Mattthew's baby brother has arrived!

Dad here.

Jacob was born yesterday morning (April 26th) at 11:16 am. Both mom and baby are still in the hospital. The earliest that they can be released is on Thursday.

I just wanted to post a few of my favorite pictures that I have taken. Just a warning: these pictures are a bit grainy as I did not want to use the flash and blind the newborn.





Like Matthew, Jacob fell asleep on my lap today. This was when I really saw the resemblance to his big brother.



Jacob has already figured out how to escape from the swaddle. This took Matthew a few days to master. Hmmm. Maybe now, Dad will watch how the pediatric nurses swaddle infants so their arms do not escape...

Matthew's Dream Monkey Encounter or Preparing for Baby Brother?

This past weekend Tony, Matthew, and I spent several hours on Sunday looking for a couch for our living room. Although, it isn't the most pleasant thing to do when 8 and 3/4 months pregnant, I knew it would be ideal to have a new comfortable couch by the time Matthew's baby brother arrives. We didn't have much luck finding one on Sunday. Monday evening we went to Gallery furniture. I wish we went there first for many reasons. First, we found a very comfortable couch. Secondly, Gallery Furniture is the most child friendly store I have ever been to. After we bought the couch we didn't want to leave. There was an indoor playground that unfortunately Matthew didn't have time to play in. But the most appealing feature to Matthew was the MONKEYS! In the middle of the store they have a monkey playground where you can watch five monkeys play and climb. They were so cute and toddler-like. They seemed to be playing games with Matthew's toy monkey Bongo through the cage. They would jump at the toy monkey and then sprint away. It was very funny. Tony, thought I was freaking out the real monkeys by pretending that Bongo was one of them. Gallery Furniture had a photographer who pulled out a monkey from the cage, Jinx, a white-throated capuchin. He swaddled him like a baby and we got a photo of Matthew holding him. Maybe this is good preparation for Matthew's baby brother.



If you need furniture I highly recommend Gallery Furniture and no Mattress Mack didn't pay me to say that. When you go, make sure you check out the monkey's, especially if you have a two year old. http://www.chron.com/channel/petshouston/photogallery/Gallery_Furniture_monkeys.html#19964779

St. John Vianny Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic

On Saturday morning March 27th we took Matthew to St. John Vianny's annual Easter Egg Hunt and picnic. Two weeks ago we moved to the other side of town but we decided to make a point to go to our old neighborhood for this event. Matthew found a dozen eggs with candy and then handed his basket to his Daddy while he played on the playground equipment. He got a visit from the Easter Bunny. Then Matthew jumped in a spacewalk while Tony and I enjoyed some kolaches.

Mommy and Matthew before the kiddos are released to find Easter Eggs.


The playground fort from the Matthew's point of view.



The playground fort from the Easter Bunny's point of view.

Big Brother Class at Women's Hospital of Texas

On Sunday March 22nd, we took Matthew to his Sibling Class at the Women's Hospital of Texas. This is the same hospital where he was born and his baby brother is to be born. It was a class aimed at 2-5 year olds and they played a cute video that kept his attention and then we worked with a life size baby doll to show him how to hold the baby and what he can and cannot do when Mommy is holding the baby. This part didn't hold his attention as long. However, Tony, Matthew and I had fun during this bonding experience.

Matthew definitely seemed more interested in putting a diaper on his monkey than changing the "baby's" diaper.

Hello Baby Brother

I cannot believe that I am going to put video of my exposed belly on this blog but I know some family members and friends will appreciate Matthew's first converstion with his baby brother.

Cousin Trinity's Visit to Houston

On Valentine's Day Matthew met his cousin Trinity for the first time. The two of them got along swimmingly, especially since Trinity likes Rock Band and feeding animals too. We could definitely see the family resemblance when looking at the two of them together, even though many claim that Matthew looks like Tony's side of the family. I am hoping that there are many more visits from Trinity and his parents in the future but not for next 3 years as they will be stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

Yes, that is Matthew on the floor in the background.

A new use for Fruit Loops?

Dad here...

Somehow, Matthew broke the stem on his right hearing aid last Saturday morning. We did not witness what he was doing to cause the break but we saw him holding his broken hearing aid in his hands a little while after it happened.

Later that morning, we were shopping at Target for birthday cards for a party we were going to later in the day. To help the time go by (and to keep him from fidgeting too much), we offered his some Fruit Loops. While waiting in the checkout line, Matthew tried to put a Fruit Loop into each ear! I guess Matthew has completely adapted to his hearing aids and now that they were not in, he knew that something was missing and he thought that a Fruit Loop would do the trick.

Unfortunately, Maria did not witness this but she cracked up when I told her about it...

All of this ended well. Maria went to Matthew's ear doctor today and he was able to replace the stem in no time. Now, Matthew will have no reason to place Fruit Loops or, God forbid, something else into ear canals. :-)

Since Mom almost always end the post with a cute picture of Matthew, here is a picture I took in the gonldola between Mountain Village and Telluride, Colorado last August.