Day In Chattanooga

Today Grace, Matty and I made our way in to Chattanooga for one main purpose: Katie's hair cut.

I wasnt going to admit to this cause I thought I would surprise Dave but I realized my hair wont look this good again since I am NO good at styling it myself.

Grace took this picture of Matty and I at Green Life (an organic grocer and restaurant) after the salon.

While my hair was being done at Hair a go go, Grace watched Matty for me. The salon had a room for kids to play in so Grace played with him there. Here are a few adorable pictures she took of him:

The most common comment I get from everyone here is "Wow, isnt he a happy boy. Is he always like this?"

"See how adorable I am Aunty Grace? Pay attention to me and me alone."
Here he is very excited. He is likely breathing in deeply while making noise (usually sounds like a type of squeel). See his teeth? They are SOOOO close to cutting through.

Other than the hair cut and the lunch, we walked down a main strip in the town and looked in a few stores. I was really hoping to go on the carousel with Matty but he fell asleep and I didnt want to wake him up. So, we headed back home.

Aunty Barbara visited for a short time to pick up her cell phone and say goodbye to Matty and I. It was so nice to see her and Uncle John.

Anyways, tomorrow is our last day here. I hope to be able to do one last post tomorrow but we shall see. We will be in most of the day since Grace is working. That's good because I can get to packing (although it is already mostly done). Can you tell I am ready to go home to my husband??? Its been so nice being here but I dont think I will ever leave for this long again unless he comes with me.

Defiance

Today I had to deal with Matthew's very first obvious sign of defiance. Grace was giggling the whole time because it really was funny.

I placed Matty on Graces kitchen counter to try and rinse something off and he didn't want to be put down on the floor. I glanced away from him for a second (don't worry, only my head was turned but I was standing right in front of him so he couldn't fall) and when I looked back he was going for one of her plants. I grabbed his hand, said no (without a smile) and flicked his hand. I let go and he went for it again. I repeated the process. "Matthew, No" *flick*, "Matthew, NO" *flick*, "I said No Matthew" *flick*

I finally finished my wiping up and just moved him out of temptations way. If I hadn't Im sure he would have kept it up for quite a bit longer.

Maybe Matty has a green thumb but more than likely it was just something to touch mixed with his stubborness.

Peek-A-Boo

Matthew learned a new game today. We were in Ikea and we were walking along and I stopped, covered him with his blanket and played peek- a- boo. After doing it only twice I stopped but Matthew wasn't finished. He put the blanket over his head and then pulled it off with a big smile. He played peek-a-boo without my help. What a big boy.


Sorry the pictures are so blurry. He was moving and the camera is very poor quality. Looks like we have a new game to play when he is fussy.

P.S. Dave, he saw the banner of the blog and smiled so big and got all excited when he saw your face. This little one loves his papa.

Daddy Is On Our Minds

Well, Last week at this point, I was frantically looking around the house for what Imight have forgotten to pack. This week I am in Georgia missing my husband and Matty is missing Daddy.

I couoldnt stop thinking of Dave all day today because I dressed Matty in a pair of Daves favourite pants and he looked so cute and snappy that I thought of Dave constantly.

While taking this picture I said "smile for Daddy!" and he did. I forgot my camera so the video camera took this picture but it isa very delayed camera.

I know Matty misses Daddy as well because every time you take him to the fridge where our family picture is (the same one as the top of this page) he smiles a huge smile and reaches out for it. You can tell his eyes are directly on Daddy. Dave, he doesn't forget you.

Matty's bottom two teeth are coming very close to the surface. Tonight they were really bothering him so I gave him some motrin and I froze them and he seemed much happier.

Today we all went to visit Andrew for a short time and tried to find him some new jeans for his trip to New York and I made soup and sausages for dinner. It was a success too, so that's good. Grace and Justin have left for study and Matty is sleeping so I have some time to do my cross stitch ( I have a bit of time every evening here).

Tomorrow, we are taking the long drive into Atlanta because Beth (Justin's sister) and Grace really want to visit Ikea. Matty and I will go on the journey as well.Who knows what we'll see. Grace has found out she is having a baby girl (Cora) so she is all set to find her some bedding.

And for those of you interested (dave and Vanessa for sure), I have still been quite good at my no sugar diet. I have exercised every day but one and have been very disciplined in my eating habbits. I am VERY thankful that Grace is good at keeping the junk out so that I can stay away from temptation.

That is what is new here with us... not too exciting but I'm having a good time. Missing home though.

Little difference

Before coming to Georgia I was told that the weather was really nice and warm but to be sure to pack a bunch of everything since the weather can be odd here. When I arrived it cooled down quite a bit and poured rain (who forgot to bring anything for the rain?) then we had a nice sunny day but Iwas still happy in long sleeves.

Yesturday it was quite cool and this morning it was snowing. Guess who didnt bring anything warm enough for herself for the snow? I only brought a jean jacket that is even too small to do up since I am definetly not the same size as I used to be. Matty has a warm coat, hat and mittens and I can always wrap him in a blanket so he should be fine but honestly, what was I thinking? the weather is little different than in Ottawa. Who would have thought?

The weather has been predicted to be warm from Thursday on but it was from Tuesday on a few days ago... so who knows. I'll keep you posted.

Sunny and Successful

Today was a beautiful day. Matty had a better night last night which certainly made the day start better.

We left the house pretty early to hit a few garage sales and I was so excited to find a few things. I found this beautiful wooden train with two other train cars all for $1. I also found some clothes for Jo's little one and for Matty. One of my favourite scores was a beautiful white blanket that was $25 at the second hand store and it was $2 at the garage sale. Could I have asked for better???
The weather got warmer and warmer as the day went by. Matty, Grace and I decided to spend a lot of time outside. I went for a 40 minute walk/run and then we just spent some time out in the sun. Matty absolutely loved being out in the warmth and he LOVES grass. You might see some in his mouth or hands in the pictures.

Yesturday Matty got to meet his Great Aunty Barbara and today he got to meet his Great Uncle John. He always has big smiles for men. He let Uncle John carry him around and then we watched him and Justin do some work on the house for a short while.

We went to Justin's parent's house for dinner and it was realy nice chatting with his parents. They had a number of great toys for Matty to play with and it was a really nice evening. They are a family that seems very warm from the moment you walk into their home.

Tomorrow we will be heading into Chattanooga for church and speanding the afternoon with Aunty Barbara, Uncle John and Andrew. I'm looking forward to it.

flying...no sweat

Matty and are now in Georgia!!!

I woke up this morning at 5:30 and got ready. I packed the car and feared having to travel with such a heavy bag (oof). We left for the airport at 6:30 and I rushed around trying to get to the gate. Poor Dave (sorry hunny) had to chase me there and barely got a goodbye kiss since I was so scared I would miss my flight. I got to the gate and I was the last one to arrive. It was practically empty and Matty and I had a whole row to ourselves. We took off anf Matty was a happy boy the whole time. He smiled and played and smiled some more. As we landed, he didnt notice a thing. It was an answer to prayer.

Once in Toronto I descovered that I had to get my bag back, go through security AGAIN! and then re-check the bag. I was not impressed. Once that was done, it was easy to find my next gate and waitedfor about 30 minutes before we boarded again. It turned out that Matty and I had a whole row to ourselves again ( good choices Dave) and once again, Matty was an awsome passenger, He slept on me from take off for about 20 minutes and then played until it was time to land. The flight had a lot of turbulance and I must admi, I was pretty scared.

Once I left that plane, I was on an adventure. I really do not like the Atlanta airport. I couldnt figure out where to go or what to do next... I got lost and turned around until FINALLY I found my bag (after asking millions of airport people) and accidentally walked past Grace who saw me and admitted she was starting to get nervous.

Then it was homeward boud (home being Grace's place for the next while). Matty played and ate peas ( he liked them, believe it or not) and he went to bed at 7:45. Now, it's tv time and I think I will do some cross stitching.

I'll be sure to let you know what's going on with me when I get the chance.