He's had another birthday...

...his tenth! How could time have passed so quickly, yet it seems as though we've always had Matthew around?

Here he is--wet, chubby, and possibly happy--at about six weeks old:

And a comical poser at four years old:
Of course, I have hundreds of other pictures, both digital and in a box in the closet, but I may cry if I see any more evidence of my children growing old in the blink of an eye. So, on to current events.

Matthew is always thrilled, eager, bouncing off the walls to make a pine wood derby car. This is his second, which debuted last week. Despite its wild wheel that flew off on almost every run, Matthew was proud of his work and showed manly sportsmanship skills when his wasn't the clear champion (as he obviously believed it would be).

Last Sunday Matthew performed his piano recital to a select audience...immediate family and immediate family of piano teacher (Aunt Michelle) only. His favorite piece is Pachelbel's Canon in D, which he chose to learn after listening to George Winston's (much more complicated) rendition hundreds of times on his CD player. He hopes to play that version someday, but is satisfied for now with his simplified arrangement, along with his other favorite, the Star Wars Theme. Matthew is nothing if not well-rounded in his interests.

Sunday was also the birthday celebration day with the extended family. Matthew loves having his birthday prolonged over several days. He adorned his cake with his own Lego creations. (Someday he wants to do a blog post highlighting some of his favorite designs...he takes pictures of many of his Lego creations, just in case...of something.)

Happy Birthday to our dear, smart, cheerful, helpful, oldest son. Good job turning 10.