6 months

Oh my goodness, where is the time going? I can't believe my little boy is already 6 months old! Me and Michael were watching our home videos of Matthew as a newborn and it was so fun and also so depressing. Long gone is my little newborn Matthew. Sometimes I really do wish I could freeze time. Luckily, I am having a BLAST with Matthew at this age. He is so sweet, smart, fun, and absolutely hilarious. He makes me laugh at least 100 times a day.

He has recently taken up spitting and will spit at anyone who walks by. It was always cute and funny until he did it while I was feeding him, and I got a lovely prune bath. Ugh. :-)

Speaking of food, Matthew is still my little foodie. Since literally the day he was born he has always been way ahead of the game when it comes to food and his appetite. I gave him solids right at 4 months (rice cereal and oatmeal) and he downed them like a champ. He now eats all kinds of baby food, and he likes almost everything except for squash and apples. However, if Matthew had his way, he'd be done with nursing and the bottle and even baby food and be eating grown up food with us. Unfortunately for him I won't allow it, but he absolutely LOVES when we let him try whatever we're eating.


Matthew has still never slept through the night.... which means I haven't slept through the night since probably around May or June of last year. (late pregnancy = small bladder, which = up several times in the night) However, he has been VERY close to sleeping through the night lately, so I'm optimistic that it'll happen within the next few weeks. I am so excited about this. Matthew was a pretty terrible sleeper for his first few months of life, especially as a newborn, and it looks like he's finally starting to get the whole sleep thing.

Matthew is in the 75th percentile for height and the 65th percentile for weight. He has a small head (20th percentile) but it doesn't look very small because he has the chubbiest, most kissable cheeks ever!


He has rolled over exactly one time from stomach to back, and exactly one time from back to stomach. It was almost like he was showing me that he could, but chooses not to. :-) He still doesn't like being on his stomach, so who knows if he'll ever learn to crawl? His preferred method of transportation is for us to hold his arms and let him "walk" by himself.

He adores the pool and the bath. I can't wait for the weather to be good enough for every day to be a pool day!



When we ask him to say, "hi," he yells out a really high-pitched scream. When we ask him to say, "mama," he smiles. When we ask him to say, "dada," he stares.

His favorite songs are, "You Are My Sunshine," (which is great for calming him down) and "Once There Was A Snowman." He also loves, "Sexy And I Know It" by LMFAO. :-)

He went through a phase where he would scream every time I put him in the car, but he has luckily outgrown that... as long as we don't drive too long. He loves running errands with me and sitting in the cart while I shop. He tries to grab anything I have in my hands, including my shopping list. If I stop paying attention for one second, my shopping list will be ripped up and/or stuffed in his mouth before I even realize what's going on.

Me and Michael were sure his eyes would be green since we both have green eyes, but now I'm thinking they'll stay blue. I'm happy about this- his eyes are absolutely gorgeous! Strangers compliment them all the time. Thanks Grandma and Papa for his blue eyes!

As I mentioned, Matthew loves to be out and about. He isn't entertained for long at our apartment, even with all his fun toys. When Matthew gets bored, he gives me this face:


I keep thinking that Matthew is teething, but then no teeth come in.... so what do I know? For now, he is still sporting his gummy smile.

I can't keep up with how fast Matthew's nails grow! I literally clip and file his nails twice a week and I still find scratches on his face way too often. It always makes me feel terrible, and some people look at me with judging eyes. I'm trying to keep those nails short, people!

We are so glad that Matthew joined our family six months ago. Hopefully these next six months won't fly by quite so fast!

Fro Yo Fridays

We've sort of made a tradition of going to get frozen yogurt every Friday after dinner. There's a cute little place just down the street from our apartment that has the best flavors.... and by that, I mean that they have stuff like brownie batter and snickerdoodle.... with toppings like cheesecake bites and chocolate-covered caramel balls. I am very healthy like that. We all have a blast, including Matthew. And I'm pretty sure all the workers there know our names by now.

The frozen yogurt is pretty dang good, but I think I love Fro Yo Fridays so much because I get to start every weekend with my two favorite boys!


These next two pictures have nothing to do with this post, but the first one is pretty much the cutest picture ever so I had to share, and the second one is just funny. You'd think I was feeding him some horrible veggie right? Nope. Matthew hates...... apples.

My Newest Blog/Hobby

I have never been a very good cook. Before I got married, I knew how to make pancakes, hamburger helper, and brownies from a box. Seriously. Luckily, a couple wonderful people gave me cookbooks for my wedding, which helped a lot. I found some relatively easy recipes and was able to actually make my husband a few good dinners here and there.

Well, as Pinterest grew to crazy popularity, I found myself with a growing Recipe board. Some of the recipes were actually pretty dang easy, so I started giving them a try. My husband was definitely a fan of my newest hobby. ;-) And as it turns out, I actually don't mind cooking at all when I have an easy recipe to follow. (I am still most definitely not a natural chef.... I need a very detailed, relatively simple recipe). However, sometimes I'd be eating dinner and think, "Oh, man, I'm going to have to remember to _______ the next time I make this." (fill in the blank with anything from 'cook this longer' to 'use a lot less cheese') And then I'd make it again and of course forget what I wanted to remember.

It was actually Michael's idea for me to start a blog with all the (mostly Pinterest) recipes I've been trying. He said something like, "You should write it all in a blog and then you can always look back at the things you wanted to remember.... plus, others could know what's worth making and what's not." Not a bad idea. Kind of like my own personal cookbook..... except that it's public. :-) And since so many of my "Pinterest friends" have a lot of the same recipes pinned, it could even be kind of useful to others. Besides, I get to be totally original because there are certainly NO 20-something LDS stay-at-home-moms with a cooking blog. Ha. ;-)

So yeah, if you ever need a new dinner idea, feel free to check it out:

http://carlysrecipes.blogspot.com

Just A Few Things We've Been Up To

- Michael finally got to use his Christmas present from me... Phoenix Suns tickets! Sadly, they lost at the very end - bummer! He still had fun though. He took his friend to the game while I stayed home with Matthew. And yes, he brought tissue for the nosebleed seats I bought him.

- Doctor visits. Matthew jumped from the 60th percentile in height and weight to the 80th percentile in height and weight. My little boy is not so little! And the kid loves to eat.


- Speaking of eating, Matthew is now getting a little more variety than just rice cereal and oatmeal. He has now also had bananas, prunes, and sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were definitely his favorite of the three.... but I'm sure that once I start giving him the good stuff, he'll have new favorites. Oh, and he's quite the messy eater. He tries to feed himself. And then gets mad at me when I clean his face.


- I take Matthew on a walk every day... most often to the pool. We usually just put our feet in, but in a couple of months I'm going to buy him a baby float and we're going to go swimming every day. Sounds like the life to me.


- Grandma Kathy is in town! And she came with a cute basketball toy present for Matthew, which he adores.


- Lots of family time! I'm loving this stage of our lives. Even though I often feel really busy, I know that I'm really not in comparison to how busy I'll be in a few more years, and then a few more years after that.... and I'm enjoying all the time we get to spend as a family. Our current favorite activities include treating ourselves to frozen yogurt on Friday nights, playing Uno, and teaching Matthew new tricks. That kid is learning more and more every day!

Family time. I was playing too, but somebody had to take the picture. :-)

I May or May Not Be Loving Phoenix Right Now

The last few places I've lived.....

January in Provo:


January in Nashville:


January in Phoenix:


Okay, so the weather isn't usually this amazing in the winter, but still. Taking Matthew swimming for the first time in January is pretty awesome. And yes, he's a total water baby, which made both me and Michael very happy.

I often miss Utah and Nashville and our friends there, but right now, I'm pretty content to be right here.