Matthew's Birthday
Matthew officially turned 4 last Saturday. We had a little party for him and he had great time. It doesn't matter what age you are, eating cake and ice cream at 10:30 in the morning is always fun!

Matthew got all kinds of great stuff. It was nice for him to see his Nana as well as his cousins Micah and Emmie. We had a lot of fun.

The Thomas game was a big hit.

YEAH!!! Thanks Uncle Jay!!!

"It's GOOD!!!"

Turkey Jammies

HALLOWEEN NIGHT

Halloween night has come and gone once again. The night where all the kids get dressed up, run around and eat their weight in candy is now in the books for '08. Matthew was a dragon...no, excuse me...Matthew was a fire breathing dragon this year. He looked great! He went to a party at his friend Maisy's house and then went trick-or-treating. A good time was had by all.

"RAAAAAAAAARRR!" said the dragon..."RAAAAAAAARRR!" said the princess. And they both laughed happily ever after.

"Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah"

The Halloween '08 party crew...word

One and done. That's right...one street and they were finished.

Many of you have requested the ever-so-common "belly shot" of the mamma to be. So, here it is...30 weeks down, 10 to go!

FALL FESTIVAL

It's been a year since we last visited the Denton Bible Fall Festival. In that short span of time, Matthew has stopped calling it a "bestibal" and now refers to it by it's correct name! He had a great time playing games and sliding in the bounce house.

WAHOOOOOOOOO!!!

Tic-Tac-CANDY!!!!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!

So Far This Fall

Well, Matthew is becoming a real boy. Below you will find real photographic evidence of Matthew fishing, swimming in a lake and believe it or not, picking it up a dead fish. The following pictures are from our trip to San Antonio to visit Uncle Zac, Aunt Whitney and cousins Micah and Emmie. We went to Sea World and had a great time. The next weekend we went back down to the San Antonio area (Canyon Lake to be accurate) for the annual Morton family vacation.

Dirt? Ketchup? Immediate napkin needed...Dead fish? No problem!

That's right...slimy dead fish!

Fishin'

"Yup"..."Yep"..."Yep"..."Mmm Hmm"...

We caught some sticks and some weeds...but alas no fish. The loud voices, and the complete and total lack of patience kind of make it hard to catch anything...But the boys had fun and that's all that matters.

Skippin' rocks. See, Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, watch out...Matthew Morton will be carryin' around dead cats in bags to cure warts before long! (if you don't understand, pick up a book...seriously...Mark Twain...pick him up...good author)

If ever you are bored and have nothing to do...just give 2 3-year olds sticks on fire...INSTANT FUN!!! If that fails, put marshmallows on the ends of the sticks!

Now, for those of you who are worried that Matthew will be all Marine Corps, NASCAR and UFC man's man, don't fret. He still has his sensitive artist side.

Big News!

For those of you who haven't heard, IT'S A BOY. We are so excited to have another boy. Matthew really wanted sister and cried when we found out it's a boy, but he has adjusted well. He tells everyone that he is going to have a little brother and he even talks to him. He will walk up to my stomach and just start talking and singing. You can ask him what he is doing and he will tell you "I am talking to baby Finn".

We have decided to name our little boy Finnius David. We will call him Finn. If you call him Finnius, Matthew will correct you and say his name is Finn. It is very cute.

Our Busy Summer!!!



Well we have had a busy summer. Matthew and I went to visit my family in Savannah for 2 weeks and we had a blast. MeMaw and aunt Carol came to visit us while we were at Mom's. We went to the beach, we went shopping, and we played with Aunt Jenn, Uncle Jay and Charlie. My aunt Diane and cousin Carolyn came to visit for a weekend and we just hung around visiting. It was so nice to see everyone. We miss everyone very much. Here are some pictures of Matthew pretending to surf on a boggie board with Nana!!!!







Matthew and I also stayed down at the beach for a few night with my dad and Ann. We went to play PUTT PUTT and Matthew had so much fun that he talked them into taking him 2 nights in a row. He loved it!!!! He was so excited while playing until the 18th hole. He got really upset because it took his golf ball. Dad and Ann also bought Matthew a BBQ bubble machine and it was really cool. It had all the grilling tools you could think of and food shaped bubble wands to put on the grill. It made a ton of bubbles.













Here is a picture of Matthew playing and one of him helping Ben make pancakes for breakfast.

Hope everyone has had a great summer. Sorry I haven't been updating like we used but we have been very busy. Now that we are moved and settled I will try to update more often.

News From the Front

OK, so it's been over a month since I updated this...sorry. We've been a little busy. And by a little busy I mean a little lazy. Sue me!

For those of you who haven't heard (where have you been?) we are expecting an addition to the world's most beautiful family (all them, not me)! Matthew is hoping for a little sister, whom he has already christened "Fluffy." While we will be happy with a little girl or a little boy, I can assure you that his or her name will NOT be "Fluffy" or "Pachelio" (Matthew's suggestion for his little brother's name). We should find out sometime in August what we are having. We may or may not tell you...depends on how we feel! We will not, however, be discussing our name choices with any of you. After the "ughs" and "hmmms" and the "oh, I don't like that's" we have decided that you will all learn the name after it has been decided. No comments will be required!!! Just like your congressman, we will take your suggestions....just like your congressman, we probably won't listen!

I realize that this post has gotten off to a less-than-positive start. It's not that we don't love you all and value your opinions, it's just that we have decided to do things a little differently this time around. I'm sure you all understand. But enough about us....how've you been?

Matthew is growing and going like a crazed monkey these days. He talks non-stop...and by that I MEAN non-stop. In the car, at home, at the pool, in the mall, in the movies (just a little) and sometimes while sleeping his mouth is moving. Sometimes it is insightful, deep, philosophical, poetic and moving....but most of the time it's Thomas this and Lightning that and recently Phineas and Ferb are doing such and such. He does have quite the imagination. Sometimes it comes out at, shall we say "inappropriate" times and we find ourselves laughing when we really shouldn't be. Case in point:

Matthew always says his prayers before he goes to bed. He's been doing it for a couple years now. He usually has his snuggy, his KK blanket and a stuffed animal, usually Cricket the dog. One night, he decided to hold Horton the Elephant instead (you know, "a person's a person, no matter how small"). Anyway, Matthew told us that Horton wanted to help him say his prayers...and he did. Every other phrase was in Matthew's normal voice, and the other ones were in his deep, grown up voice. Now I know that God has a sense of humor (see: the Platypus) so I'm sure He was ok with us snickering and crying as our precious 3 year old said his prayers as 2 different people. Kids say the darndest things!

Matthew and Amanda went to visit Zac, Whitney, Micah and Emmie in San Antonio a few weeks ago. They played in the bounce house (in the living room) and ran around like crazies. They also went to Sea World. They saw Shamu and the dolphins and the sea lions and all the other fun things there. Matthew had a good time. He rode a roller coaster (with Whitney, cause Mommy's pregnant and couldn't go). I'm sure you would all love to see some pictures from that day...SO WOULD I!

Well, that's about it for this installment. Matthew plays and eats and plays and sleeps and plays. Oh, yeah....he also plays. I will try to do a better job of updating in the future. Until next time...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

They Grow Up So Fast
It seems like only yesterday we were loosing our minds, consulting holistic healers and searching for ANYTHING that would relieve the pain that comes with teething. Now, Matthew has a head full of teeth that needed to be checked. That's right, his first ever dentist appointment. Due to Matthew's exceptional ability to freak out, we decided to go for a "happy visit" where the dentist would count his teeth, show him the tools and basically make it "fun." We'll terrorize him next time! He did very well and is looking forward to going back (we'll enjoy THAT while we can).

After much stress and a few tantrums, Matthew realized how easy it was to ride his bike. He has been riding it around the neighborhoods for a while now, but sadly, he has out grown it. We recently got him a new bike (courtesy of his MeMaw) and we now have to start the process all over again. While he has the basic concept down, he isn't quite used to the set up yet. He's doing well and will no doubt be ready for the X-Games in no time.

Here to help us with the bike training was Nana. She was kind enough to play trains and games, watch movies, make fruit salad (in the play kitchen) and pretty much anything else that Matthew wanted to do. He does love his Nana!

Matthew has also expressed interest in golf. His style is more Happy Gilmore and less Tiger Woods, but he has fun and that's all that matters.

I realize that it has been a while since we have updated. It has also therefore been a while since I have ended a new post with some butt-shot and a joke about Matthew's lack of a rear end. I just want you all to know...he comes by it honestly!

HAPPY TRAILS!!!

Matthew's Day With Thomas

Matthew went to see Thomas the tank engine on Friday. He got to play with wooden trains, see the electric trains and even ride on Thomas. Then he got to meet Sir Topham Hatt. He had a great time. Imagine getting to meet your favorite celebrity...that's how cool it was for him.

Over the weekend we went to Granna and Da's house. Now that the nice weather has arrived, Matthew can get back to his favorite outdoor activities. He can ride his bike, lounge with Da and even help Granna with her gardening (only if he doesn't get TOO dirty, though!). It was a nice day outside and we all came in a little pinker than we were.

Well, that's it for now. We are all doing well and hope you are too!