Happy 10-Month Birthday, Matt!

Today Matt is 10 months old. And what a lucky 10-month-old, with his brand new baby swing. Whee!

He is so busy he wouldn't pose for a photo shoot, so enjoy these photos of a curious monkey in motion:

Week 43

Once again we managed to keep ourselves busy. Monday we went over to the house of one of my moms' club members to pick some things up and let Matt play with one of his buddies. Tuesday we met a friend and her baby at a local movie theater's story time, then walked around the outdoor mall and stopped for lunch. The story time was OK. The babies were much more interested in watching the other kids than meeting the Curious George character, and we moms appreciated the air conditioning on a hot day. At least it was free!

Doing his best squirrel impression with pieces of my turkey sandwich

Giggling at my friend's funny faces

Wednesday we watched one of Matt's baby friends while his mother went to an appointment. The two had a good game of following the leader, with Matt crawling after his buddy, and then Matt's buddy played peekaboo around the high chair while Matt enjoyed a snack. Thursday we went to a playground, where we had a picnic lunch.

Matt enjoying the baby swings

Beep! Beep! Vroom, vroom. Coming through!

Sitting at the (kiddie) picnic table

Matt had so much fun at that playground we went back on Friday to check out some different toys and stations.

Spending some time crawling and standing in the grass on the baseball field

Going for a ride on the bike

Standing at the helm of the pirate ship

Riding in the little red wagon

Driving the wooden car

Saturday Matt and I met a friend in the city for a walk in an arboretum. Sunday we went to a grilling party hosted by someone from my moms' club. Matt got to see a couple of his baby friends and play in the sandbox. He had such a good time playing in the sand he needed a bath when we got home!

All clean!

This week Matt tried eggs and steak among his new foods. He's becoming pickier. Some days he'll eat a lot, and some days he just takes a few bites. Some days he prefers crunchy things, some days he wants purees, and some days he doesn't care about the texture. Some days he only wants to feed himself, and some days he'll let us feed him from a spoon.

Someone needed a bath after this breakfast of strawberries, blueberries, and a blackberry!

One last picture. Summer is drawing to a close, and soon we won't get to spend evenings out in the yard like we've been doing.

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?