Colorado Vacation

Matthew was running around outside the hotel - several people came up to us later to comment on how much energy he had!

He likes to look at the flowers and explore - especially near dirt

Matthew enjoys the slides

Riding in the train at the Vail Farmer's Market

Going down the slide all by himself

Having fun on the see saw with Mama

Having fun with Dada

Matthew with Stu and Jane - He was giving them a good idea of what to expect when they have a little one.  They are expecting a baby in 4 weeks.

The Fishermen

The view from our canoe ride

Matthew was giggling during dinner

Hiking in the Wilderness

Pucker up, Buttercup!

Family picture in the mountains

Mama and Matthew

The lovely canoe ride where Matthew cried the entire time

Hiking in the Aspen trees

We went to the Vail area in Colorado for our summer vacation and we had a great time.  The weather was cool and sunny and the view from our hotel room was awesome.  Matthew was playful in the hotel room and he would point at the mountains and say "bo".  He enjoyed spending time with mama and daddy.  We did all sorts of outdoorsy activities.  We hiked with Matthew and we took a canoe ride - which he cried the entire time.  The highlight of the trip was fly fishing the mighty colorado river.  We floated down the river on a boat and experienced a little white water rapids as well.  We didn't catch any fish but it was a blast.

There were a few challenging times with Matthew because he is just getting to this stage where he tests us, especially during meal time.  But he improved after Andy set some boundries.   Matthew was just so worn out at the end of each day.  Sometimes, he would walk/run as fast as his little legs could take him.  We feel refreshed after our family vacation and we are ready to tackle another work week, where Matthew will go back to his normal daycare. 

Out of the normal routine

Matthew is eating twizzlers with Kimberly at the birthday party

Matthew found the exersaucer at the birthday party

playing with Hayden at the birthday party

Hanging out at James 1st Birthday party

Going down the slide with Daddy

Playing with daddy in the pool

Playing with his neighbor, Braxton

Matthew's artwork from daycare - It's a fish from his handprint

This week Matthew did not go to daycare.  Our neighbor and good friend, Gay, watched Matthew at our house.  It worked out well.  Matthew played with his toys and took lots of walks in the neighborhood.  He likes to get into the stroller or wagon and say "ahh" to request a ride.  He is becoming quite the little demanding fellow lately.  (Possibly from his teeth)  

Matthew was fussy one day this week and we weren't quite sure what was going on.  Then the next day he pooped 4 times!  Apparently he was backed up.  He was pretty happy after that.  It was funny because Gay was talking about how she got lucky with no poopy diapers and then that happened.

On Friday, Matthew played with his friends across the street.  We don't really have enough toys to keep him busy at home full-time so we was happy to play with the neighbors and with their toys.  Braxton is 1 week younger than Matthew.  

On Saturday, Andy took Matthew to the YMCA so Matthew played there while Andy worked out.  Normally, Matthew is hesitant to separate from me but he was ready to go.  He waved bye to me and walked out the door like he really wanted to do something.  It was cute.  Then, we went to his friend, James, 1st birthday party.  Matthew was roaming room-to-room exploring and just having a blast.  He played with several kids there.  He ate a few bites of cake and ice cream and he loved the twizzlers.  I thought he would be a little shy around all the adults but he would work his way into the middle of the action.  

On Sunday, we went to church and Matthew enjoyed the little play room there.  We ate pancakes afterwards and Matthew did so well in the restaurant.   Andy mowed the lawn and Matthew took a nap and then we went to a park near White Rock Lake area.  It was really hot but we wanted to get out of the house and do something.  We ate burgers at Chips (a hamburger joint by our house) and I was impressed with Matthew's appetite.  He ate grilled cheese and a couple bites of my burger.  

Hot, Hot, Hot

It is August in Texas and it is so blazing hot these days.  We were hoping to go to Michigan this weekend but we just couldn't make it happen.  The flights were busy and we weren't able to be flexible on our days off from work.  

Matthew was walking outside on our back patio without any shoes on and it was only a matter of time before he was crying b/c his feet were on fire (he was on the wood deck).  Andy dipped his feet in the pool to cool them off.  Matthew loves to explore outside.  He walks along the side of the house and goes up and down the steps on the side.  He likes to hunt for Rusty's ball and says "bah" repeatedly.  

On Monday, Matthew was still feeling ill from the weekend so I stayed home with him.  We watched the backyardagans cartoon show at least 4 episodes.  Poor Matthew was not feeling well so I was doing whatever I could to boost his spirits.  He had a cough and a fever and he couldn't breathe out of his nose.  He went to the doctor and they gave him antibiotics.  He started feeling better on Tuesday morning.  On Thursday, I started feeling the same symptons - go figure.

Matthew was a hand full on Monday but he was so much better this weekend.  He was walking around and exploring like his usual, happy self.  On Friday night, we went to Celebration for dinner and Matthew did ok.  We took him out of his high chair after a while and he just stood there by the table until time to go.  He was just looking at everyone.  On Saturday, Andy took Matthew to the YMCA daycare while he worked out (for the first time).  I had a nice break so I got my nails done and ran a few errands- it was a much-needed break!  

Andy took Matthew on a bike ride despite the 100 deg heat - Matthew had the cutest rosy cheeks and had such a good time.  Our babysitter watched Matthew Saturday night and we enjoyed a nice dinner at Houston's and the movie - The Ugly Truth.  

On Sunday, we went to church and Matthew played in the nursery there.  He seems to have fun with the other kids.  We went to a diner for breakfast afterwards.  I took him to the nursing home and the residents were so happy to see him.  The last time we went there Matthew was not walking so they were very impressed when he was walking around.  One of the seniors had a birthday party and Matthew enjoyed playing with the balloons.  The old people just love him.  

One of Matthew's new things this week is crawling inside the stroller or wagon and saying "uhhh" to say that he wants a ride.  We give him little wagon rides around the house and he enjoys it.  But the stroller rides are usually outside and we like to wait until the end of the day when it's a little less hot out.  We are really looking forward to our vacation to Seattle/Portland area the week after next.  

Our good friend and neighbor, Gay, will be watching Matthew this week since his daycare is shut down for renovations.  She is such a lifesaver for watching Matthew.  I will make sure she takes lots of pictures for the blog post next week.

16 months old

Stella's birthday party

Matthew loved the sandbox at the birthday party

Yummy popsicle

Enjoying a popsicle on a hot, August Saturday

Matthew enjoying the toys at Stella's birthday party

Where does the time fly?  This week Andy went to Denver for work on Monday and then returned Thursday night.  On Monday night, Ana Paula came over to babysit after work because I had a volunteer meeting at the nursing home.  She's a great babysitter and we are so lucky to have her next door.   I enjoyed talking to my friends, Kimberly and Allison, afterwards about solid food, weening, and the crying-it-out-method.  I remember how hard those phases were and I'm so thankful that we have moved on to this stage at 16 months old.  It really is a nice stage.  Matthew has almost all of his teeth now (although he is still drooling for those last 4 teeth) so he doesn't fuss like he used to.  He sleeps through the night now - which is great!  And he eats regular food.  He likes to talk and that is fun to discern his words.  

I found out that Matthew's daycare would be closed for 2 weeks for renovations Aug 17-28.  It was a little stressful to figure out a game plan.  Andy & I were talking about taking a vacation so this sort of pushed us to take one week off during that time-frame.  The other week we were so lucky to have Gay volunteer.   She's a neighbor and good friend of ours and she watches kids all the time.  It will be nice to have her watch Matthew in our own home.  She is going to take him to the park with Dara's kids - one of them is Matthew's age.

On Friday night, we went out to an italian restaurant and Matthew enjoyed the spaghetti and meatballs.  The restaurant was full of older people and they all loved Matthew.  He was waving to people as he walked out of the restaurant.  On Saturday, we went to Stella's 2nd birthday party (neighbor).  Matthew had a good time but I think Andy & I had more fun.  Andy was jumping off the diving board in the pool and playing with the squirt guns.  Matthew had a great time in the sandbox and the pool.  The rest of the day was uneventful but fun- Andy mowed the lawn, we all got in the pool (including Rusty) and we grilled out.  

Matthew's favorite thing to do is to play ball with Rusty.  He throws this ball that lights up to Rusty.  He has more fun playing that game.  I'm sure he will play the same game with Sadie when we visit Lori in Arizona in the fall.

On Sunday, Matthew woke up with a cough and fever.  He was feeling bad most of the day.  We gave him tylenol just about every 4 hours.  We will take him to the doctor tomorrow to see what he needs to get over it.  We noticed a couple of kids in daycare with that same cough.  For the record, he was a bit of a challenge for me today.  He didn't nap very long and he was just feeling puny all day.  I would give him big hugs and kisses.  It reminded me of the challenging time when he was a baby.  But despite all the fussiness, we are grateful and blessed to have such a wonderful little toddler (we just wish we had family closer to help out).  

First stay at the Snider's

It was a relatively low-key week with no swim lessons to race to after daycare. But then on the weekend, I dropped him off with Nana and Papa Snider for the weekend. Andy went to Telluride for a work outing so I decided to drop Matthew off with the grandparents and then head to Chicago to visit some friends. I flew to Austin and then rolled Matthew across the security line so I didn't have to go out and come back in to catch my flight to ORD. Wish we got that one on video! Nana and Papa were excited to see him and Matthew didn't even cry when I told him goodbye.

He played with Nana, Papa, and Uncle Mike all weekend. It was hot so they spent most of the time indoors. Matthew explored around the house and walked in circles between the dining room, living room, and kitchen. They cooked lots of food for Matthew but he let them know when he didn't want something. He went to Target and ate some popcorn with Papa and had a grand ole' time. At bedtime, he was a little fussy so they put him to sleep in their bed and then moved him to the crib. He did really well. He would point at a ski picture and say "mama" and "dada" every now and then. And he had fun with Roxy, too. (Mike's long-haired dachshund)

On Sunday, I picked him up in Houston. He gave me a big hug and then he wanted to push his stroller around and explore. Some kids were playing with a ball nearby and he got excited and said "Bah"! He loves to play with balls. He was ready for a nap so he slept on the plane and he was the perfect traveler. We made it home around 4:30pm and he walked around the house and called for "dada". We got in the pool for a while and then when Andy and Rusty came home, Matthew got really excited. Andy gave him a big hug and then he wanted to play ball with Rusty.

One funny story that happened this week was when Andy was going through the bedtime routine. Andy said "JoAnna, don't forget Rusty is over at Tom & Nina's" in a loud voice since I was in our bedroom. Matthew then started calling for me "Nanna?", "nanna" for 4 or 5 times until I came into his room. I thought it was strange that he was calling me by this name b/c he always calls me "mama". I guess it was because Andy was calling me JoAnna and he was trying to say that. Too funny!

I will post pictures from the weekend in a day or two.