One Year Stats

This is mostly for me to record what Matthew is doing these days, but feel free to entertain yourself if you want.

• Weight: 21 lbs. 9 oz. (less than what we thought actually)
• Height: 30 inches
• Walking: Matthew walks pretty good now and is getting more brave about taking off on his own. We still need to work on walking in shoes though. He has stood up from the middle of the room a few times but mostly he uses something to stand up with.
• Communication: Matthew jabbers a lot but doesn't have any real words yet. He is very good at communicating in other ways though. He shakes his head yes or no accurately; it is so cute when he shakes his head yes because he uses his whole upper body to get started : ) He points at things he wants and shakes his head yes. He will also come and get me and take me or point me to where he wants to go.
• Food: Matthew has been weaned for about 3 weeks now, and it is awesome! Sometimes I miss those moments with him, but not very often. He drinks whole milk and eats pretty much everything you put in front of him. He especially loves graham crackers, raisins, cheese and avocado. He eats three square meals a day with a snack before dinner.
• Sleep: Matthew finally sleeps through the night!...most of the time. But he can put himself back to sleep when he wakes up...most of the time. He is still a morning bird, but waking up early is not so bad when you actually get a night of sleep. He goes to bed at 8 every night. He still takes two naps during the day, usually about an hour each; sometimes if I'm lucky he will take longer naps.
• Health: Matthew has been really healthy this summer. He's had one flu bug and one cold, but no ear infections! His eczema has been really clear lately as well. Yay for a happy baby!
• Teeth: Matthew has 7 teeth and yesterday his gums were all swollen and red; looks like two more bottom teeth are on their way.
  
• Matthew loves to read books! And I love that he loves books.
• He loves to be outside and regularly requests to go out the front door, not just onto the balcony. He loves to play with the dirt, crawl up the stairs, and has recently started asking to go across the field and play on the playground in the quad.
• His favorite activity in the house is to crawl from the couch to the table and back again. He also likes to talk into the fan and turn the lights on and off.
• Matthew is a water boy. He loves the bath, swimming pools, sprinklers, the kitchen sink, you name it. He loves to put his face in the water and try to blow bubbles-usually he ends up drinking the water. He also loves jumping off the side of the pool and going under. I can keep him entertained all day by putting a bucket of water on the balcony and letting him play in it.
  
• He loves to play chase, especially with his dad.
• He is full of smiles and teasing and love. Such a happy boy.