Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody Do Their Part, Clean Up, Clean Up

That's my boy!

Matthew certainly does his part in MAKING the mess, why  not get him started on cleaning the mess?! Ha!

He love his little dirt devil vacuum.  It even suctions a little bit (very little)!

It's  never to early to train them, right? 

Now only if they made working minature washers/dryers!

Almost Bottle Free

It's been a week since we've started weaning Matthew off the bottle. 

He's been doing so well! (knock on wood)

He use to get 4-5 bottles a day.  Now we're down to 2!  He gets one when he first gets up in the morning (around 6-7 AM) and one at night when he goes down (around 9:00 PM).

At first it was hard (probably harder for me than for him!).  When it was time to go down for his morning nap, we would give him a sippy cup with milk in it.  He would take a sip and push it away.  But we kept at it and he would take a few sips and push it away.  He would just cry for a little, then would stop or fall asleep.  We would repeat the cycle for his afternoon nap too.

We've come to realize that he likes to drink his milk through a straw!  So, when we were in Chicago, I bought Matthew the little cup in the picture above.  It has a little swirly straw inside of it.  I started filling that up with milk and he loves drinking his milk out of that.  He'll drink juice/water out of his sippy cups, but not his milk.  Silly boy.

We're still working on him drinking his milk out of a sippy cup, but I think we've made great progress for the first week!  Slowly we will eliminate the morning bottle and hopefully the night time bottle too.  (That may be harder for me because then it'll mean my baby's not a baby anymore!)

Chicago!

Matthew's first plane ride was to Chicago (July 15th - 18th), and it may be his last one for a very long time!

It was about a two hour flight and I thought he would nap since it was during his morning nap time.  Yeah, that didn't happen at all! He was everywhere and was SO fussy.  I felt so bad for the people around us.  Thankfully it was a quick plane ride.

Once we landed and I put him in his stroller, he was out before I even got to baggage claim!!

We met up with my best friend and her daughter.  Matthew loved playing with Macey (I think because she probably reminded him of his cousin Abbey).  Matthew had SO much fun 'swimming' at the hotel.  And of course, he loved pushing the elevator buttons!

It was hot, but we didn't let that stop us.  We had fun exploring and eating lots of good food.  Matthew was a trooper. 
Here we are at the Navy Pier.  Then having dinner at Bubba Gump. 

The Willis Tower was definitely on our list.  The line's weren't too bad because it was a weekday.  It was quite the view.  The Skydeck was a little scary for me at first.  I had my hand up against the wall and backed out onto the glass and couldn't look down at first.  Once I was realized that it really was safe, I was able to let go of the wall and walk out further onto it.  

Matthew was way braver than his momma! 

At first he looked down and rocked back and forth a little bit, then he just stood there.  I didn't let him stand there very long though! ha!

Here's our overpriced souvenir picture.



What's a trip to Chicago without deep dish pizza?!!

We heard the best in town was Gino's. It was good (a bit too cheesy for me) and the best part was there was no wait during lunch for a table!  The wait came nce you ordered your pizza, it takes 45 mins.  Luckily, Matthew fell asleep before we got there and slept through most of it!

 

 

Another big tourist attraction in Chicago....Cloud Gate, a.k.a. the Bean. 

Matthew under the bean.

Our last stop on our last day was Molly's Cupcakes. They were on the show cupcake wars.

My favorite was the Peach cobler cupcake. Devine!

Oh Em Gee! So delish!!!

I'm so grateful that Matthew and I were able to spend a few days together in Chicago with my wonderful BFF and her daughter.  It truly was relaxing and fun.  I can't wait for our next trip together, although it may be just the girls so Matthew will have to stay home with daddy.

Matthew did SO much better on the plane ride coming home.  I won't be flying solo with him anymore until he's at least 6 (maybe 8)!

17 Months - What Matthew's Up To

Once again, this post is way overdue, but you know, Life Happens...

(Matthew rolling his eyes).

Matthew is growing and learning so much with every passing month!

He still loves his books.  He likes it when I read through them really fast and in a funny voice.

He loves his cousin Abbey SO much and gets excited everytime she comes over.

Loves being chased around the house!

He has four teeth on top and three on the bottom.

His eating slowed down a bit but I think it's picking back up again.

He loves strawberries and watermelon. And now that he's getting to be a big boy, he prefers to feed himself with his own fork. (So independent).

He started rolling his eyes last month, but lately has been doing it so much because he knows it makes everyone laugh!  Such a little clown!

He say's 'mommy' so clearly and it's music to my ears.  :)

Folds his arms for prayers.  It's the cutest thing.  We're working on the 'Amen' part.

We just started weaning him off the bottle TODAY!  It wasn't too bad at all.  No major melt downs, yet.  We will only give him his bottle at bedtime.  During the day he gets it in a sippy cup.

Took his first plane ride (to Chicago)!  Looks like it may be his last one for a looong time because it was way too much for momma!

We love seeing his little personality develop more and more each day.  He is such a blessing in our lives and we love him more than anything in the world!

Life Happenings...

Life has been extremely busy lately.  And a bit stressful this week. My blog has been neglected :(

Keeping a house clean while it sits on the market is hard.  It makes trying to get out the door 10x harder because you have to make sure EVERYTHING is put away!  We've had zero showings on the house since it's been on the market (two weeks).  Although my realtor had a broker's luncheon/open house yesterday and the feedback was all positive (great curb appeal, show's beautiful, model home like, priced right, no clutter! -- these were all feedback from the realtors that came through!).  So why no showings?!  We're going to blame it on summer vacations. 

Work has been keeping me super busy!  And it's always extra busy right before you go on vacation right?  Matthew and I are taking a mini vacation next week.  We are going to Chicago for a few days to meet up with my BFF.  It'll be his first plane ride!  I'm SO nervous about it.  Thankfully, it's only about an hour and a half plane ride, but trying to get there and through Security, etc, will take time. Anyone have any favorite things to do in Chicago with a toddler??

Family portrait - iPhone style.

The 4th and A Little Chic Magnet

What a difference a year makes!

I can't believe he use to be that little.  Ahhh, I miss that baby stage.

I didn't get any great pictures of Matthew this year. I may need to do a reshoot.

(yes, he is in dire need of a haircut!)

I wanted to celebrate the 4th with a cookout and fireworks, but we just ended up hanging out at my mom's and then my cousin's house.  We saw a few fireworks in the neighborhood and called it a night.  Nothing too exciting.  (I think we're still recovering from all the house work).

I made this shirt for Matthew for Easter and I don't think I ever posted pictures.  He still fits in the shirt so I took these pictures on my iPhone today. He does have a way of making all the girls smile when he's around.  Such a cutie pie!

It's Taken Us 4 Months ...

to FINALLY get our house ready to sale!

Why did it take so long you ask?

Working full time and taking care of a toddler only really allowed us to work on it on Saturdays (mostly). Oh and 7 years of decluttering!

So, without further adieu...

Welcome to our home

(for now until someone buys it)

Open Foyer

Formal Living Room to the Left

My Office to the Right

(It hasn't been this clean in 7 years!)

Dining Room

(next to the Formal Living Room)

 

The heart of the home...the Kitchen

View from the kitchen into the Family room

Family Room

(all of Matthew's toys are hidden behind the couch)

View from the family room into the kitchen.

The Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom with jacuzzi tub.

Guest Bedroom

(Anyone want to come and visit?  We have plenty of room)

My niece Abbey's Room

(when she comes and visit)

Matthew's Room

The basement.

  

Backyard/deck.

Now that the house is on the market, I can breath a little easier.  I am praying that it will sale quickly and that we will be able to find a new home closer to family and work.  A HUGE thanks to my

in-laws because if it weren't for them, the house would still be a mess!

It's all in the Lord's  hands now.