The Brookston Family Blog

Our New Address

2005-07-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, we've moved. Please change your bookmarks to the following address:

http://www.brookston.org/blog/

I've moved the months of July, June and April over already and eventually the rest of the blog will be moved. The rest of the archive will remain here on blogspot until I move them over.

Another Delay

2005-07-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry gang, there's been an unforseeable delay in the blog move. I hope to have it ready to go when you check in Monday morning. Please check back then. Have a great weekend.

We're Moving to a New Blog Address

2005-07-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

I've installed new blog software on our own server. I hope to have transferred this blog over to the new server some time today so there may be no new posts until I've completed the transfer. We'll be running WordPress (rather than Blogger) on our own server. I've very excited about this change and you'll see a slightly redesigned blog.

Number Nine, Number 9, No. 9, #9 ...

2005-07-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's not the Beatles' best song, but it is how many years Sarah and I have been married as of today, our 9th wedding anniversary. Since Sarah's been working crazy hours lately and won't be home until late this evening, I'm taking the ferry over to San Francisco where I'm meeting her for lunch at the Slanted Door, a Vietnamese restaurant that Sarah likes a lot.

The happy couple at the wedding reception, which was held at the Tied House Brewpub in San Jose, California.

No wedding album is complete without a brewery photo. For those of you who like bizarre, Twilight Zone-like coincidences, please note the numbers on the bottom left of the photo: 910, 9/10 or September 10th, which is Porter's birthday. Cue creepy music.

The whole gang at the wedding. My, how we've changed.

A Brush with Toothpaste

2005-07-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

Porter found the toothbrush that the dentist gave me yesterday after my cleaning. After voluntarily brushing his own teeth (he even ran upstairs and brought down his toothpaste), he then wanted to brush Buzz Lightyear's teeth. But that still wasn't enough. He then proceded to brush a ball and then one of his school buses.

Porter brushes his ball with toothbrush and toothpaste while Alice looks on, no doubt as perplexed as I was.

Looking Smarter

2005-07-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

Doesn't everyone look smarter in glasses? The Clark Kent effect?

My, what big eyes you have ...
And my, what a fake smile you have ...

Sunny Morning Blues

2005-07-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was yet another morning where Porter was adamantly opposed to the school bus coming.

As the bus drives slowly up the hill, Porter turns away, head down, in a futile attempt to pretend it's not coming.

Meanwhile, Alice watches - you guessed it - Teletubbies.

Lion and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

2005-07-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

Alice and Porter went to the zoo today with their grandparents while I stayed home and went to the dentist. Who got the better deal? No contest. Here's the proof.

Riding the train at the San Francisco Zoo.

Riding the lion. King of the beasts meets king of the living room.

While Alice plays with the mama lion and her cubs.

And gets a leg up from mama lion.

Back home again, Porter models a hat he actually wants to wear. Why? Beats me.

Fog City

2005-07-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

On the way home from our dinner in the City, the Golden Gate bridge was enveloped in a classic soup of fog, so we stopped to take a look from the observation point just over the bridge into Marin.

Fog makes the Golden Gate bridge nearly invisible as a tanker disappears beneath it.

Sarah posing in front of the bridge.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

2005-07-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

While Sarah and I downed margaritas in San Francisco (see previous post), Alice and Porter took a ride on the Wine Train with the grandparents. While this was veteran Porter's third or fourth trip on the Wine Train, it was Alice's first time.

Boarding the train.

On board the Wine Train.

A Celebrator Celebration

2005-07-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Randy and Pamela, recently tied the knot in Kauai, which is our favorite Hawaiian island. Pamela is the Celebrator's long-suffering (we tease her endlessly) copy editor. Publisher Tom threw a little Celebrator party at Tommy's Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco, the best place north of the border for tequila.

The happy couple, Randy and Pamela.

The Celebrator gang at Tommy's.

Graphics Director Ken and Kathy's delightful daughter Lucy, after downing her own pitcher of margarita's with a straw.

The Birthday Party

2005-07-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

Alice's birthday party with the family was great fun and Alice seemed to enjoy herself enormously.

We had a proper cake this time which Porter was very excited about. Alice managed once again to grab a fistful of icing.

Porter excitedly ate a corner piece that was mostly icing.

Then Alice opened her presents.

Alice models her new sunglasses.

At the Grandparents

2005-07-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

We went to Sarah's parents this afternoon for a family birthday party for Alice. The kids played for an hour or so until everybody arrived.

Alice tried cherries for the first time.

While Porter took a closer look around the house with Grandpa's magnifying glass.

Way Freaking Early

2005-07-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

The kids woke up way freaking early so I took them back to Porter's room so Sarah could sleep a little longer.

Where Porter and Alice played with airplanes ...

and ate PB & J's and toast.

Mallrats

2005-07-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

We had an excellent afternoon at the mall where Porter made some great strides in his socialization. After picking up a set of toy rockets, we ambled around the mall before going to the indoor playground by the movie theatres. There was another boy a little younger than Porter by the name of Sky (possibly short for Skyler or Schuyler?). Anyway, initially he aggressively, though not meanly, came up to Porter trying to play with his rockets. At first Porter rebuffed him and his mother scolded him to not play with other people's toys. I thought that would be the end of it since Porter normally keeps to himself. But much to my surprise and delight he came over to me, asked me to unwrap the rest of his rockets (we'd only taken the one he was playing with out of the plastic) and chose one and actively ran over to Sky and gave him one of his rockets, saying "here" as he held it out to him. You could have knocked me over with a feather, it was such a beautiful moment. One of Porter's goals on his IEP was for him to initiate play in a social setting without prompting and here it was happening before my eyes.

The two of them blasted off their respective rockets and flew them around the playground, effectively running an oval orbit around the room laughing together and generally having a good time. They flew their rockets around together even crashing them in to one another from time to time, a clear indicator of actually playing together as opposed to mere parallel play. They climbed up onto large blocks, over the tunnel mound and on top of the giant pencil. At one point, a third little girl joined in on the fun. This went on for almost half an hour as I chatted with Sky's mother. This in and of itself was something of a novelty as I'm usually totally ignored by mothers in parks like I have a large "don't talk to the animals" sign taped to my back. Eventually, Sky and his mom had to leave but Porter kept right on playing. He even offered his rockets to three older women (at least 5 or 6 - gasp) but they turned him down cold. Undaunted, he turned to his sister for solace and picked her and carried her over to me.

And speaking of Alice, as if this wasn't a good enough day already, she had a blast as well. This was her first trip to the mall playground and with her new mobility walked, cruised and crawled her way around the entire area. She climbed onto the pencil, took dozens of trips through the giant newspaper tunnel and followed her brother's exploits with glee. An older girl in an orange shirt dress with no hair on her head (chemo?) and a sweet disposition seemed very taken with Alice and followed her around laughing and trying to play with her. Whenever Alice crawled off, the orange girl would ask her to "come back, come back" and then would run after her. All in all, it was a great day all around.

At left: Porter and Alice play around the giant newspaper tunnel. At right: Sky (far left) and Porter fly their rockets.

Friday Routine

2005-07-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

As usual we went to Porter's Friday occupational therapy session.

Where Theresa put Porter through his paces on an obstacle course.

And Alice and sat in the waiting room. Well, I sat while she learned to write.

Day 366

2005-07-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

After begging for what seemed like hours from the time he woke up, Porter wanted to take his airplane out on the back deck. So finally after school we went out on the roof only to have him spend a grand total of 10 minutes there before he wanted to go back inside. So Alice and I stayed and played.

Alice enjoys being one year and one day old.

First Birthday Party

2005-07-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

Alice's first birthday party was a big success with pizza and cake for all.

According to Alice's big brother, it's not a birthday party if there's no pizza.

A philosophy Alice heartily embraces. Alice loves crust.

Of course, Porter loves the whole pizza.

Sarah and the kiddles.

What I do with this? Oh yeah, grab a scoop.

Porter steps in to help with blowing out the candle.

"Hey, this is almost as good as pizza!"

"Are you kidding? This is better!"

"Thanks for the party. I could do this every year."

Happy Birthday Alice

2005-07-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe, but it was one year ago that our Alice was born. She's a year old today. We've been reflecting on where we were this time last year and how our lives have changed yet again over the course of the past twelve months. Tonight we'll have a small cake ('cause Porter needs cake) and celebration for the four of us. Saturday around 2 p.m. we'll be having a little larger family get together (with a bigger cake) at Sarah's folks' place in Cotati. Friends who'd like to join us can just call to let us know they'd like to come and for directions. No pressure, it's going to be very, very low key. Napping may be involved.

Here's what Alice looked like when she was born last year. And here's what she looks like today:

Posing all grown up.

Showing a bit of cheek.

Alice's New Icon

2005-07-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

A new icon has been chosen for Alice; the Cheshire Cat, in honor of her big, charming smile. Plus, the character comes from Alice in Wonderland. Not to mention the cheshire cat has something of a michevious personality and tends to confound those who engage it in conversation, often with perplexing and pointless philosphical bon mots. The Wikipedia has some interesting information on the history of the Cheshire Cat.

Other suggestions included a Cheerio, Rosie the Riveter and Barbie (though frankly the smoking, drinking skeleton logo from the band Social Distortion had a better shot than Barbie. Sarah once gave a speech for a class in college on the evils of Barbie. I have video of it.)

Whirled Peas

2005-07-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

Peas, baby, baby, peas. Peas, baby, baby, peas.

I want whirled peas.

I can feed myself. Sort of. I like holding the spoon.

Up, Up & Away

2005-07-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

Porter's newest obsession, or should I say one of his newest obsessions, is airplanes. Aviation and flying has been much on Porter's mind lately. He's also started getting into Jay-Jay the Jet Plane. This is a tv show with airplanes with faces and personalities, like Thomas the Tank Engine, but creepier.

I think I can fly.

Peace out, dawg. OK, what's up with this?

Buzzing Monsters

2005-07-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

More artwork came home from school today.

I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be a frog but it looks more like a one-eyed monster to me.

If he brings home a bird next I'll start worrying that they're starting sex education a tad early.

Time for Tubbie Die-Die

2005-07-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know this is my fault. I started it, after all. In order to keep Alice entertained for a few minutes while I walk Porter to the bus stop, I usually put on a Baby Einstein DVD for her to watch. But Comcast's new On Demand service makes it so easy to just choose one of their free kids shows that I've been doing that instead. And the show that Alice has really taken to is - gasp - Teletubbies. She seems to really love it, laughing and giggling and talking along with the show. And she starts bouncing up and down as soon as it starts and begins to cry as soon as it's over. Even Porter has figured this out. When we came downstairs this morning to get him ready for school, he told me to put on Teletubbies for Alice. Personally, I think he likes the show too, but doesn't want to say so.

Of course, this means I have to watch them, too, or at least hear them in the background which is bad enough. This show must be the result of a bad acid trip. There's no other way to explain it. It makes Barney look like Shakespeare (or is that Francis Bacon?). But they definitely seem to know their audience. At the end when they say "time for Tubbie bye-bye" all I can think is ... well, let's just say less than pure thoughts.

Porter watching Teletubbies, but from a discrete distance behind the sofa.

Porters & Brown Ales

2005-07-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a blind panel tasting at the Celebrator where we tried fifteen brown ales and 26 porters. Now I have a couple of days to write up the tasting notes for the next issue. Work, work, work, work.

A Pat On the Back

2005-07-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

While Porter watched TV, Alice stood behind him and patted his back repeatedly for over ten minutes. And, surprisingly, Porter just let her do it without reaction. Maybe he liked the attention, maybe it just didn't bother him. I don't know. But Alice certainly seemed to enjoy it. She was giggling her little head off.

A pat on the back from little sister.

Fireworks Are A-OK

2005-07-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

At first, I wasn't sure if the wait for fireworks would be worth it. I absolutely love fireworks but it would be waaaaay past the kids bedtime before they started. Then Marin's fireworks are not exactly the most spectacular. Because they show them in essentially a small pond in a well-populated area they don't shoot them very high and consequently don't use the really big, colorful bursting fireworks that you see over the Bay in San Francisco. And as Porter's ability to wait is severly limited, he began whining almost immediately as we staked out our spot with a picnic blanket. After all, he could still see the bright neon of the carnival rides on the other side of the lake. I tried to explain what we were waiting for, but how do you explain fireworks to a toddler?

But once they finally began, that all changed. I'm not entirely sure he blinked during the fifteen minutes of the show. Every time there was even the briefest of lulls he'd yell out "again, Daddy," "more" or "more again, Daddy." To see the absolute delight and awe on his face as he watched the sky light up made the entire experience worthwhile.

The fireworks Porter saw.

County Fair

2005-07-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

Marin's County Fair is always held the weekend closest to the fourth of July. Not exactly a high class affair, it does have a lot to appeal to a toddler such as carnival rides, farm animals and fireworks. After the kids' afternoon naps, we headed over to the Civic Center for the fair.

At the petting zoo, Porter first seemed like he was having trouble with the concept.
Then, luckily, he found the Llama.

Then we looked at all the farm animals, especially the horses.

At first Porter seemed nervous about the rides.

But with Sarah by his side he jumped right in.

And slid right down. (Yes, that's me at the top, center)

And lastly, Porter flew in the air, like an airplane.

A Clean Sweep

2005-07-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

We spent a good part of the morning finishing cleaning our back deck. When I say we, I mean Sarah. She did most of the work. I hauled a few things, boxed up a few more but generally I kept the kids out of the way. But it looks great now, and so much cleaner.

Porter puts his new broom to good use, helping Mommy clean the deck.

Happy Independence Day

2005-07-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

I know I promised a few months ago to avoid politics on this blog but it's Independence Day, the day in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was ratified. The Continental Congress actually adopted a resolution severing ties with Great Britain on July 2nd but took two more days making changes to the Declaration before ratifying it on the fourth. Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who wrote most of the document, believed that posterity would remember July 2 as America's birthday. It seems strange to me then that it did become the 4th of July that is our holiday.

But the more I read history, the more I'm convinced that what we're told about our history is almost always wrong, twisted or completely fabricated to suit the power structure. Don't believe me? Read Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States or James W. Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me. But the saddest part of Independence Day is that it's made out to be a celebration of democracy and democratic ideals yet we no longer live in a democracy, if indeed we ever did. We certainly have never had a direct democracy and the founders intended it that way. James Madison, one of the primary architects of the Constitution, believed (as did many of the "founding fathers") that only the right kind of men should rule the nation (that was part of the reason for the Electoral College) and so true democracy was never really the intent of our original constitution (nor the Articles of Confederation under which the United States had ten presidents before George Washington - our first president was really Samuel Huntington from Connecticut, but in an excellent example of selective history those years under the Articles of Confederation are all but totally ignored today).

Even with those limitations our nation today hardly resembles what was envisioned in September of 1787 when the new Constitution was finalized. The rise of corporate power can hardly be understated. Our lives are increasingly affected by the needs of business with little regard of the real consequences for you and me. For an excellent, and surprisingly well-balanced, look at the history of corporations and their role in modern society as psychopathic see the film, The Corporation (which is available on video and DVD). It's very entertaining as well as informative.

The United States today is, sadly, a fascist state. I know that's hard to swallow but political theorists (as opposed to dictionaries which downplay certain aspects) define fascism as "a merging of state and corporate interests" and modern fascism is sometimes also called corporatism to make it sound more palatable. A political scientist studied five of the most famous examples of fascism in the 20th Century and identified 14 elements common to all of them. See how many you recognize as existing in our country today. Personally I think we've got all fourteen going right here, right now. I think it's worth thinking about that today as we hear the patriotic music, watch fireworks and eat and drink like there's no tomorrow; we are far less free than we imagine ourselves to be. And that is perhaps the real tragedy. Like the society in Huxley's Brave New World, we wear our shackles willingly while through ignorance or distraction we watch what few hard won freedoms that remain disappear before our very eyes. Happy birthday. Enjoy your day off.

What our flag would look like if we were honest with ourselves.
Available at Adbusters.

An Afternoon Out

2005-07-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

We drove up to Sarah's folks' place where Sarah's sister Kit was staying so Grandpa and Aunt Kit could watch the kids while we took in a rare movie at the theater. We saw the new Batman movie, Batman Begins. Sarah liked it quite a lot, I liked it, but not quite as much. Christian Bale made an excellent Bruce Wayne and it was certainly odd seeing Gary Oldman as a good guy (he played policeman Jim Gordon).

After the movie, we stopped by the local grocery store (I needed to pick up a couple of beers for the blind panel beer tasting on Tuesday for the Celebrator). As we passed the downtown park where the annual Accordian Festival is held, Sarah spied Porter and Grandpa playing on the stage. We parked the car around back and snuck in behind Porter without him seeing us. He was very surprised when we grabbed him from behind. It was hilarious. We then all played together in the park for a little while.

Then it was back to the house and at Porter's suggestion we gave the kids a bath and put them in their pajamas before driving home.

Air Guitar

2005-07-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

While watching TMBG's Here Come the ABCs, Porter used his new caterpillar broom and started playing air guitar. We didn't even know he knew what a guitar was. But there he was strumming away to The Alphabet Lost & Found.

The new Stevie Ray Vaughan? Will we soon hear Mary Had a Little Lamb?

A Visit from Aunt Kit

2005-07-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

Sarah's middle sister, Kit, hasn't seen the kids since January. She lives in Santa Cruz and doesn't get up our way as often as she'd like. This holiday weekend she needed a baby fix and stopped by for a few hours.

Kit and Alice wave to the camera.

Above Gender Stereotypes

2005-07-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

In our household, where Sarah wins the bread and I am the domestic engineer, gender stereotypes are totally eschewed. See, we don't need no stinkin' stereotypes.

Alice dreams of being a firegrrl.

Porter and one of his favorite new toys, a caterpillar broom.

A Typical Friday Afternoon

2005-07-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

Nothing out of the ordinary took place today, so here are some pictures of our typical Friday afternoon, a day when, all of a sudden ... nothing happened.

After school, Porter had a snack of graham crackers.

Then it was off to occupational therapy with Theresa.

Where Alice and I sat in the waiting room (or is that waited in the sitting room?). Alice dusted her bottle and then came back looking for more.

After that it was shopping errands as we stocked up for the long weekend. When we got home, Porter wanted to help carry grocery bags upstairs to the kitchen.

A Week Away

2005-07-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe but in less than a week our little Alice will be one year old. So it's time to retire the pacifier icon we've used for her posts. Please post your suggestions and we'll unveil the best as Alice's new icon on July 7, which is her birthday.

Dancing to her new fave, the Teletubbies.

Bus Woes Continue

2005-07-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

Porter still hasn't quite warmed up to summer school yet. I don't know if it's the new teachers or something else? It does seem a bit odd when autistic children crave and actually need routine that they give him all new teachers for the summer. I realize that his regular teachers probably need a break, but simply from a what's-best-for-the-kids point of view it doesn't make sense to disrupt their routine so completely. Couldn't one teacher have stayed for a week or two, then switch with another, etcetera, etcetera? In that way at least one of the teachers would have been familiar to the class throughout the summer and everyone would have gotten some vacation too.

Porter has two favorite bus drivers. One is the older Irish gentlemen who's shy and reserved and the other is this gregarious Asian-American man. Even when he wasn't driving Porter we'd see him around the neighborhood and he'd always wave to us.

Porter protesting getting on the bus again this morning.

Shaun & Nico

2005-06-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

I spent the afternoon at San Francisco's 21st Amendment Brewery near the ballpark in China Basin. I was there to interview founders Shaun & Nico for a profile which will be in the next issue of the Celebrator Beer News. 21st Amendment's five year anniversary is in August of this year.

Shaun & Nico in the front of their brewpub.

Autism Brings People Together

2005-06-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Many of you know about my obsession/hobby of collecting View-Master reels. I recently met through a mutual friend, a woman in the Netherlands, Bernadette, who not only collects View-Masters but also has a son who's autistic. Her son Coen is now 21 and lives in a care facility. He also has Tourette's Syndrome which is fairly common; or at least it's common that ASD is accompanied by some other behavioral/biological difficulty. My editor at the Marin IJ has a friend, Rick (who I've also met), whose son has Asperger's Syndrome (one of the disorders on the autism spectrum) along with Tourette's. Rick and his son live near Sacramento and things have been difficult for them.

I bring this up not only to introduce you to people we've met and have become important to us as we struggle with Porter's ASD, but also to highlight the fact that autism is everywhere these days. Ten, fifteen years ago it was something you rarely, if ever, heard about or you associated it only with Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man. Today virtually everyone I know or come in contact with knows or is related to at least one person who's autistic. Many of you, upon finding out about Porter last year commented to me that you knew someone else similarly afflicted. When I was a kid, a teen, even a young adult I knew not one person who was autistic. Not one. Yet a large portion of the medical community continues to pretend that this is not an epidemic. I was just forwarded yet another story in a medical journal "proving" that there is no epidemic and that it's simply that doctors are better at diagnosing autism now than they used to be. I find it infuriating that people who have been entrusted with the care of my child and your child appear to care more about saving their own skins, reputations, etc. than owning up to what's happening to an entire generation of children.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has an article in Rolling Stone and Salon.com that talks about the mounting evidence for the mercury-autism link (much of it is the same info that’s in David Kirby’s “Evidence of Harm”). ABC News (who gets a lot of advertising revenue from pharmaceutical companies) just last week pulled two interview/news pieces with RFK jr. and then after an outcry ran watered down versions of them with “experts” debunking him with no supporting evidence and without allowing any rebuttal. This is going to be a long battle before the medical community owns up to their monumental mistake. This will be considered the worst health blunder in American history and we’re currently exporting it to the rest of the world. Millions of thimerosal (it's the mercury, stupid) laden shots have been sent around the globe as part of the UN & US’s foreign goodwill vaccine program. China, to take one example, had virtually no reported cases of autism until a few years after we started sending them vaccines. Today there are over 1.8 million autistic children in China.

This new study released today, published by Blackwell Publishing, would likely explain that away by saying that suddenly doctors in China figured out what autism is and that’s the reason that going from zero to 1.8 million is not an epidemic. Their study, and the many before it that have said essentially the same thing, have been effectively refuted time and time again by the simplest of logic. If there is no epidemic and the number of cases is not going up but we are simply diagnosing the existent cases better, then where are all the adult autistic children who were not diagnosed when the diagnostic standards were, well sub-standard? By their logic, there should be thousands or even millions of undiagnosed autistic older children and young and even middle-age adults all over the place. Where are they? Every 150 people you meet should be autistic if the numbers have not gone up. Every football or baseball game you attend should have literally hundreds of autistic people watching alongside you. Have you seen them? I haven’t, because they’re not there. This is the medical community trying to reassure an increasingly worried public and pretend nothing is wrong.

I know I sound like a conspriacy nut, and many of you know I am often open to accepting a view different from the status quo. So I would encourage you to read Kennedy's article or, even better, spend the time to read Evidence of Harm. It's a fascinating portrait of what happens when the best of intentions go horribly wrong and those who caused it are either unwilling to or incapable of owning up to it. Read them and then make your own mind.

Anyway, back to the reason for this post. Sarah and I have met some wonderful people over the last year who are all struggling with a son or daughter with ASD (though it affects boys 4-1 over girls). Most have been warm, compassionate souls and the bond created between parents of autistic children remind me of some of my closest friends where a bond was created out of a difficult, shared experience (like Army buddies, bad jobs, and the like). And although I wish there was a way to undo the harm done to Porter so that I could wake up and he'd be exactly the same as other kids his age, I wouldn't want to change what a delightful, happy person he's become. Though there are challenges and setbacks, every day also brings new joys. It's hard to express how fortunate I feel to be able to be here for him and Alice every day. And I especially wouldn't want to change how it's matured me (stop laughing), strengthened my marriage and created so many close friendships.

My friend Bernie's son Coen when he graduated from high school, talking to his favorite musician, who called to congratulate him.

My Greaser Uncle

2005-06-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe, but my Uncle Jim is a normal person. At least I thought he was. He's an elementary school teacher. But apparently he's also the Fonz.

In costume for a faculty play.

Paying the Piper

2005-06-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

After school, Porter still wanted to ride the yellow spaceship and I remembered there was a kids spaceship ride at the mall. When I suggested going in the black car (which is what he calls our station wagon) he became very excited. So we loaded up the car and headed for Cape Canaveral (a.k.a. the Mall). But as soon as we got to the parking lot, Porter's focus shifted from yellow rockets to purple airplanes. I thought perhaps there was another ride I didn't know about since his grandparents take him to the mall far more often than I do, but that wasn't it. He made a beeline for the toy store and a shelf containing ... you guessed it, a purple airplane.

Playing with the Southwest Airlines purple plane while enjoying some pizza.

Alice helping us finish our pizza crust.

Do You Have a Dirty Mind?

2005-06-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

Do You Have a Dirty Mind? Check out this picture and post what you actually saw (no fibbing) using the comments feature of this post.

I'll confess what I saw after a few days so you'll have a chance to look for yourself first.

Yellow Spaceship

2005-06-29T08:33:00.000-07:00

Porter slept in this morning (why is always on weekdays and never weekends?) and I had to wake him up for school. He was none too thrilled by the prospect and the only way I was able to pique his interest was to tell him he was going for a ride on a yellow spaceship. This excited him at once and he became energized about his perceived journey to the stars. Did I mention he's been watching Toy Story and Toy Story 2 a lot these days? Once he realized the deception as the school bus lumbered up the hill, Porter turned on the waterworks. Reluctantly he got on the bus, but was still crying as I waved goodbye. Damn, that didn't work.

Afternoon Delights

2005-06-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

Afternoon was spent out on the deck playing in the sandbox.

Porter put his construction crew through its paces building a mountain and then a road.

Alice helps.

Playtime, Planetime

2005-06-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was once again time for play-based learning with Joanne.

Joanne and Porter talk airplanes.

Summer School

2005-06-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Summer break is over (that was fast) and today Porter starts summer school.

Not terribly happy about returning to school.

Pooltime

2005-06-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

In the late afternoon we asked Porter if he'd like to go for a swim. We obviously touched a nerve because he immediately stripped right there in the living room. And once upstairs to get on our suits, we could not move fast enought to suit Porter. But eventually we made it across the street to the swimming pool.

Porter and me in the swimming pool.

Porter, Sarah and Alice enjoy the hot tub.

Kangaroo Brown

2005-06-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

After Uncle Tuck and Debbie left, Porter asked to paint so we got out his art supplies. He asked Sarah to whip up a new color for him; kangaroo brown.

Porter paints a kangroo.

Uncle Tuck & Debbie Visit

2005-06-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

Porter's favorite Uncle Tuck and his girlfriend, Debbie, stopped by today for a quick visit. Although it was hard to wrest Porter's attention away from Toy Story 2, he was very happy to see everybody.

Debbie, Tucker & Porter.

Airplanes & Rocketships

2005-06-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

While Sarah started cleaning the kitchen in preparation for putting everything back, I played with the kids in Porter's room and the three of us actually played together. Porter had a rocketship puppet and I had a red airplane puppet. We flew them around the room flying them into Alice and each other, to the delight of all.

Alice tries to wrest control of the rocketship from Porter as she assumes a commanding spot on top of him.

Tweezers

2005-06-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

Porter found some toy tweezers in the box under his bed and proceeded to tweeze Sarah's hair, though perhaps pluck might be more accurate.

Note some of Porter's artwork on the wall behind his bed.

Proud Porter

2005-06-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Porter played in his room this morning and in an unprecedented move, Porter actually wanted to clean everything off of his train table and put them away. Then he put his new train layout on the table and wanted to place certain other toys there. Only he knew the plan as he decided which would be allowed back on the table. Once finished, he then insisted that Sarah take a picture of the new layout.

The proud builder.

A close-up of the jungle parking lot.

Happy boy.

Standing Tall

2005-06-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

I was hoping this post would be called Walking Tall, but my efforts to get an mpeg of Alice walking met with dismal failure. But I did manage to get this picture of her standing in the open.

Alice, outstanding in her field.

Swingtime Redux

2005-06-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

Today Porter was really swinging at his occupational therapy session.

Eager to get started.

Back and forth, then side to side. Porter was learning to swing himself here.

Swinging around in the basket.

Alice plays cheerleader for her brother.

The Silver Line

2005-06-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Porter got another new train set, this one is the Silver Line from Radio Shack. And even though I can't seem to make it work properly, Porter's still having a good time playing with it this morning.

All Aboard the Silver Line.

Kitchen Mess, Day 9

2005-06-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

We're in the home stretch now, today should be the last day as only minor things remain to be done, such as put in the light fixtures, child safety locks, and some clean up. Woo-hoo, we'll have our kitchen back by the end of the day.

Day Nine.

Triumph!

2005-06-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

I'm sure of the reasons why retreiving this particular piece of track from the box was such a cause for celebration, but celebrate she did.

Alice celebrates her triumph!

Pizza Girl

2005-06-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

Given that Sarah has been burned out on pizza this week which has reduced our choices for take-out while the work on the kitchen is being done, the only way for me to eat pizza was to order one for lunch. I ordered a thin crust pure bliss (that's canadian bacon and bacon) today. I offered my crust to Alice to gum, since she likes toast and bread. She ate the pizza crust then came back for more. She essentially hovered over me noisily until I gave her the next crust. She took to pizza crusts like a baby possessed.

Urp. GIVE ME YOUR CRUSTS! NOW!

I Know My ABCs

2005-06-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Porter's known his ABCs for a few months now, though he doesn't always say them from start to finish without straying or stopping, although it has happened before. Over the last few days he's been watching both They Might Be Giants' Here Comes the ABCs and Sesame Street's Do the Alphabet. Today I caught Porter making it from A to Z on video. He was playing with this plastic microphone he got in his stocking last Christmas.

Here's a Quicktime movie of Porter reciting his ABCs. You can either download the movie to your desktop or just click on the link to play it in your web browser (assuming your web browser has the quicktime plug-in installed).

Twin Blondes

2005-06-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

When Porter was born, his hair was more white, a true towhead. When Alice was born, her hair had a reddish tint to it, like a strawberry blonde. Well now that almost a year has gone by, her hair has turned more blonde while Porter's has darkened slightly. In this picture, it now looks as if their hair color is the same, doesn't it?

In last night's bath, their hair color now looks virtually identical.

Huh? What?

2005-06-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

We've been concered about Porter's hearing almost since the time he was born. Even as an infant he rarely responded to even the loudest of noises. Clap right behind his head and he wouldn't even flinch. We had his hearing checked when was only about nine weeks old and were told it was okay. Then last year when we were going through the diagnostic procedures that led to Porter's diagnosis of autism, his ears were checked again. On that occasion, Porter was just getting over his latest ear infection and they saw fluid in his ears. His hearing test came back as borderline okay and they put its being so close to the edge down to the ear infection and recommended a further test. Then a couple of months ago an ear test at school further revealed some issues with Porter's hearing and further testing was again recommended. So we spoke to Porter's pediatrician about it and she sent us to Marin General for another test. Yet another ear infection pushed that back until today when we finally had his second hearing test.

This was taken just after the testing was completed.

What they did during the test was put headphones on Porter (which he absoluetly hated but was a trooper, nonetheless) and pipe sounds into one side or the other. Porter was given a colored wooden cylinder to hold up to his ear. When he heard a sound, he was then to put the cylinder down into one of the peg holes on the board. Then after that part was completed, she took a picture of the inside of Porter's ears. His left ear checked out just fine. His right ear, on the other hand, still had fluid in it. So now it's back to his pediatrician to see what can be done about what appears to be chronic fluid in his ear. Given that we've noticed, and his teachers have noticed, that he's often a step behind in songs and other choreographed group activities it seems likely that fluid in his ears cannot be helping the situation of his slower response time.

Chicken Dinosaurs

2005-06-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

For reason we don't fully understand, a few weeks ago we finally got Porter to eat chicken nuggets by calling them dinosaurs. But he also seems to have figured out that they're chicken, because today he asked to have "chicken dinosaurs" for lunch. Since we have no kitchen yet, and also because we had to go out this afternoon anyway for a hearing test, I took the kids to Wendy's, which was on the way to the hospital. I went through the take-out window and was going to eat in the parking lot, but Porter was most insistent that we eat "inside house," as he put it. So we went inside to eat our chicken dinosaurs and freedom fries.

Given all the recent evidence indicating that dinosaurs were most closely related to birds, perhaps Porter is onto something after all. We may not know what dinosaur meat would taste like but it now doesn't seem too far-fetched to say it would taste just like chicken.

Of course, Ketchup figured heavily in the meal.

After all, you need something to dip your fries in.

Trainhead

2005-06-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

I've often called Porter a trainhead because of his obsession with trains, but this time I mean it literally.

It may be hard to see, but the white puffy stuff at Porter's forehead is steam escaping from a steam engine, which is what he's wearing on his head.

Lounging Around

2005-06-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

After Porter got home from his escape with Grandpa, he lounged on the sofa watching Do the Alphabet, hosted by Big Bird.

Yeah, I'm cool.

Space Man

2005-06-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

Day two of summer vacation and day seven of the kitchen remodel was another dull day confined to the living room. Porter escaped with his grandfather after his language therapy session with Joanne. Alice and I, on the other hand, just rattled our cage.

Porter shows off his rocketship PJs as his need for a haircut becomes more and more apparent.

Kitchen Mess, Day 7

2005-06-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

More color appeared today as we get visibly closer to the finish line.

Day Seven.

Anticipation

2005-06-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

Porter, when told Grandpa was coming, begged to have his shoes put on. He then sat by the window and waited ... and waited ... and waited until Grandpa finally came and there was much rejoicing.

I have got to get out of this place.

Happy Father's Day

2005-06-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

For the first time I can remember, I've been highly anticipating Father's Day this year. First there was the mystery of the green package that became the silver present that Porter was so excited about. Then there was the enigmatic "appointment" that Sarah and the kids went to yesterday morning and then Sarah left on an unknown errand in the afternoon while the kids were napping. So I went to bed last night like a kid on Christmas Eve, filled with impatience and high hopes for the morning.

Though sleeping in until 8 was a treat, Porter could hardly contain himself and eventually woke me up.

First there was the card that "Scrapbooking" Sarah and the kids made for me.

Then I discovered that the mysterious appointment was to have their picture taken as I unwrapped the results.

Finally, it was time for the piece de resistance, the green box.

It turned out to be a mug with Porter's foot print on it. Very cool.

The foot mug.

Family Portraits

2005-06-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Here are the portraits that Sarah and kids had done for me as my Father's Day presents.

Fun & Funky in Color.

Reserved & Respectable in Black & White.

Porter vs. the Hot Dog

2005-06-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we took the kids over to the Civic Center, where they were holding the Marin Art Festival. We thought it would be a fun way to get the kids out of the house for a little while. Much of the art was crap, the sort of stuff people who don't know art think is great. You know, like Thomas Kinkade, painter of light. But there were a few highlights and it was nice to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine.

Porter 1, Hot Dog 0.

Riding Mommy

2005-06-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

Sarah takes Alice for a ride after a much-needed afternoon nap.

Ye haw! Ride 'em, Mommy.

Kitchen Mess, Day 5

2005-06-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, yesterday was the orignal finish day estimate. Here's where we are on Saturday. Rusty, our intrepid cabinet craftsman believes he'll be here tomorrow and Monday. A master of understatement, I'd say.

Day Five.

Alice in Waitingroomland

2005-06-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Alice seems to have contracted the cold Porter's been harboring since our return from Seattle. She's been coughing little Alice coughs and leaking from her diminutive proboscis. Luckily she slept well this morning so she weathered the trip to Porter's O.T. pretty well, staying with me in the waiting room.

Flashing her baby blues.

Uh, oh, the plane's going down. Babyzilla's got it in her crushing grip.

Dad's Day Bounty Continues

2005-06-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

At O.T. today, Porter made me this Father's Day card. Apparently he glued the tree down himself, chose and then used a punch to create the little leaf, rabbit and other shapes on the tree, then glued them to the tree. Also he colored the tree himself.

I never thought Father's Day could be so cool. What a rush to have your son hand something to you that he made just for you.

On the back of the card was what I believe is Porter's first authenticated signature. This one was created without any aid whatsoever. All previous signatures, I must confess, were forged by me or else I guided Porter's hand. Sorry about that Sarah.

O.T. O.K.

2005-06-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

After a two week absence (last week: sick; before that; in Seattle), Porter had a triumphant return to occupational therapy. According to Theresa, his therapist, he did just great today. He paid attention, did what was asked of him and overall hit all the marks she wanted him to hit.

Porter perfectly constructs a vertical person by placing the puzzle pieces down in the correct order asked for.

As a reward, Porter got to swing on the swing he so loves.

The Present

2005-06-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

Porter has been talking about a present for a few weeks now but we'd been unable to get any more information out of him about it. At school yesterday I was handed a small box wrapped in green tissue paper with stickers on it and tied with string at the top. My father's Day present from Porter, I was told. Micki also told me she would be surprised if it lasted the day without Porter opening it himself because he had been so excited about it for days. So I put it out of sight in his backpack to at least get it home unopened. When Sarah got home from work yesterday, he pulled her into the spare bedroom and got out wrapping paper saying that "we need scissors" and "wrap present." Sarah came to me and asked if I knew anything about a present and I told her about the green box. Porter and Sarah excitedly took the box into the spare bedroom with scissors in hand. They emerged later with the silver package pictured here. About 6:00 a.m. this morning Porter came in to our bedroom with the present and handed it to me. It was so adorable. I managed to avoid that opening but later Porter tried again downstairs. Will we make it to Sunday without opening it? It's looking doubtful. At this point I don't even care what's in the box. I'm so touched by him being this excited about giving me a present that that quite frankly feels like the present itself. What more could I possibly want? It's one of those moments I refer to as "melting," when all my defenses are stripped away and I'm overcome with warm feelings of love and become uncontrollably emotional. It's these moments that make life worthwhile. See, I'm melting again right now as I type this. Damn.

Porter tries to give me the present again this morning.

What could it be?

ABCs by TMBG

2005-06-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

Recommended to us by Pat & Christi when they were here for a visit, the new CD and DVD by the pop band They Might Be Giants, Here Come the ABCs, has quickly become Porter's new favorite. It's a great listen and an ever better series of videos about the letters of the alphabet. Mixing great animation with some interesting puppetry, they've created the coolest learning video since Sesame Street. Their previous kid's album, titled simply No!, was also great for both kids and adults and was easily the best new kid's music done in ages. For those of you who don't know the band, they've been around since the 1980s when they had such hits as Birdhouse in Your Soul, Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Ana Ng and many more. A most iconoclastic band, they've built up a deserved cult-like following. Their live shows are a blast (we saw them many years ago at the Fillmore - in fact Christi was at that show with us)

The Last Day of School

2005-06-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

Today was Porter's last day of school for the regular school year. The last hour they invited parents over to join the class. It was fun seeing the other students and Porter in action, so to speak. Now it's summer break, all six days of it. Summer school starts the Monday after next.

Porter's class during "circle time."

Porter's teacher, Micki, reads a class favorite, Bunny, My Honey.

Porter seemed to be very happy in class and participated quite a bit, answering many of the questions asked. He was particpating and paying attention a lot, although I believe my presence was something of a distraction for him.

Kitchen Mess, Day 3

2005-06-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

It's difficult to see, but quite a lot has been done in three days to our kitchen though it's looking like it won't be done by Friday, which was the original estimate.

Day Three.

Pick Me Ups

2005-06-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

Alice keeps pulling Porter's DVDs off the shelf by the TV, which apparently is bugging our neatnik son. So he's been picking her up and carrying her clear across the room to me, saying "hug baby, Daddy, hug baby," which means I should pick her up.

Not much of a deterrent, Alice loves this attention from her big brother.

Bread & Circuses

2005-06-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

The kitchen remodel continues apace, with the kids confined to the living room and upstairs, though we've spent most of the day downstairs. I've tried to keep them mollified and happy but it's hard to do when they're confined to a small place. I'd take them to the park, but the car's acting up and I don't want to break down with them in the car.

Bread.

Okay, so strictly speaking this is not circuses, but it is a cute face nonetheless.

Tuesday Time

2005-06-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

The kids stayed hunkered down in the living room today while the kitchen is torn apart.

Alice enjoys a frosty beverage while on a visit to the farm.

Porter, after going on a train ride from San Bruno to Santa Clara this afternoon with Grandpa, decided now he wants to fly in an airplane again.

Kitchen Mess, Day 1

2005-06-14T12:14:00.000-07:00

Today, our little kitchen remodel began. We're having the cabinets refaced and will be unable to use our kitchen all week.

Day One.

Monday No Mommy

2005-06-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

Sarah left this morning for a few days in Humboldt County on business to meet some clients, investor bankers and other really interesting (yawn) people. She should be back Wednesday or Thursday but until then I'm mano a kiddo, just me and the kids.

Alice tries to keep in touch with Mommy.

Another Lazy Sunday

2005-06-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

Porter woke me up early this morning. Very early. In order to let Sarah sleep in a little, Porter and I went downstairs at 6:00 a.m. When we got to the living room it was immediately apparent that Porter had been awake far longer and had been downstairs already because all the lights were turned on. Who knows what time that happened. Anyway, we wayched his new favorite dvd a couple million times, Miss Spider, and he played with his toy airplanes.

Da plane, da plane.

Eventually, Sarah and Alice joined us and Alice decided to see how her shoes tasted. Yummy, apparently.

Porter's grandparents got him another train set last week, this one happily had no small pieces and was made for toddlers.

We pretty much spent the day lounging around in the heat and in the early evening went for a dip in the swimming pool before the kids went easily to sleep for the night.

A Visit from Emily & Dan

2005-06-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

Our friends Emily & Dan, came up for a visit this afternoon. We met them in downtown San Rafael where the Italian Street Painting Fair was getting underway. Then after a quick drink at the Broken Drum, we went back to our place to relax and spend some time with our friends.

Emily with Alice at the Broken Drum Brewery.

Emily and Porter clown around back at the house.

Horsing Around

2005-06-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

We finally got the okay for Porter's first horseback ride at Halleck Creek Ranc h this Saturday. Regular readers will recall that we attended an orientation for this a few weeks ago. It's a free charity of the local 4H along with some local business contributors including, most notably, George Lucas. We signed up Porter for the morning session and he got to ride from about 9:00 a.m. until after 10:30 a.m.

Sarah adjusts Porter's riding helmet.

The first thing they do is take the kids around an indoor track to get them oriented and used to the horse. Porter's volunteer was a young girl named Madison. His horse's name was Poppy. Poppy was half Shetland Pony and half miniature horse.

After a few minutes, Porter started to relax and even to enjoy himself.

After everyone was ready, they left the indoor track and headed out onto the trail for an hour's ride through some beautiful Marin countreyside.

Alice and I were spectators as Sarah walked along with Porter and Madison.

Porter and Poppy cross the actual Halleck Creek during their ride.

King of the Hill

2005-06-10T16:37:00.000-07:00

After we left the drug store, Porter was quite adamant that he did not want to go home yet. Instead he wanted to feed the ducks. When we got to the park, however, he changed his mind and charged off for the top of the hill.

Porter races for the top of the hill.

Porter as King of the Hill.

The view from the top of the hill.

Look to the left from the top of the hill and you can see the distinctive Marin Civic Center, the last public building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Underneath the Weather

2005-06-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

I got a call from Porter's teacher this morning around nine. Apparently he curled up in a corner and didn't want to participate in circle time, which is unusual for him. They showed him some facial emotion cards and he picked out "sick," even though he'd never seen that card before. Then they took his temperature and it was 100 degrees. So I picked him up and got a mid-morning appointment to see his doctor. Given his cough, I thought he might have bronchitis again but it turned out he has yet another ear infection.

Back at the house, Porter makes use of Alice's farm and watches TV while eating the toddler equivalent of bon-bons, goldfish.

Later in the afternoon (I had to wait for new kitchen appliances we bought to be delivered), we went to pick up his prescription for a new antibiotic. Outside the store, Porter shows how much he loves nature by hugging a tree.

The History of Transportation

2005-06-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

Porter's latest major set of works was completed today. Known as the History of Transportation, it's seven separate works of art representative of the major innovations in transportation. The first piece in the show is the traffic signal, a device whose absence would cause confusion and delay. Indeed, a world without the order that signals bring would be a world of chaos and lawlessness. One could view the humble traffic light as symbolic of the order which represents civilization itself.

Next, we move on to the historical pieces. The train represented the first major change to the way goods and people moved and its advent changed the course of history in every place its influence was felt, especially in the American west where it precipitated the rise of vast cities where none would have been possible without the iron horse. Historically, next is the hot air balloon, pioneered by the Montgolfier brothers of France in 1783. Like theirs, Porter's balloon is brightly colored with blue hues reminiscent of the conquered sky itself.

As for modern vehicles, there is the automobile and, of course, the school bus. And although a self-powered machine was built as early as 1769, the internal combustion engine built by Gottlieb Daimler in 1889 (and others around the same time) was the innovation that led to the practical personal vehicle that has become so ubiquitous today. Who can truly imagine a modern world without the car? The bright yellow school bus, of course, represents the shift from innocence to maturity as it carries our hopes and dreams from home out into the wider world where they can mingle freely with others. This is the essence of civilization itself; a free exchange of ideas to create a whole that is better than the sum of its parts.

The modern aircraft include the airplane and the helicopter. Their influence is incalcuable to modern society as so many of our perceptions of ourselves and of the world dramatically shifted once viewed at a distance from above. How different the world seems when seen from thousands of feet in the air. Porter's recent air travel have obviously imbued him with that wisdom which are evident in these works.

It's also worth noting that half of the works contain earthbound wheels while the other are all machines of the air. Head in the clouds but feet firmly on the ground. Another complex work of genius from our little red Haring. Ah, there's the phone. It must be the Whitney calling back with their offer of a fall show.

The History of Transportation. Clockwise from the bottom: a train, airplane, helicopter, balloon and car; with a school bus in the center.

I'm Gonna Wash That Sister ...

2005-06-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

Porter generally feels about getting his hair washed the way most of us feel about a trip to the dentist for a root canal, but that didn't stop him from spontaneously washing Alice's hair tonight.

Alice is thrilled with the attention from her brother as he washes her hair.

Under the Weather

2005-06-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

It's been raining in Marin off and on the last few days, and Porter has developed a cough that has started to sound hacking. He seemed to feeling poorly last night though we couldn't really understand what was wrong or where he was hurting, but he kept moaning as if he was in pain. This morning he still has the cough, but seems in a better mood. I have to do a follow-up at the doctor to check the ear infection he had two weeks ago, so we'll find out then if anyting else is wrong now.

With Bunny for comfort, Porter at least seems in better spirits this morning.

P.S.: In an unprecedented move today, Porter took Bunny with him to school. That's a first, it's almost always a train.

Sticks & Hoses

2005-06-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

A few more shots from the roof.

Birthday girl Alice enjoys a fresh stick. Yum.

While Porter waters the tomatoes.

Sand & Surf

2005-06-07T14:38:00.000-07:00

After Joanne left today, we hit the roof for a little sunshine and to play in the sandbox.

Alice and Porter share some playtime.

Alice, who turned 11 months old today, jumped right in and kept grabbing any shovel she could get her hands on.

A Visit From Joanne

2005-06-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

Porter's regular Tuesday session with Joanne continues his improvement in social play as she teaches him sequencing and play-based techniques that he'll need when he interacts with other kids. Porter seems to be really taken with his teacher, and he eagerly awaits each visit and often asks about her throughout the week.

Joanne and Porter work on reading emotions on faces.

Bite Me

2005-06-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

I got a call from Porter's teacher just before he got home today on the bus. Apparently there had been an "incident" at school today. Porter's new friend Ryan, whose parents introduced us to the Halleck Creek horseriding charity, were playing around a tree when things took a turn for the cannibalistic. Ryan bit Porter on the upper arm near the shoulder. It doesn't look too bad. It didn't break the skin but it looks like it will leave a bruise. His teacher, Micki, said that Porter seemed upset by it, not because it hurt physically, but because Ryan is his friend and he was upset emotionally. She says he seems to be a sensitive person. By the time he got home, he seemed over it, although he did make a point of telling me about it when he got off the bus.

Defiant to the end. This is my tree. You talkin' to me, you talkin' to me?

A close-up.

Afternoon Delights

2005-06-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

Just a few random shots taken this afternoon.

Alice cruising the coffee table.

A father and son self-portrait.

Self-Portrait of the ArtistAs A Young Toddler

2005-06-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

After school today, Porter decided he wanted to play around with the camera and create some more works of art. Here is a sample:

A self-portrait.

A more abstract rendering. Notice the minimalist approach his works are leaning toward.

Here's two Quicktime movies that Porter created as short art films. Look for them to air on the Sundance channel soon. The first one, the shorter of the two, is a self-portrait face and thumb while the second adds more, though still sparse, narrative story as it tells the tale of a man at a table. You can either download the movie to your desktop or just click on the link to play it in your web browser (assuming your web browser has the quicktime plug-in installed).

D-Day + 22,280

2005-06-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

The original invasion took place at 6:30 a.m., 62 years ago or exactly 22,280 days ago. The kids celebrated by watching Pooh's Heffalump Movie for the umpteenth time. They both seemed happy to be back in familiar surroundings again. Sarah's grandfather Pappy, was a naval pilot during World War 2 and was a war hero who was the first flier to land a plane in the ocean, which he did during the Battle of Midway to save a fellow pilot who's plane had been downed, and then take off again.

Porter and Alice, oblivious to the history all around them.

One Small Step For a Girl, One Giant Leap for the Family

2005-06-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so she's not Neil Armstrong, but for us it was still pretty momentous. For those of you who are regular readers of the blog, you'll know our little Alice has been very close to walking for some time now. She was kind enough to wait until we were both there this time (I missed Porter's first steps) and then, as we were waiting to board the airplane for home, she took her first steps and walked from a pole to a stroller, a distance of 4 to 5 steps, before sitting down again. Later that night, she repeated the feat just to show us it wasn't a fluke. I'll try to capture it on film as soon as I can.

Alice on board the airplane. Doesn't she just have that post-upright walking glow?