Funny story. My husband's name is Todd. His mom used to work in the church nursery when he was a Toddler. It was called "Toddler Nursery" or "Toddler Class" or something. My husband thought she made up the word "Toddler" and named the class in his honor. Wasn't he cute? And clever? In my whole life, I never connected the name Todd to "toddler."
Anyway, why do I tell you this story? Because as of Saturday, I no longer have a baby...I have a toddler.
He started Saturday night with this:
And just the next morning, he was walking all the way across the church nursery. Here he is yesterday morning, showing off his new skillz!
Matthew hasn't shown interest in walking, even though several of our friends' kids who are his same age started long ago. But I've always said that, like rolling and crawling, he wouldn't practice much. He'd just up and do it one day. And like I predicted, that's exactly what he did. A few weeks ago, he took a few steps toward me. Then he didn't try it again (on purpose) until Saturday. And then he just did it. The next morning, he was crossing the room. And now, just Wednesday, he already prefers it as his primary method to get around. It's so surreal to look down at him and watch him go from one activity to another by simply standing up and walking over to it.
He has 5 words. His first words were "uh oh!" He throws things over the side or off the edges of things and says "Uh oh!"
He also says "daddy," "hi!" "all done" and a few times, we've heard "bye." Yesterday, he also said "hey!" right back to me after I said the same thing. He also barks like a dog. He's always making some kind of noise-barking, growling, hollering, jabbering in baby talk. It's so cute!
Well my boys are home from an errand so I have to run! Toodaloo!
Showing posts with label Matthew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
12 Months Update
I updated y'all on Matthew's birthday party, but I wanted to document his 12 months progress, too!
Weight (on his birthday): 21 pounds. Yesterday, at his checkup, he was 22 and some change, but it was also right after his lunch. So I'm sticking with the 21 pound one, which was two weeks ago, on an empty stomach. This puts him in the 10-25% mark, where he's been for the last however long.
Length: 31.75"!!!!! We had a little playdate the other day with his friend who is three months older than him and he towered over her! This puts him at 93% for height!
Head: 18.75" putting him in the 75%...also not a surprise, considering he's been in a hat size 12-24 months since he was around 9 months old.
So, he's my little stringbean!
Current Skills:
He can now stand for a few moments, unassisted. He can't stand up on his own (meaning he still needs to pull up on something) but once he's up, he will stand alone and is starting to feel more freedom in doing so.
He loves to climb. We were at the park the other day and there was a short little structure and he just kept climbing over it (usually diving head first), turning around, and climbing/diving right back over again. There are a few stairs at church that he loves to try to climb on. Thankfully, he can't or hasn't thought to try to climb on the furniture here at home yet.
Tunneling is one of his new things. His exersaucer has the activity area where he sits, and then the legs holding that part up are attached to a disc. He loves to crawl between the legs, under the seat, and into the disc. One of the toys he received for Christmas is a two-tiered type toy too, and he loves to crawl between the tiers, and then under his activity table. My mom gave him a tunnel for his birthday and he went through it pretty quickly. I can't have it out all the time due to room but when it's out, he likes to go through it.
Dancing is still his favorite activity. I like to rotate his toys around between storage, his bedroom, and our living room. His big jungle toy that my brother gave him for Christmas is his favorite music maker and I had put it away for a couple of weeks. I brought it out again this morning and he went over to it and boogied his little heart out. He LOVES to dance. It's so ridiculously cute, I can't even tell you! But I can show you! (I tried to post this video before, but I guess it didn't work for everyone)
He has started to play ball interactively. I'll sit on the floor and roll the ball to him. He'll get it and either roll, throw, or give it back to me. It's really neat to see.
Along the same lines, he's also starting to share a little, or rather, invite you to play with him. If he has a toy or a snack in his hand, he'll come over and put it in your hand. He wants you to give it back pretty immediately, but it's still sweet. Along the same lines though, he's also getting more into taking. It used to be in the nursery at church that if someone took a toy from him, he'd go find another one. Now, he's a little thief along with the rest of them, and is much less likely to just let you take what he has. Ah, independence....
He's starting to love books, too, which just melts my heart. We've always read to him but until recently, he's been too impatient to sit still for story time. Now, often, I'll find him sitting and "reading" one of his books. Or, he'll bring one to me to read to him. At story time, he'll happily sit through 3 or 4 books. I really hope that a love of reading stays with him.
As I mentioned, he's growing more independent. He's growing more opinionated about what he eats, what he does, what he wants or doesn't want, etc. That has its challenges as you can imagine, but I love that he's learning his own mind and learning to express himself.
His favorite food is now cheese. I didn't think anything could eclipse chicken in his little mind and he wasn't sure about cheese at first. But now, it's his #1. It's so funny--I can fix a meal for him of 3, 4, or even 5 different things all torn up and mixed together on his tray, and he'll pick out his favorite thing first, and eat most or all of that item. Then, he'll pick out all of his second favorite item, and so on and so forth until he's done. There's no fooling him. Even if I give him food that is all the same color, texture, and/or size as each other, he knows which item is which. He's also decided he wants to have what we're having, which is fun but also means we do a lot of our eating when he's asleep or otherwise occupied, out of sheer self-preservation. Little mooch will devour your whole sandwich/burrito/bowl of oatmeal if you let him, even if he has the EXACT same thing on HIS tray! His favorite food list is rounded out by chicken, yogurt, pineapple, mangoes, and recently, pancakes (he had them for the first time last week and loved them and enchiladas (see the "little mooch" comment--dude tried to polish off all of one of mine! Oddly enough, it's the same enchilada that was about the only thing I could keep down for part of my pregnancy, so I guess he decided a long time ago that he likes them).
Well, speaking of, it's way past lunch time, I have one more enchilada leftover from dinner, and he's sleeping, so I'm going to go enjoy lunch in peace.
Toodaloo!
Weight (on his birthday): 21 pounds. Yesterday, at his checkup, he was 22 and some change, but it was also right after his lunch. So I'm sticking with the 21 pound one, which was two weeks ago, on an empty stomach. This puts him in the 10-25% mark, where he's been for the last however long.
Length: 31.75"!!!!! We had a little playdate the other day with his friend who is three months older than him and he towered over her! This puts him at 93% for height!
Head: 18.75" putting him in the 75%...also not a surprise, considering he's been in a hat size 12-24 months since he was around 9 months old.
So, he's my little stringbean!
Current Skills:
He can now stand for a few moments, unassisted. He can't stand up on his own (meaning he still needs to pull up on something) but once he's up, he will stand alone and is starting to feel more freedom in doing so.
He loves to climb. We were at the park the other day and there was a short little structure and he just kept climbing over it (usually diving head first), turning around, and climbing/diving right back over again. There are a few stairs at church that he loves to try to climb on. Thankfully, he can't or hasn't thought to try to climb on the furniture here at home yet.
Tunneling is one of his new things. His exersaucer has the activity area where he sits, and then the legs holding that part up are attached to a disc. He loves to crawl between the legs, under the seat, and into the disc. One of the toys he received for Christmas is a two-tiered type toy too, and he loves to crawl between the tiers, and then under his activity table. My mom gave him a tunnel for his birthday and he went through it pretty quickly. I can't have it out all the time due to room but when it's out, he likes to go through it.
Dancing is still his favorite activity. I like to rotate his toys around between storage, his bedroom, and our living room. His big jungle toy that my brother gave him for Christmas is his favorite music maker and I had put it away for a couple of weeks. I brought it out again this morning and he went over to it and boogied his little heart out. He LOVES to dance. It's so ridiculously cute, I can't even tell you! But I can show you! (I tried to post this video before, but I guess it didn't work for everyone)
He has started to play ball interactively. I'll sit on the floor and roll the ball to him. He'll get it and either roll, throw, or give it back to me. It's really neat to see.
Along the same lines, he's also starting to share a little, or rather, invite you to play with him. If he has a toy or a snack in his hand, he'll come over and put it in your hand. He wants you to give it back pretty immediately, but it's still sweet. Along the same lines though, he's also getting more into taking. It used to be in the nursery at church that if someone took a toy from him, he'd go find another one. Now, he's a little thief along with the rest of them, and is much less likely to just let you take what he has. Ah, independence....
He's starting to love books, too, which just melts my heart. We've always read to him but until recently, he's been too impatient to sit still for story time. Now, often, I'll find him sitting and "reading" one of his books. Or, he'll bring one to me to read to him. At story time, he'll happily sit through 3 or 4 books. I really hope that a love of reading stays with him.
As I mentioned, he's growing more independent. He's growing more opinionated about what he eats, what he does, what he wants or doesn't want, etc. That has its challenges as you can imagine, but I love that he's learning his own mind and learning to express himself.
His favorite food is now cheese. I didn't think anything could eclipse chicken in his little mind and he wasn't sure about cheese at first. But now, it's his #1. It's so funny--I can fix a meal for him of 3, 4, or even 5 different things all torn up and mixed together on his tray, and he'll pick out his favorite thing first, and eat most or all of that item. Then, he'll pick out all of his second favorite item, and so on and so forth until he's done. There's no fooling him. Even if I give him food that is all the same color, texture, and/or size as each other, he knows which item is which. He's also decided he wants to have what we're having, which is fun but also means we do a lot of our eating when he's asleep or otherwise occupied, out of sheer self-preservation. Little mooch will devour your whole sandwich/burrito/bowl of oatmeal if you let him, even if he has the EXACT same thing on HIS tray! His favorite food list is rounded out by chicken, yogurt, pineapple, mangoes, and recently, pancakes (he had them for the first time last week and loved them and enchiladas (see the "little mooch" comment--dude tried to polish off all of one of mine! Oddly enough, it's the same enchilada that was about the only thing I could keep down for part of my pregnancy, so I guess he decided a long time ago that he likes them).
Well, speaking of, it's way past lunch time, I have one more enchilada leftover from dinner, and he's sleeping, so I'm going to go enjoy lunch in peace.
Toodaloo!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Happy Birthday, Matthewsaurus!
My littlest lovebug turned 1 year old today! I can't hardly believe it. We've had a whole weekend of celebrating, which is fitting, considering he took the better part of two days to actually deliver.
I was pleasantly surprised that despite my angst about its approach, once this weekend actually arrived, I was able to completely enjoy it without any sadness at all! OK, there was a flitting moment of sadness when I kissed him goodnight last night and realized it was my last time doing so with a <1 Year Old Matthew, but that was quickly squelched when he reached up and kissed me back (first time he kissed me goodnight--he's kissed me before but this was the first time he reached up and kissed me back as I was laying him down). An infant can't do that. And in that moment, I decided that 1 will be better than 0 because of all the new memories we still have yet to make. My heart is so full!
I spent Friday preparing for a little party. First birthday parties are really for the parents and baby's other loved ones, so I didn't want to get carried away with something he won't even remember, and I didn't want to make things stressful for myself, but I also wanted to have some fun with it. With the help of Pinterest (seriously, if you don't have an account, you need one), I decided on a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" theme. Most of the thematic elements were food and colors, so I brought the color in through the paper goods, and the food from the book determined our menu. Then I just made a tissue-paper caterpillar, and we were done. Fun, cute, festive, low maintenance, budget-friendly, and with minimal waste. We just invited immediate family so as to keep it fun for Matthew, without being overwhelming. We had his party on Saturday and everything fell into place perfectly. He slept in late, so he was still awake when the party started--he's usually napping or extremely fussy by that time. He had his lunch, he opened his presents, and right about the time he was getting to tired for any more party, we hopped him up on sugar by giving him some cake. That gave him a little burst of fun and energy. He had a bath, we brought him home (we held the party at my in-law's house), and he napped.
The food:
I ordered the little food signs on Etsy. I didn't think to get a better photo of them:
Sitting with his presents:
A bow on my head...
Playing with a toy with daddy:
Waiting for his cake. Somehow, he knew something good was coming!
Cake:
The verdict:
And finally, a family picture:
We had a quiet night at home last night, just the three of us. Overall, it was a lovely day, with many memories I will cherish.
This morning, we went to church, and then we went with our church friends out to lunch like we always do. I brought more cupcakes to share and friends brought gifts for him. We played with more frosting and then came home for a nap.
Tonight, the three of us went to Red Robin for singing and ice cream.
One of the funniest parts of all the partying was the constant look of confusion on his face whenever a big group would sing. Why are you all singing at me? It was so cute, and I admit, I exploited it--full blown singing, multiple times :)
We came home, played with him, gave him a bath, and put him to bed, blissfully ending a perfect weekend.
It's my birthday! Thank you very much!
I've spent the evening hanging out with DH, writing this blog, and processing pictures. I'm about to write Matthew a letter, and first birthday weekend will officially be over.
On a more sentimental note, in 1984, President Reagan created National Sanctity of Human Life Day.
We praise God for our sweet little boy, for each breath that he has taken, for every breath that he will take, and for all of the precious details that fill each of those breaths. Happy Birthday, Matthewsaurus!
I was pleasantly surprised that despite my angst about its approach, once this weekend actually arrived, I was able to completely enjoy it without any sadness at all! OK, there was a flitting moment of sadness when I kissed him goodnight last night and realized it was my last time doing so with a <1 Year Old Matthew, but that was quickly squelched when he reached up and kissed me back (first time he kissed me goodnight--he's kissed me before but this was the first time he reached up and kissed me back as I was laying him down). An infant can't do that. And in that moment, I decided that 1 will be better than 0 because of all the new memories we still have yet to make. My heart is so full!
I spent Friday preparing for a little party. First birthday parties are really for the parents and baby's other loved ones, so I didn't want to get carried away with something he won't even remember, and I didn't want to make things stressful for myself, but I also wanted to have some fun with it. With the help of Pinterest (seriously, if you don't have an account, you need one), I decided on a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" theme. Most of the thematic elements were food and colors, so I brought the color in through the paper goods, and the food from the book determined our menu. Then I just made a tissue-paper caterpillar, and we were done. Fun, cute, festive, low maintenance, budget-friendly, and with minimal waste. We just invited immediate family so as to keep it fun for Matthew, without being overwhelming. We had his party on Saturday and everything fell into place perfectly. He slept in late, so he was still awake when the party started--he's usually napping or extremely fussy by that time. He had his lunch, he opened his presents, and right about the time he was getting to tired for any more party, we hopped him up on sugar by giving him some cake. That gave him a little burst of fun and energy. He had a bath, we brought him home (we held the party at my in-law's house), and he napped.
The food:
I ordered the little food signs on Etsy. I didn't think to get a better photo of them:
Sitting with his presents:
A bow on my head...
Playing with a toy with daddy:
Waiting for his cake. Somehow, he knew something good was coming!
Cake:
The verdict:
And finally, a family picture:
We had a quiet night at home last night, just the three of us. Overall, it was a lovely day, with many memories I will cherish.
This morning, we went to church, and then we went with our church friends out to lunch like we always do. I brought more cupcakes to share and friends brought gifts for him. We played with more frosting and then came home for a nap.
Tonight, the three of us went to Red Robin for singing and ice cream.
One of the funniest parts of all the partying was the constant look of confusion on his face whenever a big group would sing. Why are you all singing at me? It was so cute, and I admit, I exploited it--full blown singing, multiple times :)
We came home, played with him, gave him a bath, and put him to bed, blissfully ending a perfect weekend.
It's my birthday! Thank you very much!
I've spent the evening hanging out with DH, writing this blog, and processing pictures. I'm about to write Matthew a letter, and first birthday weekend will officially be over.
On a more sentimental note, in 1984, President Reagan created National Sanctity of Human Life Day.
In a January 13, 1984 proclamation, President Ronald Reagan designated January 22, 1984 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The date was chosen to coincide with the 11th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that first recognized the constitutionally-protected status of abortion in the United States.
Reagan issued the proclamation annually thereafter, designating Sanctity of Human Life Day to be the third Sunday in January, which represents the closest Sunday to the original January 22 date. His successor, George H. W. Bush, continued the annual proclamation throughout his presidency. Bush's successor, Bill Clinton, discontinued the practice throughout his eight years in office, but Bush's son and Clinton's successor, George W. Bush, resumed the proclamation, and did so every year of his presidency.Matthew, whose very existence is a testament to the precious value of each human life, was born on the anniversary of SOHL Day. This year, the 22nd actually was a Sunday, so the observance and the anniversary both fell on the same day: today! Matthew's birthday! I love how God knit all these little details of our family together. It's so perfect that Matthew was born on Sanctity of Human Life Day!
We praise God for our sweet little boy, for each breath that he has taken, for every breath that he will take, and for all of the precious details that fill each of those breaths. Happy Birthday, Matthewsaurus!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
(Belated) 11 Months
On December 22nd, Matthew turned 11 months old! I thought I should document this 11th month before it's over. I'm going to do my best to write retroactively, and only record things that were true on the 22nd. Everything else will go in his one year entry!
So here, goes!
Age: 11 months
Weight: 20lbs
Length: Unknown, but you have outgrown in length all of your 6-9 month clothes, and even your 9-12 month rompers
Diapers: Size 3--this is new. You were in 2s until very recently!
Clothes: Some of your 9 month clothes still fit if they are very long. Most of your 12 month things fit, but your rompers are too short, as are a couple of your pairs of pants, and your pajamas are almost so. I've moved you up to 18 months in the too-short things, and you just swim in them. It reminds me of when you were first born and you were swimming in pretty much anything you wore, and that reminder is ok with me.
Teeth: Still just the two. We thought you were getting another one, but nothing has come of it so far.
Eyes: Still blue
Skills: You are super fast at crawling and you're improving at cruising every day. You're just starting to try to climb things. At Grandpa and Grandma's house for a family gathering, you had free reign and the next thing I knew, you were almost completely on top of the toddler picnic table. You were making your last heft up when I caught you. I didn't even know you knew how to climb. You love to dive headfirst off the couch--I'm usually there to catch you but I don't even think you realize it--you're completely fearless in this regard. Your whole world is about up and down and up and down again.
Likes: You LOVE to dance. You have a mobile attached to the side of your crib. If you don't want to sleep or if you've just woken up, you frequently crawl over to the mobile, turn it on, stand up, and start dancing. You like to play fetch...with yourself. You'll get your favorite toy, toss it in front of you, go get it, and toss it again. It's darling. You're very vocal. You sing and talk almost nonstop. You love to make silly noises, and you love it when mommy or daddy makes a new one--you immediately set your mind to trying to recreate that noise. You love other kids. You stare at them when we're out in public and if we're at church or some other place where you have the opportunity, you love to play with them. You're usually the more quiet, observant one. You watch for a while before getting involved. If someone else takes your toy, you gladly find another. If someone uses you as a step-stool, you think it's fun. I love your forbearing nature. In that way, you're teaching mama a lot. You really really REALLY love the phone, especially when I'm on it. And having your own phone, even one exactly like the one I'm talking on, won't satisfy you. You have to have the SAME phone I'm talking on. You've hung up on people, dialed random numbers, and even answered a call or two. You still really like chicken. I think your favorite foods, in order, are chicken, pineapple, mangoes, yogurt, and broccoli. Really though, you love eating in general. You'd do it as a hobby if I'd let you.
Dislikes: You're becoming a little opinionated about not getting your way. Denying you the computer and the phone is the quickest way to elicit a tantrum. Aside from a few toys that scare you (for reasons we don't understand-they're very docile toys!), you don't have many things you dislike, aside from sitting still, and being told, "no." You have become a pretty good little sleeper. You eat most things I make for you. You get annoyed when I change your diaper, but only because it requires you to lie still for a minute. Otherwise, you don't mind it or clothing changes anymore. You don't seem to mind your hat or car rides anymore. Overall, you're a very easy going little love-bug who teaches me more about the world, about God, and about myself every day!
We love you, Matthewsaurus!
So here, goes!
Age: 11 months
Weight: 20lbs
Length: Unknown, but you have outgrown in length all of your 6-9 month clothes, and even your 9-12 month rompers
Diapers: Size 3--this is new. You were in 2s until very recently!
Clothes: Some of your 9 month clothes still fit if they are very long. Most of your 12 month things fit, but your rompers are too short, as are a couple of your pairs of pants, and your pajamas are almost so. I've moved you up to 18 months in the too-short things, and you just swim in them. It reminds me of when you were first born and you were swimming in pretty much anything you wore, and that reminder is ok with me.
Teeth: Still just the two. We thought you were getting another one, but nothing has come of it so far.
Eyes: Still blue
Skills: You are super fast at crawling and you're improving at cruising every day. You're just starting to try to climb things. At Grandpa and Grandma's house for a family gathering, you had free reign and the next thing I knew, you were almost completely on top of the toddler picnic table. You were making your last heft up when I caught you. I didn't even know you knew how to climb. You love to dive headfirst off the couch--I'm usually there to catch you but I don't even think you realize it--you're completely fearless in this regard. Your whole world is about up and down and up and down again.
Likes: You LOVE to dance. You have a mobile attached to the side of your crib. If you don't want to sleep or if you've just woken up, you frequently crawl over to the mobile, turn it on, stand up, and start dancing. You like to play fetch...with yourself. You'll get your favorite toy, toss it in front of you, go get it, and toss it again. It's darling. You're very vocal. You sing and talk almost nonstop. You love to make silly noises, and you love it when mommy or daddy makes a new one--you immediately set your mind to trying to recreate that noise. You love other kids. You stare at them when we're out in public and if we're at church or some other place where you have the opportunity, you love to play with them. You're usually the more quiet, observant one. You watch for a while before getting involved. If someone else takes your toy, you gladly find another. If someone uses you as a step-stool, you think it's fun. I love your forbearing nature. In that way, you're teaching mama a lot. You really really REALLY love the phone, especially when I'm on it. And having your own phone, even one exactly like the one I'm talking on, won't satisfy you. You have to have the SAME phone I'm talking on. You've hung up on people, dialed random numbers, and even answered a call or two. You still really like chicken. I think your favorite foods, in order, are chicken, pineapple, mangoes, yogurt, and broccoli. Really though, you love eating in general. You'd do it as a hobby if I'd let you.
Dislikes: You're becoming a little opinionated about not getting your way. Denying you the computer and the phone is the quickest way to elicit a tantrum. Aside from a few toys that scare you (for reasons we don't understand-they're very docile toys!), you don't have many things you dislike, aside from sitting still, and being told, "no." You have become a pretty good little sleeper. You eat most things I make for you. You get annoyed when I change your diaper, but only because it requires you to lie still for a minute. Otherwise, you don't mind it or clothing changes anymore. You don't seem to mind your hat or car rides anymore. Overall, you're a very easy going little love-bug who teaches me more about the world, about God, and about myself every day!
We love you, Matthewsaurus!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Running away TO home!
Hey! Here we are!!
It all started in October. Matthew and I took a spontaneous trip to Chicagoland to see my best friend and her family. As I mentioned in my last post, it was a wonderful trip. (I did get my camera back!!)
We arrived home on a Saturday.
The following Friday, we departed for Southern California. Southern California is where I was born and raised. It's also where DH and I both attended college and where we met. The occasion of the trip was for our vacation, and the specific destination was chosen to allow us to attend the wedding of alittle boy grown man I used to babysit! I was also his VBS leader, his camp leader, his Sunday School teacher, his Children's Church teacher, and his Pioneer Club leader over the years so I had a lot of time to spend with him and his sister and their parents.
This is how I remember (and sometimes, still think of) these sweet "kids" (sorry, Shane and Dev!)
I could not love this kid and his family more if they were my own flesh and blood so when he finally popped the question to his beloved earlier this year, I asked Todd if we could make it a priority to attend the wedding, and he worked hard to make it happen.
Here we are.
The wedding was beautiful and I didn't make it 5 minutes without bawling like a baby. Matthew melted down shortly after the reception started so we didn't get to stay past the first toast, but I did get to witness the ceremony, and I got to tell my boy I love him and give him and his new bride (and the rest of his family) a big hug. While we waited for them to arrive at the reception, we also got a chance to visit with many of the other people I grew up knowing at church. It was a wonderful opportunity to see so many people, and to introduce Matthew to them!
Here we are with Shane's parents. I didn't get a good photo with the kids (dislike!)
But I did get a nice photo of just their family. Aren't they beautiful?
Shane's parents were two of my mentors growing up, so we sort of had this little chain going on. I had asked Robin if we would be able to see them at all after the wedding but I knew the chances were unlikely as I was sure they had other family festivities to attend. Saturday night as we were leaving, Robin said she'd call me in the morning about getting together! I was elated!
We went to church at the church I grew up in, which was neat. Then We packed up the hotel and headed over to their house, expecting to spend an hour or so. They spent the whole afternoon with us. Watching them play with Matthew made my heart so full.
I really love my friends and family in Phoenix, but having Matthew connected with this piece of my history added a whole new dimension to my journey as a parent and as a woman. I really truly felt like my heart would burst that day. I left with my eyes brimming with tears--joy for the experience we'd just had, and sadness that I won't likely see them again for years. I really don't want to live in California, but I do wish we could have the opportunity for Matthew to know and spend time with them. An amazing and humbling moment for me was when I asked Sean and Robin how they managed to raise two such great kids and Sean said, "You helped." Guys, if you're reading this, that blessed me more than you know. I hope Matthew has Seans and Robins in his life, and that I can be as good of a parent to him as you have always been to your kids.
On the way TO my hometown, we stopped at our adoption agency
where Matthew got to meet our adoption coordinator!
That was incredibly special for us, too.
After leaving Sean and Robin's, we headed down to La Mirada, to visit our Alma Mater. We got up on Monday morning and took Matthew to chapel.
Then we met some of our dear friends, who have a daughter just 6ish weeks younger than Matthew, for lunch in the College Cafeteria. THAT was a blast from the past as Dave and I had many lunches there together, MANY years ago ;). Dave is one of my oldest friends. I met him during my freshman year before either of us had met our spouses and we've stayed friends, since. Spending time with his family was precious to me, too. I was such a gypsy growing up that having any kind of history with anyone is still sort of foreign to me, and extra precious.
After sweet time with Dave and Jenn, they headed out and we spent time bumming around campus, visiting our old haunts.
Here's Matthew, telling us he's done taking pictures. We hope one day we can take his picture in front of "Jesus" when Matthew is a student at the school. (Hey! We love him and have a wonderful plan for his life!)
We spent a few minutes visiting with a college professor, and then we headed over to the city park, which is where Todd and I spent much of our courtship. We had our first date, and many other dates in that park, walking around the lake hand in hand or sitting and feeding the ducks. We envisioned sharing the experience with Matthew. What we didn't know is that in the 10 years since we moved away, the ducks and geese have taken combat training and are actually ATTACK geese and ducks, who literally chased us through the park, even though we hadn't taken anything out of a bag to indicate to them that we even HAD food. We ran and hid (the "we" in the hiding part is Matthew and I---I had visions of them nipping at his fingers) in the bathrooms while we waited for them to lose interest, half scared, half laughing uncontrollably.
Seriously, look how close they are to my camera.
DH, attempting to pacify them.
After they were satisfied that they really had taken us for everything we had, they let us alone. At that point, from a distance, Matthew thought they were great fun.
We tried to get a nice family photo.
I love this progression of our attempts at a self portrait:
Matthew-"another picture? Geeze!"
Todd: attempting to get Matthew to smile.
Matthew: "You can't make me smile! Get away from me mom!"
Matthew: "Ha ha! You asked me for one smile. I gave it to you! I look adorable! You parents look lame! Mission accomplished!"
A nice passerby took pity on us and snapped a picture, but Matthew-man wasn't going to smile for her. Nuh-uh. He'd smiled in the last photo.
After the park, we headed for dinner and the hotel. We put Matthew down and then I went for my first post-baby girls' night out with another dear friend from college, who drove up from San Diego to see me. We spent hours talking until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. It was wonderful!
Tuesday, it was time to head home. Like he had on the drive out, Matthew did wonderfully on the drive home. Our vacation was amazing and my soul was blessed immeasurably.
Wednesday and Thursday were spent unpacking, doing laundry, and finishing a project for church because on Friday, we left for Flagstaff (a town 120ish miles north of here) for my church women's retreat. Todd went with me to stay with Matthew in the hotel room so I could attend sessions (I am still nursing so I could not go without Matthew but didn't want him to be disruptive in sessions). On the way up, we got word of a terrible accident on the freeway, so we detoured through another town, which is hometown to Todd's brother and his family so we had lunch with them. We eventually made it to Flagstaff, and had a nice weekend.
We came home Sunday night. On Tuesday, my parents arrived for Thanksgiving. This was nice, but a little stressful, for reasons I'll share below. I cooked the Thanksgiving meal and hosted it at my in-laws' house, which is much more suited for company and centrally located to everyone than mine is. That was nice, but just complicated to plan the meal at one house, and prepare it at another and make sure all the parts and pieces got there, get organized, etc.
Here we are :) (I'm noticing that I wear this sweater a lot! I do own more outfits!)
Matthew with Todd's dad
With all of his grandmas :)
In the midst of all that, Matthew turned 10 months old.
He weighed 19.5 pounds (finally gaining some weight and he has since cracked 20lbs!) (between 10-25%), wears size 2 diapers in the day and 3s at night, and wears mostly 9-12 month clothes because of his height. He still has just 2 teeth and almost no hair, which is a-ok with me--keeps him looking like my baby and less like a big boy. His soft spot on his head is almost gone and I miss it. He needs to be put in to his big boy carseat (sniff sniff!) so he's somewhere above 30" long. He crawls, cruises, eats 3 meals of solids per day, nurses less frequently than I was ready for, is back to sleeping through the night (hallelujah!), is my little social butterfly and a total ham and flirt, and is remarkably obedient for someone his age. His favorite foods are chicken, mangoes, pineapples, and sweet potatoes. His new skill is dancing! He stands at his activity table, turns on the music, and bops up and down. It's hilarious and so adorably cute, though I've yet to catch it on video.
Thanksgiving came and went, as did daddy's birthday.
My parents left on Saturday afternoon. I spent Sunday resting and then had to go into hyperdrive, because I was throwing my mom a surprise 50th birthday party the following weekend (which now, is yesterday).
It was a joy to have my parents at my house most of the previous week but I couldn't work on party things while my mom was here!) I planned, shopped for, decorated, and cooked for 40, mostly by myself, all while trying to keep it a secret from my mom.
Plus, it was 2 hours away so there were logistical complications involved with trying to plan everything remotely. And, the party was at her church, and she is involved in LITERALLY, everything there (she's on staff as the church administrator so nothing happens at the church without her knowledge) and our cover was almost blown in the last 24 hours but we did ultimately manage to surprise her, I think.
(Hello again, sweater!)
Today, I slept as much as I could while Matthew hung out with grandma. We watched the Packers game and then headed home, but now it's near 3:00am and my wonderful nap earlier has caused sleep to elude me now.
I keep joking that now that I'm finally home, I'm never leaving my house again EVER. It's been an amazing, wonderful past couple of months but I am looking forward to some quality quiet time here at home with my little family, refocusing our attention on the beauty that is Christ's birth.
We've set up our Christmas tree and gave Matthew his first nativity set. The poor people of Bethlehem never knew what hit them.
My parents gave Matthew this ornament, which is really neat if you're interested. We were going to begin our advent celebration tonight but got home too late so I'm looking forward to tomorrow, in doing our first advent celebration with Matthew. A relationship with God is a wonderful thing no matter where you are in life, but now with Matthew here in my arms, I just understand Christmas and Christ's birth and death and resurrection, and God's sacrifice and love for us just differently than I did before. It's really a humbling experience. I'm really looking forward to spending this season with my little family.
Well as I said, it's 3:00am and morning comes soon so I must get to bed. Thanks for those of you who are still checking in even though we've been silent since Halloween! I've been keeping up on those of you who blog and I love reading what's happening in your lives.
Goodnight, and love to you all!
It all started in October. Matthew and I took a spontaneous trip to Chicagoland to see my best friend and her family. As I mentioned in my last post, it was a wonderful trip. (I did get my camera back!!)
We arrived home on a Saturday.
The following Friday, we departed for Southern California. Southern California is where I was born and raised. It's also where DH and I both attended college and where we met. The occasion of the trip was for our vacation, and the specific destination was chosen to allow us to attend the wedding of a
This is how I remember (and sometimes, still think of) these sweet "kids" (sorry, Shane and Dev!)
I could not love this kid and his family more if they were my own flesh and blood so when he finally popped the question to his beloved earlier this year, I asked Todd if we could make it a priority to attend the wedding, and he worked hard to make it happen.
Here we are.
The wedding was beautiful and I didn't make it 5 minutes without bawling like a baby. Matthew melted down shortly after the reception started so we didn't get to stay past the first toast, but I did get to witness the ceremony, and I got to tell my boy I love him and give him and his new bride (and the rest of his family) a big hug. While we waited for them to arrive at the reception, we also got a chance to visit with many of the other people I grew up knowing at church. It was a wonderful opportunity to see so many people, and to introduce Matthew to them!
Here we are with Shane's parents. I didn't get a good photo with the kids (dislike!)
But I did get a nice photo of just their family. Aren't they beautiful?
Shane's parents were two of my mentors growing up, so we sort of had this little chain going on. I had asked Robin if we would be able to see them at all after the wedding but I knew the chances were unlikely as I was sure they had other family festivities to attend. Saturday night as we were leaving, Robin said she'd call me in the morning about getting together! I was elated!
We went to church at the church I grew up in, which was neat. Then We packed up the hotel and headed over to their house, expecting to spend an hour or so. They spent the whole afternoon with us. Watching them play with Matthew made my heart so full.
I really love my friends and family in Phoenix, but having Matthew connected with this piece of my history added a whole new dimension to my journey as a parent and as a woman. I really truly felt like my heart would burst that day. I left with my eyes brimming with tears--joy for the experience we'd just had, and sadness that I won't likely see them again for years. I really don't want to live in California, but I do wish we could have the opportunity for Matthew to know and spend time with them. An amazing and humbling moment for me was when I asked Sean and Robin how they managed to raise two such great kids and Sean said, "You helped." Guys, if you're reading this, that blessed me more than you know. I hope Matthew has Seans and Robins in his life, and that I can be as good of a parent to him as you have always been to your kids.
On the way TO my hometown, we stopped at our adoption agency
where Matthew got to meet our adoption coordinator!
That was incredibly special for us, too.
After leaving Sean and Robin's, we headed down to La Mirada, to visit our Alma Mater. We got up on Monday morning and took Matthew to chapel.
Then we met some of our dear friends, who have a daughter just 6ish weeks younger than Matthew, for lunch in the College Cafeteria. THAT was a blast from the past as Dave and I had many lunches there together, MANY years ago ;). Dave is one of my oldest friends. I met him during my freshman year before either of us had met our spouses and we've stayed friends, since. Spending time with his family was precious to me, too. I was such a gypsy growing up that having any kind of history with anyone is still sort of foreign to me, and extra precious.
After sweet time with Dave and Jenn, they headed out and we spent time bumming around campus, visiting our old haunts.
Here's Matthew, telling us he's done taking pictures. We hope one day we can take his picture in front of "Jesus" when Matthew is a student at the school. (Hey! We love him and have a wonderful plan for his life!)
We spent a few minutes visiting with a college professor, and then we headed over to the city park, which is where Todd and I spent much of our courtship. We had our first date, and many other dates in that park, walking around the lake hand in hand or sitting and feeding the ducks. We envisioned sharing the experience with Matthew. What we didn't know is that in the 10 years since we moved away, the ducks and geese have taken combat training and are actually ATTACK geese and ducks, who literally chased us through the park, even though we hadn't taken anything out of a bag to indicate to them that we even HAD food. We ran and hid (the "we" in the hiding part is Matthew and I---I had visions of them nipping at his fingers) in the bathrooms while we waited for them to lose interest, half scared, half laughing uncontrollably.
Seriously, look how close they are to my camera.
DH, attempting to pacify them.
After they were satisfied that they really had taken us for everything we had, they let us alone. At that point, from a distance, Matthew thought they were great fun.
We tried to get a nice family photo.
I love this progression of our attempts at a self portrait:
Matthew-"another picture? Geeze!"
Todd: attempting to get Matthew to smile.
Matthew: "You can't make me smile! Get away from me mom!"
Matthew: "Ha ha! You asked me for one smile. I gave it to you! I look adorable! You parents look lame! Mission accomplished!"
A nice passerby took pity on us and snapped a picture, but Matthew-man wasn't going to smile for her. Nuh-uh. He'd smiled in the last photo.
After the park, we headed for dinner and the hotel. We put Matthew down and then I went for my first post-baby girls' night out with another dear friend from college, who drove up from San Diego to see me. We spent hours talking until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. It was wonderful!
Tuesday, it was time to head home. Like he had on the drive out, Matthew did wonderfully on the drive home. Our vacation was amazing and my soul was blessed immeasurably.
Wednesday and Thursday were spent unpacking, doing laundry, and finishing a project for church because on Friday, we left for Flagstaff (a town 120ish miles north of here) for my church women's retreat. Todd went with me to stay with Matthew in the hotel room so I could attend sessions (I am still nursing so I could not go without Matthew but didn't want him to be disruptive in sessions). On the way up, we got word of a terrible accident on the freeway, so we detoured through another town, which is hometown to Todd's brother and his family so we had lunch with them. We eventually made it to Flagstaff, and had a nice weekend.
We came home Sunday night. On Tuesday, my parents arrived for Thanksgiving. This was nice, but a little stressful, for reasons I'll share below. I cooked the Thanksgiving meal and hosted it at my in-laws' house, which is much more suited for company and centrally located to everyone than mine is. That was nice, but just complicated to plan the meal at one house, and prepare it at another and make sure all the parts and pieces got there, get organized, etc.
Here we are :) (I'm noticing that I wear this sweater a lot! I do own more outfits!)
Matthew with Todd's dad
With all of his grandmas :)
In the midst of all that, Matthew turned 10 months old.
He weighed 19.5 pounds (finally gaining some weight and he has since cracked 20lbs!) (between 10-25%), wears size 2 diapers in the day and 3s at night, and wears mostly 9-12 month clothes because of his height. He still has just 2 teeth and almost no hair, which is a-ok with me--keeps him looking like my baby and less like a big boy. His soft spot on his head is almost gone and I miss it. He needs to be put in to his big boy carseat (sniff sniff!) so he's somewhere above 30" long. He crawls, cruises, eats 3 meals of solids per day, nurses less frequently than I was ready for, is back to sleeping through the night (hallelujah!), is my little social butterfly and a total ham and flirt, and is remarkably obedient for someone his age. His favorite foods are chicken, mangoes, pineapples, and sweet potatoes. His new skill is dancing! He stands at his activity table, turns on the music, and bops up and down. It's hilarious and so adorably cute, though I've yet to catch it on video.
Thanksgiving came and went, as did daddy's birthday.
My parents left on Saturday afternoon. I spent Sunday resting and then had to go into hyperdrive, because I was throwing my mom a surprise 50th birthday party the following weekend (which now, is yesterday).
It was a joy to have my parents at my house most of the previous week but I couldn't work on party things while my mom was here!) I planned, shopped for, decorated, and cooked for 40, mostly by myself, all while trying to keep it a secret from my mom.
Plus, it was 2 hours away so there were logistical complications involved with trying to plan everything remotely. And, the party was at her church, and she is involved in LITERALLY, everything there (she's on staff as the church administrator so nothing happens at the church without her knowledge) and our cover was almost blown in the last 24 hours but we did ultimately manage to surprise her, I think.
(Hello again, sweater!)
Today, I slept as much as I could while Matthew hung out with grandma. We watched the Packers game and then headed home, but now it's near 3:00am and my wonderful nap earlier has caused sleep to elude me now.
I keep joking that now that I'm finally home, I'm never leaving my house again EVER. It's been an amazing, wonderful past couple of months but I am looking forward to some quality quiet time here at home with my little family, refocusing our attention on the beauty that is Christ's birth.
We've set up our Christmas tree and gave Matthew his first nativity set. The poor people of Bethlehem never knew what hit them.
My parents gave Matthew this ornament, which is really neat if you're interested. We were going to begin our advent celebration tonight but got home too late so I'm looking forward to tomorrow, in doing our first advent celebration with Matthew. A relationship with God is a wonderful thing no matter where you are in life, but now with Matthew here in my arms, I just understand Christmas and Christ's birth and death and resurrection, and God's sacrifice and love for us just differently than I did before. It's really a humbling experience. I'm really looking forward to spending this season with my little family.
Well as I said, it's 3:00am and morning comes soon so I must get to bed. Thanks for those of you who are still checking in even though we've been silent since Halloween! I've been keeping up on those of you who blog and I love reading what's happening in your lives.
Goodnight, and love to you all!
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