Matthew the Agreeable

I don't know that I've ever used Matthew and agreeable in the same sentence before, but it is beginning to apply to my little sweetie. Today he made it through his third week of nursery without me. Ashlee says he was good. I think she was stretching it a bit to make me feel better, but at least he wasn't bad enough for them to have to come and get me. I can't tell you how nice it's been to be able to enjoy Sunday School and Relief Society. He's been walking since he was 9 months old, and has been a handful ever since. I was about ready to start my own Hall Mom's and Dad's class, because we were out in the hallway most of the time at church. We love you Ashlee and the other nursery leaders! -Thank you!!! Matthew has also made it through two weeks of basketball without having to be in his stroller, or crying the whole time. I play every Monday morning with a group of ladies, while the kids play on the stage. It's been awful with him for a long time, until recently. Hooray! Way to go kiddo!

I meant to write up something about Matthew when he turned 18 months, and here he is 19 months already. He is such a fun and funny kid. He is oozing with personality. He's a real firecracker. He's very busy, has no fear, and loves to climb. He's learned to open the locked dishwasher, and stand on the door to reach things on the counter. He loves to open the door to the garage and go find Da Da (whether Rob is out there or not -Yikes!). He loves cars (especially Disney Cars), trains, balls, blocks, giving hugs, and food. His first words every morning are, "want some, pees." He is always hungry! He has a ride-on Mater that he loves to push around the house and use as a step stool to get on the couch or get things off the counter. Needless to say, we have to always be on our toes!
He is quick to smile or scream. We prefer the smile. He has a variety of laughs. My favorite is his deep belly laugh. He loves his brother and sister, and always wants to do what they are doing. It is so sweet how he hugs Sarah all the time.

He loves dogs and cats like crazy. He doesn't mind my uncle Ray's black lab Tucker licking him. He's not afraid of that big dog. He is facinated with Tara's dog Zoe. We got about a million belly laughs out of him as he watched Zoe jump up and down outside their glass door. It was hilarious.Matthew entertains us all the time with his silly faces and his teasing. I think he gets it from his Dad. (What do you think?!) He is extremely strong-willed, and stubborn (from Dad too!).
He loves his Grandpa more than anyone. We all went for a bike ride at the Nature Pond and the trail. We stopped for my dad to show Matt a donkey that was next to the trail. Matt loved to pet the donkey, and thought it was the neatest thing- until it bit him! Yep, the donkey bit his fingers really hard, but at least didn't break the skin. He didn't love the donkey so much after that. Can you blame him? Poor little guy had teeth indentations in his fingers for a few hours.After getting his crib he went from being the world's worst sleeper, to a great sleeper (I think me letting him cry himself to sleep a few times helped too. That is so hard for me!). He just needs his bunny, his blanket, and his binky and he's good to go to sleep- usually. Sometimes I find him standing in his crib making faces at himself in the mirror instead of sleeping. Oh, and he's learned to climb out of his crib now. Isn't that great?!We love this little guy. He has added so much to our family. Think of how bored we would be without him! Love you bud!