She sees the good, takes pictures, and sings her favorite song.

Loving jokes, recognizing people, eating food, etc. This is Oren at six months.

Last year I wrote a post about where we donated money. I started off with a few paragraphs justifying sharing this information at all, given its self-aggrandizing nature. But now I don’t need to justify it at all! Research has shown that when you tell people you’ve donated time or money they’re more likely to do it themselves. That’s right, doing good and then telling people about it is its own form of doing good.

After a week in the hospital, we were ready to come home. Rachael was healing well, Oren was eating and no longer quite as jaundiced, and Gordy and Suellen, who had been watching Idara since the beginning, were ready for a break.

This year I set out to read about one book per week. I came close to meeting my goal, but then toward the end of September things fell apart (check out my other posts for an idea why). I’m back at it, though, and hope to continue the trend next year. At least for me, there’s hardly a more rewarding leisure activity than reading a book.

Stars (★) mark the books that I liked the most. Please let me know if any of these resonated with you, too, or if you have recommendations for what to read next.

In the morning, before the sun is up or the lights are on or anyone is out of bed, she sings. Out of key and off-tempo and loud, but lord knows there’s no better start to the day. Lately it’s been Christmas music. Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and on and on. Last year she got on Rudolph and couldn’t quit it until April, so steadfast was her commitment to the Christmas spirit.

One of the primary objectives of Computer Science 1/2, Wilson High School’s introductory computer science course, is to give students a broad exposure to the world of computer science. That way they can find out what interests them and make decisions to pursue further. We cover the markup and styling languages HTML and CSS, web-based programming via JavaScript, scripting with Python, robotics via Finch, and a bunch of other stuff besides.

Last week we completed a two-day introduction to binary numbers and binary code. The classes were centered around two activities, one which involved coming up with methods of representing numbers using a binary-like system, and another activity which involved communicating using binary-like code.

A poem.

We knew it was coming. Rachael was a week past her due date, and just like early causes problems, so too does late delivery. Rachael was to be induced, the child’s entry into the world kickstarted with a combination of oxytocin and “artificial rupture of membranes.” Labor & Delivery at Oregon Health and Sciences University told us to expect a call early in the morning directing us to come in.

Three years ago I published a series of blog posts about Idara’s entry into the world. Today she’s three years older, thirty pounds heavier, and a hell of a lot more fun. Here are some pictures and stories to prove it.