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.