Vacation Highlights: Matthew

Before heading to the west coast of Michigan, Matthew had fun visiting with family. He loved playing peek-a-boo with Aunt Ellen.

As always, Matthew took every opportunity he got to grab a handful of Cheerios, which cracked Grandma Linda up.
Once we had reached the west side of the state, we hit the beaches. Matthew quite literally hit the beach. That sand is hard to walk in!

Also on the beach, Matthew discovered his mission in life: Point out each and every bird in sight and try, try, TRY to catch one! Alas, catching a bird is easier said than done.

When not at the beach, Matthew spent a great deal of time riding in the mei tai. He rarely complained about the free ride, finding that the view is quite good from five feet off the ground (OK, so maybe five feet is a bit generous, but I am WAY taller than Matthew so it probably FELT like five feet to him!)At the cottage, Matthew discovered a little spot that seemed to be created just for him.Forget all those birthday toys, this basket is GREAT!And, of course, a highlight of the vacation for Matthew was his FIRST BIRTHDAY! He started out the day with his very favorite meal of dairy and egg-free pancakes. This kid can pack away the pancakes -- his current record is four full-sized pancakes in one sitting!
We made sure everyone knew that Matthew was one year old that day by dressing him in a special onesie. We finished out Matthew's birthday (and our last day of vacation) by letting both kids run wild at a playground in Saugatuck, where Matthew did his very best to keep up with the big kids. "Just wait 'til I'm two," you could almost see him thinking.