Matthew at 9 months

Well..... lets see.... it is kind of late but I need to do this so I dont forget... My little man Matthew has turned 9 months and is changing so fast. Now he crawls to get wherever he wants (under the stairs, under the swing, getting caught under the recliner) and gets mad if I redirect him. Yes, Matthew has formed his way of doing things and started to well lets just say, express himself. That is what my dad calls it!! He can yell at the top of his lungs and command everyone's attention in the room. He pulls up on whatever he can reach and tries to keep up with Cade. They still love each other to pieces and Cade really tries to play him these days. I think they have to most fun in the tub together splashing and laughing the whole time. His sleeping habits are a little different than I would like to them to be.... He will no longer go to sleep by himself without crying. But if I lay with him and he can play with my hair then he is happy! Remind you of someone??? So we have decided to set the pack and play in our room again until we can get him sleeping through the night. It worked last night and it is the FIRST night in about 2 months that he didnt sleep in our bed. Can I just say how more rested I felt today than I have in a LONG time??!! Matthew is wearing size 3 diapers and mostly 6 month some 6-9 month clothes. He weighed 17 pounds at the doctor and is in 18%. Love this peanut!!!

Matthew's Dedciation plus some more

Matthew is 8.5 months old and so we decided it was time to dedicate our boy!! In church, we believe in dedicating babies to the Lord and Baptism for when they can make a decision for Christ on their own. I picked the weekend my grandmother was getting married so that my family would be in town for it. It was a CRAZY busy weekend but fun!! Here are some pictures from my grandmothers wedding and then Matthew's dedication...

 Matt and I outside the church, I wanted to take a picture in front of the church because we were married here too! Matt wasnt thrilled but he smiled for me :)

                                                      My sweet cousin Caleb and I

 The beautiful couple!! Meet Clarence Derrick and Rosie Derrick. They met in college over 50 years ago and went on a date but decided to be friends. 50 years later they met at their college reunion and Clarence pursued her for a year and half. He is 80 years old and she is 79. Dont they look amazing!!! They are so excited and giddy for one another. We are so happy to welcome him into our family!!

                                                           My cousin Megan and I

 Our sweet friend Kevin G. dedicated Matthew!! He is on staff at our church with Matt and he and Matt have become great friends.

 Family photo. Of course Cade wouldnt smile but thats typical for him but the rest of us are happy :)

 Our sweet boy Matthew Joseph!! Oh how we love him and are so blessed that God gave him to us!!

The family that came to the dedication. My family (minus Josh who had to leave for work) and the Pettus crew (my moms sister and family). We love all of you for coming to this special day!

Cade and Updates

My sweet son Cade is so much fun!! He keeps us laughing and on my toes daily!!! I keep thinking that I need to write down what he likes and doesnt just so I can remember so I thought I would do that on my blog. Cade is 2 and half and he is just a ball of energy. He still loves to play basketball and baseball but has picked up a new favorite hobby...being a referee. I guess going to the gym all the time he has realized how much fun it is to blow the whistle and run up and down the court. Now you would think that just blowing the whistle would be enough but he also has picked up some phrases like.. "Out of bounds," "Foul," and a couple more. It makes me laugh when we go up to the gym to see daddy and he instantly asks for the whistle (because I made a rule that they stay in the gym and dont come home with us) and he tells me to start running and I end up running up and down the court shooting layups while he runs beside me critiquing my every move. The other night at my game one of the refs who I have known for a long time gave Cade an official whistle!! OH MY!!! He was thrilled and ended up blowing it in the game and stopped the play, ha!! At least everyone laughed and didnt get mad at us.
Cade has slowed down on eating but loves yogurt, all fruit, hotdogs and chicken. He will eat steak and pork chops that my dad cooks on the grill. And he loves cheese. He enjoys getting things out the refrigerator by himself and for that reason I think a lock is in our near future. He LOVES to play outside and therefore we try and leave the house once a day to do something outside. Inside he likes to shoot on his hoop, play with blocks and climb on everything. Cade still LOVES Matthew and will give him toys and play with him. He hates to see MJ cry and usually makes me get him if he starts. Cade has started a new love and hobby and its for music. He asks to play my moms guitar everytime we are at her house and he plays it a few times. He plays and she sings. He also noticed a trumpet and has been trying to play that as well. My mom has even taught Cade the name of each guitar string. He cracks me up!! I think a guitar will be on his Christmas list.
Cade has slept two nights in his toddler bed but has decided he wants to move back to his crib. Not because his brother is in it now but because he just likes it. SO...we are going to borrow a crib for Matthew until Cade is ready to move out. I am not pushing it because he doesnt climb out and goes to bed willingly.
On more of a "boy" note...Cade has noticed that his bodily functions make him laugh and he loves to do them often! Today is the day that the paci is going to be restricted to the crib only. I am tired of having to find it and he doesnt need it so its in the crib to stay. He has asked for it a few times but I tell him where it is and then distract him.
Promotion Sunday at our church happened last week but with us dedicating MJ Cade didnt stay long. Well this past Sunday the teacher had to pry him off of me and he screamed at the TOP of his lungs!! Oh my all the teachers including the childrens director heard him and it was quite embarrassing when they realized it was Cade. Change has never been a strong point for him and I am anxious to see how school will do. I will warn his teachers and just pray he does ok! We shall see!!
Every night when I put him to bed we read a bible story and he loves naming the men in the bible that he knows.. Joseph, Peter, Jonah, Noah (his favorite) and Jesus. Its so sweet to see him soaking up all that I read. Then I sing 2 sometimes 3 songs and then we pray. He is so sweet and likes to pray for all of his favorite people. It sure is a sweet time and I love it!! Then when I walk out the room I tell him sweet dreams and that I love him. He says it back to me and we end up saying "Love you" about four times. Are you kidding??!! I will stand at his door all night to hear him say those sweet words!!  Oh how I love this boy!!!

On Cade's horizon... Potty training!!! Stay tuned :)

Here are some pictures from the past couple weeks!!

 We went to Greenville to stay with my brother and his wife Stephanie!! We had a blast and Cade loved being with them!

 Uncle Joe and Aunt Stephanie took us to play putt putt and Cade did great!!

 Uncle Joe celebrating Cade making the putt!

                                                                    I love these two!!!

                                                              Family picture

                                                                      Sweet Cade

 On the bridge in downtown Greenville.. the guy cut Matthew out of the picture

 Haha it was so much fun watching Cade feed the animals

 Cade enjoyed feeding the baby peacocks too!

 Cade loved hanging with Uncle Joe

 My brother distracted the geese by running with their food so they would chase him and not Cade! So sweet :)

 We went on the Safari ride and that was really cool

 Chase and Timmy came over to play one day with us and the boys had a BLAST!!

 Look at those mischief faces..

                                                                Jumping on the bed

                                                                  Timmy and MJ

                                                   Bath time is always fun with a friend

He's trying...

Matthew has decided that he is ready to move!! And when I say move I mean GO!!! My little guy is such a sweet heart and I love him to pieces. He has recently started showing off his personality and he can be very LOUD. He also grabs anything in his reach and will not let go. So if that is your hair then sorry because the boy has a grip on him. He always has to have his hands busy. So he now plays with my hair or grabs hold of the back of my hair and just starts wiggling those little fingers. Its pretty sweet!! As I type this, MJ is in the swing trying to fall asleep and his arms are just a going. His eyes are closed but his hands just keep moving. I have been saying for a couple of weeks that when he can figure out how to crawl I am in for it. Cade never got into much... I didnt have to put safety things on cabinets, doors or put away things that he could break. (Now is a different story though). But Matthew just has a look in his eyes that lets me know he is ready to get his hands in everything he isnt supposed too! So here are some pictures of Matthew tonight trying to figure this whole crawling thing out..

He is SO funny and stinking cute!!

I will keep you posted :)

Sleep.....

I just want to start by saying how important sleep is to me... I love my sleep. Cade slept through the night at a young age and it was interrupted when he got ear infections (six), RSV, Hand Foot and Mouth, stomach viurs and a few common colds. HA! Poor buddy, he seriously caught everything in his first year of life. Tubes really helped!! So by the time Matthew joined the Kinard crew we were all used to sleeping through the night. Matthew was such an easy baby, he slept through the night very early. He really made having two boys really easy!! He is still such a great little guy except for sleeping at night. I think we are up against some issues.... He loves his mommy so much that he is already having trouble leaving me. The past couple of Sundays they have had to come and get me because he was SO upset that they couldnt calm him down. Also, Matt and I left him with a close family friend and he had a freak out session with them. He definitely likes to have me in his sight that is for certain!! So due to the fact that we have two bedrooms and no closet space, Matthew is still sleeping in the pack and play right next to our bed. Cade is not ready for the toddler bed so he is still in the crib. Therefore, I think Matthew has become aware that I am right there next to him and he prefers it that way. He likes to make sure I am there7 to 8 times a night!!! Yes and that is not exaggerating!!!  In fact when I was telling Matt about our night, I told him it was a good night because he only got up at 2, 4, and 6. HA!! Needless to say at 6:00 AM I had no more energy to fight with him and I put him in the bed with us. Of course, as soon as I did that, he cuddled right up to me and slept til 8.
With all this said, he is cutting teeth and I really wish those little teeth would just come through already!! I am tired most days and I am just praying for some more sleep for MJ and I. We shall see...
I dont really have a place to put him and let him cry it out so hopefully after his teeth come in he will sleep better and we can eventually move the boys into the same room. On a side note...my mom and I just got their room all set up and it looks amazing!! Pictures to come soon :)

Welcome to July

Here is what we have been up too in the lovely month of July... We went to the beach on July 4th with the Giordano's and had a blast. It was so pretty and the kids had fun too!!

 Sweet friends Eli and Matthew...I dug them a hole and they had fun playing together.

 Firework show that night...Matt was a little tired haha, so was Matthew, so they hung together :)

 Cade enjoyed watching them with his Sweetie!!

 He put on Daddy's shoes because he wanted to go to work with him..

 This is sweet Luke!! Matthew's newest buddy... He is so cute and sweet. We love him!

 Best buddies Micah and Cade... Notice Cade's face (this is how he gets when I pull the camera out, Sweet)

 They usually end up in their diapers and then nothing...haha! No pictures of that :)

 Ha...well this is Cade riding the dragon in the nude!

 Ending it on a sweet picture of those precious legs that belong to my peanut.  More pictures to come :)

Six months

Matthew is 6 months old!! I cant believe that we are half way to a year. His little life is going by way to fast. I feel like Cade's first few months went by so slow probably because I was figuring out how to be a mom. And he was higher maintenance than Matthew is. At six months old he weighs 13 pounds and is wearing size 2 diapers and size 3-6 month clothes... Can we say Peanut?! He is still SOO sweet and just loves to watch Cade. He now is sitting up pretty well and Cade enjoys sitting with him and bringing him toys as well as feeding him puffs. Matthew is now sleeping without the swaddle (YAY) and each night gets better and better. He isnt using it at naps either and I am so glad he is adjusting. He sleeps on his belly in a fleece sleep sack. He is now eating rice cereal and has had baby food consisting of banana's, squash, carrots and apples. He likes it all. Have I mentioned that he is ready to eat food and give up on nursing?? Yes.. well he would rather eat food than nurse any day. Therefore, I pump most feedings but have spread his nursing out to every 4 hours and he gets 2 meals a day. Here is my peanut at six months...

 I had to show 2 pictures because Matthew wanted to show you how he is sitting up so well!