Little Sidekick

I have a little sidekick. Her name is Clara. She loves to follow me around and put her two cents into everything I'm doing.  And it's adorable.

Whether it's caring for Matthew, working outside, folding laundry, cooking, pushing the stroller, decorating, or even making a shopping list, she's right there assisting me.

Unloading the dishwasher.

We work as a team to change Matthew's diaper (she hands me a diaper and then climbs up on her chair to supervise), water the tomatoes (I use an adult sized watering while she uses a kid-sized watering can), change over the laundry (she knows how to move it from washer to dryer), soothe Matthew (she pats his head and says "it's ok baby Matthew, it's ok" while I hold a paci in his mouth), and mix up some brownies (we use two spoons to get it really good).

Tonight I had the task of putting both kids to bed by myself, which can be a challenge. Matthew was crying while I was trying to get Clara in her pajamas. Suddenly she bolted out the door saying something about a baby. A few moments later I heard a "bump-clunk, bump-clunk" noise coming down the hallway. She had gotten Matthew's bouncy seat and was rushing it to him as fast as she could, which wasn't an easy task for her. So, we set it up, put him in it, turned on the vibrations, and he was happy. She proceeded to kiss him on the head sweetly. I told her she made me happy. She grinned. And we got to read our books in peace.

She looooves her baby brother.

She's a great little sidekick, my helper and buddy in this season of life.

Matthew at 6 Weeks

Weight: 12 lbs 10 oz (80th percentile)

Height: 22.5" (56th percentile)

Head Circumference: 15.4" (68th percentile)

What he likes: 
Matthew likes his paci, his swaddle, and sleeping. Other than that I'm not really sure. He's my solemn guy. Although he's very easy going, he has yet to crack his first smile. Not unusual or a concern according to his pediatrician, but it makes him seem more serious... and even mature somehow.

He does seem to like Clara. He tolerates quite a bit of her patting, hugs, kisses, rocking, trying to shove a paci in his mouth, and delighted screaming without protest. In fact, her presence can have a calming effect if he's fussy. His personality is definitely the perfect compliment to hers, just as is Mitch's. Now if she can only find a husband equally as mild-mannered, she'll have it made. :)

What he can do:
Make good eye contact and look somewhat in the direction of a noise. He can fall asleep in his crib by himself about half the time.

Other information:
I've quit eating most dairy for now because it seemed to bother him. Giving up cheese and ice cream has been sad... but not nearly so sad as seeing my baby cry in pain for two-three hours in a row of an evening.

Matthew is a quiet-natured baby. He doesn't coo or grunt or make many noises at all. We wouldn't even know he had a voice if it weren't for his occasional fussiness, specifically when he's tired, needs to burp, or has tummy discomfort.

Matthew is also still-natured. He does move his arms and legs around quite a bit throughout the day, and definitely when he's upset about something, but also spends plenty of time relaxed and and tranquil, moving his eyes back and forth to take in the environment while remaining totally at rest.

As I've mentioned before... he's awesome. It's fun getting to know him.

An Idealistic Fourth of July

We had a great Fourth of July. So, so much fun.

Some of Mitch's 2013 fireworks photography.

It all began on the 3rd, when we more or less happened upon the Twin Oaks Concert in the Park and Fireworks Festival. We were supposed to meet at the park for Bible Study, but instead enjoyed the festivities with our Bible Study group.

It was great to sit on picnic blankets, listen to music, eat snacks, and enjoy the company of some of our closest friends. Not to mention that we've all had babies within the past 3 months. Hannah (on the right) is our newest addition, at only 10 days old.

The guys played with the kids in an open field near our picnic blanket. I found this activity particularly humorous. The dads passed the ball back and forth by swinging the toddlers through the air.

Later that evening we watched a great fireworks display. Clara was adorable. She was kinda scared and kinda loved it, which resulted in her cuddling up close, wrapping her arms around my neck, and repeating, "Whoa! Fireworks! Aren't dey pretty?" over and over again (which she had heard me say). :) So cute. So fun.

Mitch was busy trying some new photography techniques, which turned out really cool.

The next morning we met together again for the Kirkwood Fourth of July Parade and were joined by Ryan, Crystal & Anna.

 It was awesome. Clara and Matthew experienced their first parade, we all got lots of candy, Mitch and Gordon shouted supportive yet hilarious comments to all the passing floats, eliciting some funny responses, and Kristi cheered loudly for everyone giving stuff away which landed us all lots of goodies (combined with the fact that we were sitting with two toddlers.)  :)

The Reddicks joined us back at our house where THEY cooked us a wonderful, grilled, all-american Fourth of July lunch, which was fabulous.

Later that evening we ventured downtown for Fair St. Louis. We set up a picnic at the City Garden and, after eating, put Clara in a swimsuit to run around the spray grounds.

The wet ground was very reflective.

It was all fun until Clara pooped in her swimsuit...

After a while we made our way to Kiener Plaza to watch the fireworks display. Why Kiener Plaza? Mitch was on a mission to get this shot:

Want to know how he did his fireworks photography this year? Check out his new photography blog post.

All in all it was an idealistic way to pass our Fourth of July holiday. The weather was perfect, the kids were fun, and the company was great.