Fall weekend -Football tailgate, Concert, and pumpkin patch

SMU Tailgate with Arden

Picking out a pumpkin

Pumpkin patch

The weather is cooling off and Fall is finally here in Texas. I had a dr's appointment on Friday so I was able to pick up Matthew earlier than usual. We stopped by a few stores on our way home and Matthew enjoyed the halloween store. I was surprised that the scary sales people didn't phase him. We made it home but Matthew was just about to blow a fuse when we pulled up into the driveway. I bribed him with a cookie from our purse and a few other treats but his patience had reached the limit and he was ready to eat. Lately he only cares to eat peanut butter and jelly. He says "how about peanut butter and jelly". He climbs up on the counter and wants to do everything himself - get the bread out of the bag, spread the peanut butter and then jelly, and put the two pieces of bread together. He will climb down from the counter and then carry his plate to the table.

Andy went to workout Saturday morning so Matthew and I just hung out around the house. Matthew woke up right before Andy left so he was happy to see him. We played with his puzzle match game that matches the spanish colors with objects of the same color. Matthew surprised us by saying all of his colors in english and spanish. Andy and I didn't even know that!

At 11am, we headed to our neighbor's 3rd birthday party where they had a bounce house. Matthew was moody and shy and didn't want to get into the bounce house at first. Andy ended up getting inside there with him and then Matthew warmed up to the idea. Matthew climbed on the hammock and ended up falling off with a minor bump on the head. The black eye was still there from the prior week. This didn't help his mood. After the cake, Matthew was more willing to walk around on his own and play with a ball. He didn't talk much at the party but later he would say "happy birthday Samantha".

We took our usual 2-hour nap and then headed to the SMU tailgate. Matthew rode on Andy's shoulders. He played with Arden and threw the football around. Arden gave him some biscuit and Matthew ended up chomping on her finger in the process. She cried a little but Matthew would not say he was sorry. He still talks about that incident.

Ana Paula came over to babysit shortly after. Andy and I changed clothes quickly and then headed to the Cattle Barron's ball at Southfork ranch. We listened to Jack Ingram in concert and enjoyed the food. We decided to cut out early because we knew that Matthew would get us up early the next morning so we missed the performance by Alan Jackson. It was a good decision because Matthew was up around 6:00am on Sunday. Andy yelled "go back to bed, Matthew, it's too early" and that seemed to work for 30 more minutes.

Andy's allergies were bothering him and he was feeling ill throughout the night so I offered to get up and tend to Matthew and let Andy sleep in. Matthew and I went to breakfast to get out of the house. Matthew was in the best mood and just talking up a storm. All the wait staff commented on him. He was asking the waitress her name... he wasn't shy at all! We took a walk and then took Rusty to the park. Several months ago we went to the park and we ate peanut butter crackers while sitting at the picnic table. Matthew asked for peanut butter crackers again when we saw that same picnic table. I was amazed that he would remember that.

Around 10am, Andy joined us at the park. By this point, I felt like we had a full day of activities! We played around the house and then took our naps shortly afterwards. We headed to the pumpkin patch near our house. Matthew picked out a couple of pumpkins and we put them on our porch. I also bought a fall wreath for the door. Matthew and I made a pumpkin with construction paper during our arts and crafts time. He was really proud of his artwork and showed it to daddy.

Talkative Matthew

Matthew using playdoh for the Bruce family: Mama, Daddy, Matthew, Rusty

Matthew's "happy face"

Matthew is talking more and more these days. His teachers are teaching him manners so he will say "May I please have some more" and "thank you" and "you're welcome". He is quite amusing with some of the things that he says. Anytime I come into the house with a bag, Matthew asks "Mama, what you got?" He will talk about his friends at school and tell us a few words about his day. When I come home in the evenings he tells me to "take off shoes, mama" to make sure I am going to stay a while.

For Oct 2nd weekend, we enjoyed the cooler weather. I took Matthew to the Galleria to play in the play area because he was jumping on our furniture at home. The Red River Rivalry was in town so the mall was decorated with UT and OU balloons and they had a drum line playing in the mall, too. Matthew enjoyed that. I was hoping to get his picture made in the mall but the picture place was closed. I was a little productive at the mall and bought hand soap from Bath and Body Works to last us 4-5 months! You can tell that I am going through a nesting phase right now.

Matthew took a late nap on Saturday and didn't wake up until 6pm. He woke up grumpy and fussy - just the opposite from his usual mood after a nap. We put him in the Yukon and headed to dinner. He was throwing a temper tantrum to even get into the car and he was yelling and crying nearly the entire ride. Andy and I both debated on turning around and just eating at home. We couldn't figure out why he was being so difficult. Once we made it to the BBQ restaurant, Andy put Matthew on his shoulders and that seemed to calm him down. We ordered the food and once Matthew got the food in his belly, he was the happiest toddler. I guess that was the problem. He loves corn and he ate grilled cheese and some of the pulled pork. He doesn't like chicken but he likes pork. After dinner we treated ourselves to frozen yogurt. Matthew was dancing to the music in the yogurt shop. His mood was so different from before.

We went to church on Sunday and Matthew cried when we dropped him off at the nursery. This was the first time he did that in a long time. He has been crying when we drop him off at school in the mornings, too. But as soon as we leave, he is playing and "having fun with friends". He is always in the best mood when we pick him up from school so we know he enjoys it. Plus, they have a tumbling hour at school that Matthew really likes on Tuesdays.

We let Matthew play on the playground after church and he enjoyed that. We bought tamales from a church fundraiser and headed home. As soon as we arrived at the house, Matthew wanted to play outside. He was on his tricycle on the deck and I asked if he wanted me to move it to the ground so that he could ride it there. He liked the idea and when he tried to get off the tricycle, he lost his balance and fell down the deck steps - hitting his head on the edge of one of the steps. I was standing right there but just couldn't catch him in time. When I picked him up, I noticed a little bump on his temple and scratch. We put ice on it right away. The next day it looked worse as the bruising started to show more - it was a black eye. At school, he liked the attention and told his teachers "look at my shiner". He told them the story about falling off his bicycle and onto the steps.

Matthew "helped mama" make pumpkin muffins. He enjoyed mixing the bowl and cracking the eggs. In the evening, we delivered some to the neighbors and Matthew enjoyed that, too. At night, he likes to read books to me. He says "mama, listen". He can read Goodnight moon, Shake a Leg, Potty book, Polar bear, and Barnyard Dance. He has almost every word memorized. Sometimes he likes for me to read and he will say "mama, talk". The bedtime routine is his favorite time of the day. He takes a leisurely bath and then does a little tumbling on the guest bed in his room. After that, he reads stories and then I finally get him into bed around 9:30pm. We start the routine at 8pm!

First trip to the Texas State Fair

Eating Fletcher's Corndogs

Big Tex - "Howdy Folks!"

Nanna and Papa came into town last weekend. On Friday night, Andy was hoping to do some tailgating at the SMU game with Matthew before the big TCU SMU game. But by the time Andy and Matthew got their hair cut, the game was about to start. Andy went to the game with Taylor and Kristy while Matthew and I stayed home. Since my parents were coming into town, Matthew and I took a stroll to the grocery store. Matthew rode in one of those grocery carts with the toddler car attached and he loved it. We would go down the aisles and he would "help mama" with the groceries by putting things in the basket. We typically don't take him to the grocery store and when we do, we put him in the grocery cart where he can't walk around. So he was loving this trip. The toy car attached to the buggy was pink and Matthew will bring it up out of the blue - "Pink" and I know what he is referring to.

We were also planning to go to the fair Saturday morning but that didn't happen because it rained so much. Instead, we went shopping at Grapevine Mills Mall. Matthew rode the carousel and we bought Matthew some new shoes and clothes. We arrived back at the house in time to watch the rest of the Arkansas vs Alabama game. Most of us took a good nap but Papa was glued to the game and unfortunately his team (Ark) lost it at the end. We headed to the fair on Saturday evening but after driving around and looking for a parking place for nearly 10 minutes, we decided to come back on Sunday morning when it wasn't so crowded and when it wasn't so close to Matthew's bedtime - Genius idea!

We went out to eat dinner and Matthew did very well. He especially liked the sopapillas with honey. His teacher at school is teaching him manners so he has been saying "may I have X please?" or "may I have some more please". It's very pleasant to hear. He has enjoyed school lately and said "I love Ms Leah" along with "I love Rusty". He's so sweet.

On Sunday morning, we finally made it to the fair. Nanna and Papa decided to leave early so they didn't come with us. The weather was 75 degrees. The coldest it has been in a long time! We were enjoying it. Matthew was thrilled to see 'Big Tex'. And when Big Tex started talking, Matthew was even more excited. We ate corn dogs, smoked turkey leg, fried peanut butter, banana, and jelly sandwich, and ice cream. Matthew liked the corn dog and wanted to eat it himself so he was getting a little ketchup on his clothes. He also liked the push-up but it was started melting and he wasn't eating it fast enough so I just kept wiping the ice cream off of him after every bite. It was comical - although at the time I was getting quite frustrated.

At night he will talk about "Big Texas" and how "Big Texas talk to me". When we get ready in the mornings to go to school, Matthew doesn't want to go to school. He wants to see "Big Texas". I just tell him, "we can't go to the fair everyday". He rode a few rides and enjoyed riding on Daddy's shoulders. Matthew is definitely more fun at this age.

Plano Balloon Festival

The weather in Dallas is still hot but fall is just around the corner and we can't wait. On Friday, I had extensive blood testing done for gestational diabetes. I will find out the results next week. I am a healthy eater for the most part so I honestly don't know what changes I can make on that front. From what I know, it's nothing serious but just something to keep an eye on during pregnancy. And once the pregnancy is over, it supposedly goes away. We went out to eat on Friday night at our usual place, Fernandos. Matthew sat next to Andy and he was so smitten over daddy. He was giggling and enjoying the daddy lovin'. When Andy got up to leave, I noticed he had ketchup on his dress shirt and pants - that tells you how much Matthew was snuggling into Andy!

At school, Matthew moved up to the next class a couple of weeks ago. He loves his new teacher, Ms Leah. He has been eager to go to school this week with little or no crying - yeah!!!! We have to monitor his bm's and I frequently try to get him to eat prunes to keep him regular because it makes such an impact on his mood. After our dinner on Friday night, he had a big poop in his diaper and since my arms were all bruised from the testing, Andy cleaned it up. He put it in the toilet and then the toilet clogged so he had to get the plunger. I don't know how he was able to stand it - I almost gagged! I am so thankful that Andy is around to help out with these types of chores.

On Saturday morning, we went to the Plano hot air balloon festival. Matthew enjoyed seeing the balloons in the air. We took Rusty with us and everyone stopped us to ask "What type of dog is that?" Some people would say "I don't know whether to look at the balloons or look at your dog" As it started to get hotter, we were getting more annoyed because we could hardly take a couple of steps without people stopping us. What can we say, we have a celebrity dog!

Matthew and I went to the nursing home for a party shortly after the balloon festival. All the seniors loved seeing Matthew. They did an arts and crafts project with stickers and Matthew sat at the table and participated - he loved it!

Trip to visit Nana

Matthew and Aiden

My cousin James David and Uncle David

Matthew checking out the eagle

Matthew and Sasha

Matthew looking at the very tall trees

Nana pushing Matthew in the swing

Matthew at the fish tanks

The kids table

James David and Aiden

Matthew is giving Nana some of his popsicle

During September 10th weekend, Matthew and I headed to visit Nana in Little Rock, Arkansas. I picked up Matthew from daycare on Friday around 4pm and caught a 6pm flight. Matthew was in a good mood when I picked him up from school. He was excited to go to the airport. He thought we were going to Michigan since that is where we went the prior weekend. I told him that we were going to Arkansas - he didn't quite understand. Andy stayed behind since he had some work obligations on Saturday night. Matthew did well on the flight. The only problem is that he likes to take his shoes off and his feet are so stinky I can hardly stand it. I just hope the other passengers can't smell it.

As soon as we arrived at the LIT airport, Matthew was ready to run. We took the escalator down to the baggage claim and we saw Nana there waiting for us. I pointed out Nana to Matthew since it was almost a year ago since he last saw her. He gave her a big smile and ran up to her with a big hug. She was so excited.

We headed to her house and Matthew was chatty the entire 35 minute drive. He liked to sing "Old MacDonald had a farm" or "BINGO" but we replace the dog with RUSTY and he giggles every time. We pulled up to the house and Matthew was eager to check it out. Nana has 2 birds in a cage and they were making lots of noise so Matthew was curious about them. He also enjoyed seeing her small dog, Sasha. I gave him a bath and he went to sleep fairly easy after a few stories. He had his own room with a queen bed. There was a peacock painting on the wall that he liked to point and say "peacock". Nana also had some ceramic eggs in the corner and Matthew grabbed one and called it "eggbert" imitating a cartoon episode. I thought that was funny.

I thought Matthew may wake up in the middle of the night but thankfully, he didn't. He slept well and then woke up around 7:30am. He came into my room and talked about Nana's house. Nana gave him fruit loop cereal in the morning and he loved that. We got dressed fairly quickly and headed to the Nature Trail near Nana's house. Matthew was excited to get out and get going. He saw snakes, alligators, fish, and eagles (in cages/tanks). We took a walk in the woods on a pavement path and Matthew enjoyed the outdoors. The wind would rustle the leaves and he would ask, "what's that noise?" He was running ahead of us and enjoying walking along the bridges. He finally stopped because he was tired so I ended up carrying him back. The weather was mild but he was sweaty from all the running.

We went out to eat for lunch and Matthew enjoyed a pancake with scrambled eggs. The pancake was so good that Nana and I started eating some of Matthew's. We drove by Nana's beauty shop and ran a couple of errands. It started raining so we were getting sleepy and headed back home for a nap. When Matthew woke up from his nap a couple of hours later, there were kids running around. I took a nap next to Matthew so when he woke up he looked at me and gave me a big smile that he knew there was something fun going on outside the door. My Uncle David and cousins were there with their kids. One of the kids was 2 years old so Matthew enjoyed playing with him.

Nana cooked a big roast with all the fixin's and all the kids were sitting at the table eating it. Matthew sat down next to them and ate a few things off his plate without talking too much. Then they all headed outside to play on the swing set. He enjoyed sliding down the slide with them. After everyone left, Matthew ate a popsicle and then took a bath. He was quite talkative and running around the house without clothes on and jumping on the couch. Nana likes to watch the Gaither Gospel hour and Matthew was enjoying the music. He also found Nana's twizzlers so he was having a good ole time at great grandmas. He chatted with Nanna and Papa on the phone for a little while before heading to bed.

On Sunday, we went to church. Matthew actually fell off the queen bed at 5am so I ran in there and got him back to sleep. He wasn't hurt - just disoriented. Matthew went to the nursery and played with the other kids while I went to Nana's Sunday school class and church service. Matthew didn't even cry when I dropped him off. He was ready to play. After church, he was happy to see us. We went home and ate some more of that delicious roast before heading to the airport. Nana was so sad to see us leave because she gets lonely in her house by herself. She enjoyed our visit and Matthew had a good time, too.

We were hoping to make the 4pm flight but it filled up before we could get on so we ended up taking a 6:30pm. It was a long time to kill at the airport with a 2-year old by myself but I survived. I bought Matthew french fries from burger king and ice cream and we played with a ball by rolling it back and forth to each other. Matthew was a good traveler. He didn't fall asleep on the flight like I had hoped. We made it home around 8:30pm. Andy was watching the cowboys game on tv. Matthew asked about daddy a few times during the weekend but for the most part, he was happy as long as mama was around. Andy gave him a bath that night but Matthew was so exhausted from not napping well that he fussed the entire time. Andy finally calmed him down while reading a story. Andy stayed busy while we were gone but he said that he was lonely without us around. It was a quick weekend trip but it was good to visit Nana because I know the travel will be more challenging when #2 arrives.

Labor Day Weekend

We went to Michigan over Labor Day weekend. It was a quick trip but Matthew did well on the flights. He is starting to realize that every time we go on the airplane, we go some place fun. We talked about flying on the airplane on Thursday and Friday. So when we headed to the airport on Saturday, he was rearing to go. He would say "go to airport". He knows the drill at the security line and starts taking off his shoes in preparation.

The last time we were on a plane a lady gave Matthew a lollipop. So when we were up in the air he asked for a lollipop. He has a good memory! He watched his DVD's on the plane and then napped after we stopped at McDonald's in Detroit. Matthew calls it "old Macdonald's" from the song. Once we arrived at the Durkin's, Matthew woke up from his nap and headed straight for the toys. The weather was cool in the 60's and he enjoyed running outside and playing on the slide. Andy and I took a nap while they played because we were exhausted from the travel.

We went to Andy's 20-year high school reunion on Saturday night while Mimi watched Matthew. We could tell that Matthew was feeling more comfortable there because he didn't cry when we left - which he normally does when mama leaves him with a sitter. Andy enjoyed seeing all of his high school friends. A lot of them have access to Facebook so they already saw pictures of Matthew on that.

Matthew's nose is stopped up so he has been breathing out of his mouth at night. We think it's related to allergies because this is the ragweed season when Andy has the most trouble. Matthew actually slept pretty good at night and we were surprised in the morning when he didn't wake up Mama and Daddy but instead went into the kitchen and said "hi Papa Durkin". He was eating breakfast at the table like a big boy when we woke up.

We took Mimi out to breakfast for her birthday on Sunday and then headed to visit "Pa Bru". Matthew napped in the car and then when we pulled up to the house, he ran over and gave Pa Bru a big hug. He was all smiles. He went inside and headed straight for the toys (remembering where they were located). We ate some sloppy joes and then Matthew was ready to see the horses. Pa Bru took him on a four-wheeler ride to see the farm. Matthew was also happy to see Adam and Grandma Bruce. He said "hi Adam" when he arrived and gave Grandma Bruce a hug. We went to the club house and Matthew enjoyed playing with the golf balls and putters. Grandma Bruce took Matthew on a ride in the golf cart and he waved "bye mama". I was impressed with his independence.

We flew out Sunday evening and Matthew fell asleep on the plane. He was exhausted from such a short nap earlier that day. When we landed in Dallas, he kept sleeping. I carried him from the plane to the car and into the house without him waking up. We woke up Monday morning and he had lots of energy. I took him to the park to swing and play on the slide. Then we headed to toys r us to buy a sandbox. Matthew loves the toy store! He saw a fire truck that he would really like to have for Christmas. He's into any kind of construction trucks, tractors, fire trucks, police cars, etc.... We put the sandbox together and Matthew played in that for a little while. He swam in the pool and enjoyed seeing Rusty. He said "mama, miss Rusty?" and I said "yes, Matthew, I missed Rusty, Did you miss Rusty?" and he said "Matthew missed Rusty, throw ball".

Grand Cayman Vacation

Lounging at the beach

Say "Cheese"

After a dip in the pool

Fruit loops - Yummy

Building sand castles with Daddy

The coolest kid on the beach

Dinner at the Wharf

The Bruce Family

Matthew's daycare was closed on Friday so we decided to take our summer vacation and take Monday off as well. We went to the Grand Cayman Island and lounged around the ocean and pool. Matthew truly enjoyed this vacation since he just started using his goggles to explore under water in our home pool. The sand was white and the ocean was clear with lots of fish and a coral reef just off the beach. Matthew called the sand area his "sandbox". He enjoyed digging in the sand and filling up his bucket. He would get hot after a couple of hours in the sun so we would go to the hotel room and relax in the room and take our 2-hour nap before going back for more in the afternoon.

Matthew is quite the swimmer. He enjoyed swimming in the pool with Daddy. Daddy would act like a bull with Matthew on his shoulders and Matthew would love trying to not get bucked off. He would giggle and everyone in the pool would watch them. It was hilarious. Matthew would fetch his toy at the bottom of the pool. He also liked to swim back and forth to mama and daddy.

He was a little hesitant to walk on the sand with his barefeet at first and he was a little scared of the waves of the ocean. But during the second day, he quickly warmed up to the idea of the ocean. He would say "ocean" and point at the ocean and then say "pool" and point to the pool and do this 5 or 6 times. I think he called the ocean a pool at first and we corrected him so now he was aware of the difference.

He would watch the fish in the ocean. There were small schools of fish that would swim by and then there were medium sized fish around. Some people would touch the fish b/c they were so close. Matthew wasn't scared of the fish but he also didn't try to touch them. His eyes would burn in the ocean if water got into his goggles so he would talk about that a lot "eyes burn".

In the evening we would go to dinner. Matthew was a trooper and fully cooperated at dinner every night. One night we went to the Wharf for a nice dinner and we sat near the deck and Matthew fed some very, big tarp fish with bread from the table. That kept him entertained for the duration of dinner! We would get ice cream some nights after dinner and Matthew was in heaven hanging out with Mama and Daddy. He threw a few temper tantrums when we would try to get him to leave the pool but for the most part he was so pleasant to be around.

After we ate lunch one day, I took him back to the room. He was sleepy from swimming in the morning. He kind of gave me a loving look and I said "I love you, Matthew" and he said "I love you, Mama". My heart just melted. It was the first time he said that. After his nap, he was in the ocean with Daddy and Andy said "I love you, Matthew" and Matthew said "I love you, daddy". Andy really enjoyed hearing that as well.