Dewberry Farm Revisit with Daddy 2009

On Sunday Tony and I took Matthew to Dewberry Farm. Last year Tony was in a body cast so I took Matthew by myself. We had a good time then, but we had a great time this year. Tony did a lot of fun things with Matthew including riding in the tractor train. Nothing funnier than a tall guy in a little car:

We also went on a hay ride to a pumpkin patch (that had seen better days before Halloween). Tony made the visit fun for Matthew by placing Matthew's monkey, Bongo, on various pumpkins while he wasn't looking. Tony knows how to keep his son entertained.

Skydive Houston with Kristi and Friends

Friends of mine, Kristi and her husband Todd, own Skydive Houston. We thought that Matthew would enjoy seeing skydivers with their colorful parachutes falling from the sky. Tony and I met our friends Hazel, Mark, and their 18 month old Gavin in the spectator area. We had a great time. It was a beautiful day and Matthew and Gavin had fun playing and then watching the skydivers every 30 minutes or so.
Matthew and I watching the first load enter the plane. Matthew said, "Airplane."




Matthew pointed to the sky and said, "up".


Matthew and I with our friend Kristi who finished her 3rd skydive of the day.



Hazel showed Matthew how to play badminton.


Matthew and Gavin enjoying some fruit while they wait for more skydivers.

Halloween Trick or Treating--Can you guess who Matthew is?

On Halloween night Matthew enjoyed a party at his cousins Bodie and Cooper's house. We had dinner there and then we went trick or treating together. Here is Matthew in his costume. See if you can guess who he is.

Here is a hint. That is a full body swim suit he is wearing, swim cap, and goggles and of course 8 gold medals. In case you cannot guess, this link will show you who Matthew's hero was at the Summer Olympics. http://theadventuresofmatthew-maria.blogspot.com/2008/08/phelps-phan.html

Here is a photo of Matthew for the Gymboree Halloween party before we could find 8 gold medals to put on him.

Balunar Festival

On October 25th we braved the crowds at the yearly Balunar Festival at NASA. Making it to the festival grounds was quite a feat. We also had to wait in long lines for food. However, when we saw the enthralled expression on Matthew's face we were glad we went. Matthew enjoyed watching the balloons and skydivers and especially the "balloon glow" after dark where the fires used to lanch the balloons were lit up on the field. This combined two of Matthew's favorite things.. balloons and "la las" (lights).

Pumpkin Patch and the Unhappy Alligator

A nearby church has a pumpkin patch every year. I passed by one day before taking Matthew to daycare for some photos.

My friend Barb has two sons and they are several years older than Matthew. I have been lucky to receive a lot of hand-me-downs from her. In last batch of clothes I got a Halloween costume. I thought we would be able to dress Matthew up in this for a Gymboree party and Trick or Treating but he had different ideas.

We had to come up with another costume on the fly. Look at later posts to see what we decided on.

Pumpkin Carving with Cousins and Zoo Boo

In early October Matthew's Deda had him and his two cousins, Bodie and Cooper carve pumpkins. Here are a few of the many photos.

The next day we went to the Houston Zoo's Halloween event, the Zoo Boo.

Snot Walrus

Matthew is usually very even tempered but sometimes he has full-blown 2 year old temper tantrums. We got some photos for proof. I told Matthew that he looked like a snot walrus.

Matthew's First Haircut

Matthew got his first haircut on September 19th. His hair was getting a little long and curly and even though he was very cute, a few people told me what a cute daughter I had. I knew it was time to get his hair cut. We went to Fantastic Sam's close by and we had a stylist who was very happy to give Matthew his first haircut, especially since he was so well behaved... no crying or squirming. Tony took the opportunity to get his hair cut during the same visit.

My handsome boys:

Mischievous Matthew

Sometimes when I tell people that I work from home their response is, "That is great! You get to save a lot of money on daycare." I usually let them know that this is not the case I still need to send Matthew to daycare in order to get work done. One day I had about 30 minutes of work to do after I picked up Matthew. After turning away from him for a couple of minutes this is what he was up to:

Yes, he is on top of the dining room table swatting at and grabbing our antique crystal chandelier.