Naked Guitar Time

There's a guitar at the beach house and Adam plays it every night during the bedtime routine. There was a few minutes after Matty woke up from his morning nap that they both were playing in the nude. Ty had just finished using the potty and Matty was crawling around in his diaper. Next thing we know, Adam and I hear Tyler playing the guitar while singing "Old McDonald" at the top of his lungs. He was actually playing fairly well and was obviously enjoying himself. Matty kept laughing and lunging himself towards the bed and started playing (or drumming) the guitar with Ty.

Adam and I were dancing and singing as the boys played the music and we all couldn't stop laughing. It was so much fun!

Tyler was really into it, Matty was really into playing with Tyler, and we enjoyed living the moment. Nothing like some naked guitar time. Watch out NYC cowboy guitarist here come the Szajda brothers!

Growing Up at the Boardwalk

It was a beautiful Sunday evening (about 85 degrees and no humidity) and we thought it would be a perfect night to go back to the boardwalk. When Adam got Tyler from his nap, he jumped up and said "boardwalk time". He was so excited and running around the house and kept saying he wanted to do the rides. This seems like a "normal" cycle for us; Ty gets excited, says he's going to do the rides, and then gets there and becomes very tentative and we typically have to spend some time convincing him to ride (unless it involves trucks!).

I'm not quite sure what happened between the first boardwalk visit in June and this visit in August but he definitely grew some confidence (and a sac as Adam coined it!!!). Of course, he wanted to start with his favorite, the trucks that go in a circle. Every time he went by me, he'd honk the horn and wave. He had a big smile on his face the entire time and I could tell he was feeling proud. As soon as he got off the trucks he said he wanted to do the flying elephants. Adam and Tyler were in one elephant and Matty and I were in the elephant in front of them. Matty's eyes were big as he was checking everything out and seemed to really enjoy himself. So did Tyler and as soon as he was done with the elephants he wanted to try the "Dizzy Dinosaurs".

When Ty went on the motorcyle I said to him "do you know who's going to be really proud of you when he hears this?" and he give me a big almost sly grin and quickly said "Uncle Phil" and then even let me take lots of pictures of him. So, that's for you Uncle Dill.

It was the first time he went from ride to ride to ride and all of them were new for Tyler. When it was all said and done, Tyler rode the elephants, dizzy dinosaurs, nemo, motorcyle, and the crazy bus. I couldn't believe it!!! It's like all of sudden he just decided he wanted to do it and do them all. He seemed to geniueinly enjoy each ride, be proud of himself, and then move onto the next one. It was such a different, welcomed experience for us as parents.

The "dizzy dinosaurs" picture cracks me up because I wish I got a picture of Adam when he walked off the ride. Note to self: when Tyler asks for Adam to join him on anything even remotely spinning, bumpy, etc. jump in and volunteer. Poor Adam just doesn't do well with rides. Tyler was grinning from ear to ear and Adam looked like he was about to vomit everywhere. I give him a lot of credit for being a good sport.

If you look closely, you can see little Matty's head/hat on the right side. He enjoyed looking in at the wheels spinning and seemed to enjoy going high. All in all, it was a terrific night. I was a proud, happy mama tonight!

Beach Fun!

Ahh, it feels so good to be back at the beach. Home away from Home. Today was the first we've been to the beach and the first time we've been to the beach with a crawling Matthew! Surprisingly enough he stayed put more than he typically does but I think it's partly because we quickly came up with the idea of filling a bucket with water and he could splash around as much as he wanted. In fact, he seemed to really enjoy the bucket and the bigger the splash the bigger the laugh. Very cute.

His little piggies took a dip in the ocean for the very first time. The water was around 70 degrees and felt great but Matty wasn't so sure about it. Well, let me correct myself, he was sure he didn't want to be in the water. So, Adam sat with him watching the water for a long time and Tyler would run back and forth from our towels to the water's edge digging and playing along the way.

Tyler is really into making roads and tunnels and rivers in the sand. He isn't very interested in the water right now because "I just want to play" and dig in the sand. Most of the time it's fine, in fact, great, but I would have loved to spend the entire time with him in the water today because the August water temperatures are perfect. It was my secret mission to distract him enough that he didn't realize I was taking him in the water. Mission accomplished although it didn't last very long. Baby steps, right?! He may not be very interested in the water, but I honestly think he could spend an entire day at the beach coming up with all sorts of fun things to do with the sand that has never crossed my 31-year-old mind. It'll be a nice week at the beach!

Pillow Fight Fun

We've recently discovered that little Matty loves sitting in the corner of the sofa between the pillow and the backing. He also LOVES playing peek-a-boo, so after a long game of it I then decided to gently drop the pillow on him. Well, his reaction wasn't necessarily surprising but the length of it was. Matty belly laughed so loud and for so long that at one point I was thinking 'breath, baby, breath'. And then Tyler saw all the fun we were having and we wanted to jump in the action too. He started throwing the pillows and when Tyler does something to Matty, his joy is multiplied by 100. Just when I thought Matty couldn't laugh any harder or longer in comes Tyler to throw another pillow. Then, of course, Tyler wanted to jump in and have me throw pillows at him too. The sounds of your children having pure, clean, silly fun has to be one of the very best sounds in the world! I could have frozen that moment and kept pushing 'replay'. I think it was also the first moment where the two boys seem to really be playing and interacting together for a long period of time. They were having a great time being silly TOGETHER and that's what I loved most about it. I have a good feeling we're all going to have a few more silly moments together along the way...

Lions, Tigers, and Bears-Oh My!

We finally had an opportunity to go back to the Philadelphia Zoo this summer. We decided to go to the beach for a week and thought stopping at the zoo along the way would be a good idea. It was a hot day but it didn't seem to impede our ability to have a good time. There was a really cool creatively painted tunnel we had to walk through right before we got to the entrance of the zoo and Tyler was so excited that we could have left and he would have been content. He kept saying "ooh, look Mommy, look Daddy". Then we entered the zoo and for the first 20 minutes every single thing he saw he would stop and in a high pitched voice say "ooh, look Mommy a peacock" or "ooh, look Daddy a fountain". He was so excited and dancing around every where we went.

I love the above picture because we have a picture just like this but from last year and at the time little Matty was in my belly and Tyler was just starting to talk. It's amazing to think how much more our life has been blessed in this year and I now have two healthy little guys in my arms under the fountain!

There was a children's section of the zoo. One particular exhibit focused on insects and Ty was able to touch a cockroach. He touched it once and said "oh smooth" and then he wanted us to touch it too. It actually was quite smooth and almost wet feeling and also glad when the lady put it back for safekeeping.

The three of us were playing on a frog statue.

Probably one of the most exciting moments of the day was meeting a baby girl giraffe that was born July 17th. The zoo was celebrating it's new addition and the baby was so adorable. She was stumbling around and followed her Mom everywhere. We were even able to watch her nurse for a few minutes (just like Matthew with Mommy as Tyler pointed out to us!). It was just so sweet and obvious how the mother was very protective of her and didn't want her too close to all of us gawkers. It amazed me how well functioning the baby already seemed and was probably almost as tall as me. We stayed and watched them for a while but I would have been completely content watching the two of them all day long. Even Matthew intently watched the two of them and smiled every once in a while. None the less, we had a lot of animals to see and fun to be had. The Philly Zoo is the oldest in the country it always amazes me how many different species they're able to accommodate and still be right in the heart of the city. We had a great time watching all different animals including the bald eagle, silver back gorilla, turtles, bears, sleeping lions, camels, rhinos, and all sorts of other animals. After lunch, we did a few more exhibits and then as Tyler said "off to the beach house" we went. All in all, it was a hot, FUN day and all three of us took a nap in the car as Adam drove us to the beach.

Bobcat breakfast

In Tyler's world, this morning was about as perfect as it gets. We were playing upstairs in Matty's room when Tyler ran in and said "Mommy what is that beep, beep, beep noise?" I didn't hear anything and said that it might have been Daddy who was painting the roof at the time. And Tyler said "no, it's a beep, beep, beep like a truck noise" and that's when I realized the driveway people finally arrived (2 months later than the agreed upon date). I put Matty down for his morning nap and Ty and I decided it was time for breakfast. The perfect morning part was the fact that he was able to eat Lucky Charms (one of his favorite cereals) and sit on the deck watching the bobcat working hard moving rocks and dirt into the huge dump truck. He kept saying "this is pretty cool" and had a big smile on his face. Then much of the morning was spent watching these big machines doing what they do best. Considering how much time we spend reading about these trucks, it was pretty cool watching them in real life. Tyler is definitely my truck man and I have a feeling he'll remember this morning for quite some time.

Happy 9 Months Matty!

I can't believe it's been 9 months already! Matty, you're up to all sorts of fun these days! At the beginning of month 8, you started doing the worm and about 2 weeks into it you learned the proper way to crawl and have become quite good at it. You are now able to pull yourself up onto furniture especially the crib and sometimes even do a little cruising. This skill allows for much more exploring but I'm learning I have to be much, much more vigilant than I ever was with Tyler. You seem to put yourself in some precarious situations and are quite determined to figure out certain things even if it means getting several bruises along the way. Some days I feel so bad for you because it seems like it's bruise after bruise. The big cut along the bridge of your nose is finally starting to heal nicely, so I hope we can avoid more of the same. You are now wearing a size 4 diaper and 12-18 month clothing. We had to take you to the doctor the other day for a mystery high fever and weighed in at 21.14 lbs. You are still nursing about 6 times a day and do it efficiently and easily. It's some of my favorite moments during the day especially when those big eyes look up at me and smile...too cute! You have transitioned to food quite easily. There are times when we use jarred food but usually just put whatever we're eating into the vitamix and blend it up for you. We've recently started putting you at the bar in a booster seat and seem to enjoy that position the most because Tyler is always next to you. We try giving you cheerios but you still haven't master the pincer grip so you get frustrated easily by the lack of cheerios in the mouth. Church has become a bit easier because we feed you a banana or cheerios or something to munch on along with the sippy cup and we've been able to sit through the last 3 masses. You do your babbling and some loud grunting but people mostly smile and think it's adorable (as do I). Overall, we're in a great stage with you. Things are predictable and you give us so many wonderfully big smiles. It always makes my heart melt to hear your big belly laugh and see that double chin when you smile. The smile is filled with three teeth and my guess is the 4th one is trying to peek through (the upper right) the gums. The three of us love you to pieces and it's obvious the love is mutual. Some of my favorite moments are when you literally grab my cheeks with both of your hands and pull me in for a big, wet smooch. And no matter what's happening at the exact moment, when Tyler shows you any sort of love or attention you give him the biggest smile of all and it's in those moments where it feels my heart is going to burst with joy!