This Boy

Just in case you didn't know...this boy has had my heart since the day he was born. :)  This past month has been a big one for Matthew, and he has navigated his way through some big stuff with charm, determination and courage.We are so proud of him!

Having his sister gone ALL day has been one of the bigger transitions for him (for all of us really!).  He truly misses her companionship. There have been tears ("I want sisterrrrrr!!!) and he frequently asks "Is it time to go get Evelyn from school?"   Weekends are spent catching up on playtime and Evelyn has been pretty good about that (she misses him too!). I love that their relationship is strong and good, and I think this change has made it even more so!

This happens a lot these days!!

 Since he has been on his own more, I have seen his personality develop so much! He has always been a silly kid, but out of his sister's shadow he is finding his own way and is even more silly than ever.. almost too silly. And onery! He has also blossomed in his learning and I am finding that he is one smart kid. He may not speak as well as his sister (we actually started speech therapy last week, but I'll save that for another post!) but he knows so much more than I thought he did, mostly because he didn't have to do much with his uber smart sister around! It has been so fun to see him become his own little person so much this past month!

With Evelyn in school, it was time to start some "only Matthew" things. If you know my boy, you know he is pretty attached to my hip. We decided to do two big things to get Matthew used to being away from me: swimming and AWANA.

We just finished our first round of swim lessons. He cried hysterically most of the first swim class, but his instructor Caitlyn did great with him and by the end of that first class he was smiling. There were a couple more small bouts of tears here and there, but mostly he would just go and have a great time. And he made great progress in his skills, too! I am so proud of him!

Teacher Caitlyn and Matthew.. she was so sweet!

His little buddy Rowan (or "Wowin" as he called her). They often were the only two in class and had lots of fun!

AWANA time! This is Matthew's first year and so far he is enjoying most of it. Doug (who is a leader for the older kids) has taken a break from his duties and has been with Matthew in his group to get him settled. Every week he gets more and more independent and has more and more fun, so hopefully he can be fully launched soon!

My Cubbie and my Sparkie (this is E's 4th year and she loves it!)!

Although he is not 4 yet, he had pretty much outgrown his 5-point harness car seat. I really wanted to wait until 4 to get him into a high-back booster, but there was no way that was going to happen due to his constant growing! So last week we switched him  over.. and he is so proud and happy to be in a real "big boy" seat and do his own seat belt!

He looks SO big!! Sigh....

Our biggest goal for Matthew after Evelyn started school was getting him potty trained. Both Doug and I have wanted this to happen, but Matthew has been quite resistant to the idea. Finally I just decided that we were going for it, whether he wanted to or not! Trust me, I wasn't exactly looking forward to it either, knowing it could be a very long process. 

But you know what? My boy rose to the challenge and after 4 weeks I am happy to report this:

We have had only a few (and I mean a few) accidents and he has been dry at night about 75% of the time. I could not have asked for a better outcome in such a short time. SO proud of my little man!!

Matthew, you have had such a big month of change and have come through with flying colors. I am so proud of you. You make my heart smile. You bring joy to everyone you meet. You love deeply and feel deeply. You are sincere and kind. You are hilarious.You are crazy. You are God's child. You are my son.

 How thankful I am for that.... 

I love you, Matthew!