18 months and so much personality

This picture pretty much sums up our month all of December. I never realized how much a mom does in December and around Christmastime. We have been on the run A TON this month and Matthew has eaten and slept more in his carseat than I would like him to. BUT, he is SO GOOD and NEVER is a brat in the stores. He loves to go with me, especially since I give him things and he throws them in the back of the basket. He does so well and when I ask him if he wants to go to the store, he responds, SEY (that is his "yes" and he says it everytime I ask him a question).

He saw Santa today and was good with it! He wasn't quite sure what the big fuss was about, but he looked at the camera and clapped away.


Matthew has become quite the little toddler in just this past month. He has gotten so much personality and he is too cute with the little things he does. He is VERY stable on his feet now, but still trips a lot, or runs into things all the time. No biggy, just gets right back up.

Right now, he:

• has 10 teeth
• 5-6 shoe
• 18 month clothing
• size 4 diapers
• loves babies and kids.
• LOVES LOVES LOVES dogs. Taps his knee for a dog every time he hears one, sees one, wants to see one. He loves them. If I'm not in the room and I come in, I know that he just saw a dog on TV or in a book because he is tapping his knee away. Sign language is a beautiful thing.
• Says "knock" all the time. This was something that Gavin used to say completely out of no where. We aren't sure why both of them say it, but Matt has begun saying that. It's probably just a toddler word.
• Laughs all the time when we say "dashe" to him. This was a word that Gavin used to say to him (actually he says it to any kid that doesn't speak as well as he does. So pretty much every kid, even if they're 4). It's one of Gav's "baby talk" words. Now, every time Matthew hears it, he laughs.
• Likes sardines and tuna. Weird kid!
• Tried ranch dressing again and liked it for the first time. He never has liked it before. Hates ketchup, mustard, pickles and butter.
• Is becoming a lot more responsive. I was not in the room with him the other day and he started to scream. I came in to see what was wrong and asked him to tell me. He just held up his foot. I'm pretty sure he closed it in the door because it was red. I just loved this so much because he showed me that he is learning to tell me if something is wrong and what hurts.
• Is a little attached to me. Granted, he is with me 24/7, but he has begun to put his head on my shoulder an awful lot lately. Normally, he isn't into the "cuddling," but lately, he just wants me to hold him at random times during the day.
• Does everything his Your Baby Can Read movies tell him. Clap. He claps. Wave. He waves. Arms Up. Dog. Nose. You name it. It is too cute.
• Loves Reese. I'm not sure why. We got Sloan's Christmas card in the mail and we pointed to each of them and he had no response for Gavin or Zane, a smile for Aunt Sloan and gave a huge kiss to Reese. He will literally kiss her every picture and kisses whatever is closest to him when I say her name.
• He kisses about 1000 times a day.
• Loves to pray. He folds his arms constantly. He did it after every bite of food the other day. Silly kid.
• Does not like when people are arguing or wrestling or fighting. He doesn't know what the heck is going on.
• Sticks up for me all the time. If Ammon even goes in to hug me or he is jokingly wrestling with me on the floor, Matthew freaks out. He doesn't like when Mom is getting picked on.
• Saw Red Robin when we went out to dinner tonight and it scared the crap out of him. He was okay with Santa, but not a big red bird. You would think that since he watches Sesame Street, he'd be used to big birds. Not so.
• Everyone LOVES Matthew. The guards at the gates, old ladies in public, the older girls in primary, other drill sergeants, the greeters at Walmart, men from church, the elders. You name it. I could go on and on. He is quite the social little butterfly and loves giving five to everyone he sees. He is very spoiled and loved by his aunts, uncles, grandparents. Everyone loves him.

I have to say that he is my best little bud. Who else gets so excited to see me in the morning and cries for my attention if I'm not with him all the time? He goes everywhere with me and I would have it no other way. He's not with babysitters, no daycare. Just Matthew and Mom all day. He's the cutest little thing and even though Ammon calls him 'bite-size,' we think he is pretty perfect. He has his screaming moments and his fit throwing, but time passes too quickly. He's growing too fast. Nursery on Sunday!