Sunday, February 22, 2009

As February Nears its End!



After over 50 inches of snow and incredibly cold weather, we are ready for February to end and prepare for a little warmer weather. Today will NOT be the warm weather day as it was 9 degrees when we woke and yesterday we received another 5 inches of snow.
Shen continues to do well. Jodie has been working with him on the alphabet and, while he struggles with some letters, he also seems to enjoy practicing and showing her what he can do. One minor struggle has been saying, "L-M-N-O-P". He tended to say it almost as one word and wasn't able to enunciate the letters clearly and distinctly. But, Jodie got him connected to what to practice and this morning, at breakfast, he said his alphabet pretty clearly.
The other "fun" item happened this morning as Jodie was teaching him how to respond when he begins pre-school if the teacher asks a question. She showed him how to raise his hand and wait to be called upon. So, being the teacher, I offered to help. I was the teacher, while Jodie and Connor were my students. I asked, "Who knows their name?" Both of my "students" raised their hands, and I asked Shen, "Ok, what is your name?" He responded correctly, "Shen Jackson Groppel." Then, I called on Jodie and asked her name, to which she replied, "Jodie Arline Groppel." Shen immediately said, "No, your name is Mommy Jackson Groppel." Smiles went across our faces.
The two pictures I am posting with this happened this past week. One is where he fell asleep at night while reading one of his favorite books, "A Pig is Big." And, the other is in his car seat and trying on mommy's sunglasses.
We hope all of you are well!
God Bless You!
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Connor's cast comes off



Hello everyone! The Groppel family continues to grow very well together. Jodie and Connor have become deeply connected. He loves his mommy so much that he asks for hugs and kisses, and when mommy leaves to go workout or run an errand, he wants to know where she is going. It is wonderful to see the connection. Shen and Connor are also VERY close. In one of the pictures associated with this post, Connor is teaching Shen how to play a game called "Ants in Your Pants." It was fun to see Shen paying such close attention to Connor. And, in that picture, you can see that Connor still has his cast on. Well, this past week, the cast came off. In the second picture with this post, you can see the technician cutting off the cast with a "saw". As you can see from the concern on Shen's face, he didn't realize that the saw wouldn't hurt Connor.
We are experiencing some very warm weather right now, but with all the past snow, it's pretty muddy outside. All in all, a great reprieve from the bitter cold and snow we have had.
We pray that all of you are well!
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen