Can it Be??

Can it be??? Our Matthew is 5 years old! I feel like just yesterday, I was preparing to head to the hospital, not knowing whether he was a boy or a girl. When he came out and Brian brought him to me, my first thought was, "Can this be our child?" I was so use to Patrick with all of the white blonde hair. Not this child! Matthew had a full head of black hair. And I mean a full head, not just peach fuzz. His start to life was a little rough, having jaundice which required lots of pokes and prods and many trips to and from the hospital. Then at five weeks old, he had a serious case of bronciolitis, which scared me to death. Brian was already in Connecticut, and the boys and I were in Michigan at my parents' house. I called Brian and told him to catch the first flight of the weekend because I honestly didn't know what was going to happen to little Matthew. I remember watching him on the living room floor on his blanket, gasping for air to breath. On our way to the ER that night, I grabbed him out of the carseat and put him in my lap (yes, I know- not safe, but I felt I had to because he couldn't breathe). Luckily, with the help of a breathing apparatus and some other tricks, Matthew came through and got better. It was a scary beginning though.

From the day Matthew came out, sleep wasn't a problem. We braced ourselves for the worst because his older brother didn't know what "Sleep" meant. However, this little guy was an angel when it was time to sleep. He never minded being put right into his crib. He slept straight through the night by about two months old. He also never took a pacifier or a thumb, so when he woke up in the middle of the night, we didn't have to go stick the darn thing back in his mouth. Matthew knew how to put himself to sleep. We were in heaven. Of course, our three year old still wasn't sleeping through the night, so we were up anyway, but it was still nice to have an infant that slept. To this day, Matthew still sleeps well, still naps when he knows he needs to, and will put himself to bed when he is tired. He has been know to fall asleep at 4:00 in the afternoon and sleep all of the way through to the next morning.

His hair slowly turned to blonde at six months. It never fell out, just became very highlighted with tips of blonde, and eventually all of it changed. He weighed less than 20 pounds at his first birthday, and he stayed tiny until he was about 3 years old. Now, he weighs 38 pounds and is 43 inches tall. He was a little peanut for the longest time. To this day, he still won't eat cheese. What kid doesn't eat cheese? He won't go near it, unless it is shredded parmesan on pasta. It makes packing lunches for him very difficult!

We recently learned at conferences that Matthew is a leader, and other kids look up to him. His teachers called him calm and confident (now who does that sound like?????) He knows what he wants and has no problem asking. He is a good listener and good role model. Maybe Matthew is leader in school, but in this house, there is one person who Matthew does follow, and that is Patrick. He admires him, looks up to him, wants to be just like him, and is lost without him. There is a line that Matthew always says...whatever he says, he follows it with, "Right Patrick?" He says this as if Patrick has the final say in everything. He seriously thinks his brother is the coolest kid!! I think the picture at the top of this blog sums it up perfectly!

Matthew loves to use his imagination. He plays very well on his own, building legos, playing with his webkinz, and building puzzles. He is obsessed with Star Wars and Indiana Jones. His interests are space, rocks/crystals, volcanoes, and the outdoors. His favorite shows are Discovery and Animal Planet, and he loves to read the Kids National Geographic Magazine with Patrick. His sense of adventure is huge!

While he hasn't been to as many states and ciities as Patrick because he is three years younger, he has done so much in his five years of life. At three years old, he got on a plane to Japan, still wearing diapers. Today, he is a smart little boy with a winning personality who has been to Guam, Australia, and soon China. Oh and he is not in diapers anymore (he was out of them right after we arrived here) He is posiitve most of the time, always looking to cheer everyone up and look at the bright side of things. I must say his smile is contagious. He gets excited about the smallest things. He can find a rock on the side of the road and be excited and happy for the rest of the day.

Most of the time, when Matthew gets down, he is sad because he can't keep up with Patrick. In a previous post, I wrote about how he just couldn't wait to be 7 so he could reach the number "5" on the elevator. He still can't reach the "5" but he is getting closer. Matthew is a sweet little boy. He loves to sit with us on the couch and cuddle. He always tells me that he loves me so much that he can't get enough of me. (I know he'll grow out of it, but I will take it while I can get it.) He still smiles as wide as ever when I pick him up at preschool. He is in a good mood most of the time, except of course, when he is tired. He is considerate to others and has many friends. Matthew is funny, and he is always making all of us laugh. Even when Patrick is pouting about something, something Matthew says will make Patrick laugh. Just tonight we were all on the floor playing Clue Junior when Matthew decides he is going to take his gloves and put them on his feet to look like a duck. We all busted out laughing.

Sometimes Matthew seems like such a big boy to us, yet other times, we realize how young and innocent he still is. I tucked him into bed tonight and realized it was the last kiss and hug I would give him as a four year old.. ...ahhh sighhhh....
We love You!!! Happy 5th birthday little guy!!

Rock On!

Here in Japan, we look forward to the smallest things. We get excited when our theater gets a newly released movie, when the commissary gets in the holiday flavored coffee creamers, or when they built a Chillis restaurant (not a favorite of mine in the states, but I admit I was excited when it opened on base). Now, we really get excited when there is a free concert in the parking lot of our bowling alley. That is big stuff!! :) Let me go back a bit.

Patrick turned 8 in September, and we got him an ipod. He really was starting to show an interest in music and seems to always be playing his fake guitar. In the technology capital of the world, we decided this would be a good gift for him. When he opened his new gadget, he was thrilled. The first song Brian put on it was "All Star" by Smash Mouth. Patrick would come home from school singing..."Somebody once told me the world was macaroni so I took a big bite of a tree. It tasted kind of funny so I spit it on a bunny, and the bunny started yelling at me." Now, I really don't think you need to know the song to know that this is not the way the song goes. But, somehow, this is what he was singing. He finally learned the words to "All Star" after listening to it on his ipod for a week.

About two weeks after his birthday, I was looking at the base website and I saw an advertisement for "Smash Mouth". They would be performing at the base as part of their 2008 Military tour. We never would have taken Patrick to this concert in the states because we would have had to pay for tickets and be amongst typical rock concert regulars. ( I am not saying anything bad about people who go to rock concerts, but seriously, they are not a place for an 8 year old). However, this event was different. It was sponsored by The Fleet and Family Service center and all families were welcome. Matthew didn't have an interest in going, but when we told Patrick, he was so excited.

The next day there was not any school- if you have read the previous post, you know that the kids don't attend school on Fridays in the Dept of Defense schools in Japan. (this is an exaggeration, but still- we've had 3 Fridays off this month already). So, we headed out to the concert literally in our "Backyard". We had a lot of fun listening to all of the familiar songs and hanging out with friends. Now Patrick can say he has really been to a rock concert. And... he really knows the words now!

Trick or Treat

Halloween on the base in Yokosuka is absolute chaos, but in a completely fun way. For about two weeks before the 31st, every time I would go to the Commissary, I would buy a bag or two of candy. I finally stopped at 15 bags. I thought for sure that was enough. Well, Brian didn't think so, because on Halloween, he came home with six more bags of candy (now these weren't small bags- they were big bags of candy). I thought he was nuts- how could we possibly go through this much candy?

Our Halloween started off low key, with the kids having school off. For some reason, it seems as if the Dodds schools (Dept of Def schools) don't think it is necessary to send kids to school on Fridays. I think we have been off the past three Fridays. There is only one week in November where the kids will go to school the full week. Anyway, we spent the whole morning at the hospital, almost positive that Matthew had Pneumonia. After a chest x-ray and an exam, we were on our way. The Doc said his chest was clear. He came home and slept the majority of the day, and at 5:00, he decided he really didn't care about going trick or treating. I don't think he felt well at all. However, Patrick was set to go. I did convince Matthew to put on his costume and come with us to a few houses. He gave in- the word CANDY always seems to help

Our first stop was at a neighbors townhome for yummy grilled hotdogs- the perfect thing on a nice fall night. We have a neighbor that is a professional chef. He teaches classes at the Community Center, and we are lucky because he always seems to have goodies for us when we are out on the playground in the afternoon. He has brought us homemade beef jerky, coffee ice cream, homemade choc chip cookies, and even some margarita ice cream. Believe me, we need it on our playground!
Chef Clement decided he was going to set up a table outside and grill 200 hot dogs for his trick or treaters. We made that our first stop because I knew it would be popular, and I didn't want him to run out. With dinner done, we began the hunt for candy.

Let me start by saying, this base is crazy for Halloween. They open up the gates, and it is an open base event for the Japanese people. The Japanese kids and adults seem to love this holiday. They come in huge masses and know enough to say, "Trick or treat", "Happy Halloween" and "Thank you." Matthew lasted about 10 houses, and then he was ready to go in. Patrick, 8 years old, wanted to go to every single house on Gridley. Patrick's goal was to get as much candy as possible. He wanted to bring his pillow case, but I told him that no one needs to fill a pillow case with candy.





Brian and Patrick went on their way, and Matthew and I headed back home and set up some chairs outside the door. We didn't have time to even go to the bathroom- there were trick or treaters lining up at our door. We must have continuously handed out candy for a straight two hours. All in all, we went through 20 bags of candy and all of the snacks in our snack basket. We even started passing out some Halloween stickers. It was obvious that they didn't care what they were getting, as long as we put something in their bags. When Patrick and Brian returned, Patrick ended up giving away a lot of his candy that he got- good thing because in this house the candy mysteriously disappears after about two weeks. (I go through the bags and send stuff in to work with Brian)

We had a great time this year, which will be our last year in Yokosuka for Halloween.

In the eyes of a 5 year old

My boys never cease to make me laugh and smile with the things they say. Tonight Matthew said something that really made me think. Matthew and I were home watching the election news while Brian took Patrick to Taekwondo. He was lying on the couch and NBC was doing a video tribute to the two candidates and their campaigns. He was listening to Barack Obama giving his speech, and he said this, "Mommy, he's our first dark president right???" I stopped and thought for a moment. How great that Matthew doesn't see a difference in people. He just knows his skin is darker than his, but he doesn't think of him as being any different. Some day Matthew will understand why November 4th 2008 was such a big day in history.

I think our children could teach us so many lessons. Thank you Matthew for reminding me again that our country has come so far!

Proud to be An American!

Today is a day that will go down in history. I am so proud to be an American (hey I was born on the 4th of July :) and to have a husband who is serving in this Awesome country. I do my share of complaining about the military, but the fact is, what an honor it is!

Whatever happens today- and I am not here to voice my opinion because honestly, we are all Americans, and everyone has a CHOICE. It is not my job to tell anyone who to vote for. I just think it is amazing that so many Americans are out there voting because they can!

While Brian and I do not share with our boys who we have voted for because honestly, when it is time for them to vote, I want them to vote based on their opinions, not ours. We do tell them this- Our country has come so far. In a country where slavery use to exist and African Americans use to have to use a separate bathroom or sit at the back of the bus, we are so proud of Barack Obama for coming this far and helping us to believe that anything is possible. In a country where women are not always considered equal and have never served as a President or Vice President, we thank Sarah Palin for defying all odds and giving women a true voice! Wow- how far we have come!

Get out there and vote. Vote for the best team and support this country!

Just Pictures

I added some pictures last night but forgot to add captions. Oops!! These pictures are from Kurihama Flower World (Aka Godzilla Park). In the first pic, Brian and Patrick are simply trying to be tough guys, while Matthew is just being Matthew. So no, they are not angry about anything, just acting. Some may think we asked Patrick to put his arm around Matthew for a few pictures, but that is not the case. I had the camera in hand and couldn't resist this "Real" moment. I have so much to post on this blog, so stay tuned for pictures from the Smash Mouth concert and Halloween.