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Oliver Louis Stocco Roy

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.

Girl Power

The weekend after the election, the kids and I stopped by our local bookstore to browse. They went straight to the kids’ section while I looked at new releases. Moments later, Maggie comes running up to me with this book in her hands:

Girl Power
Girl Power

I didn’t manage to capture the look of wonder that she had on her face moments earlier, but she could not have been more excited that such a book existed. I was still pretty raw from the election, and my emotions ricocheted between hope and despair. Hopeful that as Maggie gets older, she will discover and nurture her own super powers. That her generation will join her. That she will appreciate the powers of the superheroes who preceded her (mothers, grandmothers, celebrated warriors, silent survivors). Despair that I’ll need to explain the phrase, “Grab them by the pussy;” that our culture still reveres hypermasculine cavemen; that two of the three superheroes on the cover are wearing swim suits.

The Secret History of Wonder Woman
The Secret History of Wonder Woman

The book, by the way, is only meh. Too moralistic for my taste: “Wonder Woman knows the importance of telling the truth.” Not to mention the absurd implication that DC Comics is at the vanguard of any sort of women’s empowerment. According a reputable recent study, women make up about a quarter of comic book characters, and among comic book creators, men outnumber women by a staggering nine-to-one ratio. But, I’m good with Maggie, at 4 ½, grabbing a book called Girl Power and thinking it’s the coolest thing ever. Someday, we’ll graduate to more sophisticated fare. (High on my reading list is Jill Lepore’s The Secret History of Wonder Woman. I think I’ll bump that into my next spot!)


On a barely related note (we’re talking about books, right?), one of Maggie’s favorite things to do is pull out my D&D books. She looks at the pictures, no matter how gruesome, making up stories as she goes. She is also very proud of the D&D character that she plays at our rare family games, proclaiming, “I’m a fighter with a really big sword!”

D&D books
One of Maggie’s favorite genres: D&D books!

Loft 2.0

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.

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.

Griffin Art Roundup

A gallery of art that Griffin created over the past few months (7 years old). Most of these were created at the art table, often in the morning when Griffin likes to come downstairs and create art before the rest of us get up.

Yellow Cabin – Summer 2016

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.

ID Evolution

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