My Matt

I am so lucky to have five special, unique and different children. I love and adore them all. I could write a novel about each one, but this post will be about Matt. Aka: Matt Matt, Matthew, Midnight Matt or simply My Matt. It seems appropriate that I can call him 'mine' since I am his mother, but I also picked out his name. I always loved the name Matt. I think every Ken doll I owned growing up was named Matt at least a dozen times. When we found out we were having two boys, we picked out the names Josh and Matt. But we were still stuck with the dilemma of who should be who? The minute he was born, I knew I gave him the right name, which can be tough when you have twins.

Matt is my little buddy. He loves to be with me. He gives me the kindest, most sincere compliments and he brightens my life each and every day. He's a lovable and sweet kid and he keeps me on my toes! You just never know what that kid will do or say. Every time he starts talking I wish I had a pad of paper so I could jot down all his cute phrases or ideas. That brain of his just functions on overdrive 24/7.

I love the things he says. Yesterday as he was getting ready for school he said, "I can't wait for Christmas Mom. I just love that Holly, Jolly Christmasie feeling I get." I do too. The past two Saturdays we had some 'special' time. This means he and I go somewhere alone (or with the girls, because he says the girls don't really count yet) and spent time together. I don't know how long he will treasure these moments, but I hope it lasts forever because I adore being with him, holding his hand, picking out this and that with him by my side. It makes me happy. He happily runs here and there and I try to reward him with a treat for his patience, but I know just being together is the prize he desires. If only every thing were that easy.

I love his honesty. The other day Matt informed me he currently has three crushes. This means he thinks a girl is pretty, but would never want her to find out how he feels. When I came to lunch this week, he brought over one of his lady loves, Hiba, to eat on our table. It was so cute to see him walking just behind her, slightly embarrassed since he was bringing a girl I knew he liked. As he got close he whispered to me her name, trying to convey who she was without making a scene. We had a fun time chatting and eating and spending a bit of time together and I was happy Matt was comfortable enough to bring her over. Oh, how I hope it will be so simple when he is 16!
Matt is so creative. The minute I bought a digital camera, I knew it was a wise purchase. Now I could properly document, per Matt's request, all of his cities, battles, creations and inventions on film.

Matt loves to make projects. Last Saturday he and I ran to Hobby Lobby for a few items. As were checked out the discounted Halloween bins, we found this awesome build a spider kit. He was thrilled when I told him we could get it. He happily exclaimed, "Man, I just feel like I want to craft my head off!" It was so funny. Then he followed it up by stating, "Sometimes I think I am a tomboy." Ah, not quite, but all I could do was laugh!

There at the store he also saw this cool shiny jeweled spider pin. Matt told me it was so neat. I said we could get it since it was marked down to $2.99. He said that it was a bit girlie, so maybe I should buy it and wear it. I agreed. As we waited in line, I could tell he was pondering something. He said, "Maybe Mom, I should keep the pin and then when I date a girl and fall in love and I know that she is the one I should marry, then I could give her this pin that I saved just for her. Would she like that?" Who wouldn't love that?!

He loves to learn. I went to parent teacher conference last week and his teacher said he knew more about the election than any other child. I glad she didn't go into details, thus sparing me what might have come out of his mouth (not that I said bad things about the candidates, but you never know!). She said he was the only child that knew names of the 2 parties and who Joe Biden is. I did recall him telling me a story about Oprah and Obama the other night and how he thinks they might be in love, so Mrs. Belcher's news should not have been a surprise. He just loves gathering facts and sharing bits and pieces at random times, which always keeps me entertained.

He loves discovering and finding new things. As we walk along his eyes are constantly scanning the ground for a treasure, and he never is disappointed. He has eagle eyes for shiny and cool objects. He can see magic in everyday things. To him, he can see their potential for greatness. He can envision how a seed could be a perfect cannon ball, how broken chain link could be a wonderful hook and how a lid could be a useful building material. I love it.
He is the only child I know, or have ever known, to pick flowers for his mom everyday. And that simply makes me the luckiest Mom in the world. That is a fact. The boys walk home from school with their friends every Wednesday. This Wednesday, the girls and I patiently waited on the porch for them to arrive. In the distance we saw Matt running towards home far ahead of the others. He had his jacket on falling off of one shoulder and a bulky backpack weighing him down. In his left hand he carried a large sack loaded with 5 rolls of wrapping paper I had purchased from a school fundraiser. He ran to me and extended his right hand. There carefully protected in his fist were three dandelion heads, two small purple flowers and a stem of white blossoms. My heart melted. He just knows how to win me over, every single day. This picture was taken was on Election day. The boys had the day off from school. As they rode their scooters over to the clubhouse, Matt stopped to pick me some new flowers.
Matt loves collecting. It doesn't matter the value, size, or condition of the object, he loves them all. He brought this 'elephant' leaf home yesterday. He told me it would be a perfect fall decoration. It is proudly on our front table next to our Mayflower. It is perfect. And this post would not be complete until I have documented "THE FAKE OUT" as Matt called it. The other night I came into the boys room to make sure they were all asleep. I glanced at Matt's bed, then to Josh and then moved my eyes up to Trey's top bunk. There I saw this.Matt Deep in sleep next to Trey.I had to see what was filling his bed. Interesting. It seems that he's been watching some TV shows that teach you how to be sneaky....When we woke up he asked me, "Did you see the 'Fake Out'?" Yup. I even had photographic evidence.

So there you have it. A few bits and pieces of My Matt. Man, I am lucky he is mine. Very lucky indeed. I love you bud. Thanks for brighten my life and soul. Every single day!!