Matthew Thomas Simnitt the first. He is my brother, my favorite brother, in fact. I'm so lucky- I get to have a favorite brother and a favorite sister, but he better not have a favorite sister. Anyway, Matt is 19 today and is officially a... man? Man?! Little Matty, a man? I object. I don't know if I'll ever be able to think of my little brother as anything other than that- a little brother. Matt has turned out remarkably normal for having two older sisters that like to tease and embarrass. Let me take a moment and indulge in sharing some of my favorite memories of Matt as a wee lad.
*You know how most babies look like aliens, but you try and make the mom feel good about bringing the little thing into the world and so you say it looks cute? Well, no one had to lie about Matt being a cute baby. He honestly was the cutest baby I've ever seen. He had big dark brown eyes and the cutest smile. People would always tell me and Erin how cute our little brother was. To a three year old, that got old pretty quickly. Hello! I'm cute too! Matt is kind of a miracle child. He came into the world against great odds and has excelled since then. Matt was walking all over the place by the time he turned one and was talking with an extensive vocabulary not long after that. His greatest accomplishment as a baby? We taught him how to throw his own diapers away in the trash. Two points!
*Matt has always liked music. My dad has done an excellent job in preparing Matt for his future encounter with Peter at the pearly gates. According to Papa Bob, you'll be asked a question about classic rock before you're allowed to enter into heaven. Matt sang his little heart out in school choirs and Erin and I used to hear him sing some holiday favorites while in the shower. "Christmas cookies and holiday hearts; that's the way the holiday starts!" Sure this is cute when you're little, but when he was singing it at the age of 11... well my friends, that's grounds for blackmail. I don't think we ever actually used it as blackmail, but had a good time bringing it... and still do!
*Right before we moved to Boise, we stayed for a couple weeks with our family friends the Seavers while my dad looked for a house in Idaho. Matt was in heaven while we were there. James Seaver, just a couple years younger than Matt, was like the brother Matt never had. Finally Matt had someone to play legos with, and... well, whatever else little boys do. The best part, though, takes a little background explaining. The entire time we lived in Orem and I was friends with Jenni Seaver, I don't think I ever once saw James (then known as Big Guy) in normal clothes. Instead, he sported onesie outfits that resembled pajamas or a Halloween costume. These outfits were a single piece of material that had a vertical slit in the back so that you could step into the outfit, and then there was a tie string at the top near the neck. These outfits varied in what they portrayed from Power Rangers to Spiderman. Being the immediate friends that they had become, Matt naturally wanted to wear these costumes too. Remember, however, that Matt is 3 years James' senior and was quite a bit bigger than James. That didn't stop him from wearing James' clothes, though. Permanently seered into my memory is the image of Matt in a much too small Power Rangers costume with a bare back, ankles, and wrists.
Matt has always been a little sweet heart. He's the peace maker in our family and has put up with two crazy teenage sisters who made that job a hard one. He is witty and smart, talented and genuine. Happy, happy birthday, Matthew dear! I love you!
