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Our daughter is a genius!

Sorry it took me so long to figure out how to put video on our blog, it's actually quite easy so I hope you enjoy this added feature. This next video doesn't quite show her genius side, just her nature baby reflexes (watch closely at the end :)

"Come on, get hoppy: Leap Day activities to boost frog awareness"

That is the first thing I saw when I Googled "leap day activities" hoping to find something fun for my first graders to do on Friday. I just couldn't pass up sharing that with you all. It really made me smile and even chuckle a little.

This is the activity that I eventually found and am going to use to celebrate Leap Day. Just a cute little paper frog with movable arms and legs.

If you would like to read more about frog awareness feel free to visit the site http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080218/NEWS05/802180331

Nap Time

I mentioned to a few of you about Rebecca's nap time habbit of pulling her blanket over her head. It's a little unnerving to see your child with a blanket over their head, but when you learn that if you take it off they will wake up, you get use to it. Rebecca loves to cuddle and chew on her blanket at nap time and almost always falls asleep with it over her head. After trying to remove it a few times and her waking up, I've learned to just move it away from her mouth and nose a little. Maybe she likes the warmth or the darkness, who knows.

Today is yet another snow day, but instead of being home from school we are home from church. So we are just hanging out in the warm house playing and practicing sitting up - she still needs a little asistance.
Lots of warm smiles and love from the frozen Iowa prairie.

Sitting Up

Rebecca continues to amaze us. I know she is just doing what most babies her age do, but it is still awesome to see how she grows and changes. Last night after a poopy diaper blow-out (there is no way to sugar-coat that) I stripped her down and was wiping off her back when she decided that she was going to sit up by herself. The camera was handy so I snapped a few pictures. Yes, that is my hand on the side of the picture ready to catch her if she decided to lean the wrong way. What a big girl!

This next picture is of our basement so far. As you can see, we are done painting and have started to install the ceiling. For some reason we thought that a tile ceiling would be easier, and although is seems like an easy system to screw and snap together, it has been a trying process. Lots of measuring, pushing, pulling, tweaking, (yes, tweaking, t-w-e-a-k-ing, tweaking)* and making exact cuts. We know the finished product will be great and the end is in sight. We've also started staining the wood work. There will be a wooden boarder between the two colors on the wall and all the baseboard and door trim.

*For Mom and Rachel - I couldn't pass that one up! Hope you enjoyed it :)

Happy Birthday Grandpa Pontier

And at his request, I am trying to load the pictures so that when you click on them they will get bigger. We'll see if it works.
(Yes, it does work and the pic gets so big you can see Rebecca's runny nose!)

Another Snow Day

Yes, another snowday (half snowday) for me. I got out of school early and thanks to Dan we have a new and faster internet provider and I can finally blog again. We've all been staying busy lately.

Dan has been working really hard in the basement and we have the large livingroom and hallway textured and we hope to prime and paint in the next few days at which time we will post some more pictures.

Rebecca has been busy trying new kinds of foods. This weekend she had sweet potatoes for the first time and loved them. I'm sure she also likes what a nice orange mess they make!

This morning I brought to daycare a few jars of applesauce for Rebecca to have. She doesn't sleep very much in the mornings anymore so I thought a nice snack in the a.m. would help her. I thought a jar would last 2 or 3 days, just a few ounces at a time. This morning she ate a whole jar! I guess we need to get used to the idea that our little girl is growing up and needs some more real food to keep her going :)

I just took these pictures of Rebecca in her overalls because she just looks so cute in them. They reminded me of another picture I remembered seeing. Can you see the resemblance?

I think Rebecca is happy to look just like her daddy!

And finally, I've been staying busy at school with getting to know my students after being gone for so long. I've actually had to take some work home with a few nights. Next week is parent/teacher conferences so I'm getting ready for those as well as writing report cards. Another snow day tomorrow would be greatly appreciated!