Playing outside

enjoying a popsicle - Matthew says "hot, bicycle" when he wants a popsicle

Matthew had a good week at school. He is talking in more phrases. We are impressed all the time with his progress. Over the weekend, we enjoyed the nice weather and played outside most of the time. It has been rainy and cool here so it was a treat to have a weekend with sunshine at 75 degrees. Matthew played with his toys outside. One day during the week, he rode his bicycle on our neighbor's driveway. He can't peddle just yet so mama had to push him the entire time. He gets frustrated when he can't move on the tricycle, especially on the grass.

Matthew was helping daddy with some gardening last weekend and then at school they planted some things for earth day. Matthew was a pro. His teachers were impressed and said he was a big help. He likes to play with legos at school and put things together. As far as indoor activities at home, we have some construction paper and glue sticks and he enjoys making pretty pictures. And he has a sticker book of Elmo that he enjoys putting the stickers on pages and on his face and hands. Of course, he loves to play with playdoh and make snakes with his fun factory by squeezing the playdoh through templates.

Despite the nice weather, Matthew developed a runny nose and cough. It never ends! So far it doesn't seem bad enough to take him to the doctor. Everyone's allergies are flared right now so that could be it. Matthew says "shoes, outside" when he wants to go outside. He really wants to get into the pool but it is too cold right now. He is in a good mood most times now that his teeth are all cut through the gums. He is a character.

When Matthew wants a basketball, he says "soccer ball". He's a little confused on a couple of words.

Block Party Weekend

"Cheese"

Who knew water could be so much fun? Matthew would scoop it out into his bucket and watch his boats float.

Our neighbors - Matthew says "baby" when he sees Nicholas

Taylor's front porch - he was the cook

Just hanging out

Howard and Gay

Arden and Matthew riding in the wagon

Mowing the lawn with Daddy

Matthew's tooth finally cut through the gums so it is not causing him to wake up through the night - Yeah! Matthew does not like his bath routine and cries the entire time. One time our hot water heater unit shut off and I ended up giving him a cold bath and I wonder if that has anything to do with it because he has hated his baths ever since that point.

Andy traveled for work this week so it was a little challenging trying to get ready in the mornings and drop off Matthew to school. Matthew is pretty good about keeping busy in the bathroom while I shower and get ready. He will try on my shoes and he plays with a duster and tries to clean the walls. I will give him the wipe for the shower and he likes to wipe the shower door. He stays busy. I will put him up on the counter and we will brush our teeth together. He likes that although he will keep asking for more tooth paste.

Besides the 18-month phase, we really don't see the terrible two's. Matthew likes to be busy so we have to make sure he has plenty of arts and crafts time. He enjoys playing with playdoh, especially the fun factory where he can make spaghetti or snakes by squeezing playdoh through the templates. He also enjoys riding his bicycle and playing with balls. He really likes to play outside so we are happy the weather is getting nicer to do just that. Although, it was a rainy weekend. He was able to play outside Saturday but he was stuck inside most of Sunday except the break to church and trip to Lowes with Daddy.

We had a fun block party on Saturday. The rain threatened us all day with 70% chance but luckily it held out for us to party for a couple of hours. There are several kids within Matthew's age group on the street with a wonderful mix of neighbors so we enjoy living in this neighborhood. Matthew enjoyed a juice box, chips, hot dog, and cupcake. He had a great time since we normally don't let him eat such foods. He was a little shy around the group of kids. Our babysitter, Ana Paula, was there so we wonder if he was scared Mama was going to leave. Andy was a little surprised at how Matthew was clinging to Mama while all the other kids were playing with the balls. Once we came home, he was jumping around and acting completely different than in the group environment.

One last tooth

Matthew has one last molar coming in on the top right side of his mouth. He is early to have nearly all his teeth by 2 years old. This past week he was up nearly every night in pain. He would wake up around 1:30am and cry until we consoled him back to sleep. Andy and I took turns getting up in the night. We would give him some tylenol and then take him onto the balcony and sing to him until he was relaxed enough to go back to bed. A few times we tried to skip steps and he would not go back to sleep until we did all of the steps above.

He may have experienced a stomach ache one night because I made some hashbrowns and put too much olive oil so Andy and I were both feeling ill afterwards. He is pretty good about telling us what he wants but sometimes he just cries and you have to play the guessing game. He will say "change diaper" when he has pooped so that is nice for us to know. We haven't made much progress with the potty lately but we are not in a rush so that's fine with us.

Ana Paula watched Matthew Friday night while we went out to dinner for Andy's work function. Matthew put up a big fit when we left but a couple of minutes later he was showing Ana Paula all of his toys. She was impressed with him talking so much and he is developing such a little personality. She has been a wonderful asset for us just living right across the street and available whenever we need her.

On Saturday, we went out for breakfast at Angelas and then played around the house with playdoh, colors, and his new tricycle. After the after noon nap, I took him on a bike ride in the neighborhood and Matthew loved it. The weather was in the mid-70s and the sunshine felt great. Then I took him to the indoor pool at the YMCA where Matthew had so much fun splashing in the water. He kicks his feet with so much energy when he gets in the water. Now if I can only get him to move his arms at the same time.

Sunday was another beautiful day. At 7am, we watched the Cowboys stadium implosion while eating breakfast. Matthew had his cowboys pajamas on coincidentally. We could feel the rumbling at our house. We went to church and Matthew played in the nursery and then we went to Kels for breakfast afterwards. Matthew sits in the booster seat next to me in the booth and he likes to be sitting at the same table as opposed to sitting in a high chair. Besides the sleepless nights lately, he has become much easier to handle. He knows the routine and he doesn't cry too often. We make sure he takes his naps within his normal routine and that always keeps him in a good mood.

As we approach another work week, we hope that Matthew will be able to sleep through the night this week. He did fine over the weekend so hopefully the worst is behind us.

Easter weekend

Having fun

Just hanging out on a park bench

How Sweet!

Playing in the covered wagon

tip-toeing in the tulips

Mama, Lori, and Nana

Nanna and Mama posed for a picture while Matthew played with the rocks

Enjoying lunch at the cafe - Matthew wanted his own chair

This is my favorite picture

Riding the deer statue

Mama was using the umbrella to shield the sun

The arboretum gang

Matthew kissing Aunt Lori

Happy Birthday Papa and Matthew!

Giggling with Mama

Papa is playing peek-a-boo

Easter egg hunting in the backyard

Papa is helping Matthew open the eggs for the fruit chews

Papa said "Look up, Matthew" to find this egg

Matthew's new "bicycle" (as he calls it)

Having fun in the chair

It was an action-packed weekend with my side of the family. Matthew's great grandma Nana flew in from Arkansas to see everyone. She has been suffering with stomach ulcers so this was her first trip in a while. At 83 years old, she was going strong. Lori and Bryan flew in from Arizona on Thursday night as well. Nanna (my mom), Papa, and Mike arrived around 4pm on Friday. It was a full house! Matthew loved all the attention.

I was off from work on Good Friday so I kept Matthew home from school to spend time with him and the family. Matthew has an early schedule so he woke up much earlier than our guests most of the weekend. He woke up at 6:30am so we played, went to the grocery store, met the air conditioning repair man, and cooked lunch before any guests woke up. Matthew was shocked to see Nana walking in the house and he warmed up to her right away. He knew her name from pictures but I don't think he remembered her because it had been so long since her last visit. And Matthew was excited to see Lori and play with her. He almost hid behind me when she came down the stairs. He wasn't expecting everyone to be in the house.

Andy came home from work early so he played with Matthew some while Nana and I went to run a few errands. Nanna, Papa, and Mike showed up and realized Matthew was at the park near our house with daddy and Rusty. Matthew saw Papa from a distance and got excited. We all went out to dinner at Celebration Cafe later that evening and Matthew was patient through dinner because of all the family to entertain him.

The girls went to the Arboretum on Saturday while the guys played golf. Matthew joined the girls and had a great time. He saw a petting zoo and walked around quite a bit. He is happy as long as he is with Mama. The weather was perfect in the mid-70's. We enjoyed lunch at the cafe with live music and views of the lake. It was very relaxing. Matthew was starting to get fussy at nap time but Lori bought him some popcorn and that kept him in the stroller a little while longer.

Andy smoked pork meat for 10 hours and we ate it for dinner on Saturday night. We celebrated Papa and Matthew's birthdays with a cupcake cake in the shape of a basketball. We lit 2 candles and sang Happy Birthday. Matthew was in heaven eating the cupcake. The next morning he saw the leftovers and said "soccer ball, fire, candle, birthday" because he wanted to do it all over again. We thought that was so funny! He was serious. We celebrated it the weekend prior so I guess he thought this was going to be a weekly routine.

We stayed up watching basketball and Nana walked through her cookbook and told us the history behind a lot of her recipes. I was so glad to have the video camera rolling for that!

Matthew woke up at 5:30am on Sunday so we decided to go to the early church service at 7:30am. We ate a big brunch at the house with egg casserole, honey baked ham, and Mary K's homemade cinnamon rolls. The cinnamon rolls were frozen from her recent visit and they were delicious! Matthew hunted easter eggs with Papa and Nanna. They put Matthew's favorite - fruit chews- inside the eggs so he was loving that game!

Everyone left around 3pm on Sunday to travel back home. It was a fun weekend with a big family and Matthew enjoyed every minute of it. Easter is such a wonderful time of year with the nice weather and colorful flowers. And most of all we celebrate Christ's resurection from the cross. He has risen!