What can I say? 2009 is shaping up to be anything but dull. Most of you know my wonderful Mom was diagnosed with a recurrence of Ovarian Cancer back in January. However, she is doing just great! The cancer has showed no spread and we're just trying to schedule her surgery, which should be much easier than the one 2 years ago. And she should be very strong again in time to celebrate Matty's 1st birthday later this month. Mom's recurrence on the heels of my friend's passing in December got me fired up to start a Relay for Life team to benefit the American Cancer Society. I am having a great time raising money for my team and planning for the big event in May. (Shameless plug in case anyone is interested in making a donation who has not already http://main.acsevents.org/goto/lesliebrowning) And MANY THANKS to those of you who have contributed already. Thanks to your generous donations, our team is currently ranked #2 out of 40 teams at our Relay and we're more than 70% of the way to our goal of $5,000. I truly could not be more appreciative of the support for this cause.
Matty is doing just great and growing like a weed! He is becoming such a big boy as he approaches toddlerhood. Even in his face, I swear he is looking less like a baby and more like a little boy all the time. It's fascinating to watch, and well, his parents simply fall more deeply in love with him every day! We're still struggling to get his ear infections under control. He has been on 4 antibiotics since early December. We were told Thursday by the Pediatric ENT that his ears were still very infected and that tubes would be absolutely necessary. He believes Matty has a rare strain of ear infection that is antibiotic resistant. Ironically, I'd actually read about that a while ago and began to suspect myself. Matty's surgery (their word, not mine) is scheduled for March 9 and then hopefully this adventure will be behind us once and for all! Matty officially graduates from the Infant Room to the Wobbler Room on Monday! He's been transitioning for a few weeks, going a few hours a day and gradually increasing his time there. He gets to move up with 2 other classmates, one of whom, Patrick, is his little partner in crime! It's been a little adjustment for him, as he is very attached to his Bonding Teacher, Mrs. Webb. I'm attached to her too! She even told me when I gave her a ride home recently that she had requested to move up to be with Matty, but was told she couldn't at this time. We've been blessed to have such a wonderful teacher for him. But Wobblers will be great, he eats in the cafeteria with the other kids and now has a brand new room and brand new toys and things to explore!
In early February we celebrated Ben's low-key but nonetheless happy birthday! I was hoping to take him out for a special grown up dinner but we can't seem to break ourselves from nights in as a threesome! It's simply the best!
Matty and I have been traveling a good bit since I last wrote. We went to Winston-Salem to see Aunt Jen, Kevin and Hud for Jen's birthday in January. We had a great long weekend there just vegging out and spending time together. Matty decided that Sugar's crate was just perfect for him. He quickly wanted out once he wandered in, but I said, "Hey, Buddy, don't do the crime if you can't do the time!" He and Huddy are getting to be big buds. H is so good with him and I can't wait to see how Matty learns more and more at his feet as the years go on.
After Mom was released from the hospital and had had a little time to recover, Matty and I went to Highlands to give her some good Matty-lovin' time. It's hard to be scared or apprehensive when you're watching Matty tear into the house at every turn! It was cold and drizzly all weekend but we had fun playing indoors. Matty found the basket of DVDs and it was the best treasure ever. He threw them all on the floor and then started to put them all back. Except for "The Thomas Crowne Affair," he spent a while hanging onto that one. (insert awkward laughter here.)
Matty's friend Jake turned 1 this week! His party was on Saturday (on his Daddy, Brian's, birthday) and it was so much fun! Lots of friends came out to celebrate, including Brenden and Lily. Matty loved playing with Jake's toys and trying new yummy foods like sausage cheese balls and cupcakes. He loved his party favor, a pail and shovel. We're ready for summer now!
So typical for the south that we've had no snow all winter and here on the first day of March, we have snow! When Matty woke from his (brief) morning nap, we looked outside to see the snow coming down! Big fat gorgeous flakes! We only stayed outside long enough to snap a few pictures...it was cold! 
And I just cannot close this latest update without showing off our newly painted kitchen! I'm as excited as I could be! You've seen our kitchen, it needed a little makeup quite badly. For as much time as we spend in there, it's been my least favorite room. I could easily keep my 30 year old oven and cabinets for years and years now that we've added a pop of color to the room! Amazing what a coat of paint can do!
Matty's first Christmas was nothing short of a spectacle! The presents, my god, the presents! Santa was quite generous this year as was the rest of his family and friends. We have one very lucky boy on our hands and believe me, we know it. Mama O and Daddy O rolled into Atlanta in their over-packed sleigh on Christmas Eve and we had the most wonderful visit! Matty received an awesome all-terrain Radio 
The rest of our Christmas break was spent just hanging out together, some days we didn't even leave the house. It was heaven. It started with Mimi and Bop coming for the weekend and our Atlanta Family Christmas which was wonderful. Matty got to have a nice 