mirror mirror on the wall...

Dad here. Matthew did the cutest thing the other day. He crawled up to the mirror and... well, just see for yourself. :-)

splish, splash, now Matthew is having fun...

Dad here. I meant to blog about this earlier but better late then never. :-)

We've been taking Matthew to the neighborhood pool for the last few weekends and he did not particularly enjoy being in the water, regardless which parent was holding him -- he was starting with the pre-cry pouts. That was until last Monday when Maria showed him how to splash and he took to splashing immediately. He was splashing so furiously that he got himself and both parents all wet.

Now, whenever we give him a bath, the actual bathing interrupts his splashing. He used to splash only with his feet in the bath tub but now he uses both his arms and legs. I have a feeling that we've created a splashing monster.

P.S. For a birthday present, Maria signed up both Matthew and me for four baby swimming classes, which start on June 7th. I have a feeling that these swimming classes will turn into 4 hours of splashing. :-)

The Reverse Indian

Matthew has been testing his abilities to make even more sounds with his mouth and hands. We call the following his "Reverse Indian".

Ma Ma Da Da Ba Boon

This past weekend was exciting for Matthew and his parents. In the past couple of weeks Matthew has been "talking" with a greater range than in previous months that involved only elaborate laughs and squeals. Lately he has been saying, Da Da and Ma Ma. Actually it is more like Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da and Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma.. we are just waiting for him to say Dada and Mama in context. For a while Tony tried to convince me that Matthew was referring to him when saying Da Da. Well during our first visit to the zoo on Sunday, Matthew said "Da Da" when he saw the warthog. Of course I laughed and teased Tony a bit. However, being the gentleman that Tony is, he had no comment when Matthew said Ma Ma while looking at a baboon.

On an unrelated note Matthew has two teeth sprouting from his top gums. So this makes a total of four teeth so far. You can see all of his teeth in the attached photo.

Happy Mother's Day/ Happy Birthday Daddy

This year Mother's Day fell on Tony's birthday. We had double the reason to celebrate with our little guy. I woke up to Matthew presenting a Mother's Day balloon. Of course Matthew claimed the balloon and tried his hardest to walk away with it the way he does with others' toys.

Later that day Tony had some birthday visitors, Matthew's Deda, cousin Lauren, Aunt Janice and Uncle Paul.

Always Excited about Deda's Visits

Tony took this photo of Matthew and his Deda during his visit on May 1st . It really captures Matthew's excitement about these visits. His Deda brought a fun toy, a battery powered car with a dog on top. In this stage of Matthew's crawling the toy was perfect.. something for him to chase. Deda also treated us to dinner at P. F. Chang's China Bistro. Matthew was very good and didn't fuss until the very end of the meal. But Deda thrwarted those cries by diverting Matthew's attention to a shiny spoon. None of the toys that we brought seemed to appease him.

Deda is certainly the "Baby Whisperer".

Downtown Toy Thief

I try not to miss any social opportunities for Matthew and I lately. Now that Matthew is in daycare he has been playing with other children. However, his Mommy doesn't get as much exposure to other mommies of babies Matthew's age. On Sunday I had such an opportunity for a play "gathering" (I refuse to use the word "play date") at Discovery Green park in Downtown Houston. I am so lucky to have a friend like Laura (Collin's Mom) who is the unofficial social director. Matthew and I met with a group of four mothers and babies born within about 3 months of each other. Most of the babies were crawling. Matthew had so much fun, but I discovered something about my little guy... he is a little toy thief. He kept finding other kids toys and crawled to the other side of the blanket with them. At one time he had a toy in each hand and was crawling away with them. There was no crying involved so the other mommies laughed and just brought out new toys... which Matthew soon crawled to and took away.
Notice in the photo how Matthew has a toy in each hand. Neither of them are his.