Bean Anderson

Susan’s mom lives in Kansas and has planted a garden just for Kennedy. It’s all pink and every week we get an update on its progress. This week we got a picture of it; we’re excited to go visit it later this summer.

On Sunday we had a family get together. Kennedy got to try out her new travel bed for her nap over at Granny Kay’s; she did great. This was good practice for camping this summer.



Kennedy was a charmer as usual - here she is being a goofy girl.

This weekend was a busy one in the Anderson household. On Saturday we celebrated our friend Wes’s 50th birthday at a BBQ at his house. Kennedy is starting to become more decisive in her preferences. Here she is contemplating the food options at the BBQ. Luckily the watermelon was a huge hit.



Afterwards we wandered over to the park. Kennedy is really getting good at climbing on structures.



In addition to climbing, Kennedy really likes going down the slide and swinging on the swingset. This weekend we practiced catching the ball and throwing it from the swing.

Hello sunshine and warm (hot) weather. It’s been with mixed emotions we’ve been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. The last two days the thermostat has made it over the 100 degree mark – hot! Luckily it’s not the same sticky humid weather that’s found in some places so it remains relatively pleasant in the shade.

Of course, romping in the grass is certainly an activity high on Kennedy’s list. Installing air conditioners was high on Sheryl and my list – heh heh.

Susan and Kennedy were able to make the zoo concert this week. Sheryl was facilitating a Union PAC meeting and couldn't go with. Here are Susan and Kennedy.



Kennedy likes to wear our hats.



Everyone had so much fun and Kennedy enjoyed the company of Julia and the twins, Morgan and Jason (seen here) along with their Grandmas April and Carol. You can see Carol in the background in this picture.

Kennedy’s surgery to have tubes placed in her ears went fantastic this morning. Coming out of recovery was a bit difficult for her – but we expected that. By this afternoon Kennedy was in great spirits and eating like a horse.

Grandma Anderson is a nurse at the hospital where we had the surgery done so she was able to run interference and translate all the medical aspects of the happenings. It was a huge relief to have her there. Here she is with Kennedy as we were waiting to go into the surgical area.



Of course, a trip to the hospital wouldn’t be complete without a few of Kennedy’s favorite things – Lamby and Star Bear made the trip more bearable for us all.

Kennedy got some new sunglasses made just for kids. There's no top or bottom so whatever way she puts them is on is the right way. Also, the arms are plastic and not flexible. This is a good thing because Kennedy can have the arms of a pair of glasses off in no time at all.

The Pride parade on Sunday ran into Kennedy's nap time. She slept a little on our shoulders before we got her home and into bed for a nice long nap.



The parade was a lot of fun but each year the one contingent that we all love seeing are the various PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) marchers. This happens to be The Dalles group, but there were many more from all over Oregon. It's very emotional and affirming to see them walking by with their signs of support such as "I love my lesbian daughter" or "You always have a home in PFLAG" ...

We've failed to share the bummer news on the family front... Two items to report in this post.

1. Kennedy went to the doctor Friday - it was an ENT (ear, nose, throat) specialist. Sadly - but as we've become to suspect - Kennedy will need to have tubes placed in her ears. For those of you keeping track, Kennedy's had on again, off again ear infections since December. We've lost track - but there's been at least 8 or so incidents. Poor little thing.

The saddest part of the visit to the doc was when I took her in for a hearing test. She's lost hearing in the lower tones and vocal ranges too. Luckily, this is primarily because she has fluid in her ears (instead of air) which hinders the eardrum's ability to reverberate effectively.

The good news is that most kids with tubes do so so much better once they are in place. One of Kennedy's teachers remarked that we should be prepared for Kennedy to start chatting up a storm - that it's amazing how much their improved hearing contributes to more vocalization.

2. Secondly - no sibling for Kennedy is in the works this month. We'll try again in a couple of weeks. Good spirits on this topic still - after all, third time was the charm our last go around!

Yesterday we took Kennedy to the park in the morning. Her climbing skills have greatly improved.



We also went to a fun walk--part of the weekend's PRIDE events--at Waterfront Park. We took turns carrying Kennedy in the back carrier.



Later we met Grandpa Joe for a father's day dinner at Outback Steak House.

Here's Bryan playing red light green light with Kennedy.



My favorite was when he was explaing mellow yellow to her. When you see yellow, just be mellow. Good advice.

We put the high chair away. Here's Kennedy enjoying dinner in her new Fisher Price booster seat.

Kennedy rearranged Aunt Shelly's zen garden. She was very purposeful in her design. It was quite fun to watch.



On Sunday Kennedy put on her puppets and chased us around the house. She had a blast chasing us and grabbing us with the puppets.

Happy Birthday to Susan!

Aunt Shelly has baskets of stuffed animals and Kennedy has a lot of fun playing with them. Here she is with one of the Ty bears.

Susan, Kennedy and I travelled to Houston last week to attend the memorial service of the very dear Carlene Rhodes Lewis. Carlene was very special to our family. Losing her has caused Susan and I to do a lot of thinking about what is important in life. We miss our families terribly and though we don't want to live in Texas or Kansas we do want to find ways to see them more. We brainstormed some ideas on the plane ride home from Houston. More about that later. For now, here's the obituary for Carlene that was in the New York Times:

Carlene Lewis, 51, Dies; Lawyer Who Fought Vioxx
By JOSEPH B. TREASTER
Published: June 8, 2006

Carlene R. Lewis, a Houston lawyer whose early suspicions about the safety of the pain reliever Vioxx put her in the forefront of what is now a wave of litigation against its maker, Merck, died Monday in Houston. She was 51.

The cause was complications of ovarian cancer, according to her husband, Greg Lewis.

Ms. Lewis first began looking into possible dangers of Vioxx in the fall of 2000. She investigated claims that Vioxx increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes in long-term users. Five years later, in August 2005, she was part of a team of three lawyers that won a verdict of $253.5 million against Merck in a state court in Texas, one of the largest damage awards ever to a single plaintiff.

The Association of American Trial Lawyers said yesterday that before her death Ms. Lewis had been chosen to receive its annual award for public service for her efforts against Vioxx. Her family is to accept the award at the association's convention in Seattle.

"This is a story of her determination," said Miriam Bourdette, a member of the association's board of governors. "She got a lot of other lawyers involved in this at a very early stage."

Merck has said it will appeal the Texas case and two others it has lost. Two juries have ruled in its favor. More than 20 million people had taken Vioxx before Merck took it off the market in September 2004, and the company is facing 11,500 lawsuits in behalf of 23,000 plaintiffs. About a dozen cases are scheduled for trial before the end of this year.

Christopher Seeger, a New York lawyer who joined forces with Ms. Lewis against Vioxx in 2001, said: "She was the first lawyer I know to begin investing money and really investigating whether Vioxx was a safe drug or whether it was causing heart attacks. She concluded in 2001 that this drug ought to be off the market and she was vindicated in 2004."

Ms. Lewis starting investigating Vioxx after a friend of her mother's said she had become ill after taking the drug and soon lost her job, according to Shelly Sanford, one of her law partners. Ms. Lewis wrote two letters to Merck seeking to negotiate a settlement in behalf of her mother's friend, Ms. Sanford said, but both offers were rejected.

"Then she went about the litigation process," Ms. Sanford said.

As lawsuits against Merck began to multiple, Ms. Lewis was appointed by a federal judge to a panel of lawyers charged with overseeing the gathering of records concerning Vioxx from the company. She was also appointed to a similar panel in connection with litigation against Pfizer involving the drug Bextra, which, like Vioxx belongs to a class of pain-reducing drugs known as cox-2 inhibitors.

Carlene Rhodes Lewis was born in Philadelphia on Sept. 28, 1954. She graduated with honors from Harvard in 1976 and received an award as the outstanding female athlete of her class. She taught at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn., before going to law school at the University of Virginia. She graduated in 1983.

In 1984, she joined the firm of Sewell & Riggs in Houston and specialized in defending corporations in product liability suits. Five years later, she and a colleague at Sewell & Riggs, Daniel Goforth, formed the firm now known as Goforth Lewis Sanford. She eventually focused on representing plaintiffs.

Besides her husband, Ms. Lewis is survived by two daughters, Carla and Christy; her mother, Alene Rhodes of Houston; and her brother, Tim Rhodes of South Shores, N.C.

_______________

Here's Kennedy with her cousin Heather.


Here she is with Sheryl's sister Gayle watering plants.



Here she is at dinner with her cousins Amber and John.

A quick note to say we'll be out of touch through this weekend. In the meantime here's a picture of Kennedy and C.K. from this past Sunday playing with one of her puzzles.

This weekend Kennedy enjoyed playing with the cabinet contents in the kitchen while I did the dishes. Good thing the camera was close at hand when she decided to flop on the floor and try on the strainer for a hat. Silly girl.

A little breakfast time reading for Miss Kennedy. This happens to be the REI catalogue.



Well, it's another sad day for America under the (mis)leadership of Dubya who today reiterated support for the FMA. The Democratic Party is doing some great outreach on this issue, click here to sign their petition.

Last weekend we enjoyed the sunshine. Here is Kennedy and Grandma running down the hill.



After some rain during the week, the warm weather and sunshine returned. We found Kennedy's sunglasses this morning and Kennedy wouldn't let them out of her posession. She liked putting the glasses on - unlike last summer when we couldn't get her to wear them at all!



Tomorrow morning we go in for our second insemination attempt - we're so excited!!

Granny Kay recently returned from a trip to Greece with no gifts for anyone except Kennedy. She had four gifts for her! Score...

This post is in honor of Blogging for LGBT Families Day, which is a grassroots movement to showcase LGBT families of all sorts.



In so many ways I feel like our family is no different than that of hetero-based families. We try and sleep in on Saturdays, we spend our time doing 'life' (making meals, doing dishes, running the kiddo to school or music classes, playing with other families at OMSI, battle ear infections, play at the park, run errands, etc.). We have a fantastic time doing this game called life and I wouldn't change a thing.



Of course, there are some out there that disagree - it looks as if the Federal Marriage Amendment is coming up for a vote again next week; gotta love it when some politician makes it his / her personal agenda to devalue everything your family stands for.



On a bright note, we're coming up on insemination weekend again - hopefully we'll have good news on this front in a couple of weeks - fingers crossed!