Hello, Anna Michaela!!

Tannis and Jeremy's beautiful baby girl, Anna Michaela Kromberg, was born on Saturday April 24, six days after her due date. She arrived via c-section after 36 hours of labor! Even after all that labor, she is clearly well worth the wait. She is so beautiful. Congratulations!

Dan's 40th Birthday Soiree

15 strong arrived at Cecconi's for dinner to celebrate the birth of Dan. Fun was had by all, as evidenced by the photos below. Also in evidence below is the presence of Simon Cowell, who was at the table next to us. (Can you see him in the background between Tania and Trevor and Ben? He's in the fourth pic below, the guy standing in the background in a black jacket and white shirt, blurry. Your welcome!) The fun celebrity spotting didn't end there. Who came to meet up with Simon for dinner? Oh, that's right: Ryan Seacrest AND Randy Jackson. It was an American Idol sort of evening, I guess. I've lived in LA my whole life, and it never gets old. Fun!

Dexter's Present for Daddy

Dexter made his daddy the SWEETEST card for his birthday. Awwweee!! Thanks, Shameir!

Hail to the Victor Valiant

For my birthday, Shane got me the greatest gift of all, greater even than the gift of life itself (see above). That is me with New Computer. New Computer is huge and omniscient. New Computer makes Old Computer look like an abacus. New Computer uses Old Computer as an ashtray. New Computer logged into Skynet and became self-aware at 5:07 am on April 23, 2010.

But this event was almost thwarted by ne'er-do-wells and miscreants. Shane originally ordered the computer online, to be delivered on April 7. Federal Express provided tracking updates which listed the package as having been picked up from Apple, in transit, and then delivered. When we returned home that evening, there was no package to be found.

Problem.

A series of phone calls ensued over a two week period. The FedEx driver claimed to have left the computer behind our gate, invisible to passersby. FedEx authorities said that since the driver said he left it, it wasn't their problem, and we should call Apple. Apple said that they needed to call FedEx. The police said that we couldn't report a theft of something we had never possessed.

After pitched battles with all three bureaucracies, the only progress was that the police agreed to take our report. They came to the conclusion, as did we, that the FedEx driver was the only logical suspect. My suggestion that they beat him with sticks until candy came out of his tummy was taken under advisement.

Justice only resulted from involving a fourth bureaucracy: Visa. We said "refund our money." They said "OK." It took about 2 minutes during a single phone call and was somewhat anticlimactic.

Epilogue: I got the computer from the Apple Store. FedEx got paid. Their driver presumably got a computer too. Apple Online got nothing for the computer they shipped except my eternal scorn. Their new commercial will be my silhouette beating Steve Jobs's silhouette with an iPad to the tune of a Lily Allen song. New slogan: "Think Different, as the Result of Blunt Cranial Trauma."

Happy Birthday, Dan!!!

Yesterday was a celebration of Dan! And, to a lesser extent Earth day -- they were BOTH 40 years old yesterday. We started the morning off with Sloane's acoustic version of the birthday song (a few times), a good breakfast and birthday hats. After getting new baby car seats installed by the CHP (who doesn't love to do that on their birthday, am I right?), Dan headed straight to the Apple Store to configure his new 27 inch screen iMac computer. After dropping off the kids at daycare, I met him there for the big purchase and a quickie lunch (I had to jet to the dentist, another thing people love to do!). Our Chinese delivery for dinner was also a celebration of Dan the Man as was the Earth-day-inspired Avatar cake. How could I resist? I hope Dan had a wonderful 40th birthday. And, it's not over. We still get to go out to a nice dinner on Saturday! Woo-hoo! Birthdays should always last for about a week.

Two Little Monkies . . .

Sloane likes to jump with Dex when he jumps in the jumperoo. Too funny. Yet again, I have to give them each 12 out of 10 in the cute department!

Zoo Day!

We have a family annual pass now, so you may be seeing a lot more pix from the zoo. Maybe next time we'll just go to the little train, the playground and a bird show. Lots to do at the zoo, especially since we only go for a half day and leave before or after lunch. Let us know if you want to go with us!

My Cuties

Words just can't describe how much I love these little cherubs.

Grandma Francie Comes to Visit

We had boo-boo grandma come to stay with us from Saturday through Tuesday and it was fun for the whole family! Now we start preparing to see all the Mendelsohns in Barcelona in June -- so exciting!

Sleeparoo

Breaking Bread (or, Bananas) with the Preschool Kids

They are giving Sloane a two-week transition into the preschool room, during which time she can spend as much time as she wants with either the preschoolers or the toddlers. Needless to say, she pretty much spent the whole day with the preschoolers. She's more than ready to be peers with the big kids. She likes to tell people she is five. Here she is eating afternoon snack with the preschoolers, as happy as a clam. The girls to her right are Miranda and Caitlin, who she tells me are her "sisters." Miranda poured a glass of milk for Sloane during snack and Sloane said "thank you, Miranda." I almost died it was so cute. She was also thrilled to pick up her brother in the infant room, as usual. And, he's doing great too -- rolling over, eating his veggies, going about his business as "head baby" (according to Dan). My kids ROCK.

Dexter at the Zoo Too

So, as it turns out, Dexter got to go to the Zoo on Saturday too. Mommy dropped (?) her wallet while leaving the zoo (alas, some things never change, unfortunately), so she had to go back during Sloane's nap and pick it up. (Luckily, it was waiting safe and sound at security.) Mommy decided to take Dex along for the ride. He thoroughly enjoyed the zoo -- and riding in his stroller without his car seat for the first time. He's cruisin' with a view now.

Dex in the Tub at 8 months old

Grooming Dexter for Greatness

Happy Bday Cookie Grandpa and Happy Easter, too!