Crusin

Boy have I been busy!  So much as happened since the last time we talked...sorry about that but I just haven't had a minute to spare!  So besides working on my two front teeth...owwwie by the way, I can now sit up on my own and I am scooting all over the place!  Mom and dad call it army crawling, I call it awesome!  There is so much cool stuff I haven't even seen in this place before.  I keep trying to reach out and check out all these new things but I keep hearing mom and dad say "no".  I don't know what that means yet so I just keep on doing what I'm doing, I'll plead ignorance as long as possible ;)  The big red thing in the living room, I think mom calls it a fireplace, is really interesting but they keep turning me around just as soon as I get to it.  But not to worry, if you don't remember from previous post, I'm pretty determined so I just spin myself back around and try try try again!  So in what I suspect is an effort to keep me "contained" I've been presented with my own car, photo attached, its pretty cool and the rents like it cause they always know where I am...gesh! Like I'm gonna cause trouble! 
Something else new and fun I've been doing lately is running with mom and dad.  Who knew my stroller could do that!  I sit in it differently now and I can't see mom anymore but I can see EVERYTHING else and it is great!  I love being outside so this is one of my favorite things to do.  I'm told I'm a great running buddy, as soon as mom slowed down the other day I piped up and told her to go faster!  I have a need for speed...well at least until I fall asleep.  Its very relaxing you know, all that fresh air.
So on the food front I have added peaches to my rotation and mom said something about trying out carrots today...sounds good to me.  One of my new favorite things is this cool feeder I can hold myself and mom and dad put good stuff in it for me to chew on.  Feels good on my gums too.  I have had banana this way and also something called sprite melon, that was really sweet and yummy! (came in our CSA basket).  
Well it's off to Danville this weekend, mom has to work on her teeth too with Uncle Jeff, so I gotta go pack.  Have a great weekend everyone!


Lots of love,
Matthew

Eat Fresh, Buy Local

Why, might you ask, would I have any interest in this topic, especially since I have been eating as "locally" as possible from the get go?  Well I will tell you...I have a few new tools available to me now, two of them to be exact, right in the bottom of my mouth!  Mom is calling these new additions teeth, Im just calling them weird, and ouchie.  It's been a busy week and a half getting these puppies here.  I had no idea what was happening but all I knew is that my mouth hurt pretty bad.  I mean I know how it hurts when my tummy is empty but this...well this was just ridiculous.  Daddy discovered that the first one had cut through last Monday and Ms. Barbara found the second one on Thursday.  They are still not up quite enough for mommy to try and get a picture for you but hopefully in another week or so they we will be good and photo ready.  Now that they are here, and mom got me some good stuff to make my gums hurt less, I don't mind them so much.  They are pretty interesting and I am keeping pretty busy exploring them.  So now I am fully expecting my food horizons to grow!  I have been eating oatmeal for the last week or so and I have to say, I like it quite a bit, but Im ready for more!
For the last 8 weeks or so, every Saturday morning, we have been going to the farmers market to pick up our CSA basket.   I don't know what that means and normally I fall asleep in the car so I cant tell you much about this farmers market either but I do know that it is full of yummy fruits and vegetables that are all grown locally and mommy and daddy say that they help our local farmers by buying them.  I'm just looking forward to eating them.  Mom has made me squash and she made me sweet potatoes this morning that hopefully I can try later today.  Yesterday she took me to a different farmers market down by the beach, this time I woke up and got to stroll around and see everything, we even bumped into Mrs. Kristy and Mr. Christian from mommy's birth class and I got to meet Chet!  He was in his mommy's tummy then too, hopefully we can see each other again soon and compare notes on our folks, see if he has any new tricks I might need to try...anyway mom was happy to see that the people from Full Quiver farm were there from Suffolk.  They specialize in all pasture raised pork and chicken and one thing mom's been talking about, pastured eggs.  These eggs are different because the chickens that make them feed only on grass, bugs and worms...or "normal natural" stuff...those things don't sound tasty to me at all but the eggs sure did look yummy when mom fixed them this morning.  She also bought some sausage from them that they had for breakfast.  Im sort of bummed just "looking" at all this good stuff but hopefully soon I will be able to eat it with them!
So besides my teeth work, which has been work believe me, I'm still busy rolling around like a log and spinning myself on my belly like a top.  Mom and dad say I'll be crawling in no time...but they don't sound very excited about this.  Im trying really hard.  I can get my knees under me and I can push way up on my arms but I can't quite seem to do both as the same time, but don't worry I'll keep practicing and I'll have it figured out in no time!  I also like to jump really high in my baby Einstein activity jumper.  I am very strong!  All that jumping is good practice cause now daddy can take my hands and I can pull right up on to my legs.  I like to stand way better than laying around, I can see so much more that way.  Im a busy guy, I like to see what's going on and make sure I'm not missing a minute of it!  Lots of life to live and lots more to learn, better get back to it!
Enjoy a few shots of mom and dad's breakfast today....
Love to all
Matthew

Farm Eggs from Full Quiver

Look at that nice yolk

This breakfast is brought to you by Hampton Roads VA!  Eggs and sausage from Full Quiver,  cantaloupe from our CSA basket and blueberries from Pungo blueberry farm! 

I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas...

Well, I can't really speak about the apples yet, although they look great, but I can tell you I really enjoyed those bananas!  Mom mashed some up for me yesterday and left them for Dad to share with me at lunch…wow, so much better than that avocado thingy from last week, who’s idea was that!?!  I don’t know when I will get to have more of this tasty treat but if this is what the whole eating thing is about, sign me up!

On to other interesting news, I finally went to the beach this past weekend!  I've been patiently waiting to go back cause I remember how much I enjoyed it when I was still in mommy’s tummy.  It was a lot different than I remember but lots of things are different here on the outside.  The sun still felt nice and warm, I liked that part so much I took a nap while we were there…oddly it sounded a lot like my bedroom does at bed time…but the sand, well, that part was kind of funny.  Mom put my feet in it and it was squishy and soft and then my toes disappeared!  This alarmed me because I just found those toes and I really like to put them in my mouth, but luckily it was just for a minute because then some water came and uncovered them again.  But that water...that was another area I had my doubts about.  I mean I’m just standing there…well, being dangled there…and out of nowhere this wall of water is coming at me trying to take my feet away!  Then that sneaky water runs away!  But does it stay away? NOOOOO here it comes again, over and over with this silly game…finally mom and dad realized I was tired of playing with it and actually carried me out into it …this I liked much better…this felt more  like my big bathtub.

Today mom got to stay home with me from work, so we are having a play date with my buddy Colton at his pool, that's gonna be fun cause its gonna be hot hot hot around here.

Keep cool peeps, check ya soon!

Love

Matthew

Taste like....

Psssst...hey...did you all know there is stuff out there, besides toys and milk that is, that you can put in your mouth!?!  Well me either!  This is the sort of stuff I rely on you people for.  Mom and dad swear they are trying to tell me things and lately moms been waving her hands around a lot and talking about something called baby sign language but we are still working on the communication stuff.  But low and behold they sat me in my bumbo this weekend and put this long plastic thing in my mouth (I know its plastic cause its hard like my toys and its nice to chew on) but something was wrong.  There was stuff at the end of it that felt sort of funny on my tongue.  It tasted different that anything I've had too.  Mom called is avocado...help here guys, I have no idea what an avocado is!  I mean I feel pretty sure that she wasn't trying to hurt me, I haven't figured it all out yet but I do know that she loves me and is crazy about me, obviously, so what else could be the motivation for this?  But as usual Im a good boy so I played along with their weird new game (I figure its a game cause daddy had out his fun camera he takes on our bike rides).  So the first few taste were...interesting.  I gave it a fair chance (i have photographic proof Im making mom post) but...after a few bites I'd had enough.  Ill stick to the milk for now thank you very much!

Busy Little Bee

Hi all…its Mom, baby's taking a nap so I thought I would sneak my own blog in here while he wasn’t looking.  Times, they are a changin around here.  This little dude is on a fast track and it makes his mamma a nervous wreck!  In a matter of about a week he mastered the more challenging roll from back to front, and enjoys this new trick so much we can hardly put him under his activity gym without him instantly winding up on his tummy…facing in the opposite direction, or completely rolled off the carpet onto the hardwood floor.  He also likes to employ this maneuver while he is sleeping.  Beginning position? On the tummy facing window.  Wake up position? On the back facing the closet.  It’s a trip.  He has also located his feet, and finds them to be quite the delicacy :)  He now reaches up for us when he wants out of the crib…be still  my heart...and has graduated to a baby Einstein Jump-a-roo for play time as being on the floor just isn’t cutting it anymore.  Ohhh this is moving way too fast and I know its just a downhill slide from here.  I’m getting the sense that this is the ever present parental dilemma.  You want them to grow and thrive but that means losing this precious sweet time that seems all too short.  And if his desire to move is any indication we had better be purchasing our cabinet locks and baby gates in short order OY!

Mike and I are really enjoying this time of new discovery with him.  Its been so fun to take him to try new things like riding bikes and swimming in the pool.  We feel so lucky that he, for the most part, is a super adaptable fella and seems to love being outside with mom and dad.  Mike gets lots of laughs and thumbs up for his baby on board bike rides and just as we had hoped his love of the bathtub has translated to a love of bigger bodies of water too.  It is my goal to get us all to the beach for the first time tomorrow!  Hopefully I will have pics to post about that soon.  

Matthew has also found his vocal chords...and he is not afraid to use them (I have no idea where he might get this from ;)  He babbles and coos and squeals and just looks at you so intently like, why aren't you picking up what Im putting down here?  He has turned into a voracious little eater and we are nearing the exciting journey of introducing solid foods.  I am actually planning to let him taste some avocado this weekend, so we'll see how that goes.

If I had the time (or the capability from  my phone) I could literally update this blog every day with some fun new fact in the life of our little boy, but clearly I have neither.  So I will continue to try and be better about keeping everyone up to date and hopefully Matt will be willing to pick up my slack where needed.

Love to all,

LA

A Series of Firsts

Hey everyone!  Happy belated Memorial Day!  Sorry its been a bit, the 'rents are trying to make me into a world traveler, more on that later.  First let me catch you up on all things Matthew:
So I had my first big check up with the Dr.'s from Children's Hospital Kings Daughters a few weeks ago.  This visit was in addition to my regular 4mo check up where that strange lady poked me AGAIN with that needle thingy!  Didn't I get poked enough my first few weeks, gesh!  Mom and Dad swear it's for my own good, we'll see about that I guess.  Anyway back to my NICU follow up.  This really nice Dr. Lady didn't poke me with anything at all (see, who said its necessary?!) all she wanted to do was talk to mom and dad about their favorite subject...me!  She also wanted to see me do all of my tricks to make sure I am developing on track with other kids my age.  I don't want to brag but the word "perfect" might have gotten thrown around once or twice ;)  She let me lay on my tummy and hold my head up really high, mom always says I look like a turtle coming out of its shell when I do this, somehow I don't think that is very nice.  Anyway I would have shown the Dr. Lady how I flip myself onto my back but she scooped me up real quick, something about the table being too narrow. Then she dangled this big red ring right in front of me.  She wanted to watch me watch it (not sure why this is exciting but ok).  Lastly I guess she was secretly hoping I would reach up and grab it because boy did she get happy when I did...but then she took it away...this confused me.  Still have lots to learn about you people and your motivations.  Long story short I will see them again in 6 mo.  but they are happy with my development and mom and dad got a chance to really talk to someone about some things that had been worrying them.  
Equally exciting to all this Dr stuff was my first road trip!  We all went to Danville for the long holiday weekend, I don't really remember the trip there, we left around my bed time.  I just know when I woke up I was at Aunt Patti and Uncle Jeff's and their three furry kids were all excited to see me!  They kept licking me and sniffing me, it felt funny, but they were soft and I liked to touch their fur.  Later that day mom and dad took me to this place called a pool.  It looked like a really really big bathtub and I love my baths so this seemed ok to me.  Sure enough, the water was warm and mom and dad could hang out in it with me, I definitely see more of this pool thing in my future.  On Sunday we celebrated the reason for the big trip, my Christening.  I was such a good boy (mom and dad really owe me for that one) even though I didn't really know what was going on I could tell it was important so I smiled and cooed and charmed the pants off all of them.  After the service we had a big lunch at my aunt and uncles, but I was pooped from being so cute all morning so I had my lunch with mom upstairs and fell right asleep.   Later that afternoon we drove to another new place called the lake.  If you people though a pool was big wait until you see one of these!  My cousins were there with a bunch of their friends who were all really nice.  The girls kept wanting to hold me, who am I to refuse a pretty lady??
All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.  I had a little trouble on our ride home, I kept waking up all alone in the back of the car and I didn't like that at all, so mom climbed back and hung out with me which was nice.  We returned home on Memorial Day, this was also my first of one of those.  Mom and Dad explained to me how important this day is and how we use it to celebrate lots of brave & wonderful friends, some that I have met and some that live with Jesus and I won't see for a long time.  Even at only 4 mos. I know how special you have to be to get to live up there, so these must have been some amazing men.  Cant wait to meet them too one day.

Well gotta go make mom work on my baby book...what would she do without me...seriously?  Im having her share a few photos from our weekend with you below.  Hope everyone had a super holiday, Ill be in touch soon~
Love Matthew

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That head is bigger than all of me!

Lazy river style

My mom's a slacker and other infant observations...

Hello old friends!  Long time no see... or speak.  See I had hoped mom could take over for me for a bit while I tried to get my bearings around here...and while she is great for a snuggle and a hot on demand meal her blogging stinks.  I mean inquiring minds want to know...about me!  And let me tell you I have been busy!  So I have relieved her of her duties for a while, she mumbled something about being sleep deprived but didn't put  up a fight ;)
As most of you know my first few weeks are kind of a blur, I was so sleepy I literally couldn't wake up, but once I did I made sure everyone knew how happy I was to be here.  I was so excited to finally see my home and my room!  Very cool, and so much bigger than my last place.  Mom and Dad and I spent the next few weeks getting to know each other.  I kept trying to tell them what I needed but they were really slow to catch on.  I just kept on talking figuring that eventually they would get it and they did, but man was it ever rough training them up.  Why don't parents come with an instruction manual?
I've had wonderful visits with both sides of my family and it has been really fun getting to know everyone.  Mom went back to work about a month ago and I started seeing someone named Miss Barbara a few times a week, she's is really nice and takes good care of me when mom and dad have to be away.  I am the only boy there though, so I will have to get back to you on how it is spending my days with a room full of girls and they are all trying to get me...not so sure about that yet.
Other than that my days are filled with rolling over and chewing on my hands, burp cloths, mom and dad, although I did find this cool thing mom keeps calling my thumb and I really like to suck on that.
I head back to the Dr. this week first to see my neonatologist and then my regular Dr next week.  I heard someone say shots...I was a brave boy the first time, held back most of my tears but that doesn't mean I want to do it again...stay tuned for more on that.
I promise to try and be better than mom at updating everyone.


Love to you all,


Matthew