Last month as a baby

Well Mr. Matt is 11 months old now, and it is pretty obvious that our days spent with Matthew as a baby are numbered. He is growing so fast and learning new things at a pretty fast pace. He is getting closer to walking and talking every day, and that baby I spent 7 months with while I was away from school now seems so different. We still have our quiet moments together, like the two or three times a day we have "Matthew and mommy time" (our breastfeeding sessions). But I know those moments are close to over too. And while I'm a bit sad that this time has gone so fast I feel good that we made efforts to enjoy all these moments as a family, and I know that there are plenty of new things we'll enjoy in the next months and year that themselves will be fleeting moments.

One of my greatest joys this month is seeing the bond that is growing between Alex and Matthew. Alex is so fun, and creative, and patient with Matthew. They have little games they play and places around town they go while I am at work. And Matthew loves his daddy. He laughs and squeals for him, and points and talks to him. They fly a remote control helicopter together (in the living room) and Matthew crawls into Alex's lap to play with the controls when Alex starts to fly to helicopter. One of the blessings I am most thankful for this year has been Alex's job. And not just because Alex worked so hard for it and that it gives us a paycheck, but the schedule and time off it affords. Yes Alex is gone generally one weekend day each weekend, but he his home a lot during the week while I work. We get to spend time together as a family at times, and then other times it is just the boys- just hanging out, getting to know one another, and playing together. That is a perk of the job you just can't put a price tag on, and I find myself feeling sad for the dads who don't have their own time together each week, and I can't imagine what our lives would look like without this time built into our week.

Here's what our little guy is up to as he eases into toddlerhood.

Is a mega crawler. He is so strong in his upper body and is pretty much able to get anywhere he wants to go. He crawls up (and down) the stairs, pulls up on everything and walks himself around the house, pushes little walkers and carts. He walks with the support of our hands, and my guess is he will be walking just in time for his birthday.

He is a great eater. Long gone are our purees, but I still prepare his meals ahead of time for the convienence of having healthy meals whenever we need them. His foods are cubed and he is happy to feed himself finger foods or be spoon fed (but he wants no part of feeding himself off of the spoon). When we go out to eat he has had little bits off of our meals. Just in the last two weeks he has tried tacos, hamburger, turkey breast club, bacon, french fries, avocado, ribs, and frozen yogurt. Ok, it sounds like we have abandoned his organic homemade meals for junk, but he has just sampled a bit here and there. Alex took him to the Ale house and let him clean off his rib bone, and when Alex and I ate the free frozen yogurt we got for mother's day we brought Matthew's yogurt from home and added fruit from the toppings bar. He still loves his fruit and veggies though, and chicken and fish.

Awesome sleeper. Matthew goes down around 7:30 and sleeps about 12 hours, then naps twice a day for about an hour and a half in the morning and afternoon. He goes down very easily, and seems to enjoy his crib. He doesn't make a peep all night.

His hair is blond and out of control. He will be getting his hair trimmed up very soon. He also has 6 teeth, two on the bottom and four on the top. He HATES brushing his teeth, so that is a battle we will work on in the coming weeks and months.

Matthew has become a very independent player. He can entertain himself with toys and books. He has a few favorite books, and even when I hide them to test him, he finds them and pulls them out. He seems to like the crazy books with lots of animals who are not the colors they are naturally, like a pink zebra, and a red and white cow. Matthew also likes tools with handles, and blocks and rings, and carries these toys around with him from place to place. He likes to splash in the pool and has graduated from his baby bathtub to the full size one. He loves to splash, and scream in the tub, and loves to touch the running water.

He has become very talkative. He jibber-jabbers and points, with his whole hand, to gesture at the things he wants. While I can't make out anything he says other than, "mom", his speech has become more varied, and he puts more inflection in his voice when excited or upset.

He laughs and giggles, especially at Maggie and when playing games like chase, and peek a boo. He loves to chase Maggie and touch her when she will let him. He reaches for her through the baby gate and when we go on walks. If he is fussy during dinner time I let Maggie walk around his high chair and have her kiss his feet. He laughs and laughs and as soon as he is happy with an open mouth, in goes the spoon!

Reading his favorite books

Pool fun

Causing trouble with his buddy, Cohen

Playing at the mall

Mall fun

Alex has had fun taking Matthew to the mall on days when they are home together. There are some fun indoor play areas with things for Matthew to climb on. Since Alex has to work all weekend we decided to make the best of our Friday night and hit up the mall, and then eat out for dinner. Matthew is very brave and climbs all over everyting. He has no fear of falling backward off of whatever he just climbed on. He has learned to not fear tunnels anymore and races right through them. I had fun watching him and despite being tired after a long week and long Friday, I enjoyed crawling around with him too. Then Matthew played in the coin-operated spaceship and enjoyed all the lights, switches, and joysticks while it swayed back and forth.

When we went to dinner the hostess brought us crayons. I think Matthew is young for them, and of course he tried to eat them at first, but after watching some of my students really struggle with fine motor skills I decided it was time to put a crayon in the boy's hand.

Then for dinner Matthew ate the meal we brought with us, and since we were both so hungry neither of us wanted to be on entertaining duty. We broke off pieces of chicken breast, hamburger, bacon, avocado, and french fries. This was Matthew's first meal that was the same as what we ate for dinner, not something I had pre-prepared. Matthew never stopped. He just kept cramming piece after piece in his mouth, saying "mmmmmm" all the while. We had really great sandwiches, and it was the first meal in a while where we were able to eat straight through without taking breaks to spoon feed Matthew. It was wonderful, and yet another example of how quickly Matthew is becoming a kid.

Of course with all that fun he fell asleep in the car before we got out of the parking lot. Sweet baby.

Baptism Sunday

We have been trying to go to church regularly over the last 6 months or so, and have really enjoyed the peace and perspective that comes from each sermon. Many people are busy baptizing their babies, but this day it was for me. Since having Matthew my spiritual journey has been one of great joy. I can't imagine how a person can hold their baby in their arms and take in every inch of their precious bodies and sweet souls and not be in awe of God's work. I feel like Matthew is a beautiful gift from God. God has gifted and entrusted Matthew to us and I know it will be my life's work to see that he grows to be a boy who is of good character, that uses his talents to serves the Lord and do His work. How can I expect my son to grow follow Christ's example without having a positive example in front of him and in our home? I grew up in a church that baptizes babies and then offers confirmation as a youth. I never heard of adults being baptized until my sister was in college. Since moving on to other churches and listening to scripture that others have shown me I have come to understand that being baptized as a baby is a gesture more for the parents and a commitment to raise a child in the Christian faith. Making one's own decision about baptism is what really matters, in addition to accepting God's grace and choosing to live a life that is Christlike. So last Sunday, our church was baptizing people as they do several times a year. And right as Pastor Matthew was calling them backstage to change clothes, I turned to Alex and said, "I like the baptisms. I want to be baptized. I think it is important." No sooner were the words out of my mouth than Pastor Matthew added, "I never do this, but God is calling my heart to today. If there is anyone here today who has accepted Jesus yet has never been baptized who would like to be baptized come on down. We have clothes of all sizes back stage and if God is calling your heart today, come be baptized." I looked to Alex, thought for a second about Matthew waiting in the nursery for us, the mall trip we had planned for right after church-- then headed down to the front of the church. I went to the back where volunteers gave us clothes to change into and there was a mad dash of 15 or so people frantically changing and then we went out front and waited our turns to be submerged in the baptismal pool. Everything seemed to be moving so fast, and I just remember the band playing nice music while Pastor Matthew said his piece, then as the person came up from the pool, the music got intense and the congregation went nuts in applause. I was glad that we were there as a family that day, with Alex being home and not having to work. I remember thinking that if you asked me when I became a Christian, when I accepted Jesus as my savior I don't think I could have told you the date. It was something I remember knowing for as long as I remember, but there was never a moment of "this is how I was, and NOW this is how I will be forever more". That's what baptism gives you. A moment when you say, "Today is the day I stood up before God and everyone and said I choose to follow." If I had taken the traditional route I would have attended a class on baptism and and learned about scripture, and likely would have found one reason after another to say I was too busy to ever take the class or now wasn't the right time. I am glad Pastor Matthew chose that day and those words and that I was in the right place at the right time. I think I would like to have Matthew baptized as a baby too, but I will make sure he knows the true decision is his and not ours. Here is a link to the church website with the video of the baptism, since Alex didn't take any pictures. I'm not sure how long this link will be good. Click on Baptism for 4/28. I'm way at the end, near minute 28. http://www.vandyke.org/upcoming-events/baptisms