I am sitting here feeling bored, and I realized I should probably utilize the time by updating the blog. I have not been good at it, at all. In all fairness though, I did warn you that I wasn’t a very good blogger. Oh, well. I will try again.
So here’s the update:
Matty being cute!
Matty will be 10 months old on Thursday. At his 9-month check-up he was measuring 30 1/2” long, and weighing 20 pounds, 7.5 oz. He is taller than 95% of baby boys his age, and weighs in the 50% percentile. He enjoys pretty much all food, and most recently we have found that he loves strawberries. He is able to take a whole berry and bite off pieces until there isn’t much left at all.
Matty enjoying some more fruit, watermelon!
He is starting to eat more snippets of what we make for meals. He is also starting to transition to a ‘cup.’ We are trying to give him one bottle a day out of a sippy-type cup. He’s doing pretty well with this; although he has started to take a break in the middle of a bottle just to play with the bottle nipple. This is all good and fine, until he squirts formula all over the place. He is now a very mobile little boy. He is crawling, lightning fast, all over the place. He is also puling up. He loves standing and will use anything, or anybody, to help stand.
He hasn’t gotten interested in walking once he stands, but we know it will be soon. He is very ‘tooth-ful’ with 7 teeth to brag about now: 4 on top, 3 on bottom. He is a great chewer, and a lethal biter. He is really starting to mimic sounds and actions. His favorite ‘words’ are ‘ma’ and ‘ba,’ with a few ‘da’s thrown in there. He loves his doggies and has adopted growling in response to their playful growls while playing. Trigger puts up with Matty’s petting and pulling, but Sadie prefers to be the initiator of the touching. She’ll lick him, but if he reaches for her she’s out of there. He loves to watch them and talk to them.
Matty and Trigger playing with the maracas (Trig got whacked in the head right after this shot)
Matty continues to be a great sleeper. He still enjoys all of his naps and is usually down for the night by 8:30-9:00 (unless Grandma Jan is over and keeps him up playing J). He sleeps until 7:00 drinks a bottle, and goes back to sleep until I deem it okay to get up (anytime after 8:30). Matty and I enjoy playing together most of the day, and we really love it when Tony’s home to play too.
We have been quite the traveling family this summer. First, Matty and I (and Jan, Nicki, and Athena) went to Pennsylvania in May for a wedding. Tony was unable to come, as he had to work. Tony’s cousin Jess was the beautiful bride. We had a nice time visiting with Tony’s Mom’s side of the family. Matty got to meet two of his (second) cousins. Keirra is 3 moths older than Matty, and Santana is 4 months younger. He enjoyed playing with Keirra and looking at Santana.
Matty and I dancing to Tony and my wedding song at Jessica and David's wedding. (did you catch that?!)
Our next trip was just for Tony and I; we got to celebrate our five-year wedding anniversary. We left Matty and the two dogs with Jan and Athena and took a three-day trip down to the Austin, TX area. We stayed in the Blair House Inn, a B&B in Wimberly, TX. It was great! The next day we toured some vineyards (yes there are vineyards in Texas) and drove into Austin. We went to the Melting Pot for a fantastic dinner. The next day we got a couples massage before driving back to collect our kid and critters. It was wonderful!! Tony also surprised me for our anniversary and upgraded (big time) my diamond in my wedding ring. I am now super blingy! Haha.
Tony and I out for our anniversary dinner at the Melting Pot!
Let’s see. After that we went up to Colorado to see my family. We drove up (11 1/2 hours) which wasn’t ‘too bad’ since we did it at night. Matty slept almost the whole time. Tony flew back to Texas after four days so he could get back to work. Matty and I stayed for about two weeks. It was really nice. We got to see all of my aunts, as they all vacationed to Colorado the same time we did. Most of our days were just spent hanging out and relaxing, but we did have a few exciting days.
Auntie Ashley taking Matty for his first horse ride on her horse, Hank!
Harry Potter came out while I was in Colorado, so my sister and I (huge HP fans!) went to the midnight premiere. Then the following night (technically that same night) we went again, but with my Mom and two of my aunts. It was great. While Tony was there we went out with Frank and did some shooting. Since Tony got a gun recently, Frank decided that we all needed to go out shooting, mostly so I would know how to do it if push came to shove. He brought out about a half-million guns, handguns and rifles, and we took turns shooting them. I wasn’t horrible, as I predicted I would be; and I think, if need be I will be able to use the gun ‘with purpose.’ Our next trip was to North Carolina. It was originally supposed to be for a family reunion, but that ended up falling through, unfortunately. However, we still have some good friends living there, so we decided to go anyway. We got to stay with our good friends, the Velazquez’s.
Tony, Matty, Me, Leslie, Carmine, Luis after Carmine's birthday party.
It was perfect timing, as their son, Carmine (our God-child) was turning three. We got to take him birthday present shopping at Toys ’R Us and had a great time at his hockey themed birthday party. They are (strongly) considering moving to Texas, and we hope and pray that they will. They are such great friends and it would be wonderful to have them here. That’s it for our travels, thankfully!
Tony’s doing well; he is the supervisor of his shift and all of his superiors count him as there most valuable asset. He’s working a four on, four off schedule; although with a lot of personnel changes he’s had to work some of his days off- boo. They are restructuring the shifts, so hopefully he will actually be off on his days off, and not get phone calls all night on his days on. He was, unfortunately, in a car wreck when Matty and I were in Colorado. He was on his way to work when someone cut him off. He swerved to avoid hitting them, over corrected and spun out; he hit the highway-side concrete barrier going 65-70 MPH. He totaled is car (the ’05 Mustang Convertible) but walked away with only some airbag burns/scratches and a mild concussion. Luckily his friend, Luis, was in town so he got to baby-sit him since I was out of town. We have since gotten a new car, or SUV to be precise. No more sports cars for Tony, and no more Fords; he’s totaled two of them now!
I’m doing well, as well. Recently Matty and I have joined a mom and tot playgroup. It will be nice to have some adult interaction for me, and some playmates for Matty. We’re looking forward to some of the many activities they have planned. Hmm, I seem to be the most boring one of the bunch. Oh well!
Okay, for those of you who have stuck through my very long, quick update: here is the big news. We’re expecting again. Yes, you read that right. I’m pregnant; Tony’s going to be a Dad again; Matty’s going to be a big brother. It was quite the surprise to all of us, but we’re excited! I got my first ultrasound Friday and I am 11 weeks along. That puts my due-date at March 8, 2012. I will attempt to keep the blog updated as I continue to ‘progress.’
Koch baby 2 with little feet sticking up!
Koch baby 2 profile!
Koch baby 2, 11 weeks!
All right. That’s it for now! Love you all, and hopefully I will be a better blogger….
