Off to see Grandma and Grandpa

Just wanted to say goodbye for a few days - we are heading to Pennsylvania for some fun and warmer weather (warmer than Minnesota anyway!) Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas morning

Opening presents

The string is more fun than the phone

Christmas is so much fun!

A long time later

Getting ready for Santa!

Some pics from the last few days before Christmas

Matthew' Jungle Gym

This seems to be the only place that Matthew likes to play some days. You can imagine how well this works out..

A little further...

And he's stuck

Maybe it will work better on another day? Maybe not

Sick in Minnesota

Matthew got his first big cold this week with an ear infection, sinus infection, cough and bad fever. He's been on antibiotics for a few days and is feeling better (luckily we have a humidifier that we turn on when he's sleeping) His fever started about 1 1/2 days after standing in line to see Santa... coincidence? maybe.

Now he's on the upswing and starting to play again.

First trip to see Santa

Seems like Santa and Matthew are big buddies already!

No crawling but still making tracks

Matthew drags himself around the house like this - seems like it would be easier to just get up and crawl!

Big Blue Eyes

It doesn't seem fair that a little boy has such pretty eyes...

Happy Thanksgiving

We've been having so much fun and staying so busy, that we haven't had a chance to post online. Last Saturday we celebrated with the Fouquette's and on Thanksgiving day, we celebrated at home. Lots to eat, plenty of football to watch and a little boy who is trying to crawl! BUSY BUSY BUSY!! Any spare time was spent putting things up on shelves.

Grand Fun in Grand Forks

Matthew and Mama went to Grand Forks for a long weekend visit with Trista, Christopher and baby Natalie (Matthew's 2nd cousin) The kiddos had so much fun and wore each other out! Hopefully we'll be able to get together again soon - we just wish that we didn't live so far apart!

We ended up being only 5 miles from David's Aunt Betty and were able to visit with her and the family for a little bit too. Here is a picture of Matthew with his Great-Aunt Betty and cousin Cassie (she is going to UND in 2009)

UH OH!!!!! Look what Matthew is learning to do... no forward progress yet, but our days of easy baby-sitting are numbered!

Ga and Pap come to Minnesota

Ga and Pap (aka Grandma Ginny and Grandpa Kay) were here to visit for a while last week. We didn't get any pictures posted during that visit because we were so busy having fun! So here are a few to catch us up to date

Go North, young man

Mama and Matthew are going to see Baby Natalie and her parents in Grand Forks, ND this weekend, so so new posts until Sunday when we are back. Here is one last picture to tide you over

The boys

It's fun to see Matthew and Nick together - Matthew just idolizes his big brother and Nick has a good time making his little brother laugh

Matthew votes early and votes often!

Matthew and Mama went to the polls at 7:15 this morning to vote for Mr. Obama. We had a good time - the voting judge is a friend who held Matthew for a little while and then Matthew got his "I Voted" sticker.

This afternoon, Matthew will go back to the polls with Daddy and vote for Mr. McCain. I think Matthew is just hoping to get another sticker! No matter what, Matthew will have picked the winner!

Happy Halloween!

Matthew had fun on Halloween and even went trick-or-treating at Great-Grandma Maggie's house. No candy for little bees this year, but he's all practiced up for next year!

Funny Faces

Whenever Matthew sees the camera, he makes the craziest faces! Here are a few examples

Confirmation and other stuff

Today was Nick's confirmation at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church (you really need to say/read that name with a Scandinavian accent ie Lut-er-an) They had a nice ceremony and 13 kids were all confirmed together and are now considered adults in the church. Afterwards, we had David's family over for Belgian waffles, sausage and pumpkin pie. Here's a picture of Nick with Katie and Sue

Matthew is really going to town in his new Jumperoo. He will jump for a while and squeal at whatever catches his attention, then go back to jumping

Bugs are delicious!

Matthew tried to eat the face off of his Glow Bug - the Bug didn't mind, he just kept singing the whole time

And here is another picture of Matthew with his Mommy - just for Sophia!

Matthew wore out his Jumperoo!

After a month of jumping, the old Jumperoo had a serious lean to it. We picked out a new Jumperoo that spins and has lots of lights to keep a busy 6-month old occupied (and gives Mom a little break too!) Our favorite is when Matthew is jumping up to catch the red bird and he keeps closing his eyes because he comes so close!

You can tell how much fun he's having by how much drool is on his shirt!

Stay off the sidewalks - Nick has his driver's license!

After some last minute parallel parking practice, Nick passed his driver's exam and is now a licensed driver! Mom can't wait to start sending him out on errands!

Happy Birthday to Nick!

We had a fun time this weekend celebrating Nick's 16th birthday with David's family. Matthew liked jumping from one aunt or uncle to another :) Nick liked getting presents and eating ice cream cake.

Wooly Worms

To answer the questions about Wooly Worms, they predict the weather. The more brown they have, the milder the winter. The more black, the harsher the winter. If the Wooly Worm is all black, you might as well move to Florida until spring!

During our walk today, Matthew and Mama didn't see any Wooly Worms. I think they were confused by the thunder storm and 75 degree weather!

October in MN - bundle up!!!

Matthew and Mama had a nice walk today. It was windy but the sun was shining. We saw a lot of wooly worms that had medium sized brown stripes - guess that means that we'll have an average winter.

Hi Sophia!!!!

Thanks for the books Sophia! Matthew really likes the Baby Einstein book - we read it twice already today!

And because Sophia was wondering where Matthew's Mommy was, here is a picture of Nick, Matthew and Mom from the State Fair last month.

Big-time weekend fun

On Saturday, Mama and Matthew went to visit friends. Matthew played with his buddy Trevor all afternoon!

And then Sunday night, we were ready to cheer on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Matthew was yelling "Hey Big Ben, don't fall down so much this week" (this was a direct translation)

Shhh! sleepy boy in the house!

It's been an interesting week - Matthew has decided that he doesn't like his bottle, which means that he's been waking up hungry at night. Seems like real food tastes better but he's not big enough to switch over completely. Being up at nights, means that the little guy is taking longer naps during the day - he's a side sleeper!

WOW - guess who's 6 Months old (almost)!!!

We went in one week early for Matthew's 6 month check up. All is well and he was a good boy, happy and giggling until they started the shots! I think his feelings were hurt more than anything else!

The stats were:

Weight: 17 lbs 4 oz (52nd percentile)

Height: 27 inches (77th percentile)

Not many changes for Matthew now - just continue with the fruits and veggies, try using a cup for some water and return in November and December for 1/2 dose flu shots (yeesh! more shots!)

Weekend Fun

Matthew says, "My big brother Nick sure is a lot of fun!! I like to grab his glasses and hair whenever I get the chance!"


On the weekend, Matthew and Mama watch football together. We really like to cheer and yell when our team scores a touchdown!

Grandma Ginny bought some PJ pants with lots of Steelers signs. I am not sure how long it will take for Matthew to grow into these, so maybe Nick will get to wear them for a few years.