A few of our favorite things...

Matthew really loves books. He's become very interested in interacting with this book (called "Where is baby's belly button?") lately. That belly button is in there somewhere...
My own "Tickle Me Elmo"
Not only does he love having books read to him, but he also enjoys getting them off the shelf all by himself.
And if I haven't mentioned it before Matthew can really throw a ball... far! Everyone who meets him seems suprised at his throwing ability. He chucked this koosh ball my way this morning. "Think fast, Mom!"

21 months and finally WALKING!!

Well when we brought Matthew home in July at 14months, his only mode of transportation was what I call "barrell-rolling." He didn't like to spend any time on his tummy, and holding his head up was hard work if only for a few seconds. Five months later, on Dec. 10th, we saw him take his first steps. Throughout December, he seemed to be coming along really well with walking. But all of a sudden, he stopped for most of January and went back to crawling. Last Saturday he really got interested in walking again (thanks to a few Cheerios that Tim and I made available). This week he has been all about walking. He stands up wherever he can (he's been trying, w/o success yet, to stand up in the middle of rooms now too!) And so far, the independant streak has not set in - he mostly uses his walking to chase us down and hug our knees! What a cutie!! He turned 21 months today officially! Here is a video from this morning...

I know that 21 months (or 19 months for the December date) is pretty late for starting to walk, but in just a bit over 6 months we've seen him go from a mostly immobile little guy to a walker!! It has been so fun to not only be "Ma-ma" & "Da-di," but also to be his cheerleaders as he continues to make progress! Matthew is such a joy to us! We love this little boy so much and we thank God very often for the precious gift of a son!!

Splish, Splash - First trip to the pool!!

I have been SO excited to take Matthew swimming!!! Tim and I enjoy many water activies like swimming, skiing, snorkeling, canoeing and the list goes on. In light of that, we want to do everything we can to make sure Matthew is comfortable and safe in water. The rec center we've joined has a great play area for kids. Matthew had so much fun playing in the water. He kept trying to grab on to these "bars" of water to steady himself while standing in the shifting water.(Click on arrow to play video)

So much to do and see! Daddy kept dunking me in the water and I loved it! (not over my head yet... but maybe one day)
A trip down the little slide - wee! We also took Matthew in a big pool, but forgot to take photos of that. He loved to be held out on his belly in the water and kick. He would've played all day, but when he started to quiver we knew pool time was over. He fell asleep about 3 minutes into the car ride home and took a good loooonng nap after that!

Feeding Myself... Well, TRYING

Well, we are finally all better around here. The other day (before fixing Matthew's hair for the day) I took some photos of him spooning out his cereal all by himself. The light-colored mess just doesn't show up well in the photos, but before it was over cereal was everywhere including in his hair. He does most everything with the right hand and the left hand. He'll be turning 21 months in just a few days, and we still have no idea which will be his stronger hand.
Oops! Dropped the spoon!
Never knew eating could be so fun!!