Reunited and it feels so good

Matthew had about a week long hiatus from seeing Ava --a rare occasion, and everyday he would ask about her. His little dreams came true because yesterday afternoon we went over to Ava's house for some serious playtime. Ava informed us that they were about to make a snack that involved chocolate...yummy! Joy melted a large vat of chocolate and the kids sat up on the counter and dipped pretzels, strawberries and bananas. And ate most of their work. And double and triple-dipped. And looked as if they'd dipped their limbs and clothes as well. It was quite a sight.

To run off the sugar the kids had a dance party in bed. And one small, still moment where they cuddled up together. Awwww. They ran all over the yard, played hide & seek, and Matt tried on Ava's shoes, and then they were ready to come in and begin begging for dinner. The kids had their supper and then we adults enjoyed some tasty chili. Mmm-mmm.

This picture is from snack time yesterday. Matt wanted some oranges and then demanded to have the box. He put it on his head and said, "Chuck E. Cheese hat!!" He still remembers Ava's crown she got there that day for her birthday. Too funny.

And my favorite quote of the day so far: first thing this morning Matt ran through the dining room on his way to the laundry room to brush the kitty and he said, "Maffew have footies on, and Moses have fur." HA!

Moses

Okay really. What's going on with the weather around here? Yesterday Matt & I were sweating in 90 degree weather and I was all in a panic because I don't have any shorts for the boy to wear, and then today I step outside in my shorts & t-shirt to take Matt on a walk only to be blasted with what felt like an arctic wind. I can't complain though...I'm really not ready to usher in the heat yet & was glad it felt more like February today.

Matt & I made cookies yesterday afternoon. It was a good way to get rid of my Valentine M&M's so I can then feel okay about buying Easter M&M's. Matt was so overjoyed to get to taste the deliciousness that he jumped up and down and spun in crazy circles. Again, no pants because the poor kid has no shorts & it was stinkin' hot.

Then today right before nap time the cat decided to jump up on top of Matt's changing table and settle in for a nap himself. But, he got curious and thought he'd check out Matt's hamper that sits right there next to it. I really don't know if he jumped or fell, but either way he ended up at the very bottom of the hamper feeling a little sheepish. Finding it comical, Matt & I both enjoyed the predicament Moses had gotten himself into. It kind of makes me think it's a cry for attention. Crazy animal.

Zilker

With Steven at work on Saturday, Matt & I headed to Zilker park that morning to enjoy the sunshine and company of other little children running wild. Matt was all over the place never committing to one activity for too long. You might miss something else, right? He enjoyed posing on the seal, pretending to drive the big fire truck, the numerous slides, making music, and talking to all the other kids. There was also a kid's birthday party being set up while we were there complete with balloons and Thomas the Train decor. I thought Matt was going to explode with excitement. After corralling him away from the party more times than I care to count, he was finally content to sit on the steps and point to all the Thomas paraphenalia and shout, "Hi birthday party!!!" Hilarious.

We also went down to the water so Matt could see the ducks. I totally forgot to bring some bread to feed them, but Matt was content to throw rocks at them for food. I could barely keep him from launching himself straight into the water. He really wanted to go swim with the ducks. And to his delight we also got to watch a dog play fetch in the water. He was mesmerized.

After a Schlotsky's lunch complete with a yummy cookie, Matt took his first 3 hour nap in weeks. I had to wake him up, too. He's really about to outgrow that bed...but, if I remove the bumper maybe that will buy us a few more months!

Yesterday Matt got to play with Caroline & Mary Claire after church out at their house. While Matt was napping I played Pretty Pretty Princess with the girls. Basically the gist of the game is to collect the most jewels. My favorite moment of the day: once we were all decked out with our earrings, bracelet, ring, necklace & crown Mary Claire took me by the hand to her room. "Okay, now stand in front of the mirror and see how beautiful you are...you look SO pretty." You should have seen the look on her face. Too cute. We had a great weekend and hope you all did too!

I'm Adorable

This is one of my favorite pictures of Matthew. He's saying cheese with bits of pecan littered on his mouth and looking at Steven sitting next to me who is poised with his camera phone. He must have thought we were crazy snapping away like that. That was a particularly good day for Matt because our neighbors next door were having a huge tree removed from their front yard. There was this big truck with a huge dumpster and claw-like crane attached to it that was used to scoop up all the tree trimmings, a stump grinder, numerous chainsaws, not to mention several cones lined up on our side of the street. Needless to say, it was quite the show for young Matthew. He looked out the window and said, "Oh wow, look at that!" Ha! Later he helped us water the plants. With that raw upper lip can you tell he's had a runny nose for a week?

Matt's memory recall is really getting interesting these days, too. It's so funny to hear what pops into his mind and then chooses to share with us. At Bible study on Thursdays he shares a class with a set of twins. In his high chair at lunch that day Matt said, "Dyson crying...Dyson tripped in the chair." After I asked him several more questions I concluded that his little friend must have fell off of a chair and was a little shaken by it. He then told me that "Karsyn have painted toes." I bet she was eager to show them off and Matt was happy to gawk at them. Story time brought to you by Matthew--can't wait to hear what he shares next!

And then this evening Matt made a series of bad choices and acted like his age. The root of the problem was that he was really tired due to a shorter than normal nap this afternoon. Here he is sans pants (after a fight to remove the dirty diaper and then replace it with a clean one there was no way pants were getting back on!) and climbing the chair to then shake the lamp & touch the plug. Alas, our photo session was brought to an abrupt hault.

Today we say Happy Birthday Grandma!!! Steven's mother, Joyce, is celebrating her birthday, and we pray that it's a day filled with joy and love and hopefully a few smiles after she reads this! We love you.

Cold Rain & Warm Sun

Our weekend was pretty non-eventful, which was nice! The rain on Fri. and Sat. hindered our outdoor activities somewhat, but Matt seemed to make the most out of it. He loved watching the rain out on the back porch and then decided it was time to see what it felt like. He walked out into it and giggled. He then went and retrieved his lawn mower and proceeded to mow all the concrete and then certain strips of the grass and rocks. It was serious work. After a wagon ride, we came in for the evening. Due to the gloomy weather, Moses got some extra exercising from Matt. The cat has really been a jerk lately, so when Matt pulls his tail it's sometimes hard for me to conjure up enough nice feelings about the bad kitty to want to stick up for him.

After church and a nap on Sunday we headed to Ava's house. It was beautiful outside so we all walked to the park and watched the kids run around. Matt never stays in one place too long, but then he's also always worried about where Ava is. We enjoyed talking to other small children, watching dogs run around, snacking, and watching Steven, Tim & Zach all sit/stand around cross-armed discussing politics & other yawn-inducing topics. I swear they could on all day. And so could those kids. But, after mentioning dinner and playing with Ava's toys they were ready to plop back down in their strollers. Taco Cabana hit the spot.

I Do Basket

This is where Matthew spent nearly an hour of his time the other afternoon. He had his bowl of snacks and his collection of various empty containers; my favorite being the mayo jar and my yogurt container from lunch. Matthew truly treasures these things that normally are cast into the trash can, it's fascinating. He rearranges the cereal boxes, pours his snacks from his bowl to the empty raisin container to the butter bowl, etc. All while maintaining a conversation with them. So now on his bookshelf along with his toys is a pretty good start to a well stocked grocery store.

Yesterday for the very first time I heard Matthew say, "I love you Mommy!" Granted, I prompted him to say it...but still!! It was the sweetest, cutest, most precious thing I've ever heard. Oh I'm so glad I'm his mommy!

Never Saw it Coming

Our covert operation was successful!! Saturday night we threw a surprise birthday party for Sarah. We've been planning it for weeks now, and I was honestly worried that she'd catch wind of what we were doing. Bryan texted me when they were 10 min. away (he made a most likely unecessary stop at the gas station), and everyone there could hardly contain their excitement. A few late stragglers told us you could hear the crowd from outside so we instituted quiet time 5 min. before their arrival. When they opened the door, Sarah was wide-eyed and completely dumb-founded. She looked at Bryan & all of us in utter confusion and then the emotion of it all set in.Sarah admitted that she'd had no idea about any of it. YES! We went with a Valentine's day theme since her actual birthday falls on the 14th. Plastered on top of numerous paper hearts & cupids were pictures of Sarah from when she was a girl. I think she was most embarrassed of her senior pictures. Aren't we all? It was fun looking at them and seeing features of all her girls.

After Sarah greeted all the faces that she certainly hadn't expected to see that night, we all feasted on some delicious fajitas. Sarah opened her gifts and received all kinds of wonderful, girly things. Then it was time for cake! It was a Lucy's cake, and for all my dear friends who know me know that this is as good as it gets in the world of cake. Then the party moved downstairs, and many people tried thier skills on Rock Band.

It was a wonderful evening, and a party that was long overdue and much needed for our dear Sarah. The look on her face was priceless.

Nnnnnnngh!!

Poor Matthew. 2 years old and it still takes him several attempts to climb up into a chair. He throws one little leg up and strains with all his might to scoot himself up far enough to where he can get the other leg up there. It's quite a show. He's really going to hate that picture one day.

It tickles me when Matt adorns himself with some wierd piece of costume-ish flare and then immediately says, "see Maffew in mirror!". You then see him solemnly and ever so slowly so as not to shake loose the ornament and walk to the mirror in our room. Once he lays eyes on himself he explodes with laughter. And then I get a pose like this:

AMOA & WAFFL

What a great weekend we had! Saturday morning we headed downtown with Tim & Pam to the Austin Museum of Art to see the Roy Lichtenstein exhibit. Matt wasn't too keen on appreciating the artwork, so I spent several minutes with him outside. Conveniently, however, there was some sort of Boy Scouts parade going on down Congress, and Matt was highly entertained by all the boys chanting, the big trucks, balloons, music, etc. He sat there quite contentedly and snacked on crackers while gazing at the show in the streets. I did convince him to come back inside the museum. They have a neat kids area with all kinds of artistic media for the kiddies to play around with. Matt immediately decided his strategy and said, "I do markers!" He sat down and scribbled away, jubilantly exchanging colors after every stroke on the paper.

Then we lunched at Hickory Street. Oh my Lord it was good. It was such a gorgeous day we basked in the warm sun on the patio.

That evening Ava came over to play. Here they are watching a Thomas movie. Matt lasted in that chair for maybe one minute.

Sunday morning we attended church where Steven & I were on nursery duty again with the 18 month olds. It was an emotional day for some of them, but we all made it through! After coming home for lunch and a good nap, we headed over to Tim & Pam's for a Super Bowl party. We also used the big game as an excuse to bring some closure to our West Austin Fantasy Football League season. Holly was our big winner! Woo-hoo!! Celebrating WAFFL it only made sense to have waffles, numerous delicious toppings, and breakfast meats. After eating we all agreed that such a fantastic breakfast menu like that should be appreciated at the dinner hour much more often.

You'll have to ask Pam why she has a bear-skin rug, but it sure makes her cool to all the kids. This picture is awesome.

And what is more fun, really, than everyone crowded inside a cardboard box?

Pooped, Matt slept until nearly 8:30 this morning and then took a 2.5 hour nap. Aaaahhhh.