Dog Sounds

Matthew is learning new things every day!  The latest is that a dog says "woof woof".  This is not the best video capturing his new skills, but it's the best I've got right now (and you all know if I don't blog when I am thinking about it I don't blog at all ...) so here it is!

Dancing Machine

Matthew has taken after his mother in his dancing abilities.  Here he is rocking out with Grandma to the Eagles.  (In his diaper of course because it is hotter than Haites here!!!)

Vacation Time

Coming back to California always feels like a race to see how many friends and family members we can squeeze in a visit with during our stay.  I think this summer's trip was the big winner!  We were able to fit in a lunch with long-time friends Jason and Coli Jones.
We hit up Arthur's, one of Jason and Joshua's favorite chess-playing breakfast spots. 
Matthew adored Coli and took a not-so-subtle liking to the waitress as well.  He smile a mile wide every time she walked by and even threw down his toys in handkerchief dropping fashion just so she would stop by to pick them up.
I am learning that Blogger posts pictures in the opposite order that I list them, but it will take me several more tries to have it really figured out ... oh well.  This was the night before we left.  We pricelined  a hotel room to avoid the super early morning rush to get ready AND get to the airport on time.  Good thing we did - we barely managed the last part!  We missed the shuttle and had to get a special lift from the hotel.  By the time we checked our bags and Matt's never-ending piles of stuff, we had just enough time to get through security and walk on to the plane.  We had the very last row all to ourselves, which was actually very nice.  Matty slept for an hour and a half of our two hour flight which was awesome!  I hope the trip home is even better since I will be attempting it solo!  

Oh yeah, if you haven't seen me in a while you will notice the much shorter hairdo ... I cut the lengthy locks to donate, although Joshua won't let me send them off until he gets a picture with the extension on his head.  Any day now you should see a snapshot of my hubby with a long ponytail on his head ...

Dear Daddy (Part 4)

Today was crazy hot, so we spent the afternoon in the pool.  Matt "helped" Grandma clean with the net.
Aunt Beth took us to a super fun store called Bass Pro Shop.  Matt had a front row seat on the E ticket ride.
There was so much to see!  We saw displays of stuffed hunted animals, a waterfall, decoy ducks, a fish tank, and so much more!
This mule deer was Matt's favorite.  He stood there for quite a while staring him in the eye and shook his head "no" when I tried to pick him up.

Dear Daddy (Part 3)

CA has so many wonderful flowers to smell!
We had lunch at Aunt Beth's to say goodbye to our Oklahoma family.  Here's cousin Cassie.
Matty and Ryen became fast friends this trip!  Here we are with her and Aunt Mary.

Dear Daddy (Part 2)

Everyone here decided Matty was looking too much like a girl, so Grandma gave him a haircut.  Doesn't he look handsome?
Poolside is the best way to get hair cut in CA.
Matt LOVES this pinwheel and was trying desperately to get to it. 

Dear Daddy (Part 1)

We miss you so much, but we are having fun with our CA family.  We had dinner at Uncle Dave and Aunt Stella's on Tuesday.  This picture is incomplete without you!
Grandma is so in love with her two grandboys!  
Here is our darling boy with the girls... Aunt Jackie, Mary, Shannon, and Cassie.

Aunt Pattie and Matty

The Mason Fam

Matt and Aunt Mary

Marisa and Matthew

My First Mother's Day

And what a wonderful day it was! We started the day off with Matthew's dedication at church. Next, we headed over to the Graffes for a family BBQ. The sun was shining (for part of the day anyway) and my boy was the hit of the party!
My sweet family. We look so spring-ish in our bright colors!
Matty and Grandma.
What a face! Check out those chompers ... eight of them in there. If only he could figure out how to use them ...

Just For Fun

Like father like son! Except Matt prefers his plain while Joshua enjoys his brownie-batter covered. This kid spends way more time playing with kitchen utensils than he does with actual toys.

I have been trying to sneak veggies in to our food. Why? Well, you just can't eat too many veggies, plus I have been doing most of my shopping at Costco and I can only puree so many foods in one week. So far Joshua approved of wheat germ and almond coated chicken, cauliflower scrambled eggs, butternut squash baked eggs, and sweet potato hot cocoa. He did not like spinach/broccoli/pea meatballs or carrot/sweet potato tomato sauce. These spinach eggs I didn't even bother showing him; I knew they wouldn't pass his test. But Jackie and I enjoyed them!

Matt is looking a bit girly with his long hair. I try to cover it up with hats, but his sweet spirals just sneak out the bottom. I know you Hardwicks are wanting it to stay long, but the Grahams say cut it. I don't know how much longer I can suppress the Graham in me!

Escape from diaper change! For a while Matty would stay on his back if you laid him down - sort of like a turtle. That phase is over and he is off and crawling before I can finish putting his diaper on! I just love how his tushy looks in his cloth dipe. And check out those thighs!! I could eat 'em up!

Fun with Food

Matt is teething (again - working on number 8)and wants to gnaw on everything. He pulled this apple out of my backpack yesterday and starting gnawing away. So I chopped some apple and put it his mesh teething do dad. Hated it. Oh well, I tried.

Tonight I made some carrots for him and he just couldn't wait to give them a try. He licked that spoon clean!

Does this hairdo make my cheeks look chubby?

A Visit with Grahama

My mom came up to visit for a way too short weekend. We had been planning to go to the tulip festival, but the tulips are not quite in bloom yet. Bummer. So instead we went to Port Townsend for a day of window shopping and strolling along the waterfront. Sunday we had a lazy morning before seeing the sights of Seattle - Pike's Market. Jackie's church, work, and apartment. Then we zipped over to the airport at the last possible minute (it's so much easier that way - less tears).

Matty had fun bonding with his Grahama. And I enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to get up all night to care of him. And best of all, the night she left, his 10 month birthday, he slept through the night! Finally!

We miss you already Mom! It was a lovely weekend visiting with you!

Why stop at Coke?

Coffee is so good on a cold morning!

Happy birthday Mom!

Dear Mom,
We were so glad to have you here for a visit, short though it was. Thanks for all of your encouragement and wisdom. Sorry the tulips weren't in bloom yet - guess you'll just have to come back again soon. :) We are looking forward to talking to you on the video phone! We hope this year brings God's richest blessings.
Love,
Joshua, Erin, and Matty

Unconventional Easter

This year we had a very unconventional Easter. We realized on Saturday that all of our family was out of town or had other plans and we had nothing to do. So, Joshua made reservations for brunch in Port Townsend. We made it to church only 15 minutes late and Matt was the only baby in the nursery. The wonderful volunteers were thrilled to have him. We came home to get ready for brunch, but then Jackie called and was getting off early, plus it was an icky rainy day, so we headed toward Seattle instead. On the way we tried calling several places to get a brunch reservations with no luck. Joshua suggested a stop at Ikea to kill some time before we picked up Jackie. I thought for sure that place would be deserted. Nope. Jam packed! We had a blast strolling through the aisles and trying out toys with Matty. We even stopped at the cafe for a snack.
Next we got to see Jackie's new store. We sat and had some coffee before making our way toward the waterfront for a quick dinner at a grill. Then we spent some time browsing books at Barnes and Noble before heading back home.
Strange, but a fun day nonetheless.

Eat your heart out Pepsi

When we bought our minivan it came with a year's supply of Coke. Since we rarely drink soda, we still have tons of it sitting around and our now mobile son discovered a box. He opened it up, pulled one out, and tried to take a sip. Where did he learn that? Anyway, Coke should use this picture as an ad. He's making me want a Coke cause he's so darn cute!

Fun at the Park

Since Spring has actually decided to show up around here, we have been able to take Matthew to the park and try out the swings. He loves them! The slide he could care less about. Oh well.
Isn't he cute in that hand made hat? :) Maybe I should start selling them ... anyone interested?

Why Matthew is no fun at restaurants

Miscellaneous Fun

Matthew has trouble falling asleep unless he is being cuddled in some way. Joshua put him to bed the other night and I thought he was back to his studies. When I went back to check on Matt, I found them both snuggled up fast asleep.

We were packing for our trip and I needed Matt to play by himself for a while. He is into everything these days and can't be left alone for a second, so I packed him up and got on with my work. :)

Restaurants have become more of a challenge as our little one likes to exercise his vocal cords. Generally not in a mad/sad way, but definitely loud. Plastic cups keep him entertained for quite a while, and they entertain us as well!

Who needs toys when there are kitchen things to play with? Matt loves banging things together and on the floor and enjoying the sounds they make. Notice his fancy trucks being ignored while he plays with a plastic lid and container.