Cookoff Weekend

Every year in May (typically Mother's Day weekend) the gang all heads to Galveston for the annual Yaga's Wild Game Cookoff. It's really more about sitting in the sun, hanging with the gang and watching the boats than it is about the cooking itself. Matt & I headed down that Saturday to spend a few hours with Nick and we got to spend some time with all of our friends while we were there!

Here's Matt showing Chris the boats as they pass by in the water.

Now, Matt is pointing out boats with his daddy! He's officially a member of the "Texas Barbeque Massacre" cooking team thanks to our friend Mona who got him a t-shirt with their logo. On the front, his shirt says "cook in training".

Matt discovered a moon bounce over in the children's play area. He had fun climbing around in there, as long as he was the only kid inside!

They also had a petting zoo where Matt discovered goats. I had to make sure he quickly learned about being "gentle" because he whacked one of them pretty hard when he first touched him. Oops!

Matt chased and carried this balloon around for a good 30 minutes. It's amazing how easily they are amused at this age.

Happy Mother's Day!

Matt and I had a fun Mother's Day morning playing outside. He just wouldn't take no for an answer and he was determined to power through the humid conditions just to play outside. Here's Matt wearing his new shirt (click on the picture to enlarge)!

In case you couldn't read that one...

Yes, it's true! Matt is going to be a BIG BROTHER!!! Our due date is... December 23rd! It should be a crazy Christmas around the Trevino household this year. I told Matt the other day that "Mommy has a baby in her belly." He looked at me, shook his head and said "noooo". It's his favorite new word! Here's the little raspberry below. There's not much detail yet, but the doctor took a chance he could find an image this early, and he did.



In case you were wondering, we're going for the big surprise ending this time too! Get your predictions ready!

A walk in the park!

Since the weather was not too sticky on Sunday, we decided to head down to the park to see what new things Matt wanted to explore on the playground. The playground we have right now is too big for him, so his new found love for climbing meant Nick and I had to do lots of climbing ourselves!

Here Matt is trying to figure out what to get into next. He is not satisfied just playing in the tunnel anymore!

The next favorite thing for Matt to say (next to "outside?") is "Airplane!" Anytime he hears one, which is WAY before we do, he points up in the air and says, "airplane!". He just spotted one when I took this picture.

Matt climbed to the top of the play structure and then was a bit afraid to go down the slide. He went down, but had to be on one of our laps to do so.


He had fun just sitting at the top and looking at his new perspective!

Now he waits for his daddy to take his turn on the slide. I hope he learns soon to move after he's done sliding. Not everyone is as nice to the kid standing at the bottom of the slide as his daddy.

Here's a boy who is just so happy to be with is daddy! Swinging is kind of an afterthought!

OUTSIDE?

Matt's favorite question at least 3 times a day is, "OUTSIDE???" He just loves running around outside. The mosquitoes don't seem to be slowing him down one bit either. We haul all of his stuff out to the front porch and he serves as our neighborhood greeter in between running his truck, lawnmower or wagon up and down the sidewalk.

Here's the wagon Matt & his daddy bought. Matt loves to go for rides around the front yard in his wagon.

I had to jump in front of the camera for an updated pic with my little ham!

Wonder where Matt gets his bottom lip from? Hmmm.

Friends!

Matt has begun spending more time with our friends' kids when we all get together, since he is tapering down to one nap. He still has a tough time keeping up since he loves his sleep, but he gets in a little play time now and then!

Here are Matt and Abby heading out for the March of Dimes walk with their mommies! Abby slept the whole walk, while Matt peeked around his stroller into Abby's and inquisitively expressed, "Abby?, Abby?" the whole walk!

Matt decided that Peter was pretty cool to hang out with and couldn't wait to change into play clothes after swimming so he could play at his sand table with Peter! I think they thought they were at the beach and soon both of them (and the patio) were covered in sand!

Matt and his car!

Matt discovered how to open our shuttered closet doors and now explores at will. He recently opened the hall closet outside his bedroom and realized his mommy had stashed a lot of his toys in there without his knowledge! His car was one such toy in the closet. He begged for it to come out of the closet and with a forced "please", I took it out. It is one of those toys that changes from a walking toy to a riding toy and he was in between when I stashed it in the closet. Well, he now knows how to climb on and off of it, but other than making it move backward on occasion, he isn't quite ready for riding it.

Despite not moving on his car, he loves getting on and off it as well as posing for the camera!

He found the plug!

The other day it was nice enough outside to teach Matt about the blue side of his new table. He discovered the water table and had a blast! Tonight, he knocked on the back door and kept saying, "OUTSIDE, OUTSIDE" to me when we were done with dinner. So, I got the camera and we went out to play! He just loves this table!

He has a couple of boats in the water side and is learning how to use the current (although I think he's holding that piece in his left hand in this pic).

Here, Matt discovers what happens when you pull the plug out of the water table! OOOH, puddles!!!

He was so proud of himself, he kept pulling and pushing the plug to let water out. Notice the puddle growing in size.

2 gallons of water, now on our patio instead of in the table!

Now, Matt had a puddle to stomp through. All is not lost on the waterless water table! I guess it was worth it for him!

Trip to Dallas with Mommy

Matt & I took off for Dallas to visit with family and friends over the weekend. Nick has been in Canada, working an extended time this trip, so Matt and I took the opportunity to take a road trip. First we headed to my best friend Lisa's house to visit with her and Todd, and their 6 1/2 month old baby, Joshua. He's such a cutie! Unfortunately with the rain and not so wise packing, my camera was in the car! Lisa tried to take a few photos, but we didn't get any of the boys together.

Here Matt is hiding from the camera. I know what you're saying, "he's a ham, why is he hiding?" Well, turns out he wasn't feeling well the whole trip and had fleeting moments of no runny nose and all smiles.

Matt decided to explore all of Joshua's toys while Joshua took a nap in his room.

Then, we headed to my dad's house to stay the weekend. Matt had an emotional weekend. He's been sick this past week and is on antibiotics right now. It was a roller coaster weekend for sure. He was a trooper once again and a wonderful companion in the car, especially from Lisa's to my dad's. He blew me kisses in the rear view mirror all the way there.

Here Matt is with his Granny, getting to know one of their cats.

Now the cat is spying on Matt while he plays.

My brother's birthday is today, so last night his family came over and Matt got to play with his cousins. Here he is watching Grace, while Ethan and Chase play in the background.

While the boys played (Blake, Ethan and Chase), Gracie was helping Matt play all evening. She even helped out with bathtime and storytime. I think she enjoyed playing with him. I know he enjoyed his time with her.

Here we are posing for the camera (me, Matt, & Gracie)!

Matt started to play with the boys later. Here he is watching Chase and Blake play with his toys.

Matt was making us laugh everytime Chase built him something to look at, he chuckled with a little, "ha, ha, ha!" It sounded like a pity laugh a few times, but we were all amused. It made Matt laugh more.

Here's Matt's Uncle Steve and his birthday cake Aunt Kim made for the evening. Granny and Grandpa made a wonderful dinner and we capped off the evening with cake! Ethan makes faces while we sing Happy Birthday and the bunny ears were supplied by his brother Blake.

Matt & I stayed with Granny & Grandpa again last night and headed off to see long time family friends, Pat & Bill this morning. Once again my camera was in the car, but Bill took some pictures, so I'll post them when I get them from him. Matt was entertained by their two dogs, and loved all of the attention. He also got a taste of playing the piano. He sat on Bill's lap and played for a while with him. It was no Mozart, but he smiled the entire time! Pics to come!

Sand Table!

Matt got a BIG surprise the other day in the mail. He got a sand and water table from his Grandpa Marcus and Grandma Karen. Nick and I put it together for him the other day.

Matt has been staring out the door for 2 days wondering why we keep telling him the brightly colored table with an umbrella is his, but we haven't played with it yet. Well, it's been a bit cold and rainy, so we have admired it from afar, until today!

He figured out that it is a lot of fun to pour the sand onto the patio instead of keeping it in the crab.

His daddy shows him how to use the sifter AND keep it in the crab.

Matt had lots of fun out there today! Can't wait until it warms up and we can show him what the other side of the table is for!

Help around the house

Video of Matt sweeping up!

Matt is beginning to imitate all kinds of things that we do and say. It's starting to worry both of us! But, one really helpful thing Matt has picked up is sweeping. I shortened the broom handle so it's not such a cumbersome tool for him, and he went to town this morning! Actually, right now, he may be better at mopping, but he's getting the hang of it!

Hiding out

Playing in Mommy & Daddy's Room

Matt often plays in our room with one of us whether we need to get ready to go somewhere or just need to fold some laundry. He loves the armoire and has lots of toys inside to keep him busy.


Recently, he discovered he could climb inside it! He frequently asks me to shut the doors and then pushes one open dramatically and sits inside laughing and smiling at me!

Easter Egg Hunt!

Matt's first egg hunt!

Our neighborhood Mom's Club had an Easter Egg Hunt on Friday for all the neighborhood children . We ran to Target to find a basket for him Friday morning, since we didn't have the forethought to get one beforehand. We found his little monkey basket and whisked him away to the egg hunt in the park.

Matt's first encounter with the eggs was prior to the hunt beginning. He wasn't exactly stealing anyone's eggs though. He grabbed these two pink eggs and threw them as far as he could, at the same time!
Then, a Coast Guard helicopter was searching for about 15 minutes right around the water near the park. Matt was really scared at first and wanted one of us to hold him when it flew by. Gradually, he became fascinated by it rather than scared. It took a lot to get him back to searching for eggs.

A bit of a frightened look as the helicopter comes back by.

Matt decided to get back in the game after taking a break in the grass! Oh, an egg, right in front of him!

Matt shared his eggs with me, telling me all about them. He got two rather small eggs as a donation from a little girl who had already met her quota and figured Matt was in need with his 4 eggs in his basket. Each child was allowed 12.

There was Hubba Bubba in one of the little eggs. He tells his daddy all about it!

Matt is amazed not only that the eggs open, but that there is stuff inside!

He dumped his whole basket out in front of him to check out his loot! Can't wait to see what he does at Halloween!

One of the mom's was nice enough to take a family picture for us.