Say Cheese!

I got my camera out last night and told Matthew to say "cheese". He certainly knows what to do when I say that!







Never mind the macaroni and cheese stains on his shirt(s). He is currently boycotting bibs. Silly little man.

What Matthew does in the Tub

Who needs bath toys when the water is so incredibly cool!

Ready..


Set...
GO!

This is Matthew's new ritual when he gets in the bath. He thinks it is SO funny when he sputters and chokes on too much water. Nice...

He wants the water running the ENTIRE bath so he can play in it and has a little hissy fit when you turn it off. He IS cute and I love it that he has so much fun, but the water DOES cost us money. He just doen't get that. Yet.

At least he likes to take a bath, tho. I know the time will come when he will want to go, like, a month without bathing. Yeah.. not looking forward to that. ;)

I'll enjoy every moment in the bath while I can!

"Happy Shamrock Cookie Day!"

That's what Evelyn said to me when she woke up yesterday morning. She is way more into St. Patty's Day this year than she was last year.

We made shamrock cookies on the 16th. I didn't want to make a huge batch. I should have just halved my friend Allison's awesome cookie recipe, but went with a generic Betty Crocker small batch one. Bad idea. They were fine, but not the same for sure. Note to self.... ;)

She loved cutting out the cookies!

My sister and her sweet kids came over yesterday to frost them. My nephew Cole boycotted the whole event and just played with Matthew in the living room. Evelyn and Regan, tho, had a fun time decorating all by themsleves!!

Evie's creations

So.. apparently Regan (2) just wanted to frost the cookies, then lick the frosting off with her fingers. Too funny!

My sweet girl....

..who still managed to find a way to wear pink!

This is the only one I have of Matthew... sigh...
He was being monkey and wouldn't sit still, then my camera battery died. So there ya go...
He did look cute in his shirt tho.

I didn't do my corned beef and cabbage this year. We had Bible study last night and Doug worked up until that time, so there was no need for a big meal. Kinda sad.. but I can make it next week if I feel like it.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I'm Growing

I consider my self a neat-nik and a clean freak, especially in my kitchen. It's my little piece of heaven, that place. Sadly, its the only room in the house I clean on a consistent basis besides the bathrooms. I do not like it when things aren't in place and put away in there. I even try hard to keep toys out of the kitchen.. that one's tough due to how life is these days, but I give it my best shot!

Lately Matthew has had his (not so) "Happy Hour" of the day right about 4-4:30pm. Usually right when I need to be thinking about dinner or getting it started. He is probably tired and hungry, and he is uber fussy, super clingy, and will just scream if I am not holding him. Good times. What's even better is when Doug gets home around 5:30.. he is happy as a clam. Stinker. Needless to say, getting dinner on the table has been no small feat as of late.

Today I was ready to start getting dinner going and right on cue, Matthew gets fussy. Evelyn was running around like a tornado (she took a loooong nap and was realllly wound up) and somehow I left the pantry door open. Usually its a cardinal sin to leave it open, knowing that my sweet boy will empty most of the contents he can reach onto the floor, which drives me batty (to have my kitchen floor cluttered, that is)!

BUT... today, instead of closing and locking the door quickly, I watched as both kids started pulling out and playing with the pantry goods together, laughing and having a great time. AND I LET THEM KEEP DOING IT!

Then.. the "pan holder" drawer below my stove came open and thing started flying out of there quickly, too. AND I LET IT FLY!




And I got dinner going. In peace. With both hands. With a BIG mess on my floor. It was wonderful!

I then got them doing something else in the living room and I cleaned up the carnage on the kitchen floor while dinner cooked.

Without grumbling and with a smile on my face.

I'm growing.

Heaven Described...

Evelyn's AWANA lesson and memory verse this week is about heaven. I asked her what she thought it looked like.

"Well.... there will be stars, (pause) a big castle, (pause)lots of sparkles, (long pause) and apple trees"

I then asked her who is in heaven.

"God. (pause) Grandpa in Heaven (my dad). (longer pause) And Uncle Scott."

A few seconds later,

"Oh, and the girl who has my name."

That would be Doug's grandma Evelyn, for whom Evelyn is named.

The girl who has that girl's name makes me smile!

He is 15 months...

That is just so hard to fathom.

My sweet boy, you are such a delight.

You main job right now (besides being cute!) is mastering moving on your feet. You still stumble quite a bit, mostly because you want to go super fast and get ahead of yourself, but you are quick to get right back up and try again. I am sure you will be running in no time.

One other main job of yours is keeping us on our toes. Really, sweetie, we can't leave you alone for ONE moment without fear of what kind of mischief you will get into. We call you "Mr. Damage"!! You love to pull books off shelves, get into any drawer and go into any room that isn't locked (the number of unlocked drawers and open doors in the house is getting smaller!), and you love to throw toys out of your toy box like a hurricane. Your newest trick is to hang on the oven door, lift your legs up and laugh as the door comes down. This does not please me.. just so you know! You are a climber.. now able to get on the couch, the kids chairs, and any stool by yourself. These things are a bit frightening for mommy, but I love your sense of adventure and curiosity. I am just glad I had you second... :)

At the same time, you do have those calmer moments when you will sit and look at your books (while we pray you don't tear pages out of the non-board ones!). You still love to sit and play with shoes and love to put on jackets. That makes us laugh.. you are so funny! You love to look at your animal quilt and have us say the sounds each animal makes. You enjoy looking at the pictures on the wall and have us tell you who is in them. You love to stand and just stare out the window at the world around you, taking it all in. I love rocking you at bedtime, how you just snuggle into me with your blanket and want me to sing to you. Those peaceful moments are ones that I cherish.

You are Evelyn's #1 fan.. your love for her is obvious.. although I am not quite sure if you love her or love her things more! It is impossible to keep you out of her toys.. you get the biggest grin on your face when you succeed in getting something of hers to play with. You love to pull her hair and hit her with toys. That isn't good, but we (even your sister) think it is your way of telling her you love her. We need to find some other ways to show her love, tho, buddy. Just sayin'....

You still love to eat. You are getting pickier, however, and I am trying to not let that get to me. You really don't like it when I cut things up for you.. but you really are too small to eat a whole apple, sweetie. Sorry.. chocking is not fun. Trust me! I am getting braver, tho. and maybe this weekend I will let you try to eat a half a piece of cheese pizza instead of cutting it up. Maybe...

You sleep well for the most part, and I can't tell you how thankful we are for that. You nap for at least 2 hours a day and then sleep for usually 11-12 hours at night. You still wake up occasionally.. I wish we knew why.. but its pretty rare that we have a "bad" night with you. Thank you for that, Matthew.. thank you!

I know it will come in time, but oh how I wish you could talk!! You understand so much.. yet you only have a few words. "Da" is yes, "Dadda" and "Momma" are clear.. but that's about it. You get frustrated when you want/need something and we can't figure out what that is. We'll get there, baby.. just keep on growing and learning. It will come.

You absolutely light up any room you are in... as long as mommy or daddy are there with you! We're going thru the whole separation anxiety thing with you right now but we are confident we you will conquer this as well! You will wave at anyone..even if they don't see you.. and are quite the flirt with the ladies.You get so excited about things.. squealing and the like. You love to listen to music and dance, especially with daddy.

Your laugh in contagious, your smile is infectious, your love of life is hard to beat.

We love you son.. and the 15 months we have had with you so far. Our lives would not be the same without you!!