I am in denial

Is Matthew really going to be TEN months old on Friday? I don't remember time flying by so fast with Evelyn! Pretty soon December will be here and I won't have a "baby" anymore. I am in total denial . That is, until I pick up him up and my back nealy gives out. Sigh....

At his 9 month appointment he was about 22 pounds and over 30 inches tall (that's 98% in height!). He was 21 pounds at his 6 month visit, so I was a bit concerned that he hadn't gained more weight than that. But then our pediatrician reminded me that he is now more active and will burn off a lot more energy and not gain weight as quickly. Of course...

Anyways, he is perfectly healthy and such a happy kid. Really.. he is such a smiley, laughing, snuggly boy. He loves his mommy and wants to know where I am at all times. The squeals of joy he makes when Doug gets home from work are priceless. The "Oh, my.. you are the coolest thing EVER!" look he gives his sister is pretty special, too. And if he could pet the cat at all times, that would just be icing on the cake for him! He has, however, figured out how to throw a little tantrum.. ALREADY!! Yikes! He doesn't like it when he doesn't get his way. Its actually pretty cute at this age.. I try not to let him see me laugh!

He finally got his first tooth last week.. FINALLY!! He has been a bit more cranky ever since so I hope that means more are coming. He really wants to eat whatever we are eating, but has choked pretty bad a couple of times, so I have to be careful to make sure things are soft and small. He loves mashed potatoes, pears, chicken, steamed carrots and peanut butter sandwiches, and will try anything I give him. He is already eating a lot, way more than his sister did at this age. And he is still nursing 5 times a day! I think I have a big eater on my hands... especially as much energy he does burn off with all of his activity.

Speaking of the boy being active, I didn't realized just how fortunate I was that Evelyn didn't really get into much she wasn't supposed to, and certainly didn't put much in her mouth (that space was primarily occupied by her pacifier!). I didn't realized this until Mr Handsome Pants got mobile. Oh, my... he is EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING! He still prefers to commando crawl although can crawl the "normal way". He is quick as a wink, too, getting from one end of the living room to the other in record speed. He is able to pull himself up on low to the ground stuff, but wants so badly to be able to do more. He loves to stand at the living room window sill and watch the world go by. He can wave, clap, and has several "words" that mean various things. He is a late bloomer on many things compared to his sister, but he might one-up her when it comes to walking. I think it will happen sooner that it did with her. We'll see.

He has an affinity for power cords, the garbage can, shoes, and any cupboard that is not locked. I seriously can't leave him alone for a minute.. you never know where he will be and what will be in his mouth! I am not sure how I am going to shower once he outgrows the exersaucer!!

Okay, Okay... I know all you really want it pictures. Here ya go...

He really loves to eat! This is his super excited face. I love it!

This is "I always am tired because I don't nap much" face. I try to get him to nap more.. its pointless, really!

He is pulling up to standing now.. a bit wobbly and shouldn't be left alone doing it, but he is standing!

My friend Darcie made blankets for both kids when they were born. Evelyn has "Purple", which she loves. Matthew, however, is WAY more attached to his "Blue" than Evelyn is to her blanket (she has her "pony".. that ranks slightly higher than the blanket). He has to have it near by at all times. Evelyn will get Purple and they will play with them together. Its pretty cute!

True love! This is how he sleeps, too.. on top of the blanket, gripping it will all he's got. SO sweet! I'm gonna have to keep him in fleece jammies all winter for sure!

I created this "baby" drawer for Evelyn when she was little, and never changed it since I hoped we would have another child. Matthew enjoys opening and closing the drawer and emptying it out over and over again.

And, of course, he LOVES his daddy. I need to get on film his usual reaction when Doug comes home from work. The smiles, the loud squealing, the super speedy crawling towards him.. its so cute!

That's all I've got for now. We love our little man so!

Parade and Island Princesses

Every year Beaverton puts on a city celebration parade. Its been around for years.. I even marched/cheered in it when I was in high school 20 years ago (yes, people. I am that old)! The 2010 parade was last weekend. Since the start of the parade is just blocks from our house, we took the kids down and watched.

Evelyn wasn't too sure about the whole thing at first. Clingy and a bit timid. Then she realized there was candy throwing involved and that got her a bit more excited.

Matthew was very curious about everything and seemed to have fun too. This is the only shot of him.. bad momma photographer!

One of the early "entries" was the Beaverton Library, which handed out books. One of the books Evelyn got was the Barbie Island Princess sticker book. It was like manna from heaven for her.. she was so excited!

of course, I couldn't get a decent picture of her excitement... she was a bit squirrly!

So pretty much at this point she was done with the parade. She just wanted to look at her book. And look some more. And some more. You get the idea.

"Mom, look! Mom, look at this! Mom, isn't this neat? Mom, can I put just one sticker on now.. PLLLLEEEEAAASSSEEE?" And so on and so on. It was a hit, can you tell?

We let her look at it for a little bit, but really wanted her to see the parade and be a part of it. She reluctantly got out of her chair after we told her she could hold her book but not look at it.

And she clung to that book the rest of the parade!

Later that afternoon, she was heading to a birthday party and looked oh, so cute. I really wanted a picture.

Without the sticker book.

No. Such. Luck.

This is the best I got...

On a positive note, it is a really cute story, and the stickers have kept her busy for hours!

Hoping next year we can go the parade again. And that Evelyn will actually watch more of it! heehee!

How Many?

How many attempts does is take to get a good picture of my family? Let's find out....

Doug, Matthew and Evelyn were playing in her room. Apparently Daddy was a prince.. of something, not sure what. Anyhow, it was a cute moment that I wanted to capture on film.

Take One

Its not always the kids... this would have been great if Doug's eyes weren't closed!

Take Two

Miss Silly Pants was doing her thing in this one!

Take Three

"Take it now!".... Oops.. too soon. Doug was still chatting and the kids were.. well... not looking!

Take Four

I love how Matthew is looking at Evelyn as if to say, " What in the world???"
Ok...let's try one more time....

Take Five

Finally they are all looking at the camera and smiling... somewhat!

Oh, and I did take more than five pictures before I got this last shot. I just selected some of them!!

I am hoping as the kids get older they will do "better" with picture taking, although I think the candid, silly shots are just as fun!

Across the Hall

Today was the first day of the new Sunday School "year" at church. All the kids move up to the next class based on age. For the past 3 1/2 years Evelyn has been in the "Infant/Toddler" wing, where she has been loved and shepherded in such an amazing way. Her teachers (Susan, Tina, Lori, Tracy, Jon, Sharron) and the many helpers have been so amazing and Evelyn has loved going to church mostly because of them. I know God has used them to grow her faith.

Today, tho, it was time to move. Across the hall. To the Pre-K/K wing. Her class took a "field trip" last week to see where their new class was and Evelyn has been quite excited about it.

I was excited, too, but also have had many "my baby is growing up" pangs. Getting her ready this morning, I couldn't help being a bit sad. I wanted to take pictures. Its a big day, I told her. At least it was for me. She, however, was not the least bit interested in a photo shoot, but did appease me for a few. This one was the best.

(This is a 2T dress that I LOVE and can't get rid of! Thankfully she can wear it as a top still!)

We got to church and she excitedly walked down the other hall to show us where her class was. Teacher Andrea was there and excited to see Evelyn. We left her in good hands. She was fine; it was just another Sunday for her. It helps that she already knows Andrea and that all of her "classmates" move with her. Doug and I, however, both had some tears as we walked back down the hall toward the sanctuary.

Our baby. She's growing up. Bittersweet for sure. But the way it should be.

Thankfully Matthew still has a few years in the Infant/Toddler wing, so we don't have to officially say goodbye to the teachers there. That will be hard chapter to close.

Praying that God will continue to grow Evelyn into who He wants her to be....

...from across the hall.