Matthew's 1st Haircut

Matthew had his first haircut yesterday and he had a blast!  I wasn't sure how he was going to handle sitting still while someone cut his hair, but thanks to the airplane seat he could play in and some crackers to keep him busy, he did great!  We went to a place called Pigtails & Crewcuts, which specializes in children's haircuts, and they were kind enough to give me a few locks of Matthew's hair and also took a photo and put it in a nice card to add to his baby book.  I was sad to see his baby curls go, but they made the experience enjoyable for Matthew so that made it much easier. 

I may be biased, but I think I have one handsome boy and the pictures to prove it!

Crayola Time

Matthew had his first experience with crayons this past weekend and he really had fun...well, he had fun trying to eat the crayons more than he did coloring on the paper!  In one of the pictures you can actually see a piece of the orange crayon in his teeth -- oops -- so glad they are non-toxic!  Here are a few pictures of our budding little artist.  We're so proud!

Moving and Snow Daze...

I'm happy to report that we have successfully made the move from San Antonio, TX to Little Rock, AR.  It was a hectic week of moving and we are thankful to have this portion of our move complete.  Since Ryan had to go ahead to Little Rock, we were so thankful that my Mom was able to come and help me deal with the move and to help with Matthew.  She was a blessing and I wouldn't have been able to do it without her.  Plus, Matthew got to spend some quality time with his Nana!

Here are a few pictures of the moving week.  It was very difficult for Ryan to leave us and not be there to help with the move, but it worked out well for him to go ahead of us and have everything ready for our arrival to Little Rock.  Once again, God always provides exactly what we need just when we need it!

We stopped at a hotel in Dallas, TX to break the trip up a bit for Matthew.  We were all exhausted and it was so nice to sleep in a bed after sleeping on an air mattress for a week!  Matthew enjoyed his first hotel stay -- he really liked the big fluffy bed!

We finally arrived in Little Rock on Saturday evening.  Matthew was so excited to spend time with his Daddy -- and of course, he loved bath time!  We're living in a furnished house on base since most of our belongings are in storage and will be shipped to Japan.  It's not luxury, but it's comfortable and we feel fortunate to have a place we can call "home" during this time of transition.

Little Rock presented us with a nice little snow storm a week into our time here.  It was Matthew's first snow experience so we caught some of it on camera (although he wasn't sure what to think of it).  Ryan made a great snowman for us and we enjoyed a few cozy family days together!  So far, Little Rock has been great and we look forward to embracing our time here over the next 6 months before we make our final move to Japan.

2009 Was So Fine

Matthew is growing by leaps and bounds these days. It seems like yesterday I was snuggling with my little baby and now I turn around and see a handsome and precious little boy! I love every minute of every day with him and feel so blessed to be able to stay home with him. We sure do have fun!

December was quite an eventful month for us.  Ryan graduated from Navigator training on December 19 and Matthew and I were so proud to celebrate with him (even if Matthew did fall asleep)!  Here is the video of Ryan getting his new Navigator wings!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBFrxIKUZeU

Spending the Christmas holidays in South Carolina was such a blessing.  We had a wonderful 2 weeks with family and I am so glad that we were able to make the trip. We were also able to visit Lisa (Ryan's sister) in Warner Robins, GA for a few nights. Matthew loved his time with Aunt Lisa and her puppy, Max. Here are some photos that capture the highlights of our time in the deep south.

Matthew celebrated his 1 year birthday on Christmas Eve. He didn't care much for the cake and didn't have much interest in opening the wrapped presents (in fact, he wanted the boxes more), but it was special to be able to celebrate with Nana, Poppy, Aunt Sissy, Uncle Steve, Aunt Jennifer and Uncle David.

One of the other highlights of our trip was that Matthew was baptised at First Presbyterian Church on December 27, 2009. We had lots of family there with us, which made it an extra special day.  Here is the link to the video if you want to watch the baptism -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOlFVvdDns8