9/19/07

Happy Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day!!!

Today, September 19th, is the offiicial Talk Like A Pirate Day. We are bringing this to our readers' attention in honor of Joshua, who uses sentences like "I want to play with me toys" and "Look at me shirt". To all parents of kids who have adopted this interesting speech pattern, Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day. Read more on the wiki page.

9/5/07

Joshua's Birthday

We recently celebrated Joshua's 3rd birthday. I can't believe he's 3 already.

Joshua had a tough time adjusting to this world after he was born. He was persistently cranky and fussy. He didn't sleep very well. The only way we could get him to sleep was by wrapping him in a swaddling blanket (a "baby straight jacket" as Uncle Matt calls it), with a pacifier in his mouth, while sitting in his swing going at full speed. If he sneezed, the pacifier would come out of his mouth and he would wake himself up and be up for the next several hours.

But gradually, we worked to get him to sleep better, and within a year he was sleeping through the night. Now, he's still a great sleeper (knock on wood).

And he's also a happy, social, well-adjusted little boy. He loves interacting with other people, and will go out of his way to play with other kids. We were recently at the beach, and Joshua spotted a group of older kids (they must have been about 8 or 9), and he only wanted to go over to them and play in their game. They were kind enough to include Joshua, and he was so happy.

One of Joshua's favorite things is trucks. He loves books and movies about them, and loves to play with his Tonkas. Every present he received for his birthday was either a truck or car. He also loves to color and draw. He has a great attention span when it comes to this stuff, and can literally spend a solid hour just coloring or drawing.

As Joshua continues to get a better handle on language, he creates his own speech patterns that are a constant source of amuzement for Jen and me. Jen says Joshua speaks "Pirate" - "Mommy, I hurt meself"...."Daddy, where's me shirt?"..."I want to play with me trucks". He has also recently begun to refer to himself in the third person..."Joshua wants to color"...."It's Joshua's turn now!" So funny.

What a great kid. We love him sooooooooo much! Happy Birthday Buddy!!!