New Toy

Matthew got an exersaucer the other day. He is able to hold his head up pretty well, so I thought it would be a good time to introduce this new 'babysitter' and perhaps I could grab a few more minutes during the day to make myself some lunch or laundry or some such thing. Of course, it came in a big box and had to be set up so, Matthew, Joey and I endeavored to do that last Friday morning. Matthew waiting happily in his swing for Mommy to get his new toy put together. Joey waiting patiently for Mommy to get his new toy vacated.

Matthew enjoying his new toy.

Matthew thinks his new toy is the bomb!

Joey thinks his new toy is the bomb too!

4 Months

Here he is. 4 months old. I think he looks more like a little boy than my little baby. Already I miss those tiny baby days. You are thinking "What are you talking about? He is only 4 months old. He is still little!" But I have had to go through his drawer of clothes already and take out those adorable itty bitty outfits that are now too small, never to be worn by him again. It is kind of sad, really. These are his stats now...
15lbs 1.5 oz (71 percentile)
26 inches long (93 percentile)
43cm head circumference (81 percentile)
Not really sure what the percentile is all about, depending on who I ask, I get different answers. Dr. McConnell says he is the 71st percentile for weight, but when I looked on the internet, it told me he was in the 44th. Who knows. He is healthy and growing well. Really, that is all that matters.

Also, while we were at our doctor's appointment, he had to have his second round of shots. He cried for both of them this time, but he is such a trooper, he was only upset about it for a few minutes until the insult of having been stabbed by a needle (twice!) had worn off and then he never thought about it again. Tough little guy.

Hang up

This morning, Matthew and I were having a sleep in day. When he woke up at 9:30 and was still as dopey as I was, I brought him back to bed with me and we both fell asleep again, almost instantly. An hour and a half later, the phone rang. I tried to answer it without waking him, but it didn't work. So he happily laid in the bed talking to himself, while I talked on the phone to Auntie Luanne. When the phone rang again, I didn't bother to go to the other room, because we were both already awake. So I lay in bed with my head beside his and said "hello."

"Hi there. My name is Amanda and I am calling from SuperValu Carpet and Duct cleaning. I am calling to see if you would be interested in having your ductwork cleaned. We are having a special for the month of April, if you...Ok, Thanks for your time. Have a nice day." click.

???

I actually might have been interested in having our ducts cleaned since it has been way too many years since the last time it was done. However, Matthew had other ideas. He squawked, just as she began explaining the special and I guess she took that as a "no" and hung up.

I guess it is never too early to dislike phone solicitors.

Baptism

Today (for those reading this live this was actually a few months ago, but I am going to play with the 'post time' so it looks like we were all upons the blogging) was Matthew's baptism. Baptism is one of those rites of passage that the church does so well. Many people who don't have strong faith background still feel like this is an important thing to do. It is also one of the last things that is the church's alone: Marriage is done by the state, but only the church does baptism. Different traditions have different meanings and understandings of baptism. In ours, as in much of what the United Church does, there is less magic and more mystery. We don't believe that Matthew is now marked in any way, we don't believe that he now has divine protection of some sort. In fact we don't believe that what we did has any impact on Matthew at all. As Russell so profoundly put it: He breathes, therefore he is loved by God. Matthew is good, it is the rest of us that need some work. Baptism is about the community that surrounds Matthew. We use symbols and metaphor to try to articulate and understand that which we cannot fully understand. It is a chance for us, as parents, to name our faith and promise to raise Matthew so that he has a chance to know that part of life too. It is also a chance for the community to promise their support to us, which is always kinda nice. So Matthew is all baptized up now. Another milestone passed. Here are some pics from the day. We were thrilled to have family join us - Dave, Tricia and the kids from Regina and both sets of parents/grandparents, and Derek and Luanne. All the rels, as it were.


Russell Baptizing Matthew


The Grandparents


Uncles, Aunts and Cousins

2 months