Potty Training

Yeah, we've started potty training (well, kind of). This was his first time on the seat, as you can see he was not too happy. I am glad to report though that he does now sit on it with no clothes on and without screaming. He likes to have privacy when on the toilet so the door must be completely closed. I was trying to get him to sit on the toilet for longer by giving him a book so now every time he grabs a book before he sits down. I think this is going to be a very slow process but he is very smart so hopefully it is not too slow.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Matthew made it all night and was still ready to party even after midnight. Unfortunately, the rest of the party did not share his enthusiasm as most of us had a cold. We still had a great time and Matthew managed to eat many brownies. At midnight he loved the horns and noise makers.

Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier

Last year we tried the Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier and we had a lot of fun. We were supposed to go the 26th this year but 12 inches of snow derailed our plans. We just went the next day instead. Matthew had a great time this year. He went on a Ferris wheel, carousel, train ride, had a snowball fight with foam balls (with Grant & Papa), and played on lots of inflatables.

Yes we are on a giant rocking horse.

Matthew wouldn't climb through the tunnels alone so Papa went with. Daddy and Grammy also went with other times. ( I know we were all surprised Grammy crawled through the tunnels as well).

They have lots of beautiful decorations there. Even if you don't want to ride the rides it is a great place for pictures.

During the ride Matthew kept saying "whoa!"

Christmas Morning

Matthew must have been a pretty good boy because Santa gave him some nice gifts. He got Mickey Mouse's Choo Choo Express, Play Doh, Animals, and more.

Did I miss anything?

He gets very excited about Play Doh (doh doh as he calls it).

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at Grammy & Papa's house.

Petyon got into the festivities as well.

Wonderland Express at the Botanical Gardens

The train exhibit at the Chicago Botanical Gardens was really cool. Matthew loved that they even had pretend snow coming down from the ceiling. He favorite train was one that looked like a lady bug.

The Field Museum
This was in one of the garden areas.

Navy Pier is in the background.

They even did Marina Towers.

Holiday Shots

Daddy & Matthew

We don't have that many kids just that many pets that need stockings. I finally finished making Peyton's on the 18th of December. Still before Christmas Eve though which was my goal.

Fun in the Snow!

Daddy and Matthew working on the snowman.

He wouldn't keep them on so I threatened to duct tape them.

Finished product

Don't worry we warned him its okay to eat snow just stay away from the yellow snow.

He had a great time playing in the snow.

The Onesie Says it All

Trains at the Arboretum

We went to the train exhibit at the Morton Arboretum. Matthew really liked it, he also wanted to touch everything. I guess we can't blame him.

He watched the trains for a long time.

Breakfast with Santa

We went to breakfast with Santa again this year at Brookfield Zoo. It was actually a success with Santa. We do not have a crying picture. Although what we do have is a picture of Grant and I sitting on Santa's lap with Matthew on mine. It is an improvement from last year though. We had a great time at breakfast and even hung out at the zoo a little bit after.

Matthew and Grant with a reindeer.

Matthew really enjoyed the bacon and potatoes. Grant really enjoyed the bacon and we won't even say how many pieces he had.

Papa, Matthew, & Grammy

Look who's driving the sleigh!

Matthew was gorilla obsessed. We had to go in and see them of course.

Legos at Cantigny

We tried the Lego Train exhibit at Cantigny this year. Of course we also looked at some tanks and the war exhibit. The Lego exhibit was really cool, except we had to wait in line 30 minutes in the cold because they were keeping it orderly inside. Then the second we get to the front of the line they decide to let everyone in and make it a free for all. This made it hard to walk around but we still saw some cool Lego buildings. We saw things from Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and more.

He loved climbing on the tanks.
By a Star Wars exhibit.

Best way to see over a crowd of people.

Jurassic Park

Christmas Tradition-Lunch at the Walnut Room

One thing we like to do at Christmas each year is go to eat lunch at the Walnut Room at Macy's. This year we actually got to sit right next to the tree. Matthew looked up at it and went "Oh Wow!" He was occupied the entire lunch.

He loved lunch so much, he couldn't stop eating to take a picture.

Who doesn't love an ice cream sundae snowman with a marshmallow head and twizzler arms?

Matthew's Stats

Here are Matthew's 2 year stats from his check up last week.
Weight: 25 lbs 10 ounces- 25th percentile (up 2 pounds from 18 months)

Height: 34.5 inches-50th percentile (up 2 inches from 18 months)

Head Circumference: 49.5 cm 75th percentile (he has a little bit of a large head appearantly)

He received one shot and is otherwise very good.

Big boy pillow

This past weekend Matthew got a big boy pillow. Being the paranoid person that I am I never got him one until now. I knew when they were little they were not supposed to have pillows because they could suffocate. I made sure to ask the pediatrician at his 2 year check up and it is okay. So he finally got one. He was quite excited and laid right down on it. (Of course that was just for the picture. After the picture he immediately got up and wanted out).