12 Months

What a difference a year makes!  It is so hard to believe that my baby boy is ONE YEAR OLD!  How did this happen so quickly???  There have been ups and downs throughout the year while trying to navigate being a new parent, but Matthew makes every single part worth it.  I am so very proud of the little boy that you have become and I so look forward to seeing what the Lord has planned for you!

 

~ We saw Dr. B today and he was very happy with your growth & development!  You now weigh 22 lbs and 4 oz (40th percentile).  You are 31.5 inches long (91st percentile) and your head is 18.5 inches (67th percentile).

~ You are wearing size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 at night.  You mainly wear 12 month clothes, but you can still wear a few 9-12 clothes depending on brand.

~ You've been working on problem solving which is so fun to watch.  This mainly comes into play when you're pushing your truck around the house and you get it stuck.  Sometimes you get frustrated, but you figure out how to fix the problem.  

~ You love to wrestle with your stuffed animals and the inflatable zebra.  It cracks us up when you pin them to the ground!

~ You're saying "mama" more and more and I LOVE it!  You're also saying "Bella", "no no", and "whoa".

~ You've been rearranging anything that will move in our house.  If it scoots across the floor, you will move it.  You especially like to move our kitchen chairs across the floor.  

~ You've been standing on your own for several weeks now, and you get so excited when you realize your up all by yourself.  You started earlier this month just letting go of furniture or our hands in order to stand on your own, but about a week ago, you started standing on your own.

~ You're WALKING!!!  With you standing on your own, you started taking 2 steps at a time a few weeks ago and slowing worked up to 3 steps.  Over the past few days, you have really been practicing standing on your own and taking a few steps.  This was a constant activity for you.  You would laugh when you'd take a few steps and fall, rolling around on your back.  Then, you just took off, taking 12 steps in a row!  We are so very proud of you and know that we will need to keep our running shoes on to keep up with you :-)

~ You had an eye infection that was caused from an allergy that spread from rubbing your eyes.  We had to put eye drops in your eyes twice a day (so very hard to do by the way).  Thankfully, everything is cleared up!

~  Your favorite thing to do is point and have us tell you what the object is.  Going to Walmart or Kroger has become a major adventure for you since there are so many new things to look at.

~ Favorite songs - Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jesus Loves Me, ABC's, 

~ Favorite books - Dogs, Baby Animals, Pet's Tails, How do Dinosaurs Say Good Night, Good Night Moon

~ Favorite toys - activity walker, cozy coupe, wagon, blocks, inflatable zebra, BALLS

What a difference a year makes!

Matthew, this year has been the absolute best year of my life!  You have changed our world in so many ways and I thank God for you every day.  You are such a sweet, funny, and loving little boy and I know you are destined for great things.  I say it all the time, but you are such a blessing to your daddy and I.  We love you!

Branson 2013

Matthew had another first in mid-July.  He got to experience a shopping trip in Branson!  He did such an amazing job considering how much shopping we were doing.  We went with my family for a long weekend.  It was so nice to get away for our last vacation before summer is over.  We did the typical shopping at the Landing and Tanger, plus went up to Ozark and Springfield for Lambert's and Bass Pro.  The boys even got in a round of golf while we were there.  I love Branson!!!

 M sporting his Superman shirt at the Grand Country Buffet - best buffet ever!

 The following pictures were taken at the Butterfly Palace.  I'd never been before and was a little unsure if it'd be something Matthew would like, but it proved entertaining - even for the adults!

 M checking out the turtles in the rainforest exhibit - the turtle actually walked right over to him :-)

 The best part (and M's fave) was actually walking around in the area where they keep all of the butterflies.  They were absolutely beautiful and they were everywhere!  Matthew absolutely loved watching them fly around.  Here he is getting decked out in the props they provided for kids...

He wasn't too sure what to think about the magnifying glass

M's first "truck" ride while shopping at Tanger

A must when you travel to Branson - Lambert's Cafe!

The next several pictures are from the big Bass Pro Shop in Springfield.  M loved looking at all of the fish and turtles - plus the random dogs that people brought in with them

M checking out the bear.  This is just before Mike (trying to be funny) lifted Matthew up close to the bear's mouth, which ended up in major tears :-(

 And, of course, we went to the Christmas Village.  That's not the actual name of the shopping center, but that's what we've always called it.  I especially love it around Christmas when they have "Comet" there for photo ops!

I know there are many, many, many more trips to Branson in our future.  I can't wait for Matthew to be big enough to go to Silver Dollar City!!!