Sentences!!

Matt has started to use some two word sentences! Some examples that I've heard him say in the last couple of days:

• "More pancakes" (of course)
• "Percy stuck" (Percy is a toy train)
• "Baby crying" (there's a news flash! ;-) )
• "Baby cute" (when she's not crying. LOL)
  
• "Abba, twinkle twinkle" (Matt's version of Grandma/Meema - she sings 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' to him when she rocks him to sleep).
• "Coffee hot"
  

I know there's more... they're just escaping me right now. You should have seen him at the beach last week! Mark's parents were up there so we went up on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons. Mark's mom helped me take care of Jillian and even got Matt to take a nap on the couch, so I had some time to relax and, when Matt woke up, spend some quality time with him. He absolutely LOVES the water now. He was even purposely putting his head in the water and laughing when a wave would hit his face. :) No fear. I had to watch him like a hawk so the kid wouldn't drown. He loved chasing the "boidies" and would have chased them the whole mile to the center if I had let him. His other favorite activity was throwing rocks into the water. Even though he had SPF 50 on the whole time, he's so tan! He's got his dad's skin. Or else he takes after Auntie Kate. :)

He's in a very mischievous stage right now. The other day the bathroom door was open and I didn't realize it. I was in the kitchen cleaning up and thought Matt was being unusually quiet. I found him in the bathroom dunking the brand-new roll of toilet paper in the toilet bowl. Wonderful. Then, yesterday, I gave Matt a bath and after, he was fully clothed, playing with his truck in the kitchen. I decided to give Jillian a bath, too, so I filled up the baby tub (in the regular tub) and stepped into the family room, picked Jillian up, and in the two seconds it took me to do that, I walked back into the bathroom, and there's Matt, sitting in the baby tub fully clothed. That little stinker.

He also has a habit of screeching whenever he wants something or is frustrated. It's like fingernails going down a chalkboard. I think that he does it because he sees the baby cry, and then me respond to her right away. So he thinks that's how to get my attention. I'm trying, whenever practical, to just ignore the behavior and remind him to use his words if he wants something.

He's still my sweet little boy, though. :)

Jillian is doing well. She still has fussy moments, but I can deal with that. She is still a newborn, after all. Her saving grace is that she started really smiling last week. It fills me with awe and all-consuming love when she looks me in the eye and breaks out into a big gummy grin. :) It makes those tough moments totally worth it. :) I ordered these fancy swaddling blankets for her out of desperation last week. They're called Miracle Blankets, and they're aptly named. It's a nice thin cotton knit material that creates a really tight swaddle, so I don't have to worry about her over-heating. No more flannel receiving blanket plus the swaddle blanket. And these blankets don't have Velcro - so I don't have to worry about it scratching her. I wrapped her up last night right before her 7:30 feeding and for the first time ever, was able to put her in her crib after and she stayed asleep!! I was actually able to clean up the kitchen and put the toys away then relax on the couch until I went to bed at 10:00!! What a concept! To the right is a picture of her wearing it yesterday afternoon.