Growing up is not so tough.

Kylers Birthday!

2012-02-10T15:05:00.000-08:00

Kyler and Matey eating some CAKE!

Matey helped me make the cake and frosting, he loved being able to finally eat it!

Neither J nor Mommy thought of taking a picture of the cake before it got cut... Thank you to UncleBrent who made the Lightening McQueen stencil for us.

Kylers birthday was a lot of fun and Matey is now eagerly awaiting his birthday so that he can have more cake. No really- he mentions it at least 5 times a week. It was a chocolate cake with thick chocolate pudding for between cake layers with a simple vanilla buttercream frosting.

As I said, UncleBrent made us the stencil and I had found some edible spray paint and I think it turned out really well. I didn't get any of the cake (chocolate) but the boys loved it and that's all that matters.

Kyler and Matey horsing around on the couch.

Stealing the spotlight.

Such a cute little red eyed demon boy!

Picture of Matey taken by Kyler

Picture of Kyler taken by Matey.

I was reminded that I had been remiss on upkeeping the blog- please feel free to shout at me if it happens again. I have pictures and we do fun things, I just forget sometimes that other people care.

We love you all and will for sure be updating on or around Valentines Day.

Hands On Children's Museum (Oly)

2012-01-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

Kyler and Matey! On the way to the Museum.

Adjusting his microphone.

Pointing out the Mommy and baby deer.

In the tree house!

Looking at animal x-rays.

In the ticket booth, with a great little smile.

He is very comfortable turning handles/wheels. Even if they are pointless.

Matey did not need the tool belt, the tool belt did not fit, but yet the silly Mommy insisted on a picture.

Painting the house (the goggles were his idea).

Screwing the house.

Determining if I pulled the strap tight enough to comfortable fit on his head.

He played in these rocks, shoveling them into the back of the truck and wheelbarrows, for at least 10 min.

Driving the dump truck.

Pushing on the giant Pin Art wall.

Pushing back and forth with Kyler to see who can do it faster.

Playing in the water.

Hanging out in a cave at the sea shore.

Very dissapointed because I made the mistake of telling him he could go "in" the light house, and he took that to mean he'd be able to "reach/play with the light" in the the light house.

He knew right what to do here! Practicing his egg collecting skills for the next time we go see Cathy!

I thought it was adorable that Matey knew he needed to turn on the water first before the hose would work. He did not however pretend to turn the water off when he was done.

Watering the vegetables.

"Eating" a hamburger.

Driving an ambulance.

Playing with trains.

All done and not co-operating with the Mommy as we drive home.

It was a LOT of fun. We went with our roommates and had a BLAST! It was over 2 hours of too many small children and boredom for parents but that's not what it was about. They are currently in the process of building a bigger Children's Museum and I fully agree that they should.

I'm not sure if we're going to be able to go again before the new one is up and running but we will definitely be back, and call ahead to see when it's less crowded so that the grown-ups can play with the kids and sneak some educational-ness in there. A couple times I wanted to point out the science or engineering behind something but couldn't because of noise or other small children.

Also some places were too crowded for Matey to feel comfortable going in so we passed them all together. In any event when we go back my roommate and I decided we would definitely bring something to keep us entertained because if it had been up to the boys we would have been there for several more hours...

SEXY BOOTS!

2012-01-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

What more needs to be said?

New Hair (mommy) and Matey Playing

2012-01-06T08:48:00.000-08:00

New Hair, shorter and styled.

Playing his Cat in the Hat game from thePirate. Matey LOVES this game.

His little body can squeeze under fairly easily, but if it's Mommy or Grammy it's a challenge.

He did it! *yay*

We've been having fun playing with all the great toys he got for Christmas. Thanks again!

Christmas!

2011-12-26T14:12:00.000-08:00

Christmas.

Matey's stocking.

You still have to make your bed on Christmas morning!

This one is for him, he's almost sure of it.

Ahh, booty.

I asked him to open his EYES wide... well... they're open too I guess.

Fruit snacks?! Thanks Grammy!

Cookie monster counting?! Thanks auntBeki!

Wood Animal Puzzles!

Cars stuff?! Thanks Grammy!

Toy Story puzzles!

And another one!

Thomas!

A number train puzzle!

Another nother Toy Story puzzle!

An airplane with nuts and bolts and a power screwdriver!

An airplane board game!

An animal train puzzle?! Thanks hteB!

(I know it's an 'alphabet' train but just try getting Matey to agree to that...)

Race cars with traks!

Matey got so many cool presents and had so much candy and fun food that it was a little bit like Berenstains Bears: Too Much Birthday. But we all survived and he loves all the presents.

Thank you to everyone who helped make Matey's 3rd Christmas a happy time!

Presents from Daddy!

2011-12-26T10:01:00.000-08:00

Matey was very confused about saying 'thank you' to thePirate because thePirate was not there and in the second one especially you can see him looking around for his daddy. He got a little upset that I kept telling him to say 'thanks' to a person who clearly was absent. Then he started to pick his nose...

The pirate ship from thePirate required some assembly...

... or maybe...

LOTS of assembly...

Finished! Grammy did a great job putting it together and uncleBrent helped with the rigging!

It was by far Matey's favorite toy of the day.

So you win this time thePirate- but no worries, next time he'll like my gift more.

(no i don't really feel compelled to compete for who gets Matey the "best" present. i'm happy that my boy got so much awesome stuff from lots of people who love him and i think it's great that he and his daddy have so much in common. i know thePirate is going to be itching to visit just so he can get a crack with Mateys new ship.)

See I deliver eventually.

2011-09-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

There was only one picture on my camera... I should take more...

Hey!

2011-09-20T09:47:00.001-07:00

So, I know it's been an unforgivably long time since I last updated but good news:

I found my camera!

Horray!

I'll upload the pictures off of it tonight and get on top of taking more.

Mommy and Matey

2011-09-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

He's got me pinned!

Precious and holding still.

A bug! A bug!

Giving Mommy a kiss.

"yeah right" - totally the the look on his face.

Matey and the Mommy

I think this is my favorite picture of me.

Getting the giggles.

Looking at the water, it's what important.

This is my favorite one of both of us.

thePirates blood runs deep, Matey was looking for fish in the pond.

He's coming to get you.

Get up Mummy.

WWE? MMA? UFC? In any event it was a solid choke hold.

We had our pictures taken and these are just a few. Let me know if people want copies of all of them and I'll shoot you an e-mail. We had a lot of fun and even now when he sees these Matey will go on about the train tracks and the nice lady who took our pictures.

Matey and thePirate

2011-08-30T08:50:00.000-07:00

thePirate and Grandma came through on their way to Texas and stopped by for a visit!

And Matey got to see his snake again!

But MORE importantly, Matey got to see thePirate and have lots of silly goofy fun with him.

thePirates earring.

Oh dad! Who wants to pose for pictures? It's just Mom being silly... lets go play!

Matey had lots of fun playing with thePirate, reading to Grandma and Daddy, and showing off all his latest and greatest skills (i.e. somersaults). He was Very sad to see them go and can't wait until the next opportunity to hang out with them.

Pictures by Matey

2011-08-16T12:22:00.000-07:00

Trash can.

Uncle Brent.

Television. Watching about whales on "Nature".

Electronic set up.

Mommy typing on computer.

Mommy's butt and magnet board.

Outside chalk area.

Vacuum.

Mommy sweeping.

One of the few magnets allowed on the fridge.

Just keep swimming

2011-08-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

His new favorite game: while eating toast with peanut butter, or in this case cream cheese, eat it in a way that will spread the maximum amount of topping on your upper lip then pretend to sneeze until Mommy looks up, sighs, and wipes your face off.

I'm sure he was explaining something very interesting.

Eating his grilled cheese and playing with his tomato soup.

Things are going well. Recently he's been nursing before bed but totally ok with me leaving him in his own bed and falling asleep with out me. He does however need his dinosaurs, a baby brontosaurus and a big triceratops (both plushies). And last night when he woke up the first time freaking out I was able to get him to fall back asleep without the aid of nursing so maybe we really will be able to stop that before he's 5.

He just ran up to me saying "finger nail, finger nail" and bringing me the nail polish. I told him not right now and he pretended to cry and say "paint, paint" and then ran off to Grammy who doesn't care if hes a girly boy.

The cute... boy(?)

2011-08-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

"What's with that face?" You're wondering? I had just asked him to smile...

I bet most pirates have gotten their foot stuck in the handle of their sword. Wait- what's that on his toes? Is that nail polish?

And it's on his fingers too! Who did this to the poor baby? Grammy.

Worst part is that he got ALL excited and then wanted to paint mine, then buff the nails, then push back the cuticles and everything else that goes into a full manicure which is what Grammy had apparently done to him.

I think he looks too cute. And a bit like thePirate.

It's crazy how big he is.

2011-08-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

I love it when he laughs.

Hiding in the warm folded laundry.

Coloring with chalk.

We're still here. Having fun. Helping out. The usual.

No lack of energy here.

2011-08-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

We had just tried to take a picture and Matey had done a scrunch face so Mommy was getting him and snapped this one.

Playing with Fire. Matey LOVES fire. I'm not actually sure how he knew that matches could produce fire, I thought he had only seen lighters work, but he built a little camp fire and then told me to light it. (I didn't).

He's going to be Very sad when he can't fit into suitcases anymore.

My Bubbles! Matey LOVES bubbles. The problem is that hes not the best at blowing them... we've got two different types of bubble guns and normal bubble wands but he's not consistent. He can't ever decide what he wants to do more: blow the bubbles or chase the bubbles.

Ahhh! Run away. Run away! The little pirate baby is coming to attack!

Throwing me off my groove

2011-08-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

Matey is a Big Boy now.

He doesn't NEED naps anymore.

Well... some days he might but don't count on it ok?

Cuz if you do you'll be SORRY!

The only positive is that when he doesn't take his naps he falls asleep that night in like 5-10 min. and I can get back up and do a few more things before its my bedtime.

But I wish he would still take his naps. Its been a VERY long time since I napped with him but I've found over this last week my body got some rest while he was down because now that he doesn't always take it I've been dragging.

Vacation is Awesome

2011-07-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

Looking at the bug larvae LittleUncleJon found while fishing.

Yes mom?

Matey is hard working farm hand driving tractors all over the place.

Lining up his toys, just like at home.

Snake! This was taken at Great Grandma's house but Matey was asleep and missed it.

He's not so sure about Fergus, and Fergus isn't so sure about him.

The most tame Irish wolfhound they had.

Matey wasn't able to pet the others, they were too jumpy.

We went to Robert and Cathy's and Great Grandma's and Pat and Carols. Matey loved each place but his Favorite was the Cows (Cathy's). I hope to be able to take him up there again soon, but for a longer visit.

Vacation is Fun

2011-07-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

Help! Help! We're stuck! There was an 8-10inch gap between the house door and the screen door and we got stuck! Oh no! Matey btw didn't think it was very funny.

Step, step, step...

... step, step, step, step. What's a vacation if you can't trudge through mud?

"Fishing" with LittleUncleJon. We stopped at McAllister on the way home from Great grandmas so Matey could stretch his legs. They sat on their butts for 15 min "fishing" but when we put the boy back in the car he was as happy as could be (we kept the stick/fishing pole).

SO Big! It was very nervous to have him up there by himself but I wanted the shot. He's about 12 ft off the ground and LOVED it. We had been in the barn multiple times and he thought the hay bales were interesting but when I told him he could climb them his face just lit up. I had to threaten him with a time out for him to come back down on his own (for a second I really thought I was going to have to go get him).

This was not very tall at all- like 4ft high at the center- but after I let him climb the hay he wanted to climb everything. After I took the picture he told me to climb up too and held out his hand to help me when I got close to him. He is the sweetest boy.

Vacation is Chickens

2011-07-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

While the cows could wander places we couldn't see, the chickens were always available to chase.

This is as close as Matey ever got to touching one (that I know of).

LittleUncleJon took this picture so that's why its blurry. Matey in the hen house.

Putting out some feed for the chickens (they also got kitchen scraps).

They would RUN past him when he opened the door in the morning and it was very hard to get a picture.

Shhhh... He's hunting ~~wabbits~~ chickens.

He woke up the earliest so we would go and feed the chickens and let them out while people woke up and got ready to do the cows. And we would also visit the chickens at some point during the day to see if anyone was willing to let him pet them yet.

Vacation is Cows

2011-07-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

"Mere tow! Mere! Moo tow, moo" *Come here cow! Come here! Moo cow, moo.

"Whoa tow, down. Down!" *Whoa cow, down. Down!

"Nye tow. Mere tow. Shoo fy. Shoo." *Nice cow. Come here cow. Shoo fly. Shoo. (there were flies all over the cow.)

"Tow Ma! Milk tow. Milk. Moo tow. Brn. Tow brn moo." *Cow Mom! Milk cow. Milk. Moo cow. Barn. Cow barn moo.

"Poo tow. Poo brn. Ma tow." *Cow Poop. Poop barn. Mom Cow.

*For those of you who don't speak Matey. Also its "tow" as in the first part of "tower" not as in "tow truck". And "here" is "her" and "come here" is "mere", its little nuances like that you pick up from living with him.

Every morning it was all about the cows. Nothing held a candle to them. Nothing. Not the dogs, horses, chickens or baby kittens. They were the coolest thing and milking them was the funnest thing. She (not the cow pictured, they only had one milk cow) got milked twice a day and he watched at least once a day. No fear, trying to get as close to the teats as possible (including constantly trying to go under the cow or between her back legs) so he could see how things worked.

Every time he could convince someone to take him to the barn he was happy right up until the cows weren't there (most days after milking the doors are opened and the cows go out to pasture and don't come back till called). But there was a huge hay bale pile that had holes in it he would look into and tell you about. He climbed it as well.

I don't know why or when or how come cows are so cool but its very obvious to Matey that they are.

Vacation is Happiness

2011-07-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

I'm sure Cathy thought Matey was one of the guests that brought Happiness by coming.

the BEST smile Ever!

What could be better than fresh strawberries that you helped Mommy pick? Maybe her not trying to get a picture while you're wanting to eat them...

Happiness... Apparently includes a Mom, Dad, and three kids! Hmmm... AuntValinda is winning this one, I only have two out of five. (it actually says in faded wording underneath: is family home evening)


Oh No! The car! It's EATING him! Help! Help!Grammy's car has a built in car seat that folds down and LittleUncleJon was making it eat the poor Matey.

Matey riding his Ho (not being crude, that's how he says "horse"). They had real horses that he got to see and pet and feed but the day we were supposed to ride one, Cathy had to help a lady have her baby and then we left the next day... (the lady we were visiting is a midwife, Mateys midwife in fact).

We left last Monday and got back Friday and took the weekend to rest. Now we're back in action and will be posting pictures of the Vacation all this week.

He had the BEST time up there. Absolutely loved it. There was a barn with cows, hay bales, tractors, kittens and assorted tools. A big back yard with a trampoline, fire pit, dogs and a few sheds to poke your head into. A chicken house with CHICKENS! A greenhouse with plants you're not allowed to touch. A front yard with rusty old machines, strawberry patch, wagon, rock pile and a tiny little creek/irrigation trickle of water to play in (it was less then 8 inches wide and 3 inches deep). What 2 year old boy wouldn't love it up there?

away for vacation

2011-07-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

We're headed to the beautiful part of the state for a few days of vacation.

I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post them as soon as we get back (Friday or Saturday).

Here it is: The Moment You've Been Waiting For

2011-07-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

How to get Matey to eat raisins/craisins: put them in an M & M dispenser.

Matey is a big boy now and refuses to drink from normal sippy cups like a baby so this is one of this new ones (it has a straw).

Matey and Grammy made cupcakes and this is one Matey did all by himself.

Curly little boy.

This is an awesome pop up tent I got for him at Winco. I like it more than he does, but hopefully he'll grow into it.

Its a bit blurry but I LOVE this picture of the boy wonder.

I know what you're thinking: were we playing peek-a-boo? No, I had just said "smile so I can take a picture of you".

Just so you all know: the curl in his is Natural. There was no gel or products on his hair when these were taken, one of the reasons his hair was so unruly was because it was growing in curly. SO while it looked straight by the roots was not. Grammy took him to get a hair cut at a Real barber shop for kids and he apparently loved it (I wasn't there). There was a Thomas the Train movie and chair and they gave him candy so he didn't even notice his hair was being cut.

It was a shock for me when I first saw it but it needed to be done. He reminds me much more of Leucas now when he was younger with the shorter hair and I can also see more of thePirate in him now.

pictures by Matey

2011-07-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

i think i'm going to have to post the videos to fb

2011-07-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

Explorer Matey crashing through the underbrush.

Look! A stroller! What an amazing discovery!

My precious boy.

Whoa dude! This was the first time I let him go off the path and into the belly of the forest. He loved it.

So we've been taking pictures of Matey here and with his newest haircut ... will be posting them soon, especially since how I can't upload video on Moms old slow computer.

All about food (from the apt).

2011-07-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

It was the morning after the first or second night in our new apt and I ask the boy what he wants for breakfast, he opens the fridge door and brings me this...

He's saying: Pizza


Just so you know, he had refused to eat this for dinner the night before so I didn't think he'd actually eat it. (see that puddle of liquid on the table? thats rat pee. i didn't realize it until two days later when i kept having to wipe up liquids that i knew hadnt been spilt.)

See how much of the pizza he actually ate? Quite a bit. Too bad I hadn't noticed until after the eggs were made. He ate most the banana i gave him and then grabbed the apple himself.

The first days in our "new" apt

2011-07-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

I've forgotten how to use blogger...

At our "new" apt we lived across the walk from our friend T, one day he happened to be coming home right as we did and smiled and waved then went inside. Then he popped his head out again, made a funny face at Matey and went back inside. This went on for a few more times with T saying 'boo' or making a face or waving while Matey laughed. Then T really was done and said goodbye to Matey and went into his house.

Matey waited outside his door, refusing to come in our house, for a good 5 min because he was SURE that T was going to play peek-a-boo with him one more time.


	This is Matey's new hair cut (but not really since he's had another one) compared to the pictures at the park with D.

He was being super cute and eating his breakfast with his feet! He would take a piece of egg, put it on his fork and then hold his fork with his toes only and eat it. But of course once he saw the camera he stopped...

Matey LOVES when I let my hair loose and don't straighten it because it is apparently HILARIOUS to get toys caught in the tangles.

He really enjoys helping, especially if tools are involved and putting the table in our "new" apt together was no exception.

what a little cutie!

Ahhh! Watch out- he's going to get you!

Matey loved the new place, it had stairs and he had his own room and we lived by some kids who would play with him and not completely ignore him... What a bummer those rats were.

hey look- we're back online!

2011-07-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

So these are from long ago when we lived in beautiful WA and didn't have an apt full of rats. Delilah had the day off and being his only friend who doesn't work he hung out with us for the day. He plays Frisbee golf (amateur) and Matey and another child loved practicing with him.

And no this isn't Matey climbing up the slide because he knows he's not supposed to.

Getting ready to throw the Frisbee.

This is the last time I got him on film with longer hair, I cut it shortly after these were taken (come back tomorrow) and then its been cut even more since then (later this week).

Matey discovered that while bright like candy, Frisbees don't make such an awesome treat.

Matey, Delilah, and the little girl who would run and retrieve the Frisbees.

That was a super fun day: there was someone else to help keep track/play with Matey (which he loved) and after the park Delilah treated us to lunch (which I loved).

Looking at these pictures makes me miss our amazing parks up/over there. They have parks here that kick-butt and we're going to one tomorrow but they aren't as green and pretty.

Anyhow I found my camera and will be posting the old pictures and then starting on new ones while we're here in northern UT for the summer.

It really is daylight.

2011-05-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

The light at the end of the tunnel- it's not a train it's daylight! So a few times this week he's nursed and then come off and rolled around and went to bed with me snuggling him, giving me hope that one day before he's 3 he'll stop with the nursing. Well last night was (i think) a big step towards that: He nursed for a min but not very well and then I was rocking him but he got restless with that and I got fed up and put him back on his bed and told him to "go to sleep"... and... He... DID!

Usually I do this at nap time and he may or may not cry for a bit and I come back in and put him down and he goes without anymore fuss but there was no crying last night and when I went to check on him a while later he had just fallen asleep! All alone! Yes he had had milks already and snuggles and he still woke up in the night looking for more BUT I'm taking anything I can get.

I think I should go away for a weekend- Mom says that works great. Maybe for my birthday...

He Is a snot. I made him noodles and hotdogs (a dish he likes) and what does he eat instead? An apple he snatched out of the fruit basket when I wasn't looking.

This outfit was a throw-together because nothing else was clean and it turned out to be super cutie and we're going to wear it more often.

Simply an angel.

Going up.

He made it! Yay!

Sleeping Ninja baby... don't tell thePirate.

This is our cheese... Matey takes after thePirate and thinks all cheeses are his for whenever he wants a snack. Keep your eyes on him while he's "helping" you cook.

Why get your hands dirty? Just eat like a dog out of the pan!

He's a dirty, scrubby baby

2011-05-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

The Super Cute Boy

2011-05-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

This was taken on Mothers Day by Matey.

The park we go to most often has a wobbly bridge and it's one of Matey's favorite toys to play on.

Ain't he precious?

Posing all cute on the rock for me.

Eating crackers.

More crackers.

Hey look- A Stick!

If you don't stop taking pictures of me woman I'll keep my face like this forever!

He did not want to go in or stay in this little teepee thing but I made him anyway.

We're having lots of fun and think that you should come have fun with us too!

Photos from Mothers Day

2011-05-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

For Mothers Day Matey and AnWanna made me breakfast.

I'm pretty sure that they didn't really pull it out of the trash.

What does that clock say? 8:10? What a good boy for him to wake up later in the day? WRONG. He woke up at 6ish and AnWanna slept until 8 and then I got breakfast.

Putting it in.

Pushing buttons.

Is it done?

I think so- It's nice and hot.

A yummy breakfast of eggs, potato, and turkey sausage with raspberry lemonade juice and a bouquet of basil (plus a toy Matey thought should go on the plate too).

Oh yes, and a Balloon.

Aww isn't he so cute to snuggle with Mommy on Mothers Day?

... showing me all the stuff they did...

... eating my food... hey wait! What?

No really. I got like 2 or 3 bites of the breakfast. But I can't really complain that he was actually eating something. Besides he did all that hard work to make it had to replenish his energy.

It was a wonderful Mothers Day and Thanks to everyone who helped make it special.

Happy Mothers Day!

2011-05-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day!

For his Grammy and Grandma we made pictures for Mothers Day.

They're still in our house...

So we'll work hard on sending them out ASAP but as proof as they were done for mothers day here are pictures of the pictures.

This one was the model for Grammy's picture.

This was the model for Grandma's picture.

And here is Grammy's picture.

And here is Grandma's picture.

(Grandma's picture is WAY cuter but don't tell Grammy).

Happy Mothers Day!

Adventuring out of our bubble

2011-05-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

I've been a little leery to venture out much. We go to two parks that are in walking distance, the mall, grocery shopping, ect. but not really seeing much of the city(ies) that we now live in.

One of the reasons is that I don't know the area well myself and getting lost with Matey does not sound like fun. We have several friends who are from the area and know it well but they are all boys and not the best with children.

Our friend T is alright with kids and last Sunday was too beautiful to be indoors so we went to a nearby park. It was super nice, there was water and a walking trail and Matey LOVED it.

This is one of the ships in the play area, if you look closely you can see his head through a window.

Peeping out the window.

Steering the ship.

What are you doing up there?

Come on guys!

He's got himself a fishing pole.

Testing the balance...

Yup, this seems good. Let's go back to the water.

It was a great day to go and we all had a lot of fun (Matey prolly had the most though). Now that I know it's worth the trip I'm going to look into how to take a bus there so Matey and I can go whenever we choose.

Ducks make bread look good.

2011-05-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but Matey will ONLY eat bread if the ducks are eating it.

I give him sandwiches and he'll sometimes take a bite of the bread but usually just eats/licks off the insides.

However when we go out to feed the ducks he holds a piece of bread and I hold a piece of bread and if his bread lasts the walk to the pond it's at least half eaten. Even if we don't take bread but other people are there with bread- he'll pick up bread pieces off the ground and eat them or mooch bread off the people and just sit and eat it while he watches them feed the ducks.

When we went camping we had 'smores every night. Matey doesn't care for marshmallows and while there's chocolate available who needs graham crackers? Yesterday I gave him a chocolate cookie and he happily took it and wandered off.

Later I went into the kitchen and found that our roommate had left her cookies within Matey reach and he had make a cookie sandwich- one of her cookies, the chocolate cookie, and another of her cookies.

I swear he's the goofiest kid in the world.

Cutting Room Floor

2011-05-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

Another picture Matey took in Abuelo's car.

The following three pictures take place the morning of April 18th as I was making sure we had everything packed for the flight we were taking later that same day.

Had it not of been the day before his second birthday I just might have killed him, but how sad of a headstone would it have been reading that he died just one day before he turned 2?

The day we left Vegas to go camping we got up, ate breakfast, packed and was going to eat lunch from fast food in the car on our way to keep people happy for at least a little while. No one asked Matey about this arrangement and literally 10min before we loaded the people into the car he decided to forage for food.

Will the little snot face eat apple peel at home? Why no. He won't.

But as you can see he happily at it here in the car in Vegas. I told him that I was going to make him eat the peel at home now too and he was unconcerned.

Favorite picture I took of the fire.

When we were getting various camping equipment at the store they had these things that changed the color of the flame. Or so they claimed... on the right side of the photo you can see that it's more purple/blue/red. I think part of our issue was it said not to cook over the colored flame so we waited until the cooking was done and by then the fire was lower.

Don't fall.

This is Matey in Time Out. Don't remember why (he was in timeout several times while camping).

Hermits Rest was made in 1987! Ok, so what this plaque is really saying is something like this is when the park officially did something with/at/to Hermits Rest... or something.

Look: 1987!

Matey was SO cute in my hooded shirt.

He got tired of just eating them.

No, not 'jazz hands'- he's saying "no, no, no" and using his hands for emphasis.

So our friend made us sick... rethinking of we should keep them as our friend... just me not the Matey boy.

It's not Bad but certainly annoying. Hopefully its worse for me because its trying to pass through my system faster, so like instead of being a weak cold for a week like it was for them it'll be a moderate cold for only 4 or 5 days. Or 3 days and tomorrow I'll be all better. Yeah I like the sound of that...

Las Vegas

2011-05-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

First thing he does when we get back from the GC? Play outside in the dirt.

The alligator is getting marshmallow

Playing with the dump truck.

I'll give Las Vegas this: It does do good things for my hair.

The morning we leave for PDX he just had to get dusty again.

Lining up all the cars. (ANYTHING with wheels is a car)

Buckling his seat belt for the plane.

Sitting like a good boy. This is the best face he would give me.

Matey and Mommy

2011-04-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hot (temperature wise, not physical attractiveness) in Las Vegas

On the train to the GC (day1)

GC day 1, ice cream on his face.

Shhh... we're sleeping in the tent...

Playing with his cars in dirt.

Eating a strawberry for breakfast.

Bruised and bloodied for breakfast (ok its really soot, dirt and strawberry bits).

At the campsite.

I look pretty cute and that's all that matters right?

GC day 2.

Having fun at a bus stop.

On a bus.

I call this: wild hair. You get it by taking a shower in the morning and then walking around the GC all day long.

This is Hermits Rest. Me, V and auntBeki are going to walk from Yaki point all the way over here to Hermits Rest. (from the eastern side of the park to the western)

At the camp, playing in a dust/sand area he found.

Other People

2011-04-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

Unlike most of the pictures I've posted suggest, we did in fact not go to the GC alone but with AuntVdonn and her wonderful Family. Why haven't I posted more pictures of them then? Well I'm apparently a little self centered and did not take very many pictures including them and even less that are just them. Sorry.

Fred and George watering the tree with Matey.

Hey look- Fred's driving!

She looks super comfortable in that seat too.

Elcid, V, George and one of the only pictures of Jr. I could find on my camera.

George sat in front of us on the train and was the most in love with Matey (mostly because she could boss him and he would usually listen, he would listen to the other girls too but with George being the youngest she thought it was coolest) so I have the most pictures/half pictures of her.

This is a bad picture of the squirrel but includes Elcid so we're adding it.

I don't know if he ever noticed, but on the train home there was a guy and his son in front of George who had an iPad and she sat like this for a long while.

Fred and Matey boy.

Elcid and V packing up the tent.

... sorry... I have more pictures that include the other people but they're all just pictures of Matey with other people in the way sort of thing. Next time I'll take more purposeful pictures of other people, especially when they're so nice to bring us along with them.

Come back tomorrow for pictures of: Matey and Mommy.

Grand Canyon Day 2

2011-04-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

Not a fabulous picture of either of us but Day 2 at the GC was all about the buses. Matey had *mostly* great fun on them and was always sad when they filled up before our turn and we had to wait for the next one.

When you go to the east and west side of the southern rim, which is where we were the second day, and stay out of the main/middle area of the southern rim, where we were the first day, there's more off roading you can do. Matey LOVED the climbing/hiking a lot and I can't wait to take him somewhere we can hike for reals.

Hey look- Real trees!

Climbing.

Taking control of the leash so the Mommy can't hold him back anymore.

And of course: playing in dirt. So you see this outfit? The very boy top and the girl capri's I rolled up so they look more like shorts? NO ONE called him a girl in this outfit. Which is great, but after the first day when literally half the people thought he was a girl I just find it odd that when he's in real girl clothing no one called him a girl.

This is a picture of my cave. You can't really see it, I did a bad job. V has a better shot so hopefully she'll eventually update.

Matey and the shrubby trees that were all over.

I call this: Dead Baby. It's what he does when he doesn't want to do what you said. There's no hissy fit or kicking of feet and pounding of fists. Just a limp dead baby lying on the ground getting you mean looks from people walking past.

Look! Another little cave! I wanna go exploring.

This is the same cave from the first cave picture but you can see it a little better with how the sun is shadowing it.

It really was pretty in places. Not all of it was amazing for me but certain areas did take my breath away.

This is the little river what made the GC (if I understood what people were saying). I think it's the Colorado (?) river.

I don't see why people are so scared of falling, there's debris like this tree all over the side of the cliff just waiting to catch you in case you slip...

He was on my back a lot of the second day. It killed my legs but I didn't know it until the next morning.

It was exhausting even though he didn't walk everywhere and fell asleep on the bus on the way back to the car. (Side note: he's not nursing or anything that's just how he crashed.)

So yeah, both days were fun but I liked the second day better I think.

Come back tomorrow for: Pictures of Other People.

Pictures by Matey

2011-04-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

At V's house before we left for our trip. Picture includes: George, Marshmallow, and V

V and marshmallow

The train seat in front of us.

Taken from the train, of a Grand Canyon parking lot.

The red car from the above picture.

A pile of pine needles that the girls collected to toss on to the fire when grownups weren't looking.

The railroad tie that was the boundary line for our camp area.

There was an outdoor sink area for people to wash dishes, you can see the floor, the side wall (it went up to counter height) and his finger.

A jumble of Mommy and Matey body parts, taken at the sink area, he's sitting on the counter while I wash dishes in the outside sink.

Rock with moss at GC.

Picture of dirt at GC.

Another rock, this one he climbed.

Extreme close up of a rock in the sunlight. ... not his best work...

Picture of Abuela (she came with Abeulo to pick us up at the airport).

The roof of Abuelo's van.

He took more but these were the ones that had the least amount of fingers.

Come back tomorrow for pictures of: The Grand Canyon Day 2.

Grand Canyon Day 1

2011-04-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

Before the train was a little western skit with cowboys and horses. Matey Loved the horses so after the show we went down and got a picture with one of the actors and his ride. If you pay attention Matey is leaning towards the bridal and as you can't see he managed to grab the bridal and spook the horse a little bit and it lipped at him (you know how horses will sometimes lip-bite you as a warning?) and then the cowboy had to back it up and calm it down.

Aside from the horses what was Matey's favorite part? Shaking the chain that keeps people from walking onto the tracks.

On the train! And just so you know: It's a two (2) hour train ride, V will keep this information from you so I'm letting you in on the secret.

On the train again and the window is MUCH more exciting than the camera.

Eating lunch at the Grand Canyon by the train tracks.

Running away from the Mommy and falling into some cacti but he's a quick learner and didn't do it again.

Playing in dirt. See this outfit he has on? Plaidish shirt and green pants. At least half of the people who said he was cute called him a girl in this outfit. People are dumb/blind.

Figured I should let you know what we were looking at.

Running away from Mommy was his favorite game all morning, this time he ran and sat in a chair in front of some cabins.

Hooray for AuntVdonn! There was a leash at the gift shop and she got it for us.

Yummy ice cream.

Squirrel! There were lots of signs that said not to feed the wildlife but it was obvious people were not paying attention to them because the squirrels at least were Very friendly.

Matey and Mommy.

I know the shot is blurry but I still like it.

If you also enjoy playing in dirt like Matey does he would highly recommend visiting the Grand Canyon. They have LOTS of dirt and best of all: no one else was playing in it! He got it all to himself.

This is a class of second graders on a field trip that Matey sat with for a while. At first I tried to get him to come away but was informed by several of the female students that he was really ok to sit with them and it was alright. I decided that if the adults weren't complaining I wouldn't pull him away.

there were several stumps that had the insides rotted a little and he kept hopping in and sitting in them for 2 seconds and then getting back out. This is the best picture of it I got.

There was a rock missing and Mateys little butt fit right in it.

Playing with a dandelion head.

There were kids climbing trees and Matey climbed it too! He got into higher places than this but I didn't want to let him go to take the picture.

On the train ride home the cowboys from earlier came through and robbed us. It was pretty cute and had Matey not been sleeping and woken up by the robbery I might have let them "rob" him too. However you can tell from his face how excited he was being woken up.

The first day was pretty cool it was all by the same area, for those of you who have been there where the majority of the giftshops and restaurants and lots of stuff all together. We had lots of fun but I liked the second day better.

Come back tomorrow for: Pictures by Matey.

Camping

2011-04-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

This is packing in Las Vegas.

All packed and ready to go, go, go, go!

Setting up camp (without tent instructions!)

Look- It's Matey sized!

Cooking with the easy bake oven. It was a little scary for the fact that on the picnic table it was face height and I was cooking bacon, so every time it spat I flinched.

Yay for a tent!

It's like one of the best things ever!

Ohhh... Fire...

Our first campfire.

Drinking Hot Cocoa with a Spoon.

The showers at the campsite.

Playing in the dirt.

Roasting mallows.

Mommy's marshmallow. Aint it purdy?

Playing in different dirt.

In the tent with a cute boy.

Packing up for ~~home~~ Las Vegas.

Look at me helping.

All packed and ready to go.

Matey LOVED camping. It took him no time at all to realize that when he woke up in the morning all he had to do was get someone to unzip the tent and he would be Outside! Now if only that lazy Mommy would get up with him and the sun at 6:50 and get the tent flap out of his way he would be more than happy to leave her alone.

For the most part the other campers were cool (dumb people from California kept going WAY fast and in the wrong direction), we were literally right next door to the bathrooms/showers and it wasn't a packed camp so there was never a line.

We had a super good time and now I know that Matey really will be fine on more camping trips. Although if we were to go without the girls he'd need to be tied to a tree or something to keep him from exploring (it was really nice to just say: hey Fred/George/Jr make sure Matey doesn't walk off).

I can't wait to get another camping trip put together, maybe sometime this summer...

It was his birthday shout "Hooray!"

2011-04-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

He woke up early and ate breakfast and played a game with George (that's what the mask is from).

Then they played out in V's sand box.

Then out in the dust/dirt/gravel.

and then in more dirt/dust/rocks.

And for lunch he's had chicken nuggets and french fries.

And a Lollipop treat.

and if you can make it out: he got an indian shooting a bow on his birthday.

He was a happy lovey baby and had a great time.

We went to the camp site/the Grand Canyon on his birthday and I wanted to do a travel post as well so this is a little short/unexciting. But tomorrow there is more- so come back.

Near The Edge

2011-04-23T17:41:00.000-07:00

I just got to say Grand Canyon- this dude looks like he's having fun.

(This is the official Grand Canyon logo for falling off and was posted everywhere) If I had been in charge they would be horizontal or upside down, not looking like he's doing a cannon ball. They should have got the guy who did the 'danger zone' picture.

This guy is obviously NOT having fun and when I do go into the actual Canyon I'll make sure to avoid the Danger Zone. (This is another official Grand Canyon logo/picture).

For all you scardey cats: I was using caution. And Matey was loving it.

See my new Facebook profile picture for what I think is a better picture of this pose.

See- I took the baby off for this one.

This is where I was standing/sitting so people could see that there was not a handy ledge 10 feet down in case I fell. I was going to take a picture straight down but when I leaned over for it I felt a little vertigo and settled for this one instead.

This shot was to show that it really was at the Grand Canyon.

Oh please- He's on a leash and V is right there...

See he'd have to push her off first and I'd have to let go of the leash.

All this week I will be putting on more pictures of our trip so come back everyday and look forward to such posts as: Dirty Matey, Pictures by Matey, Matey's birthday, All about Mommy, and much much more!

do the PUYALLUP

2011-04-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

We know you've been waiting for them! Here are pictures of The Spring Fair

Turtles

Snake

There's an alligator in there- I promise

Frogs

Blue Rango

Iguana (on the branch on the left)

Being a caterpillar crawling through a log

Showing off the bugs he won in Plinko

Playing with giant legos

Working in an army tank of some sort

Chasing bubbles

He was WAY more interested in the actual rubber ducky than the plush one that was his prize.

Playing music on the ... music thing...

We had a LOT of fun and he was sad to leave but it was past nap time. There are more pictures that I'll be putting up later, hope these tide you over until we get back from the Grand Canyon.

"Water"

2011-04-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

I love hearing him say water. When he says it by himself (not prompted) it's like he doesn't know where to end it (like kids don't know when to end bananananana) but I haven't been able to capture him just saying it.

He used to not say "water" at all, would just point and whine and when I said "water" would make an agreeing sound BUT after watching Despicable Me he decided that I was mis pronouncing it and the minions had it right as "walalala" or "laolaoalaol".

(In the beginning when Gru is calling his minions together there are several around a watercooler and they're laughing over the bubbles that come up when you get a drink and mimic the noise.)

His smile right before he grabs for the camera is super cute too.

what's up?

2011-04-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Jurassic Park...

Chubby Toes

Eating Pancakes with Jamie while Mommy was in surgery

I think this is a great picture don't you?

St.Patricks Day

Our Fridge Door

Self portraits are hard to take

I think this is Jake and the Neverland Pirates... i think...

What a cute smile.

Sorry for the lack of posts... no good excuses. I have more stuff to put on so hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things.

Laughter

2011-03-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

These were taken at the cool park by the dog park at Abuelo's house.

For AuntBeki

2011-03-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

I know what you're asking: Why is he sliding back and forth?

I dunno.

Cute tho ain't he?

no good deed goes unpunished

2011-02-15T07:05:00.000-08:00

i needed less responsible parents. that's right mom: i'm blaming you.

last night i couldn't fall asleep (i had gotten my second wind) so i was texting with people who i knew would also be awake. so we were talking and then one of them stops responding to my texts, i think maybe they're bored of me, or found a real girl to talk to or any number of things.

20 min later they're knocking on my door. it's after midnight. i ask what's up and they said they came over to keep me company until i could sleep.

... ok...

i was trying to think of a nice way to say: i'm actually kinda tired now. when i realized that they were not in a position to be driving. they weren't like falling down drunk or anything like that but certainly would not have been able to walk a straight line for Mr. Police Officer.

so now my new game plan is to stay up a bit later, talk some, see if they sober up or what. we watch some Robot Chicken (the second episode was HILARIOUS) and then Aqua Teen Hunger Force comes on and they fall asleep within 5-10 min.

well i guess that means that they arn't going to be sobering up enough to get home huh.

i wake them up, lay them out on the couch, pat their head and tell them happy valentines day.

i'm now in my bed with chubby in his. eye's closed, breathing slowed down, when what do i hear? they're puking.

...

as i get out of bed and walk down the hall all i'm thinking is that i hope they're puking on the couch and not the carpet. luckily they weren't too far gone and had gotten to the trash. i asked if they were ok and they nodded their head and i went back to bed.

I realize that if I don't want drunk people in my house I shouldn't make friends with people who drink- which was taught to me. However: I did not ask for them to come over, and once they were over it was clear that they could not pass a road test I could not conciously let them drive home- this is the part i'm blaming on you mom.

So i'm going to console myself with the thought that I saved someone's life last night, getting a tipsy driver off the road, and if there is a next time (which i'll be letting them know there will not be) i'll just call them a cab.

i realize i've been using 'them' and 'they' for clarification: it was just one person.

Happy Valentines Day! (part 3)

2011-02-14T23:21:00.000-08:00

These are the cookies I did.

Happy Valentines Day! (part 2)

2011-02-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day from Matey!

He made some great cookies just for you.

And boy are they tastey!

This is our carpet. Watch your children if you let them help you frost cookies.

This is his cutie cute Valentines outfit. (and a jojo)

Matey loved helping frost the cookies.

He's a pro with a pastry bag

Don't worry- I frosted all the real ones before he started "helping"

We hope you all got cookies too!

Happy Valentines Day! (part 1)

2011-02-14T08:48:00.000-08:00

We wake up and I say "Happy Valentines Day" and give him a kiss. He's not sure what's going on but whatever.

I give him is Dinosaur Heart

(A chocolate box Matey picked out prolly over a month ago that says: Valentine, You're Dino-Mite.)

We go to change his diaper and what's on TV?

"meemo!"

(Finding Nemo on Disney Junior)

What ends literally 2 min after we turn it on?

"MeeMO!" (in an sad and angry voice)

I draw his attention back to the chocolate box and he has fun playing with the Dinosaurs eyes.

(they are the big googily sort)

The Cat (inthehat) comes on.

(I had changed the channel- it's on PBS)

And then the excitement begins: The top of the dinosaur heart comes off!

(the bottom part and candy are shrink-wrapped with a paper blocking the candy from view)

Matey tries to stick his finger through but can't quite get it.

He flips the bottom half over and see's a picture of candy.

He grabs the top half and see's his dinosaur.

One of the two must be inside, but which one?

Again he goes for the plastic and this time: success!

It's hard work and mean Mommy won't help but he's got it now...

He checks the picture of the candy and the cartoon dinosaur again for motivation

which ever one it is he wants it.

The wrapper tears, he moves the paper out of the way and it's

it's

CANDY!

Hey- Check out my blog

2011-02-11T12:56:00.001-08:00

kinda like beki's but BETTER. lol.

cookingitbetter.blogspot.com

pictures without thumbs

2011-02-10T13:09:00.000-08:00

Matey is getting much better at taking photos that don't include his fingers.

This is hims money and piggy

this is my hair. i can't wait until he's old enough to switch between up close, night, and all the other options on the camera.

oh no! it's a picture of the Mommy!

Some of his cards.

The best toy ever that he got for christmas.

A magazine and feet.

... I don't like this angel (angle?) of the Mommy

Mommy boots

the most handsome precious pet Matey that ever was.

the most sweaty knocked out Matey that ever was.

Pictures of the Boy

2011-01-17T12:40:00.000-08:00

It's snow!

Smiling like a goon.

He's a saucy boy.

He is doing good. Letting his Momma know when he needs to be changed. We went to the dentist and he freaked (It was bad timing) and so we're going again in a week for a happy visit.

The dentist did say that his teeth were bad and wants to do something for them, but if Matey can't behave then he'll recommend us to a Children specific dentist.

In hopes of getting Matey to co-operate with the nice man we play dentist every day after brushing our teeth. I let him poke in my mouth and then I get to look and poke in his. He thinks it's great fun so hopefully next time will be a breeze.

This dentist lives like 3 blocks from us so super easy to get to and I'm sure the guy he would recommend us to is not as close.

Pictures By Matey

2011-01-14T12:55:00.001-08:00

Mateys mouth and nose

Finger and carpet

Couch and wall (and blanket from christmas)

Fingers and blinds

Couch and sweatshirt

wall and ceiling meet

severe upshot of his chin

only he knows

shoe rack and toys

finger

Matey wants everyone to know that these were taken unaided by him.

there were other people too.

2011-01-06T17:58:00.000-08:00

Other people were there too. We didn't take much pictures of them.

Sorry.

Matey and George in the bath.

Jr. has something that looks yummy and favorite AuntValinda is capturing the moment.

Jr. and Matey think something is funny.

Even Abuelo made it over!

This is a picture that Matey took all by himself completely unaided. Its AuntBeki

Fa Who Flor Ay, Da Who Door Ay

2011-01-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning came! With stockings!

With Candy!

With a Cat In The Hat (know's alot about that) coloring book!

With the coolest toy ever!

With puzzles! And Blankets!

And more puzzle sort of toys!

With noise making cash registers!

But most importantly with Family!

Matey had a lot of fun with all the family and toys and noise and food and candy and people to love him. We hope you had a lot of fun this holiday season too!

twas the night before christmas

2011-01-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

Tinsel moves when you blow it!

Clapping for joy!

Putting ornaments on the tree.

He's so good and careful.

the stockings are hung by the window with care.

tomorrow's post will be christmas- it's practically here!

Sorry for the lack of posting while we were out and about over the holidays but we have lots of good footage to make up for it.

So about posting everyday...

2010-12-19T10:33:00.001-08:00

I should re-name him Calvin (as in hobbes). He would be adorable and then sense the camera on him and screw his face up. While talking to myself I said "you just have to shut your eyes don't you?" he heard me and then refused to open his eyes at all whatsoever.

But at least he's smiling.... mostly...

I was trying to get him to open his eyes. He kept stabbing himself in his eye while saying the word instead.

Getting ready in the morning about to brush our teeth.

Helping move the laundry basket.

He's so helpful, won't even let me lift a finger.

I think this is the one where I said the thing about his eyes.

Matey is the best pusher.

He looks nekkid but wants you to know that he's not.

And last but not least- the most open he felt like showing his eyes this morning.

These are all fresh from today and there are lots to help make up for the fact that I was delinquent. Sorry about that.

Matey and thePirate

2010-12-16T11:23:00.000-08:00

So here are some pictures of Matey and thePirate being reunited. When thePirate came back in Sep. Matey took to him like a duck to water- it was amazing and wonderful.

thePirate came in at like 1 or 2 am and so this is much later in the day. We went out for breakfast.

This is Matey looking at all the other kids who were also waiting for their daddies. A few of them would play with him, but they were mostly anti-new comers.

Another picture from breakfast.

Thats all for now!

Matey just came up and saw what I was doing and shouted "Dada!" He's so cute.

Free Your Glee

2010-12-15T16:09:00.000-08:00

These are all from The Fair Sep. 2010.

A little angel in the restaurant building.

For some reason he kept "sleeping" on the table. He'd lie down, as seen below, pat the table and then look up and smile.

On the train in SillyVille with thePirate. It was the only ride he was big enough for.

This was a photo on the wall in the train station.

He played a game! It was pull a duck out of the water. He got half of the point- playing in the water.

This is the adorable stuffed duck that he won that I was silly enough to let him hold in his stroller while we walked around. It was never heard from or seen again.

I don't know whats up with this face. I swear he was happy with his backpack.

This is the beautiful stroller that HeatherandIris let us borrow because ours is hateful. It had a little tray that his snacks could go in, and his drink had a holder and he could reach everything. I miss it.

He had a lot of fun at the fair with Mommy and thePirate and Porter (pirates friend) AnWanna and Cora. Even though he couldn't engage in much of the activity (he was less than 1 1/2) he loved all the noise and excitement around him. He would clap and cheer and scream with the people on the rides around him, it was too cute.

Hold On To Your Butts

2010-12-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

Ha ha ha! I have a computer that works with my camera and the internets! Now I just have to wait for my battery charger to get here and I can take up to date pictures!

These are a little older: between september and october

Isn't he just such a happy baby?

OK, so maybe the people that call him a girl aren't completely insane.

He was helping the comcast person at thePirates house install internet there.

So cute.

His hair has darkened up since this was taken. He's still blonde, just more dirty now.

Well there you go! I'm going to try and put something up every day this week, so check back often!

hey look! a picture!

2010-12-04T12:01:00.002-08:00

This was taken at Matey's second Puyallup fair.

That was back in Sepetember. Sorry for the delay.

I have the internets!

2010-09-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

Yay!!

Stay tuned for new pictures of the cuties! All three of us!

Pcitures of the Matey boy (Look! I've updated!)

2010-07-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

This is at great grandma's house (she's great). It's just a random little creek that we found and since how I wouldn't let him go in the river I let him play in it.

The fig leaf is from a peek-a-boo book of his that he felt like ripping out of the book.

I think it's great.

This is on the plane... I don't know if it was the flight to Las Vegas or SeaTac or Boise... he's just a cutie.

Living up to being thePirates son.

His hands are being held for a reason however- he was not a fan of them (but he doesn't really like anything on his head).

Here ya go Folks

2010-06-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

The Matey boy, shoving chocolate in his mouth.

He had found someones unprotected candy bar in his reach...

He lives under the oven. Every day he unloads the obstacles and climbs in for bed.
(OK not really, but he does love unloading the drawer and climbing in)

One day Matey found a jalenpeno popper in his reach it was still frozen and Tastey! That is until it thawed a bit and jalenpeno juice got in his mouth.

If you eat a sticky old peep and then touch easter grass, it sticks on your hand real swell!

Sorry for the lack of updates, I'll try harder. He weighs 19lbs 6oz and is 31" long. He's walking more but its still mostly for show or to get attention.

He did it AGAIN!

2010-05-07T06:32:00.001-07:00

This is more than likely left over easter candy. It's a good shot of his faux-hawk too.

This is I know is easter candy. Hopefully this was also the last time he was in that particular car seat.

thePirate wears kilts (maybe he's an Irish Pirate) and to keep hims legs warm he wears long socks. Matey decided that he needed to wear them too.

He fell asleep again! With just snuggles! No nursing!

It was bedtime, we laid down, I tried to nurse him, he wasn't so interested, I decided that I'd give him a while to wind down, he just kept fidgeting/rolling around, I started to sing softly to him, he snuggled down and... fell asleep!

From like 10:20pm to 1somthing am! And then he slept from then to 6:45am when he woke up!

I'll let him wake up earlier without complaint if he'll fall asleep on his own and stay that way.

FYI- it's sad but true that him sleeping from 10-1 is an accomplishment. He usually wakes up around midnight if not 11 most nights to eat some more.

Things he's doing: trying to whistle.
I don't think it's on purpose that he's whistling, he like to make quasi-monkey noises forming an "o" and breathing in and out and recently on the exhales I've caught him making very soft whistling.
tottering around.
Before he would only take a few tottering "steps" towards me but now he'll take them away from me as well. It's still not regular (only once or twice a week) but I thought I'd include it because if he's walking yet is a major question I get. I don't include these totters as "steps" per say because it's more falling with style than walking. He'll lean towards something and then realize he needs to be just a bit closer or he'll land on his face so he moves a foot a few inches.

That's everything really new that he's doing. He's still cute and fun to watch.

Love for thePirate

Photo Pot-Pourri

2010-05-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Pictures of the man child (Matey) living life.

Behold him helping to unload the dishwasher:

The pie dish *was* clean. He had been sweeping before he started unloading. Matey is the hardest working 1yr old on the planet.

Behold him not touching things what he is not allowed to touch:

Unfortunately Matey is too smart for his own good. He knows he's not allowed to touch the VCR/PSP/Plants/Ect so lately he's taken to touching them with other things. Forks, pens, brushes, recorder, and as pictured above: an empty giant pixy stix.

Behold him loving his AnWanna:

He LOVES his AnWanna (he generally LOVES everyone after a day locked up with Mommy). On this day however AnWanna wasn't so much into loving him... Matey stayed outside her door for a good 5 min peeking under the crack, playing with the cord, shoving things into her room to no avail.

Behold Matey in the backpack:

Grammy loves Matey. Grammy loves to bake. Matey loves to be held. The solution is strapping him in while she bakes and best of all: She shares! It's a little hard to see but his mouth/face is smeared with... batter? cookie dough? Something yummy.

Behold Matey enjoying his birthday cake:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I LOVE his faces! This is a quintisential Matey face. A grinning sneaky nose wrinkle of a smile.

Love to thePirate.

Birthday Saga (part 3)

2010-04-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

It was a lot of fun for everyone. We missed thePirate but we know he'll be there next year.

Birthday Saga (part 2)

2010-04-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

I love his scrunch face at AnWanna.

Birthday Saga (part 1)

2010-04-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

This is his cake and blowing out his candle. He doesn't touch the flame- I blew it out right before his little finger touched it. He looks a little ... nervous until he catches me smiling at him, then he's more ok with things.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

2010-04-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is at the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens.

It's the "Birth of Love" ... statue?

Matey looks cute anyway.

So last night I got hope (even if it was false) that Matey just might be able to sleep by himself before he's 12. I was feeding him to sleep and he wasn't interested and started playing with my phone so I let him play for 15 min and then hid my phone and tried to feed him on the second side.

He ate for a bit and then again came off and I figured he just needed to unwind some more, so I let him crawl off and just played dead hoping he'd crawl back and whine and then eat and fall asleep (which is what usually happens when I play dead).

But no! Matey crawled over me and nestled against my back and fell asleep! With nothing in his mouth! I still couldn't move without him twitching, and he didn't sleep the whole night through or anything, but him falling asleep with no aid is a wonderful and big step for him/us.

It gives me hope that some day just maybe he'll be done nursing altogether.

Independence

2010-04-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

(A picture from Easter)

I love my little Matey, he's the best. SO smart.

... sometimes too smart?

Before he went through a phase where everything I fed him he wanted to put into his mouth. If I slipped something into it he would spit it out, look at it and then place it back into his own mouth. Now he's doing something a little different: He demands that if I'm eating something with a fork, he needs to eat it with a fork too. But his own fork, and he needs to put the food on the fork.

Luckily he lets me help put the food on the fork because he can't. I'm sure it's a milestone and that it's a good thing but seriously... it's annoying. He has more fun putting the food on the fork than he does eating it, so when his mouth is full he just spits it all out and (generally) stabs it with the fork and it starts all over again...

In other news he is a standing fiend and I'm sure will be tottering around soon.

i WILL scream

2010-04-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

So it seems very likely that I am allergic/sensitive to milk.

I still hold that Matey had issues with it when he was younger (gave him bad gas) but now it seems to not phase him at all.

It does seem to be negatively affecting me.

Not gas like he got, but headaches and fatigue.

I had started eating milk again to see if it would bother Matey on the 17th and everything went great. On the 18th I didn't eat any milk. On the 19th I had some more, worried it might have been too much. He's been great, a little stinky but nothing painful for him. I had a crushing headache last night and woke up completely tired.

I know being tired might not seem weird- I have a 1 year old now, but... not like "give me 5 min" but "give me 5 hours".

So now that I have less fear it will do harm to my darling precious I'll experiment with how much/what kind of dairy affects me.

Happy Birthday Matey Boy!

2010-04-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

Matey is One Year Old TODAY!!!

He had lots of fun last week with thePirate in TX.

This was at the Ft.Worth Botanical Gardens (Very cool- shell out the couple of bucks for the Japanese Garden it's worth it).

This is Matey and Mommy at the ZOO! They had bronze animals outside of several displays and we took lots of photos. (This is an elephant)

These three are all at the Botanical Gardens.

Matey is in charge and livin' large.

He can: Stand unsupported, Walk assisted (push a toy in front of himself and walk), Scribble with a crayon, Understands "leave it alone", Stoops from standing, Loves putting things into/taking things out of everything, Gestures what he wants with an outstretched hand, Takes off clothing, Eats with fingers, Imitates others, and SO much more!

He can't wait to show off his new skills to all of you- plan your visit to us today!

(more TX pictures to follow in a late post)

Falling Down On Command

2010-03-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

This is Uncle Brent, posting a video of Matey playing with a rag Grammy gave him and the fan in my room... and falling into the crack between the wall and the foot of the bed.

This has to be the world's cutest Pirate-In-Training.

Growing up is not so tough.

Kylers Birthday!

Hands On Children's Museum (Oly)

SEXY BOOTS!

New Hair (mommy) and Matey Playing

Christmas!

Presents from Daddy!

See I deliver eventually.

Hey!

Mommy and Matey

Matey and thePirate

Pictures by Matey

Just keep swimming

The cute... boy(?)

It's crazy how big he is.

No lack of energy here.

Throwing me off my groove

Vacation is Awesome

Vacation is Fun

Vacation is Chickens

Vacation is Cows

Vacation is Happiness

away for vacation

Here it is: The Moment You've Been Waiting For

pictures by Matey

i think i'm going to have to post the videos to fb

All about food (from the apt).

The first days in our "new" apt

hey look- we're back online!

It really is daylight.

He's a dirty, scrubby baby

The Super Cute Boy

Photos from Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day!

Adventuring out of our bubble

Ducks make bread look good.

Cutting Room Floor

Las Vegas

Matey and Mommy

Other People

Grand Canyon Day 2

Pictures by Matey

Grand Canyon Day 1

Camping

It *was* his birthday shout "Hooray!"

Near The Edge

do the PUYALLUP

"Water"

what's up?

Laughter

For AuntBeki

no good deed goes unpunished

Happy Valentines Day! (part 3)

Happy Valentines Day! (part 2)

Happy Valentines Day! (part 1)

Hey- Check out my blog

pictures without thumbs

Pictures of the Boy

Pictures By Matey

there were other people too.

Fa Who Flor Ay, Da Who Door Ay

twas the night before christmas

So about posting everyday...

Matey and thePirate

Free Your Glee

Hold On To Your Butts

hey look! a picture!

I have the internets!

Pcitures of the Matey boy (Look! I've updated!)

Here ya go Folks

He did it AGAIN!

Photo Pot-Pourri

Birthday Saga (part 3)

Birthday Saga (part 2)

Birthday Saga (part 1)

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Independence

i WILL scream

Happy Birthday Matey Boy!

Falling Down On Command

It was his birthday shout "Hooray!"