La la la

My life seems too boring to blog about. Even posting pictures of the two most adorable kids in the world seems boring, because they're always in this same location: this house! So sorry I don't blog more.

The best news is that Stella is doing quite well lately. Her teacher sends home a sheet every Friday called "Words and Phrases Stella is using this week." There are about 18 new 2- and 3-word combinations this week. She is also doing very well with using the potty. Our use of pull-ups has gone waaay down. She is interacting with her brother a lot and has enjoyed going to the grocery store with me a lot this week. Hooray for Stella!



Albert loves hats. Every day when he wakes up from his nap, he goes to the hall closet and begs for a "haaat??" (He's very much a drama king.) If he weren't so demanding about it, it'd be cute. Well, I guess it's pretty cute nonetheless.

Eating:


Wearing one of his namesake's hats:


And here he is holding a bubble in the bathtub.

He likes to blow bubbles while in the tub. The croup is going around his daycare class right now, and he has a bit of a cough.

I'm busy at work. Our big fundraiser, The Blue Tie Event, is April 17th. Right now, it looks like our turnout might be pretty good. I'm going to be on the radio and have another editorial column in the Battle Creek newspaper. And I have a big pancake fundraiser tomorrow at Albion College to go to. I've had this job almost 4 years.

Since I went vegetarian for Lent, I checked out a lot of books from the library. Vegetarian cookbooks. My favorites are the ones by Linda McCartney. I've made a few of her recipes and they're all great. Here is goat cheese and broccoli quiche....yum!


We're hoping everyone will be healthy the second week of April, so John and I can go have a blast in Toronto. Can't wait to be in a big city and have a little excitement for a change!

For you, Mom

Last Christmas, my mom Susan bought us a wonderful JVC hard disk camcorder, and we've barely used it. She has been very patient, but recently said quietly, "I was hoping I'd see some videos of the kids by now."

Since winter seems to be on the retreat, my children have been outside in the light of day, which makes recording videos much easier and more fun.

However, one thing that I could've done much sooner was get video of Stella swimming. She's still doing very well. I'm thrilled with the fact that she's now able to move her arms while swimming. Up until recently, she would only swim by kicking (which is pretty amazing in itself, but not very good if you want to swim more than ten seconds). So it's wonderful to see this:



A lot of times people think of autism as cognitive disorder only, but really it affects the whole body. It's common for autistic people to be uncoordinated, and to not be able to feel their arms and legs at the same time. Stella's ability to use her arms and hands has come after literally years of therapy. She is so brave in the pool. I would scream like a banchee at her age if I were made to swim like that at five years old. She's got courage!

A.J. is getting big and smart, too smart. I took a few videos of him lately to show you a little more of him. He had great fun when his Papa & Grandma were here for a visit yesterday. Here he is:



It was so nice to have Joe and Kathy out for a visit yesterday. It went by too fast, it was fun. Kathy spiffed up Stella's bedroom with a new shaggy bright green rug, and did tons of vacuuming for me in there. I think Stella had a great day.



Here is a picture of Albert pulling my hair. We are into hitting, pulling hair and being all around-all boy aggressive. What will I do?

Darling Boy

Happy Birthday to my little boy. He is two years old today!



I can so vividly remember the cold Monday he was born. He has brought joy into our lives every single day he has been with us. We love him and all his orneriness, his cleverness...his intense interest in the world around him.

What a beautiful child we were given on March 5, 2007. I feel so blessed.