Carousel Ride

On December 23rd, the three of us visited the Salem Riverfront Carousel.  My aunt and uncle, cousins and my cousin's wife's extended family had a little party there and invited us to join them. 

Matthew got to ride the carousel three times--twice with Papa and once with Mama. 

I LOVE the above picture of Michael and Matthew--the expression on Michael's face is so endearing.

 

And here are the three of us. 

It was a fun experience (great for babies with all of the lights, sounds and colors) and I am already thinking about maybe having Matthew's first birthday party there.  :)

First Visit With Santa

On December 20th, I met my mom at Lloyd Center in Portland so we could take Matthew to visit Santa.  Michael wasn't really interested in going but I think next year when Matthew is more aware of Christmas and Santa, he will be more on board with it. 

I dressed Matthew in a reindeer outfit (again from Grammie), complete with reindeer booties and hat.  The 20th just happened to be Matthew's eight-month birthday, so I also brought his sticker to commemorate the event.  We waited in line for a good half hour or so and Matthew didn't fuss a bit.  He loved looking around at all the people, little kids and Christmas decorations--and he got to ride the escalator a few times, which he loved. 

I wasn't sure how Matthew would react to Santa, especially when another little boy a few months younger than Matthew cried pretty hard on Santa's lap.  When it was our turn, Santa let Matthew stare at him for a few seconds and touch his white glove before having me place him in his arms.  I warned Santa that Matthew would likely go for the gold spectacles perched on his nose and well within reach, but Santa laughed and said that would be fine.  Matthew did not go for the glasses, however.  He just stared at Santa and then at the camera and all of us calling to him to get him to smile like he was trying to figure out who this guy was and just what was going on. 

The pics above are ones I took with my cell phone.  I ended up using the "official" picture below as the photo on our Christmas card this year, and I think it turned out really well. 

 

Christmas Monkey

My mom got Matthew this little monkey outfit, which reminds me so much of long underwear.  The monkey face on the butt is so adorable.  We are using the outfit as jammies, and this picture was taken of him before bed. 

Impromptu Photo Shoot

During this little photo session, I was trying to get one picture of Matthew to send to my mom.  I think I wanted to show her how tired he looked (see droopy eyelids in last picture).  Michael was holding him and Matthew was bouncing around all over the place.  Too cute.

Honest To Goodness Crawling

The end of the first week in December was when Matthew went from scooting on his belly and rocking back and forth on all fours, to actually crawling on all fours.  It seemed like it happened overnight!  He was pretty unsteady at first, and toppled over a few times, bonking his head on the floor (my heart stops every time), but now as I write this (Dec. 28th), he is quite a pro at balancing himself on his arms when he goes from crawling to sitting.  And now the big thing is standing.  He loves to pull himself up on everything (sofa, chairs, exersaucer, Mama and Papa's legs, etc.)  My mom thinks he will not do much more crawling but will go instead right to walking!  Not sure I am quite ready for that . . . but we shall see.  At any rate, I am almost positive he will be walking by his first birthday in April--maybe running!

Oh Christmas Tree

December 6th, we had a playdate at Sam's house. He had a real tree! Neither of the boys seemed too terribly interested in it, however, even though it had lots of exciting things hanging off of it~just right for grabbing. They were much more drawn to all of Sam's toys, especially the ones with flashing lights and sounds. Eileen and I laughed because both boys knew which toys were theirs, and would immediately reach for whatever it was that the other one had in his hands. Guess they are still a bit young for real sharing. :)

Later we walked to a fun toy shop in Multnomah Village, and then had hot drinks and pastries at a local coffee shop. It was the perfect end to a chilly afternoon stroll.

Random Cute Pics

Playdate With Sam

In late November, (has it really already been that long?), Sam & Eileen came over for a playdate. The boys had fun "sharing" the exersaucer, while Eileen and I chatted. Matthew had just turned 7 months old and Sam was almost 11 months old. What a big guy Sam is now. He was almost walking, really, pulling himself up easily and holding on with one handfor balance. And he was an exoert crawller. Matthew was getting close to crawling, doing his "skydiver" impression with arms and legs lifted.  So glad these two can be buddies.

Sweets

"Sweets" is another name I have for Matthew . .. and looking at these pictures, I'm sure you can tell why.

I Can Feed Myself!

Sort of.  :)  I think some food did make it into his mouth, but he had the most fun exploring the spoon~that fun new toy Mom gave him. He gets the best look on his face when I give him something he is really interested in: it's a very intent, pleased look that just melts my heart. Love these feeding spoons made by Dandelion. They are made from corn, are sized just right for him to handle himself and have a cute little dandelion puff on the handle. :)

Seven Months!

 . . . and chewing everything, much to Mom's chagrin. It's so funny how the toys he likes best are the non~organic plastic ones that I am sure are chock full of chemicals. But what can you do? Can't put the boy in a bubble . . . although often I wish I could. :)

This little guy is such a joy to me. I cannot imagine my life without him. At seven months he is "talking" a lot. He doesn't babble consonants yet (despite my encouraging words: "Say ma, ma, ma, maaaamaaaa.") Instead he bellows, "Ahhhhhhh," and "Ohhhhh." He loves experimenting with volume~the louder the better.

He is still breastfeeding full-time (about every 2 hours) but has begun tasting different foods. Banana is the favorite thus far, but he also seemes to enjoy pear. He is not yet a huge fan of either avocado or sweet potato but maybe that will come in time.

He LOVES his books (that's my boy!) with favorites right now being Maisy's Toybox, in which we hunt for Maisy's missing stuffed panda and Wemberley's Ice Cream Star, about a little mouse named Wemberley who receives an ice cream treat on a hot day and discovers how to share with her stuffed toy friend, Petal.  He also really loves a couple of books we have that feature photos of real baby faces.  He stares at them and talks to them.  We used to read to him on our backs, holding the books up for him to see the pictures, but now that he is crawling, we are on all fours reading and Matthew scoots himself closer and closer to the book.  It is adorable.  I will do all I can to continue to foster his love of reading!!

His sleep routine is not-so-great, as he continues to wake every couple hours during the night to feed.  That in itself is not such a bad thing because he falls asleep immediately after he nurses.  What is rough is getting him down at a decent (before 11PM) hour and keeping him asleep.  Lately he has been waking every half hour or so, which makes for a very frazzled mama.  Some nights I just give up and sleep with him on the floor of his room.  We used to co-sleep in our bed, but now that he is crawling, I am just too afraid he will fall off--and it is a long way to the floor.  Tonight I tried a different approach (a "No-Cry Method"), which seemed to work pretty well.  It took about an hour and fifteen minutes from start to finish, which is long, but I know will shorten with time.  He's been asleep about half an hour right now, so I am crossing my fingers . . . .

I love this little boy so much.  I cannot even put it into words how happy I am that he has come into our lives.  Even with all of the challenges (and believe me, there are challenges), I would not trade a single moment of this experience. 

Happy seven months, baby.

My First Shoes

Matthew got his first pair of shoes! Actually his very first pair were a pair of Nikes that he will need to grow into. One of our co~workers at Corbin has a wife who works for Nike, so . . . bonus for us! But these little Robeez monkey shoes are ones he can wear now and they sure are cute. They have little 3D ears~adorable.

Crawling!

These pics were from one to two weeks ago when he was up on all fours and rocking back and forth. His little butt up in the air is one of the cutest things I have ever seen. :) Now he scoots on his tummy, kind of dragging himself with his elbows. I call him a baby sniper because he looks like one making his way through the tall grass on a recon mission. So funny.

Mmmm, Banana

Matthew was not at all interested in his little food pouch when we first tried giving it to him a couple of months ago. I tried again with it a few weeks ago and now he LOVES it. It goes everywhere of course, but it keeps him happy when he's hanging out with me in the kitchen. And isn't he just so cute in his dish towel bib? :)

Cheek To Cheek

Matthew loves being held and loves it when I hold him so his cheek is pressed to mine. So do I.

Happy 1st Halloween!

 Matthew also got to be a monkey for his first Halloween since Mom finished the hat the morning of tbe 31st. Only minimal blood, sweatand tears were involved. ;)

Papa was "The Man in the Beige Hat," since we didn't have a yellow one. Mama was just herselg this year . . . but was so happy it was her first year as a real mama. :) We went to 3 housesin our neighborhood and received 3 mini candy bars: Three Musketeers, Hershey's milk chocolate and a mini bag of plain M & Ms. Not bad, baby, not bad.

How Old Is This Kid, Anyway?

Okay, friends, help me out here.  I am stumped as to Matthew's actual age.  I've been going by the number of weeks since his birth and figuring four weeks equals one month.  When I took him in for his six-month checkup on October 22 (by my count he had just passed the 26-week mark, making him six months and two weeks old), they had him at six months and two days.  They are counting each monthly milestone as the 20th of every month, since his birthday is April 20.

Does that make any sense at all?  Should I count by the number of weeks old, or by the 20th of every month?  If we're counting by weeks, then our little guy just turned seven months old last Friday (28 weeks).

Thanks for your input!

--Pumpkin Noodle's Mama

Mama's Little Linebacker

We had some pictures taken of Matthew last month for his six-month milestone and in this one, he is wearing the football hat that our friend Amy crocheted.  We are U of O fans (Go, Ducks!) and so he is wearing his green shirt . . . our little Duck. 

Michael and I both thought his expression in this picture is priceless--he looks determined!  It quickly became Michael's favorite picture of Matthew and currently holds the place of honor in front of his computer at work.

This is also the hat that Matthew wore to the Halloween party we went to last week.  Instead of the green shirt, he wore an "All American Boy" sweatshirt and his little Levi's.  Needless to say, he was a big hit at the party. 

Go, Ducks!! (Third in the nation as of this past weekend).

Playtime Pics

I took some pictures of Matthew today in his exersaucer as he checked out the toys.  One of the things I love most about his development right now is how carefully he explores things.  He'll take the time to gently move a toy back and forth with his fingers while he stares at it, all but furrowing his brow in concentration.  I love that.  He reminds me of Michael at these times and makes me wonder if he will be like his papa . . . interested in how things fit together, in how they work, in how they can work better. 

First Halloween Party!

Today we went to Matthew's very first Halloween party.  He was supposed to go as a monkey, but I crocheted his hat and it ended up being a bit too small, so he was a football player instead.  I'm going to give the hat another go and see if I can get it done by Halloween next week. 

The party was hosted by a co-worker and his wife.  We went last year too, when Matthew was newly growing inside me and was about the size of a grape.  Being there this afternoon made me thankful (yet again!) for how far we have come since that time last year and what a treasure we have in this little boy. 

Papa did the pumpkin carving while Matthew and I supervised.  We all had a pretty good time and Matthew was quite a hit with everyone.  He wore a little football hat that our friend Amy crocheted.  I'll post a pic of it soon.




Baby's First Pumpkin Carving



Pirate Pumpkin



6 Months!

Wow, has it really already been six months (six months!) since Matthew was born?  Unbelievable.  My life has changed so much since this little boy's arrival, that I scarcely remember what it was like before him.  I have tried a few times to blog (and am actually still working on his birth story), but I have been trying to say everything about him when I sit down to write, and since that is not possible (not enough hours in the day), I write nothing. 

I think my friend Carrie has been experiencing something similar . . . we both have young boys and we both have blogged in the past, but have been pretty quiet recently.  She just started a new blog and has inspired me to do the same.  She's aiming for posting at least one time a week and that sounds doable to me too, so I am going to borrow her idea--thanks, Carrie!  :)  Some blogging about Matthew is better than none at all.  And it will be a way for me to let friends and family know what is happening in our lives, because it is nearly impossible for me to keep up with everyone on a regular basis.  I am lucky if I get a shower some days!  :)

So with that, a few things about Matthew, aka Pumpkin Noodle.  That was my special name for him when he lived inside my womb and I still call him that now, or I call him a variation of that name: Noodle Boy or Noodley Noodle or just plain old Pumpkin.  The possibilities are endless!  It's funny because I think the first time I called him that out loud was just about a year ago, after I was in the car accident that caused such a scare.  I had started calling him Pumpkin Noodle when I talked to him in my head, but it was when I was in the ER with Michael and we were waiting to see him on the ultrasound to make sure he was okay after the accident that I called him that out loud. 

That scary time now seems like a world away.  Matthew is big now!  He was 15 pounds, 28 inches as of last Monday's six-month checkup.  Such a big kid!  He "talks" now quite a bit, babbling and cooing.  He LOVES books . . . his favorite right now is Mr. Brown Can Moo.  Can You? by Dr. Seuss.  He also loves the Little Pookie books by Sandra Boynton.  I sing to him all the time: "Itsy Bitsy Spider" is a favorite as is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"--and of course, "Old MacDonald."  He often sits in his high chair while I wash dishes or make dinner and I entertain him by singing.  We also listen to Pandora to a "Family Folk Radio" station. 

I'll try to add more bits and pieces about Matthew in future posts . . . I want to post about what we did today before I get behind and it doesn't happen.

Pumpkin Noodle's mama signing off for now . . .