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).