7 Months Old

Matthew is 7 months (and 2 weeks :-) old!!

 

Matthew's 7th month included lots of firsts for our Little Man:

• As you can see from the picture above, Matthew got his FIRST tooth this month (bottom front)! I was not expecting it at all since Caroline didn't get any teeth until she was 10 months old. I will miss Matthew's sweet, gummy smile but it's fun watching him hit "big" milestones.
• Matthew took his FIRST trip to the beach
• He rolled from back to tummy for the FIRST time...now that he can roll both ways, Matthew is a lean, mean rolling maching. He rolls all over his crib/the floor to get to where he wants to go.
• FIRST bath with Caroline sitting up all by himself without the bumbo/bath seat...they have so much fun during bathtime together!
• FIRST time to "swim" in the pool
• He got up on all fours and rocked back and forth for the FIRST time
• FIRST time to refuse his 3rd nap of the day
• FIRST time to move! (From the FIRST home he was brought home to. More to come about this big adventure soon!)
  What else is Matthew up to these days?
• He continues to drool constantly...more teeth must be on the way
• Loves to play with books, toys that light up/make sounds, his Sophie giraffe and anything else he can chew on
• Still loves his exersaucer, shape sorter toy and stacking rings
• Obsessed with anything he isn't allowed to play with...our keys, the tv remotes, cell phones, etc... 
• Matthew loves to eat! He drinks 4 bottles a day, usually about 28-32 oz. total
• I think he was going through a growth spurt this month and was eating up to 5-6 jars of baby food a day (what?!?) Now he's eating anywhere from 2-4 jars/day...usually oatmeal and/or fruit for breakfast and some variation of veggies and/or fruit for lunch and dinner
• His favorite food at the moment is pears and least favorite is green peas
• Loves Baby Mum Mums but gags/chokes on puffs
• Matthew typically sleeps from 7 pm to 7:30 am and takes a 1 1/2 hour morning nap and a 2 hour afternoon nap
• He dropped his 3rd catnap this month and wants nothing to do with it anymore. So now he takes his two naps/day and goes to bed early. This makes for a happier baby boy!
• We think Matthew will be on the move soon...he loves to rock back and forth on his hands and knees
• The Little Mister is still quite smitten with his big sister: he laughs at her a TON and is always entertained when she is close by, Caroline loves to give him toys, make him smile, play with him in the car and bath, kiss him and hold his hand, take his picture with my phone and have squealing conversations with him
• Speaking of squealing...Matthew is a pro! It is definitely his main mode of communication right now along with screaming (LOUD), laughing, and cooing. Matthew is still not babbling and the speech therapist in me is trying not to worry too much. Still, if Matthew isn't babbling by his 9 month birthday, we'll be discussing it with the pediatrician at his check-up for sure!
• Matthew is Mr. Social and one of his favorite things to do is to look at people, smile really big and squeal at the top of his lungs.
• He is understanding more words: will kick his legs when lying on his back if we say "kick, kick, kick", will bang on a toy if we say "bang, bang", looks at us if we ask him "where is mommy" "where is daddy" "where is Caroline", and he will give us big, open-mouthed kisses when we ask him for a kiss (he also loves to give us kisses voluntarily before and after he wakes up from a bedtime...it's the sweetest thing!)
• Matthew is our snuggler...and I love it! He really loves to cuddle at night before bed and will rest his head on my shoulder and wrap his left arm around my neck
• He still soothes himself by sucking his thumb when he is tired or hungry

These days, we can't get enough of Matthew's cuddles, smiles, laughter, big blue eyes and dimples! What a busy, exciting month it has been with lots of BIG changes and firsts for our little man.

We love you, Matthew!!

 

Happy Father's Day

Dear Daddy,

Thank you for being such a wonderful, loving father. Thank you for working so hard to provide for our family.

Thank you for playing with us and making us laugh. Thank you for the many hugs and kisses you give us everyday.

Thank you for setting a great example of what a Godly husband and daddy look like. Thank you for loving us like nobody else can.

We love you so much,

Caroline and Matthew

Vacation Day 3

The last day of our mini-trip was spent swimming in my aunt and uncle's pool. Matthew enjoyed hanging out in his float, and Caroline had fun doggypaddling swimming up and down the length of the pool, pretending to have a birthday party for Minnie Mouse at each end ;-)

Matt and my uncle played golf and they had a good time. I caught a pic of Matt in the middle of putting on his sunscreen:

 Caroline LOVED swimming with my cousin, Catherine! Actually, she loved Catherine in general and followed her around the house most of the time we were there...it was funny to watch. Catherine was so sweet to put up with her little shadow! My sweet cousin just graduated from high school (she was Valedictorian and is scary smart :-) and is headed to Vanderbilt in the Fall. I've had the wonderful pleasure of getting to watch her grow up. I love her so much, and it's fun to see her now play with my kids. Her older brothers, Trey and Will, were out-of-town while we were visiting...we missed them!!

Catherine & Caroline:

 Swimming to Matt:

 Hugs!

Some serious cuteness:

The next day, we headed home. This is what my view was when I turned around in my seat during the whole trip. The silence was lovely :-)

What a great first trip as a family of four. Thanks for letting us come visit, Susan and Ronnie! We love you guys!! 

Vacation Day 2

Beach day 2 looked a lot like day 1. Here are more of the same pictures:

Matthew decided to join Caroline in her "waves are gonna getcha" game

Caroline repeatedly threw her arms up and yelled, at the top of her lungs, "I love the beach"

The pretty seagulls...Caroline called them woodpeckers the whole time

My two favorite dudes!!

Another long nap, ahhhhhhh

The picture below is Caroline telling me that I may NOT build sandcastles with her :-( She told me I was messing up her perfect castle (when all I was trying to do was teach her how to build one!)

So while Little Miss Independent built her own sand castles...Matt read his book, Matthew slept, and I took pics, swam in the ocean and read my own book. It was quite nice actually :-)

My attempt at some sibling pics:

This pic makes me laugh...they are making the exact same squinty-facial expression. Can you tell they're related??

"Matthew, Matthew, put down that sand right now! Do you hear me?? Matthew! Put down that sand!"

My loves:

Please excuse the huge glob little bit of drool on Matthew's chin

Our fam...smiles all around!