A Visit from Grandma

My mom was on spring break this last week, so she came out to visit her Utah children and grandchildren. We went to my Aunt Christine's for the Sunday sessions of conference and had a blast. My uncle made the best ribs ever. After 6 hours in a smoker, they were just amazing. Matthew got to play with his cousin Ayden and with my cousins. He loved their dog Nova, though I don't think she liked Matthew quite as much. Somehow, a santa hat came out and Matthew entertained everyone with his antics trying to get it off his head.

My mom got a lot of time with the babies. Monday, we had her babysit the two boys while Melissa and I went to lunch with my Grandma Pingel. I've decided that Zupa's is the best lunch place ever. On Tuesday, Mom and I got to babysit Ayden and then she watched Matthew while Mark and I went on a date. We saw the Hunger Games, which was fun. They played it safe, but at least they didn't ruin anything (and here I am refering to the final fight scenes of Harry Potter 7.2). On Wednesday, we went to the new City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake. It was so nice and very much upscale. I though it had a good mix of high end stores (Tiffanys and Rolex, etc) and more regular stores (Gap, Gymboree, etc.) I thought that since it was a Wednesday afternoon, it wouldn't be so crowded, but what I didn't realize was that it was spring break. Thus, the mall was packed. I only wish the mall had been open when I lived downtown. Oh, well.

Wednesday night, things got interesting. We went to my grandparents' house while Mark was at school. We couldn't have been home more than half an hour when Matthew threw up all over my mom. Luckily, my mom sacrificed herself so that very little got on my carpet. He threw up a couple time Wednesday night, slept all day Thursday, seemed fine on Friday, and started really throwing up Friday night. Poor kid. Hopefully he is on the mend. And I'm really glad my mom was here that first night, because I have never dealt with a sick kid before. It was nice to have her advice. I have to admit, I love my family.

Matthew and Ayden watching Conference

Matthew with my cousin Kaelyn

Ayden and Melissa

Mom and Benjamin with Benjamin's fiancee, Jess

Matthew and Grandma Pingel

Ayden in the Santa hat

Matthew in the Santa hat

Matthew entertaining the crowd

Ayden and Grandma Pingel

At the new City Creek Center

Playing the piano

With Grandma and Great-Grandma Pingel

Loves the cookie cutters Jaclyn and Steve sent

Step by Step

Matthew took his first steps yesterday, just in time for my mom's visit. We have had a hard time getting a good video of him. He usually only takes a few steps, as in these videos, but occassionally he walks 3 feet or more. Once I get a better video I will post it.

Standing Tall

Aaron and Melissa came over for dinner tonight (and to pick up moving boxes), and it was fun to have the boys together. Matthew was showing off his standing ability for his uncle and aunt. I think his record for standing is about 45 seconds. Then, when I was getting Matthew ready for bed, he surprised Mark and I by suddenly figuring out how to stand up without holding on to anything. Walking here we come.

Ayden

Who doesn't like Eeyore?

Matthew

Matthew showing off his balance.

The Amazing Standing Matthew

Kayscreek Parkway

Today, our new backpack carrier arrived. Since the weather turned nice, I have been really wanting to go hiking. So when Mark got home, we decided to take the carrier out for a test run. Apparently it passed Mark's quality test, and Matthew loved it. In the canyon near our house, there is a 5 mile paved trail through the wetlands. We walked about a mile before turning off one of the side entrances and coming back. It was really nice at first, though by the time we were heading home the wind got a bit cold. But we enjoyed walking through the cattails with F-16s flying overhead. I love living near the Air Force Base.

 Enjoying a hike

F-16

Crashed

Also, on our way back we passed by this house. I think it is one of the neatest houses. I wouldn't want to own it - it's too big. But it would be super fun to rent for a week in the summer; assuming it had a cool setting. Picture it surrounded by woods and maybe with a lake nearby. It would be a pretty awesome spot for a big family reunion.



Down the Stairs

Fun at the Park

Yesterday, Matthew and I went to Aaron's while Mark was at school. Ayden has gotten so big. It's fun to see the difference in the boys. You can still see a big difference in their ages, but not nearly as much as it used to be. They both crawl and stand up, though Ayden is much slower and not as steady (as evidenced by our races in the park). We even had one lady think the boys were twins. All in all, it's fun for Matthew to have a cousin nearby.

Laytona 500

So what do you do with a big empty room? Well, tonight Matthew decided to turn it into a race track. He even made engine noises for his stock car. I think a Target sponsorship is in order. Maybe we can even get free diapers. At this rate, he'll be walking in no time.