Simon finds his Nose

For nearly 2 months now, Kelvin and Susie have been asking Simon, "Where's your nose?" to no avail of getting a correct response. Usually he just gets frustrated and hides his face. Today though, he finally started pointing the right direction.



What part of his face should we have him point to next?

Thanksgiving

This year was Kelvin's turn to do Thanksgiving. Susie is usually the head-chef with Thanksgiving, but with the recent delivery of Miles, she took the role as "Back-Seat" Chef.

Cary had a couple of buddies who needed a place to celebrate Thanksgiving. Kelvin made enough food for leftovers for a week.

Kelvin always makes the pies. This year he even made a great flaky crust for all of the pies. We made a couple too many considering the group in attendance.

Adjusting to having #2

Miles has been a blessing to our lives. We've enjoyed his mild demeanor and how much he just sleeps. He eats every 2.5 to 3 hours, but he doesn't cry super hard about it. He cries the hardest while his diaper is being changed. Otherwise, it's mostly a cat-cry.


Here's what he does best for now...

As Susie gets some much needed rest, Kelvin is left taking care of Rosa, Simon and Miles.

How is Simon adjusting? He squirms and giggles when we bring Miles over to him. He doesn't feel any loss of attention...yet. Simon is completely weened off of the binky, but then we found him doing this with the rice pot lid. Simon does pick-up Miles' binky now and then, but he mostly only plays with the handle.

Rosa also is enjoying all of the old equipment that we've pulled out of storage. Rosa enjoys sleeping in Miles' day-bed. If we want her off of it, we end up placing large objects in there to deter her entry.

Introducing: Miles Robinson Ning

Well, Kelvin finally caved in and decided to do the name talk. The talk was brief as we all loved the name Miles Robinson Ning. We all felt that the name matched so well with Simon. Thanks to Paula for the suggestion. Robinson, of course is Susie's maiden name. We've toyed with alternatively calling him "sonny"

Kelvin's parents came into town to see Miles in the hospital. They have been such a great help as they just adore Simon and take him back to their hotel every morning at 7:30 for breakfast. This gives Kelvin and Susie some time to relax since Simon is such a handful. :)

We adore both of our sons...it's so amazing how much, and yet how little has changed to our routine. Simon is concerned about Miles whenever he's crying...he'll grab the closest parents and take them to him. Simon at times will be caught staring at him.

And now we are Four

If you're looking for the short version of the story, then here are the details, and enjoy the pictures:

Date of Birth:
- November 20, 2008 at 12:35pm
- 6 lbs 11 oz
- 18.5 inches

For a more elaborate story...you can continue to read...otherwise, just call if you're looking to visit. We should be here until Sunday.

Susie and the new baby have battled pre-term labor for several weeks. The first 2 times they gave her a shot of terbutylene to calm the muscle contraction. The third time they figured something stronger, like Morphine. The 4th time it was Vicadin. Our doctor said that the next time they would throw in the towel and deliver the baby.

Thursday morning (Nov 20th) Susie had contractions for 2 hours that morning, but again, upon getting strapped into the hospital bed, all the contractions stopped. The doctor again was hesitant to continue because the contractions had stopped. The delivery was already scheduled to be on the following Monday. We felt like we wanted to move forward, but didn't want to be so shaky on the decision. We prayed together and asked for a polarizing event; something that would definitively tell us "wait" or "deliver." After a couple of minutes of no additional contractions, the doctor came in to check on Susie and she pointed out that her previous C-section scar was in a lot of pain. The doctor said that was the magic symptom; for fear of tearing thru the old incision, we should deliver the baby. It was the perfect answer to prayer.

This is the beautiful Susie shortly after birth. Her lower half was still not moving...but seriously, she looks amazing.

Here is the new addition with the proud parents. Seriously everything went so smoothly.

We are not joking when we say...the baby looks just like a mini-Simon. He's 2 weeks early, so a little bit lighter, but can you not see the resemblance?

Our first visitor was also Simon's babysitter for the last couple of days. Cary's had a crash course in tending to a toddler. He was relieved when Kelvin came in to help put Simon down to sleep.

We are all super-excited to have him finally in our family. He is such a sweet child. We were caught a little bit off-guard so we're struggling thru our list to get a name for him before we leave. Susie has been blessed with a speedy recovery and we all look forward for a very appropriate Thanksgiving next week. We appreciate all the prayers and support and look forward for visits.

Happy Birthday Kelvin!!

The 18th was Kelvin's official birthday. Susie did a great job of trying to down-play anything big. The plan was to have Lindy come by the house after work and watch Simon at 4:30 so Kelvin and Susie could go and watch the New James Bond Movie (Quantum of Solace) which was actually really good. After the movie the plan was to bring back some take-out and enjoy some games with the Burgons.

I came back and apparently there was a big group of close friends for a surprise party. Susie made Kelvin's favorite banana cream pie at Paula's house the day before. Susie genuinely surprised Kelvin...kudos to her!!!

Amazingly, this bowling pin made its presence again at the Ning House. This is the birthday bowling pin from Pacific's Sea Bowl. It originally belonged to Jared and Kelly Salter while they were in San Francisco. Kelvin won it from them in a bowl-off. It later went to Jared Peterson for his birthday, then to Kelvin again, then Geoff Benton (from whom the Nings suspect gave it back)
Thanks so much for the love expressed by all the friends. Facebook really kept most people up to date on Kelvin's birthday. Thanks again also to all those who were able to make it mid-week to drive down from San Francisco. The evening was definitely memorable.

Getting ready for the new baby

Susie has always been one to see when things need to get started, in preparation for upcoming transitions. She received a helpful push over the phone from Tannya to start pulling out all of the clothes we have in storage for Baby #2.

This included bringing in boxes and boxes of clothes, burp clothes, diapers, and equipment. Simon thought we just brought in a bunch of new toys. He decided to help by pulling out all of his old baby socks, and sitting in the basket.

Gas in Palo Alto < $3 (just barely...)

Technically, $2.99 9/10 is still below $3, but this is the lowest it has been in a long time. As it got lower and lower, I kept holding out until it did get below $3.


I had not paid below $30 for a tank in a long time. We hope that airline tickets start to reflect this change soon.

Proposition 8

The State of California has Proposition 8 on the ballot. This measure simply says that the "Definition of Marriage shall be between a Man and a Woman." We believe that this is an important measure to pass in order to protect traditional families for us today, and for our children.

To show our support, we had a lawn sign put-up.

It was slightly obviously that a lot of the kids (with their parents) did not stop by our place for candy because of the sign. We have a lot of candy left-over if someone wants to come by and get some. The next morning, we noticed that somebody came by and trashed the sign.

Fortunately, I had 2 other signs in my trunk for just this occasion. :)

Halloween Turtle

This year, we have a lot more shots of Simon in his Halloween Costume. At the annual Trunk-or-Treat, we actually saw another little kid dressed in the same costume from BabyStyle. This year, he was a little Turtle. He kept the hat on for a little bit, but then, it had to come off.



Since the event was next door, Uncle Cary came by to enjoy him in his outfit. Simon eventually learned to love lollipops and also 3-Musketeers.

2008 Baby Gap Casting Call

Well, once again, we decided to try Simon's chances at the 2008 Baby Gap Casting Call. Last year we tried, but we he really couldn't sit-up that well. Obviously, we think he's the cutest thing ever.

The rules state that the pictures submitted had to have been taken within the last 3 months. The only good pictures we had were from the pumpkin patch, so most of them were from there. These were the pictures we submitted.




This last shot, Robert Bradshaw took while at our house. He took more photos which are on the link.

I guess what's next is we'll find out in early December if the official judges put Simon in the final round. From there, it's a public voting frenzy to see who wins. If he's up, you better believe we're advertising with links for all to vote (appropriately).

Simon, Wagon and Pumpkins

Well, once again, we went to our favorite pumpkin patch in all of the Bay Area: Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch. They're in Half Moon Bay and they not along HW92 where all the crowds are. They do NOT have pony rides...but what's great about them is that they actually GROW their own pumpkins. Most of the other places actually pick their pumpkins somewhere else, and truck them in. This patch lets you have a wagon and cart out into their fields and pick pumpkins off the vine.

Simon loved the wagon. He also loved finding us after romping around on his own for awhile.


Last year, Simon couldn't walk, so we dragged him around in the wagon the entire time. This year, he either wanted to be pulling the wagon...


..or pushing the wagon. Either way, he had control.

We had a fun time. We met Geoff, Emily and Annie Benton. Becca Peterson came also with her sister who was in town. It was good to see the folks from SF again.

Robyn Kessler Photos

I just thought I'd share a link to some pictures that Robyn Kessler took for us.  She's a great friend of ours from the SF Sunset Ward who has her own photography business.

She took these photos 5 mo ago at our home in SF before we moved to Palo Alto.  What I'm amazed at is how much Simon has grown, and how much we've forgotten about how he looked with just those 2 bottom teeth.

Thanks Robyn...the pictures look great.

Here's the Link

The Emperor's new bed

So, in anticipation of Simon getting ready for a "Big Boy" bed, Susie and Kelvin have decided to train him early in getting in and out of his own bed and sleeping without a rail. We converted his crib to a toddler bed, and hopefully he'll be ready for the Big Boy transition before the new baby needs to be in the crib.

So far, he averages 1-2 fall-outs a week. It's pretty funny...but we shouldn't be laughing about that.

Simon Discovers Tools

Simon recently started to be able to use a fork and spoon. Still a bit messy, and sometimes he resorts to just using his hand.

Lake Powell, San Juan Capistrano & Yosemite

LAKE POWELL
So this year, Susie was able to go to lake Powell with her family. Kelvin stayed home with Simon but Simon had his Grandma Ning come to help out. The boat was Sam's Cousin's time-share (Gordon). The boat was immaculate; probably the nicest house boat the Robinson-Daniels clan ever stayed in. Susie was able to spend a lot of time doing what she loves most...read.

Every day, the meals were assigned out for both preparation and clean-up. Once your day was done, you could enjoy the week without pressure. Here are Sam and Susan at the upper-deck kitchen preparing a meal.

The houseboat had a couple of jet-skiis on the back. There were 2 speedboats, an inflatable trampoline, and of course, water wienies.


Everyone had their time behind the boat. Wake-boarding, and Wake-surfing. Of course, since Susie is pregnant, this is what she spent her time doing on the boat.

Did I mention this was the nicest house-boat they've stayed on? It's better than the Ning House in Palo Alto.

Here's the entire clan that went climbing in a slot canyon.

It was a super-fun trip. A great relaxing trip for the adults as well since there were no kids allowed. The lake level was at the highest it's been in several years. Evenings were spent playing games, watching movies, and laughter.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
The Robinsons had no rest as they had back-to-back vacations scheduled. Susie flew into Orange County to meet her husband and child which she dearly missed. Kelvin drove down with his Mom, Lillian and Simon and stayed a couple of days in Pasadena. There he helped assemble a tricycle which he loved. He would do laps in the living while Lillian pushed.

Kelvin and Simon left Pasadena and went to meet Susie and her family in San Juan Capistrano. This was the longest Susie had been away from Simon. She missed him so much. Kelvin was really glad to see Susie too.
The beach house was located on a private road just off the Pacific Highway. The backyard opened up to sand and all of the cousins could play with the pile of sand toys. Storms over the last year brought in a lot of rocks along the shore, but the kids still managed to make it down to play in the water.

Simon loved playing in the white water as it washed up to tickle his feet. Mommy or Daddy would lift him up so that the water would only go up to his knees.

Davis' favorite game is either you chasing him, or him hiding and then jumping out saying "Boo!!" Kelvin caught him with his camera while he was eating; Once Davis saw the camera, he began to shift into stealth mode.
Grace lost her tooth while she was at the beach. She was so excited because it was her first. The tooth-fairy made a special trip from Arizona to give her a special treat. I think she was more excited that the tooth was replaced with something else, rather than what the tooth was replaced with.


Tay celebrated a birthday while the family was out there. We all went out to dinner and came back to a party for him which mostly consisted of cans of silly string. Tay celebrated his birthday by having all his nieces and nephews shoot Brit with the silly string.


YOSEMITE
After having a couple of days to restock the fridge, do some laundry, and sleep in their own bed, the Nings were off again. This time we went to a place where Susie had never gone before: Yosemite. Part of the draw for Susie was not just the great company (Burgons and the Johnsons), but the fact that she could see Yosemite without actually back-packing or camping. We stayed at a cabin about 30 minutes outside of the entrance to Yosemite Valley. The cabin shared its backyard with a golf course.

Simon woke up early, every morning. One morning, we took him out to the golf course...but he had only 1 thing in mind...


...chase the deer that were grazing on the golf course.


The deer had other plans in mind...

We did eventually drive into the valley. Kelvin had made some critical packing errors, so the day was mostly filled with lunch, walking around the valley, and carrying a tired Simon back to the car. We were able to get some great views of Half-Dome.


Don't let this picture fool you though...with all the stuff to see on the ground, Simon didn't really like being slung to his daddy's back all afternoon. He submitted a lot of formal complaints before turning back to the car.

August was filled with a lot of family and friends. We can not think of a better combination of pure joy than to take family with us to enjoy nature's wonders. We are so grateful for the support our family gives us, especially at this time while the family is expanding.