Look Out Below!

Guess what I'm doing...

I hope you sat through all 3 minutes and 5 seconds of that video. Then add a few more minutes and that's how long it took for success to happen. Hopefully you can see the redness in my face- it's not from embarrassment. I'm sitting in what Mommy and Daddy call "The Poop Chair." Sometimes I will push and push for hours, perhaps the entire day. But put me in my swing on low vibration (high vibration doesn't work as well) and typically I'll make a nice present in a matter of minutes. My car seat has a similar effect. I'm developing some good stomach muscles but Daddy says I need to take it easy or else I'll pop a blood vessel. I'm just happy to get it over with. You could say it's a load off my back. The rest of the day is mine to enjoy especially without having to push and push. After the cameras stopped rolling this morning, I heard Daddy chuckle and mumble to himself, "this is going in his future girlfriend pile." What exactly does he mean by this?

The Bedtime Routine

This is me this morning watching video of myself from last night. In the video I'm getting ready to go to bed. I didn't realize how silly I can get at night. The whole bedtime routine usually begins with a nap. Yes, a nap. I fall asleep in the stroller or in Mommy's arms and take a short nap. This nap provides the extra energy I need to get me through the rest of the bedtime routine. Then comes my bath- something you've all seen. The bath gets me fired up. Mommy gets my PJ's on and then I come out to the living room in hopes of expending the rest of my energy. I talk and scream and like to roll around under the coffee table. I find the legs on the coffee table to be fascinating for some reason. Daddy was watching the football game last night so I took a quick peak at that.

No, there was no audio editing in the video above. I'm actually starting to talk like this sometimes: moving my mouth with and without sounds. It may look like I'm starring in an old Japanese B movie as Mommy says, but I'm not. Then I say goodnight to Daddy and Onyx and Mommy takes me to my room. There she feeds, reads and sings to me. It's my favorite part of the whole day. Too bad I can't stick around for more of it. The meal, Mommy's soothing voice, and a long day makes me sleepy. Then, before you know it, it's 6 AM and I'm ready to start the whole thing again.

All this sleep talk is making me sleepy. Good-nap.

My Room

Welcome to my room! The finishing touches were completed this past weekend. As you can see I have my own clothes drying rack, an ironing board, some coats, Mommy's wedding dre- HEY! This is not my room! This is the hall closet! Let's try this again.

That's better. Welcome to my room! Mommy's vision finally came to fruition. I have a nice, soft carpet to roll around on. The brown lines on the carpet are mesmerizing. I have my changing table, my rocker, Mr. Bear, my crib, toys, animals on the walls, clothes, and best of all: my own place. It shall be known as Matthew Headquarters, Matthew's Fortress, Fort Matthew, or The Room Where I Sleep And Get Changed. I have yet to decide. Anyway, nice work Mommy! It's stimulating, educational and fun. You know that I like it Mommy because if I didn't I would certainly let you know. Mommy placed a board of pictures that I can view when my diaper is changed. The pictures are of family so that I can learn to recognize all of you in the future. It's a great idea but I have to say that I like Daddy's idea too: the biggest pictures on the board are of the highest bidders. So what's the bid (how much do you have), Aunt Bethy?

Home for the Weekend

That's right! We're home for the weekend! No spending 8-10 hours in my car seat, no sleeping through prime time playtime, no entertaining strangers, no missing Onyx, and no frazzled Mommy and Daddy. What am I going to do instead? Well, we may hit the town festival tomorrow and then watch fireworks. Check that - no fireworks for Little D yet. Then we can let Mommy sleep in. I can play with my toys while I'm waiting for her:

Or maybe work on my swing:

Or I can play soccer or football with this squash. Then I'll eat it.

The weekend activity possibilities are endless. I do know one thing I'll be doing and that's visiting Cousin Yvette's blog. She's the latest craze in the Baby Blogosphere. I devoted a posting to her on July 20th in case you missed it. If you want more then see for yourself. She's the cutest little girl in the entire world (Mommy says that I'm the cutest little boy in the world and I wouldn't doubt Mommy). Yvette's format is a little different as her Mommy writes the blog to her. It must be nice to have someone do all of this for you (now if I could just drag Daddy out of bed or away from Television...). Also, it is not always a daily weekday blog like mine. Keep in mind that her production staff, unlike mine, actually has a job. Click on this link: Yvette or type in this address: yvetteph.blogspot.com/ Make sure you start from the beginning. And then...

...Have a great weekend!

Playing to the Audience

Sometimes I get a little off-track with this blog. I'm cute and funny and well aware of it. I enjoy entertaining all of you fans out there on the Internet. It's also a good way of everyone keeping track of me and how I grow; and it's a great way for me to be able to look back on this when I'm older. But the origin of the blog was for none of these purposes. Don't worry, I won't be giving up my daily antics. However, once in a while I need to play to the one audience member that this blog was intended for. She's 50% of who I am and 99% of the hard work that got me into this world (Daddy gets a 1% participation award for holding the sweat cloth and assisting to pull me out during labor). Yes Mommy, hopefully you didn't forget that this blog was solely intended for you. Remember Day 1 with Daddy?

I was just a little guy then but I still miss you every day. I have fun throughout the day with Daddy and the dog but you coming home is the highlight. You're the only one who I can smile a smile so large that it knocks me off my butt.

I love you, Mommy!

My Yike Yams

It's been a while since I've updated all of you on my progress with eating. In addition to the oatmeal, barley and rice cereals, I am eating and enjoying carrots, yams, bananas and avocados. As you can imagine some of these foods make for a messy and stinky diaper, not to mention a messy Matthew. This video is from dinner last night. You'll see that a bath was very necessary afterwards. I even had rice and yam in my eyelashes from lunch with Daddy.

In case you're wondering, the title of this post has intentional errors. The title is for "little" Cousin Wade. Supposedly, Wade used to say 'My' for 'I' and his L's came out as Y's. How is my language development progressing? Well, you'd think I'd be speaking in full sentences considering Mommy is a speech-language pathologist. But remember I spend my days with Daddy and Onyx. Chances are my first language will consist of mumbling and a series of grunts, whistles and noisy bodily functions.

When I Wake Up

I wake up many times throughout an entire day. By the time I get a few naps in and maybe wake 1 to 2 times during the night I may wake up a total of 5 to 8 times. Usually I find myself in the crib but the car seat, swing, or Mommy are all possibilities. My main wake-up in the morning coincides with Mommy. In other words, I typically wake her up. At 6 AM this morning, for instance, we started the day together. We hang out and try and maximize our time together before she goes to work. Daddy gets up later and then Mommy waves goodbye. Daddy and I will play a little bit but I start to get sleepy mainly because I got up so early. Then comes my morning nap, a nice little refresher for the day. As I come out of my sleep sometimes I'll talk a little bit and roll around the crib. Then Daddy comes and gets me. That's where we pick up the action:

When I wake things are still a little foggy. I'm in a good mood unless it's an angry, hungry stomach that wakes me. Sometimes I watch my mobile, roll around, and lately I've been watching my fingers more closely. They are growing and more capable than ever before. Fingers are fascinating.

On a side-note, in the middle of all of this I usually utilize my diaper and in a big way. This morning was no exception- it took 2 diapers.

Communication Breakdown

Above is the video for the dialogue below. It's an example of what I have to put up with and part of the reason for "fussy" Matthew.

Matthew: Daddy, I'm hungry.

Daddy: What's the matter, Matthew?

Matthew: I said I'm hungry.

Daddy: Are you sleepy?

Matthew: No. Well yes, but that's not what I'm trying to say. I'm telling you tha- oh, I'll play fetch with you Onyx. Let me just get your ba- Daddy! I was playing ball with Onyx! And I'm still hungry.

Daddy: Is your diaper fully charged?

Matthew: How can it be if I need to eat? But ask me again in 2 minutes. Seriously, won't anyone listen? Onyx? You hear me don't you buddy? No, I guess you don't and I'm sure you're hungry too. Blasted lack of language!

Daddy: Matthew, you might be getting hungry.

Matthew: You think? That's brilliant, Daddy.

Daddy: Just let me make your bottle and then you can eat.

Matthew: What? You were 5 minutes late to work and you don't have my bottle ready? Wait until I speak with Mommy when she gets home. She'll understand what I'm saying.

My First Spoken Word...

...is 'credulous'. It's a synonym of gullible. Aren't I funny?!

Have a great weekend!

Scrub A Dub Dub Matthew's In The Tub

Who is a big boy? Me. I'm in the big tub now. Last night was my first big bath. Notice the hand placement in the picture above. Look, I've granted the Internet access to my life but I do have my limits. Anyway, the bath is great. It's like playing in a warm but small swimming pool. There are toy boats and rubber duckies. There's even singing with Mommy! Mommy, your voice is so wonderful I've decided to share it with the world:

The Crisco Kid

Oh! Hello there. I didn't see you come in. I'm checking and testing out a product I'm now endorsing. It's a breathable bumper from BreathableBaby. Not only is it "Recommended and Tested by Pediatricians," it's also recommended and tested by me. So to all you new parents out there: be sure to pick one of these up. Unlike your standard bumper it reduces the risk of suffocation, it impedes climbing, promotes airflow, and has no dangerous ties. And unlike having no bumper at all it keeps arms and legs inside to prevent entanglement. In other words, it prevents your knee from getting stuck when you jamb your entire leg through an open crib slat. This last feature is why I decided to put my name behind this wonderful, entangle-preventing product. This reminds me of a story I've been meaning to tell you. It happened about 2 weeks ago. Mommy, Daddy and my "little" cousins were all working on my new room. I was watching them and just hanging out in my crib. I was kicking the side of my crib because I like to kick stuff. Well, with one kick my leg decided not to come back. Instead my entire knee when through the slat. My chubby thigh and knee tucked themselves around the surrounding crib slats. I was stuck and not happy. Everyone tried to get me loose. The rest of me looked like I was riding a mechanical bull. My head, arms, and trunk were thrashing about and I was screaming so loud that if anyone in the neighborhood had a solution to my problem they would hear me and know what to do. The rest of the story is kind of a blur. Mommy kept her cool and told Daddy to get some butter. Daddy didn't keep his cool and ran for the saw. When Daddy came back Mommy had a package of Crisco (which I'm also now endorsing) that she applied to my leg and the slats. Like magic she was able to free my leg. There was Crisco everywhere: on the crib sheet, the slats, me, Mommy and Daddy. Onyx was happy to help clean up. I can look back and laugh about it now. The pain didn't last long but the bruise showed for a couple of days. But now thanks to BreathableBaby I shouldn't have to worry about that happening again. In fact, I plan on using it as a step when I figure out how to break out of here. Thanks, BreathableBaby!

If at first you don't succeed...

This is the chair that I sit in sometimes in the bathroom while Mommy or Daddy gets ready in the morning. I think I'm getting a little too big for it. Anyway, this morning I fell asleep while Daddy was showering. The sauna-like conditions will make anyone sleepy. I sit in here because Mommy or Daddy can keep an eye on me. Onyx is a good dog but his infant care capabilities are somewhat lacking. Nothing against Onyx or his kind but I've been realizing over the past few months that dogs, though fascinating to watch, don't have the same intellectual abilities that even I have at this point in my life. He doesn't respond to me when I speak to him and he doesn't tell me all day how funny and cute I am. Then again, he doesn't tell me to stop crying when crying is my way of telling others that I need something. He really doesn't do anything.

So I'm still working on my crawl. Here's what what happened during my workout session yesterday.

I say to myself, “Okay Matthew you can do this. First: butt up in the air, go left leg, go right leg, go arms go!" But, the arms don’t cooperate and there’s no traction with the knees. Therefore, there’s no forward movement. I roll back over, catch my breath and then yell a frustrating “aaahhhh” to the gods.

Let's try this again. Butt up in the air...

Wow! Did you see that? It may not be a true crawl but you have to admit that I'm on to something here. It's just a matter of time.

Ostie G1

Please allow me to re-introduce myself. I am Ostie G1, son of Ostie A the daughter of Ostie 2. The 'G' stands for 'great' because I am the great-grandson of Great and Greatest. The '1' refers to the fact that I'm the first 'G'. So we finally have the answer to the Great Dilemma. Boy, was that stressful or what? Luckily Daddy's side of the family is not attempting to categorize its people through numbers and letters. If so I'd have an identity crisis. Regardless, I'll still be going by Matthew, Matt, Matty D, etc. G1 is perfect, though. It's now official and written in stone (or cement. I'm 6 months old and the difference is still a bit beyond me).

So now I wait for the rest of my generation on that side of the family. These are the G2's, G3's, and so on that have yet to make their presence. Someday we will hold are own G8 (and perhaps beyond) Summit. For now I will have to hold down the fort and hold my own G1 Summit. When? Whenever I want.

This past weekend was a grand weekend. I'm sure I'm going to miss mentioning some of the events that took place. I went to my first G.M. Day and represented myself as the eighth generation of Mommy's hometown. No I don't actually live there but I can still represent. I also saw my first parade. It was fun except when people would hold my ears so I couldn't hear the muskets and motorcycles. "C'mon," I tried to tell them, "I like to make and hear loud noises!" I even thought of participating in the parade. How? By riding in my brand new, very own, pimped and polished John Deere wagon! Thank you Great, Greatest and Great Aunt Susan for my half-birthday present. I now expect a half-birthday present from everyone for ever. This thing is so cool. Gramp and Nanna pimped my new ride with stickers, flags, mirrors, cushions, a lunch box, and even a blink light. I'm such a big boy in it and I'll be able to hold my bottle, diaper and wipes in the lunch box. It's very convenient.

So why did I not participate in the parade? Let's just say that security was questionable and the risk was not worth it with someone of my notoriety. But here's how it may have looked:

I know you're all jealous. And don't think that I will be sharing this with the future G's. It's mine.

One more thing. I'm glad to hear you're feeling better, Ge. Stay well and I hope to see you soon!

Six Months

It's my half birthday today! Has it really been 6 months already? Boy, time flies when you double in size. The first 6 months were great but I'm ready for 6 more. Bring it on!

Have a great weekend!

Go Ahead. Change My Diaper.

Please read the title above as if Dirty Harry were saying it. It's much more dramatic and fun that way. If you like drama and action and you think you're quick and up to the task then you may go ahead and attempt to change my diaper. I like being changed but I'd rather do something else. You see, I'm very observant and active and typically as soon as I hit the table I'm rolling and reaching for something...anything. Daddy now practices "speed-changing" if necessary. This means that unless I'm cooperative there are no songs, no talking, and the diaper is changed as quickly as possible before I can roll over too many times. I'm also getting kind of big for my table and my rollover capability makes things difficult for Mommy and Daddy. They are up to the task but I'll keep working on my game. The following video is long but so are some of my diaper sessions. We had to do a little editing as the gift I left in my diaper was not suitable for this viewing audience. This particular clothes and diaper change is actually rather tame compared to what I'm capable of. I think the cameraman pointing that video camera at me rear was a little distracting.

Matthew, Matthew Man

Ever since I was born Daddy started singing "Matthew, Matthew Man" to the tune of Macho Man by the Village People. No matter what mood I'm in this little personal tune gets me going and puts a smile on my face. This morning Daddy let me rock out to the video of the real song, and rock out I did.

Was Daddy actually wearing a Village People t-shirt? I hope not.

I-C-U-P

First some housekeeping. I went to the doctor on Friday for my 6 month checkup. Again, I was berated with needles. Those people are relentless. Anyway, I weighed 15 pounds, 11 ounces and was 26, 1/2 inches. I'm still average for height but I'm between 20 and 30 percent weight-wise. The doctor explained that most babies start to settle into their genetics at my age. As I explained before, Mommy and Daddy are not very "thick" people. I'm bound to be lean. But I ask, if my health is just fine then who are these giant babies who make up the higher percentages? I better watch myself out there. I'm already the runt. Oh well, I'm sure I can roll away from any danger.

Lately I'm learning how to drink from the cup. Apparently, Mommy was drinking from a cup at 4 months old. What an overachiever. I'll learn quick. I'm just figuring out this whole gravity thing. Laying down makes it much easier to drink from the cup. It's like defying the laws of physics. I had the hiccups this morning so Daddy gave me a cup of water. Here's a video of my training session.

By the way, though the title may seem inappropriate I feel that it is relevant. Cousin Marcy taught my Daddy this years ago and now he's passing it down to me. Go ahead and tell any little kid to spell 'I cup.' You won't be disappointed in their response.

Loud

Today is my first Labor Day but I'm not quite sure what that means. All I know is that Mommy is home all day. I'm giving Daddy most of the day off. Aunt Bethy and Uncle C. are here and we're about to head to the diner for breakfast. I went out to dinner with Mommy and Daddy for the first time ever on Friday. I had a good time but wasn't allowed to order anything. I'm hoping to get something, anything, this morning for breakfast.

So lately my form of play involves making loud noises. I like taking objects and banging them on other objects. Dropping things on the floor to hear a noise is good, but making Mommy and Daddy pick these things up from the floor is better. This new animal rock band toy that I got from Gramp is really loud and really awesome. Daddy tried to turn it down but there is no such option. I like it just the way it is.

Caged Animals

Cousin Sleepover was a lot of fun last night and into today. There's never a dull moment with these guys and things did get a little out of hand this morning. It was like a zoo here except this time I could actually see the animals in their cages. As you can see Sage and I had to restrain Kyle and Wade. Things are better now.

Have a great weekend!

Spit Happens

Here's a behind-the-scenes picture of me.

What is so different? I'm wearing a bib and I'm not eating. Daddy finally used his brain and now has me wear a bib throughout the day. Before this, a full days worth of drool and spit up made for a wet and stinky shirt. Now when Mommy comes home she doesn't always have to change me. I think I've mentioned that I have numerous bibs, all with different messages. Some serve as a warning like the bib in the picture above (WARNING: this could get messy) and "Careful...I drool on a moments notice." Another has my name on it, "Matthew," just in case you forget who I am or if I'm meeting people for the first time. Others inform that "Mommy loves me" and that "I love my aunt." Which aunt? All of them but only the bib dictates if necessary for the right time, place and aunt. Finally, I have a bib suggesting that "spit happens!" It's funny because it's true.

Tonight my cousins are spending the night. I'm really excited and can't wait to stare at each of them while witnessing their antics, stay up late, watch movies, play games, and eat popcorn and milk. Sometimes I do get a little nervous, however, like in the following situation. I'll let you judge what's really going on:

Marked Baby

Good morning! How are you today? I'm doing great. Today I'm just relaxing and playing around. I'm keeping my day open. Yesterday I went for a long hike with Onyx and then shopped at the grocery store. I always used to sleep at the grocery store but now I usually stay awake the whole time. There's a lot going on there and I can now see the fans way up on the ceiling. Last night after dinner, Mommy and I went to the craft store to get things for my new room. We spent approximately 3 hours there. It is estimated that my room will be all finished by Fall 2010. Most of the work has been organizing my clothes. I guess because I grow so quick I always have to have the next sizes in the pipeline.

As you know, I'm now eating some real food other than milk and formula. This has made me a target of Onyx's licking tongue. He was never interested in the milk but he seems to like oatmeal, barley, carrots and rice. This morning for example I got a quick bite to eat of some rice cereal. Unknowingly I had some cereal remaining on my cheeks. Please keep in mind that this video clip would not happen on Mommy's watch. Even Onyx thought he was in trouble after he did what you are about to see. There are things that can be done only with Daddy and for the sake of the blog. Watch...

The Great Dilemma

The following is a translation of the video above.

Some background information: I am an 'Ostie.' I was born that way. My understanding is that anyone from Mommy's family with a particular last name in which 'Ostie' is derived from or linked to that family can be called 'Ostie.' Apparently, there were suddenly so many Osties in my Gramp's generation that they all needed to be categorized so they could tell each other apart. For some reason their first names weren't enough. Then Mommy's generation was also categorized. For instance, my Gramp is 'Ostie 2'. Mommy is 'Ostie A' and Aunt Bethy is 'Ostie C'. Gramp was the second born in his generation and Mommy and Aunt Bethy were first and third in theirs. So how is all of this information supposed to make your life better? It's not, but stick with me. If you notice in the video all of my Ostie Wear says 'Ostie' but does not have any categorical following. Right now I am Ostie __. We can't use numbers and we can't use letters because they're already in use. Family and friends are attempting to figure out what my generation should use. I even hear that consultants and lawyers have been hired. Here is a sample of the suggestions so far: the Greek alphabet (Ostie Alpha, Beta, Gamma...); an extension of our parents (Ostie A.1, B.2, A.3, or AJ1, BK2...); Roman numerals (Ostie I, II, III, IV...); colors (Red, Orange, Yellow...); beer (Amstel, Budweiser, Coors...); plus a whole bunch of others, some good and some not so good. So please family, will you help me figure out this dilemma? How long can I be Ostie __? My Ostie Gear is not complete. Also, keep in mind that we could have so many more Osties unlike past generations who only had five original members. Suppose I end up having 11 brothers and sisters and Aunt Bethy and her and Mommy's cousins all have another 12 each. The alphabet would not be suitable for this. There aren't enough keys on this keyboard that I'm learning to use. But at this point, being the first Ostie of my generation, I'll take just about anything.

Yesterday I was not myself. I was tired, cranky and my teeth hurt. Mommy and Daddy didn't know what to do. Even the baseball game on Television couldn't help. But then I totally redeemed myself. I, Matthew Jeffrey, slept the entire night last night for the first time ever (cue the chorus of Hallelujah). It was 9 straight, blissful hours. Mommy woke up this morning bright-eyed and refreshed, as if she hadn't had a full night sleep in almost 6 months. As I was calling to her to come get me out of my crib I heard her rise from her bed and say, "That was the best night of sleep ever!" You're welcome, Mommy.