Texas Baby

We couldn't resist and had some family photos taken in the bluebonnets at the end of April! 

 

 

 

 

 

9 Months Old

We cannot believe Matthew is 9 months old!  He keeps us extremely busy and we love watching him grow and change.  He has learned so much this last month...

Weight: 18 lbs 1 oz (13th%)
Height: 28 inches (41st %)

New tricks:  He is talking more now (can make mama, dada, gaga, baba sounds).  We don't think he really knows we are mama and dada yet but at least he can make the sounds!  He did look right at Brandon the other day and say "dada" so maybe he is starting to get it :)  He cruises around now holding onto couches, chairs, the coffee table, the kitchen cabinets, etc.  He can open pretty much all cabinets and drawers he can reach which keeps me pretty busy during the day!  We obviously need to finish baby proofing the house :)  He waves, turns pages of books, chases Bailey, eats finger foods, shakes his toys, "drives" his little car around the house, he can drink a whole bottle by himself, rides in the shopping carts at the grocery store now, and is now walking with a push walker! 

Matthew LOVES:  to empty my diaper bag!  We go through this multiple times a day...whenever he disappears and it gets quiet I can almost always expect to find him sitting in a pile of stuff he has pulled out of my bag!  Matthew also loves to bang on the DVR box and often manages to record shows!  He still loves Bailey and is very into his little house now, his push walker, and his car walker.  He loves to move and explore!  He likes to go on walks in his stroller and sit in the grass - which turns into us trying to keep the grass out of his mouth :) 

New foods:  He is getting better at picking up finger foods but this is still a work in progress.  He loves sweet potato fries!  He also likes Cheerios now and is starting to eat chunks of fruits of veggies like squash, carrots, blueberries, black beans, and pears.  We are working on the slimy stuff - he doesn't like to pick up anything too slimy (like bananas, avocados, pasta, sweet potatoes).  We tried the baby food "pouches" this month and he loves them!  They are mixes of fruit and veggies and he loves to try to grab the pouch and feed himself - they always end up being a mess but he loves them!  He still loves yogurt and we have just started trying cheese too and seems to like that.  For the most part he is still a good eater!

No new teeth this month...still just the two on the bottom.

Sleep...he is finally sleeping through the night!  He sleeps from about 7:30pm to 5:00am.  Usually he will drink a bottle at 5am (sometimes it's 4 and occasionally he will sleep until 6!) and go back to sleep for a little while which is helpful :)  We are hoping he will start to sleep in a little longer but are both so relieved he isn't up 2 or 3 times a night anymore!  He is still not a great napper but seems to be doing a little better.  These last few weeks he has been taking 1 short (30 min) nap and 1 "long" (at least an hour) nap.  Pretty much the only thing consistent about Matthew and his sleep is that it is inconsistent!  We'll get there one of these days...

Walking with his new walker

Look at me go!!

With his alligator...the best we could do :)

9 months old!

 

Sitting up like a big boy in the grocery cart at Babies R Us

Recording his favorite shows

Emptying my bag and chewing on a shoe he found inside

Black beans for the first time...not his favorite!

 

 

Never a dull moment with this little one! 

 

MS150 Weekend

Dallas

We drove up to Dallas the first weekend in May for Brandon's MS150.  This is a 150 mile bike ride that raises money for MS research.  Brandon and his brother rode together and Matthew and I spent time with the Hodge family and a few friends.  Brandon and Michael did well and we all had a great time in Dallas!

 

 

MS 150

 

Learning to play the piano with Dad

Matthew met Uncle David

and Aunt Cathy! :)

Hanging out with Michael and Chelsea

Playing on Grandad's iPad

We went to visit the Solheids and Matthew and Addison got to play together...poor Matthew had a bad rash that day from all of his drool :(  Addison was so sweet to "Baby Mafume"!  

 

We had a great weekend!

 



Galveston

We took our first little family vacation with Matthew to Galveston!  We went with 3 other families and had a great time.  We wore Matthew out at the beach and pool both days so he actually slept pretty well when we were there...he even took a nap on the beach one day :)  He loved watching the waves, playing with/eating the sand, and splashing in the pool. 

Ready for the beach!

All of the kiddos...this was the best we could do!

On the balcony of our condo

Matthew loved watching the ocean

 

Snacks on the beach

 

Great weekend!

8 months old!

Matthew is 8 months old! 

Weight: 17 lbs 2 oz
Height: ?

Matthew's new "tricks":  He can crawl really well now, pull himself up on just about everything, open some cabinets and drawers, cruise around a little bit holding onto furniture, make a waving motion (not sure if he is really waving yet but it looks like it!), squeal, pull books off of shelves, and eat a few finger foods.

Matthew loves: BAILEY!  She is still his favorite "toy" and he chases her all over the house.  She likes to play chase with him on the floor (mainly because he can't catch her!) but isn't too thrilled about him reaching up onto the couch and grabbing her when she is sleeping or chewing her bone.  He still loves his exersaucer, doorway jumper, and music table and now loves this little house that we got from Ben and Zach.  He loves shaking things and listening to the sounds they make.  He is so curious and is into everything already!  He loves when Brandon gets home in the evenings - he kicks his feet and squeals and basically jumps out of my arms or crawls as fast as he can to get to him.  It is really cute :)  He still loves to read books and loves when I sing to him.  His favorite song is "The Wheels on the Bus"...he thinks it is hilarious!

Matthew's new foods:  He has tried some new purees that have pineapples, strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries and loves those.  We are trying finger foods now - he is still learning to get the food into his mouth but is doing better!  Most of the food still ends up stuck to his hands, on the floor, in his lap, etc but we are getting there :)  He loves Puffs and Mum-Mums.  He has tried pieces of banana and sweet potato but isn't too crazy about those yet.  He eats 3 meals a day now and has snacks in between too...he is definitely still a good eater!

Matthew has 2 bottom teeth now!  His smile is usually a big open mouthed grin so we see them often :)

He still loves to be out and about and is such a ham when we are around other people.  He smiles at just about anyone he meets and shows off his teeth and dimple.  We have taken him to a few new places for kids like the Children's Museum, Wonderwild (indoor playground type place), and our neighborhood park and he loves crawling over the place and watching the big kids play.  He is an active little guy!

A few fun pictures from this month:

Ann came to visit!

Playing in his little house

He loves Grandma! 

Climbing up to get Bailey

Grandmother and Grandad came to see Matthew

Having fun with Grandad

Playing with Ann

    

Easter

We celebrated Matthew's first Easter here in Houston.  Here are a few pictures!

 

 Poor little guy didn't feel well that day so he looks a little zoned out...