Sitting Solo (August 23, 2007)

Here is our first photo of Matthew sitting up all by himself.

Yummmmm Toes!!!

Starting Solids (August 20, 2007)

Matthew had his first taste of solid food on Monday. I say solid, but what I mean is runny rice cereal that bears the consistency to curdled milk. Matthew seemed to really enjoy his first experience, though it could just be that he found it funny to watch mom and dad opening and closing our mouths like pez dispensers and going mmmmmm yum yum yum !!!

Day 1 was messy but successful. Days 2&3 Matthew was on protest and clamped his mouth shut and looked at the floor. Pretty smart for a 6 mo. old using avoidance tactics!

Thankfully, Daddy was much more successful this evening. We'll all get the hang of it here soon...just in time to introduce the foods he'll really love, like prunes :-)

Family Camp (August 17-20)

Greg and I had our first family camping experience (in cabins of course) with Matthew this past weekend. We attended family camp with 13 other couples and their children through our church in Cedar Springs Michigan. We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed hearing the couple who came to speak on the topic of marriage and family.


The weather was nice all but Saturday evening and Sunday morning (cold and rainy). Matthew caught his first cold on the trip, so we have been working on helping him feel better. It looks like the cold is losing the battle. Matthew is one tough cookie!! Must be in the jeans!

Month Six (August 2007)

I have decided that all the books on sleep are written by those with no children! Despite our various attempts, Matthew will not take more than a 30 minute nap unless he is:

a. Sleeping beside Greg or myself
b. In the car driving on the freeway
c. In his stroller
Here he is after a car trip, while I am praying he stay sleeping for just a little longer.

Matthew found his toes! He loves to suck on them. It's a good thing it's summer and his toes are free!! It's also very helpful during diaper changes. What a helpful boy!!

We now have a rubber play mat on our living room floor. I think it goes well with the decor!! It's been nice now that Matthew is rolling and scooting in a circle. It's easy to clean up too!!

Now, if we could only convince Sierra that this is not her play mat!! If I had a dollar for each time I say "Off the mat" to Sierra, Greg could quit his job and we could send Matthew to Harvard! Anyone know a good dog trainer??




Awwww. We love our bath time again! We have now started bathing Matthew in the kitchen sink. Hey, it worked for our parents didn't it?? He loves it, and it's much easier on all our backs!

Month Five (July 2007)

We started out this month by celebrating Corina's 18th birthday on 07/07/07!! It was just the two of our families and some friends of Corina's. Happy birthday Corina!!

In the month of July, we tried desperately to transition Matthew to his crib for nap time. It was not long before we learned that all the crib toys needed to come out for this to be a success. Here is Matthew rolling on his tummy to spend some time looking at his reflection again.

We also had a fun mobile hanging over his crib. It was our hope that it would lull him to sleep. It came out as well and we also had to buy some crib bumpers for his own protection as he kept bumping his bean as he rolled over in his crib.

Let the teething begin!! Can anyone say "drool"??? Matthew is now putting everything but Sierra into his mouth! And of course, the tongue is still making an appearance! Every day is more and more fun as Matthew discovers the world around him!

He is very busy these days going from his Jump-a-roo to his exersaucer to his activity gym. You would think that all that activity would make him sleepy for his naps, right??? here he is conked out in his jump-a-roo. Oh well, it's a nap right?? At least he is now sleeping 11-12 hours a night!




My sister Lindsay brought Emily and Madison over for a play date! We went out for a pancake breakfast and back to the house for a game of UNO. What sweet cousins he has!!

Bubbles!! Enough said!








We finished out the month in style at Jeanine and Terry's cottage with Greg's parents. It was our first trip away from home overnight. We packed everything but the kitchen sink. I figure it's good practice for Family camp next month! We had a great time watching the sail boat races! Sierra loved it too!


All that fun will make anyone tired. Here is a precious photo of Matthew with daddy and Sierra taking a mid-afternoon snoozer!

Month Four (June 2007)

June was a fun month for us, but boy was it busy!! Matthew's personality has really began to show through this month. He is laughing at all our attempts to make him smile :-)

We also started the month with a visit with Matthew's birthfather John. Here is Matthew at the Bethany office spending some quality time with John.








We had our baby shower #2 on June 2nd. We did an open house shower, so that everyone could meet Matthew and come and go throughout the afternoon. I highly recommend this to anyone who is having a shower!! It was such a wonderful party!! Here are some of our friends enjoying feeding time with Matthew.

Matthew learned a new trick thanks to Grandpa Art and Grandma Sue. Now he sticks his tongue out all day long and at everyone he sees :-) We think it's cute...but don't tell them that!!

On June 6th, Greg's sister Kim came in to stay with us for a week. Somehow we missed our photo opportunity with her, but we will be sure to get one when she comes in for Thanksgiving! This photo was taken the day we picked her up from the airport. We love our Aunt Kim.

Matthew found his reflection this month. He would stare at himself until he finally fell asleep. it was soooo cute!! He also learned how to roll over from his back to his belly. He has not yet figured out how to roll back, which is a big source of frustration for him. He also seems to be enjoying his tummy time finally...which is great news! Maybe it will help round out his head a bit. Now we just need to teach him to crawl!! One thing at a time right??

On June 10th we had our third and final shower with Greg's extended family. It was a beautiful June day!! Greg's cousins came in from Grand Rapids to throw the shower and Aunt Kim helped to make all the yummy food. It was such a wonderful day!! We have really felt so very blessed by all the people in our lives that have been so involved in Matthew's homecoming! There is NO doubt that this little guy is loved so much!! With all the showers, Matthew is all set on toys and clothes until at least his first birthday!!

Sometime around the middle of this month, Matthew began saying mommaaaa. He says it when he is in distress or when he wants our attention. We thought it was a fluke until he began to say it all the time. Greg is trying desperately for dada, but Matthew seems set on the mmmmm sounds for now.

We finished out the month with Matthew's baby dedication at our church. We had both our families there along with some close friends and Corina and her family. What a testimony to the good thing God has done in our lives!! He has so richly blessed us!!

We had a bbq at our house after where we took this keepsake photo of all of us together. What a joy!!

Month Three (May 2007)

We began the month celebrating the official legal placement of Matthew into our family. Now our 6 month finalization wait has begun.


On May 5th we participated in Care Net's annual walk for life. It was a beautiful spring day as we walked the two mile walk with Matthew in the baby bjorn. He slept through the entire walk!!

Matthew has really begun to interact with us this month. He especially loves it when you blow raspberries at him. He giggles and smiles every time!

Matthew has also begun to sit up, as long as he has something behind him!! He is growing so fast!





Here's his hand print that we used to make mother's day cards for the grandparents this year. What a fun time we had getting paint all over the kitchen & ourselves!!


Matthew loves playing on his activity gyms. We have three of them, and he actually does prefer one over the others. He has just begun grabbing and swinging at the toys hanging overhead. We take these with us everywhere we go.




On May 12th, we had our first baby shower with Michelle's family. It was such a wonderful day, and great to celebrate with the family on Matthew's arrival to our family.








Finally, we closed out the month at Corina's family's home for a BBQ. It is so wonderful being connected with Matthew's birth family! God is so good to us!

Month Two (April 2007)

It's amazing the growth and development that happens over a two month time period! Very early on this month, Matthew discovered he had hands. This was great fun for the whole family as his fingers replaced his pacifier, and Sierra's tail became a new toy :-) It really is great to watch someone discover the world for the first time!!
Sierra and Matthew are now fully acquainted with each other. It is our constant challenge to keep Sierra from kissing Matthew and to keep Matthew from pinching Sierra. Funny thing is, despite our attempts, they both seem to love each others behavior that we are trying to curtail!!

We got really lucky snapping this great photo of Matthew. He was just waking up from a snuggly nap and we were playing with his favorite blankie when I caught one of his first smiles. This continues to be one of our most favorite photos.

Easter Sunday was the first time we left the house with Matthew. He needed to be 10 lbs before we ventured out and he was 8 lbs, 12 oz. on Easter Sunday (close enough right)? We enjoyed a full day with both sides of the family. Matthew did a fantastic job winning hearts over, and then came home to sleep his first 7 hour night!

Here is a photo of Greg's parents holding their 1st grandbaby!








The Friday following Easter Sunday, we were off to my parents for a family dinner. Here is a photo of the first time Matthew's cousins (Emily and Madison) were able to meet and hold him. This was also their first time being around a baby so small. They really loved having time to spend with him!!


Toward the end of the month we had Matthew's two month well baby visit at the Pediatrician. He got all his immunizations and then got immediatly sick with Rotovirus (very smelly diarreah which lasted about a week). Needless to say we decided to not get the Rotovirus vaccination any more :-) We also decided to take the immunizations a bit slower and split them up a bit more. (since we did this, he has had no more bad reactions!!)


It wasn't long before Matthew was back to his sweet smiley self! He is smiling all the time now, and sleeping 8-9 hours a night!