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

Double Digits.. and then some

Matthew is 10 months now, and was a week ago, but I have been so busy I haven't had time to document much lately. And I hate it because I really enjoy thinking about how big Matthew is getting and all that he is able to do now so I wish I could document more. We have had a really nice bit of weather lately and it has felt like spring- so we have been outside a lot lately. We have found that when Matthew is getting restless the best thing to do is to take Gran's quilt out into the grass and to relax under our pine trees. We can stay out there for a long time and Matthew has the best time crawling around the blanket and holding Maggie's chuck-it in between throws. We have also been to the pool a few times. This is another good way to entertain him and pass time. I put his adorable little bathing suit body on the stairs and he splashes around with his toys on the edge of the pool. It is adorable!





My Matthew, here is what we've been up to this month:

We have been out and about more lately. You are such a good baby, and very flexible. You went to the Mall with daddy and your grands and played all over the indoor play equipment and bought you a bunch of Rays baseball clothes. Daddy enjoys hanging out with you on his days off. He takes you shopping and you love to ride in the cart. He took you to Petco once and you loved looking at the animals. You came to visit me at school and I loved eating lunch with you. It made my day go by so quickly knowing you were waiting at home for me. I took you to school on a Saturday for the kids' spring outdoor concert and you had a great time listening to music and even kicked your for-the-first-time-shoed-feet to the beats. Granna and daddy have taken you to the library for story time twice. You like the people and the songs, and the bubbles at the end!

You are eating up a storm. I still make all your food and after hours in the kitchen on a Sunday it seems all that food doesn't go nearly as far as it used to. You are loving yogurt and cottage cheese. We mix one of these with fruit for breakfast. You feed yourself bananas, and plums are a new favorite. Your favorite food might be spaghetti, which I made with ground beef for the first time- and you love it! You are eating chunky foods and I have stopped pureeing food and just mash it or food process it. I have tried to show you how to hold a spoon to feed yourself but you don't like that. You do like to feed yourself snacks like puffs and bread, which I toss at you like you are a little duckling. You also like fish, which I have made once with squash, and this week with green beans and carrots. You also like black beans and garbanzos.

You are so strong. You have pretty good control over your body. You roll and flip like crazy, and crawl like you've been doing it forever. You stand to play most of the time, whether at the coffee table, in the pool, or pulling books out of the book case. With this new strength you have gained independence. You can push a walker over the carpet. You like to explore, especially the shoes in my closet, the plastic baggies in the kitchen drawers, the dishwasher, looking out the windows, climbing the stairs, shaking the baby gate doors, and climbing in to my shower while I get ready.

You have sprouted 4 upper teeth all at about the same time. They are just peeking through but it has made you fussy at times and you have had a runny nose for weeks. You don't like being picked at, like having your nose cleaned out, or having your ears messed with.

You are a tummy sleeper now. We laugh at you when we watch you on the baby monitor. You are all over the crib all night, but never make a peep. When you do wake you sit up, find a new spot, and lie right down and go back to sleep. You take two naps which you go down very easily for. You sleep about an hour and 15 minutes twice a day, and can sleep in a 12 hour stretch at night. I still love breastfeeding you before I go to work and before you fall asleep for the night. I'm not sure how much you need the breast feedings still but we both still enjoy it and so I am happy I can still continue to do it. I call it "Matthew and mommy time" and it is my favorite parts of the day. The only time I sit with peace and quiet and relax all day.

You are very good with other people. You love your babysitter, and go easily to granna, and the ladies in the church nursery. Your are curious about other babies, but sensitive when one of them is upset, as this upsets you.

You are slimming in the tummy and thighs, but most of your baby fat is still in your thighs, cheeks and neck. I love to nibble on you, and you giggle. My favorite times with you are the sweet, quiet moments, under the pine trees or watching you play in your room. You and your daddy have developed quite a bond. You look for him and laugh and laugh when he plays with you. He likes to get down on the floor and play with you, and has taught you how to fly a remote control helicopter. He takes you running with him, and can make you laugh with any game he comes up with. He's patient and kind, and I love watching you adore him.

Here are some pictures of all our fun this month:



First time wearing shoes and walking

First time at the zoo!

We went to the zoo yesterday with Aunt Lori, Noah, and Granna. We knew the boys would be a little young to enjoy the zoo, but figured they would like being outdoors, walking around and looking at people, and interacting with a few animals up close. After morning naps we went to the zoo and spent most of the afternoon there.

We got there a little bit before Lori, Noah, and Granna and spent our time with the monkeys, which Matthew wasn't too crazy about, but he did wave to them. Then we went to the petting zoo, which was really cute. Matthew was by far the youngest child in there, but Alex was so sweet with him, showing Matthew how to pet the goats and getting a little too close to the Llama. Alex was warned about the spitting, and when he got too close to her food she tried to spit, but I think they hay she was eating gave her a dry mouth because there wasn't much behind her spit. We found a quiet goat away from the other animals and I started petting him. When I touched his ear he twitched it and turned to us, which Matthew thought was really funny (because we did it about 20 times). He had fun touching the goats's ear, and I'm glad he didn't decide to take a bite out of Matthew.





After lunch we met everyone else at the fountains. Matthew wasn't crazy about it. He loves water, but doesn't like the cold on his skin. Noah was really cute in the fountains. I know that by next year and after that the fountains will be the highlight of the zoo day.



We went to see the Florida animals, including the manatees. Matthew stood at the aquarium glass, a little hesitant to trust the glass to hold him up. He is so cute! We spent quite a lot of time just walking around and seeing birds, bears, penguins. When we got to the African animals we really had the best time. We got to feed a giraffe a lettuce leaf. It had a long, blue, swirly tongue which it wrapped around the leaf and pulled it into its mouth. The boys liked seeing the giraffe, and Aunt Lori and I really had a good time. I told Alex he had to try too because it was so cute, and when he took Matthew he let him hold the lettuce while the giraffe took it from his hand. So cute! After this Matthew was about spent, and took a short nap in the stroller while we walked around some more.


When we got home Matthew decided he hadn't had enough animals for the day so we decided to feed the ducks in the pond behind the house. Matthew was more interested in the chuck-it than the ducklings, but I had fun with them.

Spring Break!

The week I have had circled on the calendar since I went back to work is finally here. I waited with so much anticipation for the week we could spend with Matthew, and Aunt Lori and Noah's 2 week homecoming. Unfortunately, Matthew has had a rough couple of days. He is teething right now, getting his top middle teeth. He spent the first 4 nights of Spring Break waking up at 2:00am and screaming for an hour and a half until he finally passed back out, and has been a little clingy and cranky during the days. So the week I was hoping would recharge and rejuvenated me made me more tired than when I worked. But tired and home with Matthew is better than alert and at work... any day! Thankfully he has gone back to sleeping through the night and we have had so fun days with family. Here are a few pictures of the boys playing around the house.





We went to a park in Granna's neighborhood. We played on the swings and found some fun bell toys that the boys enjoyed. We found a nice bench swing under a shade tree overlooking a pond-- with an alligator in it. He minded his own business so we were ok.





Aunt Lori and I took the boys to the beach, but we went to Fort Desoto this time, hoping the longer drive would make for a better nap and this beach would have fewer Spring Breakers and related traffic. We were right on both accounts. The boys enjoyed the beach and playing in the sand. We went to the water, which had really gently crashing waves, but Matthew is still hesitant about cool water. He knows bath temperature water and isn't sure about cooling off yet. We will work on that for the summer. We didn't stay for too long, but it was a nice day and worth the trip. We found a shady, grassy patch on our way back to the car, and changed the boys before heading home. They liked this the best out of the whole trip. We stripped them and they were so cute all naked and perky with a fresh breeze ticking their little bums.