Kids at Play

Yes, those are gloves on Gilly's feet . . . not sure what that was all about. She was being pretty funny though.




Simon's favorite spot, with his favorite hat. He stands on his bed and watches the construction vehicles behind our apartment, saying "chuck, chuck" (truck, truck).

Halloween

Yeah, I know . . . I've been a slacker about updating the blog. Sorry :)

Gilly and Simon had lots of fun on Halloween. First they went trick-or-treating during the day, over at the Tuck School of Business, then Gilly and I went around at night. Lyn was super-crafty again this year, and made the turtle costume that Gilly is wearing below. Initially, Simon was the turtle and Gilly dressed up as a princess. When it was time for Gilly and I to go out after dark, she decided to be a turtle. Simon had no idea that his costume was being swiped, so we just went with it.

Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of Gilly and Simon together (one of our friends might have snapped a few pictures), but we did get a couple of Gilly in the turtle costume.

Crack

Cowgirl Princess and the Construction Worker

Wrastlin'

New 'Do

Gilly was very excited about her new hairdo.

Our Little Girl is Growing Up

It's been quite a month for Gilly. Her third birthday was on the 1st of the month, she had multiple birthday parties, and started preschool last week. She LOVES school, and doesn't want to leave when we pick her up (she has no problems at all when we drop her off). Lyn reports that Simon likes his sister-free time. When they get home after dropping Gilly off at school, he goes straight to her room and plays with her toys.

Getting ready to leave for the first day of school:




Exploring her classroom, and hamming it up for the camera:



Digging in to some cake at her birthday party:



Simon at Gilly's party, enjoying pizza with the guys:

Outnumbered

The balance of power has shifted to the XX genotype.

It's a girl!!!!!!






She'll be here just in time for Christmas. Simon is too little to understand what's going on, but Gilly seems to be excited about having a sister.

Puddles

The calm before the storm.



Actually, Lyn said Gilly put the sticks and leaves in the puddle, because she was making "rabbit stew" (part of the storyline in the book, The Tawny Scrawny Lion).

Vaccinations

The topic of vaccinations and autism seems to pop up in conversation every now and then. Since I'm a graduate student in biochemistry, people sometimes think I have more general medical knowledge than I do, and are interested in my opinion. I'm not an expert on immunology, and I know almost nothing about autism. The only advantage I might have is that I have to read many articles from science journals. Therefore, I'm comfortable reading studies published on topics unrelated to my research (if I come across something I don't understand, I have lots of practice searching for information and figuring it out).

We have kids, so obviously I was aware of vaccines and the concerns about a possible link between autism and the mercury compound used as a preservative in some vaccines. I did a little bit of reading at the time Gilly was having her first vaccinations, and also asked for opinions from others who likely knew more about the subject than I did. There really didn't seem to be a link between the vaccines and autism, and I was comfortable having our kids vaccinated.

I still haven't read much more about the topic, but I've seen nothing to change my mind. The data linking vaccines and autism appear to be weak, at best. Vaccines protect us from many dangerous diseases, and it just seems like a bad idea to avoid vaccinations. If you're worried about vaccines and autism, I STRONGLY encourage you to read the articles posted at the following links:

1) A very informative site, from the Vaccine Education Center, at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (click)

2) A blog post from the Discover Magazine website, illustrating the dangers of withholding vaccinations. Also links to some other sites (including #1, above). (click)

Train

Michelle and Elizabeth came over for a visit before leaving for their vacation in Utah. This is the "Train to Utah."

The Artist and the One-Man Wrecking Crew

Gilly has been exploring her artistic side: The title of this piece is "Two Squirrels and a Tree."




Simon has started to walk around more. This has given him a new perspective . . . literally, not metaphorically. He can now see things that were previously hidden from view. We now find these things strewn about the floor, under the table, under the couch. He's particularly fond of clearing off the small table in Gilly's room. We're doomed.