Let the Sun Shine In

I took Matthew to Target a couple days ago to restock our supply of diapers and wipes. I think it's his favorite store. As soon as we get out of the car he's always excited by the big red concrete balls that are positioned in front of the store, and then once we get inside and get our cart he's swiveling in his seat to try and see the baby posters. You know, those huge pictures of cute babies' faces hanging overhead the infant/toddler department? He squeals with delight whenever we cruise over to that area. And there's so many pictures of babies on the boxes of diapers, wipes, soap, etc. that I always think Matt's head is going to explode. He loves, loves looking at them. So when we got home he had a ball talking to all the babies that we had bought at Target. Sounds funny, but it's true. Moses liked the box, too.

I hate to say anything, but we've had 2 days now without any rain! After Matt's nap yesterday we decided we'd better get out and enjoy the sunshine since we have no idea how short lived this break from rain will be. Matthew's favorite part of pool time is exhibiting full control over the hose and pointing it wherever sees fit. And then of course drinking from it. I threw water at him with the bucket and he thought it was the coolest thing ever. After pool time got old he dashed over to his swing where I guess he wanted to relax and dry off. He sucks his thumb and kicks wildly. While in the swing he likes to talk about and point to all the things that he sees. "Chair, towel, ball, hose, bahboos (bubbles)..." etc. Then he usually asks to spin in the swing. So I wind him up and set him loose and he grins as he spins at a dizzying speed. One of these days he's gonna yack, I just know it. Then it's "more, more, more!" After that he thought he'd rearrange the water bottles that were in the orange bucket on the patio and then run his mower along the concrete. It was a full afternoon of outdoor fun. Once Steven got home from work he decided to mow the lawn, and Matt was very keen on helping. Steven let him help with the blower, and the look on Matt's face was one of extreme delight and concentration as his hand rested under his daddy's and they rid the driveway of leaves and grass. I wonder how much longer this "helper" phase will last? It's pretty darn cute.

In a Pickle

Me: "Matthew, did you have fun at the grocery store?" (I set Matthew down on the floor and put my purse on the table and a bag of groceries on the counter)

Matt: "Hi Dat! Aaaahhhhh!!!!" (Matt quickly waves to the cat and then goes running to the kitchen with some weird battle cry and then collapses on the floor)
Me: "Alright, Mommy's going to go out and get more groceries from the car. I'll be right back." (I exit through the garage door and hear tiny steps running around. I grab 5 bags and reach for the door. It's locked. Seriously??)

Me: "Matthew open the door for Mommy!" (I hear him fiddling with the knob and see it twisting as I'm pleading with him)

Matt: "Mama?" (giggling)

So this goes on for a few minutes as I stand there and wonder how on earth he locked the door in the first place and then how he did it so quickly because I wasn't gone very long. In futility I tried to explain to him how to unlock the door all the while knowing that I was screwed. I made a quick round around the house just in case I had left a door somewhere unlocked. Nope. I have no keys, no phone, no spare key hidden anywhere, my groceries are wilting and melting with every second, and my son is beginning to whine pathetically at the door because he realizes Mommy is not coming back inside. On the plus side, the sun is actually out for the first time all day. It's 5:00. I look across the street and see that my neighbor is home so I tell Matt I'll be right back and then I sprint to his house. Using his phone I called Steven at work and asked him to call his mother (who praise the Lord is in town AND has a key to our house) since I didn't have her number memorized. He chuckled and said okay. Thanking my kind neighbor I ran back to our house and situated myself on the back patio where Matt and I could talk through the glass door. He was hysterical, and I could hear his sobs as I approached the house. He was splayed on the glass door, sweaty, red and puffy, and snotty-nosed. I did all my best mommy tricks; even blew bubbles, but he still couldn't calm completely down. About 10 minutes later Joyce walked in and saved the day! Thank you!!! Matthew collected himself pretty quickly, and we all recovered just fine.

So I guess I need to stash an extra key outside somewhere, huh? Good heavens. What a day.

Hands Off the Yogurt, Lady

Matthew is growing up fast, and everyday I realize it more and more. He desperately wants to do things by himself; so much in fact that it can bring him to tears. And then I remember that I do still have a baby as I scoop him off the floor with my back screaming in pain under the stress of a good extra 29 or so pounds to comfort him yet again. It's kind of funny to see him get frustrated with his motor skills, or lack thereof. Just watch him try and put an arm on Mr. Potato Head. It tests his patience.

I stopped buying yogurt for Matthew to eat a few months ago because he was refusing it. I thought I would try it again since it had been awhile and also because he's totally into spoon-feeding himself. We've had small successes with tiny bowls of applesauce, so I figured I could give him a go with his own cup of yogurt and spoon. I've hesitated for a long time in making this self-feeding step with utensils because in my mind I could just see the bowl/cup being capsized and the spoon first being tapped on the tray as food is strewn about only to then be violently tossed in the air and landing with a splat on the floor. Thankfully, it seems I have waited the appropriate amount of time because Matt grips the spoon and cup with authority and determination and no funny-business. And I don't dare try to help him...he quickly turns his torso to the side with an iron grip on his food while kindly telling me no. Alright, maybe not so kindly. The yogurt oozing down his chin drives me bonkers but he won't let me touch him while he's delicately maneuvering spoon to mouth to cup, so I try and busy myself with something else. He knows he's made a mess because at the end he holds his sticky hands up gesturing for me to wipe them off so he doesn't get yogurt all over his other food on the tray.

This week we've just been playing and cleaning and making multiple trips to the grocery store in our usual fashion. Oh yes, and watching the rain of course. Sigh.

Mama???

This past weekend was the first time that I've ever been away from Matthew for 2 consecutive nights. And he's 1 1/2! While I was off having a splendid time with my college girlfriends Steven had the pleasure of taking care of our son. Steven's folks were in town, too, so there were some extra hands on deck which I'm sure Steven appreciated. Whenever I would call to check on them it sounded like they were having a good time...or at least everyone was still alive and free from tears. My mother-in-law, Joyce, took this picture in Matt's room. His audience looks kind of bored, no? But it looks like Matt was pleased with his tower construction.

I think it was good for Matthew to have some space from me, and I know he got some excellent daddy bonding time in. When I arrived back in town yesterday afternoon he didn't immediately come running, but there was a lot of lap sitting and thumb sucking that followed. I had a brilliant time with my sweet friends and I'm so so glad we got to get away like that together (the highlight was indeed the massage and the fancy dinner!), but I missed my family and was thrilled to get home. Matthew sure is pooped...he's almost on hour three of a nap right now! Perhaps all the details of his weekend weren't disclosed to me entirely. Curious...

Our day so far has been a morning at the gym followed by watching Steven mow the grass (Matt would wave to him and say, "hi da-da" every time he walked by pushing the mower), laundry, lunch and now a nap of course. Next up will be the always exciting trip to HEB and a wonderful evening over at Tim and Pam's for dinner. Hooray!!!

She Taught Me Well

Boy did we have some bathtime fun today! Matthew has acquired one of his friend Ava's favorite pastimes; we call it bonking. We've watched Ava do it for months now and it is hysterical. She starts in a standing position and then falls straight down to her bottom in a sit. It's most beautifully captured in the baby pool but can also be fun on just the floor or like today, the bathtub.

I'm not really sure why Matt suddenly decided to start trying it out himself. I know he's always enjoyed laughing at Ava doing it. Steven got Matt out of his crib yesterday morning and said that he was bonking in his bed. Then, off and on all day we'd bonk. He'd say, "two, two!!" and so I'd count 1, 2, 3....bonk!!! Uproarious laughter and even more so if I would join him. We showed Ava last night and it looked like she was pleased. Her influence runs deep! As you can see, Matthew thought it would be fun to bonk in the tub today. There was mighty splashing and big waves and tons of water on the floor, just like he likes it. I was cracking up.

This morning Matt and I went for a walk. I glanced at the radar while Steven was still home and all I saw was a wimpy little rainstorm that totally looked like it was going to fizzle out. We headed out about 8:30 and it was cloudy. You surely know where I'm going with this...I was jogging and gasping for air in the humidity while Matt was kicking his legs happily and down came the rain. We were of course a good mile or so from home so I sought shelter under a big tree and put the little clear, plastic rain shield that's hidden in his jogging stroller over Matthew so he wouldn't get soaked. I continued on because it didn't show signs of clearing any time soon, and I got totally drenched. We made it home just as the rain was slowing down. Matthew seemed to enjoy it. He kept saying, "Nee! Nee!" (rain) and then had a good time laughing at me while I wrung out my wet clothes. I enjoyed myself, too. It's not often I get to play in the rain like that, but now that Matt's around I've found ample opportunities to splash around.

Anyone Know a Good Barber?

I got brave today and decided to cut Matthew's hair. Now, I've done this a few times before (I've never taken him anywhere to get his hair cut...yet) and I always dread it. Early on he didn't seem to mind it too much, but as the months have gone by he's decided it's rather distasteful. You can see by that photo that I have obviously put off this chore for longer than I should have because my child's head looks 50% larger with that bouffant of hair. He was starting to look a little disproportionate I thought.

Our customary method is to lock ourselves in the bathroom, strip down Matt, and I chase him around with a sharp pair of scissors while he distracts himself with various bathroom accoutrements. I'm squatting trying to delicately maneuver around those little ears while he's dashing from the drawer full of soap and toothpaste to the toilet and the trash can. It really must look hilarious. The first few minutes are fine, but once the novelty of playing with the ear thermometer wears off and piles of hair start forming on the floor and he starts to notice what I'm doing he puts on a very worried look. And then usually some cut hairs find their way into his eyes and nose and he commences to rubbing them and sneezing and complaining. I got mostly done...at least enough to where there weren't large, gaping holes on his head and he didn't look completely foolish at church this morning. I hope to finish it up tomorrow if my pupil is willing. He enjoyed the cleanup though. Pushing the swiffer around is always a favorite. As you can see, his hair no longer cascades over his collar in the back anymore. Whew!

I think Matt has a crush on the Luby's girl. No kidding. One day I got out that cookbook and Matthew started giggling uncontrollably and doing his little run in place jig. I was dying. I agreed with him that it was a very cute little girl on the front of the book, and he started saying "gool!, gool!" and laughing hysterically. So, yesterday he stumbled up to my cookbook collection and started asking about the "gool" and so I got it out for him look at. More giggle fits, and so I had to take a picture. You know, that Luby's cookbook has gone from being a Christmas gag gift (thanks, Pam!!!) to an excellent resource for delicious meals and most surprisingly, eye candy for my son.

Pool Time!!!

Let it be known that Matthew was more than hesitant about the pool at the beginning of baby pool season this year. I dipped his chubby little toes in the frigid water and he released screams of a caliber I hadn't heard in many, many months. Now, Matt has fully embraced all the fun & games that is the baby pool. We had a lovely evening at the Rener's home last night, and you can see that Matt & Ava had a gay old time dumping water on each other's heads and splashing around. It kind of looks like a wrestling match; I mean, look at that hold Ava has on him! They both really seemed to enjoy having large buckets of water emptied on top of them and then gasping for air. Finally worn out, there was a request for towels where we then came in and chowed down on some chips & queso. Excellent post-swimming fare!

Earlier this week Matt & I made a super-fast visit to Katy to see Poppi (my dad), and Matthew just couldn't get enough of him. He wouldn't let me hold him and nor would he even take a couple bites of his dinner because he wanted to play with his Poppi. My dad left early for work the next morning and Matthew was asking for Poppi while he was still in his pack & play right after he woke up. He searched the whole house for him...arms up in the air in questioning motion, "Pappa??"...it was pretty cute.

Since we were in Katy we (or I should say I) wanted to take advantage of Katy Mills being so close, so we made a brief stop there before heading home. Ann Taylor was having a HUGE sale and I of course found some things I needed to try on so Matt & I set about finding a nice, large fitting room. I thought I was being clever by situating the stroller right square in front of the door. Well, it worked for a few minutes. He entertained himself by playing peek-a-boo in the mirror (where's Ma-moo??), trying on my sunglasses and grinning at himself, and pushing the stroller around. That all quickly got old, and once he moved the stroller and saw the escape route was gloriously open he seized the opportunity. Out he crawled as I'm frantically calling, "Matthew!! Get back here! Mommy needs your help!" If I ask for his help he usually comes running so I thought it might work, but I really can dress myself I promise. It did, and he maneuvered his way back into the dressing room. I finished up, and just as I was about to be completely dressed he made another escape. Thankfully, the kind saleswoman was there to halt his progress. It was quite an experience, and now I know why I waited until now to try on clothes with Matt in tow. However, I did get some cool clothes out of it!

It's the Simple Things in Life

Steven & I often wonder why we bother buying toys for Matthew. He enjoys them to an extent, but when you hand him an empty milk carton or pickle jar his eyes light up and he's mesmerized all morning or afternoon. It's really pretty funny. A lot of times when he's begging for crackers he's not necessarily interested in eating them, he'd really rather play with the box and point at things in the pictures. We wonder if he's just really fascinated with the artwork on the labels or if he's excited to finally get his hands on the things we usually tell him he can't touch, but either way there's no escaping the fact that he's in heaven with an empty coffeemate container.

Another funny behavior of our son is his fixation with looking at pictures on the computer. Steven has put together a large folder of hundreds of pictures from the span of Matt's lifetime that serves as a highly entertaining slide show for the young man. He also loves looking at everyone's blogs, namely Joshua Brown's. He calls him "Sha-Sha", and is usually climbing up on the desk so he can poke at his picture on the screen. So, if the computer is on we're usually committed to looking at pictures for a long, long time. Until mommy says, bye-bye pictures! I think I've got that whole slide show line up memorized. The kid is addicted.

As you can see, Moses made another cameo appearance. He's such a camera hog. Really, he just likes to be anywhere Matthew and I are. He loves that boy.

Bombs Burstin' Up in the Air

Our July 4th started out the same as every other day as of late: watching the rain. We had a quiet morning just being together as a family. I'm sure that Matt thinks we're total idiots because half the time Steven & I are looking at each other in bewilderment because a)we don't know what the heck he's trying to say half the time, and b)who is this small toddler person with opinions & a sense of humor and where did our little baby blob go? It's crazy I tell you!

So, Matt had a fun time inspecting his daddy's highly arched & furry feet as they both lounged on the couch together. He was having some kind of conversation with Steven's foot which he was intent on keeping strictly between himself and his subject. SThe fun was over when sadly, Steven had to go to work that afternoon (he really ended up trading days so he could be off on Sunday for our party) and was unable to join us for the get together over at the Rener's new house. I guess drugs still sell on holidays.

After Matt's nap and a quick snack and a trip for some ice, we joined the Reners and a lot of their family over at their fabulous new abode. Zach & Joy have already done an amazing amount of work to that house and it looks incredible. I've never seen two more focused, driven individuals. It's impressive. So, after a tour of the latest updates to the house there was a delicious spread of foods where I felt that the KFC was the highlight. Tasty! There was card playing and halo playing and chit-chat. The rain stopped long enough for us to get all the kids out of the house and into the baby pool for a little while. Matthew had a blast with his cousins. He enjoyed laughing at them in the pool and then drinking the pool water from various cups & containers. Yum. My favorite shot was when a helicopter circled above us and you can see that all the other kids were looking up to see it and Matt was still focused on whatever hair-brain idea he had going on in the pool. Hilarious! We had a great time and even saw a few fireworks on our drive home that evening. Next year, we gotta at least get some sparklers!

Seein' Stars

Wow, we had a crazy week! VBS wrapped up and was a total blast; Matt had a ball playing with all his church friends and I enjoyed all the preschoolers asking me if I was 12. Is that a blow to my ego or should I be flattered? Kids...they just say the darnedest things. Matthew's GrandMama and GrandPapa have been in town all this week, too, and we have really enjoyed their company. By the end of the weekend, Matt finally got their names down. That's quite an accomplishment for our boy who is never inclined to mimic anything we want him to say. We're bound to have a breakthrough one day soon, right?

Sunday was our big July 4th party that has grown into a pretty fun event every year now. Bret, Sara, & Isa came into town and stayed with us. Well, at least Isa did...her parents had a romantic anniversary date in downtown Austin, so we had the pleasure of watching little Miss Isa. She's the cutest thing and soooo easy! Don't take that the wrong way; c'mon people! Matthew was thrilled to say the least at having another little person in the house. They followed each other around all morning and had a blast playing with cars, the puzzle, splashing in the tub & squealing, and eating cheerios.

One of my favorite moments from the party was when the beach balls entered the baby pool and Matt & Ava went nuts. It was really a hoot to watch, I didn't think they'd ever stop running in circles. The water was a little on the cold side, but I think eventually every kid had a good time splashing around in there some. And what a lot of kids running around! Matt, Isa, Ava, Tyler, James, Joshua, Macy, & Brooke. Matthew was wiped out and fell right asleep even as all our company was leaving. We want to thank everyone for coming, for helping, for contributing food/drink, and for making the drive to come have fun with us. We had a great time and hope y'all did too. Stop on by if you want some leftover cake!!! Or hot dog. Or burger. Or chili.