Matthew K. Groves

Vacation

1/13/2009

A lot has happened since my last blog. We welcomed 2009, had a well check, and went on vacation. We didn't do much for New Year's. I believe we have stayed home for the last few years. So we did that again. Matthew went to bed early but Matt and I did watch the ball drop together. For New Years Day we went down to my parents for dinner.

The Friday after New Years I took Matthew down to visit my parents. Matthew and my mom played patty cake like they always do. My mom has been being playing patty cake with him since he was just a few days old. He has learned what patty cake means and would get excited at Nana for singing it. But that Friday Nana started to sing and Matthew started clapping his own hands. We were all very excited. After 9 long months of hearing that song it has taught him how to clap. Now he does it all the time. He does it just for fun but if you say "patty cake" he will start clapping.

The day before we left we got Matthew a new crib. One that has springs under the mattress. Matthew loved it as soon as he got in it. I also put his new bedding on that he got from Nana and Papa for Christmas. It took him awhile to settle in it because he was bouncing and getting up then sitting down. He was cruising up and down the rail. So overall he liked it.

The Tuesday that we left for vacation Matthew had his 9 month well check. It went pretty wellJ.He is now 20lbs 9oz. and is 29 in tall. He is in the 50% of weight and 70% height. They also tested to see if he was anemic and he wasn't. She said he could start on egg yolks, yogurt, cheese, and juice. He likes all of it. He always gives me a funny face about new stuff but still eats it. She also suggested taking Matthew off his bedtime feeding. It was always part of our routine to change him then rock him with a bottle. But she said to go ahead and back it off. I had started giving him less already but she said to give him a little more milk before we even head off to bed. Luckily Matthew doesn't put up much of a fight. That night when we got to the hotel he didn't take a bottle before bed and hasn't really needed one since. We have started playing classical music during bedtime which helps. So he now knows that when the music comes on it's time for bed. It has really helped him relax and go to sleep faster. He also showed her how he can pull up to standing. He has even started cruising the furniture. He also tries to stand without holding on to anything but only for few seconds. He’s just so eager to walk so it won’t be long. He doesn’t have to go back until he is 1 year old. I can’t believe he is almost 1!

Matthew had also started to say “da da” the day we left. He says it all the time and knows what it means. When Matt would walk in he would say “da da”. Then when I would be talking about Matt he would say it. He says “da da” all the time but he only says “mama” when he’s hurt or wants something to eat. He has also said “ba ba” in referring to his bottle.

We left Tuesday evening. Matthew took a nap on the way. So we arrived around 9ish and Matthew decided he was staying up. We brought his pack and play for him to sleep in but it was hard for him to sleep in the same room as us. Matt and I sleep with the television on and with it being a new place it was understandable why he didn't want to go to bed. Plus he has slept by himself since he was 6 weeks old. Eventually we had to pretend like we were going to sleep and he went to sleep too. The next couple of nights I had to actually turn out the lights and make it completely dark before he would even lay his head down. He still took his morning and afternoon naps. But we did a lot in between. They had a kids’ area with baby swings and the water was only 6 in deep. He didn't seem to like it at first but he warmed up to it. He swung most of the time and loved it. The last day that we went to the water park he actually crawled in the water since it wasn't that deep and he was fine. Matthew and Daddy were hanging in the kids’ area one day while I went to the hot tub. It was so nice and relaxing. The hot tub had an opening so you could go outside which was nice and interesting since it was snowing at the time. We did some shopping and went to the arcade in the resort in which almost every time Matthew would fall asleep while we were there. It was a nice getaway but I’m glad to be back home and I think Matthew is too. He started crawling after Friday the moment he got in the house. Friends of ours looked after Friday while we were gone.

Funny story: Matthew and I went to Kroger today. When we were checking out a man and his daughter came up and were trying to get Matthew to laugh. He was all happy and smiling. Then the man started telling me that with Matthew’s looks and his great attitude that he was going to be a winner and a millionaire. He just kept saying it and of course I thanked him. Then his daughter said that he was such a beautiful baby. Then out of nowhere the man hands me a dollar and says “I know that boy is going to be somebody and I would like to contribute to his education”. Then as he was leaving he was saying “yup that’s a winner right there”. I was so shocked I wasn’t quite sure what to say besides thank you. The man was sober as far as I could tell. Just a nice person I guess. So when I got home it went into Matthew’s baseball bank.

Hope you enjoyed the update. I will post pictures from the vacation soon.

-Ali

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