Lefty

Matthew's spaghetti sauce goatee at Fireside Pies

Matthew being cute at Bent Tree CDC

Matthew is using his left hand more and more these days.  It looks like he may be a lefty just like Andy.  I notice that he uses his left hand to turn the pages of his books and eat with a spoon.  Matthew continues to surprise us with new words and just act like a big boy sometimes.  We went to the park this weekend and Matthew was walking up and down the stairs on his own and going down the slides on his own.  He is 18 months old now and he wears 2T clothing (18-24 month pants for now).  

He likes to walk everywhere we go.  Every now and then he will get frustrated and want to be picked up but for the most part, he is a good little boy.  The staff at Bent Tree CDC just love him.  Andy calls him the mayor sometimes because Matthew likes to wave at everyone and blow kisses.  It's really cute.  

New Daycare update and A Weekend in Scottsdale

Matthew loved the pool

The Texas Tech game watching crew

 Matthew loves Aunt Lori

Ready for football season

Family photo in front of Camelback Mountain

Having fun with Aunt Lori

Watching the ducks - Matthew was fascinated 

Going down the slide like a big boy - he climbed up and went down 10 times!

Walking in the park with Mama and Dada

Matthew is loving his new daycare at Bent Tree.  He comes home with a summary of his daily activities: Qtip painting, baby sign & sing/dance, tearing and glueing paper, coloring with markers, learning body parts with puppets, and shaking bottles and building blocks.  He is learning so much.  On Tuesday, I took him to the nursing home to volunteer and he was the center of attention.  He was dancing to the music and running around chasing a little dog that one of the volunteers brought.  I was impressed with his dancing skills - he's a natural!

Over the weekend, we went to Scottsdale to visit Lori.  The hot, dry air felt wonderful to us because it has been raining for 2 weeks now in Dallas and all of us seem to be experiencing allergies because of it.  We could definitely live in Scottsdale.  It is beautiful with the mountains nearby and there were no clouds in the sky.  Matthew was a trooper on the plane despite the fact that we arrived after his bedtime.  He was up at 6:30am Central - that's 4:30am Mountain time!  He went to bed early at 8pm C/6pm M.  We had a babysitter watch him while he slept and we went to a bar to watch the Tech vs UT game.  Tech put up a good fight.  We played in the park the next day and swam in the pool - Matthew loved that!  And Matthew enjoyed playing with Sadie, Lori's chocolate lab.  Thanks Aunt Lori for being such a fabulous host. 

17 months old

Daddy and Matthew watching the fountain at Northpark Mall

Matthew with Mrs. Kriston - the Northway Baptist Director

Matthew with Mrs. B - she has been at Northway for 20 years

Matthew definitely has a mind of his own sometimes.  For the most part, he is easy-going and happy but lately we have seen a different side of him where he stomps his feet and cries because he does not get his way.  On vacation, there were times that I said, "Matthew, your crying is not working - you played that card too much."  He likes to walk every where that we go (as opposed to being carried).  And in the mornings when we are getting ready to leave for work, he will walk around the yard and we will have to pick him up to put him into the car seat and he will give this cry that you just broke his heart!  

We had more daycare drama this past week.  Northway Baptist was down for 2 weeks for renovations.  They opened back up last Monday with new carpet, new air conditioning, and all the staff were wearing uniforms.  Three days later (on Wed) they told us not to come back on Thursday because there was an air quality issue - they found something when they were switching out another air conditioner.  Luckily, our neighbor, Gay, watched Matthew Thursday and Friday until we could figure out a daycare option.  

We found a wonderful daycare near Andy's office in Addison called Bent Tree Child Development Center.  It has workers with teaching degrees and a nutritionist on site.  They have told us that it is not a daycare but a learning center.  Matthew's first day was Tuesday and he seemed to adjust very well.  He knows sign language so that was easy for the workers to help communicate with him and he was already used to the family style eating and nap routine.  They just love him!  They have music time in the mornings, outdoor areas for the little mobile toys, play grounds, indoor play areas, etc...  

The old daycare, Northway, had a goodbye bash on Thursday so Matthew and I went to that.  It was good to see the staff one last time.  The director said good things about the new daycare so that's good to hear.  

This weekend was rainy.  Matthew got a little stir-crazy so we went to the mall on Sat and Sunday.  He loves to walk around and see other kids.  Both times, I left with clothes for Matthew.  What happened to shopping for myself?  We had a babysitter Sat night and enjoyed a nice dinner at Nick & Sam's.  It was well-deserved, considering we didn't get a chance to enjoy a nice dinner while we were on vacation.  Most of the times we were eating at kid-friendly places.  

Matthew's First Haircut

Matthew is 17 months old now and he just now received his first haircut.  His hair is blonde with a hint of red.  His strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes make a handsome combination!  The top didn't need cutting, only the long curls in the back that formed a "rat-tail" (if you remember that popular hair style from the 80's)

A video is in order to show how good Matthew was being in the salon chair.

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.