Happy Birthday, Tony!

On Tuesday, January 13th, Tony had a birthday. Not just any birthday. He celebrated 30 years of birthdays! I really wanted to make it special for him. Money was tight, though, and a party wasn't very feasible. So, he just got a few gifts and we hung out as a family then went to dinner with his parents Tuesday night. I think it ended up being fun--a lot more low-key than I would have wanted for him. He was a good sport though.

It's crazy to think that we have spent the last 8 years together! We first met December 17, 2000! (And just so everyone doesn't assume that I am as old as him, I will point out that I was only a high school senior when we first met.) I can still remember the first time I saw him. I think I was too nervous to really think about anything that night. If it weren't for my little sister and his little brother, I don't know that I would have ever talked to him! (I was a little shy.) But it didn't take more than a couple days to know I wanted to spend my life with him. He is such a wonderful husband and the best dad I could want for my children. I am so greatful to have spent these years with him and look forward to the next 30, or 60!

Happy 30th, Tony.

Sleepwalker

Wow. Two posts in one day--I must really be trying to avoid my research paper. But, we may have another sleepwalker in the family, and I thought I would capture the moment before I forget about it. It happened the night before last. The boys had both been asleep for a couple hours and Tony and I were just bordering on sleep. I heard an unintelligible strand of "words" from Blake. I jumped out of bed quickly so I could comfort him before he woke up Egan. By the time I got to our door, Blake was walking into the living room. He said "mommy" once and seemed to look around for me. I was calling him to come to me, but he never really acknowledged me. Instead he just walked over to our over-stuffed green chair and crawled up into it. I kept saying his name and told him to come to me, but he fell right back to sleep in the chair. Tony and I laughed for a little while, but then didn't know what to do with him. Tony covered him up with a blanket and Blake ended up sleeping there for almost 5 hours (until 4 a.m., when both him and Egan decided to wake up).

Poor kid. We can only hope his episodes don't get as bad as his Aunt Linzi's (my sister) or his Uncle Scott's (Tony's brother). There are plenty of funny sleepwalking stories from both sides of the family!

A growing phonetic inventory.

Perhaps, the title gives it away, but I've been working on my research paper now for the past 4+ hours. As a break, I have decided to jot down some of the new things Blake is saying. Of course, he is still repeating words all the time (especially ones you wouldn't want him to repeat). The bigger news is that he is beginning to add new sounds! Lately, he has been trying to add the "s" and "z" sound to words. Last night he said cheese, and it was actually very intelligible. His "s" and "z" aren't perfect yet (and I don't expect them to be for a few more years), but at least he will soon be more understood by others.

Also, within the past week, he has started saying "k" and "g" sounds a lot. Out of nowhere, he will just say, "caw, caw, caw" or "guh, guh, guh". So far, Tony and I have been unable to "trick him into saying a "c"/"k" or "g" word intentionally.

After all my classes on speech and language acquisition, it is awesome to witness firsthand, especially from my own son! He will sometimes try to tell me a word and will end up saying it three times, in three different ways. I can almost see his brain figuring things out and trying to make his mouth work. As excited as I am to watch his progress, it's so funny when he comes up to us and just spouts of strands of jibberish! I'm sure I will miss that!