Mattix in photos

I’m still finishing up the second progress post. I’ve been pretty sick for over a week now, so I’m slow with everything (I’m also behind on blog reading, but I’ll catch back up soon.) I’ve actually been consistently sick for the past month, with a day or two break in between each cold, sinus infection, or flu bug. My mom has spent one night a week for the past three weeks with us, which has been wonderful. Up until three weeks ago, Ed and I were the only ones to take care of Mattix during the night. However, with Ed traveling so much during the week (meaning I’m doing many of the nights alone) and me being so incredibly run down from the previous three months of little to no sleep, my white blood cell count is low enough that it has become a concern. A few other things are off, so I’m finally ready to accept a little help. Therefore, my mom has been sleeping over now and then so that I can get a really good night’s sleep here and there.

The problem is that even when Mattix only wakes up between two and four times a night (which is great), I sleep for crap. I must have some subconscious mommy thing going on because I wake up every twenty or thirty minutes all night to listen to the monitor. I also keep the monitor volume way too high because my biggest fear is that I *won’t* hear Mattix during the night. We use a rather loud humidifier in his room, mostly for the white noise (without that, he sleeps terribly), so the noise coming over the baby monitor is loud. And it’s not the nice white noise that the humidifier provides in his room! It’s a combo of white noise with way-too-loud monitor noise! Anyway, the only nights I actually sleep well are the ones where my mom spends the night and keeps the monitor in her room. I sleep well both because it’s quiet in my room and because I know she’ll wake up for him, so my mind must shut off completely. So, one night a week I sleep really, really well! Last night was that night! And I slept in until 10:00 a.m. He had a great night and only woke around 3:30 a.m. for one bottle, then slept until 7:00. My mom got up with him, fed him breakfast, and played with him until 10:00. Oh was it nice. Two Ny*quil and eleven hours of sound sleep.

So, until I finish up the other post, here are a bunch of random photos I’ve been meaning to post for a while. I finally pulled out one of the nicer cameras and I’m going to start using it this week. The quality of the photos below is crap. I’d like to take a photography class one day, but until I do, I can at least use one of the decent cameras. These were all taken with the point and shoot that often goes off thirty seconds after I want it to, or the lighting is off, or something. So, ignore the quality for now and focus on the cute-ness.

{i took this way back when we were in dc, probably late february. this was when he was just beginning to become obsessed wtih climbing in or on things.}

{the next few were taken around the same time. same thing – obsessed with climbing into things.}

{on the same day, mattix also learned the fine art of diaper removal. that one was not such a hit with mom.}

{showing off his new talent}

 

{as soon as we came home from washington, dc, mattix wanted to perfect his new climbing skills. i was in the middle of unloading the dishwasher and had walked over to a cupboard to put away a pot. i literally had my back turned for five seconds. when i turned back around, mattix was fully STANDING on the dishwasher door. apparently, the weight capacity is at least 20 pounds. he was reaching for his formula that was previously on the counter.  as you can see, his little endeavor was a success because it’s on the floor in the following photos. I sorta screeched b/c i didn’t expect to see him standing on the dishwasher lid and all i could think is that he was going to crack his head open on the tile when he fell backwards. once the formula can fell, he sat down, giving me a chance to grab the camera. so, so cute.}

{the very next morning, having conquered the dishwasher, mattix decided to give the refrigerator a try.}

{“what? what are you looking at?”}

{the novelty of climbing into the fridge lasted a few weeks. he’s a quick one. if i didn’t grab what i needed and slam the door shut in two seconds, mattix was on it in no time. i swear, that kid can crawl at the speed of light.}

{standing in the fridge is exhausting. it requires periodic breaks.}

{this one is just b/c i love the look on his face. he was riding on of those old school horse rides (that used to be like ten cents and now cost seventy five) at a toys r us. ed let go for a minute and mattix’s look conveys how unsure he is.}

{here comes a big old series of photos. he was eating in his high chair one afternoon and he was exhausted. he of course wouldn’t nap (this was about three weeks ago), but he passed out mid-lunch. he would half wake up and move around a little, then pass back out. i took these (and more) photos over the course of 45 minutes. he was cracking me up. he finally totally woke up and was completely annoyed.}

{these photos are from my birthday dinner with my family. my mom – the one who wouldn’t allow my brother or i to eat sugar cereal, drink soda, or eat a friggin’ cookie until we were teenagers, is feeding mattix ice cream, once again. go figure. i guess that’s what grandmas do. no wonder he giggles like crazy when he sees her.}

{this was the look my mom got when she told him the ice cream was “all gone.”}

{mattix loves to feed whoever is sitting near him whatever nasty thing he can find. before i started feeding mattix gluten free foods, i usually couldn’t eat whatever he tried to give me. or i just used that as an excuse b/c..gross! well, not only will grandma spoil you with ice cream, she’ll eat whatever you feed her if you laugh and act cute enough. all of us at the table were gagging because i swear, he was feeding her some of the nastiest things i’ve ever seen. half chewed up pieces of chicken, soggy pieces of fruit, regurgitated french fries. you name it, he gave it to her. once he ran out of things on the table, he actually started reaching into the pouch on his bib and began pulling things out! i couldn’t decide if i wanted to laugh until i cried or just vomit! anyway, it was funny, disgusting, and adorable all at once. i didn’t take any photos of that part because i think i was too busy trying not to puke, but here are a few cute ones of the two of them interacting.}

Okay, that’s it for now. I have more, probably an equal number, most of which are even cuter, that I will post tomorrow. This has just gotten out of control! And I will finish his progress post, in addition to a few others I’ve written in my head.