Alphabet

We have been working for quite some time with Ellie trying to help her remember her letter sounds. We've had pretty limited success until this last week. Previously we used the LeapFrog fridge letters, which Ellie occasionally played with, but they didn't really register as something she was supposed to remember. We also have frequently done flashcards, focusing on four letters for a few days, but she has rarely remembered them longterm. The most success we've had is in using people's names for the letters (R is for Roger, G is for Gabe, etc.), but Ellie struggled to separate the R from the Roger (R wasn't R, but it was Roger, which obviously would make things pretty confusing later when trying to read Wendy Oscar Roger David Sarah).

Last week Kim purchased The Letter Factory and Ellie has been watching it every day for a week. I'm proud to say that she has almost got her letters down (except for U and Y, as you can see). The video has an approach that works really well for her social personality. Each letter in the show has its own personality and is doing something with all its like-letter friends (the Ds are all playing drums, going Deh Deh Deh on the drums, the Hs are all in a hot room drinking lemonade panting, etc.). She's made some great progress!

I asked her if she wanted to make a video and send it to someone, and she said she wanted to show "TT" (my sister-in-law, Toria) how she could do her letters. That video was long and painful, so this is the second try for Haley.

Summer Fun!

Part 1: Ellie update:

Our lives are always changing. Looking back at this blog that has been mostly untouched all summer is great evidence of that! I can't believe how young our girls look in the pictures and to think back to then (yes I know only months ago) I can't believe how different life now seems. It may appear to most that things are relatively unchanged with the exception of a much bigger infant however it's the subtle things like that that make all the difference in the world. I'll use pictures to explain away our summer:

Joey has a garden! These pictures really don't do justice actually. His garden is amazing! And I, leaning towards practicality in most every way, began the summer very skeptical of his garden. Why pour the money and energy into something that is gone in one season!? But I stand corrected. I really enjoy it and have humbly admitted this to him to which he gives me his "I told you so" talk. :)

Ellie has become even more animated than ever! For those who knew her before this summer may find that hard to believe but she is even MORE verbal and more dramatic (not in an emotional way, but in a make-believe way). Ellie pretty much talks about EVERYTHING at all times. It's mostly entertaining though I must admit it can be quite exhausting. The quiet of nap time usually consists of ringing ears. And she LOVES to pretend! Ellie has seen "The Little Mermaid" maybe three times total in her entire lifetime and the way she talks about it you would think we set her down in front of that movie EVERYDAY! She LOVES Ariel which honestly neither Joey nor I are quite proud of seeing as Ariel is really just a disobedient child wearing nothing more than a bra. I digress. Here is our drama-queen (posing for these pictures, mind you):

And here she is being Ariel.

More news: Ellie is potty training! I still say is potty training because well, she still has accidents occasionally though we began this process in the beginning of June. We still have to remind her to go and sometimes insist she goes. She seems to have the most accidents while playing with others, but she's getting there! She really enjoys the praise of using the potty "all by herself!"

Here are some pics of Ellie at the zoo from early June. There aren't any of Siri because she stayed in the stroller most of the time, but I'll do a whole blog on her later!

The petting zoo (she's about to give him a kiss):

Shortly after that zoo trip I took a trip to Harvard Medical School for a three day course in bioethics! I'm no ethicist but I learned lots! :)

Then we had a nice visit from Ellie and Siri's great-grandparents (Joey's grandparents)! They sure do LOVE them! :)

Ok and a sneak peak at Siri:

And a new favorite:

Long time no see!

Hey all!

Well it's been one busy summer for us all! And since Ellie is now awake from her nap this is going to be a blog simply saying, "look at these pics!"

Enjoy!

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Stitches! Warning some graphic pictures included.

This story is a little late but still a good one!

For April fool's this past April, Joey decided to REALLY cut his finger open! He decided, I suppose that it wouldn't really be all that fun to pretend to cut your finger in effort freak out your family but instead he should REALLY do it! So after school on April 1st, he came home and started cutting a board for Ellie's bed with a hand saw and to make his practical joke a reality, he started cutting towards his hand and within seconds.... (this is graphic)

So needless to say, minutes later we found ourselves here, in the ER (wound dressing props go to ME):

And before long:

We had our little backpacks with us for the ride and the entertainment ( I love Ellie's face as Joey explains his stitches):

They did a great job stitching it up. Joey had the stitches in for a week but had to wear this (see below) for two weeks (because it was on the knuckle, he couldn't bend it at risk of ripping it open):

Two weeks later:

After about 2 1/2 wks Joey was fully moving his finger again without fear of tearing. It looks great now (I'll have to get a pic and post it). Thanks for the April Fool's joke, Joe!

Moles are not my friends

I have been spending a lot of time this spring in a little patch of garden in front of our house (pictures to come later). It's been a really great hobby, and I'm especially proud of it. I've got African marigolds, alyssum, mums, hyacinth and daffodils, snapdragons, petunias, vincas, and have even grown some French marigolds and pincushion flowers from seeds. I'm very proud of my flowers so far.

I discovered this pride was edging on the point of obsession when I found, before work and about a week ago, a line of soil, pushed up from the bottom, that went right through the middle of my alyssum. I'm not sure if it was a vole or a mole, but it filled the depths of my insides with anger. Those blasted varmints and their disgusting taste for spring grubs! I stepped on all the pushed up earth and stormed off to work, no doubt speeding most of the way. The next morning I found another line of pushed-up earth, this time going through the marigolds, under a bush, and pushing up some portulaca. Once again I pressed down all the dirt and started looking at mole traps online.

The next day was more of the same, and then more of the same, and my anger continued to mount. Then, yesterday, Ellie and I were outside playing with a softball. I went in for a few minutes, and when I came back outside a new line of dirt was pushed up! That sneaky devil! I started stepping on all of the dirt that was pushed up, and when I stepped on the last foot-sized patch of dirt, it immediately pushed right up again! I had cut off his little tunnels, and now I knew exactly where he was! Aha!

I ran back inside and to the back and grabbed an old fireplace poker that I just happened to have in the back patio and then came running back through the house with it (Kim is used to this sort of thing by now). When I got back to the front of the house, the ground was still wiggling in that spot, and I viciously buried the point of my poker into the earth. I might have done so about fifteen times. And I might have been screaming "DIE, DIE, DIE!"

This was soon followed by, "What are you doing, Dad?" from Ellie, who watched the whole event with quiet astonishment.

There was no blood or brains on my poker (I have to admit I kind of hoped there would be), but that little patch of dirt didn't move any after I was done, and the weren't any trails of pushed-up dirt in my garden this morning. My chest was puffed up with a grand sent of manly conquest for the rest of my Saturday. The following clip best describes my feelings through this whole event: