A new era

We've been putting off the inevitable for as long as we could. Ever since Elizabeth started sending us pretend e-mail on her Barney "laptop"...



...we knew it wouldn't be long before she wanted to try the real thing. Elizabeth has loved playing on Starfall with us or watching "baby videos" (i.e., videos of my online friends' children) on my computer for some time. But, until now, she always thought it was something she needed us to do with her.

Until a few weeks ago - when I showed her how to use a mouse and play some games ALL BY HERSELF. I'm truly amazed at how quickly she picked it up. (Remember, this is not the most coordinated child in the world.) But, within a few minutes, she was pointing and clicking like a pro. And, our world will never be the same again... She's currently obsessed with Poisson Rouge (a French children's website) and the Little Einsteins games/books on Disney's site. And, we hear quite frequently when we try to assist her that she can "do it herself."





It's not a big problem right now, because Jonathan's still away for the summer. But, I'm certain he's going to believe his world has ended when he learns that he not only has to share a laptop with his dad, but also his 3-year-old sister, when he returns.

I'm thinking it won't take very long for him to recall a brief conversation we had at the beginning of the year when he was having difficulty remembering to turn in homework assignments and his grades were not faring well as a result. My memory is purposefully fuzzy, but it had something to do with the promise of a new laptop for his birthday (which is in September) if he turned his grades and study habits around. Darned if the boy didn't get almost straight A's by the end of the year. Hmmmmm....I think David and I had better start saving our allowance....