Aunt Devin's Wedding

Matthew had been waiting for his Aunt Devin's wedding with great anticipation for a long time (even longer than the time since the last post on this blog). Devin's wedding was Saturday, June 2nd, and Matthew played the vital role of Ring Bearer (Roar!). If Matthew had his way, his responsibilities as the ring bearer would have included running between the pews and jumping up and down on the stage while wearing his Spider Man costume. Leading up to the ceremony he was about as cooperative as one might expect from a 2 year old. However, when it was time to perform he did a great job and did not distract from the beautiful ceremony. The wedding was very good, but the reception was GREAT! It was at the reception that Matthew changed from mild mannered ring bearer to Superman Dancing Machine. Everyone had a blast.
The wedding day was also very Biblical....

...A time to laugh...

...A time to weep...

...A time to dance...

...and a time to love

Spring Training

Matthew has been undergoing extensive training over the last few weeks. He is not training for a spot on the Atlanta Braves, he is training for being a big boy on team Dry Britches. Like any exercise there are good days and bad. To borrow a phrase: if peeing your pants is cool, consider him Miles Davis.

 The shower cap isn't necessary to stay dry though.

 

Matthew loves his puzzles. The bathroom puzzle is proving harder to solve and his parents are ready for him to make the mental leap

Matthew also enjoyed the Augusta Futurity this year.

He decided to reverse the roles and use a longhorn to separate the horses.

While all the other kids were interested in petting the goats, 

Matthew wanted to make sure they were well fed.

Happy Trails, Stay Dry!

Outdoor Activities

Matthew loves his new swing set and playhouse he received for Christmas. There was no chance of him waiting for warmer or dryer weather to play outside.

 Climbing the ladder

 And he has to try all three swings each time. "Swing Me"

 He enjoys sliding down the slide, but sometimes after climbing up the rock wall or the ladder he just climbs right back down instead of taking the easy route.

 The playhouse has multiple buttons, knobs, hinges, and shutters that have to be thoroughly tested during each play session.

 Later Y'all!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

December 2011 did not include any snow for Matthew, but finished with a flurry of activity.

Little Christmas in South Carolina

Making Christmas cookies with Mama

His Play-Doh experience came in handy

Christmas Eve in Alabama

Christmas Morning

Thankfully Santa also left a much needed comb in Matthew's stocking

New Year's Eve Horse Show

2011 Rides into the Sunset

Yee-Haw!

It's Beginning to Look

A lot like Christmas. Matthew has really been getting into the Christmas Spirit, enjoying the lights, trees, and decorations. So far he has only tried to open one present under the tree and did not understand that it was for someone else.

Climbing the ladder to put up wreaths with bows.

He really thought Daddy needed help on the ladder.

Saturday was Breakfast with Santa, he was more cooperative with the former than the latter.

There is a Christmas cup and saucer near the fireplace for Milk and Cookies. Matthew likes both.

Matthew also went to the Watkinsville Christmas Parade and had an excellent time.

Finally Matthew loves the Christmas tree in his room and insists that it be lit up all the time. The tree has a lot of western themed ornaments, and he argues with his Mama that one ornament is a "violin" not a "fiddle".

Happy Halloween

Matthew was very excited for Halloween this year. He has been getting ready for several weeks. First he picked out his own pumpkin. Which pumpkin did he pick?

That one!

Next Matthew picked out his own costume this year.

It's your friendly neighborhood Spider-man

But Matthew Spider-man did not stand still long
There were crimes to be fought...

And Candy to be gotten!

It doesn't have to be Halloween, for Matthew to dress-up. 

Every once in a while he tries out Pajama Cowboy.

This picture may not look great, but he is mid "yee-haw"

Over a month ago, Matthew turned two years old and dressed up like a birthday boy for his party

Joined by his friends Will and Cooper and Mickey!

Happy Halloween!

Pre-Birthday Fun

Matthew is preparing for his 2nd birthday. To prevent a birthday excitement overload, his parents have been slowly building the excitement levels to increase his tolerance. In some ways it has been akin to a popular circuit training regiment; instead of 90 days, Matthew's exercise plan only needs 5 days, p-5-fun!

Stage 1 is Cupcake curls. Matthew will be enjoying cupcakes with his preschool friends this week as well, but he had to begin training at home.

 The biggest excitement so far came at the Cole Brothers Circus. It is one of your smaller traveling circuses, which was perfect. In this phase of his training, Matthew worked up quite a sweat watching the show. He especially loved the animals.

"Woo. Elephants"

Matthew really wanted to increase his level of involvement at the circus. He didn't understand why he couldn't get in the caged arena with 9 tigers (it didn't look too dangerous for beast-master-tiger-tamer-guy and his assistant). And his first thought when he saw the human canon ball prepare for his launch......

I wanna go down the big slide

He is fearless and ready for his 2nd birthday.