Salute to Belle

For every cute picture of Matthew we have on our hard drive, we've got like 5 of Belle. She's great and she should probably have her own blog but she likes to lead a private life.

Matthew in a Clothes Hamper and Other Photos

The other day Matthew put his blanket into an empty hamper. I was pretty bored so I figured I'd chuck him in there and see what happened. He really didn't mind so I took a couple pictures. I like the second one where he's looking down at Belle like "what are you doing out there?".

We also went to a picnic today for all the local Korean adoptive families and it was a pretty nice get together. Of course Matthew was kind of ticked off the whole time. Either he doesn't like Koreans or the outdoors but more likely he just didn't like all the attention; an unofficial analysis pegged him as the cutest kid there.

Oh, and the last one is Matty eating chips and salsa.

This is Ron Jeremy

In response to blog follower jccmflorida (aka Jessica, my sister in law)'s comments .... while I do agree I share many traits with the imminent adult film star Ron Jeremy, such as our widespread popularity and love for dogs, it should be noted that Jeremy generally has a more conventional mustache while my current concoction really is more of on original creation. Although I reason to believe Johnny Depp stole my idea.

PS - Jess, thank you, I have been looking pretty skinny these days.

More Rocking Out .... In Rockport

Don't Jodi and Matthew look great in these pics?

Very Nice Day in Rockport, MA

As everyone (especially Denise) knows, we have been having some pretty hot weather up here for the past month. So it's been nice to cool off for the past couple days. We knew we had some lousy weather coming in for this weekend, but today was really nice and sunny, so we took the opportunity to head to the oceanside town of Rockport which is a very charming little town about an hour north of Boston.

Rockport is your typical town replete with gift shops, ice cream places and crappy restaurants, however it has some real high points which we routinely take advantage of:

1. Tucks Candy, which makes the best salt water taffy (in my opinion). At Tucks, not only can you watch the salt water taffy being pulled, but you can choose your own flavors when you make up a box. Today I loaded up on my usual half-box of peanut butter flavored taffy and then at the end found out they have a new flavor "chocolate peanut butter" ... needless to say, I had to start over. Fun fact: Jodi never eats salt water taffy.

2. Rockport might be the penny candy capital of the world because besides the taffy you can get regular penny candy at like 2-3 other stores, which of course I did.

3. Continuing on the family theme; like many NE seaside towns, they sell fudge. And like many NE seaside people, Jodi buys fudge.

4. The rest of the shops are the usual tourist traps however there are a couple nice toy stores and one really nice pewter store which has some kick ass pewter stuff, if you're into that sort of thing (which I am).

5. Rockport is an artist's colony so the place is filled with galleries, many of which offer terrific original art, if you're into that sort of thing (which I am, but can't afford).

Other highlights .... we stopped off at a clam shack in Gloucester and had a really amazing lunch of the usual fried clams and shrimp. Matthew ate his first Fish n' Chips and reported, "mmmmmm". And on the 1 hour car ride home, Jodi slept like a baby and Matthew (who is a baby) stayed up and BS'ed with me the entire time.

Enjoy the pics - BTW, we didn't take pictures with Johnny Depp - that's just me and my awesome new mustache/beard combo.

Have a nice weekend.

Michigan Table+Chairs Arrive.... I Blog About it One Week Later

So we have a lot of good friends from our time at Michigan and we still keep in touch with a lot of them .... Dave, Ted, Bry, Big Bri, Paulette, you guys are all great. But it was Jodi's buddy Tara (who graduated from Washington University) who came through with the first great Michigan present for little Matthew. As you can see, this thing looks great, houses Matthew and his cars with ease and is solidly made and beautifully painted and detailed. A really nice gift - thanks very much to Tara and Jeff.

ps- I would note that this wasn't the only thing Tara has sent for Matthew in the past few months.

Matty Playing with a Big Stuffed Dog - LIVE!

OK - so a couple weeks ago I showed you some pics of Matthew playing with this big stuffed dog. Well now I have some actual video footage and it's pretty good stuff.

And More Pics of Matthew

Obligatory Pic of Baby with Messy Face

Not sure if we've posted any of these in a while.... some more pics from a few days ago.

Back to Business

Sorry there has not been much new content in the past week. I was a little busy with some business travel and I went to a friend's wedding this past weekend. Was down to DC for my friend Mike Collins' wedding this past weekend. Will post something on that later on. But suffice to say congrats to Mike and his bride, Abby and get on with some Matthew stuff.

Here is a short video from last weekend when Granny and Papa were visiting.

"I'm photogenic"

"Welcome to the Matthew Show, starring me, Matthew!"

Granny and Papa

So this has been an eventful weekend.... to wit:

Denise and Ira (aka Granny and Papa) came in on Friday afternoon and we've all had a nice time. Ira could only stay through Sunday but Denise will be here are all week where she will get no break from the 90 degree heat and humidity. In other news:

1. We all went to fancy steakhouse, Flemings, on Friday with great results - in both the food and behavior department. Matthew is getting better in restaurants and he seems to be on his best behavior when filet mignon is on the menu.

2. We went to the aquarium yesterday and that was pretty fun. Quick tip #1: never go to the Boston aquarium without getting a ticket in advance; they would have you wait in line for an hour.

3. It was a grandparent-fest last night as my parents came in and we all went out to eat (again). We all had a solid time.

4. A guy from South Korea beat Tiger Woods in a pretty amazing finish today in the PGA Championship. Of course Matty could care less.

The Saga of the Rocking Horse

So Papa has wanted to get Matthew a nice rocking horse and he went and picked one up at the toy store yesterday. So we bring it home and I put it together but two of the horse's legs don't fit properly so we go back to Toys R Us and get 2 new legs. Turns out those don't fit either and we have to go back there a 3rd time to replace the entire body. So now we have the new body in hand and I am running up the front porch stairs with an armload of plastic horse limbs to get this thing put together. Of course I trip on the steps and whack my chin with one of the plastic pieces which opens up a gash that pretty much wouldn't stop bleeding. Long story short, I got 2 stitches after spending the afternoon in the emergency room.

The good news: Matthew got a REALLY nice rocking horse (see attached video).

The bad news: I have to grow a goatee to cover up these stitches and it's the hottest week of the summer and I have a business trip and a wedding to go to.

I know this sounds like complaining, so I will shut up. Enjoy the video with bonus footage of Matthew being crazy.

Follow Up from Last Weekend

More action from last weekend. Matthew and Mommy having a nice time in Boston and then Matthew hanging with my buddy Jon.

Preseason Pats!!!!

I know that everyone hates when they log in and there are new posts that are not about little Matthew, so I will try and throw something in about the little guy ... today Matthew had a "play date" with another little adoptee from Korea. Jodi met a gal from Newton (the town next door) who adopted a little girl named Bae and they hooked up today and hung out. Apparently they had a seriously good time and Matthew even held Bae's hand at one point. This kid is apparently a real player, like his dad.

Another real player is this guy Julian Edelman, a 7th round draft pick for the Patriots, out of Kent State. This guy played QB in college and is trying to hang on as a special teamer. Well, just about a quarter into the preseason and this kid is putting on the highlights. He ran a punt back about 70 yards. Looks like he has wheels to burn. Will be cool to see if he makes the team. Meanwhile, Brady is in the game and working himself back into form. He has thrown a TD and an interception and is walking around the sidelines acting like its the 3rd quarter against the Jets in mid December. A good thing.

So, I can gaurantee, not even my dad wants to hear any more about preseason football. So just a quick update on what's up; here is where we are at:

1. It's Thursday night and we decided to eat dinner AFTER Matthew goes to bed; so we're having a pizza and a bottle of wine.

2. Granny and Papa (Denise and Ira) are coming in this weekend which will be fun.

3. Mason - Matthew's cousin reportedly has peed in the potty (he is only 18 months).

Pics from Last Weekend

Some stills from the other day when we went into Boston and had a nice afternoon.

Youk Had Enough

Not sure people need me to weigh in on last night's bench clearing brawl but figured I'd throw in my $.02.

I am not sure I agree that the Sox needed "a spark" and that Youk's rush was part of any big plan to pull the Sox out of their recent slump. I think anyone who pays attention realizes that last week's stuff was in the past and that this team is filled with too many veterans to need a bench clearing incident to get them going. To me, if the Sox don't get it done it's probably because they had too many injuries and not enough talent, not because they weren't sufficiently fired up.

That being said, Youkilis pays the price with a suspension - but surprisingly the MLB discipline guy went pretty easy: 5 games - and having him out of the lineup is going to hurt the team without question. At the same time, he could probably use a break and at least Mike Lowell is a decent backup and you have a bunch of other guys that can fill in at 1B.

In terms of the incident itself, it didn't make sense for the Tigers to hit Youk a second time as it seemed teams were all square after each team had a batter hit (Youks and Miguel Cabrera) the previous game. Cabrera, who is Detroit's best hitter was hit again last night, but it was a rookie in his first big league start with runners on in the first inning- clearly not intentional. My sense is that this situation has taken care of itself as both managers have already talked. Unlike the festering situation with Yankees where the Yankees continue to take shots and are backed up by a bushleague manager who literally just fell off the turnip truck.

In Youk's defense (and he already admitted this) - he just had enough and lost it for a split second. Explains charging the mound and it explains throwing his helmet. Its the 10th time he's been plunked this year and many of these are coming in high and hard (especially against NY), so I dont think anyone blames him. My only regret was that Youk took the brunt of the takedown and the on-field fracas was pretty tame.

Bottom line, 5 game suspension, Youkilis gets a rest. Sox won the game and we got to see a bench clearing brawl at Fenway. You don't hear my complaining.

Matthew and His Giant Stuffed Dog

Matthew's Papa hooked him up with a great big stuffed dog that bears a striking resemblance to Jessica's great big real dog named Remy.

Little known fact, Matthew loves his stuffed dog, much to the delight of Jodi. Much to the chagrin of Belle.