15 Month Update

I admit, I've been terrible at keeping up with this blog lately.  I'm just soaking up every bit of family time right now!  Matthew is at such a fun age and I don't want to miss a thing.  Here are a few highlights of what Matthew's been up to:

~  We went to see Dr. B this week and he gave you a glowing report as usual!  You weighed 24 lbs 3 oz and were 31.5 inches long.  Unfortunately, your height is kind of our best guess because they were off at your 12 month appointment by at least an inch.  When they measured you at your 15 month appointment, the nurse got 31.25 and the doctor got 32.5.  We just estimated your height at 12 and 15 months based on your 9 month stats.

~  You have 4 teeth (FINALLY!).  You got your first two teeth at 12.5 months, then the next two followed shortly after.  I know that more teeth are coming thru because you are drooling up a storm and have your fingers in your mouth all the time.

~  You are a busy-body like non-other (another reason I'm behind on this blog)!!  You walk/run all over the place.  You've gotten to where you really don't want to be held much because you want to move around on your own (unless you are unfamiliar with the environment).  I know we've got our hands full, but I'm looking forward to keeping up with you :-)

~  You LOVE to climb!  It started with you climbing into your toy basket.  You then learned how to climb into our bathroom cabinets, onto storage totes then on the couch, on your activity table/motorcycle/rocking chair, and into the kitchen cabinets.  You were literally all the way on the top shelf in the lower cabinets with just your little bottom and feet hanging out.

~  You are talking more and more.  You still do more babbling than saying just words, but it's adorable.  While you may not, yet, know how to say certain words, you know exactly what we're talking about.  You can say dada, mama, Bella "be-ba", uh-oh, and bye bye.  I'm amazed at how smart you are - such a proud momma!

~  You've developed a love for reading again.  It went away for a few months while you were busy learning to crawl and walk.  You especially love a book filled with animal pictures.  We are reading books over and over again with you snuggled in our laps.

~  You absolutely LOVE animals of all kinds!!!  You are only interested in books or shows that have animals.  You can identify several of them: dog, cat, cow, horse, donkey, chicken, pig, snake, monkey, lion, sheep, giraffe, elephant, tiger, polar bear, rhinoceros, bird, fish, bee, and bunny.

Now, here are a few pics of my sweet little 15 month old Matthew

 He loves his alligator!

 Like Father, like Son - spaghetti is his FAVE!

 Told ya - climbing in his toy basket, he was so proud of himself

 Meeting my BFF's babies -  which makes them Matthew's BFF's

 Checked this off the Fall Bucket List - playing in a pile of leaves

 A Saturday walk to the park - Matthew loved it!

 Reading in his first fort

 Playing in Bella's dog house

Sitting on the couch after climbing a storage tote - this was in between jumping on the couch

I love you sweet boy and am looking forward to the Christmas season with you!  You are already in awe of our Christmas tree :-)

Halloween 2013

Man, things have been crazy!  I guess that's why I've been MIA for almost 2 months.  We had such a fun Halloween this year!  We started by going to GS Fest at Geyer Springs where Mike works.  He usually videos that night, but he was able to find a replacement so he could spend time with his family.  It was AMAZING!  Just like a small, clean state fair with rides, fair food, games, and much more!  It was also nice because they had a designated area for children under the age of 7.  Perfect for Matthew to be able to jump in the bounce houses.  This is definitely a new tradition for our family.  Here are some pictures from GS Fest:

Not sure about the bounce house

VERY sure about the slide :-)

He at least enjoyed watching the other kids jump around

Love my family!!!

M loved his first ride on the carousel!

And the light-up stick from Aunt Lauren

Sitting with his daddy in the firetruck

Of course, his favorite things were the giant inflatable man things

This is a video of M going down the big slide with Mike.  This is the only video that would show in the correct direction.  They made it down without getting stuck the first time.

Now, on to actual Halloween day.  We got Matthew all dressed up, strapped in his wagon, and strolled down the street to our block party.  On our way, M got his first handful of candy from our sweet neighbors.  He tried the bite-sized Poptarts, but wasn't sure what to think about the sweet taste.  We walked around the block just looking at the other costumes before heading to the block party.  We were excited because we were able to meet new neighbors!  What's crazy is that the girl who hosted the party grew up a block away from me - so weird!  We immediately were like, "Hey, I know you!".  I didn't realize there were so many other kids in our neighborhood that were close to M's age - great to know as he gets older!  My Lil' Monster was absolutely precious and got so many compliments while we walked around and later helped me pass out candy.

Cutest little monster ever!

Checkin' out his first handful of candy

Playing with the candy we passed out 

I realize that I haven't done a true update on Matthew and what he's up to.  I promise I will soon!  He is at such a fun age, so I want to soak it all up while I can :-)  

Pumpkin Patch

Now that it's officially fall (YAY!), we are trying to get out as much as possible to enjoy the amazing weather, festive activities, and make precious memories as a family.  Nothing says fall like big, orange pumpkins - so, naturally, we went to the pumpkin patch.  We chose Schaefers and Collins Pumpkin Patch this year and it was awesome!  They have a huge play area for the kiddos, barn with baby animals, pony rides, train rides, hay rides, and a corn maze.  We all had a blast despite the rain - we weren't able to go on the hay ride because of the rain, but M had already played hard and was tired.  I'd like to go back if we have time before the season is over.  On a side note about fall - I am trying out several new fall inspired recipes (pumpkin galore) and it makes me SO happy!!!  I may have to share some of our faves :-)

Matthew LOVED the slide!  Mike's face cracks me up because his hips kept getting stuck.

M also learned that climbing up a slide is more fun than sliding down

That face - he was having so much fun!!!

Example 2 of loving climbing up the slide

He also loved the pumpkins!  He would walk around looking at and touching each pumpkin.  He also enjoyed riding in the wagon with all of the pumpkins we were going to buy.

"PUMPKINS!!!" - can you tell he had his mouth open talking the whole time???

My two boys love pigs - they were mesmerized

 

 And, of course, we couldn't leave without a few photo ops.  These are 2 of my faves :-)

I L-O-V-E this time of year and I can't wait to start many new traditions with Matthew!

1st Haircut

Well, we finally gave in and got Matthew's hair cut.  He was starting to get a mullet, so we decided it was time.  I knew I wanted to take him to Pigtails and Crewcuts mainly so we could get pictures of him in one of the cute chairs.  We went a few weeks ago about 30 minutes after they opened, and the wait was 45 minutes to an hour!  Uh, no thank you!  The next week, we showed up 10 minutes before they opened and we were 2nd in line - holla!  Matthew did a great job, but the hair stylist warned that he may scream during his next haircut.  I cannot believe how different Matthew looks with his new trim - he has lost the baby boy look.  He immediately looked like a true toddler (tear).

M checking out the other kids while chillin' in his fire truck - see why I wanted to go here???

Last look at that precious mullet - they gave us a card that included a lock of hair and picture

He was very interested in the child next to him - I think because he had animal crackers

LOVE the fire truck!

And......Toddler

I mean, he looks like he absolutely hated it right???  At least there were no tears - this time :-)