Fun with Papa, Nana, and Great Nana

Matthew and I spent some time at Papa's house yesterday having lots of fun. Matthew showed Great Nana which toys he liked in the Toys R' Us catalog-of course he would point to all of them :).

Then, it was time for the "jumpoline", as Matthew likes to call it. He loves it when Papa makes him go super high.

Next it was Nana's turn to help him jump.

He wore himself out with all the jumping and needed to take a little bit of a break, it didn't last for long though. He has an unmeasurable amount of energy.

Jump! Jump! Jump!

Puzzles are always a fun activitiy to do, and Papa and Nana have several that Matthew really enjoys.

Then Matthew and Papa played with cars. They made sure to fill them up with gas so they could move.

He got in some snuggle time with Great Nana before it was time to head home.

Matthew was excited to have a play date with Sam and Savannah yesterday. It seems like forever since he has seen them. He has fun rooting around in their playroom, which has more toys in it than they know what to do with. Also, Savannah is up and cruising now-fun stuff!

We had a pretty boring weekend-basically we just worked on stuff around the house, but Matthew did get to go on a "date" with Aunt Brittney and Aykut (while Matt and I were living it up cleaning the basement, woo-hoo). They took him to dinner and the toy store, where they let him pick out some toys. He is obsessed with a little race car track, he even wants to have it on his dresser at night while he sleeps. (He does really like the helicopter too Britt ;) )

Matthew has a new after-bath game that we love to play. He will take off as soon as I'm done drying him and run to his room, completely naked, where he hides in the corner behind his easel and under his stuffed dog. He'll giggle and scream, thinking he has thwarted my master plan of putting on his pajamas, thus preventing the inevitable bed time. I look forward to playing our little game every night, probably more than he does-he is so much fun!

Future Kayaker

Matthew only wishes he could really take the kayak out in the water-he would have so much fun!

The Pumpkin Patch

On our last day in Raleigh Grammy and Grandpa took Matthew (and me) to a pumpkin patch. There was so much more to do than just the pumpkin patch (which wasn't really a patch-just a bunch of pumpkins placed out in a field, but he still had fun picking some out). We rode the train, took a hayride, he went on his first pony ride (on the only pregnant pony :) ), ran around in a hay stack maze, played on a playground, ate funnel cake, and saw barn yard animals-among other fun activities. The weather was even "real" Fall weather, which is rare for Raleigh this time of year (it had been in the 70's and 80's that whole week). It was a fun way to end our trip-we miss you Grandpa, Grammy, and Aunt Julie!

Here are some pics from our trip to Ohio/Raleigh. Matthew had fun playing with his cousin Madison, although he was more interested in her new toy than she was.

Uncle James showed him a cool puzzle with a magnet pen and marble.

Leave it to Matthew to find a toy lawn mower where ever he goes :).

Aunt Julie brought her new cat, Zach Attack, over one evening, and I think it goes without saying that Mattie was thrilled. The kitty was super friendly and even put up with Matthew carrying him all over the place.

Instead of helping me make cookies like last time, we decided to bake pumpkin bread-yum!

What would a trip to Raleigh be without his lunches with Grandpa!

Play-Doh time!

As usual, Matthew wanted to be with Grandpa whenever possible. He was super excited to have Grandpa play with him during bath time.

The Meckstroth Clan

My Grandmother passed away last week, so Matthew and I went to Ohio for her funeral. It was a very sad time, but we got some neat pictures of the Meckstroth clan. It is so rare for all of us to be in the same place at the same time.

My parents loved having their kids together, as I said before, it does not happen very often at all.

My Grandpa really enjoyed having every single one of his children and grandchildren there to give him their love and support. It was a bonus to take the pictures in front of my Dad's childhood home that my grandpa shared with my grandma for over 50 years.

I really like these pictures of all of the grandchildren lined up with their grandfather-we wouldn't be here if it weren't for him! :) The one above is us lined up in chronological order.

My grandfather with his three children.