Video Blog

One of Matthews most recent trick is when he gets tired.  A lot of the time we let him nap in the ergo baby.  We leave it hanging off a dining room chair most of the time when not using it.  The other day, Matt crawled over, got it off the chair, dragged it over to Jamie, then crawled up and started patting her leg.  Apparently it was nap time.

Jamie took SOOO many good pictures lately that I couldn't decide on a few for a post, so it's going to be a video this time.


Baby Matt 9 months slide show from Virnig Family on Vimeo.


Jake

Guemes Island Vacation

OK, Finally getting around to posting from our Guemes Island trip.  We rented a house on the north end of Guemes Island in the San Juans.  At the last minute Elicia and Ryan could not go, so Drew, Kate and Ben joined us for the first night.  Matthew had a blast with Ben, Poppi, and all the attention.

This table had a little handle on the drawer that was loose.  Matt spent a good portion of the weekend trying to free it.

Check out Ben's new hat!

Seconds before this picture, Ben said "Ride?"  Can you guess how this is going to end?

Yep, tears.  Bonk!

It was cold so the heater was running and the cabin got kind of dry.  Giving us another great Ben moment. 

Carla playing with Matt and Ben.

Matt trying to get even for the ride.

On Friday we all headed out to the beach to play in the rocks (this is Washington, there's no sand).  Everybody had a good time playing with the little crabs and walking on the beach.

Really?  A snow suit?

We met some people on the beach who took a photo of all of us.  I think Ben was done with the beach.

Drew and Kate had to leave, so on Saturday we tried to go to Friday Harbor, but we slept in and missed the ferry, so we went down to Deception Pass State park and Anacortes.

It was a little windy.

In Anacortes GranDan took Matt shopping in the Boating store.  This looks safe.

Never leave the baby alone in a shopping basket with your new boating catalog.

Besides learning to crawl, this weekend was where he really got to using his first official "word".   Ever since we started feeding him solids, we'd coax him into eating more by saying "It's Num-Num".  Now when Matt starts to get hungry, what do we hear?  "Num-num".  

Back at the rental house we learned Matt LOVES grapes.  Everytime we'd take a break between bites, "Num-num!"

Matthew and Poppi had a lot of fun together (well, fun for Matt).

"How do I get us out there?"

VIDEO -

Matt&Poppi from Virnig Family on Vimeo.

On Sunday we packed up and headed home.  Matt got to drive a little waiting for the ferry.  Note at the end how he's careful to check the mirror.

VIDEO -

Driving from Virnig Family on Vimeo.

Until next time.

Jake

Some Random Matt stuff

Here's some stuff from before our San Juans trip that I was to lazy to get around to posting.

We went down to Alki and spent some time walking around.

Eating time!

Tub Time!

Play Time!

Bed Time!

Check out Matthew's new ride.  He's been helping me hit the good garage sales.  $1!

"Check out the cool new fish mom got me!"

A little video.

MattyComp1 from Virnig Family on Vimeo.

I'll get the rest of the San Juans video and pictures up later this week.

Jake

Crawling!

We had a great time this weekend on Guemes Island in the San Juans.  I'll post some more later, but check out what Matt perfected while we were there.


Crawling! from Virnig Family on Vimeo.

Special thanks to Ben and Poppi for providing appropriate motivation to get him moving.

Jake

Too Excited

When Matthew gets really excited lately, he tenses up all of the muscles in his body. I think it's common for babies to do, but we find it entertaining, and have made a game out of it. Ann called it "The Hulk" pose and requested video, so here you go.

Check out the purple jammies with the flower in the third clip. I refuse to take him out in public wearing that anymore, since the one time I did, 3 different people asked me how old SHE was.

For some reason there is no sound in the first 3 clips, but there is for the last one, and you really need sound to get the full effect of the belly laugh.

Jake

Midwest Vacation Part II (Minnesota)

Ok, I know I've been a little slow getting this one out there. You all know me so that should be no real surprise.

From Iowa we headed North and East up to Winona in Minnesota to see Grand Grandpa Bill. I guess he hadn't been doing to well, but he enjoyed having Matthew come visit, and got to hold him a bit.

Hanging with GrandDan in the hospital -


Matthew having fun with great Grandpa -


Great Aunt Barb met us at the hospital for our visit, and helped take some pictures of all 4 generations.


It's hard to read, but GrandDan and my shirts say "My Indian Name is Runs with Beer", Matthew's says "My Indian Name is Runs with Rootbeer".


Everybody in the picture -


While waiting to visit great grandpa the second day, we played in the park for a bit. Matthew LOVES the swings.


After visiting with great grandpa and getting him moved over to a different wing of the hospital, we headed out to the Minneapolis area to stay with Anne and Don for a few nights before we had to fly home.

Matthew got his first cold while we were in Iowa, and it made it difficult for him to sleep. Check out those crusty bat cave boogers -


We went to the Minnesota state fair on Thursday, where we met up with my mom's sisters, and some of my cousins. One thing I learned at the state fair. You can sell any type of food imaginable to fairgoers, as long as you deep fry it, and put it on a stick.

I don't think Charlene was expecting the heft of Matthew. His still outweighs his second cousin by about 2x.


Going after Corrine -


Enjoying the attention from Laura and Martha.


The excitement of the fair eventually took it's toll -


This one's for Anne. It's not quite an animal outfit, but it's the best I could find.


Matthew has a fascination with noses. Here he is picking the cow's nose.


Matthew was unimpressed with the marching band


The next day my cousin Mary came over and met up with us to head out to Como Park zoo. As a kid, Elicia and I were dragged to Minnesota many times. Not ONCE did my parents bother to take US here. What's the deal with that? That was a really cool zoo, and it was just a donation, you guys can't use the excuse it was too expensive.

Apparently there are pictures of the little Virnig kids riding the giant tortoise at this zoo. They no longer let you ride the real one, so Matt had to settle for the metal one.

Riding with Mary -

And with Anne -


One of the main attractions is the Sparky the Seal show. Here's GranDan and Matthew watching the show. This show has been going on since GrandDan was a kid, so needless to say this is not the original Sparky. I believe this is the Sparky 17 show.



They have all sorts of animals, anybody else see the resembelance?


At the zoo, Matt got his first taste of icecream cone. I'd say he liked it. Check out that bib.


Sugar crash!


That night we had a congregation of Virnigs at Anne and Don's. I didn't count, but judging form volume alone, there were over a close to two dozen. Matthew had a good time hanging with the relatives.











Anne and Don have 2 cats. One of them made the mistake of leaving a tail sticking out from under the couch. Look who got ahold of it. The cat did eventual manage to escape.




The next morning after a having breakfast with the family, we headed out to the airport for the last leg of the journey.

Finally home and headed back to baggage claim. Matthew made sure mommy knew to how to hang on to the handrail. He's no dummy, he didn't want to fall down.


It was a fun trip and it was good to see everybody, but it was good to be home after 10 days and sleep in our own beds.

Thanks to Anne and Don for letting us take over your house for a few days.

Jake