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Tue, Apr 29, 2008 4:00 PM
Fred and Merritt are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter....

Etta Kimball Kyunghee Chung!
7lbs 5oz
19 inches
10:25am, April 28, 2008

Etta and her momma are doing very well. Milo and Ben are excited to have a baby sister in the family.

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Sat, Feb 16, 2008 3:06 PM
Milo and Ben are completely different from each other.

Milo has a tough time with transition. Ben has no problem, very easy going and goes with the flow.

You tell Milo not to do something once and he listens. Ben... doesn't.

When Milo is excited about something he gets very quiet with his "poker face" on. When Ben gets excited he yells, "Ooo! Wow! Oh yeah!"

Milo will eat anything at any time. Ben sometimes goes on hunger strike for no reason.

Milo often needs someone to play with. Ben can play hours by himself.

They get along extremely well together. We couldn't be more happy or proud. Milo especially is a very patient older brother and Ben absolutely adores him.

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Mon, Aug 27, 2007 3:34 PM
Everyone is well. Merritt is on the Board of Directors at Milo’s preschool. Milo is getting taller and smarter. Ben is asserting his independence. Fred is the family chef.

MILO
Milo lost his two front (baby) teeth, when he fell down at summer school. They popped out, root and all. By the time Merritt got the call and picked him up, he was very calm, and remained very chill about the entire event. We left multiple messages for his pediatric dentist and waited for over 3 hours. Finally Merritt called her own dentist and got a referral who saw him almost immediately. Turns out Milo’s dentist was on vacation and they hadn’t changed the outgoing message on their office’s voicemail.

Milo is pretty much obsessed with Merritt. It’s normal. But it’s also exasperating.

He tends to worry a lot inside his head about everything under the sun. Merritt was trying to teach Milo how to rate his worries as a 1 (emergency) or a 3 (just a slight concern) so that he can manage his emotions better. He thought about it for a while and said, “Everything’s a 1, Mom. Everthing is a 1.”

Milo is getting taller and his hair has grown out in wonderful blonde curls. He’s not into physical activities but prefers dancing or singing, any kind of performance.

BEN
Ben is a climber. He’s pretty fearless about getting into trouble. He tends to get bonked on the head on the exact same place.

He’s still a pretty happy, easy-go-lucky and carefree guy. But he’s learned to say “No.” He’s really into saying “No” in fact. It’s his auto-response.

Sometimes he clenches his whole body and just yells out “NOOO!” This gets us all laughing and of course, when we all laugh, he laughs too.

He’s definitely allergic to something, but we’re still not exactly sure what it is. He gets a slight rash around his face and body, but other than that it’s hard to tell whether he’s uncomfortable. He loves playing in water.

He calls animals by what sound they make. He’s really into animals, especially dogs he sees on the street.

AS BROTHERS
Milo is truly a loving, caring and patient older brother to Ben. We couldn’t be more proud and relieved about this. And in return Ben absolutely adores and idolizes Milo. They play extremely well with each other and love each other very much. It’s pretty heartwarming to watch them interact. Even when they’re fighting, it makes me smile.

MOM
Merritt is great. Not only is she a new Board Member of Milo’s school, but she’s also a Co-Coordinator for Social Events, and the Chair of the Diversity Committee, plus liason to the teachers. She does yoga about twice a week. She’s busy and happy and as beautiful as ever.

DAD
I cook. And much to my pleasure, everybody likes it. I have a new office space I’m sharing in the Haight. It’s a place I can get away to and do my writing and drawing. Fall semester starts the first week in September and I’m planning on graduating in the spring of next year.

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Thu, May 24, 2007 2:29 PM
(Nicholas is Mary Hannah's first son.)

Milo: Hello, this is Milo. Who's this?
Nicholas: Nicholas. Happy Birthday Milo.
M: Are you coming to my house to bring me presents?
N: During my quiet time my daddy is going to wrap . . .
M: I don't know what you are talking about. I got lots of presents!
N: What did you get?
M: I can't tell you until you come to my house.
Nicholas sings happy birthday to Milo.
N: What do you want for you birthday Milo? (prompted by Charlie)
M: Hmmm, maybe something to play with!
N: Like a frisbee?
M: Oh, yes, a frisbee! I want a frisbee! Tell Mary to get me a frisbee!
N: I have lots of frisbees . . 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9. I have 9 frisbees. Do you want the white one, or the orange one?
M: I want the kind you can throw. Like my daddy's.
N: We don't have that kind. Do you want the white one or the orange one?
M: I want the kind you can throw. Can I talk to Mary?
Mary: Hi, Milo! Happy Birthday!
(some back and forth conversation, but Milo quickly gets right back to the point)
Milo: I have something to ask you Mary.
Mary: What's that Milo?
Milo: I was talking to Nicholas and I want a frisbee for my birthday!
Mary: Ok Milo. That sounds like fun!
Milo: Ok, goodbye.

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Fri, Apr 20, 2007 11:33 PM
Ben started walking today!

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Sat, Feb 3, 2007 9:28 PM
Okay. I'll try to sum up as best I can and still get some good quotes in. Marty came to SF to spend Christmas with us and we had a wonderful time! We really appreciated her being here with us to celebrate and the boys especially loved it.

*

Merritt and Milo went to Lake Merritt in Oakland to a place called "Fairy Land" where they have little shows for children. One of the shows had an African American Santa Claus, the first Santa Milo had ever seen. The following week we went to the Zoo to see the reindeer and nearby was another Santa, this time he was white and skinny. When Milo saw him he said to Merritt, "That is not the same Santa." Merritt explained that Santa has helper Santas. Then we went to Kanes for a holiday party where there was another Santa and he was big and round. Merritt told Milo that this one was the real one.

*

After Christmas was over, Kathleen, our babysitter extraordinaire aka "Gaga", asked Milo how his Christmas was. He told her he didn't like his toys very much and that he was pretty disappointed with his gifts. "It's not fair," he said, "I wanted a puppy."

*

One of the things they talk about at school is what do the kids want to be when they grow up. One day Milo said to Merritt that he wanted to be one of those guys that sits on the sidewalk and gets money from people.

*

We went to Irvine to see Halmuni and Haraboji for a long weekend. Milo has been pretty out of sorts for several months, falling apart in tantrums at the drop of a hat. This trip seemed to be a major turning point. He really felt comfortable at their house and didn't seem to mind when Merritt wasn't close by. Since then he's been much more relaxed and comfortable with life in general.

*

Halmuni: What spells M-I-L-O?
Milo: Milo.
Halmuni: Good. What other name starts with Mmm.mmm. "M"?
Milo: [silence]
Halmuni: How about Merritt?
Milo: M-O-M. Merritt.

*

Milo: There's some colors I don't know. I get confused. Like, what color is wood? And what color is glass?

*

When we were in Irvine we had Korean scallion pancakes. Milo tried it and said, "I prefer English pancakes."

*

Milo is fully potty trained but he won't go to the bathroom until the last possible second. He'll be dancing around the room and we'll ask him if he needs to go and he says no no no. Then a minute later he makes a mad dash to the toilet. Afterwards he tells us, "I was bursting to go." Every time.

*

We went to a Dan Zanes concert last weekend and it was a BLAST! Milo absolutely loved it as did Ben. They went up to the stage and everything. Since then Milo has started performing concerts in the living room, gesturing to us to signal when we're supposed to clap. He loves singing into his "microphone" which is really a t-ball ball holder.

*

As you can see from the video, Ben doesn't crawl, he scootches on his bottom. It's the cutest thing ever and everbody gets a big kick out of it. He's just starting to pull up into a standing position. He definitely has begun expressing his own opinion about things and he definitely knows what he wants. He can sign All Done and More. Every day he is doing something new and is so proud of himself. Soon he'll be ONE!!

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Tue, Dec 5, 2006 3:46 PM
We had Thanksgiving in Seattle, reuniting the Chung clan for the year. This was the first time the Chung cousins were under one roof. We had a great time! The cousins got along quite well. Everybody participated and helped out. And the rain even stopped for a few days so we could go... shopping?!!

The good time we had made it all the sadder to say goodbye to Mike, Viviane and Adrien knowing that it would be another year or so before we get to see them again in the States.

Milo continues to enjoy his preschool although some days he still is very emotional and it's always about Mom. Ben is the happiest, most laid-back baby on the planet. He's learned to scootch on his butt instead of crawl and he is SO proud of himself when he does something new.

Mama Merritt is doing well and has started working on Fridays at Park Day School again. FredDaddy continues to plug away at school which is going well also.

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Thu, Sep 21, 2006 9:46 PM
Milo has started preschool! He is attending the Montessori Children's House of San Francisco a school located on the bottom floor of a church (St. John's). It has two main rooms, the Oak Room and Redwood Room. Each room has a mix of preschool and preK (2nd year) students. Milo is in the Oak Room. There are about 24 kids in his class.

This is his third week. His first week went well, his second week there was a little bit of separation anxiety but not anymore. He loves going to school and is always happy when Merritt picks him up. He goes from 8:30am to 11:30am every weekday. We are both extremely excited for him and can't wait to hear about his day at school. But he doesn't tell us much, preferring to keep it a "secret."

Ben is doing well. There was a week or two of not so good nights of sleeping but one night we decided to let him cry it out and he's been fine ever since. He's a very sweet kid. More into physical rough-housing and squirmy. He's very dextrous, wanting to manipulate everything with his hands. Still doesn't like tummy-time.

Ben babbles a ton and oftentimes will make an exultant roar. We call it his rebel yell. Milo had it too. He is supercute and is really into eating his babyfood.

Milo continues to amaze us with how sweet he is towards his baby brother. Ben absolutely adores Milo. Whenever Milo's in the room, Ben twists and turns to see him. Milo knows how to make Ben laugh and it's so great to see them enjoying each other.

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Sun, Aug 27, 2006 2:00 PM
We have just returned from an 11 day trip across the country.

First we flew to Bald Head Island, North Carolina. Milo was reunited with his Richmond cousins again. We had a bed and breakfast all to ourselves and a couple of babysitters to help out. We got around the island by golf cart. The weather was nice and warm, not too hot.

Milo made more big strides in swimming at the pool and overall he did really well, playing with his cousins and acclimating to the new environment. Ben had trouble getting used to the new location. We had to sleep train him and let him cry it out all over again. Fortunately our room was at the far end of the hall. It was a very nice retreat and turned out to be quite relaxing.

Next we flew to Chicago and spent the night at a hotel. The following day we drove to Michigan City, Indiana where we rented a big house on Lake Michigan with four other families. The occasion was a reunion for Merritt and her Duke friends and their families. Ten adults and 11 children ranging in age from 3 months to 6 years old all under the same roof. The house was nice but it was still quite crowded.

Again, Milo did exceptionally well, playing with new friends, enjoying the pool and the beach and sleeping well in a new bed. Ben continued to struggle with his sleep and both he and Milo had a cold. Milo complained about his ear hurting and we took him to the urgent care clinic where they said he had an ear infection.

Although at times chaotic, we all had a great time at Lake Michigan too and we were grateful to be able to see old friends again. The last night of our stay, there was a major hail/thunderstorm, complete with a tornado siren going off and loss of electricity for twelve hours. When we drove out the next morning we saw many full-size trees that had blown down, trunks cracked like matchsticks.

The trip home from Chicago O'Hare airport was miserable. First we drove at 7:15am through heavy highway traffic to get to O'Hare for our 12pm flight. This flight was delayed until 2pm, so we hung around the airport for several hours. The previously mentioned storm had delayed many flights in and out of Chicago. Finally we got on our plane and waited to take off. And waited. And waited. Eventually they announced that the flight was cancelled. The flight crew were on the ground for too long and legally they couldn't fly the plane. So we all had to get off the plane and scramble to get on another flight to San Francisco.

Milo was unhappy but soldiered on. Ben was a mess. Merritt was quite upset. I did my best to keep it cool.

I managed to get us on a 8:30pm flight to Oakland airport in First Class. The bad news was we had 4 hours to kill. So we went to the adjacent Hilton Hotel and splurged on a day-rate hotel room where we ordered room service, watched TV and calmed our nerves until 7pm. When we got to the airport we saw that our flight was delayed until 9:30pm. Then it was delayed until 10:30pm. It was well past Milo's bed time and he was barely holding it together (thank god for the dvd player.) Ben was trying to sleep in the baby bjorn on Merritt and Merritt was on the verge of packing it all in and heading back to the hotel. But they did finally board us on the plane and the plane did take off at 11:30pm.

We arrived in Oakland at 1:30am Pacific Time which was 3:30am for us on Chicago time. We arrived at our house at 2:00am and promptly fell into bed.

Needless to say, the entire family is glad to be back home again. Ben is back to sleeping almost normally now. Milo is doing great. Merritt and I are breathing a sigh of relief that the return flight is finally over.

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Sat, Aug 26, 2006 2:23 PM
Milo and Merritt playing restaurant (one of his favorite games.)

MILO
We're not serving today. It's Sunday. We don't work on Sunday. We serve on Friday.

MERRITT
What about Saturday.

MILO
(pause, aware of some kind of trick) Sometimes (smiling).

*

MILO
Stop talking, Mom.

MERRITT
That's not a nice way to talk.

MILO
Stop talking, please.

*

MERRITT
Please close the window, Milo. You're lettting in all of the cold air.

MILO
All of the cold air, Momma? Really? All of it?

*

Milo went peepee in the potty after holding it in for quite some time.

MILO
Momma, I went potty and it was a lot!

MERRITT
Did you feel sweet relief?

MILO
No, I didn't. But I smelled it.

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