Little Boy Haircuts

Matthew has been telling me for a while that he wants a haircut.  He got a haircut back in August and hasn't had one since. Today he told me he wants a haircut TODAY because he looks like a girl (he doesn't really) and that he wants to go to the barbershop Dad goes to 'cause they give him a toy.

Grant also needs a haircut so I thought about taking them to the barbershop...and I decided I didn't want to do that.  I have three little boys and I think it would be good if I could learn to cut little boy hair...so today I thought I would try.  Scott has cut Matthew's hair before and I've cut it all one length before, but I haven't tried anything more complicated than that.

Matthew really wanted that special toy from the barber shop, so I told him he could have a lollipop or a little toy from mommy's goodie bag if he got his hair cut at home instead.  He said that would be ok.

I watched a little you tube video about how to cut boy hair and then gave it a go.  Matthew was not a cooperative subject...maybe since I was taking too long doing it...so it wasn't the best hair cutting experience ever.  But for a first try I think it was decent.  Here is Matthew with his new do. 

And the new cut from the back.  There were a few little spots that could have been smoother (it was supposed to be sort of a fade hair cut).

 Here is Matthew's before hair...just as a reference.

He lost A LOT of hair today.

And Grant got a little hair cut too.  Here is his hair before.

Lots of fuzzies.

 And after.  I realize these aren't the best pictures.

Grant did not have a good haircut experience either.  He got scared watching Matthew and started crying as soon as I put a smock on him.  I cut his hair all over with the #4 attachment on and just stopped after that since he was so sad.  So it looks pretty shaggy still, especially around the ears and in the back, but I think it's ok for now.  Poor Grant!!

Anna wanted a haircut too since every one else was getting one.  I cut a few hairs on her and she was happy with that.  She wanted an after haircut picture...but it looked a lot like the before picture.  :)  Notice she also got a lollipop.  Sooo, the haircuts weren't awesome, but it was a good first step for me.  And I'll get another chance to cut hair in another few months.

Delegating

As my kids get bigger they are able to do more and more jobs around the house.  A lot of times they just don't want to help and sometimes I resort to bribery, but then there are those glorious times when they are eager to help.  Today the kids both vacuumed different parts of the house for me.  They had to fight about it first, but still.  They also both love emptying the dishwasher.  They can't reach all the cupboards and sometimes I'm left wondering what happened to all the spoons, but its still very nice.  And yesterday Anna wanted to feed Grant.  It's not my favorite job since he is resistant to eating and it takes a lot of time, so when Anna kept asking me if she could feed him I thought, "why am I fighting this?"  She sat by him and patiently fed him his baby food for at least half an hour.  She was very conscientious about her duties.  She even got him to open up for the food a lot.

She even chopped up some grape pieces for him with her cutting board and safety knife.  Lately whenever I have to chop anything for meals, she wants to help me with her own stuff.  And she does a pretty good job too.  She might have taken her feeding responsibilities too far 'cause the next day she kept trying to force feed me half eaten fruit snacks.  :)  It made me feel sorry for Grant a little bit.

Matthew is also a big helper.  After filling out all the invitations to his birthday party Matthew wanted to stuff and seal the envelopes.  I was going to say no at first but then I thought better of it and let him.  He said he liked doing all of it except the licking.  I told him he didn't have to seal them, but he said he wanted to anyway.

He made sure they were all sealed by karate chopping and punching them.  Done and done!  Thanks little helpers for making my life just a little bit simpler.

Shooting Hoops

Matthew got this basketball hoop for his birthday. He loves trying to make baskets and always wants it at the highest possible setting, which isn't really very high at all. Here he is shooting a few baskets. He stops in the middle to tell me we should write names on the basketballs. I was impressed he made all his baskets. This was taken with my OLD point and shoot camera (my new one broke...sad) so the quality isn't the greatest. Enjoy.

Just like Dad

Matthew wanted to do some push ups after he saw Scott do some this morning.

He found it a little difficult.

And wanted me to get down and show him how to do them.
I tried to show him, but didn't do quite as well as Scott did.

Then he wanted to try some sit ups.
Good workout buddy.

Storytime with Matthew

Matthew has a few favorite books, and some of them he has memorized. He will sit with his favorite books and recite them, as best as he can remember. Anna has even started doing this too, to some extent ("and Max said, BE STILL...and my wild things rolled their terrbull eyes").
One of Matthew's favorite stories is called The New Baby by Mercer Mayer. I got it for him a few months before Anna was born hoping it would help him get used to the idea of having a little sibling. Well, it's still one of his favorite books, and although I know some of you have already seen Matthew "read" this book, here it is again. This video is from last month, so its a little old. Incidentally the last line of this story is "They think I'm so lucky" (not yucky).

Anna's Skills

Here's Anna showing off her skills. I had to clap with the camera to encourage her, so things get a little shaky in the middle there. Sorry about that. Enjoy!

Anna vs. Stegosaurus

Question: If Anna and Stegosaurus were to fight, who would win?

Answer: Anna by 5

Who's next?

Mr. Clean

Matthew was vacuuming up a storm today - complete with ear protection - at Grandma and Grandpa's house. That is a real vacuum that his cousin (Jaron) got for Christmas. We are willing to hire him out for vacuum jobs.

You might have an ant problem if...

You might have an ant problem if your toddler practices his counting by saying, "One ant, two ants, three ants..."

Roll Your Hands...

(slowly) Roll your hands, roll your hands
(fast) As quickly, as quickly, as quickly as you can
Then fold your arms like me me me, then fold your arms like me

Am I the only one who sang this song in primary?
Scott claims to never have heard of it.
I think I remember singing it, but I might be making it up.
In any case, Matthew and I sing it a lot and here he is doing the hand gestures for it.

Not grown up yet...

Matthew can play on most of the toys at the park without help. He climbed up all the big slides and went down them (including a big enclosed spiral one). He walked across high bridges and climbed big stairs and made it look easy. It wasn't until he climbed up on a simple park bench near the play structure that he fell off and hurt himself (bump....HEAD). After a few hugs, he was ok again, but it did remind me, he's not THAT grown up yet.

I also, on occasion, let him play with toys that are not designed for kids his age, which I shouldn't do. Take these legos for example. They are for older kids...not 20 month olds. These are my soccer legos that I have had since college and Matthew liked playing and taking the pieces apart. It seemed harmless at first (I was right there watching him after all) then, in quick succession, I saw him put all the soccer balls in his mouth and try to run around (these soccer balls are no bigger than a dime) and then find a tiny, long skinny piece and try to stick it in his ear. We put the legos away soon after that and got out his much bigger duplo legos. They have those age guidelines for a reason. I should pay attention to them. He seems so grown up 'cause he's a big brother now and can talk a bit and understand a lot. But he's really still little. This is also why he shouldn't be left unattended with a roll of toilet paper. Will I ever learn?

My New Hair Stylist

I've finally found a solution to my bad hair days. He works for practically nothing and I can still get work done around the house while he is "styling" my hair. Just don't make an appointment right after lunch time - he might have peanut butter hands.

Dancing

Here is Matthew, dancing it up with his musical phone (he calls all phones "phone call" these days). I like when he just spins in a circle - I think I will steal this move and make it my own.

Please sir, I want some more...

Matthew and I have been learning about numbers lately. We count things and read counting stories, but I didn't think much of it was sinking in.

Today Matthew came up to the baby gate outside the kitchen and asked for a "cookie." Usually he doesn't ask for snacks by name (he just uses "snack" to cover all the bases) and he's never asked for a cookie before, so I was impressed by his specificity and I let him in to help get a cookie. I gave him one and he held it in one hand and then pointed back at the bag and said "two?" Of course I was charmed by his cuteness and his counting abilities so I gave him another one - two hands, two cookies. It just makes sense. But then he pointed at the bag again (cookie in hand) and said "three....three cookie" I thought he was so adorable and gave him a little hug and kiss - but no more cookies. I've heard him try to count before (1...2...3...5!!) so I was afraid things might escalate quickly if I kept meeting his demands. :) Hmmm, I think I need to teach him to use his counting abilities only for good...never evil (like manipulating mommy with cuteness).
Needless to say, Scott and I think he is exceptional. :)

Waiting for the Roll

Capturing those special milestones on camera can be tricky. Here I am trying to capture one such moment with mixed results. This is some real riveting footage!!

Happy...Sad

Some Favorite Things

Matthew with his dog and wearing his construction jammies

I feel like nothing much has been going on here. Scott has been hard at work since his boss and one of his other co-workers are gone for a few weeks. Scott has to do their jobs and his own while they are out and it's keeping him very stressed and busy. I've been resting and not doing much in an effort to try and prevent myself from going into labor early, since my midwife told me at my last appointment that things are starting to move along and I could go into labor at any time. I really want to last until my mom gets into town this Friday (she is coming all the way from Rhode Island, poor thing). So I've been resting at home a lot, which makes for a boring time for Matthew I think...and nothing interesting to write about. So, here are some Matthew stories from the past month or so, some of his favorite things and words he uses right now (plus some completely unrelated pictures). Sorry, it's probably not too interesting, but soon we should have some more to write about. :)

Two Tired Boys

Singing in Church A few weeks ago at church, Matthew sat on Scott's lap during the opening hymn. Usually he just sits there or tries to squirm away, but today he decided to join us in singing. He looked at the hymn book and made his little singing sounds right along with us except they were very LOUD and conspicuous. Of course, he made up his own words and tune too. It drew a little bit of attention, but I thought it was more funny than anything. After the song he folded his arms nicely for the prayer. It was cute. AMEN Before most meals, Matthew will fold his arms and wait for the prayer. Sometimes in the middle of the prayer (if he thinks it has gone on too long) he will loudly and emphatically say "Amen", maybe as a signal to Scott and I to wrap things up.

My Nose

Recently Matthew discovered that his little fingers are just the right size to fit inside his nose. He is more fascinated by this than anything. He doesn't try to pick his nose, he just puts his finger up there and runs around the house. Sometimes he'll come show me how nicely his fingers fit inside. I don't have any photographic evidence of this, because I figured it was best not to encourage this behavior...but sometimes I just can't help laughing.

Hanging out on the Couch

Dinner Time

I've been finding it hard to get Matthew to try new foods. He's just a typical picky toddler, I guess. But despite his general refusal to try anything new, we still sit him down with us for dinner and feed him small bits of what we are eating. He doesn't get a special meal. In general he'll pick through it and find the fruits he can recognize or the piece of bread and eat those, while rejecting everything else. I've gotten used to it. However, lately he has surprised us by not only trying some new things, but apparently enjoying them too. I made Quiche Lorraine (with Swiss cheese, onions and bacon) a while back, thinking he would probably just poke at it with disdain (as is his custom). While Scott and I were gobbling our food he actually picked up a piece of quiche and tried it. We try not to make a big deal out of whether or not he eats the food, so we watched hopefully out of the corners of our eyes and surprisingly, he didn't spit it out AND went back for another bite. He kept eating it and I kept giving him more as he asked for it and I think he ended up eating more quiche than I did. It was great. Last week we had steak and I cut some up into little pieces and put in on his plate, thinking there was no way he would even try it. Again he surprised us and tried the steak...and liked it. I kept giving him more and more pieces of it and he ate them right up. He ended up eating a pretty big portion of it. He's also since eaten pork chops, taco meat and sausage. I think he may even have accidentally eaten a few vegetables. The night we had tacos, I gave him his taco deconstructed; the tortilla by itself, the pork filling, cheese, and pineapple salsa filling all separate. He watched Scott and I put our tacos together and then tried to put his together also. He held the tortilla in one hand and tried to place all the parts inside and eat it. It kept falling apart, but he was very determined to do it the "right way." It was cute.

Matthew finds a chocolate muffin!

A Few of My Favorite Things

I think it's interesting what things Matthew likes. Right now he really likes dogs, airplanes, cars, trucks, motorcycles and construction vehicles. I'd never really told him about any of those before he started showing interest in them (except dogs). He has just seen them out in the world and decided they were neat. I thought it was amazing that he could make the connection that the airplanes he sees flying in the sky are the same ones he saw on the ground when we saw the big static displays on the 4th of July. I was all ready to explain to him that the big airplanes on the ground were the same ones he saw flying around, so I asked him, as we saw them, where the airplanes are. He just pointed at the big airplanes on the ground and made a sound as if to say, "right there, mom." He already knew it. He always surprises me by how quickly he picks up on things. He likes anything with buttons, as probably a lot of toddlers do. He loves the computers, any remote control, phones and the DVD player especially. He also likes going outside and swimming in his wading pool and going in the water at the beach, although he does not like getting sand on his hands. He doesn't like his hands being dirty, unless it's with food. He doesn't like getting sand, dirt, paint or marker marks on his hands and he'll stop what he's doing until I can clean his hands off. He doesn't mind cracker crumbs, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, cheese sauce or anything else he can eat being all over his hands though. He also likes brushing his teeth.

Matthew goes on a "sandwich rampage"

What's Your Name?

We've been trying to get Matthew to say his name. We'll prompt him by saying "What's your name?", or "Can you say Matthew?"...and invariably his response is "Daddy." I guess he thinks his name is Daddy? He used to say "Mama" but now it's kind of turned into "baba" but, of course, he says "daddy" perfectly. He has also started saying "Gup" all the time. I think it came from him saying "cup" but it definitely has a G sound on the front now. He will walk around the house saying "Gup Gup Gup Gup" which is kind of weird.

Matthew and his playgroup friends

Some of Matthew's words: Aw Duh - which means "all done". He uses this to signal the end of a meal, that he is done playing with something or that he wants to go play somewhere else, like upstairs on the balcony where his pool and water table are. Cacker - Snack or cracker Wa Wa - Dog (or motorcycle) Hey-Co - Helicopter Ap-po - Apple Bye Bye - bye bye Hi - hi Daddy - daddy (which he says very well...this was his first word and he's had a lot of time to perfect it) Eh-Bow - elbow (sounds a lot like his word for apple) I go - I'm going somewhere Baw - ball Chee - cheese Key - keys Wah Da - I want that or what is that? Uh oh - uh oh Cup - cup His longest phrase is probably when he says "I go bye bye"

He was saying this to everyone at Scott's office the other day as he ran around exploring. In his mind I think it's two phrases...."I'm leaving now" and "It's been nice talking to you, goodbye."

Animal Sounds

Here we are practicing some animal sounds.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

The Itsy Bitsy Spider is one of Matthew's favorite songs. The other morning when we were singing some songs together he started "singing" and doing little "itsy bitsy spider" hand gestures, which he's never done before. We haven't sung that song in a while so I was surprised he remembered it. He wouldn't make his little singing sounds for the camera, but he did do a few of the hand gestures.

Happy Father's Day

Scott was assembling some shelves for us today and Matthew REALLY wanted to help him. He kept taking the screwdriver and trying to poke it onto the screws like Dad was doing or pick up the screws and carry them around. We tried to let him "help" by using his little toy screw driver, but he quickly decided that one wasn't as good and threw it on the ground in disgust. He also took his little toy hammer and tapped it on Scott's head a few times while Scott was trying to work. Despite the best efforts of Daddy's little helper, the shelves got assembled and they look great. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, (especially our dads - Grandpa Keeler and Grandpa Guptill) who let us "help" when it really isn't very helpful at all and help us to learn and grow by the example they set. We want to be like you too!