I really have nothing to say

But I'll say something anyway. :) Isn't that the point of a blog?

The boys and I spent last weekend in Urbana with my parents and celebrated my sister's birthday. Chris spent Saturday night and Sunday morning finishing filming of the movie he's gaffer for.

Last night I went to book club for one of my moms groups. We discussed The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, which is an awesome book. I highly recommend it if anyone is looking for an interesting story that really celebrates reading and books within the intriguing story. I didn't get home until late (11 p.m.) because we were having such a good discussion and moved into mommy things to talk about (actually related to themes in the novel.) I lost track of time. I really needed a fun night where I lost track of time and got home late, although I paid a bit this morning when the boys got up at 7. It took a long time to fall asleep last night because I was still thinking about our discussion. Next month I am hosting and we are reading Fahrenheit 451.

Sam will be 1 in less than 2 weeks. Twelve days. He is really turning into a kid and I think he might actually walk before his birthday. He is soooo close! Speaking of Sam, he's letting me know that it is dinner time, so I better go make something.

Fireworks

Ok, so Chris and I have both griped on Twitter/Facebook about fireworks. I just have to say that the legislators obviously don't have young kids because they would not have allowed fireworks until 11 p.m. any day of the year otherwise. My kids are in bed by 9! Loud fireworks are not conducive to sllep, although they have luckily slept through them. The fireworks are amazingly loud even with the windows closed.

While I appreciate that pyros have a right to set off their fireworks, the rest of us have a right to a peaceful night's sleep. Part of the problem is that we are now in the eastern time zone, so it isn't dark enough until nearly 10. I'm not sure why fireworks don't fall under noise ordinances, but non-stationary noises are allowed until 11 p.m. Stationary noise is restricted starting at 9 p.m.

So where do fireworks fall? I can only hope that they stop now that people have had a chance to use them since the 4th was rainy. Our neighborhood email was hopping with complaints and comments today, leaving one of the fireworks users feeling bad. I hope tactful diplomacy will ease the tension and help everyone remember that we are all neighbors.

The boys are growing up

Sam is on the verge of walking. In the last week or two, he has started walking holding our hands plus he's standing unassisted on occasion. Yesterday he had fun putting Wil's baseball back on the tee. He would stand next to it, holding only the ball, and place the ball. At one point, it wasn't working and he picked up the tee and moved it! Also, yesterday he walked around the living room only holding one of my hands. I think he's much more motivated than Wil was, so he might actually walk before his birthday.

Wil is making advances in vocabulary in leaps and bounds. He is starting to put concepts together and has been speaking in whole sentences. It's really exciting to understand what he's saying. And he's fun to watch playing with his cars or his people. He re-enacts scenes from shows he's seen, but he also makes up his own stories.

I fully expect to turn Sam's car seat around in another three weeks after his 1 year check-up. We had to wait until Wil was 15 1/2 months for him to reach 20 pounds, but I really think Sam will be 20 pounds by the time he's 1. It's amazing how different the kids can be. Wil looks like Chris at that age and Sam looks like me at that age, and they are very different people in personality and skill.

Just watching them first thing in the morning shows some of the difference. Sam wakes up happy and cheerful, usually early; Wil often wakes up crying, not happy about being up, and likes to sleep in just a little. Once again, Sam takes after me and Wil takes after Chris.

Wil starts preschool in the fall. We should be getting all the info next week.