[It Was] Matthew Monday

It was Matthew Monday when I started this post in my head. Does that count? Because "Matthew Thursday" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

It's just after 12:30a and I've just come to bed from cuddling my sweetie pie. I just fed him at 11:30 but he woke up crying. I know the books say that I should have let him fall back asleep, but he wanted to cuddle, so I cuddled him. I know that one day, much sooner than I want it, he will not want me to cuddle him anymore. As it is, he doesn't like to cuddle much when he's awake, so I take it when and where I can get it. Do you think if I got some of that fancy anti-aging cream and smeared it all over him, that he could stay my little boy forever? I know some people aren't "baby people" but I love this time SO much. And I'll only get to have it with my first/only baby once. So, I'm a bit wistful about it passing so quickly! I'm pretty tired because he's gone back to two middle of the night feedings, and that, coupled with my insomnia makes it hard to catch up on rest. But, the middle of the night feeds are some of my favorites--he's too tired to want to play or wriggle away, so he eats, and then when he's done, he pulls off and burrows in to me. I usually have to pry myself out of the chair and put him back to bed because it's so tempting to snuggle him all night. Ah...

My sweetheart is just blossoming. He still has very little interest in crawling. He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks for a while, but then decides rolling is faster. He has recently started doing this funny little shimmy. It's pretty hard to describe, so I'll just show you. This is how he gets around when he wants to go forward. And he always only uses the one hand.



Last week, he got a freckle. Two, actually: one in his left ear, and one on his right cheek. SO cute!

He's becoming increasingly verbal. His sounds now are "ma, ma, ma," "ba, ba, ba," and more recently (and rarely), "ah, ah, ah," "da, da, da," ga, ga, ga" and "la, la, la." Last week, I was reading him "Moo, Baa, La La La" and when I said, "The sheep says "ba-a-a," he said "ba-a-a" and when I said, "Three singing piggies say 'La la la!" he said, "la la la!" He's only done it sporadically since then, but it was deliberate. I love to see his little mind working.

Another thing that's been fun to see is he's figuring out mirrors. He still LOVES the baby in the mirror. I don't know that he's figured out that that is him. He talks to the baby, tries to touch the baby, tries to eat the baby. But if he sees someone else he knows in the mirror, he'll look in the mirror, and then turn and look behind or next to himself to see where that person is standing. You can literally see the lightbulbs going off in his little head. I know not everyone has the opportunity or desire to be a stay at home mom, but for me, it's a perfect fit and I'm so thankful for the chance to be one. I just love being with him all day. People say that it will wear off. Maybe when he's a teenager ;)

I had to move him this week to 9-12 month jammies! He's still tiny in terms of weight, but he's soooo long! It's always bittersweet for me when I move him to the next size up. I am grateful that he's healthy and growing, but this time is all passing far too quickly for my preference!

His last day in his 6-9 month jammies. I just loved these ones on him so I wanted to make sure I had a picture of him in them. I got a pretty cute picture out of the deal!


On the weekend, we took him to the pumpkin patch. The weather was PERFECT--70 degrees. (In contrast, it will be 100 tomorrow). He had such a good time. He just LOVES to be outside but it's been too hot for him to be in it for months!










Sunday night (October 9th) was very exciting, too! Look what we learned to do!


He got himself to that position:


So, we've been a busy bee! He's attempting to cruise, too! He might just skip that whole boring crawling thing! Once he's up on his feet, he stands there as long as he can. He just loves it!

Other little things I want to remember: His sweet little voice. Sometimes, it's just so soft, and gentle.


He's even learning to whisper, which is so cute. Other times, he's loud and rowdy and exuberant. Oh and that fake cough thing at the end of the video is his other new thing. It's hilarious.

Often, when he finishes eating at bedtime, he pulls away, sits up, props his elbows on my chest and strokes my face. Then he smiles and coos at me. He knows bed time is imminent and he's just trying to con me into playing with him instead of putting him to sleep, but I admit, sometimes, I fall for it. On purpose. It's so cute, even if a bit manipulative.

When he nurses, he is turned in toward me, lying on his side, with his tummy and torso against my chest, and one leg and arm under him, down against my arm that's cradling him. Lately, his free leg just goes wild while he's eating. He waves it all over the air. Eventually, he settles it up on my shoulder. It's so cute. With his free hand, he likes to grab the end of my nose and hold on. It's like he's saying "Don't go anywhere, mom!" Like I could even if I wanted to.

He does this funny little thing where he tucks his chin to his chest and shakes his head from side to side, as if he's nodding, "no." The thing is, he does it at all random times and often not in response to anything so he's not ACTUALLY saying, "no."

He's fascinated with the mechanics of things. We were at a friends house for dinner a few weeks ago, and she has one of those springy/coil doorstops in her baseboard. We were on the floor playing, and he rolled over to it, and spent a good 20 minutes just tweaking the doorstop, listening to its sound and watching it move. Today, he rolled to a drawer with a hinged pull--he pulled it out and let it fall back in to place forever and ever. He's so curious!

He laughs at me when I yawn (kind of messed up, don't you think, considering he's the REASON I'm so tired?)

He is seeming like he's going to be left handed...just like his daddy {swoon}.

Ok, now it's 1:45--I need to go to bed. Night, all!