California McMillans

Tyler finished up his second year playing baseball and did awesome!!  He wasn't on a very good team but didn't get bothered by loosing.  He cared about doing his best and was the star of the team which was fun for him. He got outs every game and hit all but twice at bat. His last game he made a double play and made a huge hit getting to second base.  He was an amazing short stop for the team and got lots of outs and hit almost every time he was up at bat.  So proud of him.  Glad that he had a good time and enjoyed playing.  He is a competitive kid at heart but doesn't let defeat get him down but motivates him to do better.  The one thing he would get upset at is when the person in front of him would get the 3rd out and he wouldn't get up to bat. Glad he enjoys it and glad he had such a great year. So proud of our little man!

I still call Parker Blake but at least when I realize he is not actually Blake, I can remember his real name.  I CAN'T believe he is 2 months.  He is 12.5 pounds and doing well except for a clogged tear duct.  His doctor thinks he might have something that is underdeveloped in his lungs that with time babies outgrow.  I love him so much and so grateful for his presence in our life.  I think he is starting to actually smile.  Yesterday when I texted my friend his picture, she said it was just gas.  Yesterday on the couch and today at church he kept smiling and I really think he was smiling at me.  Whether it is gas or love, I love it either way.  Kira loves to have pictures taken of her.  She is so affectionate towards Parker.  Always wants to hold him and love him.  Blake on the other hand seems to be throwing endless tantrums since he arrived.  I have never had a child jealous of a baby but I really thin that Blake is jealous of him so I need to try to have special time with Blak

Scott is a 9-10 this season which means he is swimming 50's.  I can't believe he is so old.  It seems like just the other day we were at Valley Vista when he was 5 and learning how to swim.  We had time trials last week and Scott did great.  He is having a lot of fun.  He has matured so much with finding a balance of having fun and being competitive.  Tyler is not swimming this year because he gets too tired swimming more than a lap at a time.  I told him he could just tell his coach and just swim for a couple of minutes like he did last year if he wanted.  I was his coach last year so it was easy for me to tell him to get out or him to tell me when he was done but he doesn't want to do that.  I thought that maybe he would swim 7-8's since it is still 25's and stop when he was a 9-10 but even that is too much swimming.  I am so grateful he learned how to swim all the strokes last year, made great friends and even made it to County but realize that competitive s

Parker had a good week this week.  Heidi has switched from cow milk to soy milk, plus reduced her chocolate intake, and that makes Parker less fussy.  We had a real hard time with him before the diet switch.  It used to be that when he was awake, he was fussy.  Today, he was awake for over 30 minutes without fussing.  That's got to be a record for him.   I know these pictures aren't that good, but they're better than nothing.  Besides, when you're the last kid, you realize that certain things get neglected.  Birth order is a funny thing.  But more important than that is realizing that kids are born with their personalities.  For our kids, in the nature vs nurture equilibrium, the scale lies much more in favor of nature. Now I'm going to have a nap.

Parker was blessed in church today.  My parents came out from Utah for the weekend.  This morning we had breakfast with them, Pop, Heather and her kids.    The lighting was perfect for this picture of Kira.  "Show me your teeth!"  His teeth are way better than mine at that age.  My front two teeth were at 90 degrees to each other.  A few years ago, I was at the elementary giving a speech on what a dentist does.  We reviewed incisors, cuspids, bicuspids and molars.  At the end, I said, "Let's review.  What are your front teeth called?" This one kid raises his hand and says, "BUCK!" Nice. Tyler's on-cue smile is the most natural.    Couldn't get a good smile out of Blake, but this will have to do.  Parker, as the last child, doesn't get that many photos.  I like this one, though.  I wanted to sit in front of the piano but you can't even see it.  Heidi said, "We will always remember

Got my grand piano!  I've wanted one since about 1998 but we've never had the space.  Then, when we moved, and my work became more stable, we decided it was time.  I wrote on my other blog about the three pianos I was looking for, and for my price range, this was my #1 choice:  A 1959 Baldwin model M.  It's in super nice condition with a warm, bright tone.  Heidi calls it a "cheery" tone.  I like that it's in tune and that the louds are loud and when I play softly, it responds appropriately.  The action feels right.  Heidi likes how it looks.  I made a recording of the same song on both pianos and there's a big difference.  I didn't realize how badly out of tune was the Cable until I did the side-by-side comparison.     The Baldwin was delivered yesterday by Devin Wilson, of Burton & Wilson Piano , and his crew from Capitola.   Gave the old Cable console to Neesa, who just lives up the street.  We asked my mom if she wanted to take