The Thompson Family

Lakeport's Memorial Day parade was a hit with our family. Nora and Grant scored big on the candy grabbing. There were lots of floats to support the veterans. And there were about 100 Corvettes!

View all the photos on Flickr.

WOW - A truly awesome experience tonight. Mortar treated for a night at the ballpark in the bullpen seats. They are just to the right of the visitor dugout, basically IN the visitor bullpen area. Catered food and beer/wine, a really nice usher named JT, and lots of perks like Lou Seal coming down to visit.

A few kids from the Mortar family got to join us, including Charlotte, Georgia, Bea, (Mark's girls), Jack (Todd's son), and of course, Nora. And there was a whole contingent from Isilon, including some of their kids too. It was the familiar story of advertising agency + clustered storage leader + kiddos hopped-up on cotton candy w/ foam fingers + winning Giants baseball... a combo for a perfect night.

One of the Houston Astros bullpen catchers leaned over and gave Nora a baseball. Nora got filmed by the TV crew and even got on the Jumbotron! I missed the shot of her on screen, but my coworker Todd says he was Tivo-ing it (in HD even!) so hopefully the she got onto TV too! We also got to chat with (and get an autograph from) ice skating Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi who was a "Ball Dudette" for the evening.

We were truly spoiled, and sitting in any other seats will feel so mundane! A huge THANKS SO MUCH to Mortar for the extra-special treat. View the photo set on Flickr.

Children's Village had a lovely picnic today out at McLaren Park. Lots of Nora's friends were there, as well as teacher and parents. The weather was perfect, although it was a bit gusty. View the photos on Flickr.

Dana Smith and his amazing Jack Russell terrier named Lacey were there for some impressive juggling and fun family entertainment. Here is a video of Lacey doing her Evel Knievel impression, jumping through a hoop over six preschoolers!

Nora, Grant & Dell do a cheer old skool style. Lots of extras in this one!

Nora & Grant do a cheer, coached by Grandmama Meena

What a special day it was - especially for new Mama Shelly! Not even a week before, she got the best present a mother could hope for... a healthy child.

Joan, Shelly and I (and Quincy) went to a great brunch at Palomino. Dell and Nora stopped by after playing at the park on Embarcadero near AT&T Park. We got hugs and kisses from them both.

View all the photos on Flickr.

Nice and full from a fun dinner at Buca di Beppo with Kierstin Coovert and her kids Harry, Sophia, William (don't forget "Mr. Bonus Baby" in her tummy!). This restaurant totally wins the award for "Best Place to Play 'I Spy' with the Kiddos." The young foursome were semi-wild, but good enough to warrant ice cream sundae desserts all around. Plus, the volume of that place is so loud, that it doesn't really matter. Nora flirted with Harry. Sophia and Nora held hands while walking back to the parking garage. I loved seeing Dell wrangling two kids per hand crossing the street - he did a great job! View the photos on Flickr.

Baby Quincy is here! She is absolutely perfect, and Shelly, Chad and Grant are all doing well. I am sure you want to know the timeline and details, so here is the scoop on how it went down...



Shelly and Chad checked into CPMC around 8pm Mon 5/7, while Meena (Grandmama Joan) & Papa Ray stayed with Grant at his house. They started to induce Shelly around 9:45pm, and contractions started in earnest around midnight. The epidural was given (yeah!) around 2am Tue 5/8. Shelly called me at 5am to say I should get there before 7am, so I showered up and headed over to CPMC. I got there around 6:30am, and it was perfect timing, because about 6:45am, Shelly's water broke. Then it all happened like gangbusters! She dilated from 6cm to 10cm in only 20 minutes (thank God for the epidural!). Shelly started pushing just before 8am, and after a mere 35 minutes of pushing, Quincy Joan Suzanne Lyon entered the world at 8:28am. WOW!

Just like when I was there for Grant's birth, I am totally humbled and awed by my sister and the miracle of birth. Shelly is such a strong person, a wonderful mother, and I am so ecstatic for the birth of her daughter Quincy. I am getting all teary-eyed just writing this! Anywhoo, CONGRATS Lyon Family, and welcome Quincy -- you are soooo loved!

VIEW THE PHOTOS ON FLICKR.

Quincy's YouTube Debut
Quincy's first video - she is getting all cleaned up just a few minutes after being born. Listen to the lungs on that little gal!



Nora Sings to Baby Quincy
Quincy's first serenade is "Rockabye Baby" from Cousin Nora.