December 17, 2007 OH where do I start???????
I guess I have dropped the ball with this blog. I realize I haven't posted in two months, Sorry. I know how frustrated I get when the blogs I read aren't updated.
I don't have my camera with me so I won't post any pictures today.
Since I last posted Matthew has turned 4, once again I wonder where the time went. We had a great party for him with a Tonka truck theme. He loves big yellow dump trucks as well as anything with wheels. Everyone was so generous with gifts--our house seems to be getting smaller. Honestly he would be happy with a match box car.
He really enjoys preschool--but he isn't a morning person. It is a struggle to get him up on Tuesdays and Thursdays for school. He can count to 25 but he misses the number twenty. He knows all of his upper and lower case letters and the sounds most of them make. He can write his name without me telling him how to spell it. He doesn't like to color or write, he is too active for that.
He loves to help me cook, he "reads" the pictures in the instructions and tells me what to do. He likes to make chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and blueberry muffins. He loves playing cars with his Papa. As soon as Jeff walks in the door from work Matthew shouts out "Papa play cars with me, please".
He doesn't like wearing his winter coat, but I don't blame him. He told me last week "Mama I don't like winter anymore." It has been pretty cold, snowy and icy. But yesterday Jeff pulled him on a sled behind the four wheeler and he enjoyed it.
I took him to the nursing home to see Santa on Saturday with my neices, nephews, and my sisters. As soon as we walked in he grabbed my leg and didn't let go. He never has liked Santa or the Easter bunny and neither has Emma. Usually Emma cries when we try to take her picture with Santa, but she's in Kindergarten now and some of her friends were there. She couldn't cry in front of them. So she took a deep breath, put her shoulders back and marched up to Santa. She was adorable. My nephew Ben (4.5) ran straight to Santa and climbed right up. Last year I have a picture of Jeff trying to pull Matthew near Santa, this year I have a picture of me sitting next to Santa holding Matthew. Who knows what next year holds...

We have learned a bit more about Matthew's brothers. Vasya is 14, he looks just like Matthew. He likes Soccer and basketball. We have been communicating with him through missionaries. He even started taking English lessons from the missionaries. Alex is 11 (we think). We don't know anything else about him. The orphanage he is in is a lot stricter.

I am sure I left out lots, I will try and do better at keeping up.