Block cities and other randomness

Joshua has rediscovered the blocks that he got for his birthday last year, and has now taken to building cities all over the place, as you can see:
This one, built last night, was his masterpiece. He was so proud of that tower.

Can you believe that, the day before this next picture was taken, we had around 1-2 inches of snow on the ground? That's Utah for ya...

Aww, Mommy and Joshua...

In other news, Cody is three weeks into his final semester and we are so looking forward to him being done. Now, if only he can find a job! =P

"Age Appropriate"

Because it has been six months since Joshua's first evaluation with Kids on the Move, he was again evaluated on Monday night to see how he measures now with his speech development. Well, come to find out, he's now considered "age appropriate," and they are going to exit him from the program! I was so surprised. I mean, I know he's been improving, but I had no idea he'd progressed that far.

I'm so proud of my (big) little guy. Joshua has come so far in the last few months, from grunting and saying only a handful of words to now having a vocabulary of over 50--maybe even 100. I haven't counted in awhile. He's saying 2 and 3-word phrases, too, like "Mommy, fall down!" when one of his cars "falls" off the couch (meaning he knocked it off). And he repeats words, which is incredible to me.

I'm not sure he's quite at the level of some other 2.5-year-olds we know, but he's getting there. And considering where we were six months ago, it's a miracle. I guess we'll never know if it was because of the services with KOTM or if he simply blossomed on his own, but whatever it was, we are very grateful and consider ourselves blessed. Hopefully the improvement continues throughout the next six months! We're so proud of you, Joshua!

New Car Seat

Makes him look kinda small, doesn't it? Hopefully this one will last until he's big enough to not need one anymore! =)

Mommy's Day

Today was my third official Mother's Day as an actual mother--fourth, if you count the one when I was pregnant. But nobody other than me and Cody knew then (we actually found out I was pregnant the day before Mother's Day 2007, but didn't tell anyone until after my first doctor appointment), so I don't really count it. Anyway, it was a decent day...kind of lonely, honestly--Cody had to sleep because he's working tonight--but at least I got to enjoy Joshua. And after all, he's the reason I am a mother!

I would write a big ol' sappy post about how grateful I am for my own mother and how much I love my son and all that, but it's late and I'm tired. I really am grateful for my mom and all she has done for me--becoming a mother myself has only increased my appreciation for her. And of course, I am infinitely grateful and honored to be Joshua's mama. He brings me so much joy. He's growing so fast--literally, too--and I'm amazed at how far he's come in the past 2+ years.

And now, a few photos. First up, Joshua created a piece of art this morning on our bed as Cody and I got ready for church. Seems like he just scrounged around my side of the bed and arranged some random things together. In case you can't tell what the items are (sorry it's blurry--cell phone pictures aren't always the greatest), there are two swim diapers (from last summer...not sure why they were under our bed), a couple of candles, some bobby pins, earrings from my nightstand, and my birth control pills. Yeah. Kid's gonna be an artist someday, don't you think?
He is so proud of his creation. Just look at that satisfied look on his face.This one is from a couple weeks ago. He rarely falls asleep anywhere but his own bed these days, so I just love it when he falls asleep in the car or somewhere because he's just so peaceful looking. This was after a long afternoon at Aunt Kirsti's. What a cutie.Happy Mother's Day to all you women out there! =)