Monday, October 15, 2007

Great-Mawmaw and Great-Pawpaw



Mommy’s Mawmaw doesn’t get to leave home, very much. For the last forty–some-odd years, she’s been taking care of her home and Mommy’s mentally disabled uncle, Anthony. Because he can’t really go anywhere, she doesn’t get to leave the property more than about once or twice a year. Sure, she’s got 26 descendants and their spouses in Indiana, but Anthony’s needs understandably trump all, so it’s a rare event for her and the kids’ Great-Pawpaw to come for a visit. To give you an idea, the last time they came, Mommy and Daddy had no kids and were living in a two-bedroom basement apartment, so that’s why it’s such a big deal that they came for a visit, this past weekend. (Until then, they’d never even met six of their great-grandkids, and they still haven’t met the kids’ uncle Ashante, who had a conflict and was out of town for the weekend.)


Since Leah and David’s house is the biggest in the area, it served as home base for the festivities. This, of course, helped Mommy and Daddy to get their butts in gear and get things a lot more in shape. We had a wonderful family dinner on Saturday night, then everybody came back for breakfast, Sunday morning. Great-Mawmaw and Great-Pawpaw had to leave, after breakfast—Mommy’s Great Aunt Fannie was watching Anthony, and they’re not comfortable leaving him for much longer than 24 hours—but the chance to have them visit was an opportunity that was too good to miss. ☺


(more pics)

Friday, October 12, 2007

Shape Recognition



This entry is a really big deal, to Daddy. You may remember, a year or so ago, that Leah’s favorite computer game was a little piece of freeware called “Baby Banger”: the child hits any key and it pops up a shape and, optionally, announces the shape’s name and color. Well, now that we’re pretty much settled into the new house (that big box in front of her notwithstanding), Dory’s been hooked back up and Leah’s having a blast with her favorite game, again… only this time, it’s different.


First of all, Leah’s gotten really good at pressing only one key at a time, an action which keeps the computer from saying, as I previously blogged, “ ‘blu-gree-or-or-pur-yellow squa–-cy-re-magen-brown rectangle,’ as each shape interrupts the previous.”


Secondly, when Dory announces the color and shape, Leah almost always repeats it in that beautiful little voice of hers.


Finally, though—and this is most important part—she remembers! I can’t tell you how many times Daddy’s been working at the computer when Leah turns around in her seat, pointing frantically at the screen, saying, “Daddy! Daddy! Tringle, Daddy! Tringle!” (So she doesn’t quite pronounce it right. She knows what it is!)


It’s amazing how incredibly proud of her I am. ☺


(more pics)