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Today was my day to pack for our trip to Lake Shasta, and then drive to Lake Shasta. Except that Az was not having it. Every time I tried to put something in her suitcase she quickly pulled it out, though she was perfectly happy to put in items of her choosing, like an empty dirty cup. And when that didn't seem to be deterring my packing she just plopped herself right down into the suitcase. We managed to get out of the house right around the time I wanted to, 9PMish, and then we went to the grocery store to get provisions for our short trip, and then we realized that we had a lot of what we wanted at home already so we went back home and threw those things into a plastic shopping bag (including some yogurt I forgot about until the next afternoon.)

We did eventually get on the road, and took our time driving up to Shasta. Last year on our drive to Oregon Az had been hot and miserable so I had hoped leaving at night, when it would be cool and Az would be inclined to sleep would make things easier. It sort of did, and sort of didn't. She did fine as long as the vehicle was moving, and slept as I had hoped, but whenever I would pull over to take a nap she would wake up confused and angry and not at all in the mood to sleep. I pulled over twice to catch a few winks in rest stops, because there isn't much else on I-5, and Az woke up both times wanting to go walk around the rest stop and explore. I've heard enough horror stories about rest stops that I would literally rather attempt a root canal than wander around one with my almost-two-year-old daughter in the middle of the night. Unlike his daughter Miguel had no trouble sleeping through our stops, and was in fact extremely resistant to waking up so I spent most of the night throwing a cranky Az back into her seat and driving until she was asleep and content again.

Z, by the way, handled the ride like a champ. He's never had much trouble with traveling. When he was younger I considered long drives with him my special vacation before the official vacation because he was content to just look at the passing scenery and amuse himself. When he was around two and three years old we ended up taking almost monthly trips to Los Angeles, about an eight hour ride, largely because of this.

Due to the not stopping for as long as I had planned we arrived at the marina at around six in the morning. Which meant we had to wait in the hot car for over five hours until the rest of our party arrived. The whole point of leaving late at night was to avoid sitting in a hot car. When I tried to walk around with Az she quickly became irritated with me for not letting her go down by the boats without her life jacket. I think next time we'll just go ahead and leave early in the morning. It's a pain trying to get everyone awake and into the car but it's not a bigger pain than juggling a hot and cranky toddler.

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On Tuesday night I found out that I had won a photo shoot given away by NYC Taught Me, with photographer Keith Pitts. After excitedly calling Miguel and jumping on the bed I realized that Keith would only be in the area for one weekend, the one that was now less than a week away. The same weekend I was supposed to be going away on a houseboat to Lake Shasta. I sent Keith's wife/assistant a rambling overly excited e-mail that featured way too many exclamation marks (though I promise you I felt every one of them) and they were wonderful enough to suggest that we meet up that Friday, the same day they were coming into town from Bakersfield. It was suggested that we meet up at Stinson Beach, a beach I hadn't been to in years but which I had always been meaning to revisit.

I've been wanting to get professional photographs done of Z since he was born, and that desire has only grown stronger since Az was born. Embarrassingly enough, I happened to be laying on the couch doing my best to not clean the house and fantasizing about what I would dress the kids in if we were going to get photos done when I checked my phone and received the e-mail from Sharon of NYC Taught Me telling me I had won. So I was beyond pumped to have won. And also a little freaked out that I had to figure out what both of the kids were going to wear within a few days, because my idle fantasies hadn't turned much up.

Unfortunately Miguel was working Friday and couldn't get the day off. It would have been nice to get pictures of the four of us interacting but as it was it was difficult enough trying to get pictures of the kids together. Az was wary of the strange man with the camera and never really did warm up to having her pictures taken that day. The picture of her on the left is a pretty accurate depiction of how she spent much of the couple hours we were with Keith. Z, however, was more than happy to run around for the camera. I think I have my quota of crazy-haired-Z photos now.

I had hoped to get a picture of the kids together but since Az was staying away from wherever the camera was pointed that proved to be a challenge. I had a lot of fun with the experience though, and learned a lot about what I might want to do if I should get the chance to have professional photos of the kids done again any time soon. As part of the give away I received ten large file pictures I can print, and I have a feeling all ten are going to end up displayed somewhere around the house. I feel so lucky to have gotten this opportunity. I very rarely win things so I think I'm excited when I win anything, but winning a photo shoot was particularly fantastic.

I'm thinking this one is definitely going to find its way into a frame. I don't remember Az ever sitting in Z's lap during the shoot but apparently Keith was on the ball capturing the split second it happened.

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It was a day of running around taking care of errands and not taking photos. I left my DSLR at home and pocketed my old point and shoot Lumix for my night at the Exploratorium's After Dark. The kids stayed with my mom, and it seems this time Az did much better being away from Miguel and me. I think having Z with her when we leave her really does make all the difference. By the time I got to my mom's it was a couple hours later than I had intended so we didn't end up leaving Az for very long. I suppose that could have helped the night go smoothly as well.

Miguel, my brother, and I went to the Exploratorium to celebrate a friend's birthday but all of my friends ended up going to a talk on Titan that took almost a couple hours. The boys and I opted to sit that one out (or not sit, as the case may be) and I didn't end up seeing much of my friends or the birthday girl after all. I had taken a different bridge than I had originally intended into San Francisco, which brought us semi-close by a friend whom was looking for a ride so at least I did get to visit with her during the extended trafficky ride. The Exploratorium was still a lot of fun, I have a deep love for the Exploratorium and have always had a fantasy of getting to play with the exhibits after the crowds (and kids) have gone home, long before I knew adult-only nights existed there. It would have been fun to hang out more with my friends since I very rarely have nights out with them, but there are certainly worse people I could have spent the night with than my boyfriend and brother. I guess this just means I'll have to find another excuse to gather everyone for a night at the Exploratorium.

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Killing time while she waits for her brother in the dressing room. Sometimes I think her brother gets lost inside of dressing rooms.

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Post bath cockatoo.

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Az has shown a lot of interest in the big toilet so I decided it was time to go ahead and get her a potty of her own. She has shown a lot of interest in her new potty, and constantly asks to sit on it, but she wants to sit on it with her diaper still on. I've been dreading the potty training phase. Potty training was a long, loooong struggle with Z. I don't know if I got too excited and started too early with him, or if it has to do with some of his diagnoses, but it was not a quick and easy process with him. I'm very eager to get Az out of diapers, my wallet is ready to throw a party when that day comes, but I'm just not looking forward to the journey one little bit. I decided to get Az the princess potty that plays music, because she's Az after all, my music loving little princess, but she immediately realized that she could get the thing to play music if she stood up and sat down quickly. In fact, every little thing seems to set the music off on that thing. Half the time I think she's gone to the bathroom because the music starts playing, only to find a completely dry bowl when she stands up. I'm really not even sure she gets what she's supposed to be accomplishing on there. I think my only plan of action for the moment is to not force the potty on her. She's not yet two, so I have some time until I really start feeling the pressure. It sure would be awfully nice to just wake up and find out that she was out of diapers though...

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This week was Z's last day of fifth grade. To celebrate we got sandwiches from Oliver's and took them to Steelhead Beach. In August Z will start sixth grade in the junior high classroom, grades 6 through 8 I believe. It will be nice for Z to be with the older kids, I'm hoping that being with kids whom are slightly more mature will have a good effect on him, but I really have liked the teacher he has had the past two years. I can't say there has been a staff member at the school that I haven't liked though, so most likely I will like his new teacher as well. We've been through so many struggles with teachers whom were a bad fit though, I guess I'm always nervous when Z starts in a new class.

It's hard to believe that Z is going into junior high already. I'm glad that he will be at the same school, just next door to his old classroom. Baby steps seem to be the best kind for Z. I feel fortunate that Z doesn't have to go to an actual designated middle school. I work in middles schools; Z would be eaten alive. This week he was invited to an 18 and under club by a former classmate of his, a boy two grades older whom will be starting high school this year. I felt relieved that we were busy so I had an excuse to tell Z he couldn't go, because I would have been biting my fingernails the whole night. Z has at least a couple years until I would feel comfortable throwing him to the wolves of teenagers. He's grown a lot in the last two years though, and has shown huge progress towards being able to socialize with his mainstreamed peers. I think that he will be ready to go to things like under 18 clubs given a little time to mature. Of course, I probably still won't be ready.

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Relaxing after our busy day yesterday.

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Today was one of those days where every time we were invited to anything I said, "Let me guess, is it on June 2nd?" Before I completely lost count, between Z and me we invited to over fifteen events for the day. We managed to make it to three of them because of course everything was scattered all around Northern California. Some of the events I didn't mind missing, like the invite directed at Z to go to an under 18 club with a former classmate of his. I'm just not ready for that, not even close.

In the morning we headed down to Gilroy for Miguel's mom's 60th birthday party at a local park. After that it was on to San Mateo for my cousin's 18th birthday slash high school graduation party. As that was winding down we headed over to Oakland for a friend's art show. The show was held in an abandoned auto shop and made a huge point to be kid-friendly. There was a food truck parked inside, though the kids and I passed since we had filled up at the previous two parties. There was also a large supply of chalk, which Z used to draw a giant maze across the entire floor of the garage and Az used to try to eat. It was a pretty long day for the kids, we left the house in the morning and didn't get home until around midnight, but both of them held out pretty well. At the 18th birthday/graduation party Az spent some time clinging to me and refusing to be held by anyone else but eventually the other two little girls there, two of my cousins' daughters, whom were not much older than her seduced her into exploring.

The above photo was taken shortly before we called it a night at the art show. Az was pretty ready to be strapped into her car seat by this point and call it a night. I was glad to have gotten through the day so smoothly, but it would have been awfully nice if just one of the events had been scheduled for the next day. We of course had zero plans for the next day.

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In celebration of Z's last day of fifth grade we brought a picnic to Steelhead Beach after school. Az had a blast playing with her dad in the water, but she showed a particular interest in the woman in the background of this photo. She kept trying to hold the woman's hand and wanted her to follow her around. This is unusual behavior for Az so I was trying to figure out why she was so interested in the woman. The woman appeared to be in her early thirties and was with a boy of about five years old, whom was not at all amused by the amount of attention Az was paying to his mother. When I commented to Miguel that Az must find something familiar about the lady he told me that she was calling her "Grandma." The woman was very gracious with Az and let her lead her around. She didn't seem as offended as some women in their thirties might have been by being called "Grandma." She didn't look anything like either Miguel's or my moms and was much closer to my age than either of them, so I'm not sure what it was about the woman that reminded Az of a grandma. Maybe she thinks all women with some color on them are called Grandma. If so, I hope the next "Grandma" is as kind as understanding.

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Az was sitting on the sofa pretending to talk alternately on my phone and a gadget I received as a gift that plays Mr.T sayings at a push of a button (I'm still waiting for the first time she says, "Don't give me no back talk sucka" to me.) This only lasted so long, however, as she very much knows the difference between talking to herself and someone else. We're beginning to run out of people to talk to though, so I called the house phone with my cell and had Z answer. Az was over the moon talking to him; they talked for a good thirty minutes before my cell phone battery died. Az was quite upset; apparently talking to her brother in person just doesn't compare to talking to him in person.

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Whenever Az sees one of us brushing our teeth she runs in to get her toothbrush as well. Since buying this toothbrush it has come to my attention that children as young as Az shouldn't use battery-operated toothbrushes, which is just as well since she threw the toothbrush in this photo into the toilet last night. Hopefully she'll love using her new, less fancy toothbrush just as much.

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Tonight just before bed Az insisted I go outside with her to look at the "moom." When we went outside she grabbed my hand and we danced under the moonlight while Az sang. I'm pretty sure this is the type of stuff I dreamed of doing with my daughter when I was a little girl.

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Calling Grandma on the phone. Az is huge into talking on the phone these days. We're going to have to increase our social circle to include more people whom want to have conversations with a two-year-old.

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I love the mix of love for nature and technology that lives in this boy's heart.

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Tonight we went to the chicken barbeque put on by the homeowners association, which benefits...the community I suppose. I've never really thought about what the money goes towards until Miguel asked. I assume I'm supporting something I'm in favor of with my barbequed chicken consumption. I hope I am at least, it's good chicken.

The barbeque happens two times a year (I think. Geez, I'm really beginning to realize how little I know about it) and has been going on for at least the 30+ years of my life. Not that long ago it was a big event for my family; my grandfather would go down bright and early with a table cloth to reserve a picnic table for the family and the extended family and friends would gather for dinner and music. Now though it's just Miguel, the kids, and me. We didn't go down early to reserve a spot so we were left to sit on the grass with our meals. It was still nice though, the same band that has played since my earliest memories plays on and the kids line up for the talent show. The talent show looks different now though. When I was a kid there were lots of renditions of "I'm a Little Teapot." This year three of the contestants danced to "Party Rock" by LMFAO.

After the talent show we went next door to our tiny miniature golf. They've doubled the prices since Z and I last went; a game now costs an entire dollar. Miguel and Z played while I chased Az around the place. I don't think I'll be taking her miniature golfing again for a while, all she wanted to do was run up and down the putting lanes, and the people around us were taking their games surprisingly seriously. All in all it wasn't a bad night for an event we could walk to.

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Today is a very lazy day around the house. Next Saturday we have been invited to at least nine things (though I didn't bother counting after a certain point) but today we have nothing on the calendar. It seems like it's always like that; we either have too many things to do or nothing at all. I wish that at least one of the parties happening next Saturday was scheduled for today. I guess we'll just have to relax in our tutus and jammies and find other things to do today.

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Before leaving for work this morning I told Miguel that he had to think up an adventure for us to go on when I got home. I love all of our adventures but it seems like I'm always the one in charge of coming up with the adventures and plans, with everyone in my life. It's nice because it means we end up doing what I want a lot of the time, but it would be nice to just go along for the ride sometimes and benefit from someone else's planning. When I got home Miguel hadn't come up with anything so I suggested we just head out to Duncan's Mills for our traditional half off pastries and then take it from there. The cafe has new summer hours now, which means the pastries were still full price when we arrived. It turns out most of the fun of our Friday pastry run is the fact that they are half off.

We ate our pastries in the car and I suggested that Miguel go check out the tea shop while I waited with Az as she napped but Miguel said the fun of the tea shop for him was the shared experienced. So we sat in the car a while until I suggested we check out Jenner. The majority of the time that we head to ocean we turn left towards Bodega Bay so I thought turning right towards Jenner might hold some adventures. I was reading a magazine while Miguel drove and while I wasn't looking Miguel drove through the entire town of Jenner without realizing it. I don't think he was very impressed. I volunteered at the Jenner Visitor's Center many weekends in high school so it's always fun to me to return.

We went down to the small beach by the Visitor's Center where Az threw rocks and Z built things out of drift wood but we didn't end up staying very long. In the end we returned back to the house and I took the kids into Forestville to get dinner at Carr's Drive-in. It turned out to be a very pleasant evening. Zae and I talked and had a nice calm meal; It was the very first time Az eagerly sat in a high chair at a restaurant and contentedly stayed there the entire time.

I'm still hoping that one day someone else takes on the role of wagon master every once in a while. Neither of my boys seem to want to don the hat but maybe Az will be that person. She's certainly opinionated enough.

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I think Az would actually be pretty good at blowing bubbles if she and her brother would stop dumping out the bubble solution and filling the tube back up with water.

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Az found the supply of juice boxes I bought her brother in preparation for summer school camp. She unpeeled the wrapper and put the straw in the box herself. I'm in some real trouble now that I have not one but two dexterous, curious, and smart kids running around the house.

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Az at 23 monhs:

• Broccoli is still one of her very favorite foods (if not THE favorite) though she has taken to calling them "monkey trees." I have no idea where that came from, though when my brother was little he called them "dinosaur trees." I guess she prefers monkeys to dinosaurs. She now walks around the house insisting on monkey trees.
• Her sense of humor is developing. She does things to be funny and is starting to understand what other people consider to be humorous. Today I declared, "I'm hungry!" to which she cheekily replied, "Hi Hungry!" Her sense of humor is either advancing or else that old joke is just that bad.
• She still loves wearing dresses and tutus (all skirts are called "tutus" in her world.) When we're home we go through lots of outfit changes, the flouncier the skirt or dress the better.
• She still loves dolls, and usually has one in her hand. Action figures will suffice occasionally but normally it is one of her plastic princesses that she wants. Most nights she insists on having a plastic princess to sleep with in her hand. Miguel is not the best at keeping track of the small dolls though so she is having to learn to fall asleep without them on occasion.
• She is getting better about falling asleep with Miguel at night. On the nights that he puts her down she sometimes will go willingly without crying at all, though of course she still prefers to nurse to sleep.
• I had hoped to start to wean her but Az is having nothing of the sort. On the days I work she goes for eight hour stretches or more without nursing so she obviously can do it but when I'm around she wants to nurse CONTINUOUSLY. When I talked to her pediatrician about weaning both she and her nurse told me I shouldn't be in any rush and that I should let Az lead the way. It's nice going to a practice that shares my philosophies. Though parts of me are itching to wean. The constant stimulation is a bit much. 
• Az has shown an increased interest in cars lately. She has a few already but I would like to get her some tractors and bull-dozers to bring to the beach. I know she's a girlie girl at heart but I would like to encourage her expanding interests. 
• We're still working on getting her to not scream as a default. The more words she learns, the less of a need she has for screaming.
• Az can tell me when she's hungry for food now (something she has never bothered to do in the past because her default has been to nurse when hungry.) Unfortunately, it seems like she is constantly hungry these days. The day she learned to express this need she was running up to places like the smoothie stand at the mall, declaring her hunger and then waiting expectantly. She needs to learn about the concept of money next.

I can't believe that the next one of these I do will be for her two year birthday!

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High fives while hanging out in front of the house. Before we came out I had asked Z where his homework was. He replied that he didn't know. Az was on me nursing, seemingly lost in her deep nursing thoughts. She unlatched long enough to say, "In his backpack?" Z and I had just gotten home so she couldn't have seen it in there. My baby is using deductive reasoning and paying attention to the things around her now. It's so neat. But also, it means that Z needs to start thinking up new excuses for not doing his homework.

19/52
This week the kids and I went with my mother to Maker Faire in San Mateo. I had originally planned on skipping the fair this year because finances have been a little tough but I realized that this is the event Z waits for all year. He subscribes to MAKE magazine, who put on the fair, and spends most of the year discussing its contents with whomever is within earshot. During the rest of the year we spend time looking for experiences that try to simulate the fair. I was obviously going to have to figure out a way to get us down there and make whatever necessary sacrifices.

It worked out in the end, as it usually does. Z had a great time and even found time for a lengthy soldering lesson while his sister napped. He found a lot of people to talk at about his theories but the great thing about the people at Maker Fair is that they actually listened and came back at him with theories of their own. It's always a good reminder that just because Z has trouble finding people to relate to around him, it doesn't mean there aren't like-minded souls wandering the Earth. And they're all really intelligent, creative people whom have been searching for people to talk to also.

Last year around the time of the fair Z was having trouble running and wandering off. I had been concerned about losing him in the large crowd at Maker Fair so Z and I had agreed that we would tie a piece of yarn to each of our wrists so that he couldn't wander too far. Although he went into the arrangement amicably he had quickly become irritated by not being able to wander to whatever he found interesting and had broken the piece of yarn and run away. With the baby strapped to my back in a carrier I had had to chase after him and try to get him to stay still. Security had to be called. It was the biggest and most severe public episode of Z's life.

This year not only did I not have to try to bind Z to me, I didn't really have to nag him about staying close. There was one incident where I lost him for a minute in the crowd because he wandered ahead to look at something but after a reminder and a warning about staying where he could see me, he was very conscientious about paying attention to where the rest of us were and coming back in our direction if needed. It's a vast and much needed accomplishment in getting Z towards being able to live a fun and fulfilled life.

Z had a great time, though I do always wish I could go to the fair just him and me so that he would have the time to really explore all of the myriad of things that catch his attention. His sister was extremely patient but no two year old wants to be spend three hours watching her brother bent over some wires or sitting at a computer. Luckily my mother was with us to stay with Z while I walked Az around but I know Z wanted to spend a lot more time at each exhibit.

The only bummer of the day was that at some point Z lost his camera. I was enjoying having someone else in the family to document our daily events and was looking forward to having access to his water-proof camera for beach trips this summer. I think I'm going to have to start working on convincing him to save his money for a new camera.

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In her uniform of a tutu thrown over her pajamas, messy hair and one barrette, and one boot.

 

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The kids and I went to Maker Faire in San Mateo with my mother today. I never know how to describe Maker Faire to anyone not already in the know. It's a sort of craft/tech/science/DIY fair, but much cooler than it sounds. I hadn't been planning on going this year initially because finances are tight but then a few days beforehand I realized I had no choice in the matter; this fair was practically created with Z in mind. Or at least, kids very very similar to Z. He waits for this event all year and talks about it frequently. I knew I was going to have to figure out how to make it work.

This was Az's second time to Maker Fair, not counting the year she was in my belly and caused me to need to be pushed around the grounds in  a rented wheelchair. It was neat because this is the first year Az has truly been aware at the fair. She understood when things were unusual looking and was enertained by all of the bizarre things going on around her but I was discouraged to find that many of the things geared towards toddlers, or at least the things that were at least friendly for toddlers, were not at the fair this year.

It really wasn't the most Az-friendly event, but she actually did very well. I pushed her around in the stroller, which was enough of a novelty to keep her from trying to break out of it. We use the stroller so infrequently that when we do pull it out if feels like a special event. Az seems to view it like a special ride. I let her run free a little bit throughout the day but for the most part she was strapped into the stroller. She passed out for a nap just as Z was beginning a soldering lesson, which was absolutely perfect. Z was given enough time to work on the project in the slow deliberate way he prefers and Az was able to nap in the shade of the awning while my mother and I rested in the grass. 

It was too bad that the event wasn't as little kid friendly as it has been in the past but Az seemed to have fun just getting out and seeing Grandmama and all of the sights. I bought her an ice cream cone of her (almost) very own so that she would at least come away from it with one good memory. Hopefully next year Miguel will be able to come and the event will be more Az-friendly. 

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Az with the Playskool house and barn that were mine when I was a kid (and which I'm sure were hand-me-downs from my cousins even back then.) I have a lot of Playskool buildings, figures, and accoutrements. In fact last year I ordered more vintage pieces off of etsy. However, I've had to place most of it way up high out of Az's reach because she's so rough with her things. The plastic Playskool things have survived through however many cousins of mine, me, my brother, and Z but Az managed to break many of the things the very first time she played with them. I didn't even realize it was possible to break many of the Playskool accessories but my daughter found a way. The first time I showed her the Sesame Street building (not pictured because it's recovering from the terror that is my almost-two-year-old safely out of reach) Az threw it down onto the floor with all her might. She did this repeatedly. All of the Playskool things were moved out of her reach, though she has a way of charming her dad and brother into bringing them down for her despite my repeatedly asking both of them to not give them to her. Az has a new interest in dollhouses and can be quite insistent in her asking for the Playskool house so occasionally even I move it into her reach. It just so happens we're planning on getting her a nice sturdy wooden house meant for lots of rough and tumble preschool kids for her birthday. I'm hoping that once her birthday passes I can move the Playskool house out of reach and leave it there until she's passed through the charming slamming toys down as hard as possible phase. This is just a phase, right??

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She found my root beer float glass from the night before but was refused root beer or float to refill the glass.

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I don't know what I'm going to do with this girl's hair. It has a mind of its own. When I look at pictures of myself at her age I was already sporting my trademark middle part so I suppose it is time to get serious about training a part into Az's hair. I'm going to have to get Miguel on board with my mission though since he's often the one to brush her hair in the mornings on the days I work, and so far he still loves Az's wild crazy hair. I haven't even gotten him on board with barrettes yet so it's going to take some convincing.

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Tonight we headed over to our new favorite beach to use the coin-operated showers. I'm still carrying around a nasty case of poison oak and we are still waiting for the propane guy to deliver his goods so it was time to get creative. It actually worked out very well, there were two showers that were their own separate rooms; Z had one room to himself and Az and I used the wheelchair room right next door, which was nice and large so Az could wait for me to finish with my shower without getting wet. There wasn't a solid wall between the room Z was in and our room (the wall didn't reach the floor) so I could hear what was going on with him. By the time I took this photo with my phone Az was ready to go but for most of the time she was content playing in and out of the water. It cost me about six dollars to get the three of us clean since I had the parks pass to get us into the park, which was totally worth getting rid of that not-so-fresh feeling. It was actually a nice evening, we brought dinner and pretended like we were camping at the ocean but then got to go home to our nice warm beds. I'm hoping that we don't find ourselves in this situation again, but if we do at least I know that we have the campgrounds as an option.

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Sharing his dinner with his baby bird.

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This week involved a lot of trips to the ocean, including a day of playing hookie from school for all but the last hour of the school day. When we weren't at the ocean we found ourselves hanging out at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa, but much to the chagrin of both of the children despite all of the water we were nearby there was very little swimming. I have to love the photo in the upper right hand corner because more and more this is the look of incredulity I find directed my way from my tween-aged son. I have a feeling I'm going to get nice and acquainted with that expression, but for now there are still lots of smiles to even the incredulous looks out.