11 months old

Matthew is 11 months old now. He is eating solid foods pretty well. We gave him a pickle when we went to Snuffer's this weekend and he liked it. He also tried a piece of bread and did pretty well. He also ate a banana for the first time. I peeled it and took a bite and then he took a baby bite. He just copies whatever we do. That's a scary thought for Andy so he is trying to watch his language around him.

At the Children's Courtyard (Matthew's daycare) they moved the older kids out of his classroom and moved them into the pre-toddler classroom. Now Matthew is the oldest in his class and I think he gets a little bored without Dylan and Kalei since he has been with them from the beginning. He has one more week in his classroom and then we are switching daycares to Northway Baptist church near our house. The age group will be 1 to 2 years old. Matthew will definitely be challenged. I checked it out on Friday and I am excited to have him learn in a faith-based program. He will also be closer to the house so Andy can help out more. I'm really excited about that. But I'm sure I will be sad because I will not be able to see him on my lunch hours like I have been doing.

I know Ms. Sharon is sad to see Matthew go but she is glad that he stayed in her classroom all the way until he was ready to graduate to the 1-year old classroom. He is not walking yet but I am sure he will be in a couple of weeks. He is getting his balance better when walking and holding onto things.

This is Matthew's first art project at his first day at the Children's Courtyard - 3 months old. I remember seeing him at lunch and wondering why he had blue paint on his toenails.

Matthew is almost walking

It's hard to believe that Matthew has only been pulling himself up for a couple of weeks now.  He is able to pull up and walk around by holding on to things.  Santa gave him this toy on wheels that he likes to support himself and walk behind.  He just started doing it this weekend and now he can walk pretty far without falling.  In the video below, Matthew is glowing because he knows that he is doing something special.  There was a cracker in the bottom so Rusty was trying to get at it while Matthew played.  You can tell that Matthew enjoys Rusty.

Matthew likes to stick out his tongue while he is concentrating.

A Kiss for Valentine's Day

Matthew started kissing.  We give Matthew lots of kisses on his chubby cheeks.  He will try to give you a kiss by opening his mouth a little and pressing it towards your cheek.  It is the sweetest thing.

Here are some of Matthew's Valentines.

From Granny and Grandpa Durkin
From Nanna and Grandpa Snider
From Grandma and Grandpa Bruce
From Maria
From Matthew's girlfriend, Kat
From Mama to Dada

He's pulling himself up

Just last week Matthew started pulling himself up into a standing position.  He started by trying to get his feet under him while grabbing onto anything nearby.  He would fall back on his butt and then try it again.  A few times he would fall down and the momentum would put him on his back.  He started trying this a couple of weeks ago on our leather trunk at the end of our bed and on the shelves at daycare.  He successfully pulled himself up on Monday but I didn't get to see it until this weekend.  

No naps for Matthew

Ever since Matthew started sleeping in the night, he stopped taking naps during the day.  He used to get up around 7am and then nap after the 9:30am bottle and then again after the 3pm bottle for about 30 minutes each time.  There were 3 days this week where Matthew did not take a nap at all!  I picked him up from the daycare and he would be so tired that he would fall asleep on the ride home and then he did not want to get up- he was ready for bed.  So, I skipped the bath and just put him in bed (one night with his clothes on).  I have to say that I was a little sad to miss spending time with him in the evenings.  I'm so glad that I get to see him at lunch.  The daycare ladies try to put him down for a nap but he just won't let himself fall asleep.  I think he doesn't want to miss out on something.  

The weather has changed 50 degrees in a short time.  It was sleeting with freezing rain and 24 degrees on Wednesday.  And then on Saturday and Sunday, the weather was 75 degrees and sunny.  We went to the mall to take some pictures at studio 121.  Check them out at www.s121.com -Portraits Online -Click on Dallas Galleria store and enter BRUCE for the last name.  The password is 2991 and then the next password is bruce1 

Matthew likes to pull himself up on short steps.  He can't quite do it on tall items.

napping on daddy's belly on Sunday afternoon- he was catching up on sleep this weekend

10 months old

Matthew will be 10 months old Jan 28th.  He went to the doctor this week as a follow-up from the previous visit to make sure he did not develop an ear infection and everything was fine.  He weighs 20 lbs 14 oz and wears 18- month clothing.  He was a little fussy this week because he has two teeth coming through the gums on both sides in the back.  He seems to be teething early for the eye teeth.  We give him a sippy cup to try to convert him from the bottle but he just gnaws on the lid at this point.  

He has been swallowing the cheerios whole and gagging a few times and spitting everything up so we stopped giving him those for a little while.  He is very clingy to mom right now.  He is also clingy to his favorite daycare lady, Ms. Sharon.  He will crawl after her in the room and follow her around.  One time he was napping and she happen to walk by his crib and he got really upset that she walked away and didn't pick him up.  He has a pouty cry.  He also likes to sleep with his eyes barely open- it's funny.

He tries to sleep all night long but sometimes his teeth bother him so we have to put orajel on his gums.  We use tylenol sparingly, unless he is really hurting.  He goes to the Senior Citizen home with me on the weekends and sometimes during the week.  All the old people are smitten over him.  Some of them suffer with dimensia but the amazing thing is that a baby will trigger earlier memories and those are still in tact.  I thought one lady was faking it because one minute she was talking about her kids when they were babies and then the next minute she was not responding.  They like to comment on his tiny feet and watch him play.

Bye Bye

Matthew is doing a few new things this week.  He can wave his hand and say "ba ba ba" when you say "bye" to him.  It is so cute.  

• He can throw his toy balls while playing on the floor.  Andy was playing ball with him and he loved it.  
  
• He is sleeping all night long!  Thank God!  It's been 5 nights in a row and I just can't believe it!
• He is teething AGAIN.  This time it is his molars.  
• He is starting to pull up on objects but he has not done it successfully.  He just falls on his butt and tries again.  At this time, he does not stand up in his crib.  
• He is getting more proficient with the Cherrios.  He picks them up one a time with his index finger and thumb.  Sometimes he misses his mouth and has Cherrios stuck to his face.  

Here are a few new pictures.