Self feeding pics from last post

I must have uploaded these 3 or 4 times and they never took.
I'm trying again with a separate post.
Blogpost must have had some update going to something because we all know it could NOT have been a user error!

"I can feed myself" and other Matthew notes

Okay, Matthew is now 19 months old. More of a little boy than baby boy now.
He is getting more independent each day although for now he will still cuddle with Mama after his warm bath...thankfully. Last night during his pasta dinner he decided to grab the plate and feed himself every last bite. Up until then he was "helping" me spoon feed him and eating crackers and other non-messy snacks by himself. Last night he gave me a look and grabbed the plate and away he went. He ate every single bite but what a mess! He still has to touch his ear and head with the food before it actually goes into his mouth. Here are some pictures of him self feeding last night.

We had his first pro pics taken at Picture People in the mall on Monday evening. Came out cute but they lost our uploaded file so I can't access all the proofs. Should be fixed tomorrow and then I can email the share file to everyone to view them. I have an appointment with JC Penny tomorrow for more pics (if it's free...it's for me!) on the house from a coupon on an outfit.

As soon as the studio locates the pics I will try to copy and paste them here. I have one where he's holding an American Flag but laughing so hard he half drops it. The other is him sitting on a train engine holding an American Flag. I have another sitting scheduled for him on July 30th dressed up as a fireman complete with jacket and helmet next to a fire engine and hydrant as he will be entered into their baby contest. He's already been entered in the The Cutest Baby contest in New York for the month of June. If he wins he will get a $500 college bond and Mommy gets a $100 AMEX gift card! If he wins for 2006 he will earn a complete college tuition.
Yes...medical school is looking more real each day therefore, so is Mommy's retirement condo on the beach in Maui. Okay, okay, I'll stop.

More to follow....

Baby Shower #2

Eileen along with her friends and family gave us a baby shower/party yesterday in her clubhouse by the pool. It was very sweet. Matthew was able to attend, you can see him being pushed to "meet and greet" the girls as they arrived. He was happy his cousins Sydney and Sam were there also to play with. He gots lots of cool toys and clothes. Mommy now has lots of thank you notes to get out along with the announcements this week. This picture of the 3 of us also is only the 3rd picture taken. The first at the "big house" as we gracefully exited (yes I fell down the steps) and then the shot on Marilyn's patio 2 weeks ago for his Welcome home party.
This kid has a social life that is non-stop!

Matthew, Brian and Debi say THANK YOU to everyone for loving our baby so much!

Mommy & Matthew at the park

Other than the orphanage, this is probably the best if not only picture of Mommy and Matthew since I'm usually the one carrying the camera around. Vicki took this picture at the park and it turned out great.

First Park Playdate

On Saturday June 24th, Matthew had his first ever playdate with other kiddos adopted from Eastern Europe. Matthew was the youngest by about 1 year but had a good time. I know he was a bit frustrated because he was still too little to go on the steps, slides and other climbing adventures that will make a Mother's heart stop but he had fun anyway. He crawled through a short tunnel and thought that was pretty neat and watched another little girl blow bubbles which attracted another little girl from the park. He also loved the swing and was having a great time laughing until a pretty little girl sat on the big kid swing next to him then it was "Mommy who?".
My son the flirt!

Jelly Belly Factory Tour

On Sunday (Father's Day) June 18, 2006 we left Vacaville for the long drive home.
We stopped in Fairfield to check out the Jelly Belly Factory and sure enough they were doing tours. No live people down below working because it was Sunday and they are on maintenance for June (work 1-2 days per week, none last week)so we got to see how everything is done via TV screens as we walked the tour. It was fascinating to see all the robots, vats and other machinery and then see it live on TV. Almost like doing the Willie Wonka Chocolate Factory Tour without getting blown up or shrunk or sucked into a vat of chocolate. During the Tour all guests had to wear a hat and at the end we were given a package of assorted jelly beans and new sport beans also that taste like gatorade. Downstairs there is a large gift shop and snack shop. I've only put a few pictures here, I will create a site via Kodak you can go to in order to see all the pics if you are interested, just let me know.

First Haircut June 16, 2006

On Friday night after Nathan's graduation LaDonna graciously agreed to give Matthew his first haircut. Hopefully the sequence comes through correctly. He was a good boy, just didn't like getting cold water spritzed on him from time to time. LaDonna was so good with him also, he never cried or appeared to be scared. As you can see, they both were dead serious during this procedure.

Many faces of Matthew on vacation

If you'll notice, the more Matthew is stuffing in his face the happier he is.

Stuff away baby boy, you need to GROW!

Vacaville Vacation 2006

Well it's not like we sat down with a bunch of travel brochures and decided we're going to Vacaville for 4 days. My baby nephew Nate was graduating from High School and no way was I gonna miss it. Besides other than Rachel, that branch of the family hasn't met Matthew yet so it worked out well. Here's a pic of the 4 cousins all together for the first time.

The Cost of Children

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.



But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:



* $8,896.66 a year,



* $741.38 a month, or
* $171.08 a week.
* That's a mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.



Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!



* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.



For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:



* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.



You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watching Saturday morning cartoons,
* going to Disney movies, and
* wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.



For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.



You get a front row seat to history to witness the:
* first step,
* first word,
* first bra,
* first date, and
* first time behind the wheel.



You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.



In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, So . one day they will like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!



Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!!!!!!!



Priceless

Party on June 11th

This past Sunday, my best friend Marilyn and her family gathered for a BBQ at her house to welcome home Matthew and to wish Brian Happy Birthday also.

Matthew had other kids to play with including Miss Emily who is 9 months his senior and followed him around quite a bit. A little summer romance perhaps? LOL
The Elmo table from Uncle Jeff was a huge hit and gave him something to play with since Mommy wasn't letting him near the pool yet. After everyone ate, Matthew was surprised by a few gifts. A beautiful hand knitted Christmas stocking by Mom Joan, a popping toy from Liz, a Teddy Bear from Miss Holly (big sister to Emily and she was great at watching Matthew for me) and a Dump Truck full of sand toys from Kevin and Frank. He loves all of them but can't wait to get in the sand.

This was very nice of Marilyn and her family and we appreciated it very much.
As you can see, Matthew had a wonderful time. On one of the pictures you can see whipped cream on his face. This is the only way we can get him to take his awful tasting medicine (Flagyl) to get rid of the mild case of Giardia he picked up in Russia.

Grass..something else that is new

Matthew also got to touch and play in grass for what must be the first time. I don't recall seeing any grassy areas at the "Big House" in Tobolsk. He bent down to touch the grass and then felt the blades between his fingers. He then grabbed my water bottle and took off running! Here's a picture also of him walking on the patio for those that keep asking me if he knows how to walk. Trust me, this little monkey walks and is climbing now too.

Outside Play

On Saturday June 10th, Matthew was able to go outside and explore the backyard and his first outside toy (from my friend Jane). He was pretty happy to be outside and it was finally under 100 degrees and nice outside. He caught on quick on how to make his little car "go".

His new car also has a key you turn that makes it go "Vroooom" and a horn you can push. It lights up and in the front is a shape sorter. Matthew is holding one of the shapes as a spyglass or something.

CEO in training

On Friday night after his bath, Matthew was pacing in his crib as he was on a very serious phone call. Must be long distance to Siberia to check on his girlfriend.
Looks like a future CEO never wanting to miss a call regardless of the time.

Check out his hair. Total Southern California Surfer Dude in training. Loves running around with not much on and barefoot.

Just hanging out....

On Wednesday June 7th we just stayed home and let Matthew explore so we could follow him and figure out what else needed to be baby proofed. This kid doesn't miss anything. At least he doesn't automatically put everything in his mouth, he's very good about bringing it to me to show me and give me thankfully. We set up the living room as his official play room downstairs so we cleaned up the Swing and Elmo table toy from Uncle Jeff and Matthew loves both. He of course found the snack containers on both right away. Yesterday (thursday June 8th) we took Matthew to Encino to watch Daddy get his hair cut by Jack. Matthew was pretty good other than wanting to follow the pretty girls into the Yoga place next door. He is such a flirt. We went to Weiler's for lunch (step below Brent's) and then Nordstrom to check out the big SHOE SALE! Mommy was thrilled, as you can see, Matthew was not.

At the Temple June 6th

Matthew's cousin Sydney was in a play Tuesday evening followed by an Ice Cream Social. The weather was perfect, warm but not hot. Matthew sat with us and Grandma and Grandpa, he got a bit bored. Sydney did wonderful her two times on stage. Unfortunately I had bad back lighting or overhead brightness and the pictures I took of the stage came out too dark to see anything. When I tried to edit by lightening the photos they came out distorted. Matthew got to meet Uncle Jeff, Aunt Doni, cousins Sydney and Sammy and Doni's family also. Matthew enjoyed himself but still will not eat Ice Cream. It's a Wess family tradition to love Ice Cream so maybe another time. Here are a couple of pictures from inside the Temple (Adat Ari El, small sanctuary) during the performance. Love his outfit!

Montrose Arts and Crafts Fair

On Sunday June 4th, Matthew got to experience the annual Montrose Arts and Crafts Fair. He got to meet his cousin Rachel and her boyfriend Anthony. We all had lunch at Rocky Cola's and then browsed the booths. We didn't buy much since we've bought so many things for him the last two years waiting for him to be born and come home. Little Man had a good time though. It was about 105 degrees in the full sun so I slathered him with 50 SPF lotion, put on his sunsuit and shades. He looked very cool! We walked around and showed him off to people that have been asking about him and Matthew was just in awe over all the people and things to touch and see. He was good and after about an hour took him normal afternoon nap despite being wheeled all over. Later we had dinner with Mark and Shellie who announced they too are pursuing an adoption. We wish them the best and they can borrow Matthew any time they get the urge to change diapers or get him to go to sleep!