Fall 2013

Happy fall!  It's been a while since our last update.  Halloween was a lot of fun this year.  We visited two pumpkin farms and did trick or treating. Declan was a vampire and Theo was Cookie Monster.  We celebrated our 10 year anniversary in Door County while the kids had a weekend with Grannie and Grampa.  We had a great time with our friends at Lighthouse resort, again.  Click on the pictures to see the full galleries.

Theo also started pre-school.  I first typed that he loves it, but he just informed me that "I don't like pre-school, don't talk about it."

 

 

 

Declan learned to walk!

The latest excitement in the Matter house (besides Jay's new job) is that Declan can walk!  He's been working on it for months, diligently pushing anything on wheels, but finally on May 30th, he took his first independent steps!  On June 1st, he really took off and hasn't looked back!  Theo is very encouraging, and Declan still gets a proud smile and giggles as he walks around the room.  He is just a few days from being 16 months old, so he learned to walk at about the same age Theo did.  (Theo was actually a few weeks earlier, but he had a Frankenstein walk for awhile before he walked normally.)

We don't have a lot of photos from April... maybe due to the cold temperatures... we spent a lot of time inside, and continued with our regular activities of Music Together and gymnastics.  Jay also started his new job towards the end of the month, so we've taken the kids over to the pool a few times, which is a great option to have since the weather hasn't warmed up too much.

April photos

 

 

 

In May (my favorite month!), we celebrated my birthday and Mother's Day!

May photos

I'm also posting a few photos and videos from the beginning of June to showcase Declan's new skill!

June (so far)

On to summertime!
- posted by Laura

February and March

Despite the cold temperatures, snow, and seemingly never-ending winter, we've kept busy the past two months.  The beginning of February, of course, was spent celebrating Declan's 1st birthday!  Theo and I made a carrot cake and my parents came over to celebrate.  The rest of February was mostly spent shoveling snow! 

February photos

In March, we entertained ourselves with the St Patrick's Day parade in Racine (in frigid temperatures), a couple of birthday parties with Theo's friends, and a trip to Minnesota to celebrate Claire's 5th birthday!  Even though it wasn't your typical spring break destination, it was well worth the trip to spend some time with Gramma, Grampa, and Uncle Ben, Auntie Trisha, and cousins Claire and Hank.  And it even felt like spring had sprung when we returned home last night!  The snow is melting and the robins have arrived...  More sunshine and happy days are just around the corner!

March photos

Recovered from the Holidays

I guess the holiday season really got busy for us and it has turned into almost 3 months without updating the blog.  Here's a brief re-cap of events...

November - Declan learned to crawl the day before he turned 9 months old on November 8th.  He has a cute little crawl.  He's a happy boy and loves getting into whatever Theo's doing.  I can tell that he also enjoys the times when Theo is napping and he can play with whatever toys he wants to without getting pushed away!  We celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving here in Racine with my parents.

December - The first Christmas party we attended was the first weekend of the month at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee.  It was the Johnson Controls Childrens' Christmas party.  They have a very nice set up with kid-friendly food, several craft areas, face painting, cookie decorating, and of course, Santa.  We have a classic picture (which I didn't scan in and upload, but should) of Theo and Declan.  Theo did not want to sit on Santa's lap, despite all the prepping Jay did.  When the time came, Theo clung to Jay with all his strength, but we made him do it anyway for the picture!  When you think about it, Theo has a good head on his shoulders because it is kind of weird for us to tell him to sit on an old man's lap, who he's never met before, and tell him what he wants for Christmas.  Thankfully the real Santa knew that Theo wanted puzzles and definitely provided on Christmas morning!  Throughout the month, Jay and I were able to attend two adult parties, and the kids and I attended one other party with our playgroup friends.  (I did not make Theo sit on Santa's lap that time.)  We spent Christmas Eve with my parents in Racine and then traveled to Schaumburg on Christmas Day to see the Rodgers' family.  The next day, we hosted a brunch with my high school friends, which is always fun and never long enough.  On the 27th, we headed up to Minnesota to see some friends and celebrate Christmas with the Matter side of the family.  It was a really fun (and surprisingly relaxing with two small children!) visit, mainly due to those who hosted us in their beautiful new homes and to all the wonderful family and friends we got to spend time with throughout the week.  We always have a good time reconnecting with everyone and wish there were more days to spend eating, chatting, and relaxing!

January - Happy 2013!  After recovering from our holiday colds and getting back into the swing of things, we started planning for Theo's 3rd birthday, which we celebrated yesterday.  He had a perfect 3 year old day - we met friends at open gym and then went to our house for a pizza lunch and cupcakes.  After naps, we opened more present from relatives, and enjoyed a delicious green truck cake made by my parents.  Theo is happy and excited to be three years old!

Next month - Declan's 1st birthday!

- Laura