Matthew Turns Seven!

 My sweet Matthew is seven!? My, how time flies!! We had such a wonderful time celebrating our littlest brother. 

This was the first birthday in our new home! I was so grateful Cate stayed up and decorated with me!

Everyone got peach gummies and a giant lollipop, and gold Pokémon cards. Matthew also got snake gummies.

He wanted a dragon ninjago cake. Johnny assembled the ninjago pieces for us, and Cate decorated the dragon with them.

It got a little morbid.

Yay! Presents!!

He was a pretty happy boy the next morning!

For breakfast he wanted cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk. 

He was so excited he didn’t eat the cinnamon rolls! Ha ha!

He asked me to read him books halfway during the day, and he fell asleep- talk about MY highlight! 😍

He woke up and cuddled with his dad. Matthew is the master cuddler at our house!

Next we went bowling and to the arcade. He loves the ninja turtle game!

The cutest bowler I ever did see!

For lunch we had mashed potatoes and gravy.

Fro dinner we had pizza (his favorite) and root beer.

I think Matthew’s favorite part of his birthdays is having all the attention on him. He is usually the spectator and cheerleader for everyone else. He milked it for sure. His siblings got together and got him a Pokémon set. For the first time, HE was the one everyone wanted to trade with- what a perfect gift!

He also got a nerf gun which of course led to an epic nerf gun battle. My parents got him remote control bumper cars which were also a hit. 

Matthew- what a joy you are to our family! You emanate love and warmth. Your cuddles are the best. I love how at school when your classmates were asked something you were good at, they said you were good at forgiving others. You 100% are a rockstar at that. You live to be a part of whatever is happening. You make us laugh with you quick with and silliness. I love reading books with you, and it makes me so happy that every day you bring me a stack. You are a loyal friend and a loving son. We are blessed that God gave us such a positive force in our home!

Matthew turns FIVE

It is incredibly shocking my baby is FIVE. Since having his siblings home for quarantine, Matthew has grown up into one of the big kids. Though John and I mourn on a regular basis the significant drop in cuddles, kisses, mispronounced words, and over all squishines; we are both tickled as we watch him confidently own his way in step with his siblings. He relishes the time he spends with them. When Matthew was born, I could feel how happy he was to be a part of our family. I held a newborn Matthew and considered the unpredictability of the upcoming years, I thought about how little I could promise him in that moment. I felt a strong impression the only stability he needed and wanted was all of us, his family. This has proven to be true. He is most content when we are all together. 

Last minute, Matthew switched from wanting a paw patrol cake to an Elmo cake. Usually I like surprising the kids, but I had Matthew help me this year and it was a fun memory with him sitting on the counter chattering about his "birthuhday."

I'm going in to insert some favorite Matthew pictures from the last couple of months:

Two things in this picture: the infamous pink swimsuit, and Matthew self choosing to wash the window, his favorite chore.

I hope I never forget Matthew pointing at me and clicking his tongue like "No worries, I got you, Mom!"

When Matthew wore these glasses and this bow tie for two days straight so he could be "'mart."

Best cuddler!

He got tattoos in his Easter basket, so we tatted him up and he looked pretty tough for a week.

I just love how Matthew is William's shadow. 

Cleaning his area, he was determined to do it himself.

More William and Matthew. They are the sweetest pair!

For April Fool's day, Matthew shaved his head with his dad, and he was just tickled with how pokey his hair was!

My oldest and my baby!

The infamous Elmo costume. Matthew feels undefeatable when he dresses as "Suuuuper Elmo!" 

"Mom, feel me, I' soooo comfy. Let's cudd-ohl."

Admittedly, he was a little sassy on his birthday this year. He was pretty excited to be "King" for the day.

Matthew was vocally bummed we weren't "skipping Sunday" in order to celebrate his Birthday. He was pleased, however; when he got to choose all the songs and conduct!

For presents, Matthew got a new paw patrol stuffed animal, Rocky. He parents his paw patrol with such dedication, so this was exciting for him. He also got Pokemon cards and a razor scooter to keep up with the big kids on their bikes around the block! 

We had cake and ice cream at the Rice's house. It was a perfect day for Mr. Matthew!

Dear Matthew,

I hope you know how loved you are! You are such sunshine to our home and your little "loves" brighten my day. You make us laugh and everyone enjoys being with you. Thank you for all you add to our family!

I love you, Mom

Matthew Turns Three

For about six months Matthew has been pacing aisles of every store pointing things out, saying "I want dat for my birfuhday. Oh! And I uh want uh dat for my birfuhday, right mom?" It always cracked us up. So when his birfuhday finally came, he was pretty excited.  I think he was most excited that instead of holding up two fingers, he would get to hold up three, at least that is what he talked about every day leading up to the day.  He also talked about how he was going to have a dragon cake and ice-cream.

I didn't get a ton of pictures from the day, but it sure was fun cuddling him and he didn't mind all the attention on him one bit. 

I found a great tutorial online for the cake and I was pleased with how it turned out!

Here it is before the wings were added. I thought it looked so good! The kids were also impressed and Johnny and Caity told me I could totally win a baking show (that has been a "thing" for them this summer.) We decorated by his bed with zoo animals and strung helium balloons to the foot of his bed. William and I chose out a new animal shirt for him to wear on his Birthday. He was kind of excited about the animals, but mostly excited about the front pocket.

The kids each got a sticky hand, novelty flavored air-heads, and gummy worms at their placemats. Matthew chose all the meals for the day: cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk for breakfast, rice krispie treats (that he helped make,) watermelon and Cheetos for lunch, then pizza and soda for dinner.

I think the best part for Matthew was that everyone included him in everything all day long.

He was in heaven. 

For gifts:

John and I got him a transformer and a set of PJ masks action figures.

Grandpa and Grandma Brassell got him a set of Eric Carle board books.

Grandma and Grandpa Partridge got him a STEM floating experiment kit and a glow in the dark race track.

His Brassell Great Grandparents also sent him a card in the mail with a big, glittery "3" on the cover- that made his day.

I always like to find a moment to connect with the birthday child and really bond. For Matthew it didn't happen until the next day. John had the older kids and Matthew was in complete despair that they left without him. "They are never coming back for meeeee." 

We got in our swimsuits and colored the bathwater green and played with the floating experiment we got from Grandma. We had so much fun laughing and learning, it was seriously the best. 

Back to Matthew's actual day:

When John got home we had Pizza, sang Happy Birthday, talked to grandparents, opened presents, had a water fight in the backyard and FINALLY had Matthew's dragon cake!

It was such a good day celebrating such a special boy.

Matthew is sunshine to our family. He is almost always happy and cheerful. He loves being included and has seriously FOMO (fear of missing out.) I love his cuddles and how he places his hands on my cheek when he's trying to fall asleep. He forgives easily. Matthew's laugh has to be one of my favorite sounds ever. I love watching him copy his big brothers and yet stay so independent and such an individual. 

Dear Matthew,

You were born at such a crazy, hectic time for our family. The moment you entered the world, our life seemed to slow to an almost-halt, and your dad and I were filled with such joy. You were a binding force that kept our family close, focused, and happy. You are a delight and I am so happy you are our little boy.

We love you!

Mom

Also: Finally did Caity's 8th Birthday post here, and her 9th Birthday post here. (playing catch up!)

Matthew's First Birthday

ONE!

On Tuesday, July 12, 2016- my sunshine boy turned one year old! Wow. Let's just get all those cliche's out of the way and say: it has gone by so fast, so much happens in one year, I can't believe that a year ago today I hadn't even met Matthew, and I can't imagine life without him.

Nothing about the timing of Matthew's birth made logical sense, but it has been the best thing for our family.  He has upped the joy, upped the family-togetherness, upped our desire to serve God. He has just made us all around better individually and collectively and we all dote on him constantly because gosh, he's cute! 

It was so much fun celebrating our little guy!

The older kids decided he should have a rubber ducky birthday because they are typically his toys of choice (maybe because all the other ones are claimed by older siblings? haha.)

The day started with balloons. Our birthdays always start with balloons.

I made each of the kids a ducky prize bag full of little toys and treats. Prize bags are basically the best part of Birthdays.

Johnny was the one that taught Matthew how to high-five. 

Oh, Caity and Matthew just adore eachother. How many times Matthew has been subject to Caity's dress up clothing is hard to keep track of.  When I think of these two I think of Caity dancing around her room and Matthew watching her mesmerized.

William and Matthew are buddies. The play together. William is pretty protective of his brother, despite their little spats here and there.  I love when William talks baby to Matthew and plays pass with him. I also love when William tries to play horsie with Matthew...and that poor baby gets squished under his big brother!

William about lost his mind waiting ALLLLL day waiting for a piece of the cake! I was so proud of his patience and he was so excited when the time finally came.

Johnny and Matthew remind me a lot of eachother. They are both morning boys, so now that they share a room they are the first ones up playing together and laughing. As soon as Matthew wakes up he stands on his tippy toes and hollers at Johnny. They are so cute together.

Now here's waaaaay too many pictures for anyone who isn't me, haha:

oh, his laugh!!

I can just hear his loud screech as I look at this picture.

Oh, I like that Matthew Hinckley! For breakfast we had applesauce and yogurt (his favorite.) We went on a picnic to the park for lunch and played on the swings and slides for a while. It was an average day in what we did, but we all were extra attentive to Matthew and you could tell it was fun for him to be the Star for the day.

When John came home we sang Happy Birthday and blew confetti all over him, we terrified him, but WE thought it was fun anyhow! We ordered a pizza (Seriously, his favorite food.) and he beelined for the pizza box as soon as he saw it. 

For gifts, he got a quilt from my mom, a card from John's grandparents, a motorcycle part from John (seriously), and we got him a stacking toy and a book.

Man! Do we know how to party!

Then we sang again and finally had cake!

It was a great day and I am so glad we got to celebrate such a special boy. 

Dear Matthew,

Thanks for being willing to come to our crazy family. We need you! Four kids had been hard but so worth it because of YOU. You are a busy baby and excited to learn. You are content so long as you are a part of whatever is going on. I love how welcoming you are and attentive to all the people around you, especially other babies.  I love your sensitive soul- how you cry when your brothers and sister argue, or how big and concerned your eyes get when someone gets hurt. You are a brave little adventurer and are always wandering off through the big trees at the park or climbing on top of things and always are so proud of yourself for doing so. You are playful and your smile and laugh is so contagious. We love you so much and I thank God multiple times a day that I have sucha  sweet boy in my life. 

Love,

Your Mom.