Hodge Podge

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Christmas in Houston - Part 1

We returned to Houston the day after Christmas for even more gifts and celebrating. Matthew started antibiotics to help clear up his ear infections so he was starting to feel better and was in a much better mood. He loved playing with Ben & Zach and all of his new toys. Here are some cute ones from our house...

"Helping" decorate the tree

Gifts for Baby Harrison

A big kiss for Aunt Ann

Santa's elves

Christmas in Dallas

We took Matthew to Dallas for Christmas with the Hodge family. Unfortunately he got sick while we were there so we don't have many good pictures :( His first ear infection was definitely not fun for any of us! We did enjoy seeing our family (although we did not manage to get any pictures with aunts, uncles, or cousins!), visiting the George Bush Presidential Library on the SMU campus, and of course lots of fun playtime at the house! Here are a few pictures from the trip...you can tell our poor little guy doesn't feel very well but he still loved playing with his new toys!!

He loved pulling everything out of his stocking...and then putting it all back in and doing it again!

He loved his Cozy Coupe!

A piano just for me!!

Hodge family tradition...helping Daddy make waffles Christmas morning

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Zoo Lights

We took Matthew to Zoo Lights before Christmas and had so much fun! I think I enjoyed the lights more than Matthew :)

Zach wouldn't hold still...best I could get of the Wallis family ;)

Monday, December 9, 2013

Thanksgiving 2013

We had a great Thanksgiving here in Houston! We did lots of traveling in October and November so it was nice to be home for the long weekend. Sarah, Seth, and the boys came in town and Matthew had so much fun playing with his cousins! Here are some pictures from our fun weekend:

Trying very hard to play games with Ben & Zach!

One of his favorite toys...

The grandkids "helping" Bapa in the kitchen

Such a big boy!

Family photo time...the best we could get!

Having fun playing football with the boys

Playing piano with Brennan - he obviously loved it!

Fun at the park!

We have so much to be thankful for this year!

15 months old!

Matthew was 15 months old on November 19!!

Height: 32.5" (88%!!)
Weight: 22 lbs 4 oz (42%)

Matthew is already 15 months old!! He has learned so much these last few months it is hard to even keep track of everything! Sorry for the long post - I am trying to write this all down before I forget it!

Matthew's words:
Gun-guh (dog)
Dada
Nana (banana)
No no (he says this quite a bit these days!!)
He sometimes says Mama (sounds more like nana) so I guess I know where I stand on his priority list...below the dog and Brandon ;)

Favorite foods:
Fruit - especially watermelon, pineapple, any kind of berries, and bananas
Yogurt - but only if he can feed himself!
Hot dogs
Snacks - he loves to snack on goldfish, yogurt melts, and crackers
Tomatoes
Cheese
Ham
Sausage - he loves kolaches!

Favorite things to play with:
Everything in the kitchen - pots, pans, tupperware, spoons, colanders, etc!
Shape sorter
Play phone (or our phones or iPad!)
His ride on toys - motorcycle and wagon
His radio that plays his favorite songs - "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
Remote control train
Basketball and hoop
Blocks

Books:
He LOVES reading books! This is probably his favorite thing to do. Sometimes he wants to read the same ones over and over again and sometimes he wants lots of different ones. He definitely always know which ones he wants and doesn't want and makes that very clear to us. He brings us books constantly and wants to sit in our laps as we read to him. He isn't very patient and often doesn't let us get to the end of the book (or even the page)! I am so glad he loves reading and hope he always does :) Some of his favorites at the moment:
Tickle Time
1, 2, Buckle My Shoe
Going On A Bear Hunt
Pat the Bunny
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Goodnight, Gorilla
Llama, Llama Nighty Night
Freight Train
Where is Baby's Belly Button?

Favorite things to do:
Play chase
Hide - he stands in a corner and waits for someone to come find him (it is so cute!)
Read
Dance - he either bounces up and down or stomps one foot
March - he loves marching around the house to the song "We Are the Dinosaurs"
Dance with Daddy - Brandon puts on music and swings or bounces him around the house and he absolutely loves it. I love watching them :)
Bath time - still loves his baths
Play with Bailey - still obsessed with Bailey and loves to chase her, pet her, sit next to her, give her bones, try to feed her dinner, etc.
Be outside - he LOVES being outside and wants to go out constantly. He plays with his toys, we blow bubbles, he plays in the sandbox at school, he can now climb up on the play structure and slide down by himself at our park!

Our routine:
Matthew is a pretty consistent sleeper now (finally). He goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 and wakes up between 6:30 and 7:00. Sometimes he will sleep in or play in his crib until 7:30 or 8:00...we love those mornings! :)
He is still an inconsistent napper...he only naps once a day now and usually falls asleep between 12 and 1. Sometimes he sleeps for 30 minutes and sometimes he sleeps for 2 hours...or anywhere in between!
He goes to school Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays and does great there. He loves his teachers and has lots of little friends :)

A few pictures of our 15 month old:

Enjoying a visit from his second cousin Ellison :)

Marching!

Playing with his CD player

Probably trying to squirm away...

Playing with his blocks

Eating yogurt...by himself

On Bapa's boat at the lake :)

Halloween 2013

Halloween was a little difficult this year because Matthew isn't a big fan of wearing costumes or anything on his head. We had a few options and none of them really worked! He wore his skeleton costume (which is actually pajamas!) to a few parties and his puppy dog costume to trick-or-treat. His dog costume didn't really work because he wouldn't wear the ears or tail...so everyone thought he was a lion! Oh well - we tried :)