A few things that happened this week

Josh was away on business for the first few days of this week, and Matthew definitely missed him. He kept asking about him, and on Sunday when I told him he was in an airplane, he pointed up the sky. And whenever he was crying, whether it was tantrum, tiredness, or pain, he would repeat Daddy's name over and over. Poor little thing. It was very pitiful, but very cute at the same time. Needless to say, he was very excited when he walked in the door on Wednesday.

A cute bunny hung out in our yard for about an hour on Tuesday, and Matthew was quite amused by him.

Matthew's been doing well these days. I bought him hightop sneakers from Wal-mart, and I've been taking him on walks outside since the weather's been nice. It seems he's been getting stronger and more stable, but it could just be my imagination. Or wishful thinking. Either way, he is definitely more interested in learning to walk on his own and trying little things here and there.

He's 19 months old now (and fyi, I am 35 weeks along), his personality is developing daily. He's discovering new ways to play with his toys, which means his imagination's at work. He likes to play quietly, like looking at books or driving his cars across the floor. But he also likes to get rowdy, more particularly when Josh is home. They've come up with a new game where Josh throws a blanket over Matthew's head and hides in the house. Then Matthew goes to find him, gets scared out of his pants, and loves every minute of it. I sit there and try to read a magazine, but honestly they are more entertaining than my articles.

He is obsessed with coloring and with trains. One morning after he has just woken up, he immediately asked to color, even before breakfast! And every night he asks to watch "choo-choo." We got tired of the one Thomas movie we have, so we went to Wal-mart and found some episodes compiled onto a DVD to give some variety and save our sanity. The neat thing is that it came with a Thomas to play with, and he loves that thing. It's gonna work out great, because I got him a basic wooden train set for Christmas (from Ikea), and Thomas will fit on it too. Plus Wal-mart had more DVD sets with other trains, like Percy and Gordon and James. I want to get him at least one more. Josh teases me that I'm spending a fortune on him for Christmas, but I am within budget so ppplllbbttt to him :)

Oh, the sweetest thing happened last night. Matthew fell and hit his head (not hard, but it was close to bedtime, so even something small deserves tears). Anyway, Josh was right by him and picked him up to console him, but Matthew turned around and pointed right at me and said "Momma!" in this dramatic sobby voice with tears streaming down his cheeks. And I just totally melted into a puddle of mommy love and pregnant hormones. I held him for a little bit and cried along with him cause I was just so moved. And Josh of course was laughing at me. He thought it was sweet too, but he just thought I was the funniest emotional mess at the time. And speaking of emotions, I was reading a story in Parents magazine today, and I started to get teary-eyed. I'm not overly emotional the whole time I'm pregnant, but it comes in spurts, I guess. I'll have a few days of crying over everything, and then I'm good for a while.

Back to Matthew, he's been weird about his naps lately. He used to be so good at falling asleep and not even crying about it. But yesterday he cried for a little while and then just talked to himself for a long time. He was content, so I didn't get him out. After about an hour and a half he was still awake, so I thought, ok, I'll go get him and his nap can be over. And right when I got up there he fell asleep. So I let him sleep for a hour, but then I woke him up, cause I didn't want him to sleep too much into the late afternoon or he might not go to bed well. And today, even as I write, he is up there screaming like it's the end of the world. He started off talking to himself, but now he's crying. I know he's tired, so I hope he gives in and doesn't keep himself awake.

Now that I've gotten all wordy on you, I think I will conclude. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

A Poem by Yours Truly

'Twas October 27th when I went to the store.
I had to buy groceries, because we needed some more.
I hopped in the car after I strapped Matthew in;
Then I pressed the knob to get my favorite radio station.
Suddenly my ears were shocked by what I heard;
My jaw hit the floor, and I couldn't say a word.
It was the voice of Bing Crosby crooning to me
A familiar Christmas song on 93.3!
Thinking it was a joke, I waited for the punchline...
The Manheim Steamrollers were next--was I losing my mind?
It's not quite November, are these songs even ok?
But then I remembered...Christmas is less than 2 months away!
I better get home to check my Christmas list twice,
Because I want to buy everyone something very nice.
I guess it's safe to say this, but it doesn't feel quite right:
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Physical Therapy

Matthew had his physical therapy evaluation today. I wasn't sure what to expect. I mean, I knew they would ask questions and observe him at play, but I didn't know how it would turn out in the end. To begin with, I wasn't thrilled that the pediatrician recommended that Matthew get evaluated. I just didn't want the hassle, but I was also partly afraid that they would make some huge and horrible diagnosis. The pediatrician visit and the PT visit were about a month apart, and in that time Matthew made some good progress with walking. He'd grown more confident, more stable, more willing to try. I almost thought about canceling, feeling sure that he would walk on his own soon. But Josh and I have been praying all about this, and we decided that an evaluation certainly couldn't hurt anything. Maybe they would give us some new ideas to try at home to get him to walk.

Miss Nancy was Matthew's evaluator, and she was very nice and very good with him. We went into a big room that had floor mats, a set of stairs, basketball hoops, and tons of different sized balls. Matthew explored the place while she asked me a few questions. Like, were there any problems during my pregnancy, did he pass all his newborn tests, yadda yadda. She got to see him move all over the place: crawling, climbing the stairs, pulling up, walking while holding onto someone's hand. He did all these things with and without shoes. She was impressed with how well he did with these types of movements. She was also impressed with how many words he said and understood (though he wasn't being tested for that kind of stuff, but it made this mother's heart a little proud of her boy).

She recorded her observations and talked with me throught it all. I told her how he uses a push-toy/walker at home, and she that's great and to keep using it. I also told her how he'll put his back up against the chair or the couch and walk a few steps on his own to get to us. She said that was great too.

Her conclusions were simple: it all comes down to low muscle tone in some areas. For instance, his ankles. His ankles turn in toward each other, which makes his feet point out when he walks (think of how Mickey Mouse stands, I think it's called pigeon-toed). Anyway, that stance means he's putting most of his weight on the inside of his foot instead of his whole foot, which makes him very unstable. Hence, why it's hard for him to walk on his own. Also, his hips. He's got a lot of rotation in them, possibly too much. When he sits to play, he sits in a "W" fashion, where the knees are out front and the rest of the leg is pulled back. This type of sitting encourages his ankles to turn in even more. I told her it runs in the family, since his aunt sat that way all the time as a kid, and still sits like that sometimes.

He crawls up and down the stairs, which she said is good for him to do in order to strengthen his hips. Also, walking on his knees, like if he's pushing an upside down pot or laundry basket across the floor, will help as well. He's doing plenty of things at home already that are helping his muscles develop, but she also sent home some more papers with things to look for and try with him.

She brought up braces. Nothing huge or long-term, but it would hide in his shoe and give him that extra stability he needs in the ankles. It would line up his ankles under his legs better, which will help him walk on his own. She noticed that he seems more stable when he wears shoes, so she said to try buying high top shoes to wear around the house before we get into braces. That may be all the extra stability he needs, and we're praying it is.

She also wants to start him on physical therapy visits for a half hour each week. Josh and I talked about this, and it makes us feel like we've done something wrong as parents. But on the other hand, the extra help he'll be getting won't be a bad thing. Yes we can do things with him at home, but having a trained professional work with him and know what to watch for isn't bad. And they've got more resources at the facility than we have at home too. I guess I feel almost ashamed or embarrassed that I have to put my child through this. But Josh told me that if we've identified a weakness, it makes sense to work on it and help him out.

I guess for me it's kind of a pride thing. My child shouldn't need physical therapy. I know better than the doctors do. But the Lord has quickly humbled me. When I was in the waiting room, there was a little girl there the same age as Matthew in this contraption with wheels to help her walk. Her mother told me she has cerebral palsy and has trouble getting enough oxygen. Then a little boy came in, and I heard his mother say that he was there to be fitted for a pacer (I think it's something for the heart). There are so many children out there with serious health issues, and here I am being bothered by the fact that Matthew needs a few physical therapy appointments and some more supportive shoes. I am so incredibly blessed to have a happy, healthy, normal little boy, and I don't ever want to take that for granted.

I was singing Jesus Loves Me to Matthew for his nap this afternoon, and the words really spoke to my heart: "little ones to Him belong; they are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me." Matthew belongs to God, and He knows that his ankles are weak. But God is the source of all strength. He loves Matthew and is watching over him. And yes we have a health issue to deal with, but it's so trivial in comparison with others. Yet it's important to God. Our Sunday school teacher was talking about that on Sunday, that God hears and answers our prayers, no matter how big and no matter how small. How special does that make you feel? This all-powerful, awesome God takes the time to hear you. We need to remember that every day.

Arboretum in Autumn

This past Saturday we went to the Arboretum where Josh and I got engaged 5 years ago. I wanted to have a fall picnic on the grounds, but it was too cold that day. We went to the park first, and then we came home and had an indoor picnic. Matthew really liked eating on the floor on a blanket.

Here's the tree where Josh proposed, and look, it's not even changing colors yet! It's as green as springtime. I think we came too early, cause most of the trees hadn't changed yet. We were hoping to see some beautiful fall colors.

This is us, under the tree. We can't quite give Matthew the camera to take a picture of us yet.


Some nice father/son shots.

And mother and son.

Last time we were here (which was almost 2 years ago), I was 5 months pregnant with Matthew, so I thought we'd get another pregnancy pic. Only this time, I'm 7 1/2 months along.

Josh took this neat shot of the sun shining through the tree branches.

We thought this looked so cute. This newly planted little tree all red for fall, yet surrounded by his buddies that are as green as can be. I guess he's not afraid to stand alone and be different.

This was the prettiest tree we saw, so we took some time here. The color was so brilliant that I don't think the camera truly captured it.

I love the difference between the brightness and fullness of the one and the darkness and nakedness of the other. Total opposites.

Close up of a leaf, though it turned out blurry.

Matthew getting his own close up of a leaf.

And that was the essence of our excursion. It was a cool crisp day, but we were warmed from our family time spent together (altogether now, aww!) ;)

The House Becomes a Home

Before I get into the house pictures, I wanted to share some Matthew pictures. Here he is, sitting in the cabinet.

All the pots and pans were in there with him, and he managed to find room to sit down and make himself comfortable.

Love this cute smile.

Here he is with his Disney pals. We were watching some Disney cartoons on DVD, and he was so psyched when we brought these stuffed animals in from the other room.

Yeah, he's on a ladder, but not by himself. I'm holding onto him--you just can't see me. He wanted to help Daddy hang stuff on the walls.

So we've got a western theme going on in our family room, do you remember that? We picked sunset colors and painted a while ago, but we took our time buying things to put on the walls. One, we wanted to make sure we liked what we got and didn't just get carried away with buying things. That's more me than Josh. And two, we wanted to stay in budget and not go into debt over simple wall decorations.

The first thing we ordered was from Amazon, this great clock. We've had this up for a while, even before we painted the walls, I believe. It's got a subtle western feel without being overdone or tacky.

I found an online store that sells western and Texas-themed items, which is where these pieces came from, two horseshoes and a welcome sign. They are made of cast iron and hang over our sliding doors that lead to the deck outside.

Oh, I just remembered. I bought a wall hanging from our grocery store (they sell housewares too), but I forgot to take a pic of it. It has a horseshoe on the bottom of it and had a quote by Louis L'Amour: "The trail is the thing, not the end of it. Travel too fast, and you miss all you are traveling for." Or something like that. I'm going by memory right now.

Along one wall we hung up some family pictures. They aren't really western, but the frames are an antique gold, and they fit with the colors in the room. Matthew loves to look at these pics and find the faces he knows. Which is pretty much everyone.

And finally some of my favorite pieces. A while back I found a wagon wheel at Big Lots and snatched it up. Sure it's not an authentic or Amish-made wagon wheel, but those can be hundreds of dollars on the web, and you can't beat $16--yeah, I think that's what I paid for it. Anyway, it's big and hangs high, so it's definitely the focal point in the room. The oil paintings on either side were done by an awesome friend with amazing talent. I gave her this small vase I had and asked her to paint the scene that was on it. They are hard to see in this pic, I know, but trust me, they are perfect and just what I wanted. Just last night Josh and I went to Hobby Lobby and had them framed and matted with some rustic frames they had.

So finally this room looks like someone lives here and doesn't just boast of bare walls. I love my western theme, though I still have more to get. I ordered a metal cut-out of a praying cowboy, but it was out of stock, so I have to wait on that. It will go by the clock when it comes. And the wall opposite the family pics is still naked. I'd like to find a print by a western artist to get framed, like one big one or two smaller ones. Jack Sorensen has done some nice work, and my mother-in-law told Josh about some guy from Montana, but I can't remember his name. I'm in no rush to get that wall filled though. I'm enjoying what we have up for now, and there's more work to be done and money to be spent on other things.

For instance, we need to buy Matthew a bed soon. And the office that we just painted, well, those walls need some photos up as well. Our college friend took some black and white photos of us back in the day, and I've got them framed, just not up yet. We think it'd be cool to do only B&W pics in the office. And someday we need to buy more furniture, just so we have more seating when people visit. And I'd like some storage ottomans to hide the toys that the kids have/will have. And the list goes on... :)

I definitely love what we've done with the place so far. It's fun to dream up ideas and see them come to fruition. Though I don't think I could be an interior designer. I take too long to make up my mind, and then I may changed my mind 15 times before I settle on something. I would drive clients crazy :)

Alright, enough rambling. I'll let you all get back to whatever it is you were doing before you sat down at your computer to read my amazing and insightful words...yeah, right ;)

It's About Time

No, not walking by himself, but here's something else I've been waiting for...



I've seriously only heard him call me "momma" like 2, maybe 3 times. But finally he's made the connection more permanently. Well, I think he's always known my name, but he would say "dada" just to be a booger.

We took Matthew for his 18 month pictures over the weekend, and he was not cooperative. We did manage to get a few good shots, but I don't have any up for this post. For the professional pics, I had this plan to get some adorable pictures in his pj's with his new buddy, Wrinkles. But like I said, not cooperative. So the other day I whipped out my camera after breakfast, and guess who decided to be cute and smile? Yep.

Say Cheese!

Giving Wrinkles a nosy...

...and a hug.

There's my cute boy!

Kissing Cousins

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law were up this way for the weekend, which meant Matthew got to spend time with his cousin Chesney. We were at her birthday party in August. They are five months apart, and though neither of them walk yet, it was impossible to get them to pose for pictures. They were constantly on the move.

Ok, so this one looks like he stopped to pose with me, but not so in the next one.

I love this picture--they look so cute!

Chesney had fun playing with her cousin's toys, like this walker, and Matthew was good about sharing. They both were, but they're not at the "that's mine!" stage yet.

It looks like Chesney put the basket over Matthew's head, but Matthew did it on his own. I think she was just checking on him.

When it was time to say goodbye, they actually gave hugs and kisses. So sweet :)


That was Thursday night. Then we went up to Grammy and Grandpa's house on Saturday to have more family time.

It was game day, can you tell?

Again, always on the move.

This was a cute one I snapped of Sarah and Chesney. Ches didn't want to hold still, but Sarah cooperated quite nicely.

Grammy found some toys in the basement for the kids to play with, and they had a blast.

It was a busy weekend. We even had some friends over Friday night. Matthew didn't nap on Saturday, so needless to say he was exhausted by Sunday. His nap was extra short today, which is what normally happens when he's overtired. He also hasn't been feeling well, battling constipation and a very sore bottom. But it's getting better.

Dinner time is coming soon, so I better get busy in the kitchen. Ciao!

7 Month Belly **EDIT**

If 7 is the number of perfection, then how come we women have to carry our unborn for 2 more months? Just thought I'd ask :)

At my mom's suggestion, I looked up my 7-month belly pic when I was pregnant with Matthew...

I think I look about the same size. But maybe not. What do you think?

Is it not weird that I am wearing the exact same shirt in both pictures, though? Totally didn't plan that.

Weekend Fun

Josh worked so hard this weekend. He painted our front room, which we've dubbed the office. We were calling it the froffice (front room/office), but simplification is better. Anyways, I forgot to get pictures of the before and after. Well, I can always take an after picture, but I don't have a before. Then again, I'm sure I've got pics of Matthew in that room, so you'd see the walls behind him. I'll have to hunt that down. When we first moved in, we liked the wall color. It was a light brown color, kind of like the color of a Wendy's frosty. But it also made the room feel dark and kind of drab. So we opted for a brighter, happier color for the walls. We chose a blue-green, and it turned out really nice. The idea is to furnish the room with black and silver accents. The comptuer desk and bookshelves and lamps are already black, and as we get pics on the walls, we'll go with either black or silver frames. Someday we'll have a couch in here for some seating, but that's lower on our list of things to buy. I do want to get some storage ottomans to hide some toys. I like the ones that you can flip the top over and it's a tray. They would work well as a coffee table only when necessary. Like for instance, when we have a couch in here. But that's all future purchases. Moving on...

Later in the afternoon, Josh was up for taking Matthew out, so we found a nearby pumpkin place. It was really small, their selection wasn't good, and the prices were too high, so we didn't spend too long there. There was no admission price, so that was a blessing. We ended up buying some big pumpkins and a cornstalk at Kroger, cause they were cheaper there. Go figure.

Having fun on the wooden tractor play thingy.

More fun. I guess. He doesn't look overly thrilled.

Checking out some animals, but not wanting to get too close.

The cornstalk tied to the beam on our porch, and our 3 pumpkins.

Wiped out after a long day.

I saved this video for last, cause it's so incredibly cute. Matthew had recently picked up on the song "It's Magic," and I have no idea why. It's not like I sing it to him more than any other song, but he likes to sing along with me. Check out his eyes at the end of the video. He rolls them up and he looks so funny. Enjoy!