General Update

Hello-Hello! I've received a few emails recently, from family and friends, who want to know what we've been up to over the last two weeks, since I've been rather silent on this blog. We've been in the midst of back-to-back viruses, affecting everyone in the family, except Steve (who has been working 19+ hour days for over a month now). And since I prefer not to waste cyber-space talking about the fevers and coughs and sniffles that are standard with two cootie-monsters in the house, I haven't had much to say. But, we're back! Expect to see us back in the game of fun outings and playdates next week.

You may have noticed our new blog format. It is still a work in progress, so expect changes from time to time. The photos at the top and in this post were taken by the very talented Matt Lemke last Fall. If you live in the Austin-area and need a good photographer, contact him!

Since we haven't left the house much in weeks, here are some general updates on the buddies:

Ace: First, could he be any more handsome?? Those blue eyes and that big smile are going to drive the ladies crazy one day. He is turning out to be such a nice kid. His pre-school teachers regularly brag about how helpful he is at school. He is the first to line up many days and regularly helps during clean-up time. Ace is definitely a pleaser and loves to take care of people. He knows all of the capitol letters and many of the lower case ones as well, can spell his name, and count to 20 (and sometimes 30, but still misses a few numbers). He has recently become really interested in sports and when we drive past a sports field filled with little competitors or an elementary school P.E. class, he asks to get out and play with the big kids. We're in the market for a soccer or t-ball league this summer! And Ace has mad dancing skills. He loves music and really gets involved in his dancing. I'll have to record some video soon. He's also really into pretend play and likes to dress up, take care of his stuffed animals, make "soup" for me, and (my favorite!) put on his cowboy boots and strut around saying, "I'm Tyrone" (his favorite Backyardigan character).

Ben: Ditto on the handsome comment! He has the longest, curliest lashes and knows how to use them. Ben is a sweet kid with a bit of an ornery streak. I can always tell when he is about to get sick because he terrorizes his pre-school teachers and I get an earful when I arrive at pick-up time. Luckily, he's a pretty healthy kid and that hasn't happened often. Since the day he was born, I've said, "When Benny is happy, the whole world is happy. But when Benny is sad, oh man, the whole world is sad" and it is still true today. Ben knows all of his capital letters (and has since his second birthday!) and most of the lower case letters. He loves to shout out the letters he sees when we're driving, and yesterday, he surprised me by pointing at a sign and saying, "Ooh, look Ace! Lots of words!". I didn't realize he had made the connection that letters strung together make up words. He can spell his name and counts to 30 (although half the time thirty is called twenty-ten). And he is really using adjectives lately. He loves to tell me if his food is crunchy or chewy, if his friends are happy or sad, what color everything is (including his own and his brother's poop), and if things are big or small, rough or smooth, dirty or clean, etc. The kid is a sponge.

And since this is a bit of a random entry, I'll include the details of one of our favorite daily rituals, mainly because I want to record it so I can look back and reminisce one day. Our favorite night-time ritual lately is the "Ace and Ben Story", which is a story of two boys that we know well and what they did on that particular day. Our former speech therapist suggested it around the time that they graduated, as a way to get kids thinking about their day and remembering the highlights. It is a huge hit here! I often start hearing requests for the "Ace and Ben Story" starting at bath-time, a full hour before they hit the sack. I don't know if it helped with their speech but it has become a favorite ritual for all of us. Lately, the buddies have been chiming in during the story so much that they practically tell it to me. If I can continue this through the teenage years, it could be pretty useful.