Happy Birthday Buddy!

One year ago today God blessed our family with an amazing gift. You were born! Your mommy and daddy named you Matthew David and in that moment they became parents again, we welcomed another grandson and The Rock Star became a big brother. The moment that we held you we fell in love with you. Your were perfect in every way.

When you, mommy and daddy left the hospital we were blessed to have you stay with us for a few days before you went home to Utah. Then Grandma got to drive home to Utah with you, mommy and your brother. Papa and Grandma both wish that we could see you and your brother all the time. We are lucky to be able to see you as much as we do. I thought I'd share our visits with you. You can see just how fast you have grown up.

The next time we saw you was at Easter. You were already developing a cute little personality. You were starting to smile and you loved to cuddle. Grandma and Papa were so thankful for the time we got to spend with you. We went on an Easter egg hunt and spent time at a couple of parks, but most of all we just loved holding you.

The next time we saw you was in July. You were almost 5 months old. You had changed so much. You were laughing out loud and trying to sit up by yourself. I'm pretty sure you were rolling over by then too. Your brother had taken to calling you 'Little Buddy.'We think that you think that is what you real name is because that is what we all call you. We had so much fun with you on that trip. You loved baths and the opportunity to kick and kick until you got the person giving you the bath soaking wet.


You loved water in general and we enjoyed a day at the pool.

Grandma and papa would take you and your brother on long walks after dinner. Sometimes we ended up at the park. You already liked the slides.

Mommy even introduced you to solids while we were there because she knew how much we would want to watch.
In August you came for a quick visit. Grandma and Papa took you to the beach. You thought it was a lot of fun, but decided to sleep through it. You loved the spa and going for walks in the stroller. You were trying really hard to crawl and you were sitting up all by yourself.

In September when you came you were almost 7 months old. By now it was apparant that you were a real charmer. You knew how to work a room and people couldn't help but comment on how cute you were. We were busy while you were here. We went to the pool and the Wild Animal Park.

We took you to see Papa's helicopters and you could sit up in them like a big boy.

You were crawling everywhere too!

And you danced with your mommy at your Uncle's wedding.

You were even one of the only males allowed at MVCC's Women's Retreat.


In October, Grandma got to come to Utah for your mommy's Women's Retreat. An added bonus was seeing you for a few days. You were trying to figure out how to pull yourself up to stand. I told your mom that she was going to be in a world of trouble because you were in a big hurry to be a big boy.

The next time we saw you, it was Christmas. You were taking steps, getting into everything. Feeding yourself and growing like a weed. You loved to torment the dog and your brother.

You looked so cute in your Christmas outfit.



And in the matching outfits Grandma bought you and your brother.


We took you out to watch mommy and Papa blow snow off of the driveway one morning. The noise of the snow blower promptly put you to sleep.


We had a great visit. The best part was getting one of your hugs.


In February, you came to visit Grandma and Papa. While you were here we went to the Wild Animal Park and Sea World. You are walking everywhere and trying so hard to be as big as your brother.

Your visit was just three weeks before your actual birthday so we decided that we should celebrate with friends and family while you were here.. What a fun day you had. I doubt that any little boy has enjoyed their birthday cake more.

You even tried to open a few of your presents, but found it to be tiring work.

Today you will officially be one. Mommy and Daddy have chosen today to dedicate you to the Lord. Grandma and Papa wish that we could be there to celebrate with you. Even though we don't get to see you as often as we would like, we treasure the times we do spend together! We are so blessed to have you as our grandson! We hope that we get to see you tons this year! Before any of us know it, you will be two. We can't wait to see you change and grow and become a toddler. Have a very Happy Birthday Little Buddy! We love you!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

A Conversation With The Rock Star

My grandson, The Rock Star, who is 3 1/2 years old says some of the funniest things. He cracks me up on an hourly basis. One of the things he has taken to doing while he has been visiting is wanting to play 'tickle bellies.' Usually, the way this works is that he lays on my lap and I rub his tummy. He will lay really still for quite a while. It seems to relax him. Recently, he has taken to wanting to do the same thing to me. Only problem is that he doesn't tickle my stomach, he kneads it with sharp fingernails, but then that's another story. The other morning he asked me if we could "play tickle bellies." He decided that he needed to lay his head on my stomach. Then we had the following conversation:

Rock Star: I think I just heard celery.
Me: What are you talking about?
Rock Star: I heard humping (something) crunchy.
Me: Oh you did did you?
Rock Star: Yep, and now I hear cereal.
Me: What does cereal sound like?
Rock Star: Hounds (sounds) like it's in milk.
Me: Okay
Rock Star: Now I hear a box of macaroni and cheese.
Grandpa: Did grandma eat the box?
Rock Star: Yes, her did.

Gotta love that kid.