Matea is following directions, too!

Just a quick note before I head off to work -- when Eli was 18 months old, Jeremy and I "tested" him by handing Eli one of his toys, and asking him to put it in the trash (just for the sake of a non-obvious instruction, to prove that Eli really could understand what we were telling him).

Missy and I gave the same test to 15-month-old Matea yesterday, and she did it! Her test was easier, in that we had given her an actual piece of trash (a dirty napkin) to throw away, and she was already in the kitchen next to the trash can, but we were still pretty impressed when she toddled over to the trash can and put the napkin inside, given that she isn't saying all that many words of her own yet!

Working from home

Jon's been sick, like everybody around here, and has been working from home the last two days. The kids love having him around . . . or at least his laptop. :)

Whatcha doing Daddy?

Here, we'll help you (notice Matea pressing the keys).

So, we've quickly discovered that working on the couch results in no work, just play. Even if the couch is comfier Jon is now relegated to the basement so he can actually get some work done.

Baby Bear

When Eli was a baby he got a bear from Jon's Aunt Cheryl which you would pull the handle on the bottom of the bear and it would stretch out and play music. Well, but Matea has taken quite a liking to the little bear. She cuddles it and carries it around, and LOVES it when the music plays. It's fun to see the differences between Eli and Matea, and one of those is that Matea likes to cuddle dolls/bears/blankets while Eli never did. It's just adorable to see her come toddling around a corner cuddling her bear. My heart melts.

Walking and listening to my bear's music.

Found another blanket too, so now I'm cuddling two things.

Sitting in the sun, cuddling on the couch with my bear. SO CUTE!

Weekend with family!

Last weekend was a family weekend for us, with my brother Scott and his family coming in from out-of-town. It was the first time for them to see our house, and my cousin Dede was getting married too, so we had a full weekend!

The day started out with Noah's football game, then watching the Michigan game, then on to the wedding! It was a whirlwind, but such a fun day!  The kids were able to sleep in the basement together and did really well playing together all weekend long. The weekend went by way too quickly though. We need more weekends together, that's for sure.  I didn't take many pictures, and every one I did seemed to be of Matea (she's my little angel, what can I say?), so sorry for the Matea-centric photos. :)

The kids hearing a Mario story from Uncle Jon for bedtime!

What a beautiful setting for a wedding! And perfect weather too!

The bridge and creek were a favorite place for the kiddies.

Stacking bubbles kept Matea busy for the whole ceremony!

What a cutie.

Eli insisted on sitting by Andrew, sleeping by Andrew, playing with Andrew, etc.

Two of our three rows. We're beginning to take up quite a few seats!

My one picture of the beautiful bride. Don't know what I was thinking (other than taking pics of my cutie Matea).

Matea wasn't quite sure what to make of the bubbles once they were out of the container.

Diaper change in the grass cuddled up in my blanky.

Silhouette of Matea . . . holding a stuffed kitty dressed in a wedding dress that she took from the flower girl.

Wedding in a park means a playground right there - can you say FUN FUN FUN! Look at that hair!  

I'm going to go down the slide, I can't wait!

*squeal*

 

Lexi helps give Matea a ride down too!

Climbers

Matea started climbing EVERYTHING the last week . . . and now this is one of her favorite spots. The back of the couch. She loves to roam back and forth checking out the neighborhood. In this picture notice Eli "helping" Matea not fall. The arm between the leg actually served to make her fall, but at least he was trying to be helpful. :)

Interestingly enough (to their mother only possibly), at 15 months old Eli also started climbing everything. Here's a picture of him at 15 months on the back of our couch in Canton. In the future I'll need to remember that at 15 months our kids turn into part monkey!