Category Archives: Updates

Oscar – A Mini Update

30 Nov 2012


Cole took this – I love it!
Oscar came along on an official Natural Light photo-shoot last weekend.
He wants to be a photographer when he grows up. Isn’t that awesome?!


People keep singing “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth” – Of course Oscar has never even heard the song, and just thinks it’s weird.


Oscar loves video games now. He plays this on our new iPad Mini.


“Photobooth”
Mark and I had our parent-teacher conference with his AMAZING teacher, Prudence Hull. She thinks he’s doing perfectly. Just where he should be. I thought about putting his report card here, but I don’t need to. It’s all 3s, not a single 2. “Student consistently demonstrates mastery of the standard”. She said he’s a pleasure ♥.


Soccer is over. It was great in so many ways.
We are eagerly looking forward to coach pitch baseball in the spring.

Lucy’s 3yr Check Up

30 Nov 2012

This post is long over due! I like to do an update post every birthday / Dr. Visit.

We had perfect check up with Dr. Ernster, back on 10/31.
Lucy was 32.5 lbs. (about 75%)
and 37 inches which is totally average.
Dr. Ernster made her promise to eat more vegetables.
He warned her never to cut her own hair, and she almost cried.
She got a flue shot and didn’t cry (only said, “OW!” – she can be tough that way).


This is one of her favorite shirts, which I got her for her birthday.
She is a size 3T, and her shoes are about a 9. Don’t get me started on her and shoes. It’s shoe-crazytown around here.


Her first artwork, brought home from school, ever!


Motor skills, check!


Kiera let Lucy decorate some cookies. No big deal, no giant effort. I think that’s priceless.


This was today’s classroom project.. All I can say is better ‘there’ than ‘here’!


Dominic has competition nowadays. I’m totally just kidding of course. But Lucy and Finnegan really like hanging out. Today, the two boys were literally jockeying for position. Long story short, it’s no big deal at all, but I loved Mark’s quote best of all,
“This doesn’t bode well”.

Laurel Hill Is Great

05 Oct 2012

Click to see larger. Shot on my back with my iPhone.

What’s not to love!?

Lucy has made some sweet little friends. We’re going to have a playdate this weekend with Vicky.
Here’s the two of them, matching like BFFs:

I had a “buzz” with Lucy’s teacher Kaile, and all is well. “She made the transition to pre-school really fast!” We’re encouraged to promote independence by having Lucy do more little things on her own, especially re: potty training.

I asked about Lucy’s major new friendship with a Pre-K boy, Domenic. Everyone seems to think it’s going well. If there was anything off, then I trust Kaile and Maria and Any One Of The Awesome Teachers would tell me. So I’m really happy – he’s a sweetheart.

Here’s Domenic, Giulia and Koko with Lucy on Bike Deck

And P.S.

Oscar’s Check-up at Dr. Ernster’s

22 Sep 2012

All is good – nothing to report. Oscar is 80th percentile in weight and 75th percentile in height. Perfect sight and hearing. Dr. Ernster loved all the good activities Oscar has going on (Piano, Italian, Soccer, etc.)
He especially was excited about the piano lessons. We talked about it for a while.
At the end, Dr. Ernster said there would be no need for any shots. Oscar audibly exhaled, and relaxed.
We laughed, apparently Oscar had been nervous about that the whole time.

Then Oscar got his flu snifter and we were on our way.


I had promised to take Oscar out for ice cream to celebrate finishing his first piano book.
We went to Toy Boat (Clement and 5th) while Lucy finished her day at Laurel Hill.
We talked about how different and nice it felt hanging out just the two of us.

After, we had some time so we wandered over to the Sloat nursery on 3rd.
That was really fun. We hung out for almost an hour, wandering among all the beautiful plants.
(Mark would NEVER go for that.)

Oscar picked out a succulent. He was so into it, how could I resist?

Goodbye to Booker

24 Aug 2012

We had to say goodbye to Booker this morning. He was 13 1/2 years old. We called him the Gold Standard of Dogs.

He was with us when we got married, saw us have 3 children, and helped us when we lost Ava to cancer. He helped our cat Cairo pick fights, but not finish them. He partnered with his brother Hoot for everything: walks, tug-of-wars, begging shenanigans. He especially loved his papa, Chief.

Booker was a country dog living in the city. He patrolled sidewalks, and fetched the paper. He politely declined the endeavors of strangers. We taught him fun tricks: G.I. Joe, Bang bang, and The cookie on the nose. Our friends teased us when we brought him with us everywhere: work, the beach, the lacrosse field, AT&T park, dinner parties, road trips. When he got older, he took himself for walks in Golden Gate Park. (yeah, not our favorite, and how on Earth he crossed Oak street we’ll never know.) He swam and fetched like he was born to it. He loved it. He even swam in the Eel river with us less than two weeks ago. I loved swimming next to him, and racing him for the stick.

Booker was the best dog, ever.
We joked that this was a good thing, because I might get rid of him if he were any less. The truth is I loved him, Everyone loved him, and we always will.
No one lives forever, and I am going to focus on what a gift his long life was.