A Magic Chair

Yesterday, I got my new glider and ottoman. My mom has wanted to buy this for me since Matthew was born, but I convinced her to wait until I bought my house. Last night after it was assembled, I rocked Matthew to sleep. It only took 2 minutes, and he was out like a light. He even went to sleep before Mark, which never happens. I had wanted a cherry wood with the brown fabric, but the option wasn't available. But it wasn't a big deal. This morning, I decided to add a little accent table we have had for years, and to my surprise, I realized it was two-toned: the top perfectly matches the crib and dresser and the bottom matches the rocking chair. Thanks, Mom, for my magic chair.

The Perfect Table

I want to take a moment to rave about my new table. It is basically the perfect table for us. Our kitchen cabinets are very dark, so I needed a dark table to match, but I wanted a lighter table. Enter my perfect two-tone dining table. The bottom of the table and the backs of the chairs are the perfect cherry color to match my cabinets, but the top of the table and chairs are much lighter to tone down my dark kitchen. Also, this was the only two-tone table I saw with the dark tone being cherry and not espresso, which I do not like. But is that all? Of course not. To make this table even more perfect, it has three expandable leaves.That means that it could expand to seat 12 people. And we will be testing that feature next week when I throw a big engagement party for Benjamin. Oh, and I can't end without thanking my in-laws who made it possible for us to buy this table.

Happy Birthday, Mark

Mark's birthday was last Saturday, but we had his birthday party the week before. On his actual birthday, we went furniture shopping. Thanks to some donations from our parents, we ended up buying a new bedroom set and a new dining set. The bedroom set arrived today, and it is gorgeous. I made a scale model of the room before we went shopping, but we ended up buying a set of which I had not made a model. I'm divided on whether we should have bought the tall chest or not. What's done is done, and I think it looks nice. The dresser by the bed has a mirror that comes with it, but it was cracked, so they will have to deliver a new one. The dining set comes tomorrow, I'll post pictures when it gets here.

On a side note, I posted some images of Matthew's new favorite activities. He has discovered the drawer in Mark's dresser, and it is one of his new favorite hangouts. Also, he loves to climb from the couch onto the end table. And, of course, he still loves to look out windows.

No, there were not 27 candles. It was just too much work.

9 Months Old

Matthew turned 9 months old yesterday. I took him to the doctor today and he is 28 inches long and weighs 19 pounds. Actually, I was really surprised at his measurements because he is now well below the 50th percentile. He went from the 61st percentile in weight to the 25th, and the 69th percentile in height to the 42nd. Don't worry,  I have a healthy baby. For the height, the measurements are always an estimate (you try to perfectly measure the height of a squirming baby.) As for the weight, my theory is that he is just super active.

Regardless, I took him to JCPenny for portraits, and it did not go super well. He looked so cute in his sailor suit that Mark's parents got me, but he just refused to smile. I guess he got camera shy. He still looks darling; I just wanted a picture with those huge dimples. Here are the two photos I chose to purchase. Everyone will be getting wallets of the photo of Matthew.

And here are the runners up. Please, don't copy these since I'm sure I broke the licensing agreement. I just wanted to post them for you.

If you were considering getting portraits done at JCPenny, here is a coupon for a free family sitting.

Ahoy, Matey!

Tomorrow, I'm taking Matthew to get photos taken at JCPenny. I decided to give everyone a sneak peek, mostly because I needed to make sure Matthew's outfit would fit. Now all I need to do is learn how to tie his neckerchief.

Applause

I finally managed to get a video of Matthew clapping.

Pearly Whites

Check out those pearly whites!

Oops, I Dropped It