Matthew's morning nap

Matthew's morning nap has provided Sam and I with some together time that we don't get a lot of these days. So today Matthew was starting to get fussy around 9:15. I told Sam that I was going to put Matthew down for a nap and that I would be back shortly to read some stories with him. He followed me up the stairs with Matthew and I was prepared for havoc to ensue. I started rocking Matthew. Sam started trying to climb in the crib, so I thought we'd quietly play the game of "Where's BaaBaa?" The key to toddler behavior is distraction. Anyway, I knew exactly where BaaBaa was, he was in my sweatshirt pocket, but Sam didn't know that. I told Sam to go find BaaBaa. Matthew was still rocking. His eyelids were getting heavy, but he still needed some more rocking. Sam ran into his room and said, "Where BaaBaa at??" He came back into Matthew's room and I told him to go look in Jason and my bedroom. Before Sam returned from that little trip, Matthew was successfully in his crib, nearly asleep and I was able to sneak out his door and shut it.

So then I changed sheets on the other beds, Sam and I read a few stories, I mopped the floor where Sam had spilled some milk from breakfast, got Sam into some new socks and jeans (also because of the spilled milk), and we headed outside. We kicked a bouncy ball around awhile, then Sam hit it with his baseball awhile, then we watered the plants along the deck and in the front of the house and raked some leaves. Sam mostly pushed his rake into the leaves which I raked, spreading them out a bit. He also did a fair amount of jumping and reveling in the joy of the leaf pile. Oh to be young again.

Then this evening I was making dinner while Matthew was playing in the jumperoo. When I finished I hid on one side of the kitchen island, out of Matthew's view and popped out, saying "Peek a boo!!!" Matthew was delighted and laughed and laughed and laughed. I've never heard him laugh like that before and I responded with plenty of laughs of my own. I'm not sure who was more delighted of the two of us, but it was definitely a memorable moment. I wished I could record his laugh and play it over and over again. After our peek a boo session, I decided it was time to try some solids with the little guy. He's been showing the signs of readiness, so I strapped him into the booster seat, gave him a bib and mixed up some rice cereal. He seemed to take to it fairly well, gave a few disgusted looks, but then eagerly grabbed the spoon whenever it came his way. I'm not sure if he just wanted to chew on the spoon (as he's been chewing on EVERYTHING lately) or if he wanted more rice cereal. I can't believe he is growing so quickly.