Sunny weekend

Sweeping the front porch in our Sunday clothes

Relaxing on the side of the pool in Mama's arms - his tooth was probably bothering him

Just hanging out

Climbing this green pole is his favorite new thing to do

Swinging with his sunglasses on

Cool Dude with his shades on

After much rain and cold weather we finally experienced a sunny, warm weekend. The temperature was in the 70's with a cool breeze and it reminds me of California weather. Matthew had a good week and we tried to make the most of the weekend with Matthew since we ran off and left him last weekend. We took him to the park near our house - his favorite past-time. He demands "Walk" and "stroller" or something that sounds similar so that we understand. And we usually drop what we are doing to accommodate Matthew since it's usually about time to get out of the house. His new thing lately is to sweep with the broom and help clean by wiping with a rag. He likes to help out and carry grocery bags inside for daddy or clean the counter for mama.

I took Matthew to an indoor aquatic center in Allen after his nap. This place was perfect for Matthew with a lazy river, hot tub, pool, and kids area with squirt guns. It was $5 for the both of us - what a deal! I was so excited to be able to swim with him. He was uneasy at first and he said "done" after we first went under water. So we sat on the bench for a little while and after he absorbed his surroundings, he was ready to swim again. He would jump into the pool into my arms and squeal with excitement. I remembered some of the swim lessons and told him to kick his feet and I was so impressed when he was doing it because last Summer he just didn't get it. He did pretty good for his first time back in the water and I hope to take him up to this indoor pool every weekend until the weather is warm enough to swim in our own pool. He really enjoyed it and it was great because he was exhausted at the end of it. Of course, Mama was too.

On Sunday, we went to church. The nursery was closed so Matthew sat with us during the service. He enjoyed the music and just sitting between Mama and Daddy. He was pretty good. I got out the snacks during the prayer right before he started to fuss. We went to Kel's diner and enjoyed a big breakfast afterwards - our family tradition lately. Matthew went to the nursing home again with me and the old ladies just sat around after Bingo and just watched his every move. It brings back positive memories of their children and they just adore him. He likes the attention, too. He blows kisses and says "bye bye" when he's ready to go.

Weekend with Nanna and Papa

Matthew playing with stickers

Andy is eating a smores near the camp fire

We held the tradition of enjoying a beer after a long day of skiing

Relaxing near the fire

Andy fell on the first day

Getting cozy by the fire

The skiers

Matthew spent the weekend with Nanna and Papa Snider at our house while Andy and I had a long weekend getaway to Colorado. I won the trip in a raffle in my office so our hotel and lift tickets were covered. We stayed at the Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek and we highly recommend it. We were able to enjoy flight benefits into Vail as well. It was our first trip away together. We missed Matthew but we certainly enjoyed our time together as a couple. We skied some on Saturday but once Andy fell and hurt his knee, we decided to take it easy the rest of the day. I went to the spa and enjoyed the steam room and massage. We went to a Chop House for a nice steak dinner and enjoyed hot chocolate by the fire. We skied hard on Sunday. While we were skiing, I noticed a breath-taking view but didn't take a picture. The sun was going down and the mountains in a distance were lit up from it. The view was amazing. It started snowing and everything was so picturesque. There was an ice-skating rink with music and lights in the trees (like a Christmas tree) with the snow falling. We were able to walk to the restaurants for dinner so that was nice. We were excited to come back on Monday and see little Matthew.

Matthew enjoyed the extra attention from Nanna and Papa. Nanna says "he was a perfect little angel and didn't shed a tear" They took him to the park several times with Rusty. Matthew was going up and down the slide and having so much fun. Nanna entertained Matthew with a moose puppet "Bullwinkle" by getting behind the chair and putting on a show. He thought that was funny. He comes out of his playroom with bullwinkle on his hand. He loves to play hide and seek too. When he hides from Papa he says "poo poo". Nanna says "He's just the cutest thing. He is talking up a storm."

In order to get Matthew to leave the park Papa told him they had to go home and get popcorn. When they came back to the house he was looking for popcorn. He's a smartie. Matthew and Papa are a team. He didn't want Nanna to go to the park with him Monday morning. He put up his hand and said "no, Nanna, no". I gave my parents some projects to work on in their spare time since we always have to-dos around the house. Papa worked on a couple of projects and Matthew was right there in the middle of it. Papa took him to Lowe's to get screws and when they came out, Papa was carrying Matthew and Matthew was carrying the box of screws. Matthew said "skews". He repeats everything you say.

Matthew has a little sticker book he enjoys playing with. He had stickers all over his face. They took him to the yogurt place where Matthew ate almost all of Nanna's yogurt. He loved it! They also went to Whole foods for some groceries where Papa and Matthew found the free sample of grapes. They bought a little container and Matthew ate them all. He crammed them in his mouth as fast as he could trying to keep Papa from getting one. The grapes kept Matthew regular so he was a happy camper although Nanna was having to change lots of poopy diapers.

The weather was rainy on Sunday and Monday and Matthew learned the word Umbrella. I was shocked to hear him say it the other day. He is saying new words all the time.

The funniest event of the weekend was when Papa and Nanna locked themselves out of the house on our balcony. Matthew likes to sit outside just before bedtime to see the airplanes at Love Field. We received a call from Papa and we were able to get a hold of our neighbor to let them back in the house. Matthew was bundled in a blanket and sleeping on Nanna. Thank goodness Papa had his cell phone to call us. It was funny to hear how they were going to get back in the house. Papa talked about jumping off the balcony into the pool because the back door was open or trying to open a window that was unlocked. They were worried they couldn't fit through the window and they would make headlines as "Grandparents stuck in window while stuck on Balcony". They talked about calling the fire department for a latter or just yelling for help to see if the neighbors would come out of their homes and hear them. LOL

What's your name

Daddy playing This Little Piggy went to the Market

Matthew swinging with Arden

Matthew started something new this week. I would ask "What's your name?" and he responds "Matthew" He sounds so cute when he says it. He also points at his baby pictures and says "baby Matthew". He is learning new words all the time. We have not seen too many temper tantrums in a while so we are enjoying this phase so far. He still has a couple of teeth left to go but he is a happy kid most of the time.

We enjoyed Mimi and Papa visiting from Michigan. They played with Matthew a couple of mornings and took him to daycare a little later. It was a big help for me because I usually have an hour commute a few times a week when I take Matthew to daycare. Mimi and Papa cooked dinner every night and ran errands for us. Matthew still says "Mimi" when he comes home from school.

We had beautiful weather on Sat and Sun. The sun was shining and it hit 70 degrees at one point. It was such a nice break to all the overcast, snow, and cold days we have been experiencing (unusual winter weather for Texas). I went to a bridal shower on Saturday while Andy took Matthew to the YMCA to play while he worked out. We ate dinner at Pappadeaux's and Matthew did pretty well.

On Sunday, we dropped off Matthew in the nursery while we went to mass. The lady in the nursery had 15 kids and she was the only one there. I asked if she needed help and she took me up on it. The parents just kept dropping off more kids so I swear there were 20 kids in there with just us two. I was overwhelmed on how to play with all these kids of ages 6 months to 5 years old. I started reading a book and some kids gathered around. Matthew was clinging to me. One kid smelled like poop so I picked him up to change his diaper and Matthew threw a big fit. So I had to pick up Matthew and carry him around most of the time and just tell the other lady that she needed to change him. One girl had to go to the potty and I had Matthew on my arm while trying to pick her up and put her on the toilet. I wasn't quite sure what I was doing since Matthew isn't at that stage yet but I just let her lead. Needless to say, I was exhausted after only 1 hour in that nursery. I was just laying around the rest of the day!

Valentine Parties and Visit from Mimi and Papa

Playing with Mimi and Buffy

Wagon rides around the house

Hi Papa

Matthew had a good week. His class had a valentines party on Monday that was rescheduled from Friday. He also went to a party at the senior citizen home where he hammed it up with the seniors. He wore a red turtleneck and a sweater vest that made him look very handsome. He was giving everyone high 5's. When I would sing "Happy and you know it" he would give the biggest grin and do the motions. The seniors loved it!

The olympics were on tv every night and Matthew picked up some of Andy's habits. Andy would yell at the tv "Go, Go" or "Oh, no" and put his hand on his forehead. Matthew would copy and do the same. It was so funny. Andy couldn't believe how much Matthew copies his every move.

Mimi and Papa came into town on Friday. Matthew said "Hi Mimi" when he saw them. He is enjoying the extra attention. He will bring over books to Papa and show him his "choo choo". He started taking his train track apart and putting it back together. He likes to tell Rusty to sit and hold his hand in the sign. We also started playing hide and seek from Rusty. Matthew squeals when Rusty finds us. Matthew has been refusing to sit in his high chair because he likes to sit in a regular chair with the booster seat. He also started something new tonight where he would tease Rusty with some bread and then pull back and tell him no. He was really giggling at that activity.

The weather warmed up into the 70's today but we are supposed to have snow again on Tuesday.

The blizzard of 2010

What a week! The snow started falling Thursday morning and it didn't stop until late that night. There was 12 inches of snow by the time it was over! I was excited to see the snow when I woke up Thursday and I showed it to Matthew. He was repeating "snow" and he was a little in shock at first since this was the first time for him to see it lately (the first time he was 9 months old on a ski trip but he doesn't remember it)

After Matthew ate breakfast and dressed, we played in the snow outside. I was getting excited putting on his shoes and I squealed a little and Matthew let out a big squeal. He loves to go outside and check out new things. He enjoyed walking on it. He said "match, match" as he pointed to the trees. He is learning when things look similar, they are a match. He was probably talking about the trees looking a like because the snow covered the branches.

On Friday, Matthew's daycare was closed because everyone thought the roads would ice over. However, it turned out the roads were not bad - just slushy. Our electricity went out in the middle of the night and when we woke up on Friday, the house was starting to feel cooler. Andy immediately shoveled the walkway and the neighbor's walkway to prevent it from icing over. We went to eat breakfast since some areas near us had power/heat. As soon as we came back home, we built a snowman. We started a fire but we couldn't really get warm unless we were wrapped in blankets. After Matthew took his nap, we went to the mall and enjoyed some tex-mex. Matthew was having a great time hanging out with mama and daddy. At one point, he was walking between Andy and I and he was holding each of our hands and he just looked up and smiled.

Our electricity came back on Friday evening around 7pm. We were so glad. You never realize how much you need it until it's gone. The snow weighed down the tree limbs that ultimately fell on power lines. There were 200,000 people in Dallas without power on Friday. The rest of the weekend, we enjoyed the heat and just relaxed at home. The snow started to melt Saturday and our snowman was almost gone Sunday night. It sounded like rain because all the snow was melting and dripping off the roof.

Potty Time

We officially introduced Matthew to the potty at home this weekend.  The teachers at school have worked with him for the past couple of weeks but no pee in the potty so far.  We put his little blue potty next to the toilet in our downstairs bathroom.  Matthew gave a big smile when we would sit on the toilet at the same time that he was sitting on his potty.  He likes to take off his clothes and sit there for a minute but then he says "all done" and he is ready to go play.  He tries to put things in his potty because I think he is not quite sure what is supposed to go in there.  For example, he put his socks and then another time he put his diaper in it.

Matthew had a good week at school.  He made the cover of his school's newsletter.  His teachers are just smitten over him.  Ana Paula came over and babysit for us a couple of days this week since I had bookclub on Wed and Andy was out of town for work.  And then Friday we went to a Maverick's game.  Matthew loves Ana Paula and he usually never cries when she comes over but lately he has been more attached to mama than usual.  He screams "mama" and puts on a big crying fit when he hears knocks at the door because he is afraid Mama is going to leave him.  Ana Paula has been teaching him spanish and Matthew is picking it up.  Now mama and daddy need to learn spanish so we can keep up with Matthew.

The weather in Dallas has been chilly with temperatures in the 40's and 50's but the wind makes it feel colder than normal.  It's also been raining a lot this past week.  Winter is almost over in Texas so it will be nice when the weather warms up in the next couple of weeks (we hope).  

Who's the boss?

Hi Mama, I'm cute and I know it

Look at me

Twisting and turning in the chair - how fun!

Matthew actually said "stuck" at this point

Riding the train with Daddy in the mall

Matthew is pointing to the mechanical animals in Rainforest cafe

Matthew's personality is coming out more as he is able to talk more.  I will get one of his backyardagan songs stuck in my head and start singing it and Matthew will say "Mama, shhh"  for me to stop singing.   It's funny to see.  And he likes to say "Mama, come, choo choo" and "Mama, come sit" while he pats the chair or his riding horse rody.  Every night, I give him a bath and we read several books.  Then I take him on to the balcony "banc" where I sing twinkle, twinkle little star and point at the stars and moon.  We can also look into the neighbor's yard so Rusty will come with us to see what's going on with the dogs next door.

On Tuesday night, Matthew started running a fever so I took him to the doctor Wed morning.  They checked his ears and it looked like a possible ear infection so they gave him antibiotics.  I was not feeling well myself with a cough so I stayed home Wed and Thurs with Matthew.  He started to act like himself on Thursday evening so he went to school on Friday.  Luckily, Matthew did not get the stomach bug that is going around or the swine flu.  The dr tells me that the swine flu will peak again in Feb and March.  Great.

Matthew and I enjoyed our time together at home.  We went to Bachman lake while waiting for his prescription at be fulfilled and he loved watching the planes land at Love field.  He also saw some ducks, kayaks with SMU rowing teams, and cyclists/runners.  He enjoyed being outside for a little bit.  And he really enjoyed the strawberry milk shake that I splurged on him.  

We were able to go to dinner Friday night to Campisi's.  That's always a nice treat after a work week.  Earlier that day, Matthew got a "bobo" above his lip because he was spinning around in circles at school to get dizzy and then he fell and hit a table on the way down.  The school said that he cried at first but everything was fine after a minute or so.  He was probably more scared than anything.

On Saturday we headed to Grapevine Mills mall.  Matthew liked getting out of the house.  When I would go into the dressing room to try on some jeans, Matthew would take off his shoes and socks mimicking me.  If he could take off his pants, he would have.  It was so funny because I went into the dressing room 3 different times and Matthew seemed to enjoy it since it was something new to him.   Matthew was a little scared of the alligator and snake at rainforest cafe but he was intrigued.  He really enjoyed the ride on the train with Daddy.  He didn't want to leave.  But he feel asleep in the car as soon as we were out of the parking lot.

When we arrived at the house, we had a hard time getting him to take a nap in his bed since we woke him up to get him out of the car.  I took him out of the crib and let him play because he seemed rested and ready to play.  But he was fussy and crying over every little thing so we put him back in the bed to take a longer nap.   He really fights taking naps with loud screams.  The terrible 2's are upon us.

Ana Paula came over to babysit for us Saturday night so we could go to dinner and catch a movie.  Matthew was still a little fussy and cried when Mama left.  He usually doesn't cry at all when AP comes over.  He kept it up on and off for a little while when we were gone but then out of the blue he just starts giggling and having a good ole time.  

On Sunday, he slept in until 8am.  It was wonderful!  We did the usual - took a walk to the park, ate grilled cheese and soup for lunch, played at home, and visited the senior citizen home.  We missed church because we woke up too late.  Taylor and Kristy and their 2 yr old, Arden, came over Sunday evening to play and hang out.  Matthew didn't want to share his toys.  He kept saying "mine" but he eventually warmed up to the idea of a playmate.  When they walked in, Matthew was screaming "Mama" with tears running down his face because Andy was trying to play with him for a while.  It was a big tantrum and they said "It isn't anything we haven't seen before"  I just laughed.