Matthew's Tricks!

This video is pretty old, but I love it! Matthew has been able to do these "tricks" for a while now, but we finally got it on video. I love when he watches this because he does the tricks as he watches himself. I watched this video every single night that we were on our trip.

Dog-on good time!

So far, Matthew knows 5 words…Dada, Hay-ee (That one always makes me laugh…we’re still working on mama), Why?, Hi, and DOG! Matthew really does LOVE dogs! He always makes a barking sound when we see them. Last night my aunt, uncle and cousins brought over these two adorable things! Needless to say, they were quite the hit!

...and can I just say that I love how our family has like 20 conversations going on at once, and you can't even follow one!! Love my fam!! Thanks mom and dad for the FABULOUS SUNDAY DINNERS!!!

Busy Matthew

I have put a lock on most cupboards, but I guess I need to put one on the pantry too!! I left the kitchen to answer the door and get my phone, and when I came back I found this:

Five minutes later I was only two feet away from Matthew, but I didn't realize he was doing this:
Don't parents get sippy cups to help prevent spills? I guess Matthew found away around that!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

I had the most wonderful birthday yesterday!! I woke up and Darin gave me the most wonderful massage and breakfast. Is there any better way to start the day!!? Then we went outside and had handstand, jumping, and cartwheel contests.


Mom even got in on the action!

Mom came down and brought me my new birthday clothes!! She even changed a stinky Matthew diaper while she was here! Thanks mama!! Then Dad and Mom took us out to a yummy thai restuarant, Thai Siam. Sooo good! And the menu was my favorite part!! It was crackin me up!! Here are a few of the things from the menu:

If Jimmy Buffet had ever visited Thailand, he’d have written a song about our coconut soup.

You don’t often see coconut milk and potatoes sharing top billing, (they’re notoriously jealous of each other) but be glad they set aside their differences and came together for this delicious yellow curry dish.

If this soup were poetry, it would be a haiku: Five Thai spices, Seven chunks of roasted pork, Five flavors to love. (Check it, yes, that’s actually a haiku – and oh yes, the soup is good).

When the owner of a delicious Thai restaurant hints that this delicious broccolli and chicken stir-fry with creamy oyster sauce and subtle hints of garlic is possibly his favorite dish out of all the delicious things on this delicious menu, it’s a good bet this dish will be … delicious.

Thanks mom and dad for the delicious lunch!! And thanks for taking Matthew out when he was being naughty!

The night continued and mom and dad came over for pizza, cake, and we watched two movies! Darin gave me a Wilton Cake Decorating Set for my birthday from Sur La Table! I LOVE IT!
It was an absolutely wonderful day!! Thank you to everyone who sent cards, gifts, emails, facebook, and phone calls! You are all the greatest!! Love you all!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Just a quick shout out to Grandma Hodgkinson!! Happy Birthday!! We love you so much and I am so glad that we are "twins!" Hope you have a great day!! I love you!!

Matthew in the Bathroom

This is what happens when I let Matthew do what he wants without me saying anything. It starts out great...cleaning my toilet for me, but then he gets into a little more trouble!

Vroom Vroom

I am absolutely amazed at the way kids learn things! How and where did Matthew learn to make a car noise? I think it is so cute!! He does it every time he plays with a car. On a side note….does anyone recognize this car? Matthew found it in our living room and I don’t think it is ours.

Trip to the 50's

Tonight we had a WONDERFUL night! We went back to the 50's with our friends Jon and Laurie, and Jeff, Kendra, and Alayna!





We ate some delicious food! Darin made us some tasty burgers and fries and we also had some yummy shakes and malts! Here are a few pictures from the "diner" (I know my juke box turned out pretty lame).






We also had a bubble gum blowing contest...that got pretty crazy!!!









It was a super fun night! Thanks so much for coming and bringing all the yummy things that you did!!





And a big shout out to dad letting us use his white board for our menu, and Heather for the fun ideas, paper, and printing things off for me, and last thanks a million to wonderful mother who let us use the sweet awesome malt machine, the cute glasses, and bringing down the gumball centerpiece that we accidentally broke!

GQ in the making

I love this boy!!

The Valentine Post

Darin did FANTASTIC this year!! I dare say best Valentine's ever!! It started on Friday when he came home from work and brought me these:

Come on...what girl wouldn't LOVE two dozen roses and a box of chocolates!? They were super delish!

Saturday we went to a Valentine's Dance, and we had a great time!! (Thank you mom and dad for babysitting so we could go!)--Pictures to come.

Sunday Morning we had heart shaped blueberry pancakes, then that night Darin made me dinner! Super yummy! But, no the fun did not stop on Valentine's Day. Monday I woke up to Darin bringing me breakfast in bed again!! I love you Darin!! You are the BEST!!!

Oh, and I did give Darin this rake! (I tried to make it a little more romantic by puting cheese notes on it.)

Stay-cation and VACATION

In honor of the Olympics we decided to do a stay-cation to Canada! We learned a lot of interesting facts (like Canadians eat more mac-and-cheese than any other country), we saw a funny looking totem pole, and we ate some yummy food (pancakes with Canadian Maple Syrup for breakfast, Mac-and-cheese for lunch, and Le Cellier steak, potatoes, salad, and alcohol free wine (aka grape juice) for dinner. –How was that for a long sentence? Needless to say, it was one of our more pathetic attempts to travel the world in our basement. But, here are a few pictures to document our efforts.



On a brighter note we are going on a REAL VACATION…yes, this will take place outside of our basement!! We bought tickets this week to visit Darin’s parents in the Philippines!!! We can’t wait!!

Happy Birthday Darin!!!

Yesterday was a wonderful day!! We got to celebrate Darin's Birthday! It was weird because all the decorations for Matthew's birthday, magically changed to celebrate Darin's Birthday!!



When Darin came home from work my mom and dad took us out to Texas Road House! mmmm!! Delish! Thanks mom and dad! Matthew loved it too...he kept blowing bubbles in our drinks with the straw!


After dinner we came home and had ice-cream cake!! Darin had to blow out 29 candles! Getting old!!
Happy Birthday Darin!! We sure love you!!

Matthew's 1st Birthday!!

Matthew turned 1 yesterday!! What a fun year it has been!! We had a great day yesterday, and last night we had a fun party!! We did a Sesame Street themed party and we had a great time, but I may have gone a little overboard with my decorations. My parents, Grandpa and Grandma Welling, Ben, Kristy, Heather, Greg, Becca, Ellie, Sarah, and Rachel all came to Matthew’s party. It was really nice of them to come and Matthew sure loves them all!! We played two games “Dorothy fell out of her fishbowl,” (the girls (and Grandpa) had to try throwing a beanbag gold fish into a fishbowl from different places around the room), and “Guess how many cookies are in Cookie Monster’s jar.” My sister won! She guessed 229 and there were 227 (my lucky number). It was a great night! Here are a few pictures:








Ben was our live entertainment and kept balancing a chair on his chin! Pretty impressive!



After visiting in the family room I heard my nieces giggling so I went into the kitchen to find this:


I guess I deserve that because on Sunday I ate all the recess peanut butter cups off my sister’s cupcakes.


For Matthew's Birthday we got him a pet goldfish!! (Like Elmo's pet goldfish Dorothy). I think he loves is...see what you think.

Reading Matthew!

Matthew LOVES to read!! Here are two videos of Matthew "reading." In both videos he is reading 10 tiny tadpoles! It is his favorite book!!