Matthew's first snow!

Well it actually happened we got "real" snow in Atlanta!

At least it was snow when it first fell now its ice, which is of course no fun! But we managed to get out yesterday so Matthew could experience his first snow.

We are hoping the temps get a bit higher to melt the ice, we've got cabin fever bad!

Finally some pictures of the 3 of us!

I always wondered why looking back at pictures of me as a kid it was either, just me in the picture or just one parent and me... Now I understand. Clearly one parent is taking the picture, while the other is in the picture. As I was looking through our pictures, I realized the only "family" picture we had of Jason, Matthew and I was, immediately after my c-section... Not exactly something I want to post on the fireplace mantle :)

So I asked a dear high school friend of mine to take some family pictures, and it was timely since Matthew was 6 months old. I'm really pleased with how they turned out.

She really caught some sweet, sweet images of us!

6 Months Old & his first Christmas

Really... he's 6 months old (well as I'm finally getting around to this post, more like 6 1/2 months old...) It's truly hard to believe that sweet Matthew is half way to being a year old!

Jason took Matthew to his 6 month appointment, it was the first pediatrician appointment I have missed. It definitely felt weird not being there, but Dad did great (of course!). At his 6 month appointment, Matthew was:

• 17.13 lbs - 55th percentile (gained almost 4 lbs since his 4 month appt.)
• 17 1/4 head circumference - 55th percentile
• 26 1/4 inches long - 50th percentile (grew 1 1/4 inches!)

His new nickname is the "little giant"... I think you can clearly see why! Matthew continues to grow, grow and grow. He eats ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING we have given him. We made it through all the typical stage 1 foods and are moving on to stage 2. I'm making some food (and yes, buying some as well). Over the weekend I made a combo of spinach, peas and sweet potatoes, pears and blueberries, and broccoli with sweet potatoes. So far all have been a hit! We tried mango and bananas last night - of course the kid ate them right up! Clearly this is how he's becoming a "little giant"!

This was taken in early December, clearly dinner wore him out!

And as Matthew turned 6 months old, he also experienced his first Christmas. Like most infants, he cared more about the bows and paper. I'm sure next year will be a totally different story!

Matthew with his cousins, Bryson & Andrew

And as each month goes by, and he gets older, he hits another milestone. It was over Christmas that he started sitting up on his own (with little support). It's so hard to believe!

And I also bought him a bath seat, since he's sitting up so well. As much as I love to see all these changes, at times it makes me sad that he's growing up SO much and so fast. But I guess that's just a part of parenthood.

And lastly, I took this picture tonight before Matthew's bath - man I love this little giant!

Changes, changes & more changes!

Yes, I know... I've been extremely bad with my updates on our sweet Matthew.

Between a trip to Las Vegas at the end of October, a girls weekend in Asheville, then Thanksgiving, the month of November has completely slipped past me. They always as as you "get older" time flies right past you, but boy they forgot to mention when you become a parent, it flies by in warp speed!

Sweet Matthew continues to grow by leaps and bounds. It's really hard to ever imagine he was this tiny 5 lb nugget, that we actually worried he wouldn't put on weight...

Here is his 5 month picture - man I love those cheeks!

And you can see he didn't want to sit still too long for the picture... Before long, I'm sure he'll be trying to climb out of the chair!

We started solids at about 4 1/2 months and let me tell you he loves food! So far anything we introduce to him, he eats - guess he gets that from his Mommy! Last night we tried pears and he gobbled them up! The kid clearly hasn't missed ANY meals...
We also took Matthew to his first Georgia Tech tailgate :) Thank goodness for the Baby Bjorn... Our chunky monkey got a little heavy trying to carry the entire time. Although, he and I didn't go to the game, at least he experienced his first football tailgate!

As he grows up more and more each day, his sweet and fun personality continues to develop! He has the best giggle when you zerbert his belly or arm pits, or tickle those chunky thighs. He's finally rolling more and more and last night even did a 360 turn in his crib! He squeals and cracks himself up, but definitely will let you know when he's bored or wants to be held. But all I can say, is that we couldn't be more blessed with such a sweet, sweet little boy! I'll just never get over how much he changes from day to day.

And speaking of changes, tomorrow is my last day with the American Cancer Society. I accepted a position at Northside Hospital in their oncology program, and I start on Monday. It was such a bittersweet decision to make, but one that I needed to make both personally for our family and professionally. They always say that motherhood "changes you" and I just truly never understood or knew until it happened to me. I just knew in my heart it was time for me to switch gears, so I could be closer to home with Matthew and Jason. It will be hard to say good-bye to all the wonderful people I've come to know and love at ACS, but know that I will continue to work with this wonderful organization in my new role.

4 Months Old and a trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

Here we are another month has gone by and our little man continues to grow and change more and more! He smiles all the time, except when I pull out a camera - he turns into Mr. Serious, we're getting more and more giggles, coos and makes lots of fun noises and is still sleeping like a champ at night - 10-11 hrs.

We had his 4 month pediatrician appointment on Monday, which meant more vaccinations :(

We were able to time it pretty well with his feedings, but the appointment ran late, so he was pretty fussy by the time shots rolled around. Jason was able to come to this appointment, since Mom wasn't ready to do another set of shots by herself again.

Matthew of course cried and cried - heck I would too! But this time after the shots, he was a lot more fussy than at his 2 month appointment. But by Tuesday morning he was back to his sweet, happy self - the boy we just adore!

Here is before his appointment - do you think he knew where he was going...

Ok, much better! Although we need to work on his smiles for the camera!

He was measured, weighed, the whole nine yards and he is:

• 14 lbs 1 oz (40th percentile)
• 25 inches long (55th percentile)
• Head circumference: 16 1/2 inches (48th percentile)

We also got the go ahead to start rice cereal, which we are really excited about. I think Jason is really excited - everytime we are eating dinner he puts something in front of Matthew's mouth. Of course I panic thinking he'll try and gobble it down. Matthew hasn't yet...

Last weekend we also headed over to the church pumpkin patch. it was quite comical trying to pose Matthew, but we got some cute pictures!

I love this picture of my boys!

This cracks me up that he's got his arm on the pumpkin - like he's thinking "yep me & my pumpkin buddy!"
Look at that pouty lip!
And next week is Matthew's last week at the Goddard School. About a month ago to our surprise we got a call from Dunwoody Christian Academy saying that they had an opening for Matthew. While I was of course extremely excited, it was bittersweet. Matthew did so well transitioning to daycare when I went back to work and his infant room teachers are just the most sweet women. They really made me feel so comfortable with the entire transition. But the commute for both Jason and I is really tough, where Dunwoody Christian Academy is less than a mile from our house. So once we get back from our trip from Las Vegas, Matthew will start his new "school".