Matthew's Professional Pictures

Matthew's photos from Kiddie Kandids for his 2nd birthday. How angelic he looks in them (looks can be deceiving). Our little man is usually a ham when it comes to having his picture taken. He loves posing, sits where you ask, and holds the props. This time he wouldn't sit still, we had to keep fixing the curtain. He wouldn't look where the girl asked him to. We even had to take a dinner break and try to come back and see if the break helped him to focus. It did not but luckily we still got a few good pictures. The girl at Kiddie Kandids was a saint and I apologized multiple times for Matthew.

This was taken while he was not listening to us as we asked him to look at us.

He kept tracing the outlines on the block with his finger and moving his hands.

For this one he wanted to keep opening the presents. The girl must have taken this one very fast.

Happy 2nd Birthday Matthew

Happy 2nd Birthday to our little man. Can you believe he is already two? He will even tell you that he is two. On his special day he got to have lunch at Rainforest Cafe and dinner at his favorite Choo Choo Train restaurant. He is one lucky little boy.

Cool booths.

Ahh, I do love cake.

Matthew waved bye bye to the trains every time they went past us.

What a ham. His birthday cupcake was delivered by the train with a candle and train whistle.

Matthew knew how to open presents this year. He went right at them.

A Day at the Aquarium (in search of Nemo)

We spent a day at the Shedd. Matthew loves watching fish, I think its because they are constantly on the move. There was a tent set up to play in that he enjoyed as well. He seems to like penguins and you can get up close to the tank and watch them swim at the aquarium.

What concentration.

Deep Sea Explorer

Enjoying the city

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!

Our little Buzz Lightyear-To Infinity and Beyond

Trick or Treat

Everyone loves a good Halloween book!

Raking the Leaves

This weekend we spent some time raking the leaves since it was such a nice day on Sunday. Matthew enjoyed helping.

He put gloves on.

He saw we were using big brown bags to put the leaves in so he went in the garage all on his own and came back with a brown Panera bag to put the leaves in. He is so smart.

He took a break from raking.

He threw some leaves.

He was quite a helping by raking and everything.

Pumpkin Patch #2

I love pumpkin patches so of course we can't visit just one a year. The weather the past month has tried to dampen my spirits but we were able to make it to this second pumpkin patch. This one is Goebberts (an old one but a good one. Matthew saw a zonkey, hyena, white tiger, and many other animals. He went down the slide, played in tunnels, went through mazes, and posed for many pictures. There were many Toy Story wooden cut outs and of course Matthew had to pose by all of them. He did a great job he would center himself then turn and smile. We also got a pumpkin although pickings were not very good. All in all it was a great day.

What a face.

Is that a good one?

Picture perfect.

Howdy partner, you're my favorite deputy.

Ride'em cowboy.

Matthew's Art

Matthew had his last week of Abrakadoodle last Thursday. Here are some art projects from the past two weeks. He got to work with paint two weeks in a row so it was quite exciting. Grant said he needed to take some sports related classes, no more artsy ones so in November he starts Energy Express.

This is a house that is supposed to show shades of light. Done with crayon and watercolors.

This is a tree with fall leaves (seriously). It was done with tempera paint and stampers.

This is a haunted house Matthew made in class. He loves it because there is a door that opens.

We also made this pumpkin with crayons and markers.

Boo at the Zoo

This weekend Matthew went to Boo at the Zoo. He walked in a parade in his Halloween costume (in case you couldn't tell from the pictures he is going to be Buzz Lightyear). We made it halfway through the parade and then Papa and Daddy decided it was time to eat so we cut out of the parade early. The zoo had lots of pumpkins carved so Matthew was looking for ideas. We had a great time and even saw some animals.

Look at the size of that pumpkin. Its over 1,000 pounds. (and Grant thought his 41 lb pumpkin was big)

Walking in the parade (at least Grant and I are walking)

Fall Fun

We are having lots of fun already this fall. We've been to pumpkin patches, farms, and the arboretum. Matthew loves to be out doors. He really enjoyed throwing hay. He didn't even mind that it was a little chilly.

Here comes Farmer Matthew.

Say cheese!

How relaxing.

Look out!

Hello ladies, would you like to come pick out a pumpkin?

I see you!

Nice cane Matthew!

Sleeping Matthew

Doesn't everyone need a nap after a good meal? I wish I could fall asleep this easily and in such an awkward position. At least he learned to turn his head so it rests on something instead of falling forward.

Summer Projects

Over the summer and into fall we did a few projects around the house. We thought we'd share to keep you updated. We changed the color in the duck bathroom, painted the fence, and got laminate flooring on most of the upstairs.

Computer room

Matthew's room

Hallway

The bathroom went from an ugly light blue to a bright blue that matches better.

Matthew's New Website

Welcome to Matthew's new website. This one seemed a little more fun so we thought we'd give it a try. This week Matthew had Kindermusik again. He got into it by doing the hand motions and dancing. He appears to have made a new friend. An older girl kept chasing him around the room trying to get a hug. He wanted no part of that. I guess he doesn't like girls that are so forward. He also had his 3rd week of art. Below are pictures of each of his projects from the past 3 weeks.

1st week-We used crayons, scissors, glue, and watercolors.

2nd week-We made a landscape picture with chalk.

3rd week-We made a face and did rubbings with crayons for the background.