Clearly, I am way behind. Instead of trying to catch you all up on what has been going on, I think I'll do an update on each child and that way you'll still get a feel for what's been happening in our lives over the past several months.
Matthew Thomas is in the 3rd grade and is growing faster than I can stand it. He catches me looking at him all the time and gasps, "what??", and I have to explain that I am just trying to soak it in--trying to remember what his face looks like right now. This boy is growing and changing faster than I can handle it. His pants are as long as mine now, and the other day I wore his hoodie around the house because it was just hanging on the chair where I was sitting and it fit perfectly. He measured 4'4" tall and weighed 69 lbs. at his yearly checkup in Feb. He will surpass me in height this year.
Back in November, Matthew turned NINE. We invited some of his friends to meet at his school one evening to play flag football, soccer, eat pizza and cookie cake, and just goof around like boys do. While it was probably the easiest birthday party we've done to date, it was also the most fun. I loved seeing Matthew having fun with his friends just running around a field chasing a ball. The next day we had family over to prolong the Matthew celebrations. I just love this photo of all the kids. It speaks volumes to how much they love each other and enjoy playing together.
Matt played flag football again last fall because it's all he wants to do. He's not interested in trying out anything new. In fact, he's started his spring season up already this year. He just loves it. Can't argue with that.
This is a great action shot of Matt at the beach race last September with all our Longhorn friends. He always takes that race so seriously, and it gave him great pleasure to be a top finisher. The kids loves a competition.
Matthew continues to be a fantastic big brother. While he can often get very frustrated with Will, Will is still the one he wants to play with the most. They usually play quite harmoniously together, especially if they have imagined some crazy race course with their cars. One of Matthew's favorite things to do with Will is scour Lego catalogs and Ebay to draw up their wish list of coveted toys. The greed kills me, but it's still nice to see them working together on something. Matt does love to agitate poor Will though. Will can't stand it when Matt is listening in on Will's imaginary play with his superheroes or any other toy because he always gets the giggles or he'll casually kick his legs on the couch to disturb Will. And then he also loves to groan and complain when I tell him he and Will need to take a shower together, but then all I hear coming from that bathroom are giggles.
With his littlest brother, Johnny, Matt is usually very patient and tender. He loves his baby-ness too, and often comments on Johnny's soft baby skin and the cute way he talks. He is typically very helpful with him too. About a month ago we were meeting one of Will's friends at the park for a playdate, and while I had walked over to greet the mom I noticed that Johnny was already wandering off. I asked Matthew to stay with him and watch him while I talked to my friend for a minute. Next thing I knew, I didn't see either of them. I walked all over that place looking for them. 15 minutes later my friends spotted them, and Matthew was still patiently walking by Johnny's side. Johnny had taken Matt to every corner of that park and explored all kinds of new areas, and Matt never once panicked or thought about leaving him. He said, "Mom, I kept trying to get him to come back but he wouldn't; finally I told him Mommy would give him some pie and he agreed to walk back." God bless that child.
Ava is still at the top of Matthew's heart, and she is his favorite companion. He keeps certain female Lego mini figures separate from the large bin for her when she comes over. I think their favorite thing to do together is create Lego cities and creations. They also love creating treasure/scavenger hunts for Will and Henry.
Over Spring Break we had Ava over to spend the night while Will spent the night over at Henry's house. It was great fun. Steven and I took the big kids to go bowling. I think their favorite part was scouring the arcade rooms for lost coins. Matt found 50 cents. There was a claw game that had some watches up for grabs that Ava was really pining for but didn't have the money to play. After we were done bowling Steven gave each kid 50 cents, and they decided to play a car racing game together. When they were done Matt walked over to Ava, gave her the 50 cents he had found earlier and said, "here you go, now go get that watch you wanted!" She got really close. A gesture of sweetness from my oldest boy.
His man-crush still resides with Trent. His friend and main competition. At the Gullett Color Fun Run a few weeks ago, Matt was all set to run alongside me until he spotted Trent. Then I didn't see him until it was over. It only broke my heart a little.
Lego still reigns supreme on this boy's list of favorite things to do. He got this crazy huge Parisian restaurant for Christmas and assembled the entire thing by himself over the course of a few days. It has three stories and is insanely detailed. He's very proud of this addition to his Lego city. Next in popularity would be NASCAR--on tv and reenacting the races with his vast collection of replica cars.
He still doesn't know how sit in a chair or on a couch. Don't know what to say about that. Matthew also spends a lot of time reading and writing his own original stories (he used to call them comics, but has now decided to call them stories). He got a writing desk for Christmas, and most mornings we will find him on the couch hard at work on the latest installment. He's challenged himself to write a story a month. The desk in his room is covered in different, organized stacks of stories he's written. Steven promises to have them bound one day.
As unconventional as Matthew is with the ways he chooses to spend his time and things he's into, i.e. story writing, trolling EBay, and checking the weather online; he still enjoys exploring the outdoors and all it's delights. In this picture he is holding a teeny, tiny baby frog. Those things were jumping all over the place, and somehow he got his hands on one. Over Spring Break he went on an RA campout with a group from our church, and he got to do all kinds of fun boy things like archery, shooting, cooking and sleeping outside, tying different kinds of knots, and navigating with a compass. He had a big time even though it was pouring down rain half the time. And Steven found his very first arrowhead!
These cousins. They are the cutest. I am so happy that they have each other and get to be actively involved in each other's lives. I never knew my cousins, so the fact that they get to see each other and love each other so much is incredible to me. What a gift.
In the end, Matthew is still a goofy, nine year old boy. He makes weird, fantastically annoying noises, he puts his shirts on backwards unintentionally, he comes home with lunch still smeared across his face, he still likes Curious George, he will still cuddle up next to me, he appreciates all my holiday decor, he can't sit still in his chair or resist the urge to read a book at the lunch/dinner table, and I am still his favorite girl. As a mother I sometimes find myself overwhelmed by the love I have for my children. It is intense, and last night was one of those nights. He must have thought I was crazy, but I gave him huge hug and then just stared at his sweet little face and gushed about my love for him. I love being Matthew's mom. It's the best job in the world.
