Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

Tonight, we went with my brother's family to Farnsworth Farms and Cider Mill to get ourselves a pumpkin. Actually, we really went so we could take pictures at the pumpkin patch. Good thing we didn't go for the cider because they sold out of the whole 1500 gallons in a week. That must have been some good cider. We had a lot of fun trying to arrange the pumpkins as a good backdrop. I thought that Matthew's ability to sit up would make pictures easier, except he refused to look up. The grass was just too interesting. We also had a hard time getting him to smile, but here are the highlights.

Random Pictures

I was saving these for my 5 month post, but I never did get Matthew weighed and measured. And now that's he's 5 1/2 months, it's a little late. But here are some cute pictures.

Uncle Benjamin

Eeyore and I like to watch the cars.

I can sit up and eat my stroller.

My eyes are turning brown.

I like to read with Mommy.

I love being outside.

I like to play with my bottle.

I can put my toes in my mouth.

High on a Mountain Top

Today, we decided to take advantage of the nice fall weather and hike up to Ensign Peak. Though we've lived here for a year, we have never been up yet. Our neighbor graciously lent us her baby carrier until we move since her son is too big for it now. The hike was fun, though the trailhead starts pretty high up. Hiking to Ensign Peak would have been much more of a major feat back in Brigham Young's day. I feel like I should have carried up a banner to plant at the summit. But it was a nice little hike. Matthew had lots of fun, and didn't fall asleep until we were heading back down.

At the summit

Daddy doing all the work.

Matthew likes to eat the straps.

Downtown Salt Lake

Halloween Village

Yesterday, we took Matthew to Gardner Village, a little Halloween hotspot here in Utah. It turned out to be not really for us. A lot of crafty stores that are too small to allow strollers inside. Matthew seemed to enjoy it though. He loves being outside. But at least we got some cute photos ... and lots of not so cute ones.

Almost Time to Eat

In a few weeks, we get to start feeding Matthew solids, which should be an adventure. I can tell Matthew is almost ready, because he loves to sit on our laps during dinner and watch us eat - which isn't the most convenient for Mark and me. Yesterday, I got my high chair all assembled and today we decided to take him for a test drive during lunch with the following results:

Roll Over

Yesterday morning, I took some pictures to show you how close Matthew is coming to rolling over. He gets on his side with his legs over, but doesn't know what to do with his trapped arm. Look how close he is.

And then the next time I look at him, he had managed to roll over!

Now he needs to learn to flip from his stomach to his back. Else I'll be in for lots of whining since he's not always the biggest fan of tummy time.

Update: It's only been a half hour since I posted this and Matthew just rolled over from his stomach to his back for the first time. Way to go, baby. It seems to be my lucky day. Maybe if I wish for a new car, my wish will be granted in another half hour. Fingers crossed.

Double the trouble

My neighbor asked if I would babysit her 7 month old for three days while her husband was out of town (he works from home so he usually watches Parker). Of course I agreed thinking it couldn't be that bad. Oh, how wrong I was.  Just two hours into the first day, and I was already sobbing. Parker has a really loud (and annoying) wail and any time Parker would cry, Matthew would cry. I couldn't get Parker to eat, or sleep. To make matters worse, whenever Parker would see Matthew, he would just start crying. It was awful. Thankfully, Mark came to my rescue and came back super early from school. We basically had to keep the two babies in separate parts of the house - not an easy feat when you have such a small house.

I didn't have the heart to tell my neighbor how awful our day had been. Fortunately, she had already decided to take Friday off work, so Mark and I only had one more day. So, today we prepared for the worst. And actually, it was super easy today. Parker had gotten some sleep the night before, had a big breakfast, and wasn't quite so upset that his dad was gone. It went so well that Mark even went into school this afternoon leaving me with both babies for a little while. And I got some super super cute photos of the two boys. You know, I think I could have done tomorrow all by myself - but I think one baby is enough for now.

I also let Matthew test out Parker's walker with the following results:

Matthew-saurus Rex

Sorry it's so long. You can blame Mark; he did the filming. Actually, we showed the video to Matthew and he started to cry. I guess it was too scary for him. Maybe I should add a viewer discretion advisory: content may be too scary for some.

Lean on Me

The other day, Matthew and I visited my brother's family. We took the cutest photo op of Matthew and his cousin Ayden. I love the progression of photos - they lean more and more as time goes on. So cute.

Hanging out with Cameron

 Last Wednesday, I babysat my friend's 9 month old son, Cameron. He's a cutie, but oh so mobile. I'm not ready for Matthew to be that active. I thought I had baby-proofed my house before he came, and I was so mistaken. He could get into everything. To make matters worse, he likes to pull up on things to stand up. It was funny because basically half of the stuff in my living room ended up in my bedroom. Of course, whenever I put Matthew somewhere, Cameron would instantly want to play with him. Luckily, Matthew took a nap halfway through, so I didn't have both babies the whole time. It was definitely a learning experience.

Cameron

Diana and I with our little guys.

Cameron just loved Matthew. I'm not sure if Matthew felt the same way.

His First Word

Matthew is sure growing up. He said his first word this weekend. We were sitting outside and my brother Jacob had Matthew in his lap. In a lull in the conversation, Matthew turns to me and says, "Hey." Jacob and I were just stunned. It was hilarious. This week he has also learned to squeal, which is rather amusing. Last week, Diana commented on how quiet he is. Well, he is quiet no more. Other milestones: He is getting close to sitting up. He can sometimes do it, but needs a bit of support behind him or else he falls backwards. He has also discovered his feet. I think rolling over wil be coming soon.

Matthew sitting up.

Sleeping with Mommy in the big bed.

Mommy's Little Pumpkin.

Matthew's male model pose.

Toes!

A Baby Jumperoo

We borrowed a Fisher Price Jumperoo from my brother. At first, Matthew didn't seem to like it, which was disappointing. I was hoping it would provide hours of fun (or at least half hours). But he would just hold on for dear life. Luckily, it just took him a little while to get used to it. Once I demonstrated how to jump, he picked it up very quickly. Though, I think he might still prefer to watch Mommy jumping up and down than doing it himself.

Holding on for dear life

Testing the Waters

Jump. Jump. Jumperoo.