One Couple's Stumblings Through Parenthood and Marriage
In anticipation of the twins's birthday party, Annie wanted to take the girls to Great Clips to get their hair trimmed. How can you have a princess party if the princesses don't have their hair properly arranged? You can't.Genna went first. She was reluctant, but the hair stylist's promise of lollypops was enough to convince her to climb into the chair. With enough oohing and aahing from us she really began to feel like royalty. Here she is smiling for the camera. As she would put it, "Hair so long!"
Genna is shorter than Kate. That's why it was interesting that the stylist was able to trim Genna's hair in the back while Genna was sitting, but then had to take Kate down to do the same job. We realized that Genna has a longer torso, but shorter legs than Kate. The net difference: Kate's long dogs make her taller, though Genna's proportioning was more convenient for cutting hair. It's interesting the little things you learn about your kids when you least expect to.
It's also interesting to note what dorky parent's we are. We took a camera to Great Clips! I can't blame Annie - I was just as excited to capture the moment for posterity. It helps that our girls are so photogenic. Any modeling agents out there who want to take on some new talent?
We hadn't been in Disneyland fifteen minutes when I came across this kid who was sporting one of the best mullets I had ever seen. Unable to help myself, I secretly took a picture of him in all his glory. In good conscience, I didn't want to post his picture and mock him on the internet - afterall, he was just a teenager trying to have a good time at the happiest place on earth with his family.
And yet, I still had to share the mullet.
Then it hit me - my buddy Ian could help. I have always wondered what I would look like with a mullet, but haven't had the nerve and wherewithal to grow one. But Ian, the preeminent Photoshopper, could give me one. So, here we have the glorious mullet I saw in Disneyland, but with my beautiful face. What do you think? Shall I grow one? I am sorely tempted ... 
Genna has always had an affection for children. You can see that from her smile as she looks at the camera. She usually just adores them, but then sometimes spices it up with a good eye poking. Here she is with her buddy, Max, in her clutches. He was enjoying it at first, but then must have remembered Genna's propensity for quick jabs to eye, and began to fear for his safety ... In Genna's defense, she has only ever poked Julia's eye and she truely means well, but that subtlety was probably lost on the young man.
Here are some pictures from the night Julia pulled herself up to standing for the first time. My family was in attendance, which may have been why she chose this night to unveil her new skill.
As you can see, Julia is quite pleased with herself. Her legs were a bit shakey at first, but now she does it flawlessly.
After pulling herself up a few times, she took a moment to reflect on her new talent. Here she is, gazing at the horizon, pondering what this might mean for her. Her future is bright. As for mine, well, I see a lot of chasing her, scraped knees, stair climbing, and trail of destroyed household items.
I mentioned yesterday that my sister-in-law, Jen, ran a marathon. It was a fund-raiser for a foundation that does research for children with leukemia and related cancers. A very good cause.
Since she so masterfully completed that task, I challenge her to this:
This is the annual Escape from Alcatraz triathalon, consisting of a 1.8 mile swim across the SF bay, then 18 miles on a bike, finished by an 8 mile footrace.I would do it myself, but I don't wear pink.
We have been spending the weekend babysitting the Thomas kids with the Swishers while Jen and Bryce are down in Southern California for the weekend. Jen is running a marathon as a fundraiser. That's right - a mother of five running a full marathon. Pretty cool, eh?Genna has displayed some new tactics that she is developing to get what she wants - but she has needed younger toddlers to do one of them. The first thing she does is what I call 'parent shopping.' Just like an unscrupulous lawyer will 'judge shop' until he is confident he will get the verdict he wants, Genna will go from parent to parent, and aunt to uncle, until she gets the answer she wants. If daddy says she can't have candy, she will ask mommy, and then other authority figures until someone says yes. This has made it doubly important that Annie and I be on the same wave-length.Her second tactic is a mimicry of Annie's time-out technique. We were all at the McDonald's play area yesterday when we looked over to see that Molly (one of the Thomas kids), was standing against the fence and crying. It turned out that Genna had put her on a time out for not listening to her. We have no idea what she was demanding her little cousin to do. We told her that she couldn't do a time-out - only adults could. But only a minute later, Maggie was being placed on a time out by Genna. When Genna explained why Maggie was on a time-out, she used the same words and gestures that Annie uses when she places Genna on a time out. It is amazing how and what kids learn.
I don't mean to brag, or be a name dropper, but I have come close to meeting a lot of famous people. For instance, I went to kindergarten with the girl who played Punky Brewster (though I never met her). Also, my cousin does work with Nick Nolte, and I hope to meet him. Heck, I even saw Sean Hannity at a distance! The best one: my grandpa shook hands with a man who shook hands with Abraham Lincoln. Yep, when you know me, you almost know a lot of famous people.
Ever heard of that theory of seven degrees of separation, that we are at most removed by 7 degrees of separation from any given individual on the planet? For instance, take a look at the pictures below. The first one is of Annie (left) and her sister Chris (right) hanging on the arms of Andy, the lead singer of Erasure. They accosted him after his recent accoustic concert in San Francisco. See how I almost met another famous person?
The bottom picture is of a good family friend, Jeff, with Kate Pierson of the B-52s. He was playing in a band for which she was the lead singer! Jeff is an incredibly gifted guitarist, and is guaranteed to be a force in the music scene. Ya, we're pretty much best friends, Jeff and I. He said that he would totally hook me up once he's famous. Are you all jealous yet?
Ever since Julia began pulling herself up she has become a mobile terror, though an unbearably cute one. Here she is on her first unauthorized, and self-propelled, climb up the stairs. That is my hand reaching for the pacifier that Julia is holding out as a peace offering (she knew she was being naughty).As you can see, she made it up four steps. She would have gone higher had we let her, provided she did not tumble down - she hasn't caught on to the whole gravity thing.Why don't kids learn the rules before they gain the ability? It seems we are all destined to spend some time in the school of hard knocks.
Genna is shorter than Kate. That's why it was interesting that the stylist was able to trim Genna's hair in the back while Genna was sitting, but then had to take Kate down to do the same job. 
It's also interesting to note what dorky parent's we are. We took a camera to Great Clips! I can't blame Annie - I was just as excited to capture the moment for posterity. 
