10 things about Matthew

I was tagged by Lora to do this.

I will start with Matthew, because he's in the middle, and being a middle child myself - I can relate to that position in the family.

This is Matthew at 2 weeks old. I took the picture in the bathroom mirror. He slept in the palm of my hand.


1. Matthew was born 3 weeks early, at 6lbs and 12 oz. He was colicky for 9 long months. In retrospect, I think some of that 'colic' must have been due to extreme sensory issues that he still has today.

2. At 10 months old, he pulled a hot kettle down while he was sitting in his highchair. He burned both hands severely, and was rushed to hospital, and due to the severity of the burns, transferred to Children's hospital burn unit downtown. I spent 2 months taking him down nearly every day to change the dressings because I could not bear to leave him at the hospital and walk out without my baby. He was on morphine 24hrs/day for the first month. Today he has only a small scar on the middle index finger of his left hand.

3. He is ambidextrous. We think. at 3-1/2 he still uses both hands, and his nursery school teacher was unable to difinitively tell which hand he used more - he leans more to the right, I think, but still switches quite a bit. Both his father and I are left handed.

4. He hates socks. He will not wear socks unless the shoes go on right away, and only to keep his feet warm in the cold weather.
When the shoes come off, so do the socks. He does not wear socks between April and October. he does not really like clothes either, but understands that he must wear them when we go out, or when people come over. Otherwise he spends most of his time naked.

5. He has a double crown, and cowlicks all around the front of his forehead, which makes his hair go straight back. It's funny.
We have to keep his hair pretty short, or it looks like constant bed-head. He does not like getting haircuts, but will now sit still for me to get one side done (or two sides if I'm really quick and not trying to be neat). Consequently he has pretty messy hair most of the time, but it's part of his charm.

6. He broke off part of his front tooth when he was 18 months by slipping in the tub. He never cried at all, and we call him snaggletooth sometimes. Again, it's part of his charm.

7. Matthew is incredibly affectionate (with me). He loves hugs and kisses and tight tight squeezes.

8. He is the most mischievous of the kids, and tends to find a way to get into trouble. It's really quite a gift. Most of the scribbles on the wall, water on the floor, toilet paper rolls in the toilet etc etc etc can be attributed to him.

9. Matthew babbled nearly constantly as a baby, and never seemed to ever be quiet. If he wasn't crying he was jabbering away. His first word was 'Light' and he spoke in sentences by the time he was 18 months. Of course, it sounded like he had marbles in his mouth, but I am fluent in interpreting babblespeak, so he was able to talk to me from an early age. He never learned early language skills however, and only this year learned to point (July '05), wave goodbye (September '05) and nod his head yes (December '05)

10. It is 2006, which means that he will turn 4 this year, and start kindergarten in September! He has been in nursery school 2 mornings a week which has been tremendous for his development, and worth every penny. We weren't sure if we could afford it, but seeing the progress he has made, I am 100% sure that we couldn't afford NOT to send him.

only 10 things - I'm sure I could do 20 things or more.
He is funny, charming, silly, infuriating at times, brilliant,mischievous and 100% Mine!

I love him unconditionally, with all my heart.