Playing with Dylan

Matthew gets excited to go to daycare.  He wiggles his whole body with excitement when I drop him off in the mornings.  Dylan is a few months older but they tend to play the most together.  Here are some pictures of them playing last week.

Just this week Matthew started crying when I leave the daycare.  I feel awful leaving him crying but the second I disappear, he is fine.  He is going through a phase right now.  I read that I should leave quickly so that seems to be the right thing to do eventhough I would rather just stay and hold him tight.  He has 4 teeth on the top and 2 teeth on the bottom with 2 new ones coming in on the bottom.  

Over the weekend, we went to the senior citizen home and volunteered.  The old people just love Matthew.  He really brings out the best in them.  They smile at him and try to get him to clap.  

As far as new things, he does not stand up in his crib, yet.  That will probably happen soon.  Thank goodness we lowered the crib just in case.  He likes to make little noises with his mouth by making a kissing noise.  He also reaches his arms out for me to pick him up.  

Mikee likes it!

Do you remember the commercial for Life cereal and the kids were wondering if Mikee would eat it.  After they watched him try the cereal for the first time, the kids were surprised that "Mikee likes it".  We had the same experience with Matthew this weekend.  We put some Cherrios in front of him while we went to Bob's Steak house to celebrate Andy's birthday.  He used his fingers to pick them up one by one, tasted it, and he liked it!  He probably ate 20 before the night was over.  We were impressed!

He tried mashed potatoes and gagged so we will have to practice more on those later.  We crushed up carrots and gave him a little bite but I don't think they made it in his mouth.  It was great to go out for a nice dinner and we are glad he cooperated.  The night before we tried to go to Cantina Loredo mexican restaurant near his bedtime and we ended up getting the food to go because he was so fussy.  We are learning as we go.

9 month doctor visit

Matthew went to the doctor on Wednesday for his 9 month checkup and immunizations. Here are his stats:
Weight 20 lbs 7 oz; 45%
Height 271/2 inches; 30%
Head Circumference 18 1/2 inches; 95%

The doctor gave me advice on transitioning Matthew from a liquid diet to a solid diet. We are going to introduce Cheerios, mashed potatoes, and peas this weekend. He really likes applesauce and prunes but he hates pureed peas - he just gags. The doctor also told me to stop feeding Matthew during the night so next week we will have to let him cry it out to adjust his feedings. Right now, he wakes up around 12-midnight and 4am to feed. I am looking forward to a night of sleep but I hate letting him cry it out.

He had some fluid in his ears so the doctor prescribed an antiobiotic to treat it so that it doesn't escalate into a big ear infection. Matthew had a prick on his toe for an iron test and he passed that - good news. He didn't even cry! He also had 2 vaccines and he cried after those.

Matthew does not have stranger anxiety but he certainly has an attachment to me. He loves the bath so we make sure to give him extra time to enjoy his bath. We read him a bedtime story before putting him to bed and he is liking that more and more. He really listens to every word that we say and watches our mouths when we talk.

Happy New Year!

Matthew rang in the new year by playing with his toys and hanging out with granny and grandpa Snider. We had company on and off through the holidays and Matthew was so excited to be the center of attention. He would wake up every morning ready to play. 

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.