18 Months

Blake is 1½ already! It seems like he was just halfway to one, and now he is halfway to two.

I've been meaning to make a list of words he says so that I can remember in years to come what he was saying at this age. Here is what Blake has to say at 18 months:

• uh oh
• ball
• mama
• dada
• bye-bye
• no
• yeah
• apple (Everything these days is an apple - including peaches, tomatoes, and other fruits. Also, whenever we drive by Target, he points and shouts excitedly, "apple, apple!" when he sees the red Target symbol. At least he's not too far off with his overgeneralizations.)
• purple
• shoes (Whenever I say, "Blake, do you want to go bye-bye?" he immediately responds with "shoes!" and runs to the door to put them on.)
• cheese
• yum yum
• nie-nie (Nie-night - This is mostly the term he uses for his lovey, it's his nie-night, and yes, he still carries it everywhere with him.)
• hi
• love you (It melts my heart to hear this whenever I put him to bed.)
• (ba)nana
• duck
• light
• what's that?
• woof woof (Our neighbors that live behind us have a dog that is often fenced in outside. Blake can see the dog through the window and exclaims, "woof, woof!" He also labels dogs in books as "woof, woof.")
• amen (He learned this one during a church testimony meeting, where there was a lot of "amening" going on.)
• hi, George (This refers to Curious George, his new second lovey that he carries around in addition to the mini bumper pad. He also loves Curious George books where he can point out George on every page.)

One of the most fun parts about language development is not only what Blake is saying, but how he suddenly seems to understand everything I say. I'll announce lunchtime and he'll be waiting by his highchair. I'll tell him I've lost my shoe and he'll find it. I'll ask him if he wants to brush his teeth and he is in the correct bathroom, opening the drawer with the toothbrush in it. I'll tell him to bring something to his dad and he'll respond immediately. I'll ask him where his nose, mouth, eyes, hair, toes, ears, and belly are and he'll point to the correct body part. I'll ask him to show me what he wants, and he'll do the sign language for "more," "all done," and "help me."

Blake surprises me every day with the amount of language he comprehends. Children definitely vary in their development of speech and language (and in all areas of development for that matter), but it blows my mind to think that in the next year, his vocabulary will jump from these 20 or so words to 150-300 words! He will be able to combine words into sentences and respond even more to my communication. Isn't child development fascinating?

The Concert and Soccer Real Game

The Tanners invited me to go to the dedication of Salt Lake's new Rio Tinto Stadium to watch the Soccer Real game. We've all been a little under the weather over the last few weeks, and Troy was in the prime of not feeling well, so he stayed home with Blake while I partied it up. It didn't take much convincing for me to go, because the one and only David Archuleta was performing at the game. So, I did my David 'do again of course, just like when I went to his concert. Am I the coolest teeny-bopper in the world or what?

The new stadium holds 20,000 people and was filled to capacity.

Archie sang the National Anthem after a super long dedicatory prayer.

Tricia and I spent most of the first half standing in front of this Super Fan section. It was crazy. These die-hards had drums beating, chanting, confetti, flags, and fog mists for the entire game. No one sat down, and no one stopped cheering, clapping, and dancing for the whole 90 minutes.

We learned some of their chants and songs, thanks to Tricia's super Spanish skills. She has been to soccer games in Europe and South America where the entire stadium has had this much extreme energy. I can't even imagine - it was nuts!

As the end of the game was nearing, a crowd started gathering near where we were sitting. Some of our cousins happened to be in the crowd, so we asked them what was going on. They all had special wristband passes to go onto the field for David's concert. I was so jealous! After they started filtering down the stairs into the holding area, I leaped over our seats and ran up to the security guard to ask if he had any more wristbands. He flipped open his suit jacket and pulled out two passes for Tricia and me. We ran down the stairs screaming. There was no time to think, we just ran! We called Troy from the blaring holding area to share our excitement, and I'm sure he was at home rolling his eyes in embarrassment.

We wore our magic Golden Archie Passes with pride.

We ran onto the field, maneuvering around the little kids, and we seriously got this close to him. Can you believe it? We were only feet away, and I'm sure our luck was because of my David 'do!

He sang four songs, and put on a great live concert as usual.

Our first picture together.

As if it could get any better from that point, it did! Tricia and I were at the edge of the roped off pathway that David walked through when he finished the concert. We stretched out our hands, hoping to make contact. David must have noticed my 'do because we clasped hands as he walked through! I'm not talking about a slap or a hit, but a full-on clasped two-second hold! He didn't even try to let go until his arm was behind him because he liked the clasp so much. Tricia also got some brief hand action from Archie. Can you believe our immense luck?

We will never wash our magic holding hands again.

Anniversary Party Day

Troy volunteered several weeks ago to plan our anniversary date and surprise me. We decided to celebrate over the weekend since our anniversary was on a Wednesday this year. We dropped Blake off at his grandparents' house on Friday evening, and then Troy drove downtown. We pulled up into the drive of the Grand America Hotel, where I was amazed that we were going to be having dinner. The Valet asked us if we would be checking in, and Troy said "yes" as he lifted an overnight bag from the trunk! Dinner alone at the Five-Star Grand America would be astonishing, not to mention an overnight suite. Troy doesn't go all out very often or plan frequent dates, but when he does, he really goes above and beyond. He found a great deal because it is the hotel's off-season, and our stay included a credit for dinner and breakfast.

Our 17th floor room had a beautiful balcony view of the city and mountains.

It also overlooked the courtyard.

We had dinner at the Garden Cafe. It was quite nice to not be cutting up small portions for my hungry little one. We enjoyed conversation with just the two of us.

We thought it would be fun to ride on public transportation instead of driving. We took the train to the Gateway shopping center.

We walked around the Gateway, got some ice cream, and then saw the movie "Up."

In the morning, we used our credit to have room service delivered and also spent some time poolside. Talk about luxury! And talk about an amazing husband. He loves to plan occasional fun surprises. That's what meant the most to me; not that we stayed at a fancy hotel (although that was a perk), but that he took the initiative to plan something and show that he cared.

Where Are Your Clothes?

I was sweeping the kitchen the other day when all of a sudden, Blake came sliding down the stairs at lightning bolt speed, with no clothes on! He previously had on a snap down romper, and somehow figured out how to unsnap it and get his legs and arms out. He was so proud of himself that he had to show off. I caught the inquisition on video:

Golden Anniversary

Obviously it is not our 50-year golden anniversary, but if golden anniversaries were like golden birthdays, today would be ours. This June 3rd marks our 3-year anniversary. Another "3" to add to the crazy chain. It's hard to remember what it was like to not spend every day with the one who makes me laugh. I'm so grateful for our marriage. The ups, the downs, and just having someone to share everyday life with. I could gush some more, but I'll save that for another time. Here is the introduction to our wedding video that my talented brother made.