Matthew Accomplishments last week:

This week has been a big one for little Matthew...

Matthew has learned to clap

and pick up his own food and feed himself this week.

I LOVE baby claps. Really, pretty much the cutest thing ever to watch a baby clap his/her chubby little hands together into a soft, silent little clap.

All of a sudden, he just did it, and got such an uproarious accolade from me and his brother, he immediately wanted to do it again and again.

A few days after that, Matthew finally learned to pick up his own food and eat it.

I have read this is a skill babies typically pick up in their 9th month, and as he is 9.5 months, I was a little anxious for him to get going, since me feeding him every mouthful of food is a little time consuming and sometimes challenging with a toddler who seems to want more of something every few minutes, causing me to get up and put Matthew's feeding on hold. Then, since we keep Michael at the table until his brother is done too (within reason...if Matthew is particularly hungry, I might spring Michael from the table a little early), Matthew gets behind and takes longer to eat and I have a toddler anxious to get down...a viscious circle indeed.

Now, I can just put food on Matthew's tray and let him dig in while I either get up and attend to other needs at the table or in the kitchen, or enjoy a meal of my own.

Matthew's skill developed fast. At lunch one day he couldn't do it, and then at dinner time, he suddenly "got it" and never looked back. By breakfast the next morning, he was shoveling food in his mouth very seriously, and with a very determined look on his face.

He greatly enjoyed all the praise he received for that one too and, being so eager to please as he is, kept smiling after each bite knowing he learned something he couldn't do before.

Congratulations, Matthew! We're proud of you, little one!