Keyboard Skills

As a piano player and instructor, I am surprised at how many (piano) keyboard skills Isaac is able to learn while practicing on the computer keyboard. We have been practicing numbers and letters on the computer about 5 weeks now. Besides the numbers and letters, we have learned the Backspace key, the Enter key, and just today, the Shift Key. It is the Shift Key that really struck me because you have to hold it down with one hand while pressing a letter. He was using both hands...now that I think about it, he was really enjoying the number "10" for that reason also.

I am having difficulty figuring out how to begin teaching Isaac the piano at this age, but the shift key just gave me the spark I needed to get started.

Believe it or not

It all started when Tim and I played softball on the National Mall for the Kennedy Center. I used to not have any feelings about the geese, but in the Spring of 2005, everything changed.

If you are unfamiliar with the geese, all you need to know is that they leave poops larger than most dogs. The Canadian Geese invaded the field before every game. We would be forced to play softball in their excrement. From that point on, it was me versus the geese.

Last year, I met Aimee. Our youth pastor, Bryan got married to this beautiful woman who grew up in Michigan and learned how to use a gun and ride horses. This afternoon, Aimee generously took me to a shooting range. I was preparing for water fowl season in Northern Virginia. It was loud and startling. There was no air conditioning. The shells hit you in the face. But I did it. I shot a 22.

I am glad I did this. I haven't had any new experiences for a while and this was surely new. I cannot say, however, that I will be back again. I didn't like the feeling of shooting the gun...and I'm told that with bigger guns, it gets harder. And since I learned that if you're going to shoot a goose, you have to use a gun larger than a 22, I will just have to supress the feelings that were evoked that Spring back in 2005.

The Spencers are Gone

Last weekend, we had some very dear friends stay with us for 2 days that have now left to go to Kansas then off to Japan. We have been friends for 3 years and have gotten very close with them. They left Tuesday morning, but not before a couple of great photos.

The Spencers and the Longs:
The big boys:

Juliet and Corban:

ISAAC READS HIS FIRST WORD!!!

Some of you may have read my post and watched the video of Isaac where I support the Leap Frog movie The Letter Factory. Isaac learned his letters and sounds super quickly with the help of the fun video that incorporates an actual plot (this is in contrast with other videos that just have the letters and sounds bouncing around the screen...LAME!)

So, as a special surprise for having an accident-free potty training day last weekend, Isaac received the follow-up video, The Talking Word Factory, where the letters are put together to make words. He has watched this video maybe 5 times in the past week. We watch it together and have dialogue about it throughout the day to reinforce what we are learning in it.

So we are at TenFold last night...for those of you who don't know, TenFold is the youth chapter of our church. Tim and I attend every Tuesday night and Isaac and Juliet come with us. Several weeks ago, I had written down a simple Bible verse that I thought Isaac could begin to memorize: "GOD IS LOVE" and I kept it in my Bible. Isaac began to get a little antsy during the lesson last night, so I pulled out the little piece of paper with the verse written on it and he was intrigued. He sat there sounding out the words...instead of "G" "O" "D"...he would say their sounds..."guh" "ah" "duh". He couldn't figure that one out at first, so he went on to the second word..."ih" "s"..."ih" "s"..."IS"!!!!! It clicked in his head! What a moment!! I was so excited I was distracting (sorry Bryan)! I gave Isaac a big kiss and hug as quietly as I could...but I was still distracting. What a thrill!

He then retackled "God" and began to get it...he tried "love", but it didn't quite follow the basic phoenetic rules. So, his first official word that he read himself was "is". I think it is odd that it is a verb. I would think it would have been a noun.

Good job, Isaac. Way to go!

Videos of Juliet

We have been neglectful of posting video's of Juliet. Here are a few to catch you up to speed on her G&D (Growth and Development).



Enjoying Tummy Time:

Smiles

Dancin'

Working...

Working on her sitting...
Working on his painting...

Working on her hair...

Tim is working...at his work.

Juliet: 15 1/2 weeks old

More Dresses!

Labor Day weekend, Tim has a race in Virginia Beach. Tim's parents also come visit every Labor Day weekend. We decided to make it an event and stay at the acclaimed Great Wolf Lodge. We have never been there and our friends that have laud it's indoor water park and kid-friendly rooms. We were even more excited when Tim's running partner, Jason, and his family decided they were going to come along as well!! I can't wait!

So, we're at Sam's Club and I'm looking for a little dress to wear over my bathing suit. I found a really cute one that was pink with little swirls all over it. I put the hanger over my head to see how long the dress would be and see if I continued to like it. Isaac was walking away and it my attempt to stall him and grab his attention I said, "Isaac, do you like my dress?" He turned around, smiled, got this kind of shy look on his face and then...the next thing out of his mouth could quite possibly be the sweetest thing that has ever come out of his mouth.
"Mama, you're a princess!".
I have been replaying his little voice in my head ever since. That made my day

Friends

Noah, Ruthe, and Isaiah are Isaac's favorite people in the world. They came over yesterday afternoon, spent the night, and left about 30 mintues ago. Here are a few pictures from their stay (in reverse order).

On my front porch getting ready to leave

At West Beach in Montclair

Waving to Mom and Dad while playing in the sand!

Playing in the sand

Noah took this picture of Juliet and me under our new beach umbrella. Juliet is sporting her new bathing suit. I, however, am not.

At the beach

Ruthe taking care of Juliet

Playing at Kids Dominion playground in Montclair

Sleeping in the playroom all together last night