The Squeakers' Report

Testing in 2012

2012-01-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Maeve Stream of Conciousness, 5:40 p.m., Saturday, January 16, 2010

2010-01-19T20:53:00.000-08:00

"You, baby, are in time out. For not listening to anybody. Because she's was not listening up there in my room. Because she's not listening to my fathers OR you can sit here and... so you don't talk anymore or not listen anymore with your ears. When my daddy comes home, I'll talk about this. So she'll go to sleep here, so she wouldn't wake up you... don't Declan—she's sleeping. Mister, you don't talk to anybody, who is not listening... not listening, but baby wasn't listening."

Note: the theme of this overhead "discussion" with her baby doll was listening. What do you guess Maeve has problems with recently? Also notable are the references to "when my daddy comes home" and "mister." I figured out that she got the mister part from a book she likes to read.

—posted by T

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T22:06:00.000-08:00

Here are some sights from our Halloween festivities, starting with carving pumpkins. Maeve enjoys sharing pumpkin slime and seeds with Declan:

Declan and Maeve in their costumes on Friday, October 30, enjoying the Halloween celebration at their daycare:

Fun times on Saturday as our friends Mike and Stephanie came over with their kids, Devin and Eamon, roughly the same ages as Maeve and Declan, for pizza and trick-or-treating:

Declan's slightly skeptical about this whole experience:

Wouldn't you be, if your parents looked like this?

Off to get treats!

—posted by B

Squeaker Swine Flu, Or Is It?

2009-10-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

For the first few weeks of October, both kids and I had some sort of illness. The kids' spells were separated by a full week, of course—it would be too easy to have them sick at the same time. They each had a fever for three to five days and some congestion and coughing. Since H1N1 is very widespread here, the pediatrician's office has been treating all cases of flu-like symptoms as, well, the flu. In short, stay home, rest, drink fluids, and so on. So the week of October 4, Brian and I split Thursday and Friday to be home with Declan. The week of October 11, I was home Wednesday through Friday with both kids as Maeve recovered. And the week of October 25, both kids were well, but I had a bad cold. Sheesh.

Here's a video clip from our early flu season as two stir-crazy kids get very excited about a bag of cashews. Note that Declan points to the nuts and says "Da" and then Maeve repeats his exact motion and speech. Seems like a certain big sister is not above mimicking her baby brother.

—posted by T

Whatcha Talking 'bout Maeve?

2009-10-25T20:25:00.001-07:00

As Maeve nears her third birthday, her vocabulary has shot into the stratosphere. There's virtually nothing she can't express, and even though she doesn't know all the words we use, she seems to understand a lot more than we'd like. Before they fade away, we want to remember some of her idiosyncratic speech patterns:

"beppus"—breakfast
"eat my waffles all gone"
"I want one bana—the whole bana." For some reason she always says this about bananas.
"baafud"—bathtub
"tomahno"—tomorrow
"cool"—pool
"strolyer"—stroller
"all bofe a dem"—"all both of them." Somehow, both is almost always preceded by all.
and maybe the cutest: "Decwin" for Declan.

And Declan, not to be left out, is slowly starting to "talk." Well, the only thing he says even semi-clearly is "firetruck" when he hears any emergency vehicle. He also says "Dada" (of course... sigh) and some sort of "all done" and "more" when eating. And as of last week, he says "deet doo" when you hand him something—we think it's his version of "thank you." You can hear it at the end of this quick exchange about peaches:

And if you want to hear Maeve at her legalistic best, listen to her explain how the spilled water is not her fault:

—posted by T

Declan and Mookie

2009-10-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

We celebrated ten years with our beloved calico, Mookie, this summer. She's been known to scratch occasionally, but generally, she's very patient with the small, grabby creatures who always want to be in her space. Mookie—we love you!

—posted by T

California Squeakin', Part One

2009-10-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Another summer rewind, this time to our late-July trip to Sonoma County, California, where we visited my brothers Bill and Pat, as well as the friends Tracey met through an online expecting mothers group back in 2006. There will be a separate post about our visit with them.

We drove out to Sonoma Coast State Beach near Bodega Bay one morning. There was some fog, as usual, but it gradually cleared. Uncle Pat didn't really take a nap on the beach, just a quick rest after walking all that way from the parking lot:

Uncle Bill, cooler than most, chilling with Tracey and Declan:

Maeve busily digging in the sand:

Declan having his first encounter with the chilly waters of the Pacific:

A brief video slice of our beach time:

Another video from later in our visit, this time at the house, where Pat demonstrated his dexterity with a simple yet challenging back yard game:

—posted by B

Going to the pumpkin patch

2009-10-21T08:38:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, we did our first annual trip to a pumpkin patch at Knapp's Farm in Green Bluff. We were last there in October 2006, before Maeve joined us. How time (like a pumpkin) flies!

First up—the hay maze, perfect for toddlers.

Finally, they took a quick break to pose for a picture:

You can't really see it in this picture, but they're sitting in an old-timey buckboard:

Declan trying to show us how strong he is:

While an early frost had mushified many of the pumpkins in the field, I did get this great picture of Daddy with his two pumpkins:

—posted by T

Pumpkin Cannon!

2009-10-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

On October 18, we took the kids to Green Bluff for an afternoon farm visit, where we checked out the pumpkins and hay bales and farm animals. One of the attractions is a large air cannon used for pumpkin chunkin'. Here are two brief videos of the farm and the pumpkin cannon:

—posted by B

Declan Turns One

2009-10-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

Our baby boy turned one on July 21, 2008. He's tall and on the skinny side, with a huge noggin. In short, just like his sister!

Weight: 21 pounds, 10 ounces (25th percentile)
Height: 30.5 inches (75th)
Head circumference: 49.5 cm (110th or so)

Here's the birthday boy at a little party we had for him this summer when his grandparents on his Dad's side were visiting:

—posted by T

Alaska Vacation

2009-10-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

Rewind: back to our family trek to Alaska in early August. We had the best stretch of good weather ever in my experience visiting there. Under different circumstances, we would have spent a lot of those sunny days hiking and traveling away from town. This time around, we stayed mostly in the city but still had plenty of fun with the kids outside—at parks, along the coastal trail, and at the zoo. We even drove up to the parking lot in Chugach State Park at the trail head for some of our favorite hikes just to walk around the little loop trail with the kids and enjoy the view.

If you click on this next picture to view the full-size version, you can see Denali way in the background, just to the right of Declan's head:

We also drove to Girdwood. Here's Declan among the flowers at The Bake Shop:

No trip to Anchorage would be complete without a meal at Romano's. Here are Tracey and the kids with Dianne Tarrant (Tiffany's mom) and Grandma Kay:

—posted by B

Two Squeakers and a Whole Lotta Talking

2009-09-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

So, in the last few months, Maeve has started to really talk. A lot. She tells elaborate stories, which often consist of her versions of what is happening filled with a lot of "but" and "so" conjunctions. Here is a typical Maeve "dialogue" with me about her dolls:

And not to be outdone, Declan too talks a lot. Except we can't really make out the words. He says something that sounds a lot like "what is that?" Hear for yourself.

—posted by T

Squeakers in Elderberry Park

2009-08-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

We haven't posted a blog update in quite a while—since July 4, for those keeping score at home. We do have a bunch of material to add, including a visit from my parents and our trip to northern California, but little time to do it. So I'm jumping ahead to just a few days ago with these photos and a brief video taken with my cell phone at Elderberry Park on the edge of downtown Anchorage. We made several trips to this park while in town visiting Tracey's mom last week. The weather was perfect, as you can see.

—posted by B

Fourth of July at the Fair

2009-07-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

On the Fourth of July, we took a little drive south to the Palouse town of Oakesdale, Washington, population 420. There was a little Independence Day ho-down festival going on, hosted by Mary Jane's Farm, so we thought it might be fun to drop in. Plus, our friends Ariadne and Michael had a tent/booth there to sell Ari's handmade bags, aprons, and other Buttercuppity crafts, and we wanted to surprise them. We did surprise them, and we did have fun. So mission accomplished. This was the scene as we arrived at the fair, with the Mary Jane's Farm historic mill in the background:

After enjoying a group of young musicians playing traditional Irish music, along with some step-dancers, followed by a really good bluegrass string band, and then meeting some sheep, goats, and a llama at a small petting zoo, we decided it was time for lunch. Tracey and the kids cooling off in the shade:

Maeve took a little ride on a pony after lunch:

After more music, a final visit with Mike and Ari, and a walk down main street, it was time to head north again for some nap-time in the car. We took the long way back and then had a splashing good time in the little wading pool in the back yard at home. We'd taken it out for our cookout on Friday, when Mike and Stephanie came over with their kids, Devin and Eamon. Plus Lynn dropped in. All in all, a fun two-day Fourth.

—posted by B

Tubes, Glorious Tubes!

2009-07-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

Since January, Declan has had many ear infections, involving at least nine trips to the doctor's office where one or both ears were diagnosed as infected. For reasons no one can figure out, some kids (often boys) have recurrent ear infections, or as in Declan's case, ear infections that never quite go away before they surge back to life. After many pediatrician visits, one ER visit, two naturopath visits, and two ENT visits, Declan underwent minor surgery on June 5 to have ear tubes implanted. He was right as rain 20 minutes later, and he's been blissfully infection-free ever since. He still can get ear infections, but they should be less severe and more easily treated with antibiotic drops.

In addition to the many ear infections, he's had the following:

January 10: stomach flu
January 21: his first bilateral infection plus RSV (respiratory infection)
March 11: virus with fever
April 29: virus with fever
May 31: another virus, this time with a strange name, a coxsackievirus, which causes herpangia, or mouth blisters, also with fever. The strange name comes from Coxsackie, New York, south of Albany on the Hudson, where this kind of virus was first discovered.

As you can see, the first six months of 2009 were no picnic for poor baby Declan. But we're hopeful that he's gotten all this sickness out of his system for a long time. Here's our happy, healthy boy now:

—posted by T

Crawling and Eating: A Day in the Life of Declan

2009-07-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

Declan is very busy these days. Since he started army-crawling in April and real crawling in early June, he has been unstoppable. He's now "cruising," taking steps around the coffee table or alongside the bathtub. Just yesterday, we saw him stand unassisted. Of course, he can't really do much on his own, because he always has his devoted sister "helping" him.

Some of his favorite destinations are the cats' food and water bowls (for water fun), the bathroom (to walk along the tub), the dishwasher (to stand up and, if possible, get in the dishwasher!). Mommy's favorite: he crawls up three stairs or so in about 20 seconds. Somehow, we have a feeling our lives will get a lot harder when he starts walking.

He has also eschewed all pureed baby foods for a long time, since he loves to feed himself. His favorite food—by far—is grapes. In fact, he seems to like all fruits. With only two teeth and two more emerging, he has to gum his toast, but he manages to do OK. He's a much more interested eater than Maeve was at this age—just one more way that they're different kids.

—posted by T

More Slices of Squeaker Pie

2009-06-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

More videos. Enjoy!

On June 14, Maeve finally got her first ride on my bike with her ride-along bike seat, after a false start the weekend before when I couldn’t repair my flat rear tire. Tracey caught the first few seconds for posterity:

In this one, Maeve and Declan goof around in their usual post-dinner tub time, with an intrusion by Mookie, always a ham for the camera:

Declan talks like crazy these days, doing linguistic back flips when a few weeks ago he was barely able to do a somersault. One of his favorite words is kitty or kitty-cat, and he has plenty of opportunities to say it. Here's one:

Until last weekend, Maeve was engaged in a kind of popper cold war, occasionally flaring into actual conflict, with a younger rival down the street. The neighbor has a classic popper as well as a (clearly inferior) musical popper-like push-toy that sounds like a jack-in-the-box when it rolls. According to the rules of toddler warfare, Maeve was always offered the musical popper-like push-toy when they played together, though she always insisted that she wanted to "share" the (real) popper. Strategic interventions allowed her to use the (real) popper on occasion, but it always had to be returned, with frequent tears as a consequence. In keeping with cold war logic, the two rivals have now reached a state of peaceful coexistence through the introduction of a popper into Maeve's personal arsenal, thanks to the generosity of Halley (and her parents), who has outgrown hers and has donated it to Maeve's cause. Here's Maeve trying it out on the front porch on a rainy, cool first day of summer:

That's the sound of détente.

—posted by B

One Marmot Sick, One Marmot Marches

2009-05-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was the Marmot March, the kids' "run" that goes along with the big Bloomsday run on the first Sunday in May each year. This year, both squeakers were scheduled to march. But sadly, Declan wasn't up for it. After recovering from his ruptured eardrum/infected ear two weeks ago, he came down with a fever last week. A quick check at the pediatrician last Wednesday showed two normal ears. The fever got worse and was soon accompanied by some bad congestion and coughing. After three straight days of a fever, I took him to the ER Saturday evening. Sacred Heart Medical Center, where both squeakers were born, has an excellent children's hospital and a special section of the ER for kids. An hour and a half later, we were home with a prescription for an antibiotic for—you guessed it—his badly infected, painful ears.

So Maeve and Brian marched on their own this year. Well, not totally alone—they were joined by our friend Mike and his son Devin (Maeve's future boyfriend!):

Update on Declan: He wasn't eating much at all, so after two solid days of the antibiotics, with no decrease in the fever or fussiness, I took him to the pediatrician on Tuesday. Not only did he have the same viral illness from last week, but his ears were horribly red and infected (that is, very painful!). Still. And to add to his (and our) misery, he has four teeth coming in at once. And all this explains why he's not eating well and why he has lost one full pound in the past week. The pediatrician changed his antibiotic, recommended more frequent use of the pain-relieving ear drops, and said he wanted to see us back in 48 hours. The good news? Baby D. is already doing much better. The fever seems to be gone (fingers crossed), and best of all, he's nursing and drinking his bottle again!

—posted by T

Conference on the Oregon Coast

2009-05-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

Maeve loves to travel, especially when she gets to use her "pack pack," which is really an ingenious device that turns her car seat into a stroller for the airport. Of course, she rarely wants to ride in it and prefers to drive it instead.

We were in charge of this year's Pacific Northwest American Studies Association conference, which was held in lovely Lincoln City, Oregon. Putting on a conference with two kids and two jobs was a lot of work, but it all turned out OK.

Some stumbling blocks:

My cold the week we left.
Declan's diagnosis on the morning of our flight to Portland of one ruptured eardrum and one rupturing eardrum. Brian and Maeve left as scheduled, and I took Declan on another flight one day later. He was fine.
A rental car that, on paper, would have been big enough but that wasn't big enough for us, two car seats, our luggage, Aunt Tara and her bags, and the food and other supplies for the reception we put on. We exchanged the too-small car for a bigger one when Brian and Maeve picked up Declan and me at the Portland airport, and we all made it to the coast in plenty of time. But Declan did manage to fall head-first on the parking garage floor during the car-exchange process. (See picture below.)

The conference went well, and thanks to Tara's wrangling of Maeve, Brian got to devote himself to his duties as president. I managed to finish and present my paper, all the while dealing with a still-sick Declan. But most of all, we got to enjoy the coast and Tara and her new boyfriend Robert and some friends from work who attended the conference.

Here's our friend Tony holding Declan after the conference lunch, while Maeve laughs at one of Tony's amusing and ironic remarks:

Aunt Tara and her favorite niece!:

Maeve enjoying getting her feet wet!:

—posted by T

Easter 2009

2009-04-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny visited again this year, the first time he had to fill baskets for both Maeve and Declan. Those brown things really were chocolate eggs—I checked.

Here's a three-picture series of Declan crawling around in his Easter duds:

He eventually rolled and shuffled his way right up next to Maeve, as he usually does, but she, also in her Easter best, couldn't be torn away from the new fish-shaped chalkboard that Grammy and Grampy gave her:

We finally cajoled Maeve into sitting down for a few brother-and-sister shots. As you can see, the hugging progressed quickly to borderline strangulation. No charges have been filed.

The kids had a big day, including a brunch party with our friends, several of whom brought children of their own. In the middle of playing with six other kids, Maeve crawled into her crib around her usual nap time. When I went to check on her, she said she wanted to take a nap and didn't want to come back and play. So I closed the door and went back to the party, satisfied with further evidence that she is indeed my daughter. She knows that nothing should get in the way of sleep.

After she woke up two hours later, wondering where all the people went who had left a half hour after she fell asleep, it was time to do some cleaning, including a bath for Declan, who received some assistance from big sis:

—Posted by B

A Visit from Derek

2009-04-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

Derek, a friend from our long-ago grad school days on the banks of the Wabash, came to town for the annual MELUS conference in early April. We had a great time with him, starting with dinner at our house on Friday evening, followed by some goofing around with Maeve before her bedtime:

On Saturday evening, we took advantage of a babysitting payback that a friend here owed us and went out for sushi with Derek and a couple of other people we knew from grad school, plus a few new acquaintances. Here's the whole gang, from both ends of the table:

On Sunday, Derek came over for breakfast, and Declan got to join the fun:

Getting ready for a walk in the park with Maeve:

Derek, by the way, is the maniacal genius behind the Gallery of the Absurd. His wife, Amanda, you may recall, visited us for a different conference back in fall 2007.

—posted by B

Declan Videos

2009-04-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a few clips of Declan in action from the past couple of months. First, a two-part series of him achieving his laudable goal of playing in the cat water:

Next, getting talkative, and mobile, on the kitchen floor:

Finally, a brief close-up on Easter:

—posted by B

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

Maeve and Declan wish you all a happy St. Patrick's Day! Lá Fhéile Pádraig! As their great-grandfather Sullivan used to say, "Another great day for the Irish."

And yes, Baby (on Maeve's right) also wishes you a happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sibling Play Time

2009-03-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

Here's another little sample of Maeve and Declan "playing together." Mostly it's Maeve rolling Declan over and trying to put a "blanket" on him. But Declan is getting more and more able to decide for himself in small ways what he wants to do, like rolling back over regardless of Maeve's plans. And before this, Maeve was actually managing to engage in a reasonable approximation of sharing toys with him. Baby steps.

Brother and Sister

2009-02-25T21:08:00.001-08:00

Maeve's learning to be a good big sister. She's very happy to discuss what Declan is doing ("Declan's fussy," or "Declan wants more milk") or to make him laugh, but she's not too keen on seeing him touch any of her things, even her long-forgotten baby rattles, bibs, and bouncy seats. Everything is "my bib" or "my toy" to her. Slowly, slowly, she's learning to share with him, and pictures like this reflect her growing delight in being the big sister.

Giggling Baby, Grabby Toddler

2009-02-25T21:02:00.001-08:00

Here's a recent video that highlights Declan at his giggling, laughing best:

Maeve, Winter 2009

2009-02-25T20:03:00.000-08:00

It's been a crazy, long winter for our toddler. Lots of snow and cold has made us spend time inside, but one sunny day recently, we all ventured out to the iced-over playground. Maeve enjoyed the swing but then had to come home and get warm in a blanket near the heater.

This is what Maeve did on Valentine's Day. She doesn't eat chocolate: she peels it and lines it up. That's good—more for Mom and Dad!

And thanks to Dad's patience, Maeve has been learning to be a good teeth-brusher. Both hers and Dad's!

Six Months!

2009-02-24T19:42:00.000-08:00

It was a rough few weeks in late January and early February here for the Squeakers (and parents). First, a stomach flu got both Declan and Maeve on January 11-12. Then, it seemed he was only better for a few days before Declan got a cold with a bad cough. And a few days later, after he cried and cried at 8 p.m. (not like him at all), I took him to the pediatrician. The verdict: double ear infection and RSV. He was a pretty sick little baby, but we really weren't too worried. After one more night, he was back to his mostly smiley self. Still, we had to return in 24 hours and then again in three days to get his breathing checked out. Oh, and on the first follow-up visit, I had the doctor check Maeve, and yep, she had an ear infection too (although she didn't act sick). Oh, winter! Oh, daycare!

On Friday, February 6, Declan had his six-month check-up (closer to six and a half). He is 16 lbs 5 oz* (around the 25th percentile) and 27.5 inches (80th percentile or so), and he has a head bigger than 90% of six-month-old boys. He's a Donahue for sure. Other than some still-congested ears at the time and the same benign heart murmur he's had since birth, he's doing great. I can't believe it's been six months since he joined us—I can't imagine a world without him in it.

* Two weeks later (and many long nights of him waking me up two or more times a night to eat) he was up one full pound! Sixteen ounces in under 14 days! I guess growth spurts are real.

Declan and Dad at Christmas:

.

Declan and Mom, out for a walk in the snow:

Brian took out the exersaucer recently, and while I can't believe he's this big already, Declan loves it:

Declan beaming on his playmat:

Maeve's First Haircut

2009-02-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

Here's Maeve on January 15 getting her first haircut, really just a trim to keep the hair out of her eyes:

Here's hoping Brian can keep his skills sharp when she's old enough to care how her haircuts look. (Brian didn't get a haircut in a barber shop until he was in, or maybe through, high school, thanks to his own Dad's skills.)

A Few Days Left

2009-01-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

Here's Declan (in a clip from November) with a small reminder for the Congress that they still have a few days left to take action against criminals in high places:

If not, maybe the new administration's Justice Department will have the courage and commitment to the Constitution to investigate and prosecute those leaving office next week (and those who have already left, like Rumsfeld). Declan's watching....

More Family Portraits

2008-12-29T21:30:00.000-08:00

On Christmas day, Maeve just had to play on Declan's play mat:

She didn't know what to make of it when Mommy decided to join in the fun:

The family of four, all dressed up! Notice Maeve is wearing her new slippers:

A Visit from Tracey's Family

2008-12-29T21:01:00.001-08:00

Tracey's mom and sister braved nasty weather throughout the Northwest to visit for Christmas, and we're glad they did. Here are Aunt Tara and Grandma Kay with Tracey and both kids:

Grandma Kay and Declan. Notice the deep snow through the window in the background!

Mom, Dad, and Grandma with the Squeakers:

An "artistic" shot of Tillamook and the beautiful centerpiece Brian's parents sent:

Squeakers' Christmas

2008-12-28T21:42:00.000-08:00

Despite some weather-related delays, Tracey's mom and sister both arrived in time for Christmas with the Squeakers. Here's Aunt Tara opening gifts with Brian and Declan:

Maeve's first gift was a tricycle, still in the box, from Grandma Kay. We had no idea she would be so excited about it, but as soon as she saw the picture on the box she said, "I wan' ride bike!" and wouldn't stop until Brian got his tools and quickly put the trike together, right then and there. Here she is, "riding" it for the first time:

During her nap, we hid the trike in the garage. So far, so good—let's hope she doesn't remember until it's spring and she's an inch or so taller, so she can reach the pedals better.

Here's a presents-eye view of the toddler with binky, and Grandma Kay in the background:

You know you're a mother of two when one of your gifts is a new pancake griddle, and you actually like it:

Roan under the Christmas tree:

The day after Christmas was even more snowy, so we got Maeve a saucer sled. Here she is in her new snowsuit on her new sled:

Let It Snow!

2008-12-22T23:22:00.000-08:00

In late January, we started 2008 with a snowstorm that slowed down the city and closed the university for three days, and now in late December, we're ending the year with another one. So far the university has had to close for only two days—Thursday and Friday, December 18 and 19—but unlike last time classes aren't in session. Still, there's more snow in the forecast. Snow started falling last Wednesday morning, and it just kept on falling for at least a full day. By Thursday morning, we were digging out from close to two feet. We've had several more inches in passing bursts since then, just enough to keep Brian shoveling.

A few shots of our first family walk in the winter wonderland, on Friday:

A neighbor delivering some groceries to another snowed-in neighbor offered to take a shot of all of us:

On Saturday, Brian went out for a walk with both kids and took a few pictures of Maeve at her snow-bunny best:

Merry white Christmas to all!

Maeve's Birthday Back Home

2008-12-11T21:15:00.000-08:00

We returned home on Monday after Thanksgiving and, in keeping with Aunt Tara's theory of the "12 days of birthday" season, hosted a small birthday bash for Maeve the following Sunday, 11 days after her actual birthday. Here she is, a little curious about this strange custom after everyone stopped chatting to sing "Happy Birthday." But she's definitely happy with one of the tasty cupcakes that Les made:

Kendra and Halley also enjoyed the cupcakes:

Happy birthday to our two-year-old!

Declan's Reception

2008-12-10T21:24:00.000-08:00

After the christening, we had a reception at Brian's parents' house. Here are a couple of shots of Tracey with the guest of honor:

Mom and Dad opening some gifts for Declan:

Our friends Jerry and Medea drove up from New Jersey for the big day. Here's Medea holding Declan, getting in some practice for their first baby, which we learned is due in April:

Tracey showing the cool toy tea set that Jerry and Medea gave Maeve for her birthday—it's made from recycled milk jugs:

Jerry got huge laughs out of Declan with this tickling game:

We had a great time seeing Jerry and Medea and were thrilled to learn their good news:

Declan's Christening

2008-12-09T22:19:00.001-08:00

Since most of Brian's family was visiting for Thanksgiving, we arranged for Declan's baptism to take place while we were there. Unfortunately, Fr. Ryan thought we had made arrangements for the Saturday after Christmas! Paul's wife, Marie, saved the day by taking the initiative to drive over to Fr. Ryan's neighborhood near the university, where she just happened to spot him in his car on his way home. She approached him with the news that we were waiting for him, and he soon arrived at the church, apologetic and embarrassed, only 40 minutes later than expected. Good luck or divine providence? You decide.

Here's Declan wearing the baptismal gown that Brian's grandmother made for his mom to wear at her christening and that Brian and all of his brothers (and since then, their kids, including Maeve) wore at theirs:

Fr. Ryan, who was one of Brian's high school teachers and who also officiated at our wedding and Maeve's christening, addressing the family:

Declan didn't even cry when he got wet:

Brian's brother Jack and his wife, Leslie, Declan's godparents:

Declan and Maeve with parents and grandparents:

Just the four of us:

Declan with his sister, parents and godparents:

The whole gang:

If Maeve looks listless in these pictures, it's because she was sick. We didn't find that out for sure until just when we arrived back at Brian's parents' house, where she promptly threw up her oatmeal and strawberries as we were preparing to take her out of her car seat. Sad but true.

Squeakers Visit Connecticut for Thanksgiving

2008-12-08T22:12:00.000-08:00

On her birthday, the day before Thanksgiving, we got Maeve up at 4:30 a.m. to spend all day in cars, airports and airplanes. Happy birthday!

Despite the travel travails, our flights were on time, and we had a fun visit with Brian's family. Maeve's cousin Meghan was especially glad to see her. Meg was a great help keeping an eye on Maeve for us and keeping her entertained. Here they are on Thanksgiving at Brian's parents' house:

Maeve's godfather, Paul, made sure she had a birthday cake to celebrate after Thanksgiving dinner:

Contemplating her cake:

Maeve ate some cake, but as usual, she found the ice cream "too cold!" Fortunately, Dad was nearby to make sure it didn't go to waste:

This is the same high chair that Brian used when he was Maeve's age—state-of-the-art for the late sixties:

After dessert, back to play-time with Meghan:

On Friday, we took a ride around town and stopped at the beach for a little while. It was sunny and the tide was high, but the wind drove us back to the car after a short walk:

On Friday night, Brian's brother Bob and his wife, Sarah, hosted a pizza party at their house. Here's Uncle Bill doing some kind of unorthodox high-five game with Meghan:

Meg and her dad, Jack:

Just like at college pizza parties, by the end of the night a guy in a rugby shirt had pulled his pants down. This time it was Bob's son Timmy:

Hanging Out

2008-12-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

Just a few shots of the fam hanging out at home in the post-Halloween, pre-Thanksgiving weeks. Dad with his two favorite Squeakers:

Mom and her beloved boy:

Maeve showing that she's still small enough (not really) for the baby bouncy seat:

Declan at ground level:

Halloween, Part Three

2008-11-16T07:50:00.000-08:00

This is the last Halloween post, but the earliest picture. We went to the EWU library's annual fundraiser auction on October 25. The theme this year was monster mash, so we dressed accordingly. Declan came along for the fun as our little bat boy, and Maeve stayed home with a babysitter.

Halloween, Part Two

2008-11-02T21:49:00.001-08:00

Here's the one picture we got of both kids together—but Declan isn't in his pumpkin costume yet, and Maeve looks very... serious:

Maeve has become very interested in stickers recently, as this picture shows:

We did all visit the neighbors for a few minutes on Halloween night, but we didn't get any pictures. However, Maeve was game to put on her bumblebee costume again on Saturday. Here she is, taking flight:

Maeve posing with the jack-o'-lanterns:

And last but not least, a shot of Declan in his pumpkin costume, taken by Mom at 4 a.m. on November 2: better later than never!

Halloween, Part One

2008-11-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

The EWU Children's Center had a Halloween parade on Friday. Brian and I both attended, which of course meant that Maeve wanted Brian to hold her the whole time. Here she is, binking thoughtfully as she considers the costumed kids all around her:

Our good friend Les, the nerd, and his daughter Halley, the beautiful princess:

Maeve and Halley, who one day soon will be close friends but who were both not too thrilled to be taking another picture:

Next up: Halloween at home!

Maeve Buckles

2008-11-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

Maeve shows her deftness at buckling, honed over many, many hours of practice. While enjoying her motor skills, please try not to pay too much attention to her dripping nose.

Maeve Knows Noses

2008-11-02T13:29:00.000-08:00

More fun with the "Night-Night Sleeping" game, this time with a brief anatomy lesson:

Maeve Says, "Mommy Sit Down!"

2008-11-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

Even though I (Tracey) have taught language acquisition for 12-plus years, I find myself blown away by Maeve's recent linguistic development. Not long ago she had a handful of words and maybe a few tiny two-word sentences. But now, she talks. Really talks! Things like:

Mommy sit down.
Daddy go night night.
Mookie get down!
Declan's crying/sleeping.
Where'd it go?
I do buckles.
More eggs/peanut butter/crackers.

And even more amazingly, "please" (peese) and "thank you" (tank you) are a regular part of her lexicon. I am sure they won't last, but it's nice for now.

These are just a few of the dozens of sentences she now says.

Last weekend, she became very upset as we left the house in the car, saying something like "rocket" over and over and pointing at the house. We had no idea what she was saying (rocket? cracker?), so we tried to calm her down. An hour or so later when we returned, Brian realized that she'd been saying "jacket" because we'd forgotten to put on her red EWU jacket! While she's not 100% understandable, even to us, she's becoming clearer every day.

And for fun, here's a picture of her climbing out of the dryer. Toddlers go anywhere they want!

Spokane Half-Marathon

2008-10-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

Today Brian ran the Spokane Half-Marathon. It was a brisk 28 degrees as he boarded the bus for the 8:45 a.m. downtown start, but it was warm enough in the sun and even warmer once the running started. By mid-morning it was a perfect fall day. Tracey and the kids came down to the park in plenty of time to watch Brian finish (about two minutes faster than last year and two minutes slower than the year before), and then we all went out for an early lunch and a visit to the bookstore. All in all, a nice morning.

Declan Talks!

2008-10-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

At 10 weeks old, he talks... and kicks!

Squeaker (and Parents) Adjusting

2008-09-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

So many people have asked, "How is Maeve handling the new addition?" The answer is: as well as a formerly only child and soon-to-be two year old can. In short, not that well! She whines and cries to be held a lot more these days, especially if one of us is holding Declan, which is most of the time. If she sees that he is eating, she suddenly wants her bottle. While she mostly just comments on what he's doing, along the lines of "Declan's sleeping" or "Declan's crying," she does sometimes try to help. Which mostly means putting a blanket over him, including his face, and patting him quite firmly. Or one day she climbed on the table where he was sitting in his bouncy seat and put a bite of peanut butter sandwich in his mouth. Things like that.

We're all four still alive, but why didn't someone warn us how challenging two kids under two would be? I guess we wouldn't have listened.

A Wedding up North

2008-09-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we drove to Northport, just south of the Canadian border, for a wedding. The bride, Chelsea, originally from Alaska, as a student survived separate classes with both Tracey and Brian, and she also worked in the College of Arts and Letters dean's office. She and her husband, Mojave, sell organic produce from his family's farm at the Spokane Farmer's Market, where we see them frequently. Chelsea has also babysat Maeve a couple of times. We had a great time at the wedding. The scenery was magnificent, and the reception featured lots of delicious food grown right there on the farm. It was our first big venture out as a bigger family, and it was a good one. See—the pictures don't lie!

Mom and Baby D:

Declan, up close:

Our inquisitive toddler, waiting for the ceremony to start:

The happy bride and groom, having just tied the knot:

If you squint, the scenery looks like Alaska...

Baby Declan chilling out on a blanket:

Baby Brother gazing adoringly at his big sister:

Big Sister kissing (?) Baby Brother:

Mom with her sweet little girl:

Maeve enjoying the scenery:

Check out that smile (see previous post):

Baby Declan with Dean Vickie:

Maeve with "her" toy lawnmower:

A toddler head almost as big as the whole sky (and no binky in these shots!):

Around the House

2008-09-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

Just a few recent shots of Maeve and Declan around the house. In this first one, all you need to do is look at those top front teeth to recognize her resemblance to Grampy.

Declan smiling:

Maeve goofing around with Dad on the grown-up bed:

Declan drying off after a bath:

Declan Looking and Smiling

2008-09-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

Declan gets a couple of moments in the spotlight, first just hanging out in the bouncy seat:

And next, showing off his recently developed smile on the changing table:

Playing "Night-Night"

2008-09-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

One of Maeve's favorite games is "night-night," as you've seen before on the blog. The game, such as it is, involves spreading a blanket or other cloth over the nearest doll or cat—or now, baby brother—and then patting the cloth (not necessarily gently), along with the carefully covered doll, cat, or brother, and saying, "Night-night." Lately, it's been, "Night-night sleeping," a new and linguistically peculiar but nonetheless endearing variation. Here she is trying out the game on Declan, who, not really having a choice, manages to be a good sport about it:

Weekend Fun with the Gang

2008-08-14T19:58:00.001-07:00

Here are a few highlights from last weekend's visit with Tiffany and family. On Saturday, Tiffany, Bert, and Brian walked to the playground at Manito Park with the kids, including Declan snoozing in his baby sling, to give Tracey a break alone at home. Maeve, Mia, and Rhett had a great time. Here's Maeve on the swing with Bert in the background:

And, facing the other direction, Maeve again, with Rhett and Tiffany, holding Declan, in the background:

Later that day, the kids all had dinner on the back deck. Note that Tiffany is included in this group!

On Sunday, we all met at Riverfront Park and took a few rides on the historic Loof carrousel. Maeve wasn't too fond of the moving horses, so she sat with Daddy. Rhett, four months older and fearless, rode his very own horse!

Then we walked over to the gondolas for a ride over Spokane falls:

Back home, it was time for some fun in the mini-pool, which we filled with warm water from the house because it was an unusually cool day for early August:

After dinner, everyone enjoyed some of Tara's homemade chocolate cake:

It was a chaotic, delightful weekend, with an almost six-year-old, two toddlers competing for toys, and a newborn. We're extremely grateful that Tara and Tiffany went out of their way to come visit and help us welcome Declan! We hope to entertain them again someday when Declan is older.

Full House

2008-08-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

Tracey's sister, Tara, flew in from Portland to stay with us for a week after Brian went back to work, August 5-12. On top of being just plain fun to have around, she was a huge help, entertaining Maeve, shopping, cooking delicious meals, and cleaning. Over the weekend of August 8-10, Tracey and Tara's old friend Tiffany also came to visit, driving from Seattle with her two kids, Mia (almost 6) and Rhett (2), plus her father, Bert. Tiffany and her husband, Aaron, are in the U.S. briefly with the kids before heading back to Tokyo.

Here's just a little slice of life around the living room with the whole gang:

Maeve and Rhett playing on the back deck:

Maeve playing with Rhett in the diaper bin:

Even More Declan

2008-08-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

Just posting some more Declan pictures, taken at around two and a half weeks old. Sleeping and eating remain his favorite activities. In other words, he's not much different from most humans. He's just shy of nine pounds now and still (of course!) long at 22 inches.

Sleeping:

Hanging out:

Bath time!:

A certain big sister was not very pleased to see her old bathtub taken over by an intruder, especially with Daddy aiding and abetting:

Morning in the Park with Indigo

2008-07-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

We walked to Manito Park this morning to meet Heather and Jeff and their three boys, plus a nephew. Heather is one of Tracey's friends from her online mothers' group. We last saw them in Denver back in March. They drove here on vacation to visit family nearby, so we arranged to meet. After playing hard on the playground, we all wandered to the rose garden, where we took some pictures. Here's the whole group—can you find baby Declan in this picture?:

Maeve among the roses:

Maeve and Ryan, both closing in on two years old:

This was my first sojourn out of the house in the week since Declan's birth—and what a fun first walk in the park with new baby Declan. I've been very grateful for Heather's online friendship and support over the past three years, and it was wonderful to see her in person again. —Tracey

More Declan

2008-07-29T20:45:00.001-07:00

It's been a week of madcap entertainment for Maeve, who has had a great time with Dad home every day since Declan arrived. The week has been somewhat less thrilling for Mom, cobbling together sleep in intermittent stretches of at most three or four hours while nursing Declan. Maeve is continuing to show interest in her little brother. Just today when he started crying, she pointed and said, "He's awake!" Tracey's sister will arrive next week and will stay for a week to help with the transition when Brian returns to work. Here are some of the latest shots of dear Declan doing one of the two things he loves most—sleeping. We're hoping that doesn't change:

Dad with both squeakers after returning from a run in the park with Maeve:

A couple of Dad and Declan out on the front porch swing from earlier today:

NipperGuess Results

2008-07-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

We were glad to see so many participants in our online baby pool. A total of 47 people entered guesses, and many have probably already checked the results. For those who didn't, here's how it worked: the person with the lowest score won, and the score was determined by adding points according to how far off the guess was:

Wrong sex = 400 points
Wrong weight = five points per ounce
Wrong length = 10 points per inch
Wrong date = five points per hour

Thirty-one participants (66%) correctly guessed that the baby would be a boy, but only five guessed that he would weigh eight pounds or more. The date turned out to be a key factor, and entering a guess late worked to some people's advantage. (For anyone's future reference, an entry deadline would make the game more fair.) Thirty-five participants guessed that he would arrive on or before his due date, but he was a little over five days late.

Here are the top guessers:

Overall winner: Rob Lecrone, Tracey's high school classmate, with 109.42 points
Second overall: Michelle Donahue, Brian's sister-in-law, with 254.17 points
Third overall: Bob Donahue, alias Carnac the Magnificent, Brian's brother, with 429.42 points
Birth date and time winner: Rob Lecrone, around eight hours early
Weight winner: Noreen Geary, Brian's cousin in Ireland, under by three ounces
Length winner: a four-way tie among Rob Lecrone (again); two of Tracey's former students, Kris and Chelsea; and her massage therapist, David, all correctly guessing 22 inches

Since we're both very surprised by Declan's length—22 inches is, we're told, "large for gestational age"—we're pretty impressed that four people guessed his length accurately.

It's strangely appropriate that Tracey's high school classmate, class president, and organizer of her 20-year reunion won NipperGuess, since she won't be attending Bartlett High School's Class of 1988 Reunion in a few weeks because of Nipper, now known as Declan. So congrats to Rob, but Tracey is disappointed that she won't be seeing him anytime soon. Oh, and Rob wins an Amazon.com gift certificate. (Nod to Aaron.)

Blog Name Change

2008-07-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

Our careful readers may note the slight change of name of this blog: it's now the Squeakers' Report instead of the Squeaker's Report. Since we now have two squeakers, they share a blog.

Welcome, Declan!

2008-07-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

Our little squeaker number two—Declan Terrence—arrived early on Monday morning, July 21, just before 2 a.m., about six days after his expected due date. Here he is at around 10 hours old:

And here we all are together, later that day after lunch:

Our friend Lynn was generous and kind enough to stay at our house after Maeve went to bed and we headed for the hospital on Sunday night and then to get Maeve up, fed, dressed, and ready for daycare on Monday morning. She came by the house with Maeve after work on Monday afternoon to pick up Dad and drive down to the hospital so Maeve could meet the new family member:

Mom and Declan came home on Tuesday afternoon, and both are doing well. Maeve only occasionally notices her little brother, but she's definitely aware of him when he's affecting her world, like being on Mom's lap when she decides she wants to be there. Dad has been taking vacation time off, so his main job is to entertain Maeve, which is just fine with him. It sure beats office work. And we're all very happy to have Declan home with us.

Paint

2008-07-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

Even though this topic is not especially Squeaker-related, we had our house painted earlier this month, so we're posting a little before-and-after comparison.

Here's the front in fall 2004:

And here's the same view from earlier today:

We like it, but that opinion, we learned, is not unanimous. One neighbor on the other side of the street told the painters while we were at work that she knew that this was not what we wanted. The twenty-something guy who was doing a lot of the work told us this, to our surprise and amusement, when we got home later that day. We reassured him and bought him and his painting partner some pizza. It's strange what you unexpectedly learn about the neighbors when you paint your house a different color.

Squeaker Swimming

2008-07-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

The city Parks Department maintains several community pools around town. We took Maeve to the (huge) one about a mile from our house on July 12 for some fun in the sun. At the time, we figured there were probably no more than another couple of days until Nipper's arrival, but that was a week ago. Not that we're complaining, but it's starting to seem like ol' Nipper is not in any big hurry to come out and join the party.

The brief clip here doesn't show Maeve's later daredevil activities, like jumping into our arms off the edge of the pool; she's just enjoying the water calmly, after first getting in:

Forbidden Fruit

2008-07-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

Maeve has shown certain chimp-like qualities since achieving toddlerhood, including a strategically deployed jungle screech, an unquenchable appetite for fruit, and a propensity to climb anything, anywhere, without regard to personal safety or social circumstances. Here she is demonstrating the latter two of these primate proclivities:

Hello, Dolly

2008-07-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

No new baby yet, three days overdue. In the meantime, more from Squeakerville:

To prepare for her transition to big-sisterhood, we got Maeve a baby doll. She immediately understood the great fun to be had with it, mostly involving putting it on the floor, draping various pieces of cloth over it, and saying "Night-night." We've also been playing a little game for the past few weeks where we point at Mom's belly and ask Maeve, "What's that?" just like we do with fingers, toes, eyes, hair, and so on. She gives the right answer—"Baby!"—pretty regularly now.

Here she is enjoying her baby doll:

NipperGuess

2008-06-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

Maeve's little brother or sister is due to join the family in just three weeks. The date is officially July 15, but at this point, it's really up to Nipper, which is what we've been calling him or her. To give family and friends a way to participate in the event, we've set up an online baby pool. Just click on the banner below to go to NipperGuess, and enter your best guess about the sex, weight, length, and arrival date and time of the latest family member. Winner gets bragging rights, but not naming rights. And don't delay—Nipper may decide to join us anytime now:

Gettin' Dizzy

2008-06-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

Maeve has been taking advantage of our recent open door policy about going between the kitchen and the deck, now that the warm weather is here and we've finally had a railing installed. Here she is having a dizzy time:

Father's Day

2008-06-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

We're a week late, but here's a sample of the giggling good time Dad and Maeve had on Father's Day last weekend:

Hoping all you dads out there enjoyed your day, too.

The Squeaker Has a Linguistic Explosion!

2008-06-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

As the books promised, Squeaker's experiencing a linguistic explosion: new words every day! Not only does she (seemingly) understand EVERYTHING we say, she's starting to repeat words after we say them, as if trying them out.

Some of her favorites, old and new:

shoooooes
buckle
baoon (ballon)
bahl! (ball, always said with an exclamation point)
pees (please)
dee doo (thank you—often when handing us something that she knows we're supposed to have, like the phone)
doggy
kii kat
hellooellelelle (making weird tongue sounds when she pretends she's on the phone)
all done
strawberry (we're taking out a second mortgage to afford her favorites)
apple
grapes (the kid loves fruit)
eyes
teeth
knees
NO! NO!

And the one word we hear more than anything else these days, often said in a high-pitched monkey-ish shriek: MINE!

The Gallery of the Absurd is Back!

2008-06-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

In the before time, our friend Derek from grad school days at Purdue used to clip and post (on a real old-timey bulletin board that hung on a wall) disturbing ads like this. Then in the early 1990s, he moved it to the web, and thus the Gallery of the Absurd was born. The site won some awards and brought much joy to many people. But real life, job moves, kids, and professional responsibilities all contributed to its gradual demise.

But now, in 2008, the Gallery is back, better than ever. Once you start reading, you won't be able to stop. And now since it's a blog, you can comment, too!

Here are some recent highlights:

Annoying J Crew model of the week
A disturbing mustard jar
And my favorite, the craziest misuse of quotations marks ever

Enjoy, won't you?

The Squeaker Colors Five!

2008-06-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture taken by Maeve's daycare teacher Miss Shannon (with her cell phone) of Maeve sitting in her beloved bucket seat, coloring the number five. She colors and paints at daycare, which we love.

Of course, she also spends a lot of time screaming "mine! mine! mine!" at other kids who take "her" toys, but that's all part of learning to share, isn't it?

Happy 18 Months, Squeaker!

2008-05-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

The Squeaker turned 18 months old this week and got nothing but praise at her check-up. She now weighs 23 pounds, or 25th percentile for weight, still—as always! And she's 32.5 inches tall, or 75th percentile for height—also, no change. Most amazing is her 19.3-inch head circumference, which puts her in the 95th percentile for head size—likewise, pretty constant since her earliest measurements. She's a Donahue, that's for sure.

Here's a recent picture of the big-headed toddler herself:

And just for old time's sake, here's one from when she was just a tiny little Squeaker:

Now running around, pointing and demanding, and charming everyone she meets, our Squeaker brings us great joy.

Good Morning, Squeaker's Dad!

2008-05-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

Brian was featured today in our university's electronic newsletter that arrives at the start of each week. As you may imagine, he spent quite a while deciding which movies and books to include in his profile. Even though this is the Squeaker's Report, we think it's time Dad got to be in the spotlight. Check out his Good Morning Eastern "In the Spotlight" profile!

More Talking and Playing

2008-05-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more recent clips of the Squeaker doing more than squeaking. First, from April 25, just happily babbling as she plays:

Next, from May 4, a little sing-song talking in her favorite conversation spot, the high chair:

Finally, from yesterday, playing a game with Mookie that wasn't as much fun for the cat as for her:

Talk, Talk, Talk

2008-05-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

After throwing a couple of Mandarin orange slices on the floor during dinner today, Maeve launched into a long and seemingly very earnest semi-soliloquy. About a minute or more into her commentary, we thought we'd try to catch some of her words of wisdom on video. A brief sample:

Spring Weather

2008-05-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

The weather has been really nice recently, and our growing Squeaker is almost 18 months old. So she's had two reasons to be wearing new (to her) clothes. We couldn't resist taking a few shots of her in her white and blue dress:

Symposium

2008-05-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

On May 14 and 15, EWU held its annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium. Brian serves on the planning committee, and several of Tracey's students always participate. This year was the first time the student awards and faculty keynote were combined in a single late-afternoon dinner event, so Maeve was able to attend. Here she is on Lynn's lap, happy to be playing with her sunglasses:

Tracey and Maeve as we were preparing to leave:

Bloomsday

2008-05-18T20:52:00.001-07:00

On May 4, Brian ran in the Bloomsday 12K run for his eighth consecutive year. Maeve was there to cheer Dad on. Here she is with her monkey backpack, which as you can see has a nice long strap (OK, leash), so Mom and Dad can keep a quick-footed toddler from wandering off:

Brian after finishing and walking through the T-shirt line:

Maeve in the park for the post-race festivities:

Maeve's gonna get you!:

Mookie enjoying the spring weather about a week after the race, curled up in a nice sun spot on the floor:

Marmot March!

2008-05-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

Today Maeve ran (or "ran") in the third annual Marmot March, a non-competitive kids' race that features around 300 participants in second grade or younger and takes place the day before the annual Bloomsday run, a (mostly) non-competitive adults' race that features around 40 to 50 thousand participants of all ages. Joining Maeve on the course were her friend Devin and his parents, Mike and Stephanie, who have appeared on The Squeaker's Report before, as you may recall.

Here are Mike and Brian with Devin and Maeve, cruising along the path in Riverfront Park, around halfway through the race course:

Tracey and Maeve on a bridge across the rushing Spokane River:

Brian trying to keep Maeve moving along near the end of the course:

Maeve kicking into high gear as she approaches the finish line:

Tracey and Maeve with a giant, thick slice of white bread (kind of an American version of Shokupanman), one of the many unusual mascots attending the race:

Maeve was slightly unnerved by the bread-creature:

Celebrating after the race with a balloon:

Whatcha Talking about, Maeve?

2008-05-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

This week, Maeve has started to say some new words. She mostly jabbers still, in what sounds to her mother's trained ear to be Chinese, but more and more frequently, we can both hear clear English words!

Until now, her repertoire has consisted mostly of the following:

bahhh (ball)
kii kat (kitty cat)
kah (cat)
Dada (you know who)
Hey, Dada (greeting Daddy)
hiiiiiii! (hi)
biiiiiii! (bye)

But in the last week or so, she's added these:

Mama (finally!)
Whas dat?
nees (knees)
tee (teeth)
tee tah (teeter totter)
see sah (see saw: Her daycare teachers are helping her maintain her dad's northeastern lexicon by teaching her to say "see saw" instead of "teeter totter.")

And Mommy's personal favorite: pink shooooos, for her beloved pink Pedipeds.

This is only the beginning! We can't wait to hear what else she has to say.

Squeaker in Walla Walla

2008-04-13T20:51:00.001-07:00

We took a family trip to Walla Walla from Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon, April 10-12, for the annual Pacific Northwest American Studies Association (PNASA) conference. First, the most obvious thing about Walla Walla: it's a name funny enough to be recognized on the Simpsons episode when Homer goes to clown college:

Krusty:

Homer:

laughing

laughing more

We've never been to Keokuk or Cucamonga, and our last visit to Walla Walla was in 2000. It has changed a lot, mostly because the local economy has been riding a wave of wine since then. Southern Washington has an ideal grape-growing climate, and Walla Walla has become the wine capital of the region. The tourism, restaurant, and hotel businesses have all benefitted.

Here we are strolling along Main Street in the charming downtown:

Both evenings after dinner, we stopped at Bright's Candies, where they make their own chocolate treats and serve ice cream, which was the main reason we were there. Maeve was like a kid in a candy store, as you can see:

Here are a few shots of us outside and inside the beautiful, historic Marcus Whitman Hotel, where the conference was held. The whole town is really big on Marcus Whitman, who founded the place in the 1830s as a missionary with his wife, Narcissa, along the Oregon Trail. The local college is named after them.

Finally, here are a couple of video clips of Maeve inside the hotel. In the first, she's just goofing around and being silly. In the second, she engages in her latest favorite activity: going up and down steps.

More Snow

2008-04-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

We had some more snow last weekend, winter's final gasp after a week on the bright side of the vernal equinox. Maeve made the most of it:

Thanks, Squeakster Bunny!

2008-04-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny left some goodies for Maeve, but she was more interested in the foil wrappers than the chocolate. She'll learn:

And here's Maeve a few days after Easter, eating an apple grown-up style:

Maeve's Breakfast Dance

2008-03-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

This was taken on January 23, Maeve dancing with a little toast at breakfast. Get down!

Erin Go Bragh!

2008-03-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

To all sons and daughters of Ireland spread far and wide throughout the world, and to those still at home—from Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and from Galway to Dublin town, as the song has it—Maeve wishes you a happy St. Patrick's Day!

Squeaker in Denver

2008-03-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

We took a family trip to Denver, March 6-9, where Brian attended the Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS) conference. Tracey and Maeve came along because Brian's brother Jim and his wife, Michelle, live in Littleton, about 15 miles from downtown Denver, and because two of Tracey's friends from her online mothers' group—Robin and Heather—live in Denver. We had our second chance, after last summer's California trip, to visit them in person.

Robin was a great help when we arrived on Thursday evening, picking us up at the airport and hosting dinner with her husband, Jeremy. Heather and her husband, Jeff, along with their three boys, and Jeremy's sister and her two sons also came for the fun and the delicious dinner, and then Robin dropped us off at our hotel downtown. Maeve held her own admirably as the only girl and one of the youngest in the gang of kids. Here she is with Heather's youngest son, Ryan, and Robin's boy, Avery:

This brief video gives just a taste of the manic mood in the downstairs playroom before dinner:

Another shot of Maeve and Ryan, after dinner:

The online moms: Heather and Ryan, Tracey (with baby two due in July) and Maeve, and Robin (also expecting baby two soon) and Avery:

On Saturday evening, we took the light rail to Littleton for dinner with Jim and Michelle. Here they are having fun with their favorite niece (apologies to Kara and Meghan):

One of Maeve's recent favorite activities is walking on sloped surfaces and climbing steps. We took her to a small downtown park after lunch on Sunday, where she had a great time walking up and down this little "hill." Mountain hiking awaits, just a few years from now:

The conference was held at the Brown Palace, a beautiful historic hotel in the center of Denver. Here are Tracey and Maeve as we were getting ready to leave for the airport on Sunday:

February 2008 Videos

2008-02-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

Here are a few recent video clips of Maeve in action. First, she joins Roan the tabby cat in his own game of crawl inside the basket:

Next, our Squeaker gets squeaky clean and tries out some more conversational skills in the bathtub:

Tracey tries to get Maeve to go pick up her ball, but the video camera proves too enticing:

Finally, Maeve surprises us by walking into the living room gnawing on a piece of broccoli that a certain calico cat helped her retrieve from the kitchen counter:

Morning Chat

2008-02-15T22:04:00.000-08:00

These last few weeks have been a big language development phase for Maeve. She loves to point at things and "talk" about them. She reliably says baby now when she sees a picture of a baby, and she says a few other words like Dada, Mama, ball, and kitty-cat, as well as social function expressions like hi and bye-bye. She also clearly understands a lot more words than she can consistently say, and she's learning more and more about how language works each day. Here she is having a morning chat with Mom:

Snow Storm!

2008-02-02T22:34:00.000-08:00

A huge snow storm hit our region over the weekend of January 26 and 27. The snow started falling before noon on Saturday and didn't stop until late on Sunday, leaving about a foot on the ground. Then we had several smaller storms piling on additional inches during the week, all totaling close to two feet over six days. The university closed down on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, so we had time to have a little fun in the sun with baby Maeve. Brian had the additional fun of shoveling the driveway and walkways several times during the week.

Here's our house with the snow-covered trees above it:

Maeve running along the sidewalk:

Maeve sitting in the snow, where you can see how high the berms are:

Dad and Maeve in the sun and snow:

Squeaker's Secret

2008-01-25T06:30:00.000-08:00

Maeve has a little secret she's been itching to share, so she's spreading the word on her t-shirt. Here's the front:

And here's the back:

That's right! Maeve's little sister or brother is due to join us around July 15. We're very excited to meet this new family member. Maeve, of course, has no idea what's about to happen to her world, but ignorance can be bliss for a baby!

Maeve's Handmade Gifts

2008-01-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

Maeve recently received two wonderful handmade gifts that we want to show the world (well, at least you guys). Alice knit Maeve this adorable hat because Tracey was complaining that it's hard to get a hat that fits her huge head. And look at how beautiful this hat is!

Also, back in August, friends Erika and Jeff stopped by to get Maeve's hand and foot prints in clay. This is what Erika did with it! We love it—and no, we don't let Maeve play with it like she seems to be in these pictures.

Maeve wants you to play ball with her!

She's Got a Fever . . . And Not Just for More Cowbell

2008-01-06T21:56:00.000-08:00

Tracey bought this onesie as a little joke for Brian, but the joke was on us. Maeve developed a fever of 103°F on New Year's Eve and spent the next three days listless and quiet before the fever broke on Thursday. On Friday, worried about her super-cranky baby, Tracey called the pediatrician, who diagnosed her over the phone (!) with roseola. Lo and behold, 24 hours later, the rash appeared. And now, one week after this all began, Maeve is almost back to normal. But it was a rough start to 2008 for all three of us!

More Christmas Fun

2007-12-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas with Maeve's grandmother Kay and aunt Tara, Tracey's mother and sister, here for a visit. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to take any pictures with Kay and Tara, or Brian for that matter. But we did take a bunch of fun shots of Maeve enjoying her second Christmas, and her first one when she kind of knew what was going on.

Christmas Eve in the morning, being very serious:

Later that day, in Christmas clothes and carrying her favorite ball:

Three shots of Maeve in the thick of the action under the tree on Christmas morning:

Trying to stand on a picture of Santa:

Maeve enjoyed her first chocolate when she got into a tin of chocolate-covered peanut butter balls. This picture was taken just after Tracey pried it out of her mouth!

Dressed for Christmas dinner:

Enjoying some quiet time with Mom on the couch:

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

Here's Maeve getting ready for Christmas in her Santa hat, which doesn't fit on her huge head. It's just balanced on top in these pictures:

Oh, By the Way . . .

2007-12-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

... she walks!

She's still a little wobbly (adjective, not noun), but she's taking a few steps at a time. This was from December 9.

Recent Videos

2007-12-12T19:29:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd throw a couple of recent videos on the blog, even though they aren't really all that recent. This first one's from late October, with Maeve enjoying one of her favorite toys, a soft block with a different animal face on each side and a sound effect or song associated with each that plays when that side is face-up:

And here's Maeve also in late October enjoying a musical birthday card that Tracey's mom sent me. Kay figured the card would be more fun for Maeve than me, and she was right:

You can see from her battle scars in this second clip that Maeve had had a recent unhappy encounter with a certain calico cat who doesn't know enough to get away from a grasping, giddy baby.

Maeve's First Birthday

2007-12-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

Maeve had a multi-day birthday celebration, in keeping with Auntie Tara's "12 days of birthday" philosophy. Her actual birthday day was spent traveling—via rental car, Newark Airport AirTrain, airplanes to Phoenix and then Spokane, and then finally, our beloved car Subie—but we did open some presents after we arrived home on her birthday.

Here she is with a nicely wrapped present:

A snowman hat from Lynn and Larry!:

The cats, enjoying the fun:

A book from Ariadne:

A book from Grandma Kay:

A book Mommy couldn't resist ordering for herself, er, Maeve:

Purple socks from Aunt Tara!:

Here's Maeve a few days later with her birthday cupcake at daycare:

Finally, on Saturday, Maeve's sixth day of birthday, our friends Mike and Stephanie and their 15-month-old son, Devin, visited for a small party:

Here's the great wooden animal/name sign with interlocking pieces that they gave Maeve:

Mike and Brian goofing around as if awarding/receiving a diploma or oversized novelty check:

Maeve opening a gift:

Tracey, admiring the cake she made:

Maeve and her happy birthday balloon:

Stephanie with Devin, clapping at the end of "Happy Birthday to You":

Maeve's Thanksgiving in Connecticut

2007-12-02T15:30:00.001-08:00

We flew to Connecticut to visit family and friends during Thanksgiving break a couple of weekends ago. This was the first time in several years that all of Brian's brothers (seven, including him), plus wives and children, were together. Brian is one of four brothers who live in the West, so it's unusual for everyone to be in the same place at the same time. We were having so much fun that we didn't manage to take any pictures on Thanksgiving itself. Brian ran in the annual Thanksgiving Day 5-Mile Race that morning, as he usually does when he visits his family at this time of year. No pictures from that either, but we did join the family photo shoot on Saturday morning, the day of new cousin Will's Baptism. Brian's brother Paul and his wife, Marie—Will's parents—arranged for a photographer to take some shots of the various family combinations, so we're all expecting a CD of photos from the pro. In the meantime, here are a few amateur shots.

Brian and Maeve, ready to toss the football someday:

Tracey and Maeve, who was having second thoughts about the photo shoot at the time:

Maeve with all of her cousins, including baby Will:

Maeve opening a birthday gift a couple of days early, styling in her squirrel sweater:

That's right—it was a multiple-event visit. We fit Thanksgiving, a Christening with a big reception, and one of several first birthday celebrations for Maeve all into a few days. Maeve held up pretty well, but the air travel did take a toll on her normally sunny disposition at times.

Here's young Will at the Baptism with Godfather Pat, and Marie and Paul, the proud parents:

One of my favorite little episodes from the visit was a brief trek with my brother Bill between the Baptism and the reception to pick up an ice cream cake, a rental car, and some bags of ice. Here's Bill with the ice, produced by a company that we thought had the weirdest name for an ice maker we'd ever seen. (In case you can't read the label clearly, it's Southern Connecticut Ice and Oil, LLC):

As if air travel weren't enough, we trucked poor Maeve from Connecticut to New Jersey for a day and a half to visit our friends Jerry and Medea. We had a fine time, and their hospitality also made for a convenient travel transition, since our return flight departed from Newark airport, just a 20-minute drive. Here's Jerry with Maeve:

There'll be more in the next post about Maeve's return home and her birthday celebrations and gifts, but that's it from the East Coast.

Fall Visits

2007-11-06T19:37:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a couple of professional conferences, Maeve has had a chance to meet some far-flung friends this fall. In early October, Tracey, Maeve, and I flew to Calgary, Alberta, for the RMMLA conference. Tracey's mom happens to have several friends in Calgary, people that she and Tracey's dad met years ago and would see every February during their winter vacation in Maui. So just after arriving at our hotel, as we were checking in, a woman approached us and said something like, "Well, you must be Brian and Tracey." It was Carole, one of the Calgary crew. She came up for a visit as we settled into our room:

The next day, we received a call from Vic and Jan and arranged for them to stop by the hotel when we had some free time during the conference:

It was a quick trip, and after reading my paper, I had to rush out of my session during the Q & A period so we could catch our return flight. Maeve enjoyed seeing this RCMP moose in the airport:

A couple of weekends later, Amanda, a friend from graduate school, visited our fair city for a professional conference. She came to our house for dinner, and we all had a good time hanging out and playing with Maeve:

This one's just a final seasonal shot, with Maeve in the cool striped outfit that Jerry and Medea gave her (unfortunately, not wearing the matching pants):

Happy Birthday, Tiffany!

2007-10-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

Tiffany: You're far away but we all wish you a big happy birthday! Here's you on your big day in 2000!

We wish we could be there to celebrate with you!

The Squeakers' Report

Testing in 2012

Maeve Stream of Conciousness, 5:40 p.m., Saturday, January 16, 2010

Happy Halloween

Squeaker Swine Flu, Or Is It?

Whatcha Talking 'bout Maeve?

Declan and Mookie

California Squeakin', Part One

Going to the pumpkin patch

Pumpkin Cannon!

Declan Turns One

Alaska Vacation

Two Squeakers and a Whole Lotta Talking

Squeakers in Elderberry Park

Fourth of July at the Fair

Tubes, Glorious Tubes!

Crawling and Eating: A Day in the Life of Declan

More Slices of Squeaker Pie

More Recent Videos

One Marmot Sick, One Marmot Marches

Conference on the Oregon Coast

Easter 2009

A Visit from Derek

Declan Videos

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sibling Play Time

Brother and Sister

Giggling Baby, Grabby Toddler

Maeve, Winter 2009

Six Months!

Maeve's First Haircut

A Few Days Left

More Family Portraits

A Visit from Tracey's Family

Squeakers' Christmas

Let It Snow!

Maeve's Birthday Back Home

Declan's Reception

Declan's Christening

Squeakers Visit Connecticut for Thanksgiving

Hanging Out

Halloween, Part Three

Halloween, Part Two

Halloween, Part One

Maeve Buckles

Maeve Knows Noses

Maeve Says, "Mommy Sit Down!"

Spokane Half-Marathon

Declan Talks!

Squeaker (and Parents) Adjusting

A Wedding up North

Around the House

Declan Looking and Smiling

Playing "Night-Night"

Weekend Fun with the Gang

Full House

Even More Declan

Morning in the Park with Indigo

More Declan

NipperGuess Results

Blog Name Change

Welcome, Declan!

Paint

Squeaker Swimming

Forbidden Fruit

Hello, Dolly

NipperGuess

Gettin' Dizzy

Father's Day

The Squeaker Has a Linguistic Explosion!

The Gallery of the Absurd is Back!

The Squeaker Colors Five!

Happy 18 Months, Squeaker!

Good Morning, Squeaker's Dad!

More Talking and Playing

Talk, Talk, Talk

Spring Weather

Symposium

Bloomsday

Marmot March!