Easter Egg Hunt!

Matt's first egg hunt!

Our neighborhood Mom's Club had an Easter Egg Hunt on Friday for all the neighborhood children . We ran to Target to find a basket for him Friday morning, since we didn't have the forethought to get one beforehand. We found his little monkey basket and whisked him away to the egg hunt in the park.

Matt's first encounter with the eggs was prior to the hunt beginning. He wasn't exactly stealing anyone's eggs though. He grabbed these two pink eggs and threw them as far as he could, at the same time!
Then, a Coast Guard helicopter was searching for about 15 minutes right around the water near the park. Matt was really scared at first and wanted one of us to hold him when it flew by. Gradually, he became fascinated by it rather than scared. It took a lot to get him back to searching for eggs.

A bit of a frightened look as the helicopter comes back by.

Matt decided to get back in the game after taking a break in the grass! Oh, an egg, right in front of him!

Matt shared his eggs with me, telling me all about them. He got two rather small eggs as a donation from a little girl who had already met her quota and figured Matt was in need with his 4 eggs in his basket. Each child was allowed 12.

There was Hubba Bubba in one of the little eggs. He tells his daddy all about it!

Matt is amazed not only that the eggs open, but that there is stuff inside!

He dumped his whole basket out in front of him to check out his loot! Can't wait to see what he does at Halloween!

One of the mom's was nice enough to take a family picture for us.

Water play!

Matt has so much fun in the bathtub. He is learning the concept of blowing bubbles in the water, but at this point has more fun watching and laughing at me doing it than trying himself.

Matt had bath time with his daddy one night, and the next night with me he was driving around his speedboat in the bath with sound effects and everything!

Our little ham, again! He just makes the cheesiest grins for the camera these days!

Matt's old standby is an Oscar the Grouch toy I have had for years from work. He comes with water sensitive spots on him in the shape of garbage (like banana peels and spots of dirt). They wash off with exposure to the water. Matt doesn't try to bathe him yet, but he sure loves to put him in and pull him out of the container and play with the "trash can" as well.

Where's Oscar?

I bet he's inside!

There he is!

Oscar and Matt get all lathered up!

One of Matt's favorite parts of his day is story time in the rocking chair! When Nick's at home, I sit and watch them read their story together. Only these days, Matt is requesting more than one reading, or more than one book. This is one of my favorite parts of the day too!

Picasso in the making

Matt plays with markers at daycare, so we figured we'd try a bit of artistry with markers at home. Good thing we used washable markers! He had lots of fun decorating himself. Surprisingly, he got lots on the paper too!

Playing outside!

Tonight may have signaled the end of outside evening playtime for now because of the beginning of mosquito season! We have had a blast outside with Matt so far this season and can't wait until it's time to swim our afternoons away out back. Here are some pics and videos from the last few days.

Matt goes to get the big bin of bubbles I keep for such occasions. But the bubbles were no match for his mommy's straw cup. He had a little fun feeding himself applesauce before we came outside. We tried on a new hairdo as well! He was plenty wet and sticky by bathtime!

Matt loves to play in the puddles and boy does our yard have some spots where he can play! He stomps through the water, listening to the splashing sounds he can make. He just loves it.

Matt and his daddy walk through the yard, examining the grass along the way!

Matt runs by the camera for a quick photo!

He's on to bigger and better things!

Beans, beans, they're good for your heart!

Matt really loves beans, especially black beans. I ran a few errands after work yesterday and he was a bit late eating dinner. He was cranky and a little upset with me until I put the beans on his tray. Needless to say, I think he cheered up!

Here he is "saying" cheese! It's really just a cheesy grin in response to the camera being in his face AGAIN. He's such a good participant in our Mommy & Matt photo sessions.

Reaching out for the camera while covered in beans of any kind is not cool! The photo session was over at this point. I stripped him down and started the bath right away!

Playing a little b-ball!

Target got us a few times this shopping trip. Although this was really bought for Daddy, Matt and I figured out a place where Matt could practice some basketball at his own level.

The problem with that was, Matt got a bit confused on which ball he was supposed to use for his new basketball game!

Matt claps and cheers for himself when he stuffs his football into the hoop! Is that 2 points?

After that basket, he had a bit of attitude about the whole game, and wouldn't get the basketball no matter how much I asked! What a rascal!

Outdoor Playtime!

We can't seem to go to Target these days without getting something for Matt! This weekend's purchase was a big dump truck. The weather was beautiful on Sunday, so Matt took his own truck for a ride this time.

He rode up and down the sidewalk about a hundred times!

Do you think he's up to something? Not a chance with that angelic face, right?

Driving Daddy's Truck

Matt had fun playing in Nick's truck this weekend. There's not a lot of gadgets in the truck, but Matt managed to find most of them that were within his reach.

Here he is discovering the horn!

He just wouldn't part with his bubble maker, but it didn't hinder his driving one bit!

What did you say?

"The Privilege of Fatherhood"

Matt's proud daddy put together
an incredible music video
highlighting Matt's first year!
Grab the tissues if you're the least bit
sappy like me!

Playtime at the Bergen's

We went to the first cookout of the season this afternoon at Jeanette & Roon's. Although Matt was exhausted afterward, it looks like he had lots of fun! He was a trooper, resisting the afternoon nap completely. The ride home was a bit loud, with Matt squealing and laughing most of the way back, but he made it without his nap and is now in bed for the night!

Matt discovers that a sand table next to a water table can be quite fun when you're learning your shoveling skills!

Matt gets reaquainted with Abby. It seems that their schedules are always opposite and one of them is always sleeping when we get them together. For a bit, they played together today! Notice the sandy water table! Matt had a part in that!

Luke gets adventurous and joins in the fun. Matt & Abby had a blast splashing in the water!

Matt, Abby & Luke still playing in that sandy water!

Matt Learns the Game of Golf!

We were out running errands today, and Nick spotted a beginner golf set and bought it for Matt. We introduced him to it tonight, and he played all evening with it! I had a tough time talking him into going to bed and not taking his putter with him! Maybe we have a pro in training on our hands??? We have a good last name for it!

Here he is hitting the ball for the first time.

Matt discovers hitting things other than the ball is fun too!


Here's some photos from our morning round of golf. I think he's getting the hang of things! Well, maybe a few things are backwards or aimed at the wall instead of the ball, but he's getting better!