Electronic Christmas

Christmas is approaching quickly. The day after Thanksgiving, we took the Christmas decorations down from the attic and began to put them up. Sara Beth got in the seasonal spirit by putting her winter coat on, even though it is plenty warm in the house (and outside for that matter). She helped to setup her six inch Christmas tree and the nativity scene in her room. We setup a foot switch for her Christmas tree so that we don't have to reach behind her book case to plug and unplug as it does not come with a switch, and Sara Beth loves to turn it off and on "All by herself."

So about 5 years ago, I got a singing dog as gift for Christmas. You press its paw and it will start barking out the tune to "We wish you a merry Christmas" and other classics. Last year, Sara Beth was scared of it. This year, she loves it and has claimed it as her new toy.

We tried to show Sara Beth the Wii controls the other day. It worked, sort of. She did not throw any controller through the TV, and she did get the general principles down, but she never made it past the first level of anything.

In the beginning of November, Heather got an iPhone. Now, Sara Beth can navigate through the phone without any help. She knows which folder contain her books and games and will open them and select the game she wants to play. When she gets bored, she will repeatedly press the one button on the iPhone until it exits out and brings her back to a point where she can select something new to look at. I'm not sure if Sara Beth or Apple's usability engineers are the ones who should get credit for that feat.