Happy Halloween

We had a busy week with Halloween festivities. On Tuesday night, Matthew went to the senior citizen home with me for a halloween party with the residents. I also took Rusty in costume and the seniors loved both of them. My office decorated cubicles for the kids on Thursday so Matthew came up and enjoyed getting candy there. On Friday, Matthew had a party at his school with a parade and then Andy picked him up somewhat early for a party in his office. Matthew was a pirate and he would say "Grrrrr, matey". Everyone thought it was the cutest thing.

I picked up Nana from the airport on Friday so when I came home, Matthew had a big smile when he saw her. We made Nana's fried chicken for dinner and enjoyed the home cookin'. Papa and Nanna (my parents) came into town around 10:30pm and Matthew was so excited to see them that he waited on the stairs for them to come in the door. It was way past his bedtime. He was so happy to have all the company.

Over the weekend, we spent lots of time focusing on getting the nursery ready. Papa was hanging curtains and getting closets organized in Matthew's room so I could clean out the clothes to make room for baby's. Nana and Nanna went through all of Matthew's old clothes to see if there were any gender neutral clothes to keep. Then we separated them into baskets labeled with the sizes. The baby bedding came in the mail on Friday so I was excited to open it up and get it in the room. We washed and ironed it and I have to say that it looks great. It's going to be fun to have a little girl around here.

On Sunday, we went to a halloween party in our neighborhood. Matthew jumped in the bounce house and enjoyed the swing. He saw his friend, Arden. He played some games and decorated a cookie with sprinkles. They served pizza with juice boxes. After the party, we went trick-or-treating on the street. Matthew really enjoyed it this year. It didn't take long for him to figure out how to get candy. He would say "I want trick or treat" and then when they gave him candy he would say "Grrrr". He would say "one more house" and tell me "mama, come on".

School pictures for fall

Race for the Cure

Taylor and Andy carrying the kiddos

Arden didn't like Ronald

It was another busy weekend at the Bruce household. Andy went to Washington DC for work this week so I had my hands full with Matthew and our other kid, Rusty. I was glad when Andy came back on Friday. After work on Friday, we ate dinner at Cantino Laredo and enjoyed going out to dinner because we know it will only be a matter of time when it will be more difficult with 2 kids. The Texas Rangers have been playing very well so Andy was excited to watch them on tv at the restaurant.

On Saturday, we woke up early to walk in the Komen Race for the Cure. There were 21,000 people there. Arden and Matthew rode in the stroller while Andy and Taylor took turns pushing them. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to walk the 5K because of the crowds. At first, Matthew and Arden didn't want to sit in the stroller but as soon as everyone started moving, they were ready for the ride. I brought a DVD video and we pulled that out when they got bored. But there was so much for them to see that they did well in the stroller for a while. They were singing songs and even playing peek a boo with each other. After the walk, we ate lunch in the mall. This restaurant was in the courtyard so Matthew and Arden could run around - they loved it. They were having so much fun together. Once we made it home, we took our 2-hour naps because everyone was exhausted.

We went out for pizza Saturday night and enjoyed watching the Rangers game at the restaurant. Matthew was in the best mood and he was so happy to just hang out with mommy and daddy.

We went to church on Sunday and he cried a little when we dropped him off at the nursery but later he told us he had fun there. We drove out to Flower Mound in the afternoon to go to a pumpkin patch with a mom's church group. But we couldn't find the group and it was crowded, hot, and dusty. Matthew was moody because he took a nap on the way out there and he wasn't quite rested when we got there. We decided to leave and head home. As soon as we came home, we all took showers and washed our dusty clothes. We drove by our old house out there since we were in the area and we talked about how we like our neighborhood much better.

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!