Sisters

Rugrats

Snowcave

Laid Back

Home!

Lyn and Greta were such good patients that we got to come home a day early. We're all pretty wiped out, so I'll post more pictures later.


I think Gilly is pointing out Greta's toes for Simon.

Lookin' Around

Greta

She's here! Arrived at 10:32AM, weighing in at 8lb 5oz.

Simon the Sleepeater

Not a sleepwalker, but a sleepeater.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kids at Play

Yes, those are gloves on Gilly's feet . . . not sure what that was all about. She was being pretty funny though.




Simon's favorite spot, with his favorite hat. He stands on his bed and watches the construction vehicles behind our apartment, saying "chuck, chuck" (truck, truck).

Halloween

Yeah, I know . . . I've been a slacker about updating the blog. Sorry :)

Gilly and Simon had lots of fun on Halloween. First they went trick-or-treating during the day, over at the Tuck School of Business, then Gilly and I went around at night. Lyn was super-crafty again this year, and made the turtle costume that Gilly is wearing below. Initially, Simon was the turtle and Gilly dressed up as a princess. When it was time for Gilly and I to go out after dark, she decided to be a turtle. Simon had no idea that his costume was being swiped, so we just went with it.

Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of Gilly and Simon together (one of our friends might have snapped a few pictures), but we did get a couple of Gilly in the turtle costume.

Crack

Cowgirl Princess and the Construction Worker

Wrastlin'

New 'Do

Gilly was very excited about her new hairdo.

Our Little Girl is Growing Up

It's been quite a month for Gilly. Her third birthday was on the 1st of the month, she had multiple birthday parties, and started preschool last week. She LOVES school, and doesn't want to leave when we pick her up (she has no problems at all when we drop her off). Lyn reports that Simon likes his sister-free time. When they get home after dropping Gilly off at school, he goes straight to her room and plays with her toys.

Getting ready to leave for the first day of school:




Exploring her classroom, and hamming it up for the camera:



Digging in to some cake at her birthday party:



Simon at Gilly's party, enjoying pizza with the guys:

Outnumbered

The balance of power has shifted to the XX genotype.

It's a girl!!!!!!






She'll be here just in time for Christmas. Simon is too little to understand what's going on, but Gilly seems to be excited about having a sister.

Puddles

The calm before the storm.



Actually, Lyn said Gilly put the sticks and leaves in the puddle, because she was making "rabbit stew" (part of the storyline in the book, The Tawny Scrawny Lion).

Vaccinations

The topic of vaccinations and autism seems to pop up in conversation every now and then. Since I'm a graduate student in biochemistry, people sometimes think I have more general medical knowledge than I do, and are interested in my opinion. I'm not an expert on immunology, and I know almost nothing about autism. The only advantage I might have is that I have to read many articles from science journals. Therefore, I'm comfortable reading studies published on topics unrelated to my research (if I come across something I don't understand, I have lots of practice searching for information and figuring it out).

We have kids, so obviously I was aware of vaccines and the concerns about a possible link between autism and the mercury compound used as a preservative in some vaccines. I did a little bit of reading at the time Gilly was having her first vaccinations, and also asked for opinions from others who likely knew more about the subject than I did. There really didn't seem to be a link between the vaccines and autism, and I was comfortable having our kids vaccinated.

I still haven't read much more about the topic, but I've seen nothing to change my mind. The data linking vaccines and autism appear to be weak, at best. Vaccines protect us from many dangerous diseases, and it just seems like a bad idea to avoid vaccinations. If you're worried about vaccines and autism, I STRONGLY encourage you to read the articles posted at the following links:

1) A very informative site, from the Vaccine Education Center, at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (click)

2) A blog post from the Discover Magazine website, illustrating the dangers of withholding vaccinations. Also links to some other sites (including #1, above). (click)

Train

Michelle and Elizabeth came over for a visit before leaving for their vacation in Utah. This is the "Train to Utah."

The Artist and the One-Man Wrecking Crew

Gilly has been exploring her artistic side: The title of this piece is "Two Squirrels and a Tree."




Simon has started to walk around more. This has given him a new perspective . . . literally, not metaphorically. He can now see things that were previously hidden from view. We now find these things strewn about the floor, under the table, under the couch. He's particularly fond of clearing off the small table in Gilly's room. We're doomed.

Congratulations Ann and Dan!

She's a cutie! Link (click)

Simon is Getting Taller

At some point, Simon figured out that he could reach the table. So far he has successfully snagged two bowls of cereal from Gilly, and she is NOT impressed.

Utah

We've posted some pictures from our trip to Utah here (click). You can also see some pictures over at the Benders' blog (click).

It was fun to see everybody again, and it was great for Gilly and Simon to get to spend some time with their cousins. We had a great time! Thanks Benders!!!

Simon Taking Some Steps

Simon actually took his first steps out in Utah, to his cousin Elena. We finally got him on video taking a few steps back home in NH.

Quick Post

Still on vacation, visiting the Benders. Here's a picture of Gilly and Brynne. They're quite the duo (aka, Double-Trouble). More to follow when we get back to NH.

Blowing Raspberries

Conversation with a 5-year-old

I took Gilly and Simon to the playground this morning while Lyn went to go have some kid-free time. The weather was nice, and a few of the other neighborhood kids were out there too. I had a funny conversation with a couple of the kids, one who is 5 years old (and another little girl, maybe 3?).

Boy: "Adam, my dad is 28"

Me: "Oh, he is?"

Boy: "He's younger than you."

Me: "Yes, he is."

Boy: "He's a bit taller than you too."

Me: "Yes, I think he is."

Boy: "No, he is definitely taller."

Me: (smiling, trying not to laugh)

Little girl: "I like macaroni and cheese."

Boy: "I smell a skunk."


I'm not sure how the conversation transitioned to mac & cheese, and skunks, but it was really cute.

I dunno . . .

does this boy look like he's enjoying his 1st birthday cupcake?

Birthday Boy

Happy birthday Simon!

4 days old:



one year:



Hard to believe how quickly a year passes . . . can't we slow this down just a little?

Busybusybusy

We're still here . . . still busy. I've been busy with lab/school and Lyn has been busy with Gilly and Simon, carrying the load all by herself as I've been an absentee husband lately. Have I mentioned how awesome she is? She's awesome.

The kids have been busy too:

Gilly has been busy cooking




Simon has been busy, ummm . . . tying himself up with gigantic rubber bands?

Sportsmanship

I admit it . . . I'm a sucker for a sappy story.

Socks

Lee, Our YouTube Superstar

Lee, now that you're a celebrity, can Lyn and I be part of your entourage?


(Warning: The following video has some heavy-duty tech content)

Happy Boy

Chef Gilly

Gilly helped make waffles this morning. Simon and I both think they're pretty tasty, though my opinion probably carries more weight than Simon's. He doesn't exactly have discriminating taste . . . Lyn pulled a piece of "fuzz" out of his mouth the other day, and put the "fuzz" in the sink.

The "fuzz" unfurled its legs. It was a spider.





The blog posts might be sparse for the next couple of months. My schedule is a little bit overwhelming this term.

Accomplice

Simon crawls very well now and can also pull himself up to standing. However, he still lacks the agility necessary to commit crimes. That's where his accomplice, Gilly, comes into the picture. They have learned to utilize Gilly's safe-cracking ability, and Simon's bloodhound-like nose to access and detect high-value targets in the refrigerator.

Yesterday's target: leftover apple pie from Easter dinner.

Lyn couldn't bring herself to intervene because it was so cute. She grabbed the camera instead :-)

Don't Put That In Your Mouth

We frequently (constantly, it seems), have to tell Gilly to stop putting things in her mouth. If it's something gross or some sort of biohazard, we tell her "don't put that in your mouth, it will make you sick!"

We planned to go visit Lyn's family on Sunday, but both Grammy and Pops have the cold/flu/something-nasty, so we decided to wait until next week. Last night, Lyn told Gilly that we wouldn't be going to visit them on Sunday, and explained to her that they were "sick."

To which Gilly replied, "what do they have in their mouths?"

Fee Fi Fo Fum!

Buddies

Gilly had two of her friends from the neighborhood over for a visit. Simon was vastly outnumbered.


Hugs . . .



and a short video of the girls dancing . . . I think.

World Travelers

Cool story from The Valley News (click)

Museum of Science

A couple of pictures from the Montshire Museum of Science.


Gilly checking out the reptile bones



Simon playing with the golf balls at one of the physics exhibits (and reportedly, admiring himself in the mirror)

Split Brain Behavior

OK, this is a little bit random, but I thought it was very interesting.




Also pretty cool (possibly a little creepy?), and related to split brain behavior, is Alien Hand Syndrome. Weird . . .

You Look Mahhhvelous

Happy Siblings

Gilly the Comedian

Reindeer

This is the annual recruiting weekend for the Molecular and Cellular Biology program at Dartmouth, when some of the applicants are invited to the campus for interviews. Tonight was the last night of recruiting weekend, and they always have a big party for the recruits at the Dartmouth Outing Club.

I decided to bring Gilly to the party for a little while, since some of my classmates haven't seen her in a long time. She was pretty shy, and had her face buried in my shoulder nearly the entire time we were there, though she did come up for air long enough to eat a cookie.

When we were leaving, I set her down so I could put my coat on, and all of a sudden she became very animated. She was really excited, gesturing enthusiastically at one of the bucks mounted on the wall (for you flatlanders, that's an antlered deer head mounted on the wall . . . somebody's hunting trophy). The music was just loud enough that I couldn't hear her, so I leaned down and asked her what she was saying. With a big smile she said:

"That's Santa's reindeer!"

A Glimpse . . .

. . . at Gilly's personality.

My Adorable Family

Everyone looking cute on the couch:





and Simon striking a pose in the latest evening wear: