Category Archives: Photo

Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo

Happy Third Day on Earth

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Jeff and Pam suggested to the kids that they might want to make a welcome home banner for us when we returned from the hospital. Griffin immediately took charge, finding all the necessary art supplies and making, with Maggie’s help, multiple banners.

The first one was across the doorway when we entered:

Welcome home Mom and Dad!
Welcome home Mom and Dad!

The second, my favorite, was across the sideboard in the dining room:

20161127_161202_003_edited-1
Happy Third Day on Earth Oliver!

The third, not pictured, was an “I Spy” picture with a list of things to find, including 15 goldbugs (à la Richard Scarry). It was especially challenging due to the fact that many items on the list had been subsequently scribbled over. Maggie thought that this was especially clever, “Under here is a tree!”

As indicated by these banners, Maggie and Griffin are, thus far, extremely excited about Oliver’s arrival. We had a lovely afternoon, playing games, letting them hold Oliver, and eating Thanksgiving leftovers. (Sarah and I have been jonesing at the hospital for the past few days. Though we did have the pies delivered. Duh.)

Below are a few more pictures from our first day at home.

Griffin reading Dora
Tucking Oliver in
Making him more comfy
Bliss
Holding the baby
Love
Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo, Sarah

Oliver Louis Stocco Roy

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Sarah’s water broke at 7:15 AM on November 25, 2016, and Oliver Louis Stocco Roy was born twelve and a half hours later, at 7:44 PM. He was 9 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long. We’ll post more about his name later, but it should be noted that “Louis” is pronounced LOUee after his great grandfather, Louis Stocco.

Sarah’s labor was complicated by the fact that Oliver’s umbilical cord was both wrapped around his neck and fully knotted, cutting off oxygen during contractions. It was an emotionally intense experience for all of us, including the medical staff. Because of the urgency to get the baby out, it was also far more painful and physically traumatic for Sarah than we had anticipated.

Fortunately, moments after his rather dicey arrival, little Oliver loudly proclaimed his health and hunger. He was a rock star overnight, dividing his time between eating and sleeping. Today he got to meet two of his grandparents (the other two, we hope, in January), and his older sister and brother. They were very excited to meet and hold him.

Below are some pictures from Oliver’s first 24 hours. Click on any picture for a larger version.

Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Photo, Sarah

Loft 2.0

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In preparation for Family 3.0, we decided it was time for a major upgrade to Griffin’s loft. Loft 2.0 is bigger, and is now a shared loft for both Maggie and Griffin — we always knew that Maggie deserved a special loft space too. Beneath the deck is an area for reading and building forts, with room, eventually, for a crib. We couldn’t have done it without expert assistance from Sarah’s parents.

Getting started. (This is what Loft 1.0 looked like.)
Griffin learned to use some new tools.
The sander was loud!
The whole family was involved.
It’s strong enough for bouncing!
Loft 2.0
A better look at the understory.

You may also enjoy looking at a post about the construction of the original loft, built a few months before Maggie was born, and photos of the construction of Griffin’s original room in Oakland, way back in the spring of 2009.

Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Photo, Sarah

Yellow Cabin – Summer 2016

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Another lovely summer weekend at the cabin. The water was warm so we spent much of our time on or in the water. Many highlights of this trip escaped digital capture, including seeing young otters playing by the shore, a few sightings of a belted kingfisher, and a bizarre close encounter with a meditating cormorant (who remained standing on a sunken log unperturbed by Griffin approaching nearly within arm’s reach). Plus Daddy capsizing and emerging from the lake covered in muck. And a humongous man-eating water tarantula (that’s its scientific name) on the dock.

But we did manage to get a few shots. Click below for larger versions.

Andrew, Photo

ID Evolution

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Major cleaning and sorting in the basement uncovered my stash of former ID cards from high school and college, as well as my California driver’s licenses. The universal awfulness of the photos begs the question of why I didn’t shred them. Despite the cringe factor, it is kinda fun to see nearly 30 years in ID portraits.

1986 — 10th grade
1986 — 10th grade
1987 — 11th grade
1987 — 11th grade
1988 — 12th grade
1988 — 12th grade
1989 — college freshman
1989 — college freshman
c. 1990-1992 — later college
c. 1990–1992 — later college
1996 — California
1996 — California
2000 — California
2000 — California
c. 2005 — California
c. 2005 — California

And fast forward to the approximate present:

2015 — official school photo
2015 — official school photo

 

Griffin, Maggie, Photo

Camp Du Nord

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Family camp? This was a new concept to both Sarah and Andrew, but we had been hearing wonderful things about Camp du Nord from families we know in St. Paul for a few years, so this summer was our first time giving it a go. We are generally a do-it-yourself family vacation kind of family, so the idea of going somewhere where we could enjoy being on a lake AND having our days filled with activities we didn’t plan sounded kind of dreamy. We were not disappointed!

Camp du Nord is on Burntside Lake, at the south-central edge of the BWCAW.
Camp du Nord is on Burntside Lake, at the south-central edge of the BWCAW.
Griffin's certificate for completing the polar bear plunge on five consecutive mornings.
Griffin’s certificate for completing the polar bear plunge on five consecutive mornings.

Camp du Nord is a YMCA camp located near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in extreme northern Minnesota, mere miles from Canada. Andrew and Griffin kicked off every morning with the “polar bear plunge,” wherein the doughtiest members of the camp all run screaming into the chilly lake. (For anyone who has done a real polar plunge, into freezing water, this was not really that bad.) After breakfast, the kids spent every morning in age-level activities led by an incredible group of counselors. Sarah and Andrew were gloriously free from all responsibilities during this time. In the afternoons we engaged in full-family activities, which included a canoe paddle to a nearby smaller lake where Andrew succeeded at his first canoe portage, Voyageur Days where the kids tried log rolling, and an all-camp hunt for the counselors who were hiding in the woods. There are cabins available to rent, but we opted for a tent site right on the shore of the lake where we slept and had breakfast and lunch. We took the advice of families before us and joined the full camp for dinner in the dining hall. A couple of evenings, we took advantage of the traditional wood-heated Finnish sauna, which always concludes with a dip in the lake! And every night, we fell to sleep excited and exhausted, ready to see what adventures awaited us in the morning.

Like all family vacations, there were smatterings of tears, whining, and impatience, but overall, we all agreed that we loved family camp and look forward to returning in the future!

4th of July parade
At our camp site.
in the tent
A cool dip after the wood-fired sauna
handsome mustachios
Griffin’s map project
Maggie’s accoutrements during grownup day
reality
Maggie calls this a “lego plant” because the branches and segments pop off
Griffin and his new friend, Sam
Maggie captured a counselor!
bringing Laura to jail
pushing Laura into the lake
aquatic blob tag
beach construction
log rolling at voyageur day
big voyageur canoe
Griffin was a paddleboard champ
beach volleyball (aka, nuke ’em)
Griffin wearing his polar bear plunge shirt, earned after doing the dawn plunge every day for the full week
duck, duck, gray duck
Griffin’s un-invisible bench skit
sunset from our campsite