10 Months Old

Only two more months and we'll have a one-year old. But we're enjoying ten months old while it lingers. He enjoys feeding himself puffs. He'll either chew them, or sorta wait for them to dissolve in his mouth before he swallows. We tried him out on the Gerber Stage 3 food that has small pieces for babies to chew, but he's been doing a lot of gagging on that. So we'll hold off and try again later. At this rate he may not be eating his own birthday cake :)

Matthew is a such a fun baby, and we both have a great time with him. He's a good boy about naps, and he knows how to entertain himself while I wash dishes or prepare dinner. He can also be a major cuddler, which Josh and I both love. And he's such a goofball. He makes faces and laughs at silly things. He's also perfecting his clapping and waving, though he hasn't waved for the camera yet.

I was on the computer for a little while, and Matthew was in the other room. Then I started to hear him complain and whine a bit, and when I checked on him, he was mostly under the coffee table. He was trying to get out, but every time he tried to go forward, he would go backwards instead :)

Whatcha doin', Mom?

Hey, let me try the camera out.

All bundled up to play in the snow.

Looking oh-so thrilled with the experience.

Um, Dad, could you help me out here?

Attempting to make a snow angel.

Josh was wrestling with him on the couch, and his hair was full of static--I just had to snap a picture. Also, notice how much those top teeth are starting to show.

And a final favorite video for your enjoyment.

House Hunters

We always knew we didn't want to be perpetual apartment dwellers. The apartment has suited our needs during these first years of marriage, but we prayed that the Lord would allow us to own a house someday. Occasionally we've looked into it. It was more of a casual affair, knowing we couldn't afford it, yet dreaming of the day we could. Some might call it window shopping. Now that we have Matthew and plan to continue to grow our family, the apartment seems to be shrinking, and we need a bigger place to live.



We began by researching house builders. We love the idea of building a new house, and the market is great right now. We found these certain builders through a couple of Josh's co-workers, and they offered a great floor plan and other benefits. The neighborhood we'd like to build in is young and offers parks and ponds on the grounds. We even sat down with the builders and priced out the type of house we'd build and what we'd want included. That way we'd have an idea of how much the final price would be. It was within our range, but some things we didn't like was the small lot and appliances wouldn't be included.



Though this route looked good, we decided we should get a realtor so we could look at existing homes. We didn't want to rule out that option until we gave it a fair shot. But how to pick a realtor is an interesting dilemma. We know a couple church-going people in real estate, but I was afraid if something went sour, friendships would be strained. Josh found a site online called the Exodus Network. You fill out your information, and they choose a realtor close by who can help you. It's a Christian website, and those affiliated with it are honest and trustworthy. This site introduced us to Nancy, our real estate agent. She's a sweet older lady who isn't afraid to talk about the Lord. Although being a Christian wasn't a requirement for picking a realtor, it is very nice to have someone who's on our side in more than one way. It makes it very easy to talk to her, and we know she's coming from a similar background morally and spiritually.



Last night we met up with Nancy to look at three houses. The first one was our favorite. A decent size and price range, and minor negatives. We both could picture ourselves living there. The second one was a disappointment to all three of us. It looked nice from the outside, but once we got in, we saw the damage. Someone had come in and stolen everything. There was no kitchen, no cabinets, nothing. The place was trashed from top to bottom, and inside I felt sorry for the house. It had once been beautiful but now had the scars of vandalism. The third one was cheerier, so it was nice to end on a happy note. This house was nice like the first one, and again, had some minor negatives. It cost a little more though, and there were already two bids on it.



We keep thinking about the first house we saw, but we are hesitant. Could the Lord really have brought us to our home on the first try? Well, He's God, and He can certainly do anything, but we are still praying through this process and plan to look at more houses. We know that if the Lord has a house out there for us, whether it be the first or the last one we look at, He will save it for our little family.

The search hopefully continues this weekend. I'd love it if, when you think of us, you'd pray for guidance and wisdom as we look at homes. It's a process that can become overwhelming and even a little scary, but it's also exciting. We see it as another chapter in this adventurous book we call Life.

What Matthew's been up to lately

You see this gummy smile? Well, that's not the case anymore. One of his top teeth finally broke through. Which tooth is it? It's the one to the right of his front teeth. Typically the two front teeth come in first, but I'm sure they won't be far behind. He might have all four on the top by his birthday.

Here he is playing with his feet, one of his favorite things to do. He'll put his toe in his mouth, but it usually doesn't stay there long.

And here he is doing his other favorite thing, standing. Man, he looks so grown up when he's standing.

Playing with whatever he can get his hands on from the coffee table.

Whoa, you're tall, Dad.

This day he got himself into a bit of trouble. He was pulling on his little sports center and inevitably pulled it down on himself. He wasn't too upset. He just couldn't quite figure out what had happened or what to do about it.

Having some fun in the tub. He's very used to laying down for baths, so lately we've been encouraging him to sit up and play with his toys. Once he does this second nature, we'll ditch the tub and just get a skid-proof mat for him to sit on.

Hey, it's Friday! So why not put up a picture in honor of Gross Friday! Well, I personally don't think it's too gross. It's more adorable than anything else :)

Another new hobby he's taken up. He still doesn't suck his thumb, it's more like chewing on it. He's only been doing it the last week or two, so we're wondering if it's because of teething.

I think I've got a little rascal on my hands...

First claps caught on camera...

That's all I got for ya. Adios!

Oh yeah, he's 9 months old now

Oops, I'm a little behind on my blogging. I thought I'd do a year in review like my sis and sis-in-law have done, but I've decided that it takes too much time that I don't have. So here's the really really short version: We had a baby, and he's really cute...but you all knew those facts anyway ;)

He also turned nine months old at the end of December, which I'm behind on too. But I'll expand on that. Well, not now, he needs a nap, so I'm on Mommy duty. I'll get back to you, I promise :)

Ok, now I'm back, several hours later. No, he didn't nap for that long. But he did nap for 2 hours, and then we had lunch and then we played, so the time was well spent. I also washed the dishes and cleaned the bathroom while he slept. Aren't you proud of me? Anyways... Josh conveniently had the day off the day that Matthew had his check-up, so it was nice to have him along for the appointment. He's 24 lbs. 2 oz. and 30 inches long (Matthew, not Josh). I was asking the doc about food stuff, like how many times a day should I be nursing and how often should he have solid food and how much of it, yada yada. And he told me that those are all variables depending on your kid. He said from the looks of it, Matthew is growing just fine, so whatever I'm doing must be right. It's nice to get affirmation from your baby's doctor.

We also took Matthew to get his nine-month pictures done, which hopefully some of you have received in the mail by now. The photographer took 80 pictures! And why, you may ask? Well, he wasn't so cooperative for smiling, and when he did smile, he did his whole scrunch-up-the-face look. And as adorable as that is, we figured that friends and family would much prefer a normal smile from our son.

He's been teething for a long stretch it seems. It's woken him up at night a couple times, and he's drooling all over the place and chomping on anything that gets even remotely near to his mouth. Which includes adult hands and fingers. Even shoulders when we're holding him. I hope it's just cause of his teeth and not a sign that he'll be a biter. So yeah, all this teething, and you can see the teeth through the gums. That's how close they are, but they are just taking their sweet little time breaking through.

His newest discovery is standing. No, he can't do it on his own yet, but that doesn't stop him. We'll hold out our fingers so he can grab them and pull himself to a sitting position. But then he doesn't let go like we expect. We feel him tug some more because he wants to stand. He's not strong enough to pull up on his own, but he'll get there eventually. For now we help him out, and he looks so funny when he's standing, cause his hands are glued to our hands for support and balance, yet his hips are swinging round and round and he's all wobbly. He's a cross between the Tin Man and the Scarecrow.

Now for some pictures...

His teeth really bothered him one day, so Daddy set him up with a teether and a cozy blanket.

Funny how they are both giving me that fake smile.

Daddy decided to help Matthew smile for this one. It's a little freaky, cause he looks like the Joker or something.

Yup, still doing that face.

He's not smiling, but for some reason I just really like this picture. Maybe it's the look on his face. He was working hard on something, but nothing that involved his diaper. Here, see for yourself...


Not exactly crawling, more like a squirming worm.

And one final picture...

All you need is Luvs!