Has it really already been 2 years? :o

Joshua turned 2 that past Friday...can you believe it? We had a small get-together with some friends and family, with a few presents for Joshua and, of course, birthday cake. Enjoy the pictures!And here's a short video of the devouring of the birthday cake...much cleaner than last year!

I'm so grateful to have this little guy in my life. Thanks for coming to our family, Joshua Logan! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Almost Done!!!

Cody is almost done with his finals! It's been a long semester, and I'm sure he's so happy to be just about finished. The only thing that's left is a little memorization for his Saturday math class, and then he's done for the next two weeks! I'm sure he can't wait to have no school for a little bit...he's been going almost non-stop for a year now. Keep it up, my love! =D

O Christmas Tree

Would you believe we found this 6.5' artificial tree, pre-lit and everything, for only $35? That's like the cost of a real tree! So yay, we are now officially decorated for Christmas! I apologize for the poor quality of the picture...this one was taken with my cell phone. We got some better pictures with our digital camera, but I can't find the cord to upload the pictures to the computer. I guess this one will have to do for now.

Oh, and it snowed last night and a little bit more today, so it really feels like Christmas now! Funny how this native southern California girl, who never had a white Christmas until a couple of years ago, is so excited for snow, huh? I'll like it until January, probably. Then the novelty wears off.

Side note: the gift card from "The Human Fund" from my last post? There was no balance on it. We found out while trying to use it to buy this tree. Luckily we had funds in our bank account, but still. Sigh. I'm hoping it was just a mistake and not a cruel joke...

The Human Fund

We received a mysterious envelope in the mail on Saturday. The return address said simply, "The Human Fund" (anyone who recognizes this from Seinfeld, I have no idea if that is what inspired this letter or not). Curious, we opened it to find an American Express gift card. We have no idea who or where this card came from--the postmark was in St. Paul, MN, and I'm pretty sure I don't know anyone in that area--but it came at a time when it was sorely needed. Thank you, The Human Fund. We are very grateful. What a great way to kick off the Christmas season.

Early Intervention

For anyone who doesn't already know, Joshua is significantly behind in his speech development. At 23 months, he only says a total of about 5-6 words. We've been a little concerned, but had up until recently thought he was just one of those "late talkers" and that at some point he'd suddenly explode with vocabulary and start chattering away. Unfortunately, this hasn't happened yet, and our concerns have grown. We finally contacted Joshua's pediatrician, who referred us to a group called Kids on the Move.

Kids on the Move is an organization that conducts early intervention with young children who have developmental delays. We had someone come out to evaluate Joshua, and she confirmed our concerns. He is currently in the 10th percentile as far as expressive development goes, and if he doesn't make leaps and bounds in the next month, he will drop to the 3rd percentile. This means he qualifies for their assistance. We don't know yet what that will involve, be it home visits, classes at the KOTM building, a combination of the two, or what--we are waiting for them to call us back and set up an appointment to discuss the particulars. Hopefully we'll get started soon.

We really hope and pray that this program will help Joshua learn to express himself better. It's almost heartbreaking to see him point at something but only give a little grunt, or call our attention and then just say "Unh" because he can't let us know what he wants. Here's hoping our little guy will soon learn to say more words and start really talking with us!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

I'd like to take this time to wish a very happy birthday to my dad, Greg Burr. He's been a great father to me, a great father-in-law to my husband, and a wonderful grandpa to my son, and we are so grateful for all he is and all he does for us.

This picture is about 3.5 years old, taken at my graduation from BYU. It's the most recent one I could find of just the two of us. Thank you for everything, Dad. I hope you have an unforgettable birthday this year. Love you!

Playing with Daddy

Joshua likes to sit in the computer chair with his daddy. The two of them are so cute together!

I include this last one because it's amazing to me to see how big he's getting. Seriously, I can't believe how much he's grown.Oh, and good news: My brother found a job! He's been unemployed since March or April, so this is definitely a blessing. We are so grateful they have been blessed so much!