no longer a baby...

Since the last post, we have been extremely busy. To kick off our busy summer, daddy and mommy traveled (sans baby!!!) to the Dominican Republic with some close friends to celebrate a marriage union. I must admit, the night before I was very anxious about leaving my Matt Matt but shortly after arrival and definitely by the time we hit the beach, I was super appreciative of some alone time - a week long of not following a feeding schedule or rushing home for bed time was a pleasant change of pace. There was lots of time to do nothing and we certainly took advantage of it. Most days we even slept in! The week came and went quickly but I personally was so ready to leave and see our baby again. Even though we faced time at least once a day, I still really, really missed him.

The week after we returned, Matthew, Teacher Ly Ly, Uncle Alvin and I went to enjoy Elmo in concert. Matthew was so excited to see Elmo. Right when we sat down in our seats after exploring the play area, he was calling for Elmo. But his excitement immediately ceased when the lights went off and at that time he began screaming his head off! I'm not sure if he's afraid of the dark which I assume not since he's in the dark every night for bed. So who knows! He sat with Ly Ly for most of the show and really enjoyed it. During the second half, he managed to get up and dance a bit. Then immediately after this fun filled weekend, the craziness came. We were scheduled to move within two weeks which you'd think is plenty of time...well, at least I thought it was! Very soon, our place was all packed up in apple and banana boxes and large tupperware bins. Since our place was such a mess, we spent most of our time at my parents, with the exception of sleeping times. Not that grandma's and grandpa's place was less chaotic, they just had all their cooking equipment ready to go. But then again, I guess I never have our cooking equipment ready to go! Our scheduled move was set for August 10. Matthew spent the night next door as James and I did last minute packing on the night of the 9th. We slept on the floor for the next 5 nights; one on our side and then 4 nights next door. Since sleeping on the floor wasn't so comfy, we decided to physically move to our new place even though it was not completely done but at least there was a bed for us to sleep on. Luckily Matthew's been able to sleep through most of the renovation noise and easily sleep on his new big boy bed! However, since he's realized his new found freedom, he gets out at his own will, and all hours of the night! The first night was extremely cute even though we were exhausted. We heard his pitter patter from his room towards ours calling out "mommy, mommy, daddy daddy". It wasn't a cry, but more of where the heck are you two! I brought him back to bed and he went back to sleep right away. It's now been about 5 nights we've been here and every night is a bit different. There has been two nights where he's slept through the entire night. Hopefully he'll learn to fall back asleep on his own every night so we can sleep through the night! This morning he woke up around 6:30am and came into our room. James was already at work and I wanted to squeeze in just a bit more sleep. I encouraged him to sleep next to me as I was going to wake in 15 minutes anyway. He laid down for a few minutes than left. I decided to squeeze in those extra minutes anyway. When I got up, I went out of our room to look for him. There he was, sitting on the couch looking out the window! It was quite adorable! He had just been sifting through the cruise magazine we received in the mail and enjoying the morning sunrise! All he was missing was his cup of joe!!! Matthew's been talking up a storm! And even singing with his favourite song being "Baa Baa Black Sheep". It barely ever is a silent car ride home as he's too busy narrating what he sees outside or what he's done at school. The last couple of months have been quite pleasant with him with very minimal off days. Now that he can understand a lot more and communicate a little, it's been way easier to meet his needs and ours! The whining has become much less, but still in existence! Sometimes when he's frustrated, he'll start his whining and stomp his foot. We remind him that we can't understand him and he immediately stops and tries again with words. The other technique that I've picked up through schooling and at school is to almost always give choices and allow the child to feel in control. So we often give two realistic choices with the outcome being controlled (something the parent wants the child to accomplish). It has been working wonders! The usual choice we offer is either we help him or he helps himself and since he's at the stage where he wants to do everything on his own, it has been super easy that we don't even need to do anything! For example, it's time to get him out the door for school. So I will tell him that we are going to leave soon and that we need to get our shoes on in two minutes (warnings are really great too!). Then when it's time, I ask him if he'd like my help to put his shoes on or if he'd like to do it. Majority of the time, his response is "Matt Matt do it" and then that allows me time to finish getting ready and we're out the door! Works wonders! I've also been getting reports from his teachers how helpful and nice he's being at school. If he walks by something that is out of place, he will pick it up and put it in its correct place before resuming to play! He also participates lots at school during group time. I have been told that he leads some of the songs too! His special picks during group time are ABC and Twinkle Twinkle. At times, he's been speaking in full sentences which is pretty cool. He will say things like "Jayden is sleeping" or "More oranges please, mommy". Our little baby will soon be a full grown 2 year old toddler! Can't wait what else he has in store for us!