Matthew update June 8 - 14th

Matthew eating chex mix and enjoying a dip in the pool on a very hot Texas day!

Matthew pointing to the ducks in the middle of the Northpark Mall.

Matthew's personality is showing more and more.  He seems like he is a little shy sometimes and he plays so meticulously.  He is not one to bulldoze around the house and knock things over.  One of his favorite toys is the Quaker Oats empty container.  He likes to put toys in there and then take them out.  He walks room to room to find things to carry into another room.  He found the remote control to the light/fan in our spare bedroom and he loves pushing the button to see the light turn on and off.  

On Monday, Matthew had a fever and he was acting a little different.  He got up at 6am instead of 6:30am and he cried while I was taking a shower - usually he plays and most of the time Andy is there but Andy left for a business trip.  I gave him some tylenol thinking it was his teeth but told the daycare to call me if he was not acting right.  I gave them instruction to give him tylenol if he was not feeling well so they did at noon.  

On Tuesday, he seemed like he was in a better mood so I didn't mess with the tylenol but then at 3pm I received a call from the daycare that he had a fever.  I quickly got him into the doctor and they said that his ears looked fine and there were no antibiotics that they could give because it seemed like a virus he was fighting.  I ran by Nordstrom to take my watch in since it stopped and Matthew and I treated ourselves to a nice meal at the cafe.  It's a challenge to find foods that he will eat but he loved the asparagus and shrimp rosotto.  

I expected to stay home with him on Wednesday so we took a leisurely breakfast stop at Einstein's.  Once we were there, Matthew was dancing to the music and waving to everyone that walked in the door - clearly feeling much better.  So I took him to the daycare and he was full of energy.  

We had terrible thunderstorms and tornados in the area on Thursday night but Matthew slept right through it - except he woke up one time.   We both slept until 7:30am that morning just listening to the rain.  Over 200 flights were cancelled out of DFW that day but Andy made it back (barely) by purchasing a ticket on another airline.  He made it home by 12-midnight and he was so happy to be home.

On Friday we usually go out to eat Tex-Mex.  We went to Fernandos and Matthew loves the rice there.  Andy was exhausted and actually fell ill on the weekend so we didn't do too much.  Matthew and I went to the mall and he fell asleep at just the right time so I could try some clothes at the LOFT.  Lots of girls comment how cute he is and Matthew just hams it up.  He smiles, plays peekabo with his hands, blow kisses, and dribbles his lip with his fingers.  He does pretty good in the stroller.  At one point, we stopped and I let him walk around and see the turtles and ducks.  He likes getting out of the house to get a break in the day.  One of these weekends we plan to take him to the zoo.

Matthew's 14-month old school picture - Doesn't he look like a little boy here?  Where did the baby go?

14 months old

Matthew smiling in his stroller on our Saturday morning walk to Starbucks

Matthew's favorite activity - opening and closing cabinets/doors

JoAnna, Andy, Kristy, and Taylor at the Central Market cooking class on Sat night.  It was Andy's Christmas gift that we just now used.  I love it when I give gifts that I can enjoy, too.

Preston and Matthew at the Northway Baptist CDC Pool Party

On Saturday, we went to the daycare pool party.  Matthew was crying in the car when we pulled up (possibly because of his teeth) but as soon as he saw Ms. Monica, he got in the best mood.  He swam in the pool with his friend, Preston.  Matthew and Preston are about the same age (within a month) and they are best buds.  One day Matthew was pushing a chair one way and Preston was on the other side pushing it back.  They seemed to pair up since they were on the same development level.

Matthew is teething, AGAIN.  It seems to be bothering him because there were several times this weekend when he was in a crying fit.  Once we gave him tylenol and orajel, he calmed down into his normal happy self.  We try to only give tylenol when he needs it.  

He is walking around the house as if he has been doing it for a while with very few falls.  He likes to open and close doors and walk from room to room to see what he finds.  He grabbed Rusty's ball and leash and Rusty got excited.  He couldn't throw the ball so Rusty just grabbed it from Matthew's hand.  Matthew thought that was fun; he also likes to feed Rusty from his high chair.  It's hard to find foods that Matthew will eat but Andy made ground turkey with spaghetti for dinner tonight and Matthew loved it.  

Matthew got us sick again

When people say you will get sick having a kid in daycare, Andy and I didn't know how true that was! Andy and I both called in sick on Monday due to the stomach flu. Matthew was not feeling himself the prior weekend, although he was still walking around and playing. There is a lot of talk about the Swine flu but this is definitely not it. It must have been a 24 hour bug because Andy & I started feeling better on Tuesday, albiet a little weak. Andy traveled to NY for work on Tuesday but he was back on Wednesday. Andy was happy to be home because he missed Matthew (and probably me, too). Matthew waved "bye" to Andy and blew him a kiss yesterday morning. Andy was smitten.

He walks all the time

It's hard to believe that Matthew has only been walking since Tuesday. After 3 days of walking, falling, and finding his balance, Matthew is walking all over the place. He is now walking all the time with some crawling only when he is too tired to walk. But Matthew has the determination to walk. He is falling some but he gets right back up and tries again. He hardly ever cries. It just shows how he was fully capable of walking for a month now but he just needed the mental/self-confidence to do it.

Since the weather is hot, we get in the pool on the weekends. Matthew likes to move around in the pool in his little floatie. He looks and points at the birds, the airplanes, and the moon. Matthew has a lot of teeth for 14 months old. He has 14 teeth ( I think) and it looks like one of the last 2 is coming in. He was fussy most of the weekend because of it. He started feeling better Sunday night just before we had to put him to bed.

He is talking more. His new thing is to pretend that he is on the phone. He will do it with anything - a pen or Rusty's dog chew toy and pretend that he is talking on the phone by having a little conversation. All I can make out is that he says "hello" and holds the toy to his ear and rambles. It's the cutest thing. He also mimics us with words like my "Ohhhh". He pretends to get stuff out of the hand sanitizer dispenser and puts his hands to his face - just like daddy does in the mornings (except Andy uses after-shave).

One noteworthy milestone to record is that Matthew is not using the bottle anymore. We sort of quit it cold turkey. He was only using it at night and the mornings. He definitely doesn't drink as much milk now and actually I think he is not getting enough. The daycare told me that he is drinking more there now so that's good. We stopped giving him the bottle on memorial day and he fussed at night a little but after the first night, he adjusted just fine. He goes to sleep at the daycare without a bottle, so that probably helped him adjust to no bottle at night-time, too.

And he's off

Matthew is walking more and more.  On Monday night, Matthew was brave enough to take 7 or 8 steps on his own - out of the blue!  Andy yelled with excitement and I praised Matthew so he stopped long enough to look up at me then took a couple more steps and fell.  It was a memory that we will never forget.  On Tuesday, he started walking a little more.  And then yesterday, he is probably walking 50% of the time!  He is even trying to run.  

Happy Memorial Day!

Matthew is playing with Mama's make-up

Look what Matthew found - Daddy's tool box!

Daddy and Matthew playing right after we ate dinner at Shin-sei on Sat night

Matthew playing in his sandbox/water toy.  He loves it!

Matthew is 14 months old and getting more active.  He doesn't quite walk on his own for more than a couple of steps.  But he is getting more curious and we have to find things to keep him occupied at home.  During the work week, we don't notice it too much because after we pick him up, there is only a couple of hours before his bedtime.  We notice it on the weekends and especially- long weekends like this one.  His schedule is the following:

6:30am/7am Wake up & eat breakfast (cheerios, banana, and sometimes mama's cereal)

8:00am drop off at daycare

9:30am mid-morning snack and daily poop

11:30am/12 nap for 1 1/2 to 2 hours

1:30pm/2pm Lunch if he didn't eat it prior to the nap

4:00pm snack

6:00pm pick up from daycare and eat dinner

7:00 bath time

8:00 asleep all night long!

He usually keeps this same schedule on the weekends, too.  We are trying to ween the bottle.  We were only giving it to him at night just before bed but somehow I started giving it to him throughout the day.  He is supposed to get 25 oz of milk and he definitely does not get that without a bottle, but I know that it will all work out if we just cut him off.  He should drink more milk earlier in the day, knowing that he will not get it at night, right?

Rusty started doing something different lately.  Matthew is starting to stand up around Rusty where he gets real close and then Rusty growls at him.  The first time this happened, we thought Matthew stepped on Rusty's tail.  But then it happened again, and we disciplined Rusty right away.  We are not sure if Rusty is jealous or scared.  Rusty doesn't bite so we don't think he will do that but it just seems odd that Rusty would growl at Matthew after he has been so protective from the beginning.  

Matthew catches on quickly.  I put my makeup on at the kitchen table while Matthew is sitting in his high chair in the mornings.  The other day he was playing with my makeup bag and he put the eyelash curler next to his eye.  I thought it was funny but Andy didn't like it one bit.  

Over this memorial day weekend, we wish all the war vets and military alums a blessed day.  I remember going to the Vietnam wall in Washington DC and I saw a man walk very quickly to one name, touch it, and then he was on his way.  I also saw a very young soldier with no legs moving his wheel chair throughout the memorial.  I told him that we were very proud of his service and he appreciated my comments.  

Matthew's great grandpa, Serafino Guido, is a retired marine -he served in the Korean war.  He is alive and well and almost 90 yrs old living in Arkansas.   Serafino was born in Italy and came to Ellis Island when he was 2 yrs old.  He lived in Port Chester, NY until he was 16 and then joined the marines.  While stationed in CA, he met my grandma on a trolley in San Francisco. Here is a picture from Matthew's last visit.

Matthew with great Papa Aug 3, 2008 (4 months old)

Walking only when he wants to

99% of the time, Matthew likes to crawl.  But every now and then, he will give walking a try.  So far, he only does it when you ask him to come to you and then you pull back a little.  I will add a video as soon as I can figure out how to get it off the camcorder.