Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! We had a gorgeous day and wonderful weather to celebrate Halloween! Matthew was an adorable monkey and surprisingly he loves being in his costume. He didn't fuss one bit and kept the monkey head on too. Grandma Debi brought him to school in the afternoon to see my kids and be in the school parade. Then he got to play on the playground with Grandma while we finished up out day at school. We decided this year to drive Matthew to some houses for a Halloween visit. First we saw Ann, Wally and Sadee, then we drove to see Aunt Sarah, Uncle Cory, Grandma Julie, Grandpa Dave, and Grandma Phyllis. After that we saw Deah and Sonja from daycare and lastly we saw Pat from school! It's nice that Sarah and Cory's house is in the same neighborhood as daycare and Pat, so it was very easy. Once we got home, we let Matthew help pass out the candy to all the neighborhood kiddos. He really enjoyed that job. He tried the whole one for me-one for you thing with the candy, but he didn't get very far. He kept tying to eat it all so we had to put a stop to it. Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Genisio for staying at our house and handing out candy while we were gone! As usual we took a ton of photos. Enjoy the Halloween pictures of our monkey!

Sorry...

I am sorry for not writing or updating this in quite some time. Nothing is really new in the Chenery household. Matthew is saying some words, like Momma, Dadda, Deah, Hawa (for Ojala and practically every other dog), No, night-night. He understands a lot more than he can verbalize. He continues to run all around chasing whoever and whatever he can. He has a new fascination for trains, so I think I know what Santa is bringing him.

We have been really busy with work, football, and Halloween. On top of it all out hot water heater broke last Wednesday. After many long phone calls and a few parts shipped to us, Ryan and my dad were able to get it fixed last night! It really makes you take for granted how much we enjoy hot water!! I will be taking tons of pictures tomorrow of Matthew in his costume and doing some trick-or-treating. I will post them as soon as I can. This school year is already a quarter of the way finished! I can't believe it. For the safety of our students, classes have been canceled on Tuesday since our school (and many others in Portage) is a poling sites. We have record's day instead. I will also take Matthew to the ENT for his six month checkup and hearing testing. Hopefully it will all come out okay and if it doesn't, we will deal and work with it. We hope everyone is happy and healthy!

Gull Meadow Farms

We took full advantage of a beautiful morning and went to Gull Meadow Farms with Matthew. We arrived around 9:30 and we were one of the first ones there! That was a pleasant surprise. By the time we left at 11:00, the place was PACKED! Matthew wondered through the pumpkins, tasted fresh apple cider and apple sugar donuts. He walked through the hay maze, started the labyrinth, took a few bounces on the giant pillow and we took a slide down the 40 foot tube slide. To end our day we went on a tractor ride around the farm by the pumpkin patch, apple trees and the giant adult corn maze. Matthew was very tired, so we didn't wonder through the pumpkin patch or apple trees, maybe next time. On the way home we grabbed a bite for lunch and Matthew fell asleep in the car and continued to sleep for three hours! We just got done watching Michigan State beat Northwestern together too. I am glad we had a nice day...last year we went on a horrible rainy day! I am not sure how many days like this we will have before winter comes and I am glad we made the most of it! Enjoy the pictures too!

P.S. I got Matthew's Halloween costume today too. He is going to be a monkey...go figure!

A Trip to the Fire Station

We took Matthew to the Taste of Texas today. It was a very small festival for Texas Township. We got there later in the day, so most of the festivities were getting ready to wrap up. We spent most of our time at the Texas Township Fire Station and Matthew had a ball. He got to "drive" the firetruck, stand in an ambulance and sit on a "stretcher chair" or whatever it was called. Then they started a car on fire to demonstrate how quickly a car fire can spread and the firemen got to put it out for us. We also saw a demonstration with the jaws of life. Matthew was interested the most in the fire trucks and his new fire hat. He tried on the real thing, but his plastic version was much, much lighter. He also met the K-Wings mascot, Slappy. To my surprise he wasn't the least bit scared of the giant green bird! We posted some Fire Station photos at our usual site. Enjoy!

Petting Zoo

We had a great weekend! The weather was gorgeous and we were home for it! On Friday night we met up with the Koop family and took the three boys to Wedels for their family day. They had greyhound adoptions, a pumpkin launcher, a bounce house, fire trucks and a petting zoo. At first Matthew was a little taken back by the animals, especially the sheep and the donkey, but he soon warmed up to them. On Saturday I attended a baby shower for a high school friend which was very nice. At night we went to the Schonveld's house for a gathering and a chance for Matthew and Brady to play together. It is neat to think that Lindsay and I are one month exactly apart in age and Matthew and Brady are two months apart in age. It will be fun for them (and us) to grow up together. They are two totally different boys in every aspect of life which makes it very fun. We left around 10:00 because Matthew was starting to get tired. He did very well for being up two hours past his bedtime. We spent today chasing Matthew around the house and playing. The more we chase, the faster he goes and the louder he laughs. He is just such a happy boy.

In other news he finally cut two more molars on Friday and we are awaiting the last one in a week or so. His molars have caused him more discomfort and pain compared to his other teeth. It is nice to have them cut through his gums. We also want to send a congratulations to Sam and Chuck Eidson. Sam gave birth to twins (a boy and a girl) on Friday morning! The babies were great size for being a month early and being twins. Maddie was 6.10 and 22" and Tripp was 5.14 and 19". They are the future of basketball and volleyball! We wish you a speedy recovery.

A Good Week

TOUCHDOWN MATTHEW

We had a great week in the Chenery household. Matthew is still working on three molars which should cut any day now. Another cut a few weeks back. He seems to be happy and fine with it with the exception of some foods which hurt to chew. He continues to run all around the house and chases the dogs with all new meaning. We took a short trip to the Ettwein house to visit with baby Kendall on Wednesday. She was born last Sunday and was a whopping 9 pounds 2 ounces and 23.5 inches! Much, much bigger than Matthew at birth. Matthew took it upon himself to flirt with Brian's mom and Erin while I held Kendall. Matthew did very well while I was holding her. He was curious when she cried or made little baby sounds, always coming over to check it out. At one point he places his hand on her head as if trying to comfort her. I was happy to see that he never got jealous of her.

Yesterday Ryan and I went to East Lansing for the Notre Dame/Michigan State football game. We left the house around 10:00 a.m. to tailgate with friends and returned about 10:00 p.m. It was a beautiful day and a great ballgame. Since we were gone, Matthew played all day with Aunt Sarah! They got to enjoy the nice weather with a walk around the neighborhood and Matthew did a nice job of running Aunt Sarah all over the house. I think she was a little tired when she left. We have four more home games this season, so Matthew ill get to enjoy four more Saturdays with family.

We woke him up this morning around 9:00 and went out to breakfast as a family. This was a first for Matthew and as always he enjoyed it. As usual we have another busy week ahead of us. With each passing week we see more changes in Matthew and the things he is now able to do and want to do. He is becoming more daring with himself and tries new things all the time.

We took a few photos of Matthew in his new MSU jersey. Though it is a bit big on him, he is still cute! Enjoy

We LOVE Orajel!

Matthew has been very fussy and crabby since getting home today and it wasn't like him. We just figured it was a mix of the Monday sleepies and he was probably hungry. Well after dinner he was literally digging at his top gums and low and behold half of his first molar has cut through his gums. We just realized the LOVE for Orajel! He is back to himself...well until the jell wears off :)