The World of Mackay

"Ball." This is pretty much his favorite word, his favorite toy, and anything remotely round is put into this category.

Dear Santa, I would like a bicycle and real fruit. Oh, and lots of presents. Love, Mackay.

Miss Mackay officially turned 3. Owen is back from the hospital and doing a good job gaining some weight back, and generally keeping us entertained with his new words. We got our tree (a sad, Charlie Brown sort of tree as we were pressed in time and realistic about its survival among two kids). Within minutes of decorating it, I - who thought I placed any breakable ornaments well above Owen's reach - saw Owen stretch up and pull a red, shiny ornament off the tree. As always happens, slow motion ensues, as I yell 'Oweeennnn, nooooooooo', he says 'Ball!' and hucks it across the room. Needless to say, the ornament shattered into a million pieces. He was quite impressed. So, our already less than ideal tree is now naked of ornaments on its entire lower half. I guess we won't be making Sunset Magazine this year. And, I apologize in advance, but I simply am not going to be able to manage holiday cards... I promise to post one here! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and...

Owen is home from the hospital, and gaining weight - all of this is good. Despite many tests, the docs can only tell us so far what is NOT wrong with Owen, but he is doing better regardless. We hope the trend continues. Mackay is happy to have him home, and continues with her wonderful verbal development, thanks, in large part, to her dad. She was sitting across from the sink this morning - up at the breakfast bar so Owen couldn't get to her crayons - when I turned on the garbage disposal. "That scared the crap out of me!!" she said. Great.

Here's a pic of Owen in the hospital. He had a probe inserted through his nostril this am to test for possible acid reflux (he was NOT a happy camper about that process). But he's adjusted with his usual aplomb. The biggest issue is that there is a fairly heavy monitor attached to the wires that gave only about two feet of distance to the person holding it. With Owen being 'on the move' - this kind of tether was pretty much unacceptable. Bill,being the resourceful guy he is, quickly ran to a local shop and found this little backpack, so Owen can now tote around his monitor himself. After some adjustment to walking with this weight on his back (he'll probably fall flat on his face once we remove the backpack), he is now roaming the halls at will, with his food intake paperwork in hand - looking for all the world like one of the doctors checking their charts. This little guy is truly amazing.

Owen continues to struggle gaining weight, and we - and the docs - continue to be perplexed at the cause. Owen is back in the hospital this weekend, unfortunately, as they try to figure out what is causing his digestive issue and the constant cold he seems to have. We will keep you posted. Miss Mackay, to every contrary, is doing so well. Her entertaining comment of the week is, when I showed her two recently deceased fish gifted to us from our neighbors, complete with head and tail, 'Mommy, I don't know how to EAT that!' Love that kid. More to come soon on Mr. Owen.

Mackay, Owen and I have all been fighting some nasty bug for the past few weeks, finally prompting visits to the doc for all of us. Mine resulted in a sinus infection. Owen's, an ear infection, and Mackay has a really awful cough. Mackay takes things very literally these days, resulting in the following conversation. Bill: "We're going to take you to the doctor today. It won't hurt -- They are just going to look in your ears." Mackay: "I'm not coughing from my ears."

Despite a slightly delayed start (Preschool requires kids to be potty trained. Mackay demonstrated her usual stubborn nature and refused for a few additional weeks), Mackay has officially started school. She had a blast, can't wait to go back, and made it through her first day 'accident-free'. Let's hope the trend continues.

Exciting news on the Owen front. He took his first step today! He's been standing up, and scooting along furniture for the past few weeks... But, today, Bill set him down in the middle of the rug, and he (Owen, of course) stood by himself for a few seconds, and then... (drum roll) took a step. Yay Owen!! Mackay was unimpressed.

Mackay and I were playing pretend this afternoon. After pretending that we were going to the store, and to the swimming pool, she decided she wanted to play "going to work." Mackay: "OK, I'm going to work, now." Me: "Ok, have a good day at work, Mackay." Mackay rides her tricycle out of the family room, then leans her head back so she can see me and says, "Are you going to cry now, Mom?" I guess she's having a bit of trouble adjusting to my recent work and travel schedule.

The kids are growing. The camera is broken. Relying on friends and family pics til it's fixed. Here are some pics, captured by our friend Rosi, of Mackay and Owen in our favorite climbing tree. Here's Miss Mackay. Getting ready to go to preschool in the fall - can hardly believe she's that old. And, here's little Owen - smiley as usual!

Everything happens so fast these days. Owen is: crawling (for real, beyond the inchworm), pulling himself to a stand on any available object, walking if he's holding to your fingers, talking (Ba. Ba! Ba!!!!) Mackay is still his favorite person, and (generally) she deserves it. Owen's doing well heart-wise, though the late blooming summer dealt all of us a few delayed flu-ish bugs. We've had some wonderful weekends with dear friends in Yosemite, and dear family at home, in Graeagle, and Tahoe. Will post some pics soon of everyone. Hope everyone has had a wonderful 4th!

So, Bill calls me today to tell me he's hanging out with Mackay. She's building something with blocks, and Bill overhears her talking to herself. "Wait a minute, that's not working." So she adds another block to the tower. "There," she says. "Problem solved."

Clear the choking hazards. Vacuum the carpet. Watch your step. Owen is officially crawling. This is from a week or so ago, and he's a determined little guy. He'll do just about anything to get to our computers.

Recovering from a wonderful trip to Kauai (at long last). Must say, vacation with kids is very different, but we did manage to relax quite a bit. We were able to arrange some overlap with Mackay's cousins (and their parents). Everyone had a blast - especially at the water slide at the Westin. And, in other breaking news, Owen is the proud - and occasionally grumpy - owner of two lower teeth!

Owen had his 6 month check up today, and he is a perfect 10. He's 10th percentile height, 10th percentile weight, and the ever important 10 percentile head circumference. He is, truly, the happiest baby we've ever met. And despite his coronary plumbing and potential genetic challenges, he is blowing by his milestones. He is engaging beyond all reason - much to the dismay of the older gentleman in the seat next to us on the red eye home from Kauai. This poor guy just wanted to read his magazine, and Owen spent the first hour on the plane trying to catch this guy's eye just to smile at him.

The rains (and thunder, and hail, and lightning) seem to have finally gone away. They have apparently done wonders for Mackay and Owen, though - who are growing like proverbial weeds. Owen's now over 15 pounds, and while it's likely he'll need to have at least one more surgery at some point in the next year or so, he's doing well now. He is, quite frankly, the happiest baby I've ever met. He keeps busy commando crawling his way around the floor, and smiling at his big sister, who he thinks hung the moon. Mackay is mostly a joy, when she's not doing her daily imitation of the demon from the exorcist. This stops when they are three, right? We let her watch Sesame Street and Dora on our laptops occasionally, but because we almost never watch 'real' TV, she is totally unclear on the concept of commercials. Regardless, her favorite show is Spongebob Squarepants (yes, I know she's only 2). Bill was recently watching this with her on the big TV, and a comm...

Despite the world's efforts to make life difficult, we are managing reasonably well. Owen is doing great, despite an incredibly uncharacteristic crying bout that required a round trip to the pediatrician and cardiologist -- both of whom said he was fine. Good ol' mom and dad diagnosed the problem... it appears he's teething. A little motrin, and the world's a better place! Miss Mackay is talking up a storm, stringing together sentences of non sequiturs tied together with 'because'. An example: "I don't want to wear those pajamas because I went outside today because they are red because I want some ice cream." She's in the throes of being 2, but is mostly so cute that she more than makes up for any of her obstinacy. She approaches pretty much everything with energy and joy. Whether she's pondering the next episode of Elmo on Sesame Street, or what we'll do after dinner, she often looks at me with all her wide eyed wonder, hands clasped, ...

The kids are doing great. Owen's smile will light up a room and he bestows it freely on anyone who comes within range. Miss Mackay is keeping us entertained with her 'Mackay-isms' and non-stop chatter. "Don't worry, Mom. I got it." - Said in response to my frequent looks of concern as she makes an enormous mess or is looking like she may fall to her death. "No...Do it Kai's-self" - Said anytime anyone tries to help her with something. And our recent favorite: We're in the car, and Bill and I are trying to have a conversation. Mackay is babbling incessantly, and with increasing volume, in the back seat. When we can no longer hear each other, Bill and I turn around simultaneously say (yell?) "MACKAY! Would you please be quiet!!!" She stops her monologue, stares sulkily out the window, and says under her breath... 'Jeez.'

A few months ago, Mackay walked by her dad in an unpleasantly stinky state, and Bill asked her, in the phraseology of her grandfather Rule, "Do you have a turd in your pants?" To which Mackay responded, "A turtle?" Since then, it has become an inside joke in our house when we need to change Mackay's 'turtle-ish' diapers. Today, Bill informed me that things have evolved, and the new lesson during diaper changes is 'Don't touch the turtle.' Ick.

Owen had a minor setback last week. Thanks to Bill's vigilance, Owen got a slightly accelerated trip to UCSF for an angioplasty (they put a catheter through a vein in his leg and use a little balloon to expand a part of his heart). The good news: the procedure was successful in expanding a small part of his aortic arch and his blood flow is probably better than it ever has been. The not so good news: there is still an area that is too narrow, but time will tell whether it needs further surgery. In any case, Owen seems to be responding tremendously well. Despite a nasty cold, he's smiley, wiggly, kicking, and generally a happy little guy. We're thrilled to have him home. Happy New Year!!