The Savage Peanut

Isaac playing with Rosie Cassler

2012-01-29T22:24:00.001-07:00

IMAG0837, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Issac and Rosie came up with a game that involved Isaac covering Rosie with stickers and both of them giggling a lot.

Little boys and water

2012-01-29T14:23:00.001-07:00

IMAG0840, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Brian's girlfriend Kirsty invited us over for dinner last Saturday. I thought Isaac could content himself with dipping his hands in the water -- it was chilly outside. But he quickly started kneeling in puddles and otherwise getting his pants wet, so I changed him into his swimming suit a little late. He played in the hot tub while his clothes did some time in the dryer.

Fly!

2012-01-29T14:21:00.001-07:00

IMAG0781, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Here's Isaac playing his favorite game on the Cannons' play house. I'm kind of impressed he could climb on that corner by himself.

At the McCalls'

2012-01-29T14:20:00.001-07:00

IMAG0832, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Nate from work invited us (and lots of other friends) over for New Year's day. Melissa and Isaac had a blast with the chickens and ducks. I don't think Isaac even noticed the enticing sandbox.

Crawling

2012-01-29T14:15:00.002-07:00

Exactly a week ago Corinna crossed the line from rolling-with-purpose, to true crawling. Once she figured it out she wasted no time getting lots of practice: being held is okay, but exploring the floor looking for things Dad neglected to babyproof (or that her older siblings left lying around) is better.

Great art must be shared

2012-01-29T10:16:00.001-07:00

Great art must be shared, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Isaac saw a board of kids art at Five Guys and immediately insisted on posting his. Then, when it was time to go, he took it down. I guess he just wanted a better spot to admire it from while he ate.

Isaac driving

2012-01-29T10:13:00.001-07:00

Isaac driving, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

One of his favorite games. You need to be cautious afterwards: you never know how he'll leave the wipers, lights, etc.

Gingerbread houses

2012-01-29T10:06:00.001-07:00

Gingerbread houses, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Full contact hairdressing, Isaac edition

2012-01-29T10:00:00.003-07:00

Full contact hairdressing, Isaac edition, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

I think we have enough meat

2012-01-29T10:00:00.001-07:00

I think we have enough meat, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Some of it is from Costco. The rest is from some kind of steak delivery gone bad--the driver offered it to Rachel at a good price.

November Peanuts

2012-01-22T13:47:00.002-07:00

A common refrain in the morning: "Wawa! How!" [Matthew! Help!] Isaac thinks Matthew can fix anything.
While in California, I learned that when the sign at the bakery advertises a Monte Cristo special with turkey, ham, and swiss, it will also be deep fried. And tasty. And served with jam and syrup.
Thanks to a customer ticket, I got to watch time move backwards for a second stab at 1 AM during the daylight savings changeover.
I let Isaac play Hero of Sparta on Rachel's ipod because I thought he wouldn't be able to figure out the controls and eventually get bored of just standing there. I was wrong; not only did he figure out fighting, but also the "virtual thumbstick" to move. Which is more than I've seen him do with a real thumbstick, actually.
I was going to email Matthew a link he'd enjoy, then realized he doesn't have an email address yet.
Isaac invented a game. He climbs on a chair, flaps his arms, yells "fly!" and jumps off. Jumping off solo is acceptable, but jumping across into Dad's lap is better. (We never taught him the word "fly" so that's good, that he's picking new words up organically now.)
At some point, I went from being the young smart guy people tried to hire, to trying to hire young smart guys. A Polish dude younger than my little sister doing postdoc work drove this home for me.
Rachel teaching Matthew the facts of life: "Kill the medics first. The wizards can't heal." (Matthew ended up beating Costume Quest, his first RPG and one of the only games he's played to completion.)
There's a part of me that takes a childish glee in sending work-related emails to executives on holidays. Payback for interrupting my code the rest of the year!
Matthew is branching out from Calvin and Hobbes to Fox Trot and Zits. He's not as fond of Zits because Jeremy spends a lot of time thinking about his girlfriend.
Me: "I thought C. was younger. She doesn't act 18." Rachel: "Then again, it's been a looooong time since you were 18."
I have some graphic novels that Matthew is not allowed to read "until he is 18." Matthew: "Can I read Walt and Skeezix?" Me: "Yes." Matthew: "Then I'm going to find something else."
Isaac likes to listen to music at bedtime. One night he found a modern Christian music radio station: hymns plus autotune. Shudder.
Jonathan's rule of Christmas shopping: don't ask people what they want for Christmas, because if it's cool, it won't be a surprise, and if it's lame, you'll have to ignore it.

October Peanuts

2012-01-21T20:48:00.002-07:00

I'd been planning trip to Tokyo for a month, but when I started packing I simply could NOT find my passport despite spending all day tearing the house. I felt a lot worse about having to tell people that I won't be able to meet as planned, than about missing the "Japan Experience." (Rachel ultimately found the missing box containing the passport when she went on a garage-organizing rampage. The box was stacked with a bunch of food storage, which it resembled.)
Gave my Tokyo conference talk over Skype video. I dressed up for the occasion, which I guess was just as well because I think I saw more ties in the audience than t-shirts (although most were business casual). I *think* skype was low-res enough that the audience couldn't see me sweating in my long-sleeved shirt in my unventilated closet.
Rachel and I went to the local board games group. Apparently Steve Jackson makes semi-regular appearances to playtest new designs. Also: I hate to say it, but there were several people there doing their best to live up to the stereotype of hygiene-challenged gamers.
Spent some time in the Main Event arcade waiting for our rock climbing session to begin. Somehow, a complete stranger decided Melissa needed a second gaming card and gave her hers, with a couple dollars still on it. Melissa has that effect on people, somewhat to our chagrin.
Rachel: "Sometimes, you need to let other kids take a turn being the leader." Matthew: "And sometimes, I'm right."
Of course Isaac jumped off his dresser and needed to go to the urgent care for a messy cut lip while I was out of town for our board meeting. "Oh, good," I said. "Is that all?" I'm not sure Rachel Ellis thought I was properly sympathetic. But taking him in for poison control is MUCH worse.
The United customer service dude was thrilled to talk to a white dude in Tagalog. He kept using the inclusive-we with me: "You should take your wife to visit our country." "Spaghetti is really better the way we make it, isn't it?"
Just when we thought Isaac was potty trained, he had four "accidents", 3 yellow and 1 brown. Except it's not really an accident when he's perfectly capable of going in the toilet.
Corinna is bored of all her toys. BORED. So I gave her a yard of bubble wrap. She *loves* it.
Pack meeting ran late. Kids got to bed at 9:30, an hour and a half later than their "official" 8:00 bedtime (which in practice is more like 8:30). Isaac tried to play his usual shenanigans of sneaking out of his room but he was too tired, and fell asleep on the floor.
Isaac is playing on Rachel's ipod, and found his way to the Doom RPG. He's not having much success, but he did manage to change the menus to Spanish.

Sitting Pretty

2012-01-12T23:11:00.001-07:00

This is Bubbles on the 8th of January. She'd just learned how to roll to her side, prop herself up on an elbow and then push to a sitting position. She was so pleased with herself!

A few days later and already more stable.

And a closer look. TEETH! She has 'em! Her two bottom teeth sprouted last month. I can testify that they are sharp lil' suckers.

Tasting some bananas.

The verdict? Great toy...but not great food.

We are trying to get her accustomed to taking an occasional bottle. She prefers to hold the bottle, thank you very much! It is a messy way to eat/play.

Sitting up has opened new avenues of play, such as taking all of the legos out of the box and tossing them to the floor. She did this tonight- three times!

Corinna is on the cusp of crawling. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. Then she tries to propel herself forward and does a belly flop instead. Her knees slip underneath her due to the slick floor. Unfortunately(?) we do not have any carpet in the house for her to gain some traction. Instead she maneuvers around the house by rolling from room to room. Still she is determined and it won't be much longer...

Every night she bounces to sleep with her dad. Jonathan sits on the exercise ball, cradles her in his arms, and bounces up and down while she sucks on her pacifier. A few nights ago she took the pacifier out of her mouth and tried to put it in her Dad's mouth. He called me over to check it out and I was skeptical, but as soon as Jonathan put the pacifier in Corinna's mouth, she grabbed it and tried to put it in his mouth again! Regrettably, as soon as I got the camera out she was more interested in that than the pacifier game.

A phone call from school

2012-01-10T11:00:00.002-07:00

Melissa decided that she wasn't going to stop talking during lunch quiet time. The principle told her to move to the Quiet Table, away from her friends. Melissa told her, No. (I can picture this exactly: I'm far more familiar with the Melissa-digging-in-her-heels tone of voice than I'd like.)

The principle moved her lunch to the Quiet Table. Melissa refused to move. "You need to come to my office." No. So the principle and the assistant dragged her to the office, where she eventually finished her lunch.

I can fast for my Dad

2012-01-02T19:51:00.002-07:00

IMAG0763, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Thanksgiving weekend, when we visited San Antonio, Melissa had a lesson on fasting in Sunday School. When her teacher had the class draw pictures of how they can fast, this is what she came up with. "In case you get sick, or feel bad," she explained.

Rachel adds that the entire primary leadership laughed and laughed, "because they know you." Take that as you will.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T22:54:00.002-07:00

We rang in the New Year in Brazil time (9 PM local) by making funny hats and gorging on junk food. Jonathan and the kids established going-to-the-store-and-picking-out-whatever-you-want as a New Years Eve tradition last year and weren't about to forget for this year.

Unfortunately Melissa wasn't done with her hat and we forgot the camera when she was....but she did a good job too and it was covered with pink and purple jewels.

A Present for Mama

2012-01-01T22:43:00.001-07:00

Isaac spent hours beading.

When he was done he asked his dad to tie the ends together. Dad tried to put it on Isaac afterwards. "No, no!" he protested. Then he ran over to me and proudly presented it: "Mama neck!"

The necklace goes down to my hips and has a wild assortment of beads- and I love it.

I Hate "Snow"

2012-01-01T22:37:00.001-07:00

Grandma Linda sent the kids instant snow in the mail. All you need is water and the powder expands many times it original size. "The kids miss the snow, and the guy I bought it from said it was easy to clean up!"

He lied.

Grandma's sunshine

2012-01-01T11:10:00.001-07:00

Grandma's sunshine, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

I picked Melissa up from Sunday school. "How was your new teacher!"

She took my hand. "It was okay. And guess what? We had *M&Ms*. And they were *good*." She started skipping at the pleasant thought.

Church with a seven month old

2012-01-01T10:30:00.001-07:00

Church with a seven month old, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Corrina usually naps for an hour and plays for an hour. When she is BORED of all the toys we brought, Daddy's keys are good for another 10 minutes. I don't know if it's because it is really that awesome a toy, or because I only let her have them once a week. Either way I'll take it.

Christmas

2011-12-31T21:52:00.003-07:00

Every year I vow I will wrap the presents ahead of time and every year I put it off until Christmas Eve. Jonathan is a good sport and helped me out.

So we were up late and the kids up early. Matthew, Melissa, and Corinna were all up around 6. Surprisingly Isaac slept in till 7. While Isaac slept, I prepared the Apfelpfannkuchen or German apple pancakes with cream (recipe below). Matthew and Melissa decided that that ought to be a Christmas tradition after trying them at a German breakfast place in San Antonio 2 years ago. M&M looted their stockings and jumped and danced around the house noisily until Isaac woke up.

Melissa with her stocking loot.

(Notice the foaming bath soap, hair supplies, book, and crayons. Santa is a practical elf.)

Matthew sorting the presents

Matthew admiring his dad's wrapping paper. Jonathan's tradition is to use newspaper. Upon questioning he replied, "You have your traditions, this one is mine. Besides newspaper comes in pre-cut pages perfect for wrapping."

Dad got in one last Chinese lesson before opening presents.

He's up! And he was a bit puzzled by the excitement at first. He quickly caught on.

Melissa received a crystal (amethyst) necklace that she'd really wanted.

Licorice for me, from Matthew. Wrapping paper for Corinna.

A camera!

Star Wars Legos and a Lego idea book (and lego storage bins)

Grandpa and Corinna

Melissa bought Matthew a magic kit. She knows her brother.

We were thoroughly spoiled by our parents and siblings. The children were delighted with their new treasures. Thank you.

After opening presents, we dined on German Apple Pancakes with whipping cream. Mmm. Then Jonathan and Isaac tried to take Dad to the airport- but Jonathan already wrote about that adventure!

Since the car died right before church and we had no way of getting there, we opted to watch the First Presidency Christmas Message with the children instead. It was a nice relaxed Christmas day and Matthew, Melissa, and Isaac had a lot of fun with their toys. That evening Andrea and Jeremy hosted Christmas dinner and it was beautiful and delicious!

Merry Christmas!

Apfelpfannkuchen (German Apple Pancakes)

You will need:

(batter)

4 eggs
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pinch salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

(apple filling)

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup white sugar + 1 tbls
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Directions:

In a large bowl, blend eggs, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Gradually mix in milk, stirring constantly. Add vanilla, melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Let the batter rest 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 F
Melt butter in a 10 inch oven proof skillet (cast iron works well), brushing butter up on the sides of the pan. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Sprinkle mixture over the butter. Line the pan with apple slices. Sprinkle remaining sugar over apples. Place pan over medium heat until the mixture bubbles, then gently pour the batter mixture over the apples.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 425 F and then reduce heat to 375. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Whip cream to serve on top. Enjoy!

Grandpa and Matthew

2011-12-31T20:51:00.001-07:00

Jonathan's dad came to visit right before Christmas. He came for the warm Texas biking climate, but he picked the only cold week of December!

While here, he and Matthew worked on a science project.

Behold! The Ping-Pong Partner! We can't call it a "ping pong ball gun," because guns are Not Tolerated. But who can find fault with a ping pong service return practice partner?

They spent hours working on it together, designing, tweeking, and refining. I'm really not sure who had more fun, grandpa or Matthew.

Snapshots from Christmas break

2011-12-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

Grandma Ellis sent us a big box for Christmas and told us to go ahead and open a bit early. So we opened it on a day the boys were bored and Melissa sick and feeling just a bit sorry for herself. Inside were wonderful treasures.

Isaac found a cape and a light up gun. PERFECT for a super hero!

He raced through the house fighting "bad guys" and big brothers.

"Where's Matthew?"

"There he is!"

Run, Matthew, run!

"Bang! I shoot Matthew!"

Got 'im!

This game seriously entertained the boys for over 45 minutes. It was loud, it was wild, and they were happy.

Grandma thought of Melissa too, and she received a zhu zhu pet kitten which she happily snuggled on the couch. She really was sick, poor thing. We had a date planned for that night (sitter and all!) but had to cancel.

Matthew got a hex bug nano from Grandma. This absolutely delighted him, since his previous hex bug nanos had met an unfortunate end at the hands of Isaac. Matthew now has a dorm safe in his room to keep his treasures from prying, destructive brothers. Hopefully the legs on this hex bug last longer!

During Christmas break we made graham cracker and gingerbread houses. The Hannas joined us that evening.

This year we had individual graham cracker houses so everyone could make their own and eat it without interference. I also made one real gingerbread house that later Melissa decorated. And then Melissa, Matthew, and Isaac promptly ate it. Sorry, the destruction commenced before I got pictures.

Corinna enjoyed the Christmas tree.

Her casualties are scattered on the floor.

Family pictures taken after church a week before Christmas. Matthew was just thrilled by the prospect.

They were tired and ready for lunch, but humored me...somewhat.

Sigh. This was the best family picture we got. Grandpa tried his best, but the kids were grumpy.

Father, son, and grandsons!

The DataStax 2011 holiday party

2011-12-31T14:56:00.001-07:00

The DataStax 2011 holiday party, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Held at Red Robin near our California office. On the positive side, it's relatively inexpensive as company dinners go. On the negative, the burgers there are really pretty average.

Isaac playing New Super Mario

2011-12-31T14:51:00.001-07:00

Isaac playing New Super Mario, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

You can tell it was Dad who picked out his pajamas. (You can also tell I gave up trying to get him to hold the wiimote in the classic, horizontal NES orientation.)

Why Matthew isn't allowed to take books into his bedroom

2011-12-31T14:47:00.001-07:00

Why Matthew isn't allowed to take books into his bedroom, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

All our Calvin and Hobbes books look like this now. He's not gentle when he's awake, but it's the rolling around on them in his bed while he sleeps that does most of the damage.

Isaac makes Voodoo Toast

2011-12-29T19:13:00.001-07:00

Isaac makes Voodoo Toast, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

"Well?" Rachel demands rhetorically. "What else would you call it?"

At least Grandpa didn't miss his flight

2011-12-25T11:54:00.002-07:00

Dad had a 10:25 flight. It's 30-35 minutes to the airport so I usually leave 2h early when I'm flying myself. But we didn't anticipate security lines today so we left a little after 9.

Ten minutes down the freeway the car started slowing down. I pushed the gas pedal; nothing happened. I pushed it harder; nothing still happened. I pulled over into the shoulder by an exit ramp. The brakes and the power steering still worked but the engine wouldn't turn over. When I turn it off, it didn't restart.

I called a cab for Dad. Since we weren't at a fixed address the dispatcher put out a "Who's near the Lamar exit on 183 southbound?" call. Two cabs replied; I told the second that the first was on the way "in five minutes," but he came anyway and actually beat the first one, who eventually showed up about 15 minutes later. Dad did make it in time to catch his flight. Not quite the goodbye I was hoping for.

I called a tow truck for the minivan. It was getting cold inside by the time he arrived an hour later -- it was about 40 degrees out, unseasonably cold and rainy for December in Austin. Isaac took everything in stride, playing Chu Chu Rocket on my phone while waiting.

The driver took us home before taking the minivan to storage to spend the night, since no mechanics are open on Christmas. That's where I took this picture. Nice of the guy to save us another wait for a taxi. We tipped him for his trouble.

At least Grandpa didn't miss his flight, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Baby model

2011-12-24T22:46:00.001-07:00

Baby model, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

No, this isn't Corrina. But it could be her twin.

Before the storm

2011-12-24T22:44:00.002-07:00

, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Between Mom, Dad, grandparents, and Uncle Chris, there's a lot of presents under the tree tonight.

Isaac wasn't interested in dinner

2011-12-24T19:32:00.001-07:00

Isaac wasn't interested in dinner, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Until Rachel put some motivation next to him.

Ha ha ha

2011-12-22T12:16:00.002-07:00

Isaac loves World of Goo. He calls it "ha ha ha!" -- I think that comes from the name the goo balls make when you click on them. Surprisingly, he finds it easier to play on the laptop's touchpad than on the Wii. (He's definitely picked up on the "cursor" concept a lot faster than our older kids did.)

He's beaten the first three levels by himself. The fourth is going to be a bit more challenging, since you need to not only build around the spinning blade but do so efficiently. He calls it the "Wheel of Ow."

Ha ha ha, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Isaac might not be ready for sunbeams

2011-12-18T12:22:00.001-07:00

Isaac might not be ready for sunbeams, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Last week Isaac cried and yelled when I left nursery until they came and got me. I took him to his mom in junior nursery, where he spent the day.

Today Isaac cried and yelled after Rachel dropped him off until he fell asleep. When the other kids were practicing sitting in chairs and singing songs, Isaac refused to have anything to do with it.

We suggested to the primary president that Isaac isn't ready for sunbeams -- he's still less verbal than your average two year old, and he's been assessed with delayed social skills as well. Matthew had similar problems at that age, and I still remember what a hard time he had in sunbeams, crying every week for months. I suggested keeping him back too, but to our bishopric at the time it wasn't an option; if you were 3 in January you went to sunbeams, period. Today I would / will fight harder.

This president said that instead of keeping Isaac back, they'll call someone to be a full-time Isaac minder during primary. This ward is huge, with not enough callings to go around, so maybe that will work. But, she was actually just released so we will revisit the matter with the new one.

Preschool Evaluation

2011-12-17T20:53:00.001-07:00

Isaac art. The figure on the left is Isaac. He got frustrated by the mouth of "mama" he was drawing, declared it "poop," and stopped working on it. Couldn't find his other drawings, so this one will have to do.

Wednesday the 7th, Isaac had the formal preschool evaluation through the school district. Since he is from a "bilingual" household they had a French speaking interpreter there. The evaluation process was almost identical to the play-based pre-assessment. The speech pathologist, child psychologist, and an administrative official watched him play, spoke and tried to engage him in different activities, and made notes. The French interpreter not very useful though. After watching for a half hour, they wanted her to initiate play with him in French. She didn't know what to say or do and really didn't know how to speak to small children. Isaac basically ignored her and kept returning to the original assessors. And I know he understood, her, she just wasn't particularly interesting to him. Dommage!

At the end of their evaluation they had a brief meeting with me. In that meeting they said he definitely qualified for preschool, and in fact they were recommending the most intensive, 4 hours a day 5 days a week preschool. They have several preschool programs ranging from just speech therapy to social, cognitive, and physical therapy. Isaac has severe speech delays, some social delays (they noticed that he is very rigid in his play and doesn't take kindly to outside suggestions to change the play), and some gaps in his cognitive development.

It is hard to come to the terms that he does indeed fall under the "special needs" umbrella. I just see him as my little boy, my Isaac. Originally I thought he just had speech delays, then, as he got closer to 3 noticed the social problems. As far as gaps in his cognitive development, I think at least part of that stems from his inability to effectively communicate and interact with people. There is definitely a spark in that child, I know there is! He is very clever in some areas, such as problem solving and puzzles. He also has excellent control of his body, both fine and gross motor control. Jonathan is more practical about it, "If the label fits, so be it, as long as he is getting the help he needs." He is right.

The next step in the process will be the ARD meeting with the school district in which we will set some goals, determine the suitable program, and have him registered for school. Fortunately, we as parents have a lot of flexibility. We can alter the days and the length of time he is in school to what works best for Isaac. Before the meeting we'll check out the preschool, meet the teachers, submit paperwork. There is a lot still to learn before the ARD meeting which will influence our decisions...

The ARD meeting will likely take place at the end of January after the formal written evaluation is submitted. After that he can enroll in school. We'll see how things go!

Grandpa Ellis tells a story

2011-12-16T20:53:00.003-07:00

Paraphrasing Dad's first-person words:

My high school physics teacher had a game. He had students ordered in a kind of S alternating rows through the classroom, starting to his right. If he asked a question and the student in front of you missed it, and you got it, you'd switch places. I was a sophomore, and most of the class was juniors and seniors, but I marched up to the top of the S. So he put me back down at the bottom, and I marched up again. This happened a couple times, until he announced, "New rule: the goal is now to keep Ellis from getting to the top."

This was the same teacher that had some strobe lamps, to examine fast-moving objects by illumination. I made a mechanical one that doesn't work too well, and showed it to him. He wanted to show it to the class. I said it didn't work very well because I had the wrong kind of light bulb in it, but he said, "I want to show the class about creativity."

The sad thing is, I've never paid much attention to what other people think, but everyone said he was a bad AP teacher so I didn't take AP physics. So from that point I was a year farther ahead in chemistry, and that's what I ended up getting my PhD in even though I liked physics better.

About 1/3 of the permanent marker decoration Isaac graced the walls and floor with

2011-12-11T15:24:00.001-07:00

About 1/3 of the permanent marker decoration Isaac graced the walls and floor with, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Six Month update

2011-12-10T17:01:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe that 6 months have already passed!

Baby Bubbles has more than doubled her birth weight and is now 17 pounds even and 26.5 inches long. This puts her at the 75th percentile for weight and height. She's a good sized girl, as my biceps will attest. She loves to be held, and so spends a good portion of her day in my arms.

Just this week she discovered that she can roll around to get to objects she wants...and so the ~~exploring~~ mischief phase begins! Her main goal in life is to get anything and everything she sees into her mouth. Keeping small bits of flotsam away from her will be challenging with three older, messy siblings.

She can sit up with just a little support, otherwise she topples over after a few seconds. So close!

Today, Corinna's first tooth broke through so she is back to her cheerful self. She is a happy baby and people often comment on her sunny disposition. "I never see her frowning, does she ever cry?" She is generous with her gummy grins and bestows her dimpled smiles upon anyone who talks to her. And when she smiles, she smiles with her whole body. Her arms flail, her legs kick, and the corners of her eyes crinkle with joy. It is delightful.

No one can make her laugh quite like Isaac. She thinks anything he does is hysterical. Here he is just being himself, much to Corinna's amusement.

Isaac at the petting zoo

2011-12-10T15:25:00.001-07:00

Isaac at the petting zoo, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Trimming the Tree

2011-12-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and the kids picked out a tree on Saturday. Our house smells like Christmas now. Monday night we decorated the tree.

The littlest one always puts the star on the top. I had to climb a chair to reach the top with Isaac.

Thanksgiving Day

2011-12-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

Our Thanksgiving rose.

Isaac's latest "cheese" face.

We have four healthy children, supportive family, dear friends, neighbors, Jon's business, rain!, books to read, things to learn, plenty to eat, some savings in the bank, good health, Our Savior, Jesus Christ, yes, we are very blessed, indeed!

Teething Woes

2011-12-08T10:06:00.001-07:00

Happy baby bubbles has transformed into teething baby bubbles. She is NOT pleased. Still, her happy nature comes through and she grins between bouts of tears.

Just got most of a dose of tylenol down her (always a sticky process) and we're waiting for that to kick in so she can nap.

Teething is NO joke, folks. It can make the mildest of babies super cranky and miserable. Poor Bubbles.

The Day is Done

2011-12-06T23:13:00.002-07:00

Today I managed to get the M&M ready for school, take Isaac to speech therapy, get the house "less dirty," do the grocery shopping with 3 little ones and an Isaac tiger, nurse Corinna frequently, feed/bathe the kids, chase Isaac back to bed- repeatedly, wash some clothes, and pack lunches for tomorrow.

This on the day I was supposed to be taking it easy. Still recovering from a nasty bout of mastitis. Thank goodness for antibiotics! Jon gets home late tomorrow or Thursday depending on if the plane is on time.

Can't wait.

Update: Just got paged by a crying Isaac. He'd fallen asleep under the bed, half-woke up, and bonked his head. Helped him back into bed. Want your blanket? "No." Want a kiss? "No." Even in his sleep he is contrary!

Corinna is peacefully sleeping now. Last night she woke up about 6 times and Matthew and Isaac got up at 6 AM and woke her up again! Urk.

Update 2 (10 minutes): Now Corinna is awake. Sigh.

Matthew cooks pancakes

2011-12-04T17:23:00.001-07:00

Matthew cooks pancakes, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Rachel is sick. Time for plan B: Dad makes everyone oatmeal.

All I want for Christmas is...

2011-12-02T09:41:00.002-07:00

After a month of her tooth teasing her, Melissa finally lost her first top tooth. Really. We endured a whole month of wiggly tooth updates. It popped itself loose at the school's fun run on a Saturday and neither of us had a bag or pockets, so I held her precious tooth for her til we got home.

That night Melissa wrote a note to the tooth fairy.

One week later she lost the other tooth. And then she really lost it. "I can't find it anywhere! The tooth fairy won't come!" It took some persuasion and plenty of tears, but Matthew eventually convinced her that the tooth fairy would still come. "Melissa, once I couldn't find my tooth and I wrote a note and the tooth fairy still came!" Wink, wink.

She composed this note:

Matthew reminded me 4 or 5 times to do my tooth fairy duties and even offered to play the role with his own money. "I promise, I'll take care of it son." He was afraid I'd forget since there wasn't a tooth under the pillow. Matthew can tease Melissa mercilessly at times, and be very annoying to his little sister, but his heart is in the right place.

The next day she was very pleased to find loot under her pillow. Later on she found her tooth on the floor and thought the only right thing to do was return it to the tooth fairy, since she'd already paid for it. She wrote another note and placed it with the tooth under her pillow.

4 teeth down, 16 to go!

Isaac playing Crayon Physics

2011-12-01T18:23:00.001-07:00

Isaac playing Crayon Physics, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

He's surprisingly good with the touchpad, compared to the other kids at this age.

How picky is Isaac?

2011-11-27T07:56:00.001-07:00

How picky is Isaac?, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Here he is eating Raisin Bran from two bowls: one for the original cereal, and one to put rejected flakes into while he sifts out the raisins.

Science night

2011-11-26T11:18:00.005-07:00

The elementary school held a science night, with a lot of forgettable activities... and robots. Two nearby high schools' robotics clubs were recruited to present demos. Here's the first:

Science night, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Their adviser was clearly taking the attitude that "we're having fun learning even though we don't really know what we're doing." In the competition, their robot "came close to scoring a point, once."

Here's the second high school's robot:

Science night, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

A single picture doesn't do this justice. It had a forklift on the front for lifting inner tubes for one kind of point scoring. It had a kind of winch on the back to raise a flag for other points. It was 120 lbs, and *fast*. Melissa didn't get to drive this one; they were afraid someone might get hurt by a novice at the controls. It was controlled by two joystick setups connected to a laptop that talked to the robot over wifi.

Of *course* they were wearing their own Robotics Club T-shirts.

Did the students really do all this themselves? According to the student I talked to, they did. (I bet the advisers helped with fundraising from the sponsors on the side there, though.) The freshmen too? "Every Fall we have a recruiting drive where we teach freshmen how to solder. Everyone contributes."

When we first moved here, someone told Rachel that the area was popular was popular with Asians because one of the nearby high schools was the top in the area for science and technology. I think we know which one now. Now I wish Matthew was old enough to go there...

Corinna loves swinging at the playground

2011-11-26T11:08:00.001-07:00

Corinna loves swinging at the playground, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

This is a fun age. Happy Baby Bubbles.

I told Isaac I wasn't interested in helping him play in the water

2011-11-26T10:42:00.003-07:00

I don't think he missed me.

Two-fisted hot dog eating

2011-11-24T11:31:00.001-07:00

Two-fisted hot dog eating, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Isaac's book of words

2011-11-17T08:19:00.001-07:00

Isaac's book of words, a photo by jbellis on Flickr.

Fly with me!

2011-11-16T22:03:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I saw Isaac jumping off of his chair with him arms outstretched. He did this over and over again.

Isaac, what are you doing?

Fly!

I wasn't sure if I heard correctly since fly isn't a word he's ever used before so I asked,

Are you flying?

Yeah! Fly!

Then he flapped his arms to demonstrate.

Fly! Fly!

He laughed and we both flew.

Later I told Jonathan the story. Isaac overheard and had an idea. He pushed a chair over to where his Daddy was sitting. Then he lept off of the chair, flapped his arms, happily yelled "fly!" and launched himself onto his Dad's lap to the amusement of them both.

Veteran's Day 11/11/11

2011-11-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

The third graders at Matthew's school held a Veteran's Day program. They had a flag ceremony, said the pledge of allegiance to both the US and Texas* flags, sang a number of patriotic songs including ones that mentioned the various branches of the military, and honored the veterans in attendance.

It was a nice program, but I forgot my camera so this is the best I could do with a wimpy phone camera.

Melissa saw the presentation earlier at school, but she liked it so much that she decided to come with me in the evening to see it again. This despite the fact that her Auntie Andrea was at home to watch her if she chose to stay. She bobbed to the music and sang out in the audience.

Prior to honoring the veterans, this poem was recited:

IT IS THE SOLDIER

It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

by Charles M. Province

My favorite servicemen:

and

Happy Veteran's Day!

*Yes, Texas has its own pledge. In case you were curious: I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.

Ties

2011-11-16T20:12:00.003-07:00

I gave Isaac a choice between two ties to wear to church. He chose one and decided that Daddy should wear the other one.

So Jonathan did. To church. "I got quite a few comments on my tie today!"

At Main Event

2011-11-06T23:25:00.004-07:00

We celebrated Matthew and my birthdays with rock climbing at Main Event with Brian and Chris. (Jeremy came down with a migraine and couldn't make it.) While waiting for our turn on the walls, we played some air hockey and video games.

Melissa kept going 3/4 of the way up and then losing confidence and coming down. Finally I coached her up, which mostly consisted of yelling, "You're doing great! Keep going!" She got to the top, extremely pleased with herself. Now she tells everyone, "I rang the bell!"

Happy birthday to me

2011-11-06T23:25:00.001-07:00

IMAG0706
Originally uploaded by jbellis

Grant and Lisa sent me a massive box full of Herr's Sour Cream and Onion chips, one of only two things I miss about New Jersey.

A clean garage

2011-11-06T23:23:00.001-07:00

IMAG0712
Originally uploaded by jbellis

The result of Rachel's herculean effort: after moving Grandma Johnson's chest, we can actually fit a car in the garage now. Amazing.

More pictures from the farm

2011-11-06T23:20:00.002-07:00

(Isaac was done but we had tickets for the hay ride and damn it we were going to use them. Once we got on the tractor Isaac quickly forgot his bad temper when a cat sat next to him.)

Some Isaac pictures

2011-11-06T23:10:00.003-07:00

Isaac commissioned an artwork from Paul. First, I tried: "Eye!" Isaac said. So I drew a huge capital I. "Ssssss" he hissed. I drew an S, on top of the I. Isaac did not approve: "No no no!" Rachel laughed. "He wants you to write his name. He knows the S comes after the I." So I tried again: "ISAAC." So far so good. "Mama!" Isaac demanded. I wrote "MAMA." "No no no!" He wanted a drawing of Mama.

Isaac was out of confidence. It was Paul's turn. He wrote Isaac and drew Mama and Dada and Wawa [Matthew] and Issa [Melissa] and Baby (in Dad's arm). Isaac was pleased. He took the drawing over to each family member and proudly pointed out their avatar.

Isaac likes to hold Baby. He is a gentle brother, and solicitous of his sister, as three year olds go. "Baby sad!" he will say if she cries, and get her a pacifier or a toy.

Isaac eats part of Matthew's bible. I'm still waiting for him to outgrow the wanton destruction phase.

With Uncle Brian.

Blowing bubbles.

Packing a "lunch," just like the big kids.

Another episode of destruction, this one of Rachel's Eternal Sonata game manual. Sigh.

Sweet Berry Farm

2011-11-06T21:28:00.002-07:00

Jonathan already wrote about our misadventures on the way up to the farm. Figured I ought to post some pictures.

Isaac in the children's corn maze

Matthew and Melissa raced ahead so I didn't get any pictures of them in the maze.

Daddy with his girls

Welcome to Melissa's beauty parlor

2011-11-06T21:19:00.001-07:00

Melissa loves styling hair.

Corinna was more interested in Melissa's shirt.

Beautiful girls

September Peanuts

2011-11-06T21:17:00.004-07:00

I can see where the kids get their touch of OCD from -- Rachel is going through Stacking methodically beating each stage with every possible solution before going to the next. (In gaming terms, she's a Completionist.)
Another development milestone: Corinna is now ticklish. Lots of baby giggles with Dad!
Melissa is enjoying Castle Crashers immensely. "I kicked their butt!" she cries, as her little green knight administers fiery death to goblin bad guys.
Isaac peed in the toilet without being reminded. Maybe he's decided he's ready to be potty trained again, after deciding it was too much bother for months.
Dinner at a large authentic-Chinese restaurant with a huge fridge of exotic drinks. Isaac picked a can of guava juice. Melissa got a clear peach soda. Matthew picked... Sprite.
Matthew punctured the yoga ball, so I have to pace the floor with Corinna instead of bouncing her. Can't wait for the replacement ball to arrive.
Puke is my least favorite body fluid and Melissa got it ALL OVER. Not sure how she managed, honestly: on the wall at the head of the bed, on the floor at the foot, and of course her hands and feet were both covered as she went through the house after she eventually decided "I should probably tell Mom and Dad."
(Two days later) Me: "Time to eat breakfast!" Melissa: "My tummy hurts!" Me: "This isn't a good time for excuses. Come eat your English muffins." Melissa: puuuuuuuke.
Rachel just beat me and Brian in Power Grid. Closest game I've seen: Rachel and I both powered 17 cities but she ended the game with $147 to my $146.
So, that's our first employee to be hired away by Google. Feels like some kind of rite of passage. Bye, Eric.
(Three days later) Isaac's turn to puke. At least he had the grace to (1) wait til morning and (2) do it on the tile kitchen floor instead of all over the bed. Still had to bathe him afterwards.
Melissa: "D is for the Dark Side."
Rachel: "While up with Corinna last night, I heard Jonathan talking to Isaac in French in his sleep. I wonder if he was dreaming about picking up toys, because I heard "into the sack" "Good job Isaac!" and "That's my boy!"
Took the kids to an SCA event. Melissa and Isaac immediately declared it boring and scampered off to the adjacent playground. Matthew lasted about one minute longer before joining them. "I don't get it, Dad."
It wasn't just a glass of juice making Isaac's face red: Rachel just discovered he was into her cosmetics.
As we left for church at 11:27, Rachel commented, "I think this is the latest we've ever been." I thought ten minutes wasn't that late, but when we arrived the first speaker was already wrapping up. That's when I realized church starts here at 11:00, not 11:30.
Matthew refers to Paul as "the guy who can blow up skinny balloons really easily." It's like a superpower. (I was completely and utterly stymied in my own attempts.)
Rachel: "Interesting. Our blog has a 'messy' tag, but not a 'clean' tag."
The spicy twice-cooked bacon from the Chinese place last night is the greasiest dish I can remember ever eating, and that's saying something. Paying the price this morning since before 5. [Two months later, I still have the food equivalent of PTSD when I visit that restaurant.]
Lisa: "The problem with Jonathan's solutions is that he assumes that other people are like Jonathan."
Found the missing Eneloop battery... in the bottom of the dishwasher. Sometimes the kids baffle me.
Matthew: "The kids at school are mean. Vincent tells everyone that I'm bossy. And they wouldn't listen when I told them what they should be doing!"

Rolling, rolling, rolling

2011-11-06T21:09:00.001-07:00

Corinna started rolling over this week.

She grabs her feet like so:

And then flips to her side:

From there she sometimes makes it onto her belly. And then squawks. Loudly.

Rolling over is mostly accidental at this point.

She also loves grabbing her feet and attempting to suck her toes. At times she gets so excited by her success that she kicks her legs...and then loses her toes.

Speech Therapy Update

2011-11-06T20:34:00.004-07:00

It took nearly two months of waiting, but Isaac was seen by the play based assessment team for the school district on Tuesday. The assessment room was filled with all sorts of toys. There was a toy kitchen, a trampoline, a slide, a lego table, trucks, puzzles large and small, stuffed animals, paper, crayons, markers, games, and tons of different kinds of blocks. They basically turned Isaac loose and watched him play and interact with them. Naturally Isaac attempted to try it all.

After an hour of play, they concluded that he had great fine and gross motor skills. They were amazed that he could handle scissors so well at three years old and that he was very coordinated in his leaps onto and off of the trampoline. He also showed an affinity for puzzles and problem solving. [As his parents, we are very aware of his problem solving skills. He's been know to stack odds and ends on top of each other in order to climb up to reach the forbidden. The top of the refrigerator is no longer safe, nor the highest shelves. I recently purchased a safe for Matthew so he can keep his prized possessions locked up from the dynamite destruct-o. Also he uses tools to open or unlatch objects. For instance, he takes the broom handle and slides the chain lock off at the top of the door. As far as puzzles, he can put about half of the United States puzzle map together just by matching pieces.] He does engage in imaginative play, and sorts things by color, type, and shape. However, he doesn't know the names of all the colors or shapes.

The bad news is that he is indeed severely speech delayed [which we knew], and he is behind socially [yep]. It is hard to determine how much the social delay is caused by his inability to communicate or if there are other factors at work. He is rigid in his play and does not like it when others try to change the play scenario. He has his own ideas about how things should be and protests when other people do things differently. This makes it hard for him to interact with other children. They were also concerned by his lack of attention span. Some toys engaged his attention for a while but others only held his interest for a few seconds. He flitted from one activity to the next and it was hard to get his attention sometimes. I'm less concerned by the attention span/inattention though. First of all it was a Very Cool place to play and naturally he wanted to try it all. He didn't waste his time with things he deemed boring. Secondly, we've been there before with Melissa. She can wander into "Melissa la la land." I remember discussing this with my mother and she laughed and said Chris was just like that. In order to get his attention they had to cup his face with their hands, place their face a few inches away, look him directly in the eye, and then talk to him. He also got the constant admonition to "think before acting." Over time he matured and his attention span grew. Melissa is doing much better now too, though she still sometimes lapses.

The assessment was a bit of a mixed bag. However it was clear to them that he should go onto the formal evaluation. I guess the play based assessment is a sort of pre-evaluation. They debated a bit about whether to have a psychologist there for the future evaluation since it wasn't clear exactly where he fell socially, but decided it would be a good idea. Also they plan to bring an interpreter since he comes from a "bilingual household." I laughed when they said that, but the speech pathologist explained that they want him to get credit for the things he knows in French and it might give them a better idea of where he is cognitively.

The school district bureaucracy moves slowly, so the evaluation won't take place until beginning of December. After that, they discussed having me meet with one of the preschool teachers. Here's hoping he gets into the class and that it will of benefit to him.

Why I'm not taking these kids on a road trip until they're 20

2011-11-05T20:15:00.003-06:00

We set off this morning for Sweetberry Farm and their hay rides, an hour away. (But an hour and a half, the way we took on the way there.)

Twenty minutes from our destination, Melissa announced that she couldn't hold her pee any longer. We pointed out that pit stops work better if you can give a little notice before Full Emergency -- we'd just driven through a town, but now we were back in the middle of Texas nowhere until we got to the farm -- but there was nothing for it but to pull over and pee by the side of the road. We did a little better than that -- a "picnic stop" had a bush, but no port-a-potty. The bush was adequate.

Five minutes later, Matthew spoke up: "My tummy doesn't feel good." I pulled over again. "Are you going to puke?" "No. But it doesn't feel good." "Okay: put down the book. Close the laptop. Look straight ahead, and you'll be fine." I start the car again. We haven't gone a hundred feet when the car fills with the smell of puke. Rachel cleans off Matthew and I wipe down the laptop. The computer actually caught a lot, which I guess is good since it's hard plastic, but he got some on the upholstery too.

Rachel and I laughed. What else could we do? Isaac and Melissa were glad to have a chance to stretch their legs while we cleaned up.

Why I'm not taking these kids on a road trip until they're 20
Originally uploaded by jbellis

Two steps forward, one step back

2011-11-05T20:13:00.004-06:00

Two weeks ago, Rachel cleaned out the garage in a single day. (No doubt her work was much easier after I also cleaned out the garage in a single day, previously. I leave it to the reader to divine why two such cleanings should be necessary.)

Unfortunately, a rake handle or some such ended the day leaning into the track of the garage door, and luck was not with us when we closed it. The strut the door's wheel was on caught, and bent furiously.

We've since had it fixed. I kind of miss our crooked door. It had character.

(Also: Rachel found the box with my passport! Huzzah!)

Two steps forward, one step back
Originally uploaded by jbellis

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T21:54:00.004-06:00

The kids could NOT wait to go trick-or-treating this year. We managed to get ONE measly picture of them in costume before they raced out the door. In fact, Isaac was ready to go in his underwear and made a beeline for outside. Jonathan had to catch him and remind him get into his tiger suit first, and he loves the tiger costume. He spent at least a half hour the first time he tried it on chasing his big brother and sister around the house and yelling ROAR!

Melissa wanted a cyclops this year so we worked together on it. Matthew scooped, designed, and carved his "alphabet face" pumpkin all by himself this year. Not bad at all!

Everyone had a good time going door to door for candy. Isaac figured out the drill pretty quickly and raced ahead of the big kids so he could be the one to knock and ring the doorbell. Pity the poor adult who didn't react on the first ring, because Isaac was not patient. "Wee wee wee!" [trick or treat!] Bang bang bang! "Wee wee wee!" Bang bang bang!

Isaac was thorough, too. I [Jonathan] would have to pull him away from the houses with no lights on; he wanted everyone to give him candy.

We did three cul de sacs on our way out. Then Isaac started to get tired at about the same time as Matthew's candy bag started to get full. (I emptied Isaac and Melissa's bags from the trunk or treat Saturday; I left Matthew's in the bottom. Heh heh heh.) So everyone was okay with heading back. Isaac faded quickly though, starting to drag after just one more street. "Tu veux retournez chez Mama?" (Do you want to go back to Mama?") "Yeh." He was still torn; houses not yet plundered beckoned, but he allowed me to lead him past the next street while Matthew and Melissa went down it.

Isaac and I stopped at a couple more houses on the way, going so slowly that his brother and sister caught up with us just as we turned into our driveway. And everyone feasted on candy, including yours, who exacted the traditional Daddy Candy Tax.

Game night with Brian and Chris

2011-10-31T21:16:00.000-06:00

While the guys were here we played a cooperative game of Pandemic. It's a fiendishly difficult game. We tried to beat back the outbreaks that kept popping up around the globe, but alas we lost.

Cupcakes!

2011-10-31T21:08:00.001-06:00

The Sinden Kids

2011-10-23T00:29:00.009-06:00

Originally Jonathan was going to speak at a conference in Japan at the beginning of October. We invited Brian to come out for a visit, and to help me with the kids during the week Jonathan would be gone. Brian, being the great brother that he is, agreed. Chris discovered he would have leave during the same time, so at the last minute he decided to fly out too and stay with Andrea.

Somehow during the move to Austin Jonathan's passport got misplaced or lost. It's hard to say what happened, but he searched the box he thought it was in- and it wasn't! Unfortunately he didn't discover this until Friday night and his flight was Sunday evening. Instead of flying to Japan he arranged to give it over Skype with a Japanese interpreter at around 3 AM Austin time. It all worked out, and without the jet lag.

It was SO much fun to have my brothers here. Between Chris and Brian's missions, it's been years since the four of us have all been together, so we played, ate delicious things, and had fun.

Due to the abundance of limestone, Texas is home to many really cool caverns. While Brian and Chris were here we decided to pay a visit to Longhorn Caverns. It's about an hour northwest of Austin. It's unique since it is one of only a hand full of caves in the United States formed primarily by an underground river rather than acidic erosion. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is another famous river formed cave. The cave is carved smooth and you don't see many stalactites or stalagmites. Still it is beautiful in place, the crystal sections are incredible, and the history is quite colorful.

FDR's Civilian Conservation Corp cleared out the debris in the caves and discovered evidence of a Confederate stronghold. Inside they found dynamite, weapons, and two uniformed soldiers' remains, likely from an unfortunate gunpowder accident. Outlaw Sam Bass is rumored to have stashed his loot in the caverns, and legend has it that the Texas Rangers rescued a kidnapped woman from Indians in the caverns. During Prohibition, the caverns served up bootleg whiskey. Free drinks to the local sheriffs ensured the law turned a blind eye, and on Sundays the caverns hosted a church. Patrons who passed out on the floors from the night before would awake to the service and join the congregation! There is a long wide passageway know as the subterranean ballroom, and yes they did have a dance hall with wooden floors.

The caves are still used for entertainment. Willie Nelson occasionally performs in the caverns, choirs come to sing, and every December they hold caroling.

Isaac with Uncle Brian.

Unfortunately he wasn't as entertained by the caves, the ipod, or being carried in the backpack as I thought he would be... Still he made it, and mostly unscathed- just two skinned knees from tripping. Er, Isaac that is. Brian did fine.

Passageway dubbed "short man's revenge" It is about 4 to 4.5 feet high and 7 wide. Duck!

Smooth formations made by the quick-moving underground ancient river.

Not a very good picture of them, but there were two passageways filled with enormous crystals. Even Isaac was impressed.

The watch dog. This is perhaps the most famous formation/sculpture in the caverns. No tool marks have been found.

The four Sinden kids + 2 babies (and our tour guide) after the tour. Isaac (not pictured) was DONE and climbing the stairs.

On Friday night Andrea and Jeremy played host to an elaborate murder mystery dinner. They even used the fine china! Andrea set up Brian and Chris each with a date for the dinner and the eight of us busied ourselves in the sordid business of fame, love, Hollywood, and murder. Watch your back, folks, because it turns out you don't want to double cross me. Not that I'm confessing to anything...

Jonathan like it when we have out of town guests, because it provides the perfect excuse to take them out to taste the local cuisine. We took Brian to try some authentic Chinese, a Brazilian steakhouse, and good 'ol Texan barbeque, plus the world famous Round Rock doughnuts. Yum!

Brian and Chris also watched the kids for us so we could go out on the town. Come again anytime guys! Or as they say here, "Y'all come back now!" The kids LOVED having so much attention from their uncles. Uncles are pretty awesome. So are brothers.

Conference Weekend

2011-10-22T22:10:00.001-06:00

So I'm a few weeks behind...

The first weekend in October is the semi-annual conference weekend for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I love conference weekend. I love listening to the uplifting talks, getting together with family, hearing the choirs, and just relaxing. I really appreciated President Monson's talk during the Sunday Morning session about standing in holy places. Conference is a wonderful time for me to evaluate what I am doing in my life both good and bad, and hear words of encouragement for the things I could do better.

I wasn't always fond of conference though. I can remember times as a little kid sitting in the stake center watching the broadcast on a hard metal chair. The chair was too big and my feet dangled. I had to swing my legs to prevent them from losing circulation and then one of my parents would tell me to quit fidgeting. Impossible!

Now conference is available to watch online http://lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2011/10?lang=eng. I can't remember what year they started doing this, but it is a wonderful thing for people with small children. We catch part of conference with the children and listen or read the rest later. 8 hours is a lot for little ones! Speaking of which, I still need to hear the Saturday morning session...

Matthew sewed while listening to the talks. This year we promised M&M a treat if they could tell us three things they heard. Thus they were motivated to listen.

I think for next April I will build a tent in the living room and play conference bingo with M&M. I bet they would like that.

My lovely sister and oh so cute niece!

Uncle Jeremy

This year Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Andrea joined us for dinner after conference. Actually Andrea cooked the dinner and brought it to us. She made lumpia and siopao- yep, she loves us! I *slaved* away on the salad (but it was a good salad).

Isaac and the webcam

2011-10-16T15:46:00.002-06:00

Isaac and the webcam
Originally uploaded by jbellis

9 on the 9th!

2011-10-13T00:17:00.001-06:00

Matthew is growing is so many ways. He has an insatiable curiosity about the world and many, many questions. Many more questions than his parents have answers, in fact. I've given him a blank notebook to write down his musings, so he can look up the answers himself and write them down. Google is a great tool.

Matthew loves to create things with his hands. He likes to fold origami, sew, build projects with wood and nails, make lego creations, and draw cartoons.

He is a kind big brother and looks out for his younger siblings. If he gets a treat, he instinctively shares with his littler siblings. Just today at the book fair he bought a book for himself, and one that he thought his sister would like. He also delights in to teasing her though! Matthew wrestles and tickles Isaac and puts up with a lot of the mischief Isaac causes with his stuff. To be fair, Isaac would try the very patience of Job, and sometimes Matthew does get frustrated with him. Matthew also dotes on his baby sister and loves to hold her. He can't bear to hear her cry and if I don't get there first, he will pick her up and try to soothe her. He is an gentle soul.

Matthew is getting more independent and takes pride in doing things all by himself. He rides his bike to and from the school which is about a mile away and he rides to his friends' houses. He also likes to go into the store by himself and pay for things using his own money that he's earned.

To our delight, our son is an avid reader and enjoys a broad selection of books ranging from mystery, science fiction, fantasy, science nonfiction, and general fiction. Once he latches onto a good book, he will take and read it everywhere. I've drawn the line at reading on the porcelain throne, however.

Matthew is a good helper around the house and with his younger brother and sisters. He can be a huge help and when things get crazy around the house, I know I can count on him.

It is hard to believe that nine years have passed since he made his debut. It really doesn't seem very long ago!

This year Matthew celebrated his ninth birthday with lots of uncles. He had a blast playing with his Uncle Jeremy of course, and Uncles Chris and Brian who flew in town for the week to play with us.

We celebrated Jonathan and Matthew's birthdays on Saturday. We took family pictures in the park in the morning, and had world famous Round Rock donuts. Later, Jonathan, the uncles, Matthew, and Melissa all went indoor rock wall climbing.

While the guys + Melissa were out, Isaac, Corinna, and I stayed home to make the cake and decorate the house. Isaac found a carton of strawberries and decided they looked tasty. He took one or two bites out of every strawberry.

Fortunately Aunt Andrea and Uncle Jeremy saved the day and brought another carton of strawberries. Thanks guys!

The heavens opened up and it poured on that Saturday. No one minded though, since it's been many months since this parched Texas ground had seen any rain. In fact, I think the kids were initially puzzled by the wet stuff falling from the sky. Not for long though. Isaac wanted to go outside to play and Melissa changed to her swimsuit to frolic in it.

A nice picture...

...and a goofy picture. Matthew kept acting silly in the pictures so I promised a goofy group shot if he'd just behave for one picture. Matthew and Jonathan voted to have Five Guys burgers for dinner, so we did!

Matthew opening his loot. He loved the origami calendar, hex bugs, magic kit, lego set, chemistry set, radio controlled car, air force hat, and airplane he received. I say he did quite well!

Grandma sent Melissa some hair clips from her great Aunt Stephanie. She immediately had to try them out- all of them!

This year Matthew requested cheesecake. Jonathan asked for banana cream pie on his birthday, so I didn't make any traditional birthday cakes this year.

Hope your wishes come true, Matthew. I am sure proud of you, my son, and look forward to many wonderful birthdays to come.

Dancing with Dad

2011-10-12T22:33:00.001-06:00

Daddy dancing with his girls to Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Game night

2011-10-06T07:09:00.003-06:00

Game night
Originally uploaded by jbellis

The central Texas board game meetup meets on Wednesdays. It's tough to find a babysitter since that's Mutual night for the ward's teenagers, so we grabbed our chance with Brian in town to check it out.

Rachel played a marathon, eight player Munchkin session. I knew it wasn't going to be a short game from past experience (7 player Munchkin at PyCon a couple years ago), and I was right: it lasted about 90 minutes. (A four-player Munchkin round can be done in 30 minutes.)

I tried "Zombie Dash," a game being demoed by its owner, an indie publisher. There wasn't a whole lot of strategy. But it was done quickly, which worked out nicely, because just about then Corinna got fussy. I walked her around the store where the meetup was held, and we checked out their games and I looked up reviews on board game geek.

Finally, I took her to the grocery store across the parking lot, and pushing her around in a cart until she fell asleep.

Rachel heard that Steve Jackson comes to this meetup once or twice a month to playtest his new games. I told her that if Steve Jackson is there, I'll make an exception to my "no Munchkin with family members" rule.

We'll have to find more babysitting options so we can go back.

4 Months and Shrinking!

2011-09-30T14:45:00.001-06:00

Four months postpartum, and I can now squeeze into many of my pre-pregnancy clothes. Squeeze is the operative word. Some of my pants I could really use a shoe horn assist. I'm within 10-12 lbs of my regular weight, and since I can wear most of my wardrobe I'm pretty happy about that.

For the last month I have been losing gobs of hair. I think it gets worse with each baby. I sure hope it tapers off soon, since it isn't as though I have lots to spare.

Still waking up with night sweats about every other night. Dratted hormones! It will be nice when things settle down a bit.

All in all, I'm feeling pretty good and getting into the swing of things with 4 kids. 4 kids?! How did that happen? It still boggles my mind sometimes. It's a zoo at times, but a pretty happy zoo.

4 Months and Growing!

2011-09-30T14:30:00.000-06:00

Took Corinna to the doctor's office for her checkup this week. She is now 14 lbs 10 oz and 25.5 inches long. That puts her at 75th percentile for weight and 90th for height. She's a good sized baby.

It is amazing to me how fast she has grown.

Here is Corinna and Isaac when she was just 4 days old.

And today.

She looks enormous in Isaac's lap!

Isaac is a good big brother. He likes to hold his baby sister, sing, and play games with her. Corinna doesn't really "get" his games yet, but she seems to enjoy his antics and tolerate the volume.

Corinna has lost the new baby "bobbly head" and has gained a neck. When held horizontally, her back is straight, head up, and her arms and legs extended. It's super baby! She likes to bat at, grasp, and chew toys, but her favorite toys are her fingers and toes.

She is easily our drooliest baby and soaks 4-5 bibs a day. Corinna also likes to blow bubbles, hence her nickname, Baby Bubbles. She coos, gurgles, and seems to carry on a conversation when you talk to her.

The girl is a good eater, obviously, and very efficient. She typically breastfeeds every few hours. Sometimes she likes to snack on and off, but usually she's all business and done in less than 10 minutes. Corinna is now at the distractible age. If her siblings are being loud, she'll pop off and crane her head to see what the excitement is.

At night she likes to bounce to sleep on our large exercise ball. A few weeks ago we had a temporary crisis when the ball broke. Corinna had a couple of nights without it and was not pleased. Order was restored when a new ball arrived.

At night she sleeps between 6-7 hours at a time. It is glorious. And unprecedented among Ellis babies, I might add.

We sure enjoy our sweet, happy, Baby Bubbles.

A visit to New Jersey

2011-09-25T15:51:00.004-06:00

Last week I spoke at the Strata conference in New York, so I took the opportunity to visit my family in New Jersey. Unfortunately, the only flight that worked schedule-wise was on JetBlue, so on Tuesday I flew into JFK, my parents' least favorite airport to pick me up from. Not to worry, I figured: I was saving the company two nights of New York hotel prices, so they were still coming out ahead from me expensing a JFK-to-Westfield taxi.

Of course, the driver wanted to tell me his life story. He was a newlywed of two years, but had ten- and twelve-year-old kids from his ex. Ex-girlfriend, that is, not ex-wife. They were in Florida, and he was pretty bitter about how (according to him) the ex had left him for a drug dealer, then tried to come back when he dumped her. Somewhere along the way, he asked me if I ever cheated on my wife. "No," I told him, "I'm a religious man." I didn't ask if he had. I didn't want to know the answer.

As soon as I could politely do so, I opened my laptop to get some work done. The 3g signal was consistently good--shockingly so, in fact. The only downside was the pulping of my wrists from my macbook's sharp edges. (Enduring these for the past year was a major factor in my decision to not get another mac this time.) Steve Jobs ought to spend a few years in purgatory getting flagellated with sharp laptop edges for approving that one.

There was a surprise when we arrived. The cab was equipped with a card reader, but the driver claimed that it only worked when he turned on the meter, not for fixed-rate fares like this one. I'm still not sure if that was the truth or he just wanted to keep the 2% card fee, but I went in and greeted Mom with, "Good to see you too! Do you have $140 in cash?" We had to raid her wallet, Dad's, and Christine's, but we came up with the fare and a tip. Then Mom gave the driver directions back to the turnpike, since we'd followed my phone's directions on the way in and he was lost. ("It's crazy that it's so dark when it's only 7:00," he'd commented. "In the city it's still bright.")

Dad pointed out that I could have hired a limo for about $100 instead. Lesson learned.

(Waking Christine up to raid her wallet was about all I saw of her this trip. The following night was parent/teacher conferences, so she came home at 9:30 and went straight to bed.)

Wednesday morning, I took the train up to NYC. I didn't have a deadline, so I made it a dry run for Thursday, when my talk was at 10:40. I made it to the hotel at 10:00, a comfortable safety margin. Then it turned out that the Thursday hotel was actually different than the Wednesday one, so I walked about 10 blocks down to the correct one.

The only real entry on my schedule for Wednesday was a Skype interview with the FLOSS podcast. I borrowed our VPM's hotel room for that, doing some furniture re-arranging so I could get decent lighting for the camera. As luck would have it, the video froze a few minutes into the show and for the rest of it they just had a still image of me explaining something--mouth open, arms waving.

Wednesday evening was the big family dinner at my parents'. Grant and Lisa and David and Dielha were all there. There was chicken parmesan and baked ziti, both excellent. There was also broccoli rabe, which made an indelible impression on me. Broccoli rabe is bitter. Extremely, extremely bitter. Almost chewing-up-a-tylenol bitter. It looked kind of like spinach though, or like swiss chard, so I took a big helping because I like both of those, as vegetables go.

The others profited by my experience: Dielha gave hers to David, who is apparently immune to bitter. Dad took a small portion. I'm not sure Grant took any at all. But I finished my double helping because that's what men do.

I caught up on family stuff. David, who was offended when I expressed skepticism when he told me he was moving to Texas this summer This Time For Sure, took a new job as a scale technician as step one towards his new plan of moving to Brazil. I was pleased that the copy of Brazen Careerist I'd sent him had helped land the new job, though.

Grant is working 80 hour weeks and has virtually no free time at all, but stayed a couple extra hours to chill. I'd taken the last two volumes of Planetary to read on the plane, and Grant's radar spotted them on the table in the family room. He read Vol 3 and was going to read 4, but I told him to wait and I'd send him 1 and 2 so he could read those first. He was going to read 4 anyway, but Dad confiscated it. That made me smile; Dad is still Dad.

When the conversation ran out of steam and everyone started reading a book or watching TV (we're a family of introverts, for the most part) I wanted to introduce Grant to Machinarium or Braid, but nobody knew Christine's administrator password for the kitchen computer, so I settled for Angry Birds.

Grant's daughter Pamella ("Elly") looks incredibly, even shockingly like her dad. To me, most month old babies have kind of bland, generic faces. Even my own. But even I can tell that this is unmistakably Grant's child.

Thursday morning it was back up to NYC. Same route I took yesterday. Only this time the 8:56 from Newark to NYC still hadn't left the station by 9:20, when they announced that due to power problems at NYC Penn Station, no trains were going in or out until further notice. So for Plan B I took the PATH subway instead, which after a couple connections took me to within three blocks of the hotel, at almost 10:30. I ran like hell and got to the room with a couple minutes to spare, wiping sweat off my forehead.

Our VP of marketing was just about to have a heart attack because I'd texted him about the train problems, but I couldn't get a signal on the subway to tell him it looked like I'd make it. We had a backup plan, though; I'd emailed him my slides the night before and Matt or Jake could have delivered it if necessary.

But after that, the talk went well. Standing room only. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed our CEO sitting on the floor towards the front -- he said later that he didn't want to take up space standing in the back so if more people came in they would have room.

I had lunch at the same table as a high school senior whose father was speaking at the conference and took him along for the week. I thought that was pretty cool. Better use of time than another week of the same old.

I left for the airport instead of staying for the post-conference party. I needn't have hurried; my flight was delayed, and delayed, and delayed again, and finally they just left the projected departure on the monitor even after we passed it with no plane in sight, as if to admit that they knew we didn't believe them anyway. I did make it back to Austin that night as planned ... at 2:30 AM.

Isaac's speech therapist

2011-09-20T09:23:00.003-06:00

"Ms. Dana" has a cabinet full of toys. Therapy consists of Isaac choosing a toy to play with and Dana keeping up a stream of comments --"Pig hides. Stack hay. Hay falls!" -- and encouraging Isaac to "Use your words! What are we going to do?" (Isaac: "Open!") "We'll open the choo-choo box."

Isaac clearly enjoys it. Today was my first time to take him, and he ran through the building to the right office with me in tow.

I bet he'd be making even faster progress if we lived near Aunt Christine. Somehow, she had the ability to get Isaac to speak to her, more than anyone else.

Of course Aunt Christine was teaching him French, so maybe we'd still need Miss Dana...

Smiling Corinna

2011-09-18T21:57:00.003-06:00

(August 29th) Corinna at 13 weeks

I just realized that I forgot to post these pictures. Corinna is a smiley, happy baby (most of the time). As I type this she is waking up hungry and grumpy, so she isn't always sunshine and lollipops. Still, as long as her tummy is full, her diaper clean, and she is being held or has toys to amuse herself she is pretty happy.

August peanuts, part 2

2011-09-18T08:50:00.002-06:00

Isaac invented a game: climb the couch, get a kleenex, jump down, run to Corinna in the swing, wipe her nose, run to the trash can and throw away the kleenex, run back to the couch, repeat. Both Isaac and Corinna were amused.
Isaac broke the PS3 again, this time by stuffing playing cards into the DVD slot. Rachel fished half a dozen out with a crochet hook but it wasn't enough. At least everything but physical media still works.
Rachel took Isaac back-to-school shopping. She came back with Matthew and Melissa supplies, a Dora backpack that Rachel knew about, and an extra pencil box that Isaac snuck into the cart unknown to her.
Matthew's bow and arrow arrived on the 18th and the next day he was already bugging me about a hunting license.
Freshmen have arrived in Austin for Fall semester at UT. They're all really, really young. Realized I'm closer to Matthew going to college, than I am to having been in college myself.
Rachel was skeptical about Braid but she is really enjoying it. Highly recommended for all of you who still haven't played it.
A worker at the supermarket this morning heard me speaking French with Isaac and introduced himself. He and his wife are from Algeria; he has a master's degree in sociology; hers is in banking and finance. He stocks shelves at HEB; she is a cashier. "When we won the green card lottery we decided it was worth it to take the opportunity and find whatever jobs in the US we could."
There's an international school about five minutes from my house that offers French immersion (even giving them the French standardized tests, which I'm ambivalent about). That would be fun for Isaac except their preschool is full-day-only. And $10,000 a year.
8/25: three days of school, three emails from Matthew's teacher. That's a filterin'.
8/29: after a week of being dragged out of bed for school, Matthew and Melissa woke up at 6:30 on both Saturday and Sunday. Today, back to dragging out of bed again.
8/29: A first: I totally made Corinna laugh making funny faces and noises with her. Not that I am bragging or anything.

August peanuts, part 1

2011-09-18T00:21:00.001-06:00

Isaac is more stubborn than the hook that was in his door to keep it closed. Back to teaching him to stay in his bedroom the hard way.
Oddly, picky Isaac is the only one of the kids who will eat Chicago-style deep dish pizza. Matthew and Melissa are strictly thin-crust only.
Rachel: "Wal-mart probably has a better price on tic-tacs than Home Depot." Matthew: "Yeah, it's $2.42 sub-total for a four-pack at wal-mart." The things you have brain cells to spare for, when you're eight.
Taiwanese neighbor, to Rachel: "I know everyone on the street. Except the woman from mainland China over there. I don't talk to her."
Austin is taunting me. The local wal-mart has Herr's chips... but only nasty ones like Honey Cheese Puffs.
Jeremy fixed Rachel's phone (to be able to use Android Market) after I failed. I will now go turn in my geek card.
Fat lady who looks like she's from "people of walmart" glared at me and muttered not-so-under her breath when I moved her kid's plastic boots from an otherwise-empty McDonald's booth, to the floor. Me: "I'm sorry, were you not done eating?" Fat lady: "We weren't eating."
[Twenty minutes later] McDonalds visit cut short by Isaac pooping his pants. Again.
There are three pizzerias within a reasonable drive advertising New York pizza. Tried the first today for Isaac's birthday party: it's ... well, "It's not the best pizza in Austin, but it's the closest," as one Yelp reviewer put it.
Me: "The founder of Five Guys really does have five sons." Rachel: "I'm not giving you five sons, sweetheart."

On top of the world

2011-09-18T00:01:00.005-06:00

I wasn't sure if this was worth a blog post, but Rachel saw the pictures and said, "He's climbing on top of those now?"

Yes. Yes, he is. (I think that puts him a few months behind Melissa in that respect. But not many.)

[Rachel setting the record straight: Actually Melissa didn't start climbing *on top* of the monkey bars until after we moved to San Antonio. She was nearly 4 when she started her dare-devil tricks.]

Stickers

2011-09-17T23:56:00.003-06:00

Isaac thought it would be fun to put these stickers on Mommy. "No, Isaac," she told him, "Put them on Daddy!"

And thus we see that you don't need to run faster than the bear, you just need to run faster than your husband. Something like that.

Guilty

2011-09-17T23:55:00.004-06:00

Painting is Isaac's favorite part of Kids Workshop

2011-09-17T23:54:00.005-06:00

Home Depot's Kids Workshop is once a month. Lowes is twice. I'm glad it's not the other way around, because Home Depot goes the extra mile and puts out paints for the kids to really personalize their projects, and cleaning Isaac (and myself) up monthly is just about all I can handle.

He makes a circuit around the paints table, which has 8 or 9 trays full of different colors of paint. He makes exactly one stop at each tray; when he has tried them all, he is ready to go home. If it is an unexciting color then he will just put a few dabs on; if he really likes it, he'll paint the whole thing with it.

This can be unfortunate; last month, his project was a riot of color... then he got to the last one, and decided he REALLY liked brown, and painted over everything with it. This month's toy blackboard was more fortunate.

Lunch in the rain

2011-09-17T23:49:00.003-06:00

We went out to the food trucks for lunch Friday and got caught in about the only rain we've had in months. It didn't even occur to us to pull open the blinds to see if it was raining, because ... why bother?

We didn't score one of the two tables with umbrellas but we toughed it out anyway, because we are men. And we were hungry.

(That's Nate in the lower right, and Brian next to him.)

My favorite food truck is Pig Vicious, which has an excellent pork-oriented menu. But the one I eat at most often is a Mexican taco truck because it's the only one that's open every day. Most of the rest are only open Fridays and evenings.

Fondue for two

2011-09-17T23:43:00.003-06:00

Andrea and Jeremy offered to watch the munchkins so Rachel and I went on a date.

Rachel had desert with her cousins at a Melting Pot restaurant years ago, and has been interested in trying a full meal there ever since. It just so happens that we live less than a mile from one...

I'd say it was worth trying ... once. The cheese appetizer was only okay, and the main course of meat was difficult to avoid overcooking--and even if you were better at that than I, there's only so much you can do with boiled meat anyway.

But dessert was fantastic. The brownie was especially good when re-dipped in the chocolate. We'll keep it in mind when we're going out (1) just for dessert and (2) without the kids. Those two don't align very often.

A thousand words

2011-09-17T23:28:00.003-06:00

I think we've mentioned that we live near a LOT of Asians. Here's a strip mall across the freeway from us: four Chinese restaurants ("Asia Cafe" doesn't get a sign for some reason), and a Chinese dance studio as a bonus.

(If you were to assume from the two Indian restaurants that they are the second most populous non-white demographic here, I think you'd be right about that too.)

This is weird after moving just an hour north of San Antonio, where Hispanics make up 60% of the population and the rest is almost entirely white. I like the variety. And in particular, I like Asian food.

At the SCA renaissance fair

2011-09-17T12:16:00.002-06:00

IMAG0681
Originally uploaded by jbellis

I took the kids to an SCA event today. Melissa and Isaac immediately declared it boring and scampered off to the adjacent playground. Matthew lasted about one minute longer before joining them. "I don't get it, Dad."

On the positive side, it _was_ a great playground and their were tons of other kids there. And we got smoked turkey legs to take home for lunch before we left.

That's my boy!

2011-09-15T15:48:00.001-06:00

Matthew came home beaming from his after school lego robotics class today.

"Mom! We programmed the robot to move the block around the yardstick and back to the goal- and Jeff and I were the _first team_ to figure it out!"

(As I've mentioned before, we're in a high tech area- lots of Dell people, engineers, and programmers. How awesome is it to have an after-school lego robotics class???)

Speech Therapy

2011-09-12T22:16:00.003-06:00

Isaac's speech is markedly behind where it should be at his age, and we've been worried. We kept hoping that he'd catch up... but that hasn't happened so far. My number one priority after the move was to find a speech pathologist. (His ears have already been checked- they are fine.) So while the big kids were at school on their first day, I took him to be evaluated. As we suspected, he is significantly delayed.

Twice a week he goes for a half hour session. Isaac thinks it is great! The therapist uses toys and play to interact with him. On the positive side she doesn't think he needs to use signs since he is able to imitative many sounds. If he is required to, he will talk to get what he wants, but he strongly prefers to point or get things himself. On the downside, he rarely makes sentences, and then only two words at most. The words he does use we have had to repeat and drill over and over before he uses them. Additionally, words that have 2 or more syllables and change sounds are difficult for him to say, and to a stranger, unintelligible. "Mama" and "Dada" are easy since the same sound is repeated. "Matthew" "water" "marble" are hard for him. Also, the sessions are very expensive ($90!) so we will have to cut down to once a week once he's really comfortable with her.

We'll give it 6 months and see what happens. We are hoping that once he fully recognizes the power of words to manipulate his environment to get what he wants, he will progress quickly. I can see that he is talking more frequently and new words are starting to pop up. I pray that his problems are all speech-related, the alternative is really difficult to contemplate...

Pretty in Pink

2011-09-12T21:15:00.003-06:00

Some smocked dresses that Grandma Ellis originally made for Melissa. I'm so glad that we can use them again!

Corinna at 7 weeks.

And at 11 weeks.

Dressed to impress with lace, beads, embroidery, and dainty smocking!

Girls are fun to dress.

A new centerpiece

2011-09-12T17:46:00.002-06:00

A new centerpiece
Originally uploaded by jbellis

Melissa is sick

2011-09-10T22:18:00.002-06:00

Crashed on the couch

She first threw up at 1 AM, so Jonathan and I cleaned the bedding, floor, toys, wall, knobs, light fixtures, faucet, and daughter. It was pretty messy. Today she hung out in pajamas and continued to upchuck- mostly in a pot. We're trying to keep her hydrated. Here's hoping that tomorrow is a better day. Poor girl!

Archery

2011-09-04T21:25:00.001-06:00

Matthew tried his hand at archery at scout camp this year. He enjoyed himself so much that he saved up to buy his own bow and arrow.

First Day of School

2011-09-04T21:21:00.000-06:00

Matthew and Melissa started school on the 23rd of August. Matthew was very excited, but Melissa was feeling a bit nervous.

Isaac really wanted to go too. I bought him a backpack and a lunchbox -just like the big kids- and he carts them around with.

All ready to go!

Their first day went pretty well. Matthew and Melissa both made some friends. This is good since they've both been feeling lonely after moving away from all of their friends. One of the kids Matthew met in his class lives on the same street and they really hit it off. Branden, Matthew's new buddy, rides to school each day and Matthew wanted to ride too. We found his bike helmet in one of the garage boxes on Saturday, so next week he can start riding his bike to school. We live further away from the school in Austin than we did in San Antonio, so while it is still within walking distance, it is a LONG walk in 100+ degree heat with small people. Maybe when the weather cools off in a few months I'll be game for walking.

Isaac seems to enjoy the calm while the older kids are in school. This summer has been tough on him. he went from having mom to himself all day last school year, to a new baby sister, and his mama's attention divide among the older children. Throw in the turmoil associated with a move, and he's had a rocky summer.

Glass half empty

2011-09-03T11:51:00.002-06:00

Glass half empty
Originally uploaded by jbellis

On the bright side, the movers didn't lose my electronics. On the other hand, they packed them in the bottom of trash can where I unearthed them under a pile of heavy yard tools.

Paul gives a balloon animal demonstration

2011-08-28T17:25:00.003-06:00

Paul gives a baloon animal demonstration
Originally uploaded by jbellis

At Lowes Build and Grow

2011-08-27T09:41:00.003-06:00

Isaac immediately appointed himself Lord High Steward of the Nails. Ignoring my protests, he dumped the entire bag into his apron pocket. Every time we needed one, he'd stand up and, with a huge grin on his face, fish one out.

At the end he was hammering them in unaided. The projects have pre-drilled nail holes, so he didn't even need help to start them.