Week 42

This past week we were back to our normal mix of playdates, adventures, and quieter moments at home. Monday morning we took Penny for her annual vet check-up, and Matt got to watch all of the dogs being picked up from the boarding facilities. We then watched one of his buddies while his mom went to the dentist.

Just cruising around at his friend's house

Tuesday we went for a walk and ran to Costco. Putting Matt in my carrier's backpack position is definitely the way to go in a store like that! Wednesday we had a play date with a couple of friends, during which Matt spent time in the kiddie pool and ball pit. Thursday we went for a walk, then got some ice cream and visited a new to us playground with a big group from my moms' club.

Having a good time on the baby swings

Friday was a quieter day for us. But Saturday we went to Matt's first major league baseball game. Unfortunately the home team lost, but Matt and our friends' baby provided plenty of appreciated entertainment for our seat mates.

View from our seats

All three of us

Intently watching the game

Naptime

Contemplating the action on the field

Thanks to our friends for inviting us and catching this great shot!

Entertaining those around us

Being cute

Deciding between two of his favorite games: "Got your hat" and  "Got your glasses"

Posing with mommy

On daddy's shoulders for the 7th inning stretch

Going for a walk with daddy

Sunday was a quiet day at home to recover from our big city adventure.

We continue to introduce new foods to Matt. This past week his big new food was peanut butter; luckily he has no peanut allergy. He is less and less interested in eating from a spoon and wants to feed himself finger foods. In other developments, Matt is cruising along couches, etc., a little more and will stand for longer and longer periods by himself - although once he realizes what he's doing he sits down and goes back to crawling.

Just standing around

Waiting to Skype with Grandma and Grandpa

Helping me sort the recycling

A couple of photo shoots with mommy

Baby giggle fit!

Week 41

Hooray, we're all better - and I'm back on track with our posts!

Last week we were able to resume our regularly scheduled fun and games. The weather was nice, too, so we spent some time outside, even if it was just sitting in the yard. 

Exploring the front lawn

First we had to go to the doctor on Monday for Matt's 9-month check-up. He weighed 23 pounds and measured 30 inches, continuing to be in the low 90s percentile for weight and high 90s for height for his age.  The doctor was pleased with his growth and progress. She also gave us the all clear to meet up with Matt's baby buddies again. So Tuesday we went for a walk with some friends, and Wednesday we had a play date. On Thursday we met up with some friends at an open play space and then went out for lunch. 

Exploring the play tunnel at open play time

That night Matt moved into his own room, which he's still getting used to. 

Getting better acquainted with his giant teddy bear

Friday we went for another walk with friends. Saturday we had an exciting day, but Matt didn't realize it. Someone offered us a large wooden swing set for "free": the catch was that we had to take it down and move it ourselves. Jon needed some ingenuity and all afternoon to dismantle the set and will have to do some work to clean it up before reassembling it, but Matt and his buddies will have a lot of fun on it when it's all set up. Sunday we decided to go on an errand but were thwarted by a massive traffic jam thanks to everyone trying to take advantage of the tax-free weekend. So we decided to go get some ice cream instead. Matt watched the goats and cows and got his first taste of ice cream. He then got a nice big bath as soon as we got home.

Messy monkey!

Some of the other new foods Matt tried last week included yogurt, tomatoes, and potato gnocchi, all of which he really liked.

As of last week Matt has officially been outside in the world longer than he was inside. It's amazing how much he has grown and change even in the past month, let alone in the past 18 months. He now waves hello (but not yet good-bye) and imitates us when we do things like clap or roll a ball around. He crawls very quickly and gets better and better at standing each week. He is very talkative and quite expressive with both his voice and hands. He even cracks himself up.

A few more photos from the week:

Going for a ride

Hi! Do you have any trouble I can get into?

Week 40

Another late post, I know! Sorry! And it'll be a short one, as last week was a boring one for us.

Matt came down with a fever Sunday afternoon and then woke up with a rash on Monday morning. A quick trip to the doctor later and we had a diagnosis of the hand, foot, and mouth virus, so named because the rash or sores are mainly on the hands and feet and in the mouth. Luckily Matt did not get many, if any, sores in his mouth. Our patient was feeling better by Thursday, although his rash will take another week or so to disappear. At least we escaped the rash!

Anyway, except for the doctor's visit on Monday and some walks, including one with Jon over the weekend, we stayed home. So I don't have lots of fun things to report or cute photos to post this week. Here are a few, though:

Preparing for the baby shot put?

Even when sick, still working on that standing

Hmm, will next week be more exciting?

Week 39

So sorry for the belated post. Matt has come down with a virus, and this is about the first chance I've had to sit down to blog.

Last week started out relatively unexciting. We went for a long walk on Monday, then watched one of Matt's buddies on Tuesday while his mom took their pet for a quick vet visit. Wednesday we made library story time and then hosted some friends for a play date. But Thursday we had quite an adventure: we went to the local NFL team's training camp open practice.

Joining the crowd heading to the practice field

Waiting for practice to start

Since we couldn't see much, we just sat in the shade and people watched

And played in the grass

We left after about an hour, when the players switched things up

A worn out baby in front of the stadium

That afternoon we joined a friend for a quick visit to the berry farm. The boys actually had the most fun crawling around in a shady patch of grass, so it was really the moms who enjoyed a change of scenery.

Inspecting a shovel in the sandbox

Friday morning we went to a little kid splash party at the house of one of my moms' club members before running some errands. Saturday was pretty boring, so that evening we tried going out to eat. We chose one of our favorite more low key places, and it was a success.

Everyone loves Bertucci's rolls! And someone also devoured his fair share of the roasted veggies appetizer.

Sunday Matt and I went into the city to see some sites with an old friend of mine who recently moved up here. While going through the Italian neighborhood we ran into a festival:

I'm not sure Matt was too impressed with the goings on, including the bagpipes and bands.

Matt tried a bunch of new foods this past week, including new proteins (turkey and tofu), vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, and artichoke), and fruits (kiwi and grapes). We're hoping to get the all clear after his appointment next week so he can try dairy, eggs, and more.

Don't be fooled by that smile - he's still not too sure about beets.

Some more shots from this past week:

Matt had a lot of fun crawling all over Jon's gaming chair and posing for photos

Including with one of his bunnies and one of the cat's toys - notice the nose crinkle in the photo on the right

Contemplating what to do next

More silly smiles on the chair

Crawling in and out of boxes is also fun

As is eating the feet

Watching the laundry spin around

Whew! Maybe it's not a bad thing we're having a quiet week this week...