"Lord help the mister that comes between me and my sister!"-- Irving Berlin

These two crazy kids really are crazy about each other. They are best friends, thick as thieves, two peas in a pod! They fight hard and love hard. I'm so thankful they have each other! Here is a look, through some pics, at their sweet relationship:



2 Years (& 4 Months) Old!

Matthew is 2 years and 4 months old! Here is what my cutie patootie is up to these days:

Stats @ 2 year check-up:
Weight: 25 pounds, 6 ounces (20th%)
Height: 35 1/4 inches (75th%)
Head Circumference: 47.5 cm (30th%)

(just as a comparison, Caroline was 34 inches tall and weighed 27 pounds at 2 years old)

Matthew's personality is a mixture of love-bug and stinker!!! He is very sweet but can also be SO ornery the very next minute. He is ...stubborn. sensitive. caring. independent. silly. and very very cautious!

These are a "few" of Matthew's favorite things: his sister, hitting his sister to get a reaction (see? such a stinker!), following Caroline around everywhere and doing whatever she's doing, playing with baby dolls...feeding them and pushing them in strollers, his Little Einstein binoculars and discs (he calls them them noculars), books, trucks, legos, coloring, playing on mommy's phone and ipad, watching Sofia and Jake and the Neverland Pirates, his meee-ilk (milk), doing things by himself, playing outside, going to the park, playdates, Chick-a-lay, grilled cheese sandwiches, nutrigrain bars, any kind of candy or sweets, cuddling before bedtimes, naps, jumping on the trampoline, blowing bubbles, jumping on the bed, playing tball and soccer, balloons, going to MDO and BSF, chapstick, wrestling with daddy, doing chores (sweeping and cleaning the windows), taking baths, his Za (lovie blanket), sleeping with lots of books in his crib, running, jumping off of furniture, brushing his teeth, wearing doctor's gloves (this one is a little strange) and riding his scooter. Just to name a few ;-)

These are a few of Matthew's LEAST favorite things: being told "no", the wind and rain, most foods...he's super picky, cold weather, having anyone other than mommy put him to bed, not doing something all by himself, going to the doctor, having his diaper changed, and getting dressed 

I would say, hands down, the most wonderful thing about Matthew's age is his interaction with Caroline. They are best friends (this is another post all on its own) and always want to be together. Next year is going to be rough when Caroline goes to Kindergarten. Matthew asks "where's sissy" over and over whenever she's not around. They love to play together and Matthew always wants to be doing whatever Caroline is doing. Although they have typical sibling squabbles, they can often be found cuddling and holding hands. Caroline takes such good care of Matthew and is always looking out for him. Matt and I pray that they continue to grow closer with each passing year. It's been awesome watching their sweet relationship evolve!

Matthew's schedule: Naps from about 1-4 and sleeps from about 7:00 pm to 8:00 am...the boy LOVES his sleep!

Matthew can count to 20 but always leaves out 7, 17, and maybe one other random number. He can identify some of the letters in the alphabet and spell his name if he's singing the name song we made up (it's just from memorizing the song :-) Matthew knows all of the primary colors and a few shapes (circle, square, diamond). He loves loves loves to sing! His favorite songs right now are ABCs, "Baby Jesus Song" (Away in a Manger), Old MacDonald, Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus Loves Me, and Jesus Loves the Little Children.

Matthew's ears were so bad from about 10-18 months. We decided to have tubes placed in his ears last summer, and it was the best decision! His language took off once he starting hearing clearly. Now he talks non-stop and uses about 4-5 word sentences on average. He is still hard to understand but hopefully he'll keep making good gains with his language and articulation. Here are some things I hear on a daily basis:

"Mommy, uh are you?" (mommy, where are you?)
"I yuh you" (I love you)
"I do it self!"
"What ya doin?"
"Dear God, thank you for Jesus. Amen"
"It a accident. I jus a baby." (when he hits Caroline)
"I no like that"
And his VERY favorite word: "NO!!!"

Matthew is in the thick of the terrible twos right now. And they really are terrible. He throws HUGE tantrums, is very hard to redirect and can be extremely stubborn and strong-willed. However, he's my second child so I know these difficult days will not last forever. I see encouraging glimpses everyday of the sweet and funny little boy he is. I pray God continues to direct me as I raise this precious boy. Matthew is the best addition to our family and it's hard to remember a time without him. We all love him very much and he's definitely our little 'buddy" as Caroline likes to call him.

We love you, silly boy!!!