Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Bruce family!

Baby's first Christmas
Andy & I celebrated our Christmas with Grammy Mary K and Grandpa Tom Durkin. They drove all the way from Michigan to spend time with baby Matthew. Shortly after they arrived, Grammy got the stomach flu. Andy, Matthew, and I had it a week earlier. Then, Matthew had a fever on-and-off for 4 days in a row. We took him to the doctor and it was just a terrible cold. On top of that, he was teething. He was in a fussy mood, especially on Christmas Eve. I went to work and Andy stayed home with the grandparents to watch Matthew and it was an exhausting day for them because Matthew was so challenging.
Thankfully, Matthew started feeling better on Christmas day. We went to the 9:30am mass and then he took a nap so we didn't open gifts until almost noon. He enjoyed playing with the new toys, especially the snow globe. Grammy and Grandpa Durkin gave him books and lots of clothes. Matthew liked playing with the socks because of the packaging. Grandma and Grandpa Bruce sent a big package and Matthew loved the drums. Pat and Mary Helen gave him a dump truck that he enjoyed. Andy & I waited to give our gifts until later because he had so many others to play with.

Of all the toys, he still enjoyed the simple things - the ornaments on the tree. Check out this video.

Andy & I feel blessed to have such a healthy baby boy. We named him Matthew because it means "gift from God". Matthew is truly a gift from above. He just turned 9 months old and it is so much fun to watch him grow and develop. He is becoming a faster crawler after some practice. He likes to eat apple sauce and rock back and forth to music in his high chair. He wakes up around 7am and goes to bed around 8pm and takes a couple of naps a day. He wears 12 - 18 month clothes right now. The funniest moment this week was when he was trying to immitate Buffy's barking. Buffy is the Durkin's cockapoo.

Our house at Christmas time - Notice Rusty on the porch and our Christmas tree in the front window

Matthew with Grammy and Grandpa just before everyone fell ill

He's Crawling

Matthew is officially mobile! We are excited but a little nervous because the house is not baby-proof yet. On Thursday, Matthew started crawling at the daycare. He was playing with a ball and then it moved so he had to go get it. It was so funny to watch. Here's a video of him crawling at home - this is his 3rd day of crawling.

8 months old

Matthew is 8 months old. He likes to scoot around on the floor and he grabs everything in sight. He can sit up on his own now.

Mama and Matthew

Like father, like son.

Matthew likes to ride around in the cart at daycare. Amelia is sitting next to him.

And he loves the exersaucer on the weekends!

Matthew volunteers at the senior citizen home once a month. He is smiling at James - Kimberly's baby.

He loves his high chair. We just put it together last week. He likes sweet potatoes much better than peas.

Happy Thanksgiving

Matthew had a great time in sunny, Victoria, Texas with grandma and grandpa Snider, aunt Lori, Uncle Mike, and great grandma "Nana." He kept everyone entertained. Everytime he clapped we all said "yeah!" He loved the attention. I will post pics as soon as I get them from the family.

Matthew took his first picture with Santa. He was surprisingly calm about the experience. He just looked him over with big eyes. This photo says it all!

Matthew's new smile showing his tongue

Matthew is teething on the top and one of his new things is to chew on his tongue. Here are a few snapshots of him showing off his tongue.

Matthew loves riding on the cart at the daycare- see his tongue?. They get them out of the classroom a couple of times during the day. Some of the kids cry when they have to get off the cart because they like it so much.

Here is Matthew playing in the bumbo seat in his big boy jeans. This was the first time he wore jeans because the weather just started to get cooler. He wears 12 - 18 month clothing at 7 months old.

Last weekend, I took a picture of him sleeping in his crib. This is the first picture that we took of him sleeping because all other times we were scared it would wake him up.
He eats at 6/7am, 9:30am, 12-noon, 3pm, 6pm, a dream feeding around 10pm, and he wakes around 1am and 4am for another feeding. If I am lucky he will only get up for the 1am feeding. He naps after the 9:30am feeding and 3pm feeding for 40 - 60 mins.

Everyone asks, "What are you feeding him because he is so pudgy?" I just comment that it's not what I am feeding him but the fact that I am feeding him all night long!

The weather was so cold last weekend that I kept his pajamas on him until noon. He was playing on the bed with his stuffed animals.

He likes to grab his toes. He will take off his socks and chew on them. But his shoes are hard to take off - Thanks Grammy for the cute robies. He gets lots of compliments on them.

As far as other noteworthy events this week, Matthew can hold his own bottle. He started doing that a few weeks ago. He likes to wiggle his thumb and watch it. He will drop toys on the floor and then look to find them. He likes to stare at my toes because of my polish. He just smiles when he stares at my feet. It's funny.
He still does not take baby food very well - he gags when you feed him anything other than a bottle. I gave him a bag of m&m's to play with and he sucked on the wrapper and had chocolate all over his mouth and face. Mama learned her lesson.

Ole Blue Eyes

Matthew has the prettiest blue eyes. A few people at his daycare comment on how beautiful they are- especially when he wears blue.

On Friday morning, I put him on his stomach on the couch and before I knew it he rolled over to his back. I was surprised and made a big deal out of it and he gave me the biggest smile.

Matthew and Ms. Sharon. She has taken care of him since he was 3 months old. She treats him like her own. She really does a fabulous job. I go over to the daycare during lunch and she is on the floor playing with the babies and singing to them. They love her!

Matthew is spending more time on the floor these days. He can scoot around and rotate in a circle. No crawling yet but I know it will be very soon.

Weekend update:

• First and foremost, the Red Raiders beat OSU on Saturday. Go Tech!
• We were outside while Andy was mowing the lawn and Matthew cried at the lawnmower. It dawned on me that this was his first time to see and hear one up close.
• Matthew started clapping his hands - it's the cutest thing!
• And M is getting another tooth but this time on the top.
• M rode in the grocery cart for the first time. He likes shopping with mama.

He likes to take off his socks and put his toe in his mouth. I will have to take a picture of that one. More to come.

Here is a video that captures the wide range of his vocals. I'm not sure how to turn this right side up. Enjoy!

Red Raider Fan

Texas Tech beat no 1 ranked UT last night in a thrilling game 39 - 33!!!!

In true spirit, Matthew is wearing red and black.

Thanks Kelly and Lori for the baby Raider gear!


Get your Guns Up!

Mirror mirror on the wall

"Mirror, mirror on the wall - Who's the cutest baby of them all?" Matthew, Of course!

This week he found himself in the mirror. It was so cute.

"Hi Mama, What are you doing in the mirror?"

He lives in his exersaucer on the weekends. Thanks to Taylor & Kristy for letting us borrow it.

I see you!

Autumn at the Arboretum

We went to the Dallas Arboretum the previous weekend and enjoyed the temperate weather. They had a pumpkin patch, beautiful flowers, and a sailboat race at White Rock Lake with a three-piece band playing the Charlie Brown theme song in the background. Matthew was adorable in his costume as a little lion cub.

Mama loves this little lion cub!

He is daddy's boy- they act just alike!

Matthew fell asleep in the stroller. This is probably the second time we actually used the stroller because he refused it for so long. The sailboats in the background were fun to watch.

Maui

We went to Maui for a week of vacation and loved it. Matthew enjoyed all the mommy and daddy time. He is becoming more observant of his surroundings; he saw birds, chickens, and fish for the first time. We took this picture at the Old Lahaina Luau. Matthew feel asleep during the luau and then we woke up to hula dancers and fire. He had the biggest eyes you have ever seen.

He had a little tugboat that we pushed around in the pool.

The beach was so relaxing

Matthew's second time in the Pacific ocean. The first was in CA. He was a little scared of the waves but he liked the sand.

What a beautiful sunset!

We hiked over to this waterfall. Keep in mind that we were wearing flip flops and carrying a baby.

Andy calls this picture "sea side dining". I am feeding Matthew here and we are sitting on a rock with a gorgeous view.

A black sand beach in Hana - too cold to get in the water

Tummy time at the hotel


Cool dudes at Cheeseburger in Paradise

Eventhough my head is cut off in this picture, I still think it is a good picture of Matthew

See the fish.

I went to the spa and when I came back, I found Matthew sleeping just like this. He was so cute.

"I went to Hawaii and all I got was this lousy Hawaiian shirt"

Summer time

On Oct 8th, Matthew had his 6-month dr appt
18 lbs 6 oz (60%)
26.5 inches (55%)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this summer.
Big smile

Tummy time

Matthew liked getting in the pool on those 100 deg days

Swim time with daddy

I'm a little ham