Jude's new toy

Jude in his new Bouncer-oo seat










Jude doesn't bounce very well. Only about 6 more inches and his tippy toes will hit the floor.

Gap-toothed Kid...

Matthew *finally* lost a tooth.










He was getting a bit concerned that it was never going to happen. About two weeks ago, Mom discovered one tooth was really loose, and the one beside it was slightly wiggly. (They had that "crooked" look to them that suggested "I'm on the move.") It fell out a week later, and yes, the Tooth Fairy paid a visit.

Matthew then went to the dentist (already on the agenda, timing was coincidental.) Dr. John took x-rays since he was a new patient, and on the x-ray he could see that the tooth beneath the hole was close to popping through, and the tooth next to it (under the other loose tooth) wasn't far behind, so that should be coming out soon. The top front grownup teeth are out of alignment with the rest of the others, so they should cause wiggling soon. Matthew is now checking all of them at least daily (seems like "hourly" to Mom!) to see if there's any "improvement".

And, unbeknownst to others, his bottom 6-year-old molars have broken through...one is half in, and the other has just erupted with the points breaking the gum. This could also explain why he's been generally miserable for the last few weeks -- he's been "teething." You think we'd have caught on, since Jude's been miserable (for the same reason).

Now the race is on to see who gets new bottom teeth first, Matthew or Jude.

Our Christmas Update:

Luke is well. He had his first 4^th grade report card, and earned two 97s, two 98s, and a 99. We’re very proud and very impressed. He recently was in the school Nativity play, and had two roles. One was a “walk-on” as a Roman guard sending “each to his place of birth,” while the other was a speaking role as a Wise Man. He was the King who brought the gold to the Baby Jesus. He is still ice skating, and doing very well. He has moved up several levels since last season, and is planning on beginning to take his Moves tests soon. He has learned five single jumps (Salchow, toe loop, loop, Lutz, and flip) and three spins (scratch, back-scratch, and sit). Next up is the granddaddy of all the skills—the Axel. He’s looking forward to mastering it. For his school journal entry on “Who is a good role model to me?” he chose his coach, Roland. Luke thinks he’d like to be a skating coach when he grows up, too.

Matthew is enjoying first grade. He had a good report card as well, and we’re very pleased. He also sang in the Christmas show with his class. We recently went to Disney World for vacation, and one of his schoolmates was there at the same time. Matthew and Carina had a great time going on rides together, and hope that someday we can all go back again. Matthew is following in Luke’s skate tracks, and can successfully land his waltz and toe loop jumps. He enjoys spinning the most, though. He’s discovered how to be popular with the ladies. I volunteer in the cafeteria on Mondays, and after he finishes his lunch, he gets to hold Jude on his lap. Together, they’re “chick magnets.”

Celia is holding her own. We’d love for her to join the boys at Notre Dame in September, and have started talking to the Pre-K teacher to see if her class could make the accommodations Celia needs. We still need to talk to the principal, but when we said, “Celia has a feeding tube,” to the teacher, she didn’t even flinch. We’re taking this as a positive sign. Her one “solid food” is plain cane sugar. During a recent grocery trip, she discovered stretch of aisle ten feet long and filled with different kinds (granulated bulk bags, cubes, packets) and brands. Her response was a slack-jawed, breathless, “Oh. My. Gosh.” I think she’d have preferred to sleep on the bottom shelf than come home. On our trip to Disney World, she got to meet her heroines – Princesses Aurora, Cinderella, Belle, and Ariel. She had a wonderful time with them. Not one to be left on the sidelines, she’s begun ice skating, too. During the Christmas show, she experienced a surprising touch of stage fright. That is, until she saw another parent walk by with an armful of flowers. She said, “I want pretty flowers, too!” and we said, “Then you have to go out and skate.” She was off faster than a camera flash! Medically, she’s been a bit unstable, but we’re hoping we’ve turned a corner. She recently was doing very poorly, and had to have her “stupid old plain tubey” (a g-tube that goes directly to the stomach) changed to a “brand new SUPER tubey” (a gastro-jejunal tube that goes to both her stomach and intestine). It does appear that it is helping, so things are looking up. We’re still trying to outsmart our little thief. We tried locking the cabinets to keep her away from the food, but she’s figured out how they work. Since our house is under construction anyway, we decided to add lockable doors to the kitchen entryways. She’s pretty indignant that we’ve (at least temporarily) outsmarted her.

Jude is not yet up to schoolwork, or ice skating. He’s content working on being cute. He was very well behaved during Celia’s recent hospital stay. He has recently discovered how to work cuteness to his advantage, and saw hanging out at the hospital as an opportunity to polish his flirting skills with the nurses. He’s not doing much else yet, but that’s just fine by us. If he’s anything like his brothers and sister, knowing how to turn cute on and off at will may just be his salvation.

Neal and I are doing well. Thankfully, there’s nothing particularly interesting happening with us, since the children seem to be providing enough excitement. Here’s hoping 2008 is a year full of continued good things for everyone we love!

More pics

Ok, so it's been a while...

Ok, so I was busy birthin' a baby, what do you want?? In random order (in other words, however Blogspot uploaded them...)

More later, I promise...they're too cute NOT to put up pics.

The Golden Boy

GOLD MEDALIST
Basic 4 Compulsories

BRONZE MEDALIST
Basic B Freestyle

Diamond State Autumn Skate
November 19th, 2006
Wilmington, DE

Luke has changed coaches since his last competition. In October, decided he wanted to switch to Roland. Yes, you remember an earlier entry correctly. Roland is the one who "made him work all summer." And yes, Roland continues to make him work. However, they are getting on very well (at least from Mom's point of view), and Luke enjoys his lessons with him. Luke has also expressed interest in being a coach like Roland, though he agrees he probably needs to practice "a little bit more" before he sets up shop. They have only been working together for just over a month, but there is a definite difference in Luke's skating. For the most part, it's much sharper than before, and Luke seems much more comfortable on the ice.

Luke has changed skates as well as coaches. He has "out-performed" yet another pair of skates. His new pair has a stiffer boot and more advanced blades. "All the better to jump with, my dear..." He has been working on his Waltz jump since summer, but now has added the Bunny Hop, Toe Loop, and Salchow to his repertoire. He's only just begun the latter two, but has mastered the basic mechanics of them fairly quickly. They're not the most graceful yet, but that will come with time (and more practice, of course).

Today, Luke competed in two events at the Diamond State Autumn Skate competition, sponsored by Wilmington (DE) FSC. He had originally planned to compete in the Showcase event as well, but decided that he'd rather do two great programs than three that he may not have polished enough.

His first event was the Compulsory skate, where he tied for first. He and the Co-Champion were both named Luke! This was a new program for him, as he had only competed at the Basic 3 level at Sun, Sand, and Skate in August. (Due to some paperwork mix-ups, he wound up skipping the Hollydell Open.) He had entirely new set of skills demonstrate his proficiency with--most notably three-turns. He did a great job with them today.



His other event was the Basic B Freestyle. He repeated his Basic B program from Atlantic City, with some changes and skill "upgrades." He did a great job with that program today. At his last competition, he placed 4th with it, so 3rd and a Bronze medal is certainly an achievement to be proud of. He held his reverse Chinese spiral (a one-footed gliding maneuver) for several seconds. It is a difficult move that involves catching the skate blade, crossing the caught foot/ankle over the supporting knee, extending the free arm, and holding the position while gliding backwards.



Next up is "Holiday on Ice" in December at his "home rink," the Vineland Ice Arena. It's a Holiday themed exhibition show on December 10th. He is performing two programs. One is a group program with the others in his Learn to Skate group, and the other is a "Solo Spotlight." Though his one program may be called "Solo Spotlight," he will have to share the overall spotlight with his brother. It will be Matthew's first skating performance. He is going to be skating with his Learn to Skate lesson group. Photos will follow, of course.

Let's give thanks for all our blessings...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!


Today was Matthew's Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast. The children had a short presentation where they each had a turn in the spotlight. They sang songs their teachers had taught them. Everyone did a great job! Matthew was an excellent "Hiyah" drummer.




The class tipi has been "handed down" through many school years. There are almost 15 years' worth of childrens' names and drawings on it. Matthew drew a picture of a boy in his spot.



And then...we feasted! Turkey, ham, potatoes white and sweet, stuffing and veggies and of course...homemade pumpkin pie made by the Kindergarten teacher. Yum!

Great Job, Luke!!!

5th Place, Level 3 compulsories
4th Place, Group B (Level 3/4) Free skate
Sun Sand and Skate Figure Skating Competition
August 5, 2006
sponsored by Atlantic City (NJ) FSC



Luke's already looking forward to his next competition. He's planning to compete in the same events as last time at the Hollydell Open (Sewell, NJ) in October. He's also looking forward to the Autumn Skate Competition at Wilmington FSC in November, where he hopes to qualify for the Level 4 compulsories. He told us he wants to compete in *EVERY* competition he can! We're very proud of him!

Just some random photos

Some pics from our weekend at the shore. Nothing exciting--just Neal had a couple days off so we went to Mimi and Pop Pop's beach house for the weekend. Did the boardwalk thing, the beach thing, and the mini-golf thing. Meg lost her ball; Matthew got a hole-in-one. (Maybe Matthew should quit while ahead--last golf outing, Meg got the hole-in-one.)



Matthew and the latest girlfriend. They went driving together. Very much a "love 'em and leave 'em" kinda guy still--by the next ride, he had a new flame.


Ok, it's not the best of pictures. But at least they're both looking at the camera. (Hey, I have low standards. The Santa's Court photographers like me.) Anyway, this is the boys on the Apache Helicopters on the Wild Wheels pier. It's rare to get them both on a ride together, other than the bumper cars (where they attempt to knock each other out of the ring) or the Tilt-a-Whirl (which doesn't get good pictures due to high speed of car and greenness of Mom after a few whirls).


What Celia would look like in a burka. Just kidding. She was hooked up to her feeding tube/pump, so no rides for her that night. So she invented her own fun--she discovered a vent in the stroller hood and played peek-a-boo with Neal and the camera.

More pics later. I have some beach pictures and some of the kids in the pool. They'll have to wait until I have time to edit the file sizes, though. Hugs to all.