Alexander and Charles, when they were younger
(1998-2000)
Even our little guys were younger once, although less long ago than their
siblings, and a lot less long ago than the parents! The years when
Alex was a baby and
Charlie a toddler went by so fast that we don't have a lot of pictures.
Other parents will understand.
To the left is the one portrait of the children together that we have from that
time. They all look particularly cute here, but we are perhaps biased.
Daphné
was eleven, Alex one and a bit,
Charlie three and a half and Alban nine and a half.
The family was reduced in size temporarily, while
the French courts took their time figuring out that Nick
and Tom needed to be with us here. The local mall
photographer took the portrait at Capitola Mall in April 1999.
Three months later, the parents were escorting Nick and
Tom on vacation with the little guys, while Daphné and
Alban were visiting their dad in France. The one below was taken in Versailles.
Here's one (below) taken at La Grée, Grandpère's cottage in Brittany,
in August 1998. This was one of those vacations that different parts of
the household took separately. Ian was working very
hard with Wilson Sonsini at the time, the beginning of what became known as the
internet bubble, and could not spend enough vacation time for a long vacation in
France (it takes two weeks to get over the jetlag). Plus this was during the
time when Nick and Tom were living with their mother
in Paris. They came to California for their vacation with their father: the high
point was a trip to Yosemite.
And here's another, same place, same time. Alex was less than a year old, and
Charlie turned three that summer.
Here they are at home in Santa Cruz, with
Charlie showing the kindness that comes to him so naturally, this time feeding
his little brother some Shredded Wheat. Charlie was three and a half and Alex
one and a bit.
Alexander is getting visibly bigger in this one below right, taken on the
deck at our place in Santa Cruz in January
2000,
just before his second birthday.
Another on our deck is below on the left, this time in a plastic paddling
pool that they played in the summer of 2000.
Below right, disguised as an in-house basketball game, again in 2000.
Here they are older, even
older, with
their bottles, and with
Alban, Tom, Daphné
and Nick. Here they are
fooling around.
Here they are doing
what they enjoy the most, playing
soccer.
