Milo & Madeline

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

2011-12-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

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....

Milo & Maddy decorate their first tree. They went a little crazy with the red beads but a fine effort nevertheless.

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.

First Christmas - 2008

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 occasional trip to a small restaurant.

Christmas 2009

The following Christmas the duo become much more cooperative. It still took a while but I eventually managed to get a usable 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 hundreds 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.

Christmas 2010

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-olds, M&M were down to about 12 different non-fruit/non-candy foods they were willing to eat -- a condition which still persists.

December 2011

Bigger, more social, occasionally 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, that'd be a big weight gain for Milo, who up till a couple months ago was tipping the scale at just over 27 pounds.
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.

While I'm thinking about it, thank you very much to all of you who have contributed to the Alta Bates NICU Family Advocacy Counsel. The FAC has managed to raise over $3000 this year, and Mustache-A-Thon 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 NICU. Very easy and tax deductible - just visit this link to learn more or donate: http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/fac.html

Thanks very much and happy holidays!

Mustache-a-thon 2011 - Stop the Madness!

2011-11-19T14:29:00.000-08:00

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.

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 NICU, 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.

NICU 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.

So how can you help? Easy, donate a few bucks to a great cause. Any amount will help! Last year, the Alta Bates NICU started a Family Advisory Council (FAC). 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 http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/fac.html to make a donation and to learn more about FAC. Why yes, all donations are tax deductible.

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. ;-)

We're all counting on you!

Halloween 2011 and the "Movember" Campaign Kick-Off

2011-11-12T08:38:00.001-08:00

Halloween 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!

Milo, Maddy, and Dad get ready to hit the street.

Little Cinderella poses on the stairs.

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.

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!

FALL 2011

2011-10-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

Finally, 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?

Maddy with hair long enough for pig tails.

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.

Milo with a giant cookie.

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.

Milo, Maddy and Mom - Rodeo Beach - August 2011.

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.

One of Maddy's favorite activities - standing at the edge of the waterline and getting her feet wet.

Milo, Maddy and Mom making tracks on a chilly summer day.

Maddy on the board walk.

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.

Just north of Ukiah California.

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.

The first ever McDonald's meal.

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.

Our little tree huggers enjoying a hike out to the Founders Tree.

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.

Ambitious Milo decides to give climbing a go.

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.

Tossing rocks in the Eel.

First morning in the woods. Success.

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.

Food stop on the way home. The Lumberjack Diner. Classic Northern California dining.

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.

Back to the usual activities: Above, Maddy engaged in a little double barreled nose picking -- a highly advanced technique.

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!

A visit to the Lawrence Hall of Science, Berekeley.

Dad and Milo at Lawrence.

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.

A day at the Pumpkin Patch - October 2011, Near Petaluma, CA.

Maddy making strides.

Daddy, M&M enjoying a ride.

Melita and Milo.

Milo picks out his pumpkin.

The Hay maze.

PUSH! PUSH! Despite her super toddler strength, Maddy did not manage to cover much ground with the wheelbarrow.

Parting shot: M&M backyard gymnastics - sticking the landing.

Summer Time!

2011-07-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

Summer time! 4th of July Weekend picnic at Big Basin.

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.

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.

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?!

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 60th percentile for weight and the 45th percentile for height for full-term girls. Who'd a thought, eh?

Maddy munches in the great outdoors Big Basin.

Milo was a lean, mean 27 lbs (as of end of June) and was 36" tall. That places him in the 5th -10th percentile for weight and the 20th 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.

Standing tall - Milo mugs for the camera at Big Basin.

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.

As you've probably noticed from the pictures above, the family braved the 4th 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 popsicles were had afterward making for happy and sticky kids. (BTW: Maddy loves ice cream, but Milo will only eat popsicles - hence his low weight and toned tummy.)

Mom and M&M at the Alameda July 4th Parade.

4th of July also means parades. Alameda brags that it has the longest 4th 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 4th 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.

Maddy & Mom rockin' out!

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?

Friends Chris, Baby Kate & Emily - July 2011.

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).

Maddy & Mom enjoying the water on a hot day.

Ellie's 2nd Birthday.

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.)

Callie & Maddy do some quality noshing - July 2011.

More birthday scenes: Riley's first birthday.

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 playscapes we've ever seen yet (except maybe Happy Hollow, but that required an entry fee). It came complete with an enclosed slide, kids' boulder climbing area, and all kinds of other great stuff.

Mom awaits Milo - July 2011 - Roberts Reg. Rec. Area.

Milo jogs back to the playscape after grabbing a quick snack.

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!

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.

M&M practice the essential art of entering and exiting a tent - repeatedly.

The kids also visited their giraffes, lions, and other pets, which we generously house at the Oakland Zoo. Above: Rhea, Maddy and backwards Milo.

Rhea, Maddy & Milo checkout the alligator.

Milo pets the business end of the sheep.

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 Gruffalo puzzle while Milo sleeps soundly.

To end on an up note... Summer is all about rockin' 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 Edgardo & Candela. The kids absolutely loved it. Yesterday it was Fish Bear - a mix of ska, klezmer, and rock that actually works really well.

Above: Maddy & Milo get down to business. As you can see, Maddy's dance is very pure, raw, and emotional. She leaves nothing behind.

Rockin' out is even better with friends. Above: Nicola, Maddy & Milo playing games after dancing to tune the tunes of Fish Bear and having a nice Chinese dinner. What more could a kid want?

See you next month with a full account of the camping trip and other developments. Wish us luck.

The Twins Turn Three!

2011-06-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

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!

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 http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html; the year before here http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html; and the very first pictures from October 2008 (their approximate corrected first birthday http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2008/08/long-march-to-september.html.

M&M - 18 June 2011 - a few days after their 3rd birthday.

Maddy

Milo

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.

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!

Above: Milo and Jody contemplate the magic of the spinning flower.

Above: Jim, Gretchen, Bryan and Riley (the baby in the foreground), and Milo.

The trampoline was a crowd pleaser as always. Look close and you'll see Maddy stealing one of about a dozen hugs from Callie.

Grandpa also swung by for a visit (yeah, bad joke...). Above, Maddy and Grandpa take a ride on the swings.

M&M out for a stroll with Dad and Grandpa - 26 June 2011.

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).

M&M off to the pool - June 2011.

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.

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.

Milo lounges at the pool side.

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.

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.

Safety first! Our little diva rocks her helmet on the stairs while Daddy carries her bicycle across the bridge for her.

Maddy demonstrates how all country music is written. June 2011.

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.

Above: Maddy does her best Sean Penn imitation - "No cameras!"

Of course, sometimes she loves the camera!

Our silly boy rockin' 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.

Parting shot. Mommy and the new three-year-olds clown around on the trampoline.

Yes, I Finally Added a New Post!

2011-05-14T13:34:00.001-07:00

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!

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/IEP/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!

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! noooo! myyyyy 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.

M&M at work. April 2011

The aftermath. (Taken approximately 35 minutes after the above photo.)

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.

Maddy & Callie - Easter 2011

Milo checks his booty.

Maddy shares a little with Mom. The little girl loves feeding people.

Callie, Maddy and Milo on the hunt.

The search is on.

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!

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!

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, nada -- 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.

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!)

Another cute barrette shot.

Milo tries on Daddy's work shoes. May 2011.

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.

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 NorCal. 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!

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.

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!

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.

Maddy keeps on trucking.

Milo - May 2011. Munching on snacks in the Happy Hollow Zoo.

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 ABCs with Mom. You'll see Milo strumming his guitar, which is easily his favorite possession.

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.

That's all for now. See you next time. Please, don't forget to tell my wife how funny I am.

Testing 1, 2, 3. . . Test . . . Test . . . Test

2011-04-01T13:17:00.001-07:00

Stiles Family Calendar - April 2011

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.

Maddy, Milo, & Ella

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.

Milo & Jeff

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.

Milo & Ella - Oakland Zoo - March 2011

I told the designer over an over, it ends in "y" not "ie." Maddy - March 2011

Maddy & Mom - Oakland Zoo - March 2011

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.

Good times!

Enjoying a snack at Little Farm in Berkley - March 2011.

Maddy rocks her new shades at Little Farm.

Daddy & Maddy - Little Farm - April 2011

Milo's favorite toy - his guitar. Whenever we're at home, he's usually carrying it around and pretending to be Cowboy Jared, 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 Jimi 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.

See what I mean?

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.

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.

The little girl also loves her hats. Maddy hanging out in the backyard - April 2011.

Our latest visitors, our good friends Jenny, Matt, & their son Nathan came for a visit in early April all the way from England.

Nathan & Milo playing at Tilden Park (Little Farm) - April 3, 2011.

Jenny, Nathan, & Milo playing on the stairs at Tilden. Milo's other favorite thing - walking up and down stairs repeatedly. That and funny noises...

Matt entertains the kids with a few blades a grass and a good strong breath.

M&M enjoying the first warm day of the year in the backyard pool. April 4, 2011

Mommy & the kids - USCG Sector San Francisco - March 2011

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!

Bona Fide Toddlers

2011-03-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

It'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.

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 Kieron and Kirst 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!

February 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.

March 2011 - Maddy contemplates her bagel.

March 2011 - Milo hangs out in the backyard. You'll notice he's almost always wearing this fleece pullover. He's loves the thing and never wants to take it off.

On the medical front: During February Milo had his speech evaluation. Speech is probably the little guys weakest 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?)

Both kids recently had a follow-up with the pulmonologist 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 PDA ligation 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 PDA ligation -- see here. Milo's voice is also a little bit quiet and "airy" which could also indicate some damage, albeit minor. The pulmonologist is going to do a broncoscopy 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.

Once the kids are 3 years old, they will no longer be eligible 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.

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.

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!

Milo loving the water.

See you next time!

The Month in Pictures

2011-01-23T21:37:00.000-08:00

M&M visit Fairly Land in Oakland - December 2010

Nope. Maddy's diaper smells fine Daddy.

Grandpa visits - Christmas week 2010.

M&M at the San Jose Children's museum. Unfortunately, it was closed.

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.

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!

The Christmas bomb hits. Christmas Day - 2010.

Visiting with friends on Christmas. The Meyers family, the McKinneys, and Stiles family enjoying a little holiday cheer.

Maddy tries on Dad's muck boots. January 2011.

A warm day in NorCal. 23 Jan 2011

See you next time.

Milo, Maddy, Mommy, Daddy

2010-12-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

Halloween Time

2010-11-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

Milo's 2nd Year At Home & Other Developments

2010-10-12T14:24:00.001-07:00

On October 17th, it will be two years since Milo came home from the hospital. At roughly this time in 2008, the little guy was indeed very little. He weighed just under 8 lbs, and, although that seems about right considering his corrected age was about 2 weeks at the time, a lot of his weight was due to edema. He's gained about 17 lbs since then is looking pretty muscular these days. Seriously, his calfs look like mine at the height of my cycling career.

Milo - 14 October 2008 in the Alta Bates NICU, Room 15.

Milo - October 2010 playing on the slide at a park here in Alameda.

It was certainly an up and down road for Milo. Without getting into a catalog of all his medical challenges, suffice to say, we expected that he'd likely have at least some degree of cerebal palsy (CP) or some other more lasting effect. So far, though, no signs of CP or any other significant disability. Although I'm knocking on wood, both he and Maddy seem to be catching up quickly to kids of their calendar age. In fact based on Maddy's latest assessment last week at the NICU follow-up clinic, she appears to be in the "normal" range in most areas for a 27-month-old. Milo had his assessment way back in May. He didn't do quite as well as Maddy -- but the test began 45 minutes late, and the boy was tired and hungry. That's bound to have some impact on the average two-year-old.

Milo & Mom - 15 October 2008 at Alta Bates

Dad & Milo at the Speisekammer Oktoberfest in Alameda, October 2010

A nod to the nurses: Donna, Cheryl, and Eniko bid M&M a farewell on 17 October 2008.

October 2010: Milo rocks his shades and enjoys a spin by the water to see the duckies. Not sure if the little guy inherited my sensitivity to light, or whether he just likes looking cool, but getting him to wear sunglasses doesn't take much effort. He really seems to like em'.

October 2010: M&M along with Mom and our friend Derek clapping along to a polka band weren't sure how the kids would do at a crowded festival with a live polka band, but they did amazingly well. It helped that we had a lot of good friends along who also had similar aged kids. Safety in numbers.

One very recent positive development: Milo has finally decided to start drinking from an open cup. He's a bit messy, but it's a nice change! Up til now he's been very resistant to the idea. Apparently all it took was the right incentive. The boy loves the taste of coffee (not surprising given his genetics), it just took me splashing a bit into his glass of milk. Guess I'll have to start brewing some decaf.

9 October 2010, M&M visit Ardendwood Farm for the Harvest Festival and sample their first ice cream cones. The ice cream was good, but the kids were a little puzzled by the experience. Cookies are still first in their hearts.

Milo & Mom getting a closer look at the sheep at Ardenwood Farm.

25 September 2010: Milo watches Mr. Rogers and engages in a little of the reverse Al Bundy technique.

25 September 2010: M&M frolicking poolside at home.

Maddy & Mom looking silly at Oktoberfest.

Cinema M&M - Playing games by the pool.

The Closing Clip. A few nights ago, a paddling buddy posted a clip online of a group descending the Nevis River in New Zealand (a river I hope to paddle one day). The highlight was seeing Maddy's enthusiasm for the boaters. The bad part was when I asked her if she wanted to try paddling and she responded, "Oh, nooo." The best quote is her inspired "Weeeee!" toward the end.

"Two Years Old" & Second Year At Home

2010-10-01T21:23:00.001-07:00

A couple interesting milestones over these past couple weeks. The first is that the kids both reached the second anniversary of their actual due date. (Recall that M&M were actually due on September 26, 2008 but born June 15 instead -- a bit a head of schedule.) So what does the latest milestone mean? Well, for one thing, the whole "corrected age" thing we've referred to in the past comes to an end. The idea is that by the time a preemie reaches the second anniversary of their due date, they should be developmentally caught up. Some say it should apply until about 2.5 years, but hey, close enough...

More significant, it was two years ago that Maddy was released from Alta Bates and able to come home after about 110 days in the NICU. (Milo came home about two weeks later.) See http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2008/10/maddy-comes-home-now-what-do-we-do.html

In honor of the big day, here are a few pictures to show how far she's come.

Maddy - 2 October 2009. About 3.5 months old (two weeks corrected age), About 7 lbs, and no teeth for a long time to come.

3 October 2009. Just about 21 lbs; roughly 3.5 teeth; and wearing size 4.5 shoes.

25 September 2010. Looking fly in her pink car and fancy duds. Weight - over 27 lbs. Teeth - too many to count. Shoe size - 7. Haircut - Mom Special.

3 October 2010 - Maddy at the park.

Of course, two years means it was also time for the Alta Bates NICU reunion, which the whole family attended last week. It was great to see several of the kids former doctors and nurses (we missed several who couldn't make it - we'll have to swing by for a visit in the coming weeks!). It was also nice to meet several families who knew the kids and their story from this blog. Thanks so much for following!

Tune in next time for a look back at Milo. In the meantime...

2 October 2010 - Milo on a first visit to the Bay Area Discovery Museum. Hiking and snacking.

Jumping - the Latest Craze

2010-09-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

Above: Maddy contemplates a leap, and does. Milo cheers her on. September 2010.

Obviously M&M are our first kids, so I have no way of knowing whether the jumping thing is a phase or something peculiar to our toddlers. I'm guessing it's pretty common among all children in the ballpark of two. Either way, it's pretty amazing how fixated they are with jumping off and over things. And they're not too bad at it either. Maddy in particular is pretty bold. Though Milo will do everything she does, once he's seen her do it first.

Displaying good form and solid landings. The judges scored this round an impressive 9.5.

Since it's finally warmed up here in the Bay Area in the last few weeks, we were able to get the kids out to the pool. Maddy was pretty reluctant. On the first visit, she wouldn't go in at all; on the second she sat on the side and kicked her feet in the water; the third trip was pretty much the same as the first. Baby steps, I guess... Milo is just the opposite. He seems to think he knows how to swim. He doesn't, but that doesn't stop him at all from wanting to try on his own. He also loves jumping into the pool in keeping with the whole jumping theme.

I managed to find the kids a play structure for the backyard off Craigslist. This one is pretty nice and the kids seem to like it a lot. We'll finally be retiring the little slide for good.

With toddlerhood comes the inevitable tantrums, and with tantrums come time-outs. So far the time-outs seem to work pretty well and the kids are slowly getting the message. One setback, our attention-starved cat really likes Milo and whenever he's in time-out, she jumps in with him -- which of course, he loves thereby defeating much of the purpose.

Above: Maddy discovers the wonderful world of stickers.

It's nice to finally be able to let the kids walk around on their own. They are getting pretty heavy, and they both dislike the stroller. Hard to believe how far they've come.

Milo likes oranges -- a lot! And not just oranges, I stood by stunned watching him eat a half of a cantaloupe on his own.

Milo sits on the ottoman and watches his new favorite show, Mr. Rogers. I would have never guessed that Mr. Rogers would quickly replace the Wiggles, but old school wins out! Kind of nice that they are so into a show that's so much lower key than the Wiggles and Elmo.

More jumping...

Even yet still more jumping...

Big Steps

2010-08-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

Milo makes his way up Woodminster Cascade in Oakland - 15 Aug 2010. The little guy made it all the way to the top of these stairs, minus the last three steps. After knocking off 95 percent, he just seemed to lose interest and asked me to carry him up the last few steps. Not quite the Rocky moment I'd have liked, but impressive regardless. It made for a pretty good picture - all kinds of symbolism, eh?

15 Aug 2010 - Maddy hits the slide before heading to the stairs at Woodminster.

Maddy, Mom, & Grandpa - 6 Aug 2010 - Crab House, Pier 39, San Fran.

We hosted Grandpa for a very nice, week-long visit at the beginning of August, and took him on the usual rounds to Little Farm, lots of parks, Fairy Land, and the Oakland Farmers' market. A good time had by all. It's always nice to have an extra set of adult hands to make sure the duo aren't setting fire to the house while Mom and Dad are busy, and the kids got a real bang out of Grandpa.

15 Aug 2010 - Loki & Milo

Most of you probably recall our Loki and his mom and dad, Kat & Jesse. (See http://babylokisky.blogspot.com/.) Unfortunately, they are moving to the Netherlands in the next couple weeks. The had a going away party this afternoon, and the kids got to hang out together for one last time for a while to come. They'll be missed for sure.

Maddy & Loki

In size order: Maddy, Milo, & Loki

Milo, Maddy, & Loki. Milo shows off his stair climbing skills.

We're pretty well moved into the new joint now, and one of the nice fringe benefits of the place turns out to be the ducks. Lots and lots of relatively fearless ducks. These critters are bold enough to take bread right out of your hand and can get pretty greedy at times. Needless to say, the kids love them. Yeah, I know, don't feed the wildlife...

A quick glance at this picture, and you'd probably assume Maddy was out and about on her tricycle. Turns out she does like to sit on the tricycle and ring the bell, but she doesn't do it often. What she really likes to do is where her helmet around for no particular reason. It all started a few weeks ago when I put it on her and told her how fancy and pretty she looked in her bike helmet. Of course, she does look cute in it, but she's decided to make it a fashion accessory. Given how often she jumps off things and tends to bang her head, it's probably a good thing.

Another step forward: Maddy takes her first ride on the big kid swings. She didn't want to go very high, and there were a couple minor spills (where's that helmet when you need it?), but she did really well and kept coming back for more. That's our girl!

M&M hanging out in the backyard. With a little help from Grandpa, we were able to bring the fountain back from the dead. Unfortunately the kids new favorite past time is putting handfuls of dirt and rocks into it. Maybe they think it's hungry.

Above: Yet another trip to Little Farm in Tilden Park, Berkeley. Fun, cheap entertainment for the kids. For the cost of a few packages of celery, the kids can walk around and feed the cows, sheep, goats, chickens, and pigs - all the standards and more.

Above: A promising start. M&M take a ride on the old porcelain express. Of late they have noticed other older kids at daycare using the potty, and they have started asking to sit on it as well. We decided to give them the chance at home too. We're not expecting an end to diapers anytime real soon, but it will be nice.

Parting shot: M&M head for home.

"Hey Doggie!"

2010-07-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

Milo would like to shout out to all his peeps with his standard greeting - "hey doggie!" Whether you are a Mom, Dad, other kid, teacher, Elmo, a cat, airplane, or -- yes -- a dog, Milo will likely shout you this happy greeting. Why? Who knows? He's two after all. I guess I should be a better parent and work on teaching him not to say it, but it's cute and funny and, after all, so what?

In recent news, Milo had his two-year follow-up clinic with the doctors at Alta Bates this past week. Remember that he's not technically a 2-year-old developmentally until September, nonetheless he appears to be almost completely caught up to 24 months. In most categories he tested in the normal range, though he was below the cut in a couple areas. A lot of the performance trouble was due to his lack of cooperation. The doctor had arrived 40 mins late due to unforeseen traffic, and Milo was pretty bored and tired by the time the assessment started. All in all, it was an unexpectedly great result -- especially given the circumstances. Maddy will go for her assessment in the late summer or early fall. I think we expect her to perform even a little better than Milo since she's definitely the better talker right now.

Photo courtesy of Sanford & Son Moving, Inc.

We are finally moved out of the old house and into the new digs. It involved lots of trips with a U-Haul trailer followed by one big trip with a moving van. Luckily, we finished up relocating all the stuff to the new joint in time to have a party for the kids over the 4th of July weekend. That gave us a chance to have a few friends by and break in the back yard. Cake was eaten, beers drank, and children froliced. I'll call it a success!

The singing of "Happy Birthday" with the help of good friends.

Milo shows off his super powers.

Notice in the above picture that Milo is hanging onto my thumbs without any help from me. It's crazy but the kid can hang on for about 25 seconds before he laughs so hard that he ends up letting go.

M&M take turns pushing each other around in their stroller cars.

Milo gives his friend Nicola a ride in his wagon. Maddy's not as angry as she looks, she just doesn't like taking turns.

But she does like cake -- a lot.

Milo showing off for Nicola...

...and flying high.

17 July 2010

This weekend the kids also had the chance to hang out with triplets Sophie, Gabby, & Faith and their parents, John and Carina. And I thought our grocery bill was getting rough. Good times!

17 July 2010 - "Mod Maddy" - the standard baby with sunglasses shot.

17 July 2010 - Milo looking humble

17 July 2010 - Maddy

All of a sudden Maddy really likes to make goofy faces for the camera. It's bound to make things more entertaining for future posts.

A slightly less silly shot taken moments later during the same meal.

If I haven't said it before, it's one of my greatest hopes that Maddy will eat exactly the same way she does now during her first date, i.e., attempt to cram absolutely everything she can into her mouth, chew until she doesn't feel like it any more, and then take the remainder out with her hand and fill her mouth again with something else off her plate. It's quite impressive. She and Milo both love to feed me and Elaine, but there's nothing worse then realizing she's just put something in my mouth that's been well chewed before. Mmmmmm...

My Lunch with Maddy.

Of late, Milo has begun telling jokes in an effort to keep us all entertained. His vocabulary is still pretty limited, so he goes for physical humor. Above is one of his favorite bits, the "Pretend Sneeze." It's cracks him (and us) up every time.

The parting shot. It's not always easy to tell whether the twins like each other very much. They play together a lot more these days and frequently greet each other enthusiastically in the morning, but they also argue over toys and hit and bite each other every so often too. It's nice to see an occasional hug just to make sure.

TWO!

2010-06-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

15 June 2010 - The singing of Happy Birthday. (Bigger celebration to follow!)

Happy, happy birthday to our beloved little Milo and Maddy. Oh how far they've come! It's hard to believe it's been two years since the beginning of the journey in NICU Room 11. In preparation for this post, we began looking back through our boxes of keepsakes from the early days, and we found the original signs posted on the babies' isolettes (see below). We thought they might offer a nice reminder of how far they've come since those early days, rather than rehashing all the babies have gone through. But, for those of you parents out there with a baby in the NICU, it's worth remembering that there's a lot to be hopeful about. Take a look back at the substantial challenges M&M faced and see just how well things have turned out for the little fighters.

Milo - notice his first hospital ID bracelet is still taped on.

Maddy - the little heart on the bottom left was one of her monitor sensors.

And since it's the kids birthday, it's worth taking a moment to again thank all the great nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, lactation consultants, social workers, nutritionists, admin staff, and everyone else at the Alta Bates NICU who helped to take such great care of M&M and make us feel welcome during their first four-and-a-half months of life. The gift basket of chocolate we left probably doesn't quite cover it.

It's been a while and this seemed like a good time to plop the kids back in the rocker for another photo with Mr. Bear. It's been six months since the last picture, and we figured there'd be a pretty dramatic difference. Turns out, not so much (see http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html). By the way, here is the very first Mr. Bear picture for comparison: http://miloandmadeline.blogspot.com/2008/08/long-march-to-september.html.

Madeline Ava - 15 June 2010

The Mr. Bear pictures have gotten no easier to take. This was the best one Dad could get before Maddy chucked the bear at me, stood up, and started swinging the rocker back and forth maniacally. Ah, age two.

Although the kids are definitely getting bigger, most of the advances are coming in the area of skills and language. Maddy appears to have leap frogged over Milo in that department, particularly in the area of language. Maddy's vocabulary seems to grow a bit everyday, and she occasionally links words together into 3+ word phrases. Her voice is still kind of hoarse and a bit Joplin-esque. She also loves to sing, so maybe we have star a on our hands.

What else can we say about the little girl? She's very, very friendly. She rarely passes by someone without waving and saying "HI!" She loves giving hugs and blowing kisses. She loves singing and music and books -- her current favorite is Is Your Mama a Llama? She loves to say "no" in a deep, gravelly voice to any statement that sounds like a question. Here's proof:

Notice she declined to answer that last question. Very concerning.

Maddy also loves to talk. (Huh, where'd she get that from?) It's really funny. She's clearly trying to tell a story, but doesn't know how to say what she wants, so it just sounds like she's rambling on in some foreign language. Very cute. Maddy is also nuts about playground slides. She loves to jump up and down and is remarkably good at it. She's developed a pretty good sense of rhythm too; she can now clap along with a lot of her favorite songs.

Milo Camper - 15 June 2010

Milo has also made good progress over the last couple months. He's saying bunch of words and occasionally using two word phrases ("all done," "no more," "hi daddy," etc.). He's quite a bit more reserved and shy than Maddy, but he loves to laugh and often gets hysterical when being tickled or when watching the Wiggles. Milo is the consemate engineer - he loves to tinker with things. We have no doubt that by this time next year we wake up and find him taking apart the stereo or some other expensive pices of electronic gear, not unlike Dad did as a child. Milo likes to look at books too, but not as much as Maddy. His current favorite is Quiet Loud. Milo is more into swings than slides, and, though he does like to rough house, he's a little more cautious than sister at the moment.

Like pretty much every two-year-old, M&M both constantly like to test us. If you ask them to stop banging their spoon, they stop, look at you and then tap it lightly to see how far they can push it. Same thing with jumping on the couch or bed (their favorite indoor past time). If told to sit down, they will. But slowly they'll climb to their feet while keeping an eye on Mom and Dad to see what we'll do about it. Same with lifting their plates, banging cups, throwing toys, and playing with electrical cords. Testing is definitely the order of the day. On the flip side, they also really like to help out. Whenever they see us cleaning up, they like to pretend to vacuum, mop, and put things away. The problem with the latter is that many things around the house disappear and reappear in various drawers around the house -- car keys, toys, brushes, pretty much anything portable.

Finally, as some of you already know, we are moving houses this month. We'll still be living in Alameda, but our new place has a yard and a lot more space for the kids to run around, along with some nice amenities for Mom and Dad like a built in dishwasher, multiple bathrooms, and adequate closet space. We're sad to leave our lovely, historic Storybook style house, but are looking forward to a few of life's more modern amenities, too. The move has put our birthday celebrations on hold for a few weeks, but we're planning a party for the kids over 4th of July weekend at the new pad. Stay tuned.

Almost Two Years

2010-05-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

At home watching Wiggles

Maddy occasionally hugs Milo. It's very cute, but Milo isn't very impressed with it.

M&M during a snack break at the Oakland Farmers Market - 29 May 2010

All loaded into the car seats and ready to go. 29 May 2010

Milo feeling giggly after eating yogurt. Notice the lad has his first skinned knee.

M&M enjoying their first wagon ride in their birthday gift from Grandpa.

Milo at Fairyland in Oakland - 3o May 2010

Maddy loves looking at animals. Here she tries to pull herself into the enclosure to visit with the donkey. Fairyland - 30 May 2010.

Here Maddy waves frantically at the llama to make sure she gets noticed. The llama noticed alright but wasn't terribly excited about. Fairyland 3o May 2010.

More Fairyland pictures.

Maddy wasn't sure what language the llama spoke, so she went with sheep -- "baa ba ba, baa baa ba, ba ba ba." The llama didn't appear to speak that particular dialect.

Post bath Milo.

Maddy gets a little crazy before bed time.

M&M visiting Little Farm at Tilden Park in Berkeley. 31 May 2010.

Maddy doing laps at the playground at Tilden Park.

The Month In Pictures

2010-05-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

13 May 2010 - Maddy finds an old pair of my eye glasses. That's right, I wore those things for a few years back in college. Why? Well, my good buddy Matt dared me to. They're only slightly smaller on my face.

9 May 2010 - Milo decides whether he wants to give the big slide a go. He's done it before, but not this day.

9 May 2010 - Milo enjoys making noise on the playscape.

25 April 2010 - Maddy digs deeper!

25 April 2010 - Milo tries to get every last bit.

13 May 2010 - Milo goes for his occupational therapy assessment. Despite the appearance, this room is not the chimp enclosure at the Oakland Zoo. Milo did pretty well -- he even showed off a few skills we didn't know he had, like kicking and catching a ball (albeit a very, very close throw).

8 May 2010 - Maddy takes a closer look.

8 May 2010 - Milo and Maddy play outside in the courtyard.

19 April 2010 - Milo in the kitchen while we prepare his pre-bedtime milk. Notice how curly his hair gets.

10 May 2010 - Maddy in the garden after getting home from daycare.

10 May 2010 - For some reason, whenever we get home, M&M run over to the neighbors house and hide in her foyer. The eventually come out and follow me.

19 April 2010 - M&M at the Tilden Park Farm in Berkeley.

22 Months Old!

2010-04-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

22 months old (calendar age) already! Hard to believe, but with (most) of the preemie challenges behind us, we've settled into a pretty normal routine. These days, Mom gets the kids ready and drops them off for daycare most mornings. I pick em' up in the afternoons and take them home for a little more playtime and then make them dinner. We do baths and pajamas, and then a bottle and some reading before they head off to bed around 7:00 or so. (We're looking to ween them off the bottles over the next month or so.)

On weekends, we usually head to the park or go somewhere. Of late, we've been taking the kids to a children's play gym called Gymboree where they goof around and play. We usually take them out for lunch -- the kids both love eating quesadillas from our local Mexican joint. Although they typically throw most of the food I prepare for them either on the floor or at me, they do a pretty good job when they eat out. Maddy especially loves to look around and wave and blow kisses at the people in the restaurant.

The next big step is to get the kids swimming. They both enjoy the water, and I figure once they are decent swimmers, we can look into buying the "family raft" for some very mellow floats on mild whitewater. That's probably 5 or 6 months away at least -- maybe a year. We'll see.

4/12/2010 - Maddy and Mom getting ready for bed.

Maddy after bath.

Clearly his father's son, Milo loves to wash his hands repeatedly.

4/12/2010 - Maddy doing a diaper check on Milo. Hopefully it was all clear. M&M hang out in at home during a wet NorCal spring day.

The living room gets taken over.

M&M at Sadie Dey's Cafe in Oakland. The whole business model of Sadie Dey is pretty brilliant - provide a place for parents to enjoy a coffee while the kids play. Mostly it's a lot of fun, the problem is that on a rainy day the place is packed to the gills with damp, screaming toddlers. Still fun, just a little hectic.

I'm really surprised that no one has opened one of these places here in Alameda, who's unofficial slogan is "Alameda, where hipsters go to breed." We've got five high end children's clothing shops within two blocks of each other, but no hipster coffee joint with a playground in it.

The kids love the play kitchen. They spend about half an hour taking out and putting in a plastic chicken in the freezer. Who wouldn't?

Milo enjoys his fruit cup at Sadie.

4/11/2010 - Maddy playing in the courtyard.

4/11/2010 - The Pixie. Even with the rainy days, we're still seeing more sunshine and Maddy seems to be getting blonder and blonder.

4/15/2010 - Milo and Maddy at daycare during a Cowboy Jared visit. We're lucky enough to have a daycare on base within a five minute walk of Dad's office. Once a week, the signing Cowboy Jared comes for a visit. Maddy in particular, but Milo too, really loves to dance around and clap. I think she was a little distracted during this visit because Dad was there too.

Maddy sits closest to Cowboy Jared and Milo sits in the front row too.

Sing along with Cowboy Jared. This guy must have the greatest job in the world. Yet another reason for me to hate my high school guidance counselor -- he completely failed to mention the possibility of becoming a singing cowboy. I sincerely hope M&M consider this option -- it would beat law school by miles!

4/17/2010 - M&M at Gymboree. It was "through" day at Gymbo -- which means the whole theme is to get the kids to go through things -- hoops, tunnels, etc.

Milo and Mom bang along to the music at Gymbo.

Three More Years of Cali!

2010-03-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

As many of you may already know, we finally got word this week that my next assignment will be here in the Bay Area. On one hand, this is great news because it means M&M will get to remain with their present medical care givers. We were definitely not looking forward to finding a new pediatrician, pulmonologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, child development specialist, and infant follow-up clinic. Not to mention, new employment for Elaine, childcare, and a new house. So yeah, this works out pretty well for right now. Besides, the kids had a tough first year and didn't get out much, and it will be nice to stay for a few more years so they can get to know their home state. (I'm even thinking of selling my beloved Cherokee for a VW camper van to get us out on the road more often.)

On the other hand, we thought we might get a few years in the Northeast close to our old friends and family. Well, for those of you back east, now you have a good reason to come out and visit.

By the way, for those of you still surprised by the number of specialists the kids are seeing, no need to worry. M&M are doing quite well. A couple weeks back they turned 18 months (21 months calendar age), and they are doing a great job of catching up. Maddy is about 22.5 lbs now and Milo is finally over 20. Both kids are physically strong; usually eat like horses; they both have near 20 words and understand several others; they are adventurous and are getting more and more coordinated. Milo in particular has bizarre baby strength: he can grab onto a bar and hold onto it (hanging in mid air) for over 20 seconds -- by then he's usually giggling so much he lets go. Pretty impressive for an 18 month old, eh?

20 March 2010

Last week the Stiles crew hosted a visit with the famous Loki Sky and his mom and dad Kat and Jesse. Loki was born and admitted to the Alta Bates NICU the day Milo came home. I've mentioned him previously -- fantastic little guy who has overcome a hell of a lot. Read his blog if you get a chance (http://babylokisky.blogspot.com/).

March 2010

Milo is still a snuggler for the most part, especially when he's tired or not feeling well. Otherwise, he's developed quite an independent streak. He's still not particularly interested in playing with other kids, but loves figuring out how things work and generally messing with things.

Milo & Lucy

Overall, the little guy is very good with the cats. He can usually stroke them gently for 10 to 15 seconds before he ends up going all Lennie on them and tries to pet them to death.

March 2010

We live within walking distance of the beach, and both kids enjoy playing there. Maddy especially likes seeing the water and chasing sea gulls.

Milo often just naps but that's fine too.

Maddy with log.

Maddy with twigs.

Not unlike Mom and Dad, the kids also get cabin fever and prefer to be outside as often as possible. Milo can now open most doors in the house, including the front door, so we have to keep it gated to keep him from taking an unsupervised dip in the fountain out front.

Milo shows off his 8 teeth. Teeth have been a long time in coming, especially for Milo. He seems to be getting his at a snail's pace. Apparently that's pretty common for early babies. Maddy has most of hers now, but the little guy has a ways to go.

Milo and his rocket car. The car looks cool, but it's pretty hard for him to get much speed up on it. He actually prefers riding around in his wagon at high speeds .

Few things make the boy as happy as racing around in the wagon (which is truly brutal on my back). He then likes to take it apart.

Milo takes in the view at Crown Beach during a a chilly, windy Alameda day. That's San Francisco in the background.

Few things make Maddy as happy as fleece against her face and sand toys.

Except maybe the slide... Here Maddy eye balls the scene before making her first trip down the big, twisty slide at Franklin Park.

Maddy gives me one last smile before taking the plunge.

Doing it her way. Maddy alternately goes down upside down and backwards, head first, side ways, or the strangest, kneeling. It doesn't matter how you try and place her on the slide. No matter how often she gets bumped, she immediately tries to race back up for another trip. Milo is the same, but swings are really his thing.

09 March 2010 - Maddy on the beach.

Part of the reasons for all the beach visits, besides the obvious, is that walking in the sand is actually good therapy for the kids. It's tougher and gets them to pick their feet a little higher -- something that Maddy needs to focus on. She's doing a pretty good job though.

March 2010

Dad chases Milo around and tries to keep him out of traffic.

Moppin' Maddy: The Kids Start Earning Their Keep

2010-03-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

13 March 2010

The funny part is that Maddy dragged out the mop all on her own. Tune in next week to see Milo give cat box cleaning a go! ("No! No! Those aren't Tootsie Rolls!")

Just Pics and Vids - Jan to Feb 2010

2010-02-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

Buckets Full of Sickness and Horror and Some Nice Christmas Pictures

2010-02-04T20:10:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post pictures from the holidays, but between work, sick kids, and visitors, time has been thin of late. Let's start with the latest on the health front.

The good news is that the kids are holding up well. The RSV has passed, though the pronounced cough lingers on. The kids appeared to be doing very well toward the end of last week, and, with the doctor's concurrence, we decided to proceed with our planned visit to Tahoe. We kept the kids bundled up, and frankly they really didn't spend much time outside. But after we got home, it seemed like Milo was sick all over again. So, off to the doctors once more where there were concerns about a potential pneumonia -- it was either that or he had managed to pick up another virus. His pediatrician started him on antibiotics and Elaine brought him back in yesterday for follow-up. His lungs sounded fine but the decision was to keep him on his meds.

As you probably guessed, Maddy also caught RSV shortly after Milo. She still has a pretty rough cough, but her lungs also appear to be in good shape. It's bad enough that it wakes her up at night several times, but she has been in good spirits otherwise. Here's hoping we'll eventually hit a nice month long stretch of no illnesses. They're due!

In other news, M&M have finally graduated from the infant room at daycare. Milo was supposed to start full time in the pre-toddler room this week, but, due to sickness, today was his first full day. He wasn't his usual self, and was pretty weepy the entire day. Maddy has been transitioning this week, and will be a full time pre-tod starting Monday. She seems to love every moment of the new room -- pretty surprising since she normally take sa while to warm up to things. I'm still not quite sure why they call it "pre-toddler" since M&M and all of the other children all seem to fit the definition of just plain old toddler. But who knows? It's a while new world for them: M&M were becoming bored giants in the infant room, and now they are relative squirts compared to the other kids. Both M&M seem to really enjoy their new class, though, and there's a lot more to capture their interest.

On with the pictures...

A pensive Maddy on a chilly NorCal day - Approx. 12/20/2009

A holiday visit from Grandpa. Milo gets a tickle - Approx. 12/20/2009

Christmas Breakfast - 12/25/2009

Maddy inspects the presents - 12/25/2009

Milo digs his first car.

And so does Maddy.

Maddy wearing Christmas present camouflage. Can you spot her?

M&M and Grandpa bask in the warm glow of the Wiggles.

One of the interesting facets of Maddy's sensory issues is that she loves the feeling of fleece on her face. That's made her new hat from Aunt Heather an instant favorite. Removing it usually results in a tantrum, so we just leave it on.

More hat. This time Maddy tries out Milo's.

New hat and a phat new ride. Life is good.

1/14/2010 - Just about 19 months old. Milo takes a brisk walk.

2/1/2010 - Milo's favorite toys.

Maddy's pre-meal entertainment. Notice the scratch on her face? Poor Maddy has a bad habit of falling and banging her head. We're going to have her hearing and inner ear checked in the next few weeks to rule out any major issues. Either that or no more toddler fight club.

Milo cruises along.

RSV Finally Darkens Our Doorstep

2010-01-18T20:43:00.000-08:00

Remember RSV? If you take a look back at our post from 27 September 2008 you'll see some of our first discussion about this nasty bug. Back then, RSV would have almost certainly meant a speedy trip back to the hospital for M&M for another lengthy stay. Concern for RSV was so significant back then that the kids received monthly immunization shots to the tune of about g-note each for every dose. Well worth it. (Thanks again to TriCare.)

Well, a few days ago, Milo started to acquire what appeared to be another basic cold. His cough became more persistent, he developed a fairly low grade fever (about 100), and after listening to some pretty intense coughing overnight we decided to pay a visit to the pediatrician today. It didn't take the doctor long to diagnose the problem -- it seems RSV has been making the rounds for the past week and she had already seen several cases over the last few days.

The good news. Despite a lot of well-deserved hysteria last year, Milo was in pretty good shape. His lungs sounded ok, and there was no plan at all for a hospital visit. Other than sitting through three nebulizer sessions a day for the next few days (which, by the way, are pretty awful) the RSV should pass in another few days without much more to it. Poor Milo absolutely hates the nebulizer, so hopefully he'll get over it quickly.

Although Milo passed the RSV to Dad (which is basically just an annoying head cold for me), neither Maddy nor Elaine has shown any symptoms at all. Given how contagious RSV is, and the fact that the twins share pretty much everything, it's pretty surprising. I wouldn't bet on it lasting. We have a trip to Tahoe planned for the end of the month, so hopefully it will be well past by then.

Mustache-A-Thon 2010!

2010-01-14T19:28:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, I'm competing in the 5th Annual Beard500 - Mustache Division. It's fair to say that few things remind us of Megan's List like seeing me with a mustache. So, how can I turn such a force for ill repute into something that brings some good? Recently, a well-intentioned friend offered to buy me a giant trophy if I immeidately dropped out of the Beard500 and shaved off Mus-Caliber. And thus a great idea was born. So, here's the plan -- I will gladly shave off this hideous thing once I have raised at least $300 to benefit NICU families at Alta Bates (Milo & Maddy's alma mater). I will use the $300 to buy twelve $25 gift certificates for the families of infants at the NICU to use for purchases of food, local services, baby items, etc.

As Elaine and I learned during the four and a half months of M&M's hospitalization at Alta Bates, the financial toll can be huge. We spent roughly 6+ hours a day in the NICU, which means a lot of meals out, parking, and fuel expenses every day, in addition to reduced income. Many families are financially strapped to begin with, and worrying about how to pay for a decent meal or a parking garage should be the last concern for a family struggling with a very sick baby/babies.

So how can you help? Easy, contribute whatever you can. Whether the reason is to finally see the demise of Mus-Caliber or to support a great cause, give til' it hurts! 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) 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 (2) Send a check to me (email me for the address if you don't have it); or OPTION (3) 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.

Finally a bonus option: Anyone who contributes more than $50 will be entered in the drawing to personally shave off this hideous thing.

18 Months!

2009-12-23T20:44:00.000-08:00

18 months old just in time for the holidays! These shots were taken a few days late for the occasion but close enough to count.

Milo - 19 December 2009

Maddy - 19 December 2009

Unfortunately, it has only gotten more difficult to photograph Maddy and this was the best I could do. It was either the shot above or this one....

Or this one...

I think I made the best choice best on the available selection of photos.

In other news, the monthly Mr. Bear photos will become a thing of the past with this post. We had originally planned to cut them to once every six months after M&M turned one year old, but at the time they were still making big jumps in growth. It's fair to say things have slowed down since then. The kids are definitely getting bigger, but the month-to-month growth just isn't that dramatic anymore. I'll still be doing blog updates (with pictures) regularly, but the bear pictures will be bumped to once every six months.

And speaking of growth and development, the kids had a couple of big assessments in the last couple weeks. Overall, everything looks good. As of early this week, Milo weighed in at 19 lbs 8 ozs and was 30.5 inches tall. Maddy came in at 21 lbs 9 ozs and 31.5 inches tall.

Milo & Maddy at the Alta Bates Follow-Up Clinic - 15 December 2009

Developmentally, the babies are basically on track for their corrected age (which is about 14 months) with some exceptions. They are behind bit on their expressive language and their gross motor skills in particular, but they have been making some good strides of late. They can both walk now, but not really well enough to call them "walkers" -- they still crawl plenty but their walking is coming along quickly. Both babies will be receiving some additional physical therapy, which has proven very helpful already. Milo remains in the high-risk category for cerebral palsy, due to high muscle tone in his legs, low muscle tone in his mouth (partly why he sticks his tongue out so much), and of course the fact that he had a grade III IVH at birth. The good news is that if he is diagnosed with CP, it appears very likely that he will fall in the mild category. For example, he might have trouble using scissors or kicking a ball -- it's tough to say exactly how it might manifest and we won't know until he's at a stage where it will be noticeable.

In other developments - at long last, the babies are getting ready to make the transition out of the infant room at daycare to join the other pre-toddlers.

Have a great holiday!

Recent Pictures

2009-12-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

Today - Maddy demonstrates her new walking skills. She took her first "official" steps the day before this photo, but - as is usually the case - no camera was at the ready.

Milo - 11 Dec 2009

11 Dec 2009 - Milo shows off. Just a couple weeks ago the little guy was only putting together a couple steps, now he's crossing rooms. Great stuff!

A day at the park. Milo likes the slide but loves the swings.

As is to be expected, Maddy is exactly the opposite. She's happiest when she's going down a slide. Hopefully it's a prelude to a great love of snowboarding.

Of course, she likes the swings too.

The standard staged Christmas photo. It took about 40 shots to get this one shot, and in the end we decided to put something else on the X-mas cards. The funny thing is that Maddy loves sitting in the wagon and Milo really does like to push her around in it. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get very good photos of it.

Today: Maddy sits on her rocket car and watches the Wiggles.

Today: Elaine was able to get this excellent shot of Maddy at dinner. She like to use her hair as a napkin. Her appearance is all her doing. Very nice!

More tub time pics.

Another great tub time shot. The babies don't typically bathe together. Frankly, it's a lot tougher, especially since Milo never sits still. In order to preserve Milo's (eventual) sense of modesty, I took the liberty of adding a redaction box just sufficient to keep all the family secrets from public view.

First Steps for Maddy!

2009-12-12T13:28:00.000-08:00

Following close behind her brother, Maddy took her first credible steps yesterday (December 11th). She had been threatening for a while, but our policy has been to only declare first steps after the twins put together at least four steps. Maddy put together about 5 for the first time, and it was of course very exciting. Pictures to come!

First Steps For Milo!

2009-11-18T19:58:00.000-08:00

There was much excitement today during my lunch time visit with the kids at daycare when Milo decided to take his first unassisted steps. He has taken a couple steps before -- usually only one or two at the absolute most -- but today he put together about 5 steps. He repeated the feat later at home (this time about 3 or 4) for Mom.

17 Months (on time no less)!

2009-11-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

For the first time in many months, I'm glad to have finally taken the bear photos on the 15th of the month. It seems like the photos and posts were getting pushed later and later. These days the pictures are not nearly as dramatic from month to month as they were in the first few months, but nonetheless it's good to finally get back on track with my dates. At some point, we'll probably stop doing the bear photos on a monthly basis -- that'll probably be sometime around M&M's second birthday (15 June 2010). Maddy will be happy about that. She can barely sit still for the photos anymore as showcased below.

Above: Maddy - 15 November 2009. This is as close to sitting up right as I good get the Pixie to agree to. I sit her up, she wiggles down... That's the way it goes.

Maddy wrecks the photo set.

Maddy on the rampage, towering over Mr. Bear. "I will not be posed!"

Surprisingly enough, Milo is usually pretty good about sitting still for the picture. By the way, Milo weighed in during a doctor's appointment about a week ago at 18 lbs. 12 ozs. He is still gaining weight, but at a much slower rate despite a voracious appetite. This is typical for pre-toddlers. Until Milo reaches the critical 20 lb mark, he has to remain in a rear facing car seat. That means that who ever sits in front of him will continue to have their knees pinned under their chin to accommodate the rear-facing seat. The little man is pretty tall, but still thin despite a voracious appetite. He's also got a relatively big head -- and occasionally resembles an orange on a toothpick (anyone name that movie?).

Now for some other more easily obtainable pictures.

Above: M&M play with a new bouncy horse gizmo from Grandpa. I wondered if it would be to advanced for them, but they knew exactly what to do. Notice both babies have a nice swath of saliva dripped all over their shirts. Yes, even yet still more teething, Maddy especially.

In other news, M&M are picking up some more words. Milo now says "poo poo" and "diapa" usually together. He also says "nigh nigh" when he gets tired and wants bed. Maddy seems to recognize all the same words as Milo (and even uses a couple signs he doesn't), but for now her words are pretty much just "ma ma," "da da," "hi," "up" and a few others. If they are anything like Mom and Dad, they will both have plenty to say eventually.

Mad Skills!

2009-11-11T20:20:00.000-08:00

It brings a tear to my eye. The way the kids are coming along, they'll be able to push a lawn mower, a vacuum cleaner, or even a wheelbarrow in no time at all! Then we'll teach them to make shoes and weave rugs, and that's when the big bucks start rolling in. But seriously, the kids continue to make great progress with their walking and standing skills. Although Maddy was the first to figure out how to push the cart around, Milo has really taken off with it. Today was the first time we took them outside with the gizmo, and - not surprisingly - M&M were on a mission.

Maddy sprints down the sidewalk sporting her fashionable knee pads, which were designed from an old pair of Dad's socks. In her enthusiasm to go fast, Maddy ends up falling on her knees a lot. It doesn't seem to phase her in the least, but the knee pads are essential to keeping her smile and pants intact.

Maddy looking determined. Notice her hemangioma is almost completely gone.

Milo stops to look at the fountain. Both babies really enjoyed being able to walk around, and I was surprised to see that M&M would periodically stop and look at things rather than just trucking on by. It let me realize how frustrating it must be to get whisked around in a stroller without ever getting to stop and look at the things that interest you (and without ever being able to say "stop"). By the way, notice our cat Mouse in the background.

Milo practices good lawn mowing form. Yes, all in good time little man!

Above: Milo takes a stroll.

Exhibit 1. And speaking of heavy chores... As most of you who know us may know, Elaine and I generally keep a pretty clean house. Behold (above and below) what's become of us. Hopefully the Department of Social Services isn't monitoring this site. Yes, we do clean up after, and the floors get washed a few times a day. This is just a showcase of a particularly bad moment in the life of a kitchen where twin infants reside.

Exhibit 2. Nothing says neat freak like a trash can on the dishwasher and a recycling bin on the fridge. What's the alternative? Leave em' on the floor and it's a sure bet both babies will knock them over, crawl inside, and make a fort in the old coffee grounds and moldy breads.

Heading into snack time. Maddy examines her tray for any food that may be stuck underneath from lunch. Nope, none.

Snack time. Milo does what he does best, steal food from Maddy's tray. There's nothing so delicious stolen fig bar.

On the health front, both babies seem to be catching a series of colds. By my count, I think they've both caught about 5 or so since starting daycare back in August. The good news is that they've weathered it all very well. M&M remain in good spirits even when sick, though they have had some pretty rough coughs, and the lines of snot have at times resembled thick, greenish yellow shoe laces. Add the fact that they are both drooling machines due to the latest round of teething, and it makes for several wardrobe changes a day. That includes all of us, since the babies love to wipe their noses off on Mom and Dad whenever we pick them up.

We had a bit of a scare last week when I came down with some strain of the flu (probably not H1N1). It was enough for all of us to end up on Tamiflu. Luckily, it only appeared to hit me, and - other than some serious body aches - the virus passed uneventfully. Both babies have received flu shots and the H1N1 vaccine. Hopefully they'll get nothing worse than a cold this season. RSV is still a concern (see last year's posts), but the babies will not be immunized against it this season.

In other news, the kids were due for a visit to the Alta Bates follow-up clinic, but we rescheduled for next month due to concerns over their potential flu exposure. We should find out more about how the kids are progressing and developing then. For now, things look good.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

Maddy and Milo prepare for the big Halloween parade on Coast Guard Island.

About 5 minutes into the parade...

16 Months!

2009-10-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

Milo - 17 October 2009

Madeline - 18 October 2009. It's very tough to pose Maddy now. She pretty much just squirms down like she did here. This was actually the best of about a dozen similar shots.

M&M at the Oakland Zoo, seen above parked on the Hayward fault - 18 October 2009

M&M hanging out with the giraffes.

Maddy greets the day.

Milo takes a (brief) walk.

Another Step Forward!

2009-10-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

It's not walking, but it's a break through nonetheless -- and it's a good start.

Above: Maddy (at 12.5 months corrected age) bravely crosses the room on foot, ably assisted by a fancy Melissa and Doug "Deluxe" Walker (and no, I'm not getting any kick-backs from the toy companies -- though I'm not above taking some). Milo actually does even better, but he kept refusing whenever I started the cam. Hopefully they'll be doing complex math in time for tax season.

By the way, you may have noticed I've added some nice new features to the blog. If you look on the left-hand side, you'll notice I added a search feature as well as some other functionality. A few parents have mentioned that they use the M&M blog to look at the various issues the twins have faced, and I figure this will spare a frantic parent some time hunting. All ideas I've stolen from Loki Sky's blog (see our friend's blogs).

Yet Another One Year Mark & the Big Reunion!

2009-10-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

You've all probably noticed a lot of one year marks on the blog of late, and this week we can add yet another. Maddy celebrated one year home yesterday (October 2nd). For comparison, I went back and dug up a photo that I took just a few minutes after we got her in the house last year, and then I staged the same basic photo today. Pretty amazing difference, eh? (By the way: For an interesting comparative read, take a look back at the posts a year ago from about September 25th to October 10th, 2008)

Maddy - 3 October 2009. Current dimensions: 29.75 inches long and coming up on 21 lbs; she has roughly 3.5 teeth; and she wears size 4.5 shoes.

Maddy - 2 October 2009. Dimensions (then): A little over 7 lbs.; no teeth; socks only; and looking a lot less robust.

It's hard to believe that the car seat is actually getting too small for Maddy now. A year ago she practically disappeared in the thing, and we needed to tuck blankets around her to keep her snug. In fact, we bought new car seats today for M&M.

To celebrate this latest milestone, Maddy and Milo got a little something extra with dinner. What else? Madeleines, which the kids obviously liked since they contain the dietary staples sugar and chocolate.

So what was Milo up to a year ago? As you may recall, Milo decided to hang out with the nurses and docs for another 15 days after Maddy went home. But for posterity, here's the comparison.

Milo: 3 October 2009. Weighing in at 7 lbs. 8 ozs. (including a lot of edema) and sporting a nasal gavage tube for feeding. Looks like a whole different baby. The amazing thing is that the little guy had every right to cry and whine about everything, but he was almost always all smiles all the time.

Fast forward...

Milo: 3 October 2009. Weighing in the high 18 lb. range. Along with a much healthier disposition, Milo has developed a bit of a temper -- which he clearly gets from mom since I was a perfect child. Above he is seen throwing a little tantrum while I was trying to photograph Maddy. What would his nurses think? To be fair, he's just getting over a fever, and he's got two new teeth coming in. All in all, he's still a pretty happy little guy.

In other news, we attended the Alta Bates NICU reunion last week. It was a great chance to return and visit with the all the great folks who were so vital in getting Maddy and Milo so healthy and strong. And we also got meet up again with other friends and alumni families.

Left to right: Elaine, baby Ruksana with mom (Preema) and dad; Nurse Janet; Dr. Espinoza (in the shades); and Jesse & Kat.

Janet and Milo and Madeline. We were hoping to get pictures with Annette, Aneko, and Dr. Kao, but they snuck off before I got out the camera.

Krista & Molly hanging out with Elaine and Milo. You may remember Molly and family from earlier posts. Molly overlapped with M&M at the NICU.

Dr. Espinoza, Baby Loki, Janet, and Jesse and Kat (Loki's parents). Kat and Jesse have kept a great blog about Loki, which you can - and should - check out here: http://babylokisky.blogspot.com/. It's definitely an amazing story - Loki is a 24-weeker who was born at Alta Bates the day after Milo went home. Highly recommended!

Elaine & Milo, Preema and Dad with baby Ruksana. Like Loki, Ruksana was another 24-weeker born right around the time M&M came home.

A rare moment. Maddy sits still in the grass without tearing her hat off.

Parting Shot...

Since Milo got pretty short shrift in this post, it seemed only fair to end with a nice shot of him not having a tantrum.

15 Months!

2009-09-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

On September 26th, the babies will turn one year old corrected age. We're not celebrating it as another birthday, but it is fun to observe from a developmental standpoint. All in all, they are doing really well. They have both decisively picked up a new word "Up!" and both are continuing to motor around the house on their hands and knees. We have an increasingly rare doctor's appointment on Monday, and we'll find out their latest weights and measures. Should be exciting times -- come on! big numbers! big numbers!

Maddy is now clearly able to get off of the couch and other relatively low surfaces on her own - she kinda' backs up and drops her legs over the edge and then lets her self down. Very cute to watch. Maddy's third tooth is also starting to get more visible. Hopefully she'll get a few more so she can start looking a little more like Elly May and a little less like Granny Clampett.

Maddy - 19 September 2009

For his part, Milo is his usual bouncy self. He can't quite catch either of the cats yet, but he's trying awfully hard. I forgot to mention that we discovered a couple weeks back that Milo can climb stairs now. Hopefully he'll learn to push a lawn mower and vacuum soon too - or at least mix a nice White Russian. I kid.

Milo - 19 September 2009

Milo, Madeline, & Mom hanging out at Lafayette Reservoir - 12 September 2009

Maddy claps along.

Milo looking a little surprised.

More Preemie Stuff

2009-09-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we've had a post discussing development issues with M&M, and mostly that's because we've been very fortunate so far that M&M have avoided many of the most serious consequences of being born 15 weeks early. (For a recap of those potential complications, visit here and here. And for reference, M&M were both under 1000 grams - Milo was 950 grams (2 lbs.) and Madeline was 900 grams (1 lb 14 ozs.).) It's probably worth talking some more about where things stand.

The babies are just about twelve months corrected age (15 months calendar), and in terms of most their gross motor skills they are doing okay. They have many of the gross motor skills expected of babies their corrected age, though there are some gaps. Both the babies are crawling very quickly now, they can pull themselves up easily into the standing position, they feed themselves very well using their hands, and they can drink from a sippy cup or straw -- but it ain't always pretty. Both babies are getting physical therapy each week now. Maddy, in particular, is having some persistent trouble and has been working with physical therapist over the last couple weeks. Her problems mostly relate to her very jagged movements and limited range of motion. This is probably due to her reflux. She has shown good improvement this week, but she still tends to crawl with her head down a lot and bumps into things. Similarly, her lack of flexibility makes balancing a challenge and she falls over often. (A helmet was proposed, but it doesn't look like it will be necessary -- thankfully.) One of the other little habits she's developed is that she almost always kneels rather than sits. Doesn't sound too bad, but her kneeling style places a lot of extra pressure on her knees. The good news is that the PT really seems to be helping.

M&M standing at their play table. You can barely tell we have children living in the house.

Milo enjoys some milk from his cup.

The bigger and more concerning delays involve language. We definitely don't expect the kids to be chatting in complete sentences by this age, but this is the area where they are most behind. They can definitely say Ma-ma and Da-da (usually "Ma-ma-ma" and Da-da-da"), but that's about it. A few posts back, I gave them credit for a few additional words, but that was probably wishful thinking. Based on the typical milestones, M&M's language is somewhere short of 8 months. They both know their names, though they don't always respond when we call to them (maybe they've already advanced to their teens?). Milo very clearly shakes his head "no" when he doesn't want something, and both babies seem to have the gist of the word "no" when we say it. They also seem to know the names of a few familiar objects (e.g., ball, kitty, and a couple others), and we're definitely working much harder on this. They both babble a lot of different vowels and consonants. In fact right now, I'm watching Milo try to have a conversation with one of the cats.

Maddy with ball - 22 August 2009

In terms of their social and emotional development, the babies are basically on track, if a little behind, and seem to be between 9 and 12 months in terms of their behavior. They are both affectionate and are very excited to see familiar faces. They do show fear of strangers, but they tend to get over it and want to make friends quickly. They definitely show anywhere from some to a lot of anxiety when Elaine and I go to leave, which is normal. They try to cooperate and help with simple tasks like getting dressed. Though, changing Milo's diaper has become similar to wrestling with a greased pig.

The kids have adjusted well to daycare in general. They just finished their third week, and appear to like interacting with the other kids and teachers. The daycare is located on Coast Guard Island only a few blocks from my office, so I'm able to sneak down for a visit most days.

M&M hang out with Lang and Cameron

Other strange preemie things: Some of you may be wondering why both babies seem to be stuck with only their first two bottom teeth. Turns out very premature babies typically get their teeth late - often much later than other babies of similar corrected age. But the good news is that the teething still started right on time. :) Maddy looks like she may have a couple more on the way.

As is so often said of preemie development, it is truly a roller coaster ride. Often, it seems like the things that are a problem one day suddenly resolve overnight. So who knows? Maybe they'll take another big leap forward in the next couple weeks. They're due!

Standard Babies-in-the-Bath Pictures

2009-08-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love a couple babies in a bath tub? Well, here you have it - M & M along with a few of their favorite tub time toys.

A little film of the event.

And of course, here's our latest big ticket purchase - a luxurious swimming pool.

The Big Visit Back East

2009-08-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

We are back from our east coast trip to Connecticut and Boston and are glad to report that the babies did as well as anyone could have reasonably expected on the seemingly interminable flights. We did the smart thing and bought a row of three seats, though we technically could have flown with M&M as lap infants (that would have been ugly). The babies slept a lot on both trips, but for the last couple hours they were generally pretty miserable and Milo had a major case of the wiggles. Still, there was minimal screaming and crying, and pretty much everyone on the plane was cordial. I assumed that flying with twins would earn us most hated status, but people were genuinely helpful and tolerant. The highlight of the flight was discovering that my children are easily amused for an hour+ by a bag of free Southwest peanuts. The low-light was having Milo bounce up and down on my lap for an hour+.

By the way, we lost about 30 to 50 pictures. Please don't feel slighted if you don't see your picture below. I'll try and round up pictures from the other folks with cameras and post those as well.

Mom and M & M hanging out at Oakland Airport, getting ready for a long day of flying.

The whole family - 25 July 09 - Westbrook, Conn.

Grandpa & Nedra hold M & M during a visit.

Several generations on hand to meet M&M. Above: Aunt Vera, Aunt Jane, Michelle, Uncle Ray.

Some how the timing worked out perfectly, and we arrived in Connecticut the day before Elaine's sister went into labor with her new baby boy Zak. Above: Elaine & Nova (Zak's big sister) hanging out with the new addition.

The first week in CT, we rented a beach house in West Brook and had a great time connecting with (and introducing the babies to) our old friends. Felt like we were getting the band back together!

Above: Milo and Uncle "G." Brian & his wife Alyssa were responsible for the quilts you see in many of the blog photos, including the one above.

Above: Michelle contemplates Milo, while Matt regales us with tales about his new perm. How does Matt get such a nice, oily sheen? Soul Glo.

Eminent dog proctologist, Dr. Brian Holdt, offers Maddy 5 minutes of uninterrupted eye contact. Maddy was completely fascinated by his bushy face, as were we all.

It was great to get see Sarah & Matt again and finally meet their daughter, the famous Auden (wearing the lovely, orange dress above).

Like all children, Milo took an instant liking to Sarah. Above: Milo crashes hard.

It was also great to visit with my older brother and his wife Pam. Above: Auntie Pam and Maddy.

Above: Milo & Maddy out for a ride in the O'Hara family wagon. Although we never made it down to the beach, my buddy Mark and his wife Lauren were kind enough to loan us the wagon to entertain and transport the babies while we were in town.

Maddy hanging out with Uncle John.

Above: Aunt Pam, Milo, Maddy, Uncle John.

M & M playing together.

Uncle Lester & Aunt Sherry holding Maddy.

Also great to see our old UUA pal Merry, Madu, their daughter Alexa -- who was Maddy's new best friend for the day. Above: Alexa, Merry, & Maddy.

Aunt Louise, Ari, and CJ with M&M.

After a week in Connecticut, it was time to pack up the kids and head to Boston for a couple days of Euchre with the Uginos. Proud to say that Jeff and I maintained our card playing dominance over the wives. They had us on the ropes a couple times, but we just kept coming back, just like Rocky.

Jeff & Laura's little girl, Ella. Ella has enormous feet.

Crazy Uncle Jeff seen above reading the NY Times and keeping a close watch over Maddy.

Cranky babies in the Boston Public Garden. Above: Milo tells us he hates the humidity even more than his Dad. Maddy invokes the hand to say, "enough already, I'm schvitzing for crying out loud."

Jeff & Ella prepare to head out on the swan boats.

Elaine & Maddy, Laura & Baby Gene Simmons.

Milo does his best James Dean impression while enjoying a nice picnic in the Jamaica Plain Arnold Arboretum. Funny, we talked about having a picnic there for the 10 years that we lived in the city, but we had to move to California and have twins in order to finally do it.

Maddy also enjoys herself at the Arboretum during one of the few days with relatively low humidity.

M&M ready for lunch.

Mom & Maddy.

After a nice couple days with Jeff and Laura, it was time to head back to Connecticut. But we couldn't possibly leave the Boston area without first chiseling a free pancake breakfast from Kevin, Toni, Leni & Zoe. Kevin is one of my oldest friends in the Boston area, and we were thrilled that his parole officer gave him a waiver for the day to allow him to visit with the kids. Seriously, as always, the Hicks-Dutt crew came threw with a great breakfast to send us off back to the motherland.

Above: Elaine, Milo, Leni, Maddy, Zoe, and Kevin.

We spent our last days in Connecticut visiting with family before heading back.

Above: Grandma Brown, Maddy, Great Grandpa, Elaine & Milo.

Above: Maddy meets her Great Grandfather.

After a long flight...

Above: (09 August 2009 ) Great to be back in Cali! The babies and Mom at Half-Moon Bay at the site of the legendary Mavericks surf break, which was obviously not in that day. Hopefully M&M will surf here in a few years when they're a little bigger. :)

It was a good trip overall. The only down side (other than the relentless plane and car travel) was that we missed seeing several friends. It's a tough thing living far away and only getting to visit for a couple weeks. Still, we definitely wish we could have seen everyone.

Special thanks again to Dad for helping with all the logistics; Nedra for the great cake and toys, Aunt Heather for the extra help with getting settled in; Mom & Tom; Jeff & Laura for letting a family of four invade their home; Kevin & Toni for the great meal; Mark & Lauren a weeks use of the wagon and for the great pizza; Austin and John for the rides to airport; and to Mike who kindly prevented our car from getting towed away back in California.

14 Months!

2009-08-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

Here's the monthly shots of M&M with Mr. Bear. Be on the look out for a much longer post on our visit back east. It should be up before the weekend is over. In the meantime...

Maddy and her two front teeth.

Milo.

M & M hanging out in their new baby jail. The little ones are crawling pretty well these days and that means some confinement is in order.

Mom pays a visit to one of the inmates.

Milo's gotta' bounce. We need to figure out a way to harness the energy coming off this kid. If left in the bouncy seat, he could easily keep this up for an hour or two. He proved it during our flight back from Connecticut. This was one of his first outings in the bouncy seat -- since then he's figured out how to go higher, and I've modified the positioning to give him a little more power. (I've also put a yoga mat under the chair to minimize the shock.)

13 Month Update Pictures (Slightly Late)

2009-07-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

We're a few days late with the monthly bear pictures. Sad to say, but we just completely forgot to take them until this morning. On the bright side, they look virtually identical to how they looked 3 days ago. You'll all notice that Milo is developing a nice thick head of hair, just like Dad used to have. And Maddy's hemangio-whos-a-ma-whats-it is becoming smaller and smaller.

As it happens, the babies were both weighed today during their monthly home follow-up with Marguerite, their visiting nurse. Milo weighed it at 17 lbs 2.5 ozs wearing nothing but a nice smile. And, by the way, there's one kid who loves to be naked! His weight gain was pretty impressive; he was 16 lbs 8 ozs last month.

As usual, Maddy out paced Milo on weight gain. She came in at an impressive 19 lbs 4 ozs, despite the fact that she tends to eat much less than Milo. (She was 18 lbs 2 ozs last month.) Both babies are pretty lean on the whole, Milo much more so than Maddy. Although Maddy is definitely active, Milo is a bouncing machine. The little guy is definitely most happy when in motion (a spaz like his old man), while Maddy likes to play with her books and study things over (like Mom).

If you look closely at this picture, you'll notice that Maddy's bottom teeth have poked through and are pretty prominent now. What else is new with the little girl? She's become very mobile. She doesn't exactly crawl, but does a lot of things that look kind of like crawling. She also occasionally pulls herself up onto her feet, and she frequently balances in this odd looking yoga pose where she's bent over with both feet flat on the ground, one hand supporting her, and she's using the other hand to grab something or just wave around. Hard to explain in writing but visually impressive -- I'll try and get a picture at some point.

In other news, the babies were evaluated by a a physical therapist to determine if they are in need of any specialized care for their motor skills. You may recall that we were a bit concerned about Milo in particular due to some of his delays and the fact that he had the grade 3 IVH at birth. Suprise, surprise, neither of the babies were technically in need of PT. Generally, the evaluators look for a 30% delay based on the baby's adjusted age, and both M&M seemed to be well within those parameters. The evaluator still wanted to do a couple monthly sessions just make sure they stay on track and keep making good progress.

Maddy says, "shhhh, pipe down you!"

In other exciting-ish news, the M&M appear to have a couple words in their vocabulary. We've heard Maddy saying the word "up" for the last several weeks, but we had a tough time telling if she meant it. Well, the judges have determined she does. She seems to also say "kit-eeee" whenever Mouse (our white cat) walks near her, so we'll credit her with that too. She may also have "Ma" and "Da-da" but the jury is still out. For his part, Milo seems to have "Da-da" and "Ma-ma-ma" down. The rest is scat singing for him.

As noted above, both babies are eating solid food well now. In fact, they had their first sample of pizza (tiny, tiny pieces) and they appeared to love it. Milo also tried out Aunt Erin's cowboy caviar and gave it a big thumbs-up. Before I get any lectures, that's not their standard eats. They get the typical three meals a day of organic vegetables (of all colors), fruit (which they love), cereal and yogurt (love even more), and various meats (which they kinda' like).

The next update will probably come after our return from our trip to Connecticut and Boston. Should be wild times in the friendly skies!

Vampire Baby and Other Interesting Pictures

2009-07-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Good lighting, crazy expression, and a rubber ducky placed gingerly in nature's vase. Viola! The perfect baby picture. The only thing missing are the fangs.

My old buddy Brandon and his wife Erin were in town for a visit during the first week of July. I've known Brandon since I was only a couple years older than M&M are now. Great to catch up and introduce the kids.

Maddy enjoys her new stuffed piggy.

Milo puts the finishing touches on my Father's Day card.

Maddy deep in thought.

Milo doing what he does best.

Above to pictures: M&M watch their first parade on the 4th.

Maddy at home.

Maddy & Milo rock out. Babies and maracas - a winning combination.