Last week at Childrens Courtyard

Matthew's new thing is pointing. He likes to jibber and then point at something, usually Rusty. Here he is pointing at daddy and daddy is pointing back.

We went out to dinner on Saturday night to Shin sei and Matthew was happy as a clam. He was a little fussy this weekend from a sinus cold and his teeth cutting through the gums, but he was happy at dinner. We were glad to have a nice night out.

This was Matthew's last week at the Children's Courtyard. The staff will surely miss him. When I picked him up on Friday, Ms Sharon started to cry because she has grown so attached to him. She has a passion for infants and Matthew loved her!

Ms. Sharon with Amelia, Matthew, Kalei, and Dylan

Baby shower 1 year ago

It's hard to believe that at this time last year I was waiting for Matthew to arrive. It seems like he has been around a lot longer than that! Maybe all the days and nights during the first 6 months make it feel like double the time.

I had a wonderful baby shower at Kristy Bowen's place. The weather was perfect and I had such a fun time. The hostesses were fabulous (especially Lori) and served sprinkles cupcakes - the fancy bakery from beverly hills.

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