Blame it on the Rain

So what's going on with all this rain here in Austin?? As my mother would say it's been "come a flood" for what feels like days now, and I don't think we're done yet! I can't complain really though because it's made for some nice, long nap times for Matt and some wet, soggy playtime outside.

Steven has been out of town since Saturday on a road trip to Phoenix with his father and brother. My father-in-law, Ken, has an old college buddy that lives there who has an old '37 Ford (I think that's the year!) that they used to carouse around in back in the day. So the boys trekked out there to see the sights and to bring the old car back for a little t.l.c. & a fun project for Ken. Matthew and I have missed Steven very much, and Matt asks about him all day long. "Da-da, Da-da?" he says with arms up in a questioning motion like he can't find him. I don't think he really grasps what a "trip" is. Thankfully, Steven comes back home tomorrow some time so Matt will get some good daddy time in.

I've been working at HPBC's VBS all this week, and Matthew has come along with me. He gets to play in the childcare area while I man the HUGE inflatable slide for the preschoolers. Matt's handled himself pretty well without me for that 4 hour period. Today he didn't nap at all during VBS, and as I predicted he fell asleep in the car on the way home. Yesterday afternoon we took advantage of the light sprinkling rain and played outside on the patio. You can see that Matthew was entranced by the trickle of water pouring from the roof and later decided to water the rocks and then make sure the water tasted okay. It was pretty darn cute. We blew bubbles and Matthew pushed his mower around on the patio. After an hour or so, he was completely soaked and I was well on my way so we headed inside. Matt wolfed down his dinner and hit the sack at 6:30 not to wake up until 7:30 the next morning. The boy was worn slap out and I reaped the benenfits of a few extra mintues of sleep myself!

Hiiiiiii Dat

Matthew and Moses, our cat, have an on-going love affair. Most times, they play very nicely together until one party makes a fatal move...that being either when Matthew completely tackles the cat sandwiching him to the floor, or when Moses sinks his pointy teeth into Matthew's supple little arm flesh. Both handle the abuse from each other well, too, and they seem to kiss & make up pretty quickly. It's cute because you'll see Moses walk up to Matt and give him two big rubs and Matt will reciprocate by giving him "pets" in which we're still heavily coaching him to "be gentle". Anytime we leave to go somewhere he always says bye-bye to the cat...it's "bye-bye Dat!!!!" We all know that he can make the proper "c" sound because he talks about crackers all day, but when it comes to the cat he prefers to pronounce it "dat". It's hilarious.

Yesterday while I was making cookies (that's right, jealous??) Matthew entertained himself pretty well. He'd come back and check on me now and then and also to sample the products of my labor. New word yesterday: cookie. Imagine that! So here you see that the poor cat is trying to catch a nap on the rocker and Matthew decided to give him a ride. He played peek-a-boo with him for a minute where I heard him saying "hiiiiii dat" and giggling. Then I caught him pushing on the back legs of the rocker while the cat clung on for dear life. Let's just say that Moses doesn't catch nearly as many day time naps as he used to before our toddler came along.

Groceries, Lego-diving, & Ava time

Matthew had a busy Tuesday! We made a run to HEB where Matt flirted with all the older folk, and the nice lady that's always slicing the pineapple said he looked like he was going to be a football player & a heartbreaker to boot! Matt continued to charm her by saying "bye-bye!" and waving as she walked off. We got home and he and the cat had a brilliant time helping me unload. There's something about canned goods & boxes that fascinates Matthew. He loves to stack them and organize them. And the cat just loves to eat through the handles of the plastic grocery bags. What a weirdo.

After nap time, Matt woke up in a very playful mood. Refreshed, you could say. He headed straight for his big bucket of Legos and dumped them out in his usual fashion. I then plopped him in the bucket and started filling it with the legos, and he thought it was hysterical. He kept saying, "Mo! Mo!". More. Watching him try and get out with those thunder thighs was my favorite part.

Then Ava came over which always excites Matthew, and the two of them rode, or sat really, on their bikes. Indoor play quickly proved to be boring as it usually does, so we moved the party outside. Pool time! The kids splashed and pointed the hose at each other and Steven & I. Then there was a request for bubbles, so I had to oblige. Both kids really enjoyed having entire buckets of water poured over their heads repeatedly. Both were shouting, "more!!". It was pretty darn cute. After Matt's dinner we headed to Tim & Pam's where Joy made us all a lovely dinner. Matt went to sleep with nary a peep. It was a big day. And a good one I might add.

It's Father's Day, but where's Da-Da?

Our Father's Day was missing one very important part: Steven. Sadly, it was his weekend to work so we didn't get to celebrate in exactly the manner we would have wanted to but we made the best of it. Matthew & I spent part of our Saturday making some "artwork" for his daddy. It was what I call a controlled mess since we did all our creative work in the bathtub. As you can see, it is already prominently displayed on the fridge. Matt also gave his Da-da a model airplane that he picked out at Hobby Lobby that he's excited to put together. Well, I guess really he just wanted to open the box...but I think he'll enjoy the finished product, too. So while Steven slaved away at the pharmacy Matt & I went to church, had lunch, & then Matt slept for 3 hours. I had to wake him up because it was already 4:00, and boy was he cranky! He must have been dreaming something cool like being a viking or Superman because he was totally mad at me for waking him up. Thankfully, a snack & the great outdoors cured his grouchiness. Got to love the water hose. Steven came home that evening and we had a nice dinner together at home.

Matthew discovered a fondness for cashews, and you can see here that he also enjoyed sticking them in his daddy's mouth. Good thing Steven likes them, too. To all you dads out there and most importantly my dad, Happy Father's Day!

Sno Cones & A Bucket O'Fun

On Wednesday, we made a trip to our favorite sno cone stand, Casey's Snoballs. The experience is different this year because now I have a little mooch begging at my heels and eating up half my tasty treat. Suffice it to say that we don't get to the sno cone stand nearly as much as I would like! So Steven & I got our cones and all the way home we heard "a bieeeeee! a bieeeee!" being shouted from the back seat with a little chubby finger pointed at our cones. That's "a bite" for those who don't understand Mattspeak. Steven & I were cracking up. We got home and headed straight to the back yard where Matt finally got several bites.

Loaded with sugary syrup he was then ready to run around

the yard. He ended up finding the most entertainment with the orange bucket that Steven filled with water. He enjoyed throwing his toys in it and then retrieving them and repeating the cycle until he thought it would be fun to get in the bucket. After that fun he marched around the patio dragging the chairs here and there & poking at the plants with his spoon. His sugar-coma made for a small dinner, but what other time besides summer can you get away with running around like a mad-man in your diaper playing with the hose? Seriously. It's good to be Matt Jones.

Great Grands & Cousins

Matthew had quite a busy weekend! We were in Houston visiting my dad and grandparents and also collecting some furniture that was my great-aunt's. As you can see, Bryan & Sarah and all the girls were there for the fun, too. Matthew LOVED getting to spend time with his cousins. Saturday morning we came down for breakfast and Matt was surprised and thrilled to see three little girls running around; he giggled and exclaimed "Audrey!!!" while in his little excited squat. He followed that up with some quick running in place...or maybe it was a tap dance, I don't know.

This was also the first time that Matthew really refused to sit in his high chair for dinner time. He was much more interested in what was going on at the kids table...more likely, he really just wanted to scam some pizza off Caroline & Mary Claire. He was pretty cute sitting at that little table. I can't believe how big he's getting. He had such a big weekend that he slept all the way home to Austin.

It's Official

So we've decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon for the simple fact that Matthew gets such enjoyment out of reading everyone's blogs that he thought he should get in on the fun too. To catch you up, Matt is now a busy toddler of 19 mos. who loves to sleep, eat, run from his mommy, and play with cereal boxes. Oh, and he begs for crackers all day. I suppose I must admit that I give in to his pleadings because he came in at 28 lbs. at his 18 month check up. He's just "thriving"...isn't that what they say?

Matthew received a nice push mower at his recent visit to his grandparents' house in Jacksonville, and at several different points throughout the day I can hear the whirring of the motor and the stumbling of little feet trailing behind it. It's hysterical to watch because his face goes from a gleeful grin to a look of sheer focus and determination. As you can see, he learned from his daddy that mowers belong in the grass outside so he thought he'd help his old man out. The help didn't last long though because he shifted gears and began inspecting (or tasting, rather) all the rocks that Steven had in nice little piles. At one point he had what we both thought to be a rock in his mouth which really proved to be snail in its shell. Eeww. So, he'll stop putting everything in his mouth when?