October Festivities

I love October.  Cooler weather, the start of a string of super fun holidays, and lots of activities going on.  This last Saturday we had a super fun and busy day and even though we all ended the day exhausted both physically and mentally, it was more than worth it for the memories!

Last year, our pumpkin carving involved putting Matthew INTO a pumpkin.  My sister helped me majorly Photoshop the picture to make it look like Matthew was actually tolerating it, but the actual pictures made me and Michael look like the worst parents that ever lived....

Good picture:

Bad parents pictures:

This year, pumpkin carving was a MUCH better experience for Matthew.  Pumpkin guts = unbelievably amazing to a  1-year old.  Definitely kept him entertained for a while.  We'd take the insides out of the pumpkin, and he'd play with them and then put them back in.  :-)

 Not really sure how that got there... 

And then we headed to the Arizona State Fair!  Apparently, it's a pretty big deal here.  Michael grew up going and was like a little kid on Christmas as we were getting ready to go.  It didn't disappoint!  Just walking into the fair made me happy.  And it was HUGE!  Definitely the biggest and nicest fair I've ever been to.  We got really good deals for admission, but we forked over the money for some ridiculously overpriced (but delicious!) fair food.  We bought a humongous turkey leg, a funnel cake, (1000 calories per bite?  Oh well!  It's the Fair!) and a giant strawberry lemonade.  We checked out the petting zoo (Matthew's favorite) watched a pig race, wandered, and Michael even played a game and won Matthew a stuffed penguin.  Aww.  :-)  Oh, and of course we had to check out the Coliseum, which is where the Phoenix Suns first played.  

After a veeeery quick nap back at home, we headed out to the Trunk Or Treat.  Matthew was definitely a fan of the candy, but couldn't figure out why people kept giving the candy to his bucket rather than to him.  Silly people.

 Batmobile

And then, we all crashed.  So excited for all the other fun holidays coming up!

My Little Man

I know that some things about acting "like a boy" or "like a girl" are taught by our culture, but you know what?  Matthew was meant to be a boy.  When people told me that little boys are naturally more attracted to bugs, dirt, rocks, destroying things, cars, balls, and crazy adventures, I wasn't sure I totally believed them.

I am now a total believer.  Matthew is a boy, and he acts like it.  Constantly.

When I was pregnant with Matthew and found out that he was a boy, I was excited but also a little nervous.  I was worried about being a mom to a boy.  Being a mom to a girl seemed way more natural to me -dolls and princess dresses?  Yes please.  Getting dirty and digging for worms?  Not really my thing.  Well, whether or not I felt ready, Matthew started making his transition from baby-hood to toddler-hood and out came the trains and legos.

Guess what?  Turns out that I love being a mom to a little boy!  It's exhausting (especially as I've now reached my third trimester!) and yes, kinda messy, but my goodness, I sure have a lot of fun.  Matthew is constantly on the go, always getting dirty, and narrowly missing death traps every 20 seconds, (scaring me to death) but I still find myself wishing (almost) :) every day that I could freeze time.  I sure do love my little man, and the ways that he is toughening me up.  ;-)  Don't get me wrong - I am beyond excited for the little lady coming in a few short months and the accessories, glitter, and dresses that are coming with her, but I sure do love the "boy stuff" too.

Here are a few cell phone pics (in other words, horrible quality pictures) that I've taken over the last month of a few of Matthew's favorite ways to be 100% boy.

 First he learned how to climb up onto the open dishwasher.....

And then he learned how to climb onto ... well, anything.  And he still cannot safely get down, which means leaving him alone for even 20 seconds is a big no-no right now.

He's also also constantly opening the fridge, looking for good food.  He's always down for a snack.  I'm scared of feeding him when he's a teenager.

He hates being cooped up in the house so we go to the park or for walks ALL the time.  His favorite thing is "treacherous terrain."  I guess this is pretty treacherous for a 1- year old.

When we walk to the car, he bangs on the drivers side door until I open the door and let him climb up so that he can "drive."

And then when I finally move him to his car seat, he's pretty mad.  He'll arch his back and flail and fight me until he finally loses.  He fake cries for a minute to show his displeasure.

He is also into making block towers and then immediately destroying them, playing in the dirt, making messes, wrestling, and walking on the treadmill.  (With help from me or Michael).  Oh, and although he has finally given up trying to eat rocks, I have caught him a couple times trying to eat a cigarette off the ground.  That's fun. (Not!)

Matthew is just plain awesome.  I'm so glad he gets to be the big brother of this family.

10 Things You May Or May Not Know About Michael

Happy Birthday to my twenty-something year old husband.  ;-)  Just thought I'd share some random things about Michael before I finish frosting his white cupcakes with vanilla frosting and served with vanilla ice cream.  HIS request.  Try not too get too crazy with those flavors Michael.

1.  He knows at least a little bit about everything.  Seriously.  I think it's one of the biggest reasons that he can get along with almost anyone.

2.  He thinks you only need to wash pants and shorts about once a year.  Don't worry, I steal them all the time and throw them in the washing machine, much to his disapproval.  ("My pants are tight!  You washed them!  I have to stretch them out now!")  Ha.

3.  He is allergic to anything that's alive and not human. Okay, that was a slight exaggeration.... but really, he's allergic to a lot.  He pets a dog and breaks out in hives.  He sits on grass and is unbelievably itchy.  It's pretty hilarious.  His allergies weren't always this bad though.... when he was toddler, a cat picked him (like the wands pick the wizard/witch in Harry Potter) and he got to keep her.  Her name was Mama Kitty.  ;-)  It got harder and harder for Michael to be around her as he got older.  Sadly, she died on his mission, but we wouldn't be able to have her anyway.  Michael can't touch cats at all anymore.

4.  He would choose to read nonfiction over fiction 100% of the time.

5.  His favorite TV show of all time is The Walking Dead.  (eek!)  He also loves Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, and a couple shows from HGTV.

6.  He puts mine or Matthew's name into any song that he sings.  For example, this morning he was singing, "Oh Matthew Tree Oh Matthew Tree, your leaves are ever faithful....." Or yesterday it was, "Carly Fries Honey Bunch... you know that I love you!  I can't help myself...."  

7.  He can do an amazing Sarah McLachlan impression.

8.  He's basically a Libertarian.  He definitely favors the Republican side but wishes they'd be more extreme.  :-)

9.  His first favorite food is pizza.  His second favorite food is "Taco Bell."

10.   He gets seasick on absolutely anything that involves water, and even things that don't involve water.  He gets "seasick" on the swings.  ;-)

And as a bonus - #11 -  He is the most amazing husband and father.  Me and Matthew are so, so lucky.  WE LOVE YOU!