M at 22 months!

M turned 22 months on Thanksgiving, so I wanted to post a "keepsake" update about him.
- He has suddenly become more affectionate and playful...more free with the kisses!
- He continues to do really well with his letters, numbers, colors, shapes, opposites, superlatives, following directions, etc.
- His favorite friend is Elmo.
- His favorite activity is helping daddy make hot tea.
- He has become more talkative and, although he doesn't say a ton of words, he does put them together well, such as "help dad hot tea." When he wants to tell you something and knows he can't (this usually involves food), he looks at you like he is hoping that he can speak through his eyes!
- He eats. A LOT. For ex, the other morning it was two Eggo waffles and a whole banana. He often asks for more even when I give him a full plate the first time.
- He has started attending Little Gym and loves it! When he finishes an activity with his teacher, he does a little happy dance.
- Sleep. Still not great.
- Skin. The dry weather has brought out the worst of his eczema...so I am trying a new product that I found at the pharmacy.
- Teeth. Has some in front and some in back...just waiting for those in-betweeners.
- He is doing fairly well at taking off his own shirt...needs help to get going.
- He just finished his first week with a Helping Chart (read "chores")...and he did a great job! His payment was 25 cents and a sucker. I paid in 2 dimes and a nickel so we could start teaching about tithing.
- He does little things that surprise me as a 1st time mama. For ex, he wanted something so I said I would get it when I was finished picking up the folded laundry. Rather than just waiting for me to finish or standing there whining, he actually helped me (on his own initiative) to put the clothes in the basket.

I was pretty amazed when he could "read" words like Bob and Wow, but the other day I tried spelling some words for him verbally, and he was able to say the word. So I tried to recreate on video:


Because many of M's photos show his more serious side, I thought I'd share his goofy side:

TSA and In Control

I'm not saying that TSA is in control...just that I'm sticking two topics in one post.

My recent conversation with a TSA employee:
TSA: That you baby?
ME: Yes, he is.
TSA: You give birth to him?
ME: No, he was born in Taiwan.
TSA: Oh, so you are like his foster mom or you adopted him?
ME: Yes, he was adopted.
TSA: You got a....a...significant other?
ME: Yes, I am married.
TSA: You want any kids of your own?
ME: Well, we consider him our own...but if you mean biological children, whatever God has planned is fine.
TSA: Well, God bless you!!!
He already has!


IN CONTROL...not...
Ok, I'm guessing that most people have some sort of "thing" they do when they are in the midst of a not-so-fun situation in which they have no control.

For some it may be organizing closets. For others it may be retail therapy.

For me...it's cutting my hair.

Or maybe I should say "chopping"...yes, chopping-maiming-annihilating is a much more accurate description. I guess that when I am in crisis mode, hair chopping is my signature "thing." Which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing IF I went to a professional...or had some kind of scissor-wielding certificate of achievement myself.

But, alas, I now have a messy, uneven, *coughcough* inches shorter hairdo that I will complain about until it grows out to my standard shoulder length. BTW, I tend to fall on the sassy side when I have short hair...so no telling the direction my posts will take for awhile!

OTHER STUFF
Matthew is pretty much as cute as can be. We are working on one nap/day...which seems to be going OK. Would be better if he could sleep for longer than an 50 mins-1 hour for his one nap, but that may take time. He loves dancing and has added the side-to-side sway to his list of groovin' moves. He's become pretty picky with eating and will shudder and cry at the thought of putting something in his mouth (even if he loved it the day before)...but if I say "5 more bites" then he quickly just shoves them in his mouth, no problem. He is still growing like a weed. Pants that fit him in May are high-waters now.

I recently had a biopsy at my gynocologist's. It was an endo-someotherletters-opsy. I wasn't too worried going into the appointment. Afterall, my gyno is Dr. Touchless. I think the first rule of thumb for any procedure ending in "opsy" should be "keep all 20 inch clawed metal instruments out of patient's view." Seems reasonable. The procedure wasn't horrible (yes, yes, it really was), but for some reason in gyno-related situations I suddenly morph into Jerry Seinfield's sister and run comic relief commentary the entire time. I actually think the whole thing could have been over in mere moments if the doctor had not been laughing so hard. What was I thinking??? BTW, the results were fine.

Funny...not sure if I already posted this...but I told Scott I was craving steak one night. So what did we do? Steak tacos from Taco Bell. Classy, huh? Should have paired them with a nice box o' wine. And the really funny thing is we searched the Taco Bell website so we could make sure they even had such a thing before we ran for the border. Gimme an L, gimme an O, gimme an S.......

Photo courtesy of my precious friend, Kari:

edited2add: ok, of course right after i post about M doing fairly well with the new sleep schedule, it falls apart. he has been sleeping til almost 8:30 every morning which is how we've been able to make it until noonish for his one nap. he sleeps for about 50 mins, then he's up til bed at 7:00p. he had a restless night last night and was up before 7:00a this morning...making it highly unlikely that he'll be able to make it until his noon nap without a huge throw down. so....do you keep on the same schedule OR put him down earlier thus having to either put him down again for a 2nd nap or to move up his bedtime tonight? i really want to get him on one nap a day if possible.

Odd but true

Here are three funny things about Matthew:
1. When he drinks millk with a straw it often comes out his nose.
2. On regular occurrence, he wakes up in the morning with a hole in his sock...and his big toe sticking out!
3. When he gets a new ball, he cannot stop smiling!

Our little is getting big!

My how you've grown! The photos of "little" Matthew were taken last fall (September, I think) at one of our favorite restaurants. The photos of "big" Matthew were taken last weekend at the same restaurant. Next thing I know, he'll be asking for the keys to the car!

Nice shot...

Background: Scott volunteers at Noon Day Ministries and some of the lovely ladies bought Matthew baby gifts. We decided to visit last Tuesday to thank them in person.

The Agenda: To arrive at Noon Day by 11:45am.

The Logistics: In the left hand: Matthew, diaper bag, a bunch of papers to mail, and a super cute little embroidered purse I bought in Taiwan. In the right hand: car keys and the door knob as we were on our way out.

The Incident: As my hand turned the door knob to the garage, I heard a sound and looked to see Matthew spit up. I checked my papers...WHEW! Clean! I checked the floor....Clean! Great...the bib got it all!

The Twist in the Plot: While driving my cell phone rang (the town we live in isn't hands-free yet, so I was legal to answer). I grabbed it out of the front pocket of my purse, stuck it up to my ear, and....GROSS! What is in my hair??? Why is my ear all wet???? Yes, with the precision of a heat-seeking missile, the spit up had catapulted out of Matthew's mouth, past the diaper bag, past the papers, and into the tiny front pocket of my purse ending up all over my cell phone.

The Response: Mama: queasy. Daddy: proud that his son had such great aim!