Well, we're getting there. Elise seems to have made a full recovery and even slept through the night last night. Yay. I still have a cough. Poor Matthew is still fighting this thing off, though. He still has a runny nose and his bowl movements are definitely still questionable. Poor guy. I think the worst part of it all for him is the diaper rash. Ouch.

I have a lot of pictures to share, along with some videos and funny stories.




Elise is showing her support for Blink 182's reunion



Here's Matthew wearing the same onesie.



Matthew's hair seemed to have more texture than Elise's. I wonder if her hair will stay straight.



He looks like a such a big boy (with the exception of the runny nose)



Matthew is "all-go-no-quit" as Gilbert puts it. He's constantly trying to figure new things out and I always find myself asking him not to do things. He's not supposed to stand on top of chairs and yet yesterday I walked into the kitchen and found this.





After making sure to take a picture, I asked him to get down and reminded him he's not supposed to do that.

Funny story... the other day Gilbert and I were sitting in the living room and noticed that Matthew had gotten a little too quiet. Gilbert went to check on him and then called me over. Our son had taken off his shorts and diaper and was standing butt naked under the dining room table. Gilbert grabbed the camera and when Matthew realized we were about to snap a picture he lifted one leg in the air and said, "cheese". Luckily there was no mess to clean up. I won't be posting that picture on the internet any time soon, but it sure does make me laugh when I see it.

Happy girl



Grumpy boy



Still happy









I finally decided to bring out the gym for Elise to play with. I've been hesitant to bring it out because I just knew Matthew would be all over it and her. Turns out I was right, but at least he was gentle.





I've had several people tell me that our girl looks just like me. I've been hesitant to agree or disagree because they change so much in the first year... and then I came across these pictures of me as a baby. What do you think?





Ok, now for some videos.

Gilbert and I have a very hard time getting this song out of our heads. As a result, we walk around singing it a lot. A few weeks ago Matthew was walking around saying something over and over again and I couldn't figure out what it was. Then I started singing this and Matthew started up with his phrase again... then we made the connection...



Matthew's version

Untitled from Melissa S on Vimeo.

And just for fun, the spanish version... which makes me laugh...



Then there's this... Matthew LOVES this theme song. We seriously watch the show every day just so we can watch him dance around to the song and hear him sing his version of it. Silly boy.



Matthew's version

Untitled from Melissa S on Vimeo.

Well, it's nap time here and we're back from the doctor. Turns out we all have a virus, just as suspected. We just have to stay hydrated, eat bland foods, and let this thing run its course.

I did learn today that my "little peanut" now weighs 12lbs 0.5oz. She's almost doubled her birth weight!

Things are a bit crazy around here right now. Matthew, Elise, and I are all fighting a virus right now and I'll be taking them to the doctor in the morning. Not fun. I was really excited because Elise slept through the night last night and I actually had to wake her up this morning to eat... until I realized that she came down with the same thing Matthew and I have been fighting all week. I hope Gilbert remains virus free.

Relaxing with my girl some time last week



Matthew was so excited about Elise's tummy time that he decided to join her on the floor.



Matthew LOVES these horses that my parents sent him. It's a little ridiculous that he insists on trying to ride the biggest one, though.

Untitled from Melissa S on Vimeo.

This is the picture that I stuck in all of the Father's Day cards. I was so excited to get them both smiling. They're so beautiful.



I always tell Jason he's narcoleptic because he falls asleep anywhere. Seriuosly. He was playing with Matthew the other day and when Matthew lost interest and walked away this is what happened:



Climbing into the bookcase again.



Gilbert's Father's Day gift. Kevin Garnett basketball shoes.



Well, like I said, I'm going to take the kids to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully the 3 of us will kick this virus soon.

Well the weekend was fun. We went to an outlet mall about an hour away just to get out of the house. We had fun. We also ate lots of good food over the weekend. We finally found a burger place that reminds us a little bit of In-N-Out. It's called Mooyah. The only major difference in taste is the bun. Mooyah also has more options when it comes to toppings. Matthew actually ate almost an entire burger by himself. It was awesome.

Well, the days of keeping Matthew off the couch are over. He can climb up on it by himself now and I often find him there playing with something he's not supposed to. This time I found him "reading".



At least once a day I get asked if we can watch "Wawee". I think I've seen that movie more times than I've seen the Goonies and that's saying something...

Untitled from Melissa S on Vimeo.

I can't believe how big our tiny little peanut is now... I didn't realize how big she looked in her tub until I took this picture.



Elise has gotten some AMAZING hand-me-downs from some friends of ours but I still can't resist buying little pieces here and there. I found this shirt at Target and I almost wish they had it in my size... She looks so cute in it.



Auntie Marianne spent some time talking to Elise on Sunday and Elise loved it. Here she is giving Auntie some smiles.





We went over to Elijah's house on Sunday night so that the daddies could watch the basketball game. The boys love any chance they get to play together. They even go to play the piano.



The look on Matthew's face in this video is the same look he gives me when I find him doing something he clearly knows he's not supposed to do. His innocent look doesn't fool me.

Untitled from Melissa S on Vimeo.

Elijah got to hold Elise. Bruce has already started joking that we're going to arrange a marriage between these two. Gilbert told Elijah to bring him a portfolio before asking to take Elise out.



So not impressed with the basketball game (he's a Celtics fan)



Aaaaaaannnnnnddddd... here's the real reason I wrote this whole post. I was so excited to get this on video that I had to share. Elise can be pretty stingy with her smiles so it takes some work to get one. I'm just glad I caught this on video =)

Untitled from Melissa S on Vimeo.

It's too hot here to really leave the house by myself with both kids. It's about 96 and when you factor in humidity it feels like it's well over 100. At least that's what Casey Curry told me this morning because I really, really don't want to venture outside. Unfortunately for me and the kids, we have to run to the store because we've discovered many, many ants hiding out in our bathroom.

More toddler feeding fun



Check out the yogurt beard



We went out for some lunch over the weekend and Matthew was really curious about this game. They never actually played it. Matthew just watched the demo and got to steer.





I *think* Matthew is eating a french fry here and Gilbert is telling him not to eat the crayons... at least I hope he's not eating a crayon...



I meant to post pictures of this outfit on Mother's day because she looked so cute in it, but I never got a chance to. The skirt was a hand-me-down from our friend Charlie (Charlotte) Parsons, who is about 4 months older than Matthew. You'll also note that Elise is wearing her first hair clip.







Matthew has graduated from his high chair to a booster seat. He eats like a big boy off of plates now. This sometimes results in more of a mess than Mommy cares to clean up, but he loves it and it's fun to watch him grow =)



Little known fact about me... I LOVE shoes. Seriously. I have more pairs of shoes in my closet than Gilbert really cares to look at but since becoming the mom of a mobile toddler I haven't really worn any of them. However, this love of shoes is now transferred over to my little girl and she *finally* has a pair of shoes that fit her tiny feet. She's starting to outgrow her 0-3 month clothing but it still in size 0 shoes.



Hopefully I'll have more to share soon...

Life has been somewhat uneventful around here. That's not necessarily a bad thing... it just means I won't have as much to share on here =). We've officially entered into hurricane season, so every weather forecast includes a look at what's going on in the gulf and the Atlantic. We'll see if this season has anything exciting in store for us... but hopefully nothing that will get in the way of celebrating Matthew's birthday... again.

Grandpa was asking for some new pictures so we had to oblige.









I'm not sure why I find this one so amusing.





I guess that's comfortable? I'm not sure where he got that... Gilbert doesn't sit like that.





The kids were superheroes yesterday. Of course Matthew had his Batman shirt on and Elise's shirt says "Girl Power" and has Batgirl, Wonder Woman, and Super Girl on it. Matthew was really excited to get to hold Elise, too. He's a good big brother. Please excuse the crazy hair. I try to comb it and it really doesn't end up looking any better than this anyway... I don't know when it got so curly.



He's saying "cheese"



He's pointing to himself because I asked him where Batman was.