April Already?

Things have been busy around our house so blogging has had to take a back seat. We're doing okay...just had to deal with a lot of family drama.

Cassie has had many fun adventures lately. Poppi took me and Cassie on an adventure last week to ride the carousel, finally. I'd been taking her to the mall but we wouldn't actually ride the horses...it's $2 per person so I decided we didn't need to spend that money. She's played at the park across from her Tiaboo's house and had some special reading time with her Granma.

The BIG hit in our home lately is "Signing Time"--I decided to start learning sign language with Cassie via some DVD's I heard about on the TODAY show. We borrowed a few at the library and now she LOVES to watch Signing Time. We've both learned quite a lot of sign language and her vocabulary has grown exponentially as a result. I cannot begin to express how much our daughter loves these DVD's! Check out their website: www.signingtime.com

Easter Weekend!

Hi Blog-friends,
We had a VERY busy weekend... but Cassie did well in spite of major disruptions in her schedule. Click on the picture to see what we did!

WH Easter Egg Roll 2008

Saturday we attended the Easter pageant at our church and then went to a party at my parents' house. The most darling part of that day was when Cassie walked into her Mimi and Poppi's room all by herself to settle down for some quiet reading. Guess she had enough of all the people interaction and wanted some peace and quiet in her pack and play. She read to herself for quite a while.. I just love the fact that she is confident enough to set her own boundaries regarding sleep, play, etc.

Sunday we left VERY early to be at church in Pennsylvania to celebrate Granma's birthday and Jesus' resurrection. Cassie skipped her nap in the afternoon but was pleasant in spite of the lack of sleep.

Monday was another early day...we went to the White House Easter Egg Roll thanks to Tiaboo! Beka works at the White House and was able to get tickets for all of us to attend. We drove to Beka's house and then Metro'd to the WH--Cassie was unsure of the "train" at first but did well overall. Once at the WH, it was really fun to see Cassie enjoy the music from the Marine Band. She didn't want to leave the music but we coerced her to venture away when we pointed out all the Easter bunnies roaming the lawn. Sadly though, Beka did something horrible to her back when trying to lift Cassie--she spent the afternoon at Urgent Care to figure out the problem! She's in a lot of pain and needs our prayers! After the White House we walked to Poppi's office for a visit. Cassie enjoyed meeting all of Poppi's friends at work...and we were glad to get a ride back to Tiaboo's house (Beka especially was glad not to walk).

On a separate note-I've noticed a marked increase in Cassie's ability to communicate effectively. She's using a lot of words and has begun singing very clearly. The Easter gift we gave Cassie (Leap Frog Phonics Alphabet for the refrigerator) has been a HUGE hit...Cassie is singing the alphabet over and over again. She's also been reading to herself a lot...holding the book up and pointing at things, while running a narrative of what she's seeing. I'm impressed and want to do some research on how to encourage her interest in reading.

What you’re supposed to do...copy this text, delete my answers, type in your answers and send it to a bunch of people - including me.

A) FOUR PLACES I GO OVER AND OVER:
The gym, church, the “tot-lot” in our neighborhood, and the grocery store/Walmart
B) FOUR PEOPLE WHO E-MAIL ME: (Regularly):
my mother in law, my mom, my pen-pal in Nebraska-Mr. Riggins, and my old teaching partner, Rachel Reno
C) Four of my favorite foods:
popcorn, yogurt, apples, pretzels
D) Four places I would rather be right now:
On a beach/by the pool relaxing while Cassie’s with a babysitter, reading a book in bed under my electric blanket, listening to my favorite showtunes while playing addictive games on my cell phone, at the library browsing and stocking up on all the books I haven’t been able to read since becoming a mother!
E) Four people I think will respond: ummm
F) Four movies I would watch over and over:
Sound of Music, Singing in the Rain, Princess Bride, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers