Riding the Giraffe

We got this giraffe (which we at first mistook for a horse, but with the spots and ears it is clearly a giraffe) from Lisa and DJ for free along with the slide we have in the front yard. Matthew thought it was great since day one but over the last week he has really learned how to ride it to its limits. Oh, and on Sunday I came into the living room to check on him and he was standing on the seat grinning , arms wide and I'm sure saying TA DA in his head!

The foot you see in the background is the safety net we have installed in case he goes over backwards. Like Mum says he never does anything at a one he's always at a ten, including the noise he is making while riding!

Super Hero

On Fourth of July Matthew found these glasses and insisted he wear them. The only way I could think to get them to stay on was to tape them on. He wore them for about half an hour and thought he was sooo cool.

He moves fast so it is really hard to get a good picture.

Our super hero!

Stacking Boxes

So a few weeks ago I brought these boxes home from work (we got these from you Jenn from Harry and David) thinking Matthew would like to play with them. He was mildly interested until Aaron secretly put a duck in the smallest one. While Aaron was gone to CA this last week Matthew discovered the duck and what you see in the following videos is the ensuing daily chaos. And I'm talking multiple times a day.

It is just so incredibly exciting for him and so incredibly funny for us.

It was post bath and we hadn't gotten the diaper on yet, hence the waggling onesie.

Matthew's Blanket love.

This is the original baby shawl that Nana made for Matthew that he loves. He never falls asleep with it over his body but it is always under his face/body or over his head. Tonight after battling a tooth all day he fell asleep with it in his arms.

Popsicle Truck

On Tuesday after coming home tired from daycare, we watched Daddy finish mowing the lawn then we intercepted the popsicle truck.

We went with one of these tricolor tube like popsicles.

Oooh its yummy and cold on a hot afternoon.

Looks pretty cool too.

Then Matthew decided that he needed to get down off the step and apparently he can't step down without putting the popsicle on the ground.

So after a quick (although not quick enough for Matthew) rinse Daddy gave the treat back.

Still tastes good even with tears, dirt and snot mixed in.

Yep, still looks cool even though it is starting to get a little worse for wear.

More dirt and grass for extra flavor.

Unfortunately with each drop on the ground and each successive rinsing, Mathew is losing his patience with us stealing his food.

Yeah, not happy with us. He is also getting increasingly tired as the minutes pass.

Now he is taking his treat off where we can't get it from him.

At this point I think he was starting to feel the effects of holding on to the icy cold popsicle instead of the plastic handle because he was crying pretty much constantly now.

Still tastes good though.

Uh oh, I think we have reached our limit.

So we let Matthew play with the hose in lieu of a bath.

He loves the hose and played would play with it FOREVER if we would let him.

Happy again.

And we are left with a memento of our afternoon.

Daddy's Shoes

The classic pics of the kid playing with the biggest shoes he/she can find.

Matthew plays with his own "shoes" (pronounced joues as in au jus sauce) throughout the day because he loves the velcro. But turns out Daddy's shoes are pretty cool too.

They are even portable enough to get up into the chair.

After a little help, he managed to get them on although they are way too big for him to walk in.

Climbing

Matthew's newest conquest is that of climbing.

He spends hours each day going up and down out of this chair in the living room. If the stool is not there for him he will go to his room and carry it out and place it in front of the chair. If it is not in the right spot and he can't get up into it, he will get very mad very quickly. Now he can get up and down without using his head as an extra appendage and he can also get up onto the couch and into the rocking chair in his bedroom. Sorry about the long ending but him reveling in his success is the best part.