So glad when Daddy comes home...

At 4:30 or so, Matix and I start to clean up. We pick up toys (Matix actually helps a bit now too, YAY!) and put any straggler blankies and paci's away in Matix's room. Then Matix bangs the kitchen cabinet doors open and closed a million times while I put any dishes that have dried away. Then we sweep the floors. This is a daily task because any microscopic crumb is instantly found out by ants. :( I have started to really dislike ants... I USED TO on purpose look at the ground while walking to make sure I wasn't stepping on the ants, but now I HUNT them. I kill them everyday with every chance I get. Anyway, I have three brooms, which is perfect because Matix loves to "HELP" :)

After we sweep the inside, we sweep the little walkway/porch thing in the front of our house. I just want those ants to stay away. :) Then we watch for Paul. We wait and wait...

...until 5:00 when Paul comes home everyday. He does this so he can spend some time with Matix while I cook dinner, which is nice for all of us.

This hug, by the way, lasted for at least 30 seconds... Matix is always SO happy to see that Paul is home! :) It's really cute!

Dinner is usually ready and on the table at 5:30. We eat, then Matix takes a bath (which after dinner, is MUCH needed). At 6:00, Paul heads back to campus to study, Matix brushes his teeth,

and then he goes to sleep. I then, get back to the dishes that NEVER end. :) So that is part of the routine that we are getting really good at sticking to. I will post more about our mornings and afternoons another day. I think schedules make it easy on everyone! :)

Arizona here we come!!

So it's official, we have a month left until we are back in the States!! I told Matix we were going to see Grandma, and this was his reaction!

We will be back on Tuesday November 3rd at 6:05 pm! Although we love our adventures here, and will miss Paul a lot (!!!), we are excited to go back for a visit. :) Matix will enjoy some much missed Grandma time, I will have this baby, we will both enjoy some foods we can't get out here, I will get to see my Mom, Paul is going to come out for Christmas (I love Christmas), hooray hooray for one month left! :)

30 weeks!!!

Only 10 more to go! Hooray hooray! Here I am at 30 weeks!

My hopes for my belly to be bigger than it was with Matix are slowly fading... :( Maybe next time. And who knows, I do still have 10 more weeks for this little guy to catch up... BUT, as you can clearly see in the picture, I am considerably bigger than the last picture. :) Yay! And I think I look bigger in person, and when I am holding Matix, maybe the next pic will be of me, Matix and the belly. :)

I am feeling great, even with all the walking thanks to my wonderful hubby and all the foot massages! Matix is learning to do more things independently (both good and bad), which might make it easier on me when this new guy (no names yet) decides to make his debut. I am getting more and more excited about having this baby come and join our family. :)

Morning at the beach and pool

This morning (early) we ate breakfast and then went to the beach. We live just a few minutes walk to a great snorkeling beach. Paul and I took turns snorkeling and playing in the sand with Matix. I saw an eel, and that concluded the snorkeling. I'm not a fan of eels! Yuck!

Matix has been learning body parts and "tummy" is his new favorite. Can you see the little black sand hand prints all over it?

Then we walked up to the pool to swim for a bit and rinse off. I just love the nakey pictures of Matix... I'm sure his future wifey will get a kick out of them too. :)

It was so nice to be able to hang out (doing something other than eating) just the three of us. :)

Can I Keep Her???

Matix found a cat the other day, well actually, she found him. It is a cat lovingly referred to by our neighbor Lex (babysitter and part time cat-tamer) as "Palmer". Palmer is one of very few animals here who is clean, which is one of the main reasons Matix could play with her... Some of the dogs and other cats here are a little questionable. :)

After lots of chasing and petting her, Matix decided it would be nice to share some crackers with her.

Matix is very into "sharing" right now. He offers his food to us all the time and we have to take a real bite (or a very convincing fake one), or he will get upset. Palmer was more than happy to help eat the crackers though. :)

They sat together and ate a few crackers until Paul came home for dinner (that's why we were outside waiting). This is Matix saying, "So mom, can we keep her?"

Pool Time

There is a pool here that we go to quite often. Matix is really starting to like "swimming". He kicks his legs as we float him around and sometimes puts his face underwater.

But his favorite thing to do is sit on the top step into the pool and play with his toys. We also play peek-a-boo behind the chairs.

He REALLY likes it when his friends join him in the pool. For those of you back home who thought Matix was big, meet Shane. :)

Shane is 3 months younger than Matix and way bigger. :) It is nice when other kiddos come with us, I get to talk to someone who can talk back to me and Matix has a little playmate.

Here is a little butt crack shot. It was so funny in person because you could really see his tan line and little white butt. :) His diaper was so soaked with water it was pulling his trunks off. I am just saving up these pics for the day I need to embarrass him.

The only thing Matix does NOT like about the pool is when it rains. We went yesterday and swam for a few minutes when.... What's that?

I don't think I like this!

Mom! I want to go home!

Fine! I am leaving by myself! Bye!

You've Got Mail!!!

Actually, we do!!! YAY! Today when we checked the mail, we actually had some things! Three cards and a package! Wow!

I got a birthday card (and gift) from my Grandma Evie and from Paul's Grandma and Grandpa Berg. Thank you thank you thank you!!! Matix got a card and a package! He was really excited to open them, we had to open the package before we even got home.

The card (and gift) was from his Grandpa Chuck (my Dad) and the package was from his Auntie Robin (my sister), Uncle John (her hubby), and cousins Hans, Nick and Liesl. In the package was a fun new book (which we have already read a million times) and Spongebob jammies. :) So fun!!

Matix has had a great time reading all the cards (he really likes to open and shut things) and flirting with the ladies at the post office. :) We love you guys, and thanks again!

Thanks again family for the cards and gifts, and remember when you mail stuff, please mail it to William Paul Berg, even if it is for Matix or me, it is just easier that way. :) Thanks!

My hungry hungry hippo!

So I mentioned this kid likes to eat, right? Well this is his new thing. Trying to get his foot up on the table so he can relax while eating his man sized portions of food. It's a lot of work cramming all that food into a little baby belly. :)

This is a typical amount of food for one day (not including all the water, juice and milk he drinks... which is A LOT)

Breakfast: 1 banana (sometimes half depending on how big it is), adult sized portion of oatmeal, 1 piece of toast (sometimes with jelly).

Snack: 1 container of yogurt with fresh fruit mixed in, OR cheese and crackers (5 crackers with equal amounts of cheese)

Lunch: Usually leftovers from dinner the night before and just a little less in size than what I am eating. He also always has a fruit or vegetable too, so it is actually more food than I am eating! :)

Snack: Sometimes he skips this one (thank goodness, we are running low on money for food, just kidding) Usually 1 piece of bread OR a few handfuls of gerber puffs.

Dinner: He eats whatever we are eating usually, unless it has something in it he can't have... But he will eat (as far as the portion goes) about 3/4 of what I eat for dinner.

Childhood obesity here we come! :) He eats mostly healthy foods though, so that is good, but every once in a while we splurge on ice cream or cookies or doughnuts. :) What is so sad though is when we are done with those types of treats, he cries because he doesn't want to be done. :( I don't give in though, don't worry, I know ALL about reinforcing bad behavior. :)

Video Updates

I know I went a little crazy with the birthday post, but I am really proud of my little man. :) But for those of you not here in Dominica, I thought I should share some current videos of Matix so you can SEE some of his new abilities. :) Enjoy.

And, please ignore my "good job...good job...good job" every two seconds, but I really want to encourage the cleaning up thing!!! :)

Little Boy vs. Big Boy

So, since his birthday, Matix thinks he is older than he really is. Here is proof. I still think he is a little boy, but he thinks differently...

Matix is 1!!!!

Matix is 1 year old today! Wow, the time really did go fast. How could it be that just one year ago, he looked like this:

And now he looks like this:

We had a birthday party for him a few weeks ago (since that was when people could actually go to the party before the semester started, and Grandma, Grandpa and Morgan were still here visiting). We had games, friends, and cupcakes... What more could a little boy want?

What can Matix do at 1 year old?

-He is walking more and more, although still unsteady in new places and on uneven surfaces. He has though, mastered walking up and down the step going into our house while holding the door frame.

-He says "Mom" (not mama, which I think is funny), "Dada", and "Yeah".

-He also babbles a ton, and uses inflection in his tone to sound like he is part of our conversation when Paul and I are talking.

-He can pick up his toys or spilled food or whatever if given a container.

-He can unlock one of our gates around our yard if the lock is on the inside (yikes).

-He can crawl up and down large flights of stairs like no one's business.

-He sleeps about 13 hours at night and 3 to 4 during the day (YAY!), but while he is awake, he is VERY active.

-He waits to eat until we say a prayer on the food (sometimes quietly, sometimes not)

-If you ask if he is happy, he smiles a big goofy grin and shakes his fisted hands all over the place.

-When asked if he is little or big, he reaches his arms and hands up as high as he can... then we always say, "you are SO BIG!!" :)

-He can eat on his own, but needs help with using utensils.

-He follows directions (come here, no touch, sit down, quiet voice, etc.) most of the time. :)

-He copies our gestures and wants to do EVERYTHING Paul does.

What does Matix like to do?

-He loves to be tickled and chased.

-He loves to look at books (especially lift the flap books).

-He LOVES to eat and eat and eat and...

-He likes to sleep on his tummy with his paci and a blanket (not one in particular, just any blanket)

-When he is upset, he likes to hold a blanket and smell it, it calms him down... although very funny to watch, since we don't know where he got that from or why it works.

-He likes to give kisses (open mouthed, drooly kisses) :)

-He loves to hide behind something and peek out for a smile.

-He likes to play with balls and cars.

-He loves to flirt with the ladies, he will find any excuse to wave at, or smile to, or reach for, or walk to any female person that glances his way.

-He loves to snuggle before going to bed and throughout the day when he is feeling snuggly.

-He loves to play outside and get shockingly dirty in a tiny amount of time.

-He likes to go swimming, beach or pool.

-He loves to brush his teeth (he has 5 now, three on top and two on bottom, the fourth on top is VERY close)

What does Matix NOT like to do?

He doesn't like to sit still, unless he is in the mood for a snuggle.

He doesn't like to get his diaper changed (because of the lack of movement)

He doesn't like when it rains too hard and we can't go outside to play.

He doesn't like it when breakfast lunch or dinner is done.

He doesn't like bath time. The water pressure here was funny the first few days and made too much noise, and now bath time is scary, even though the pressure thing is fixed.

He doesn't like to wait when he knows I am making food for breakfast or dinner... the waiting is TOO much.

We are so blessed to have this little guy in our lives. He makes us smile every day. We love him so much and can hardly wait to see what he has accomplished in another year.

Happy Birthday Matix!!!

White Coat Ceremony

Yesterday Paul had his white coat ceremony. There was a link to it to watch on the internet, but I couldn't get it to work. :( The building they were in was too crowded to let in everyone, so Matix and I waited outside until it was done. The President of Dominica came to it and Paul got to meet him afterward and shake his hand. :)

When Paul came out we ate some local food (I have no idea what it was), some chicken nuggets, and fresh passion fruit juice (mmmmm.... Morgan, do you miss us yet?) Paul walked around with Matix showing him off to some of his new friends. This is Matix peeking at me, one of his favorite games... going somewhere out of sight then peeking his head out at me with a silly grin on his face.

Matix and I are so proud of Paul, only one week down, but he is doing a great job keeping to his schedule, studying (even when his friends go to the beach), helping with things around the house, taking time to play with Matix, and go out on dates with me. :)

Speaking of our date... We went out on Friday to see a movie. The school gets new releases a few months after they are released in the states... So we saw Angels and Demons. Since it is on in the evening, Matix was already asleep (he is still on his 6pm to 7am schedule). We had our neighbor Lex (she is 10, and loves Matix) and her Mom come over to babysit. Lex said she was REALLY excited, even though all she ended up doing was watch TV, take some pictures on photo booth, and wait for us to come home. Although, Matix woke up once (he is teething again) and Lex took good care of him. Here are some of the pictures I found on my computer that Lex and Cora took of themselves. :) Isn't Lex a cutie?! She is going to be such a heart breaker.

This was the first time we had a babysitter for Matix who wasn't family. I was sad to leave him, but it was nice to spend some time with Paul on a real date. We even got ice cream. :)

Caught ya!

While making dinner, I heard a mess being made in the bathroom... I said, "Matix...." and the noises stopped. So a minute or two later I went in to check on him. This is what I saw.

The mess was worse in person, but you get the idea. Then I gave him the Mommy look, which has been working quite nicely, as you can see by his reaction.

Paul and I have been setting more boundaries and he has been doing well with them. He understands the word "no", even if he doesn't want to hear it. Matix also waits to eat until after we say a prayer on the food, he is usually quiet for it too, which is shocking considering how much he loves to eat. I can still hardly believe our little guy is going to be a big brother soon! :)