Grand Canyon. An amazing trip by all accounts, but it was also the longest I've ever been away from the kids. We've had a steady stream of visitors for the last 3 months and the trend will continue through May. Of course, Grandpa came to visit over Christmas. Dad's buddy Matt came for 9 days in January. The day after he left, we had <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kieron</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Kirst</span> come over from England to stay with us and join Dad on the Grand Canyon . In February, we had Michael and Rachel, who were kind enough to babysit too (THANKS!). Uncle Nathan and Aunt Anna will be dropping by this evening for dinner while in town, and then our friends Jeff, Laura, and their daughter Ella will join us for the week. Very nice to have visitors and the kids are really enjoying the new faces!<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y6km8ffLW0g/TW3MrfqWREI/AAAAAAAABko/4Zhx_nfRthA/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B016.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579340560987472962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y6km8ffLW0g/TW3MrfqWREI/AAAAAAAABko/4Zhx_nfRthA/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B016.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">February</span> 19, 2011 - Dad just returns from the Grand Canyon and joins M&M for breakfast. Note Dad is still sporting the remnants of his once mighty beard. </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-awRJrXkY4NE/TW3MrEvrFrI/AAAAAAAABkg/uww7sMmbHe4/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B035.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579340553762051762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-awRJrXkY4NE/TW3MrEvrFrI/AAAAAAAABkg/uww7sMmbHe4/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B035.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />March 2011 - Maddy contemplates her bagel.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D4t_OYAHNpQ/TW3MqxUDh7I/AAAAAAAABkY/ZqXwGsA-C8o/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B046.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579340548545939378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D4t_OYAHNpQ/TW3MqxUDh7I/AAAAAAAABkY/ZqXwGsA-C8o/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B046.jpg" border="0" /></a>March 2011 - Milo hangs out in the backyard. You'll <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">notice</span> he's almost always wearing this fleece pullover. He's loves the thing and never wants to take it off.<br /><br /><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">On the medical front: During February Milo had his speech evaluation. Speech is probably the little guys <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">weakest</span> area. Recall that Milo had ear tubes inserted a couple months back too - this has definitely helped with his hearing, but he still has about a 30% delay in his ability to speak and understand. It's hard to say how much of this might be hearing related. At times he seems to hear quite well and it's tough to tell if he's just ignoring us. (Imagine a toddler ignoring the commands of his parents?)<br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Both kids recently had a follow-up with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">pulmonologist </span>and appear to be do doing quite well in the lung department overall. As you may recall, Maddy's vocal chords got nicked during her <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001560.htm"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">PDA</span> ligation</a> way back when she was only two weeks old. As a result, Maddy's voice is a little bit lower in tone, quieter, and raspy than most girl toddlers. Some vocal chord damage or paralysis is actually a common side effect of a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">PDA</span> ligation -- see <a href="http://www.preemieprimer.com/preemies-pda-ligation-and-vocal-cord-paralysis/">here</a>. Milo's voice is also a little bit quiet and "airy" which could also indicate some damage, albeit minor. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">pulmonologist </span>is going to do a <a href="http://www.uchicagokidshospital.org/specialties/pulmonary/patient-guides/bronchoscopy/index.html"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">broncoscopy</span></a> in order to have a good look the kids lungs and determine the extent of the vocal chord damage. It's possible that some surgery may be required to address the problem, but more than likely speech therapy will do the trick. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><br />Once the kids are 3 years old, they will no longer be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">eligible</span> to receive early intervention services from their current provider, Regional Center of the East Bay. Instead the Alameda school district will take over providing services for M&M as needed. This means another round of assessments which should give us a good idea of how much the kids have caught up to their peers. </div><div align="left"><br /> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HuOdq0eiasA/TW3MY5weXmI/AAAAAAAABkQ/KqQ45IVAB-U/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B047.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579340241574977122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HuOdq0eiasA/TW3MY5weXmI/AAAAAAAABkQ/KqQ45IVAB-U/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B047.jpg" border="0" /></a>February 26, 2011: Maddy takes the tricycle tour of the backyard. She's actually gotten quite good at riding the tricycle around and even manages to maneuver around the yard furniture. Pretty impressive stuff! Milo isn't that into the tricycle, but he absolutely loves water. Maybe Maddy got my cycling genes and Milo got the paddling genes.</div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vit_mJCdpwg/TW3MYR8PwMI/AAAAAAAABkA/RgenBYnClo0/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B071.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579340230886932674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vit_mJCdpwg/TW3MYR8PwMI/AAAAAAAABkA/RgenBYnClo0/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B071.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="left">After a couple of unsuccessful tries, we finally made it to the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose. Lots of fun! The kids had a great time driving the fire truck (above), playing with the water, practicing making pizzas, and just generally running around in the grass. Good times!<br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GT0NCDO9fqw/TW3MYHO0SiI/AAAAAAAABj4/fy74URCk0VM/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B080.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579340228012034594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GT0NCDO9fqw/TW3MYHO0SiI/AAAAAAAABj4/fy74URCk0VM/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B080.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FoPcQMHb3Ro/TW3MX1qbq9I/AAAAAAAABjw/s7a3Z0Jm4Lg/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B087.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579340223296023506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FoPcQMHb3Ro/TW3MX1qbq9I/AAAAAAAABjw/s7a3Z0Jm4Lg/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B087.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Milo loving the water.</div><div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XLF_sbD7mOw/TW3L4itTFBI/AAAAAAAABjo/qOnlskcNfwk/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B101.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579339685631824914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XLF_sbD7mOw/TW3L4itTFBI/AAAAAAAABjo/qOnlskcNfwk/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B101.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wGIZ5kVbeK8/TW3L4WVMmlI/AAAAAAAABjg/cTDC1JzCKX0/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B106.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579339682309511762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wGIZ5kVbeK8/TW3L4WVMmlI/AAAAAAAABjg/cTDC1JzCKX0/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B106.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bGOlkT4jbTM/TW3L4CD_CaI/AAAAAAAABjY/u3G_HPoitJY/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B129.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579339676868610466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bGOlkT4jbTM/TW3L4CD_CaI/AAAAAAAABjY/u3G_HPoitJY/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B129.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hgb9TERpWQU/TW3L37JC9MI/AAAAAAAABjQ/8-3XxCfIfYg/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B148.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579339675010790594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hgb9TERpWQU/TW3L37JC9MI/AAAAAAAABjQ/8-3XxCfIfYg/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B148.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X_uzjj1q9XA/TW3L3lfyIYI/AAAAAAAABjI/ZX9hcLdcLck/s1600/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B151.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579339669200576898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X_uzjj1q9XA/TW3L3lfyIYI/AAAAAAAABjI/ZX9hcLdcLck/s320/2011-03-01%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B151.jpg" border="0" /></a> See you next time! </div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-13333483000411525462011-01-23T21:37:00.000-08:002011-01-23T22:16:33.912-08:00The Month in Pictures<div> </div><br /><div><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565626306165155010" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0TozOLJMI/AAAAAAAABik/0WuzlXmbozA/s320/2010-12-12%2Bmilo%2Bmadeline%2B004.jpg" border="0" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">M&M visit Fairly Land in Oakland - December 2010<br /></div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0TpwFWw8I/AAAAAAAABi8/rAoKy6n6gb8/s1600/2010-12-12%2Bmilo%2Bmadeline%2B021.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565626322502730690" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0TpwFWw8I/AAAAAAAABi8/rAoKy6n6gb8/s320/2010-12-12%2Bmilo%2Bmadeline%2B021.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0TpYyvBbI/AAAAAAAABi0/7t5XDaU2C-A/s1600/2010-12-12%2Bmilo%2Bmadeline%2B024.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565626316250613170" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0TpYyvBbI/AAAAAAAABi0/7t5XDaU2C-A/s320/2010-12-12%2Bmilo%2Bmadeline%2B024.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0TpKsuPuI/AAAAAAAABis/SvgrSrwwtJw/s1600/2010-12-12%2Bmilo%2Bmadeline%2B014.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565626312467300066" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0TpKsuPuI/AAAAAAAABis/SvgrSrwwtJw/s320/2010-12-12%2Bmilo%2Bmadeline%2B014.jpg" border="0" /></a>Nope. Maddy's diaper smells fine Daddy.<br /></div><div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0SBCGYAQI/AAAAAAAABic/3Mou2hHrZ9A/s1600/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B024.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565624523452580098" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0SBCGYAQI/AAAAAAAABic/3Mou2hHrZ9A/s320/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B024.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Grandpa visits - Christmas week 2010.<br /></div><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0RrdIyLEI/AAAAAAAABiU/96pJ7TZ30rA/s1600/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B034.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565624152753318978" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0RrdIyLEI/AAAAAAAABiU/96pJ7TZ30rA/s320/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B034.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0RrKdpLZI/AAAAAAAABiM/9Ob87tygkuk/s1600/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B072.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565624147740536210" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0RrKdpLZI/AAAAAAAABiM/9Ob87tygkuk/s320/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B072.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">M&M at the San Jose Children's museum. Unfortunately, it was closed.<br /><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Rq_pgEhI/AAAAAAAABiE/3KNHDGM6cuw/s1600/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B077.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565624144837480978" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Rq_pgEhI/AAAAAAAABiE/3KNHDGM6cuw/s320/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B077.jpg" border="0" /></a>Luckily, Happy Hollow was open! We'd never heard of the place before, but it turned out to be one of the nicest parks for small children we've been too. Above, Maddy takes her very first ride on a merry go round. Christmas Week - December 2010.<br /></div><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Rqo0I6RI/AAAAAAAABh8/mkt_5ckpl0Q/s1600/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B110.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 229px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565624138708085010" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Rqo0I6RI/AAAAAAAABh8/mkt_5ckpl0Q/s320/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B110.jpg" border="0" /></a>More Happy Hollow. This was one of several bronze statues our front. Notice the cow is eating money. Around back, he poops piles of change. Very clever indeed!<br /><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0RqFS1ikI/AAAAAAAABh0/BtV_M8K8kwY/s1600/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B153.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565624129173162562" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0RqFS1ikI/AAAAAAAABh0/BtV_M8K8kwY/s320/2010-12-25%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B153.jpg" border="0" /></a>The Christmas bomb hits. Christmas Day - 2010.<br /></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Q6MAXKxI/AAAAAAAABhs/7VioBC7zmWM/s1600/2010-12-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B006.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565623306341002002" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Q6MAXKxI/AAAAAAAABhs/7VioBC7zmWM/s320/2010-12-26%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B006.jpg" border="0" /></a>Visiting with friends on Christmas. The Meyers family, the McKinneys, and Stiles family enjoying a little holiday cheer. <br /></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Q5-Opq6I/AAAAAAAABhk/AgcyM-dBFgw/s1600/2011-01-23%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B046.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565623302642838434" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Q5-Opq6I/AAAAAAAABhk/AgcyM-dBFgw/s320/2011-01-23%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B046.jpg" border="0" /></a>Maddy tries on Dad's muck boots. January 2011.<br /></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Q5ndcu8I/AAAAAAAABhc/nyS0QsgU4nA/s1600/2011-01-23%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B066.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565623296530889666" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Q5ndcu8I/AAAAAAAABhc/nyS0QsgU4nA/s320/2011-01-23%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B066.jpg" border="0" /></a>A warm day in NorCal. 23 Jan 2011<br /></div><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Q5YKShCI/AAAAAAAABhU/AP3QQXAv9nY/s1600/2011-01-23%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B081.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565623292423996450" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Q5YKShCI/AAAAAAAABhU/AP3QQXAv9nY/s320/2011-01-23%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B081.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Q5Ky1g8I/AAAAAAAABhM/mcSuNu7pqkI/s1600/2011-01-23%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B063.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 254px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565623288835965890" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TT0Q5Ky1g8I/AAAAAAAABhM/mcSuNu7pqkI/s320/2011-01-23%2BMilo%2BMadeline%2B063.jpg" border="0" /></a>See you next time.<br /></div><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-67721099296560802182010-12-17T21:25:00.000-08:002010-12-17T21:27:05.250-08:00Milo, Maddy, Mommy, Daddy<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TQxF_k20YaI/AAAAAAAABhA/sZoUN0jxrKw/s1600/2010-12-12%2Bmilo%2Bmadeline%2B149f.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551889399168655778" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TQxF_k20YaI/AAAAAAAABhA/sZoUN0jxrKw/s320/2010-12-12%2Bmilo%2Bmadeline%2B149f.JPG" /></a><br /><div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410202215062595001noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747313176742807709.post-24915409392277293032010-11-06T13:35:00.000-07:002010-11-06T13:46:00.942-07:00Halloween Time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TNW-ehSkcRI/AAAAAAAABgs/3CceJQiZMMs/s1600/image000.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TNW-ehSkcRI/AAAAAAAABgs/3CceJQiZMMs/s320/image000.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536540748463501586" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TNW-PxTinAI/AAAAAAAABgk/Cdi__KU9JT4/s1600/image001.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TNW-PxTinAI/AAAAAAAABgk/Cdi__KU9JT4/s320/image001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536540495064505346" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TNW-PRVHUQI/AAAAAAAABgc/4HxdlHYPJzs/s1600/image002.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TNW-PRVHUQI/AAAAAAAABgc/4HxdlHYPJzs/s320/image002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536540486481170690" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tdbEF4Vs2ZU/TNW-PElHGOI/AAAAAAAABgU/PzecJpqLMRo/s1600/image003.jpg"><img style="display: block; 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