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