Happy Birthday Matthew!!!

What a wonderful day in the life of our son! Today he celebrated not only his 7th birthday, but his first birthday with his forever family! Matthew went through the day, from the moment he opened his eyes to the moment he closed them, with a smile from ear to ear! Matthew did not know what having a birthday meant. I found out, after about 1 month home, that Matthew did not even know how old he was. So, with his birthday on the horizon we struggled with how we would explain "birthday" to him. Lo and behold he received the birthday party invitation from a girl in his class! Fantastic, we thought, a way to give Matthew some background knowledge. We still struggled with celebrating today because we are having our family celebration on Saturday when the boys come. That is the day we are going to Chuck E. Cheese, having cake and opening gifts. We really did not know what to do. Well, we chose to celebrate today and boy are we glad we did. Our sweet son proudly carried in his cupcakes that he shared with his classmates, proudly wore his birthday crown and graciously accepted every card, every wish and every gift offered. He even thought that the teacher luncheon today (to raise money for Relay for Life) was a party in his honor! How sweet is he???
Needless to say, we expect Matthew will be beside himself on Saturday once he sees Chuck E. Cheese, his cake and of course the Wii that we bought him! We may have missed Matthew's first words, his first steps and his first tooth but we have been blessed to share his "first" birthday!
Yesterday Analiese was fitted for her new obturator. As you can see in the photo it is a very LONG appliance. Yes, it does cause her to gag and no she does not argue when we try to put it in! She was a trooper yesterday! When Dr. Granger, the orthodontist, put the appliance in her mouth. She gagged, she vomited and then her little eyes filled with tears but she DID NOT complain. She looked at me with those beautiful round eyes that screamed, "Mommy I hurt". When I asked her if it hurt she shook her head and, prompted, pointed to the tooth growing in her palate. Well, the appliance was removed and alterations made. It took at least 6-8 tries before Dr. Riski and Dr. Granger were happy with the fit.
We will go slowly and increase the time she wears it each day. I, however, am anxious for her to wear it regularly. Why? Analiese's speech is SO CLEAR! Today, for the very first time, when I asked her what her name was, she said "Analiese". Not "Nanaliese", but ANALIESE! What music to my ears!