Hi all,

Happy Thanksgiving! We certainly had a happy one. Rose helped me with the cooking, but now that it's all done, where is she to help clean up? Well, fast asleep, of course! And why shouldn't she be? I wish I was. Ben wishes he was. Maybe it's the triptophan from the turkey, but it seems it's going to be an early bedtime for us.

It was nice to have so many people gathered around our table. Rose was pretty impressed by it all, and took advantage of the situation by putting on a bit of a show for us all. She wasn't really interested in her dinner much, though, and opted instead for her newest favorite food... cheese.

She's been doing great with the signing. I think she's really realized that all of that hand moving means stuff, and she's really soaking it in. She suddenly seems to be adding a new sign to her vocabulary every couple of days. She also babbles as all babies do, but by waving her hands around. It's really pretty cool! You can almost SEE her learning.

Allright, I know you are all waiting for pictures and would really rather I shut up already, so...



Rose is going to help me make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving!



I think she's checking the recipe.



Now, I think she's channeling Julia Childs.



Add a pinch of this and a dash of that.



All Done! I think she's pretty pleased. Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

Hi everybody! (I think you all say "Hi, Dr. Nick.").

I don't have a single new picture for you, oddly enough, but I do have news. Rose finally saw the surgeon yesterday. Great news! She's now scheduled for her cochlear implant on February 2nd. That's groundhog's day, which means absolutely nothing, but makes a good way to remember it. She should have a one night stay in the hospital, and be back to her normal self in just 5 days or so. That's not too bad. Of course the implant device won't be turned on for a few weeks after that, so she won't start hearing right off the bat.

Our decisions now are getting simpler. We had to choose which ear to do. Usually there is one ear that makes a better candidate than the other, but the surgeon said that with Rosie there is really no difference. Then, it was suggested that we choose the ear that will be in the center of the car when Rose is driving, so she can hear the conversations. But, we pointed out that which ear is in the center of the car totally depends on which country we are in. It could be either! So... that failed as a criteria. Ben and I looked at each other and both said "I think the right ear", so... right it shall be. I think it's just what we each pictured in our heads. Now, the next decision is just which color we want the external processor to be. We'll let you know.

Rose's big brother Alex has come home to roost, and we couldn't be happier about it. We really missed him.

We're getting ready for Thanksgiving. Rose is cutting a new tooth today, so she should be able to devour an entire turkey by thursday. With these top teeth coming in she will likely be able to bite Ben's finger off if nothing else.

Our only other bit of news is that one of our next door neighbors, Della, passed away. Some of you out there knew her. She was over 100 years old, so it comes as no great surprise, but Della was kind of a fan of Rose. She was always thrilled to see her.

Well, anyway, it's Rose's bedtime, so that's all for now. We will have more pictures soon, I promise. Good wishes and tons of love to all of you.

Hi Everybody!

It's Tiffany again. Well, Rose has a cold again, and Ben is hobbling around on a broken toe. But Grandma came all the way from Phoenix for a nice visit with her Rosie and that was lovely. It's been a long time.

It's been a beautiful fall, and we are starting to get ready for winter around here. Anyway... I guess this stuff is pretty boring.

Our first visit with the surgeon that will do Rose's implants is coming up in a few days. We are very anxious! The only problem that we can possibly see is that Rosie's head is so small. She's such a teeny-tiny little thing. But, the surgeon will make that decision, I suppose. In the meantime, Rose is signing more and more. She is SO visual, and she just sees everything. That girl doesn't miss a beat!

I have more video for you that Ben shot. YAY! Video!

Rose has taken to feeding herself, for the most part, but it isn't pretty!



We were given a playpen from someone on freecycle. We needed it so much! Rose digs it, but we've taken to calling her "Netlicker".



That's all I have for today. Loves to all!