 It's taken us three years to find the time to update our family website. Our last posting was shortly after Rita and Rose were born. Many diapers, tears and laughs have been shed since then. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of 2005 was potty-training twins with an impulsive 4 year old jumping around.
Now Rita and Rose are 3 and going to preschool twice a week. Frankie turned 5 in August and started kindergarten this fall. The kids are the best of friends and we're starting to feel our lives settling into a manageable pace. FrankieFrankie has spent hundreds of hours in the last year working with Legos. At the beginning of the year he was making all sorts of trucks and trains. Throughout the summer he switched into rockets, planes, and the space shuttle. Lately he's been creating animals—whales, sharks, dinosaurs. Our Christmas Letter Photo Gallery contains pictures of a few of his creations. (You can also click any of the photos here to jump to the gallery.)  While Frankie has never seen a superhero movie, TV show or book (as far as we know) he definitely caught onto the superhero idea and this fall he's engaged his sisters in much imaginative criminal catching. There are times when he can only be referred to as Bionic Orca Boy (faster than the speed of light). Rita is Bionic Dash Dog (faster than a speeding race car) and Rose is Bionic Shark Rose (faster than a jet airplane).
Frankie loves the outdoors. He got a 2-wheel bike in the spring and was very proud of cruising to spots like the Hands-On-Museum or Espresso Royale. He's gone on numerous hikes with Andy in the Arboretum and refuses to be carried even when the total distance approaches 3 miles. He's very pleased with the snow and is intent on building a snow heffalump this year. Rita Like her brother, Rita is very intense and focused in her play. She also likes to build things with Legos and blocks and will work at puzzles or play dough for long periods. One of her favorite activities for much of the year was collecting things into a container of some form—purse, backpack, box, bag, etc. She would pack up her treasure trove and then state that she was going to the store, or on a picnic, or on some other type of outing.
Rita wakes up happy nearly every morning and sings throughout the day. She loves music and her stuffed bear, Soobie. She is often a willing participant in Frankie's fantasy games. She lets him control the events and actions for 30 minutes or so, but as she looses focus, her own ideas come to the forefront and if Frankie isn't willing to listen, he often becomes of the recipient of high-pitched screaming. Rita's kidney issues remain a mystery. Her nephrologist at the University of Michigan now agrees that she probably does not have ARPKD. Her kidneys are not functioning normally, however. In particular, they leak protein into the urine instead of sending it back into her bloodstream and we're told this problem can cause progressive kidney damage. Unfortunately, her doctors have not been able to identify a disease that fits her symptoms and a treatment plan is still uncertain. While this is scary and frustrating for us, we are very thankful that she has met or exceeded all developmental milestones and she appears to be a happy and healthy 3 year old. Rose Rose is the sensitive and carefree spirit of the house. She is very in tune to other people and greatly dislikes teasing or trickery. She and Rita have long been playmates but Rose is less tolerant of a slew of instructions from her older brother. Rose appears to have two passions: art and food. She loves to know what is going on in the kitchen and her art projects are very precisely executed—no scribbling for her. She has even started to write her name on her paper with a discernable R and O preceding a scribbled S and E.
At 2.5, Rose proved to be the earliest tricycle rider of the family. Like Frankie, she loves to play outside and has less fear of injury than Rita. This fall she started practicing on roller skates and would accept no assistance despite the continual spills. Just as Rita's collecting fetish is waning, Rosie's is on the rise. Rita used to sleep with a dozen stuffed animals and now wants only one. Rose on the other hand has started to put dozens of animals on her bed borrowing from both of her siblings. Both girls also love to dress up and play with dolls—an activity that never caught on with Frankie. Andy For the last 3.5 years, Andy and his partner Bill French have worked ceaselessly on MyST Technology Partners. Like every startup we've been involved in, the ramp up seems endless but recent months indicate that MyST has turned the corner and is becoming a viable business.
What does MyST Technology Partners do, exactly? MyST is a software company that created a web service platform technology that is the foundation for a variety of software applications. (Huh? Okay, approximately?) MyST created software that is used to create web sites and other online business applications that require various computers to talk to each other over the Internet.  Andy and Bill have launched two main lines of business based on the MyST software. One of them, Blogsite.com, builds web sites for companies that are trying to gain greater visibility on the Internet. This Seidl Web site is actually an example of a MyST blogsite. The other line of business is, enterprise RSS services, helps large companies (e.g., Intel and VeriSign) syndicate their company news and other information across to multiple locations across the Internet.
Andy finally made it back out to Mt. Rainier this summer for his seventh solo trek around Mt. Rainer. He says of the 100-miles backcountry journey, its good for the body and soul, and it prepares the mind for the other sixty work weeks of the year. CarolMy role as homemaker still seems misplaced but my focus is nearly entirely on home and family. Aside from reading a few books and attending a dance class once in a while, my personal accomplishments are minimal. I rarely miss my former role as software entrepreneur and feel privileged to be able to stay home with the kids. There are many days, however, when I breathe a sigh of relief after all three are tucked into bed. Andy and I often refer to 8:00 as the hour of mercy.  In May I enjoyed a kid-less trip to Chicago where I met with several dear friends. It was fun to visit and live the carefree life for a few days, knowing that Andy and the kids would be fine without me. Thanks to Andy's mom, Pat, and my sister Nancy who helped out while I was gone.
In August, while Andy was at Mt. Rainier, the kids and I visited Andy's family and then Nancy's. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and taking numerous dips in Lake Michigan. Unfortunately, Frankie and Rosie were recovering from a stomach flu as the trip began and the bug passed to Rita and several other relatives as the days wore on—apologies to all that were afflicted. A sole adult traveling with three young children on a long car ride is a bit precarious but it becomes quite unnerving when as a driver, one hears heaves and splatter sounds emanating from the back seat. My Dad has been a wonderful source of support since the girls were born. He still lives in the same house in Milford and is kept very busy taking care of his pets and property. Next October he will be 80. Ever self-critical he often worries about his failing abilities but I find him truly remarkable doing all of his own cleaning, shopping, cooking and caring for himself. Shortly after my mother died, he took up watercolors and painted some beautiful pictures. Lately, bridge has become his main interest and he's more than happy with his weekly winnings. Happy Holidays! | 
