Sing it!

Matthew has just recently attempted to sing some of his favorite songs. It gives me the giggles every time because there's usually hand gestures and primitive dance moves coupled with it. We most frequently hear the ABC song, though usually only through the letter G with a few undecipherable letters after that before he starts over again. And the mood to sing ABC's can strike anywhere at anytime...in his bed in the morning when he wakes up, in the bathtub, in his highchair, in the car, at the grocery store, at the park, you name it. To reinforce his knowledge of the alphabet he goes to his greatest information source for such a thing: his puppy. He's figured out how to cycle through all the other songs puppy sings until he finds the ABC song. He'll sit there and laugh and try to sing along, and then fast forward until it plays again. This morning in the bathtub I sang Row, Row, Row Your Boat and he thought it was the best song ever and made me repeat it at least 30 times. I'd finish and he'd say, "more!" His lyrics sounded more like, "yo, yo, yo nnnn boat." Good stuff.

And this is a picture of Robot Matthew. He especially likes the robot sound effects that go along with it. He likes the pictures I took of him, too, and asks to look at Robot Matthew frequently now. Hysterical.

Pete's

Today was the day Steven & I decided to be brave...to throw caution to the wind and put our curly headed little boy in the barber's chair. This is a day that we've discussed for some time now because I basically refuse to bring a pair of scissors anywhere near my son's head anymore. We had put if off as long as we could, and today was the chosen day. We waited until Matt woke up from his nap and had wolfed down his snack. As I was changing his diaper I was preparing him for what he was about to experience. He repeated back to me, "Ma-moo hair cut." Before we got in the car I stuffed my purse with a full arsenal of Matt favorites: his blanket, goldfish & animal crackers, fruit snacks, a drink, & his favorite book as of late. We pulled up to Pete's Flat Top Shop (the place where Steven gets his hairs -grin- trimmed) & Steven went and poked his head in the door to make sure they weren't too busy. Praise God they were completely dead in there, not a single customer. We walked in and Matt looked around totally unsure and uneasy with his surroundings. The barber put a booster seat in the chair, we hoisted Matt onto it, and he then used a smock like a belt across Matt's lap to keep him in place. Matt immediately balked. He plunged forward saying, "down, all done, all done!!" Tears of rage followed from there as Steven & I fought with our might to pin him down while the barber tried hard to make an even cut with the clippers. Matt was thrashing and screaming, "hold you Mommy, all done, hold you Daddy, all done!!!" It was heart-breaking and funny all at the same time. We gave the rest of the barbers in the shop quite a show as they cheered their support for Matthew. I knew that nothing in my purse besides his blanket could help in the least bit at this point, so I thrust that at him and he stuffed it in his mouth. After what felt like an eternity the barber turned off his clippers and revealed a much more grown up little boy. He looks so different! My immediate reaction was, wow...his head is really big! Even without that mess of curls the boy's got a big noggin. He looks so handsome and like he's ready to start his first day of school. Once we got Matt out of the chair he clung to me like a monkey trying to catch his breath and get a good look at his attacker. We came home & he was still a little sensitive; I think he was mostly bothered by the itchy hair trimmings on his face and neck. We all went outside and Matt had fun playing with buckets full of water and his daddy spinning him in the swing. It's going to take me a while to get used to his new short cut. I feel like he's just getting so grown up lately with all the new words & comprehension, sitting at the table (no more high chair!) with a plate, climbing on everything, and now this Boy Scout look. It's killing me. Where's my baby? But, he still snuggles with me and sits in my lap when I read to him and has this undeniably precious way of saying, "hold you Mommy?" I love him so much.

Road Warriors

Matthew and I have returned from our action-packed weekend. And man does it feel good to be home. Friday afternoon we arrived at my grandparent's house in Kingwood and had a great visit with them. My grandmother seems to be feeling better and a little more like herself, and she was able to interact with us like normal. They had a great time watching Matt entertain them in his usual style. They were tickled to hear Matt actually call them "Mee-maw & Pa-paw". It was cute. Every time my grandfather would leave the room Matthew would call, "Pa-paw?" and go looking for him. We then headed down to Katy to my Dad and Ann's house.

Saturday morning the four of us went to a local neighborhood park to watch Matthew run around. He had fantastic fun going down the slides, playing in the sand and sitting on the swing with Poppi. After I put Matt down for a nap after lunch I headed into Houston for Erin & Kara's baby shower. It was fun seeing friends I hadn't seen in ages and eating yummy food (and my favorite...cake!) and watching Kara & Erin get all kinds of cute & useful things for their new little ones on the way. I came home and received the report that Matt had slept for over 3 hours. My dad and Ann had planned on running some errands with Matt that afternoon, but it seems that Matt had a much more important date with his bed.

Sunday morning while I was getting myself ready Matthew was rummaging through my wallet that he'd found in my purse. He came running up to me and thrust Steven's business card at me and said, "Daddy! Daddy! See Daddy!". I couldn't believe it. How did he know? I guess he recognized the Walgreens logo? Kinda freaked me out. Then once I finished up I opened up the door to our bedroom and Matthew went running out in a flash in his usual fashion while I was a step behind him saying, "wait Matthew, stop!". Matt rushed over to the stairs and came to an abrupt halt but one of his little feet was teetering on the edge and he lost his balance. And down he went. The first couple steps he slid on his bottom but then the momentum caused him to fall forward and he rolled over, his head hit the railing and the sharp wooden edging. His little body just rolled as I watched in fright not able to get to him fast enough. I finally stopped him about half-way down and he then screamed terrific cries of pain and fear. I felt HORRIBLE! My poor baby! He recovered quickly but then only wanted me the rest of the morning. He came away from it basically unscathed which is a miracle; he's got a little redness around his left eye. Ugh, stupid stairs.

Shortly after that ordeal we got in the car and headed down to Lake Jackson to visit my mom's grave site and to visit with our long-time family friends, the Brawleys. Matthew fell asleep not 15 minutes into our drive and slept the whole way down. It's always so weird driving around LJ. Since my parents moved a year after I graduated high school I never go down there. Now it's all emotional...I could hardly keep a dry eye while driving down there! The Brawleys were precious as usual, and I was delighted to get to visit with them and have their company while at the cemetery. We then drove back to my Dad's house, packed up, fed Matt dinner & put on his jammies, and got back in the car to drive home to Austin. I was ready to come home. And I'm so glad I did.

Today after Matt's nap, which I expect to be long, we're headed to good ol' HEB. There's not a stitch of food in our fridge.

More Ah-sic!

So shameful of me to have not posted in an entire week! But, I have lots of good excuses like the longest cold of my life, an action-packed weekend, and company in town.

Steven & I, thanks to our generous and well connected friends, got 3-day passes to the ACL music festival this past weekend. This was our first experience with it, and I must say that I am a fan. I've never seen so many sweaty, music loving people in one place before...there were literally tens of thousands of folks gathered at Zilker Park. The highlight for me was definitely the Killers concert on Friday night and then Arcade Fire on Saturday night. A certain AMD employee whom most of you know was able to stealthily escort a friend and I back stage for Arcade Fire where I got the best view in the house! Once up on the platform my friends helped push me to the front where I was able sit and watch from above as the band rocked and the sea of people screamed in excitement. It was awesome. Hopefully I can get the same hook up next year...wink, wink!

We called Steven's parents midway through last week and asked them to come to Austin for the sole purpose of watching Matthew while we went to ACL all weekend. And bless their hearts they came! They did an amazing job taking care of Matt and keeping him a happy boy while we rushed off to Zilker everyday. He's still talking about them. So, thanks again Ken & Joyce for loving our little boy and being flexible, awesome grandparents!

Basically since we got back from the beach I've had a cold that won't go away, and it's just made me feel cruddy and talk funny for a couple weeks. The sweetheart that I am, I passed it along to my husband and my son and who knows how many other innocent folks. I'm sure my visit to ACL for three days with hot, sticky weather and freakishly loud music only made it worse, but it was well worth it! My use of kleenex has tapered off significantly this week, so I think I'm finally on the mend.

Matthew has been a sweet boy this week and did great with his grandparents all weekend. We were laughing at him last night as he made probably 30 laps around the dining table right before bed time. He was wanting to be chased and kept asking for "more, more digga-digga!" For those of you who watched the video clip from the beach will recognize that "digga-digga" is what Steven repeats as he chases Matt. So last night we didn't ever think he'd stop running, it was hilarious. Also, Matt got his first fat lip today. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of it before his nap...maybe later. On Thursday mornings I go to a Bible study out at the Quarries called Moms Together that is just wonderful, and I take Matt with me because they have childcare and he loves it. He gets to play in the room where the indoor playscape is and his cousin, Audrey, is in his little group as well. At one point today after I had walked upstairs I glanced down over the gymnasium and saw Matthew sitting at a very long kid-sized table with other 2 year olds coloring. It was so cute! When I went to pick him up later the childcare worker looked at me seriously and recounted how Matthew had been running (no doubt at his crazy warp speed) and tripped and fell flat on his face in the gym. She said he bled some and cried briefly but was quickly back to himself again. I never would have known he'd been hurt if I hadn't seen the puffy lip from yards away...he could have cared less. He was playing and running around and acting like he didn't want to leave. Bless him, the kid recovers very well. My heart sank for a couple minutes, but I quickly realized that he was fine and there was no more blood. I expect him to have a long nap today.

Tomorrow, Matt & I are headed to Houston to visit my grandparents, visit my dad & Ann, attend a baby shower, and maybe squeeze in a trip to Lake Jackson. Steven will be here working. Boo.

Share

Me: "Matthew are you ready for a snack? Would you like some goldfish?"

Matt: "Ah-shish! (goldfish) Peeeeeze. (please) Bowl, bowl!" (he squeezes his tiny hand through the child lock on the cabinet and retrieves one of his little plastic bowls)

Me: "Okay, Matthew...I need you to keep the goldfish in the bowl and stay in the kitchen, okay?"
Matt: "Ah-shish!! (then, head cocked to the side with concerned look) Share...Macy? Share, ah-shish Macy...beeeech?"

Me: "Yes, Matthew, that's right. You shared your goldfish crackers with Macy while we were at the beach."

And this dialogue repeats like an unending chorus all day long. It's funny because he remembers that small instance when we whipped out the goldfish bag one morning at the beach and all the hungry little mouths, including Macy, came crowding around us. I'm not sure why he's singled out Macy. I think he likes saying her name. He does the same thing when he gets out his cars I have on the bookshelf. Only this time it concerns Joshua. He'll say, "cars...shaare, Sha-sha??" The night we got back from the beach Matt had a hard time sharing his toys with Josh who really just wanted to explore them with his mouth. So we had a serious talk about it, and apparently it has stuck with him! Cracks me up.

Yesterday morning Joy watched Matt for me while I went to a Dr.'s appointment. She gave me the full report when I got back, and to my utter astonishment she informed me that Matthew sat at her table (in an actual chair!) and ate from a plate. And he didn't dump out its contents or take it and run or frisbee it to Ava. Wanting to see if he would do the same for me I put him in his booster chair at our dining table the next morning for breakfast. Wouldn't you know it, he actually did well! I had to remind him a few times to keep the plate on the table, but overall it was successful. There's a light finally at the end of the highchair tunnel. I'm not going to get too excited though because he totally backtracked with the self-spoonfeeding thing. He can't be trusted with his own yogurt and spoon in hand, I was wrong. Nonetheless, it was a peek at a more grown-up Matt.

Pahk

Our week has been pretty laid back...we've been slowly recovering from our beach trip. Steven thankfully didn't have to go back to work until Thursday, so Matt & I were both thrilled to have him home. I've also decided to take on some long overdue organizing projects after examining the chaos in our closets and cabinets. I just can't handle it anymore! So, Matt & I have spent some quality time at the Container Store and other such order-inspiring meccas.

To get out of the house one afternoon this week we took a short walk to our neighborhood park. It was pretty quiet there being that it was 4:00 and ridiculously hot. Thank goodness for shade trees. Anyways, Matt enjoyed swinging and running and climbing up and down the slide like usual, but he really turned it up when he decided to push the huge stroller around. Now, he's done this before but I've never seen him quite as insistent and determined as he was this particular day. He wasn't too happy when we tried to help him steer the big thing and also wasn't pleased when he went careening off the sidewalk and down the hill. He was getting really frustrated with it but wouldn't walk away from it. We finally pried him from it and distracted him with another activity. That's when he discovered that climbing up the slide was way more fun than walking around to the steps to get to the top. And then he'd giggle hysterically as he slid down.

Yesterday morning while I was in the shower I heard thundering footsteps and giggles headed my way. I heard Matt round the corner into the bathroom and say, "Hi Mama! Mama, shower." He then of course pulled the curtain back to officially say hi and then point to and name the shampoo and soap. I tried to keep the water and the curtain in the shower, but of course my resistance and tugging only created a game for Matthew. At one point I thought he had distracted himself with something else because it got quiet. I had my eyes closed while shampooing my hair and suddenly I felt a small hand on my leg. I looked down and Matthew had joined me in the shower, grinning. He looked up at me in his pajamas and jubilantly said, "Mama!!" so proud of what he'd done. He started prancing in place and I quickly removed him from the shower. That didn't stop him naturally, so he climbed back in and got kicked back out until I got done. That started my day off juuuuuust right.

We went to Central Market that same morning, and after Matt had helped me unload the cat inevitably found his way into a comfy paper sack. That cat ain't right but we sure do get some good laughs from him.

Beach Games 2007

This was the toddler race. Watch how Tyler gets a head start and Isabella throws a full on fit that leaves us all cracking up. I love how confused all the kids look as shouts and screaming spill over them as they toddle. And stay tuned long enough to see Matt completely collide with the camera and its operator, Tim. It's good stuff. Enjoy.

Port Aransas Revisited

Sorry to leave you hanging so long in between posts, but we've been at the beach! This past Labor Day weekend was our annual college reunion trip down to Port Aransas with our friends and their kiddos. I must say that this year was a lot more enjoyable for Matthew. He really loved getting to play with his friends and run free on the beach. I think it blew his mind that every morning when he woke up he had 7 other kids to play with. Not to mention the 16 other adults to pester. Our trip down was great...a little long, but it was made much more pleasant by the awesome tunes that Zach compiled for us all. I'm sure we looked awesome with our luggage rack atop the station wagon housing two big, blue coolers with the word "Jones" emblazoned on each. Matt enjoyed washing those off the day before outside with his daddy as you can see. Once in Port Aransas, we got settled in and celebrated our first night together at the beach with some delicious casseroles. Friday morning we headed straight to the beach, and it was most interesting to see each child's first impression of the ocean, sand and gently crashing waves. Let's just say some were bigger fans of it all than others, but eventually they all warmed up to it. Matt did very well...he loved playing in the sand and walking out into the waves and then being carried out by Steven or I (or another willing adult) deeper into the water. His favorite game as it turned out was burying Ava's little bathtub fish in the sand and then digging them up. Joy came up with this brilliant game on the first day, and then every time he saw her he would ask about the fish. Pretty cute.

So, for 4 days we played in the ocean and the pool and in all three of the condos we rented to house us all. There were baby races on the beach (a funny video of Matt from that that I've got to figure out how to post on here...), chicken fights in the pool, Xbox gaming, dominoes, a memorable game of Scattegories, the longest fantasy football draft known to man, Longhorn football watching at a local bar, fishing & sting-ray sightings, seashell gathering, tasty meals, and a really good time had by all. Matt really enjoyed talking about Isa while we were there, and Steven & I were quite impressed with his ability to say his friends' names with nearly accurate pronunciation. Another one of my favorite moments was watching Matthew push around Isa's baby doll stroller down by the grills the night we had fajitas. Tim volunteered to keep track of him, and Matt took him all over the parking lot (where they evidently saw a cat under a car that Matt told me about), back by the picnic tables and then onto the boardwalk out to the beach. All while pushing that stroller ever so seriously. It was a riot. Poor Tim got a good workout. And I got to eat!

We had yet another fabulous time with all our friends down at the beach. Thanks to everyone for making it such a fun, memorable trip, and one that we look forward to each and every year.