Mustache-A-Thon 2010!

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!

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

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!

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!