Ava & Julius at the piano with a stirring rendition of "Ivory & Ivory."

We got a tasty chocolate cake from Destination Bakery ... yum! Despite Julius's forced smile, he really was happy to share it.

According to the candle count, Daddy turned six today.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Mary-Liz came over to witness the delivery of her grandfather's piano, for which we will now serve as foster parents. Thanks, Mary-Liz! We love it!

Getting ready to go out to celebrate our third anniversary.

Daddy, Juju, and Deborah just before kickoff at the Raiders-Bears game. Raiders lost 17-6, but Julius got a little Raiders football, so it's all good. Some of the nearby fans got pretty rowdy, yelling at the Bears fans, "F--- the Bears! F--- the Bears!" Julius listened for a little while, and then said, "They say, 'Poppa Bear!'" Whew! We can put off explaining about the F word for a little while longer.

"Raiders!" Rhonda, Tontra, and Michael teach Julius what it takes to join the Raider Nation.

A garlic press makes an excellent play-dough spaghetti extruder.

Riley's SF Visit

Play ball! Riley and Julius demonstrate their hurling skills.

This is as close as we could get to having all four in the same frame. Kolya, Riley, Julius, and part of Azucena.

Getting ready for all The Kids to come over and play. That requires baking.

Isn't she lovely? Ava and Juju share snack at the park. (Maybe a little too much sunblock on J's face?)

He saw this chair and said, "That's a nice chair!" It helps to notice the little things like nice chairs, and reflections of your Daddy on glass table tops.

Hayes Green, climbing, not scared, not too much, less so than Daddy anyway.

Lunch at Bodhi, tasty Vietnamese, and a cool fountain.