Week 52 Update!

We are ridiculously behind on updating this blog. Thanks to those of you who give us grief. We deserve it, and you've motivated us. Lindsay is on her second semester as a college freshman, Lauren is working many hours at the nursing home, and we are all cheering on the Vikings today. Yesterday was Matthew's 1st birthday. Starting with the 22nd, we began the "remember one year ago today?..." and enjoyed reflecting back on those moments, and how much life has changed. Yes, even I (Kristi) am happy to recount the details of our little guy's entry into the world. What a privilege I was given! Hundreds of pictures document his growth from the moment we knew I was pregnant. Matthew is blessed to be loved and cherished by our family and friends. He had a wonderful party yesterday with about 30 people celebrating his special day. Jeff made our traditional Crazy Cake and Matthew dug right in. He wasn't as messy as predicted, but a bath was still in order. Some updates...he started walking just after Thanksgiving and hasn't slowed down since. He jabbers a lot, likes to scare us by shouting "HAA or HEE" but his words are still mama and dad (the latter pronounced dat or da-ta). Matthew loves attention from his sisters, they still get bigger smiles than we do, and thinks all kids are his friends. He plays "So Big" and for peek-a-boo if he doesn't have a blanket he puts his hands over his ears. :) He's moved up to the "Infant 3" room at daycare and eats at a little table with paper plates, washes his hands at the sink, and is drinking milk (organic of course) with sippy cups. No more formula, that's $23 a week in savings! Matthew naps 2 hours each day, and at daycare sleeps on a little cot. He loves throwing balls, and if you put the ball in his left hand, he switches to his right and throws it. I'm not sure when you can determine handedness, but I think he's a righty. We started swimming lessons at the Y, and he blows bubbles even in the bathtub. He gives hugs by laying his head sideways on us, and his stuffed animals get plenty of hugs too. I could go on, but I'm sure you just want to see some updated pictures! Thanks for your patience, enjoy!

Week 42 Update

Despite energy sucking health issues it's been a good month (Kristi and Matthew had H1N1; Lauren and Jeff had a nasty cold/cough that wouldn't end; Jeff's back went out - again; Matthew had 3-5 other bugs).

Matthew is now crawling normally, walking around and climbing over things ("even his friends", per daycare), practicing how long he can stand without holding on, walking behind his shopping cart, and turning 9 months old.

Lauren started a new job serving food to elderly at a nursing home, she really likes it. She also has straight A's going mid-way through the semester - way to go Lauren!

Lindsay is half way through her first semester as well. She's really enjoying the independence, college experience, and challenging courses. We went down to visit for parents weekend (roommate Alli in dorm room picture).

Finally, we said our farewells to the boat/summer and cranked up the hot tub in preparation for a long winter's nap (oh wait, that was before we had a 9 month old!).

Week 37 Update

7:30pm and it's already dark, summer is waning, winter is looming, change is in the air (or should I say continues to be in the air). Just over a month ago Lindsay ventured off to college and Matthew began venturing from the general area we last left him (yes, he started crawling, army style). Both have been busy exploring their new worlds, building their strength and confidence, getting a few bumps, and ultimately growing in many ways (fun for us all to be part of). Lauren started back to school and is jazzed to have the car all to herself. (No, it's not OK to just drive to the Mall of America without permission. Yes, your parents will find out.) Over Labor Day, we took a long boating trip to Lake Pepin and had dinner at the Harborview Cafe - yum! This past weekend, family from Kansas City (Aunt Mae, Liz, Kathy, and Diana) joined us up river to Hudson. Kristi and Matthew power-shopped with them at the Mall and Ikea for 7 hours. Matthew was awake the entire time, absorbing all of the sights and sounds. As summer draws to a close, and Matthew celebrates his 8 month birthday, we can't help but reflect on the wonder of this year. Life is good.

Week 33 Update

Our little guy is now 7 months old and army crawling! In just a few days he went from spinning in a circle to making tracks in a very straight, very fast line. We still have no "childproofing" done. Lindsay is finishing up her first week of classes today, and is coming back home for one night this weekend. Lauren still has another week before she begins her junior year. She is done with her summer job (watching Matthew) and is seeking an after-school job now. Time flew by and Matthew starts full-time at our on-site daycare next Monday. One perk I hadn't expected with Lauren watching him was that she helped us understand his daily routine much better than 5 day a week daycare would have afforded us. It's very clear when he's tired vs. hungry and that sort of thing. Early on when it was just me home during the day, I second-guessed myself so much. Heck, I hear I will be doing that for the rest of my life, is that right parents out there? This week we went to the wake of a 37 year old mother who passed away after a 4+ year cancer battle. Her 5 year old son was quoted as saying "Mom, even if I knew you for only 5 minutes, I would love you right away." Hug your kids, hug your spouse, hug your family and friends. Life is precious - live it well. Today Jeff and I are on vacation for the annual United Way boat ride excursion. Here's to living!

Week 31 Update

FFV 2009 was a blast. The weather was a bit cooler than recent years but the kids still spent a fair amount of time in the water and Alec was the winning polish golf champion. Matthew slept great in his pack-n-play. With Seattle, FFV and boating he has been a trooper, although getting adjusted back to his crib took a few nights. He has a more golden tan than I do, thank goodness he inherited Jeff's skin tone. This is short and sweet to get some new pics out here. In less than a week Lindsay is off to Winona, and soon after Matthew will be in daycare full-time and Lauren will start 11th grade. We are excited for all that is coming and enjoying every moment of today. Off to get Matthew's 6 month pictures!

Week 27 Update

Matthew was 6 months old last week. We are finally getting his pictures taken tomorrow night. It's also Lauren's championship game for the State soccer tourney. Her team has played very well so far. A neighbor had a hypnotist at their house recently and Lindsay "went under." Jeff was in attendance and says the highlight was when she thought she was Britney Spears, complete with lip synching. She is very excited to get to college, and we are all amazed that she leaves in less than a month. Last week I had a business trip to Seattle. Jeff and Matthew came with and we had a great time. He flew first class and received his "First Flight" certificate from Northwest Airlines, which will be a collector item soon. We spent some time at the local wineries with Matthew in the Baby Bjorn (are you surprised?) and found a local winery named Matthews. Our friend Marnie was also in town for meetings and babysat him one evening while Jeff and I went to dinner. This was such a blessing - thank you Marnie! Seattle has wonderful restaurants. If you have a reason to visit let me know. For example, we ate at an organic restaurant one evening. They weren't exactly set up for a baby but when we needed to change the boy, I was led to the spa downstairs and changed him in style. Too bad I didn't bring the camera with me. On our final day, the client wanted to meet Matthew so he and Jeff joined us for lunch. I did not expense his rice cereal and bananas. Matthew did very well on the plane rides. He spent so much time on planes in utero, we figured he would be a seasoned traveler by now. He continues to thrill us with his smiles, laughter and new abilities. You should be able to see both of his teeth in at least one picture.

Week 24 Update

I wondered how many weeks would pass us by before Kristi exercised her delegation skills...

Much has happened since our last update: Lindsay registered for her first semester of college and learned they selected a good friend, Alli, to be her roommate (I think they were both somewhat relieved).

Lauren, Lauren, Lauren... she's doing a great job taking care of Matthew (part-time job this summer) and her soccer team made the state tournament. Today, she spent a great deal of time trying to convince me she should be able to stay out until midnight on a weekday, I settled for 10:30 (I was labeled "the strictest dad in the world", I'll add it to my collection).

Matthew has grown 2 pounds, he started eating solids (rice cereal on Father's day, Avocado the week after, and now sweet potatoes), he can sit by himself now, and his first tooth came in. Why Avocado you ask, well, that's what all the research says is the best. He remains good natured and is "sleeping well" (a question we get often), I hope it continues.