One Terrific Toddler!

Mathison turned 21 months old a few days ago. All of my kids hit the "terrible twos" early...and Mathison is no exception! We have tantrums, explosions, and tears several times a day. However, I'm trying hard to focus on the positive aspects of his behavior; hence the title of "Terrific" instead of "Terrible" :)

Here are some cute and interesting things about Mathison at this age:

*Mathison loves temples. At age 20 months, he pointed to a picture of a temple and said "temple" without any prompting or previous exposure. His favorite song is "I love to see the temple", and he already can sing the words at the end of each phrase.

*Mathison is our resident escape artist. He's escaped from the house once already, and the yard, too (I found him halfway across the road, headed to the neighbors'). He also loves to climb and has figured out how to climb onto the counter by using his high chair.

*Mathison is extremely smart and recognizes the numbers 1-10, 5 different shapes, and all of his letters. He also tries writing the letters, and has drawn legible M's, A's, and H's. He actually knows what numbers represent; last week he told me he had "two trucks" and told me "two M's" when he saw the word "summer". Kind of scary!

*Mathison loves the outdoors, and is especially fascinated with the sky. He loves the "hun" (sun) and the "moom" (moon - this was actually one of his first words), and is quick to point out passing airplanes.

*Mathison recently learned that his parents' names are "Dowel" and "Tim". We're going to have to work on Mom's name, or strangers will think he comes from a non-traditional family!

*Mathison loves his grandparents - especially his Grandpa Beatty. Whenever he sees someone with a cap, glasses and mustache, he calls them "Gumpah" - no matter what their age is!

*Mathison continues to LOVE trucks, and he also likes "choo-choos" (trains)

*Mathison is scared to death of our garbage truck (it makes a very loud sound). He also hates haircuts, getting his diaper changed, washing his hair, and eating vegetables. He is very sensitive and gets upset if someone else is crying.

*Mathison loves music and wants to listen to it all day long. He definitely has his favorites and gets EXTREMELY angry if we put anything else on. Let's just say that we have the "Hairspray", "Mama Mia", and "Alley Cats" CD's memorized frontwards and backwards!

Mat's Stats:

Height: 31.5 inches (10%)
Weight: 23 lbs (10%)
Head: HUGE (90%)
Teeth: 12

We sure love this little guy...our family just wouldn't be the same without him!!!



This awesome picture was taken by our niece Katie Valentine at the recent John Lewis Beatty family reunion.