Half a year old

So a couple of Saturdays ago, Oct 9, Matthew was 6 months old. I cannot believe that half a year has already gone by. He has changed so much. All you have to do is compare his hospital photos with him now to see it. It seems just like yesterday I was going into the hospital for my C-section to welcome him into the world. He was such a tiny little angel. His cry was music to my ears, because I knew he was healthy and finally here. He easily nestled in the crook of my arm. He would wobbly lift his head to look for me or Brian. He cried whenever we took his clothes off. We struggled with nursing.




Time definitely flies and so much has changed. Now he is turning into a big boy. His cry breaks my heart when I can’t do anything for him. His legs hang off my lap when he lies across it. Now he wobbily stands up and he can confidently hold his head up to look towards my voice. He laughs and splashes during bath time. He nurses like a pro. I know that in the twinkling of an eye those cute coos he babbles at me will form whole words, those tiny little fingers that cling to my hand will let go in independence and those cute little toes will take off running.




I always heard people talk about how fast kids grow up, but I never really appreciated the truth in that statement until now. Each day Matthew is learning something new. It is amazing to watch him as he learns to bang two objects together to generate fun loud noises. It stuns me that he watches me hide the remote control and ten minutes later just when I am sure he has forgotten, he sneaks over to where it is to try to eat it. It is very funny that he has learned to blow raspberries on other people, so now when he sees skin he does it so you will laugh. He can sit himself up, and he has learned that to take a toy with him to a sitting position, he must hold the toy in his mouth so he can use both hands to push up to sit. And if he wants something on his blanket that he can’t reach, he just pulls the blanket closer. He can pull up to stand, and he is so proud when he does. He wants to stand all the time. He is also getting brave and only holds on with one hand. A couple of days ago he let go and stood by himself for about 5 seconds. He still only travels in reverse and on his belly, but I know it is just a matter of time.



At his 6 month checkup the nurse and doctor both said that he is incredibly strong, They said that he fights like an 18 month or 24 month old when he doesn’t want to do something (like have his head measured or lie down for shots). His weight is staying right on track for the same growth curve he has been on his whole life. His length is dropping off the curve. They want to check it again in a month, since in 2 months time he hasn’t even grown a whole inch. I pointed out that his mommy and daddy are both on the short side, but they want to be sure that nothing besides genetics is contributing to his short stature.

Dressing and changing him has become a challenge. It is like wrestling a baby alligator in the mornings. He doesn’t want to lie on his back anymore. He twists and turns when you put him down. I often break a sweat before we leave the house in the morning. I have to come up with creative ways of distracting him, which usually involves me looking foolish so that I can get clothes on him for daycare.

His new favorite food is Apple-Blueberry. He also likes corn, wildberries and raspberries.

Over the River and Through the Woods

I know it hasn’t been that long since my last blog, but I am trying to catch up from the weeks that I skipped. Brian and his dad had a father-son trip to Myrtle Beach two weekends ago. They had a good time. I think Brian really missed us – he called to check on us a lot. Matthew and I went to stay with Me-Ma and Pappy for the weekend. I was a little apprehensive about driving that far by myself with no one in the backseat to entertain Matthew, but he slept pretty much the whole way. We really enjoyed our trip. Matthew got to play with Ayden, explore with Pappy and snuggle with Me-Ma. And we got to visit with Great Grandma Rose, Great Grandma Blowe, Great Granddaddy Blowe, Great, Great Uncle Marvin, Aunt Christy and Uncle Brandon.



My nephew, Ayden is only 5 months older than Matthew. They really seemed to have a time with each other. They played nicely and didn’t hurt each other. I wish they could play together more often. I want them to be good buddies. Matthew really watched Ayden crawl and walk. Maybe he was taking notes. Matthew really likes other little people, so he was quite excited to see Ayden. He was all smiles. Those little fellas are so sweet. Pappy carried Matthew on walks outside, which Matthew loved. He showed Matthew how to feed bread to the fish and let him examine some leaves (of course Matthew wanted to eat the leaves). Matthew is fascinated by outdoors, as all little boys should be. He even cried when they had to come in. Me-Ma made sure to get all of his sugar, as she promised Brian that she would. Me-Ma let him play with a whole basket of toys. He really enjoyed dumping them all out. He and Ayden also had a time with a battery operated Christmas puppy. Matthew had the puppy by the hat and Ayden had him by the tail. Pappy was hoping the batteries would give out soon, so the “Jingle Bells” would stop.






Pappy had gotten the boys matching camo rompers that said “This runt was born to hunt” and Bass Pro shop Caps. They were so cute in their little outfits. We took tons of pictures of them together. And Aunt Christy found tooth number 2 breaking through Matthew’s gum right next to the first one. It was a great trip. Matthew slept the whole way home and was super happy to see his daddy when we got there.




This past weekend we tried to relax and clean. Brian strolled Matthew through the neighborhood, which Matthew LOVED. He woo’ed and wee’ed at the trees. The highlight of the walk was when a large pit bull left his yard to check the boys out. Thank goodness the only danger he posed was slobber on Matthew’s toes. We paid Grandma Cathy a quick visit before she headed out of town. Grandpa Gene and Theresa came over and watched Matthew for about an hour so Brian and I could go on a date. We went to Applebee’s right down the road because I didn’t want to be gone too long. He enjoyed playing with them and was very good while we were gone.




Matthew sits by himself easily now. When he starts to topple over, he can sometimes catch himself and sit back up. He is just starting to get on his hands and knees and rocking. He wants to crawl so badly. He gets frustrated that he can’t figure out how to move forward. He scoots around on his belly, but usually only in reverse. He has added squash, green beans and bananas to his list of likable foods. So far the only thing he can’t stand is peas. He refuses to eat them. Maybe in a few weeks he will change his mind.

Coughing, Itching and Teething - Oh my!

Unfortunately it has been a little while since my last post. Despite my intentions to post every week, it just doesn’t seem to be working out that way. I have been unable to sit down for enough uninterrupted time to type out the happenings of the past little while.

Things have been hectic. I guess that is becoming the story of my life. Matthew has been sick for several weeks now. He started with a runny nose Aug 22. He had a sporadic cough. We figured it was just another cold; all the babies at daycare had the same symptoms. Two weeks passed and he didn’t improve when all the other babies got better. After almost 3 weeks, I carried him to the doctor. They found that he had an ear infection just beginning. So he started a course of antibiotics. He never let on that his ear was bothering him. His demeanor during the whole sickness has been pretty good, except at bedtime. When he was over halfway through his antibiotics, his cough got significantly worse. He sounded like a barking seal. So back to the doctor he went. Poor little guy was diagnosed with the croup. Not sure where he picked that up from, but anyway. We added a round of steroids to help the swelling of his vocal chords. He took his medicine like a trooper.



Then later that week, when I went to nurse him at daycare for lunch, he had these splotchy red welts on his face. The welts seemed to grow and multiply while I was there. His teacher confirmed my suspicions – hives. So off to the doctor again we went. At this point there is no way to know for sure what caused it – antibiotic, peaches (his new food), or something else he came in contact with. So we added benadryl until they went away. Needless to say we stopped the peaches for now. During my examination of his hives I discovered something – his first tooth! It is a sharp little thing. He won’t let me see it. Every time I try to look he hides it with his tongue.



I can't believe that he wasn't crabby with the congestion, coughing, ear infection, breakout and teething. But his attitude was his normal sunny disposition, thank goodness.



We have also been pretty busy with Brian’s mom. She was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer a few weeks ago. Brian spent pretty much a whole week at the hospital with her when she was first diagnosed. It was touch and go for a few days, so we carried Matthew up there to lift her spirits. His visits were short because his patience was short and we didn’t want him exposed to too many germs with all that was going on with him.

She is now home waiting to start chemo and radiation. The doctors feel that if they treat it aggressively, then maybe it will work since it has spread to only a few lymph nodes. We are all hopeful that the treatments will work and that she is able to handle the treatments. Chemo and radiation are very tough on the body for healthy people. Cathy has been sick with other ailments for a while, and I pray that she is strong enough to go through the cancer treatments. It makes me very sad for Brian to have to endure this. And I am equally sad that Matthew might not get to know one of his grandparents. I was blessed enough to grow up with all four of my grandparents. I even have memories of one of my great-grandmas. Grandparents are very special people. They are a source of wisdom, stories and love. I want Matthew to have what I had.