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Saturday, November 22, 2008

What Lily can say as of November 22nd 08'

What Lily can now say

Peeeasee (please)
Tank you (Thank you)
more
mine
mia (Moya)
juice
mid (milk)
momma
daddy
meow (cat)
woof (dog)
dood bops (Doodle Bops)
Jack (Jacks Big Music Show)
Jo Jo (our neighbor who she loves)
buppy (puppy)
down
NO
bues cues (blues clues)

baby
bodd (bottle)
T (we have no idea what it means)
cheeeeeese
yup
and all songs on the radio and tv including commercials (it sounds like words but it ain't English)


and my all time favorite:

I fard (I farted)
*then laughs uncontrollably*

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

a few weeks in photographic review!

Playing cards with the neighbors!

Lily looks like Lyle Lovett

First time at the table. She threw a roll at Rose minutes after the photo was taken.

Lily does homework too!

Rose doing her homework.

I just love gerbils!

Rose and her student teacher at curriculum night.

Rose receives her award at school!


We think she's pretty terrific too!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Reagen is not happy!

This cracks me up! The baby is Reagen and he is a cousin of Lily and Rose. We use to call Reagen and Lily the twins because they looked a like and were the same size. I think Reagen wanted to vote for the other guy. Boy do we miss those boys!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

why why why?

Why, Why, Why?
Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?
Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough money?
Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?
Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with
hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' It isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?'
Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?
In winter, why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?
Why is it that you never hear father-in-law jokes?

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?
Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?
And, on a side note...
The statistics on sanity show that one out of every four persons are suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you!

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Highly Gifted with ADHD?

So what does it mean Mrs. Morgan to be highly gifted with ADHD? Well in my house it means a daughter 6 who acts like a maniac bouncing off every wall. It means never seeing a full episode of any of her favorite shows or eating a meal sitting still. It is a bundle of energy that radiates out from the tip of her toes to the top of her unkempt blond hair. It's a child who wanders our house as if she has no purpose in mind causing a lot of distress from the new walker in our household who tries but fails to follow her around. It's a daughter who's panic mode is on high and goes off at every turn. Its a child who "watches" the world go by on her head (literally). Its a little girl who can't seem to stop her self from moving but insists on skipping through life with a song issuing forth from her lips.

Its a child who is the delight of the second grade having started kindergarten at the tender age of 4. Its a 4 year old who starts school barely potty trained and leaves top of her class in all subjects. It looks like a little girl who struggles with boredom at school ( we left that school) who doesn't understand her and writes her off as trouble maker. It looks like a 6 year old who the year before in first grade tests at a reading level of 66 at an Elementary school who only has reading kits that go to 45 (5th grade level kit). It's a child who makes her teacher laugh with her exuberance to learn. It looks like a pretty little thing with a crush on boy and friends in every class. Its a child who is so far ahead in math that they have to start a new math group to accommodate her. Its being recommended for the gifted program not in your grade but two grades ahead where they may have material to challenge her.

These are the same child living in the chaotic world of gifted with ADHD. So how do we accommodate this child? With tears and love, yelling and hugs! I shake my head a lot that is all I have to say.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

For the love of Amelia


This has come from Edson's blog: Please read and donate! You will be donating to the training of Amelia's new dog! You can also purchase the above photo and all money will be donated to 4 Paws for Abilities. Just click on the word photo above and it will take you the site where you can buy the photo and help out Amelia.

Kids rule. (And so do their parents.)

Last week we went over to the YMCA to collect some money being donated for Amelia. It was so touching to see a couple dozen kids come out together, with their banner and their smiles, to give us the money they themselves had collected. So far. They decided to keep their fundraiser going until we reach our goal.

The kids were apparently eager to meet Amelia, so after some group photos, they surrounded her like she was Miley Cyrus or something. She just smiled and turned around to look at all of them, not sure what to make of it. We were so appreciative of the work these kids had done, and they seemed really proud to have helped. And well they should be.

Then tonight I went over to the school with Amelia and Edson for parent-teacher conferences while Lori stayed home with sick baby Owen.

As mentioned previously, Westfall Elementary also set up a fundraiser for Amelia. Edson came home from kindergarten the Friday before last and said "Amelia was on TV at school today." Apparently they had her appear on their closed-circuit morning school "news broadcast," explaining to the kids about the fundraiser. They also sent home a flyer with all the students, telling them to save their quarters. They made a huge drawing of a dog, and for 50 cents, kids could buy paper dog bones and stick them on the dog picture.

Tonight I got to see the famous dog picture. It's about four feet high and six feet long. And completely covered in bones. They are overlapping and spilling out around the edges. They told me it took just two days to fill. So they added a huge dog house, probably six feet by seven feet. Also completely covered. And a huge dog dish. And a huge ball. Covered. They even traced Amelia herself and made a big cutout of her, with a flowered shirt and a photocopied head, holding some bones in her hand. So adorable. They told me they won't cover her up though. :-)

And that's not all. Everybody I ran into had something more to share. Amelia's preschool teacher showed me a note from one of the parents of a classmate. This little preschooler had donated his entire allowance to help Amelia. Another teacher told me they were thinking of expanding the fundraiser to the middle school. Someone else told me the total was over $1400 in just one week. Another teacher commented that some students were asking really great questions and having really good discussions about things like disabilities and service dogs as a result.

The preschool teacher in the room across the hall from Amelia's was telling me that kids are starting to recognize her around the school, saying "hi" and interacting with her. As if to confirm her comments, just after that, a little girl, probably four, came up to her and said, "Hi Amelia! Do you want to play with me?" We heard several parents walking past saying, "Is that Amelia" or kids saying, "There she is!" And greetings everywhere we turned. I remember when I was in elementary school, the special needs kids were often shunned, mocked, teased, or even feared. It was amazing to see such a contrast.

I don't know if any YMCA participants or Westfall Elementary students or parents or teachers are reading this, but if you are, THANK YOU! I couldn't even properly express my gratitude to all these people tonight for fear of getting choked up. After we left, I couldn't wait the ten minutes it would take to drive home, so I called Lori from the parking lot. Only it didn't make for a very coherent story, because I could barely get the words out.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Halloween

Dorthy and Toto

Snow White

Snow White is our comedian!

Please note Dorthy is trying to take Toto back from Snow White! Tears will flow!