Merry Christmas 2010!

Matthew's second Christmas has been another fun-filled extravaganza stretching across 3 states over 10 days. The words of this post or the pictures taken could never capture all the excitement and blessings Matthew received during the Christmas holiday. Most of the pictures of Matthew seen below are of him opening presents; although that was only part of what Matthew has been doing, it was just about the only time he was still enough so that the pictures were not blurred by his movement.

Opening presents in Alabama!

And in South Carolina, where lots of aunts were ready to snap a picture of his smiling face

He now has a tractor of his own to ride!

Matthew didn't just open his presents, he helped others, like Aunt D, open theirs

Showing Zack and Ellen how to operate her Ipod. The youngest always understand technology the best

The cow says "moo", Papa

Christmas morning there wasn't enough room under the tree for all the things Santa brought

 

Tricycle motor

Merry Christmas, y'all!!!

Brrrrr

It's been cold since the last Matthew blog post. So, the little boy has had to stay warm as he gets ready for Christmas.

He still wants to play outside......

Making the hat and jacket crucial.

Watching Mama bake warm cookies

Helping with cookware.....oh look a cake pan

Now it's a helmet

With a sword and shield. En garde!

Thanksgiving 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! Matthew is celebrating Thanksgiving this year in Alabama. The Brimer family made the trip to Clay County where good food was consumed and the great weather led to outdoor fun. Matthew was the youngest attendee but there were many other children and even a few adults who wanted to play.

Playing in the leaves

Ready to throw the football

Handing Great-granddaddy Cowboy an acorn collection

Cowboy holds Matthew up to see the "moos" in the pasture

First Basketball Game

Tuesday night Matthew made the short trip to Athens for his first college basketball game; where he watched the Georgia Bulldogs defeat the Colorado Buffaloes. The newly renovated Stegeman Coliseum looked great! All the activity of the basketball game: players, fan, cheerleaders, and mascots Hairy Dog and Spike all kept Matthew very entertained. Some of the kids in attendance were scared of Spike, but Matthew's only problem with the blow-up mascot seemed to be when he was blocking the view of the court. During the game, Matthew was seated next to former Athens Mayor, Doc Eldridge, and they quickly became friends. The little boy was well behaved during the game and made sure he pointed out the dogs in the game program between dancing to the music during timeouts. Since the game didn't start until 7 pm, he had to leave before the final buzzer, but was still in good spirits as he stayed up well past his normal bedtime. A good time was had by all and the family looks forward to their next opportunity to take Matthew to another basketball game.

Goooooo Dawgs!

Fall in Alabama

Matthew made a trip to Alabama this past weekend. Everything is a football ("bot-ball") right now, including oblong shaped door stops, which Matthew subsequently picked up and spiked on the floor Friday night. Matthew spent most of Saturday with Big Mama while everybody else made the trip down to the Plains to watch the game. He loves walking around outside and looking at the cows in the pasture. It's cold enough that Matthew's mama makes sure that he wears a jacket and hat outside.

Sunday Matthew spent time outside with Big Daddy

Throwing rocks and acorns into the lake.

Matthew was very interested in the automotive work being done. That is a tire gauge in his hands and he watched the air compressor each time it started.

Checking the tires on Uncle James truck!

Costumes

Matthew enjoyed his Halloween weekend. He not only dressed up like a lion for the actual holiday, but Matthew seems to dress-up as one thing or another almost every day. For example...

Pajama Cowboy, complete with Elmo bedtime shoes

 Riding to dream-land

 The quest for candy on Halloween began before it got dark

 He practiced his roar all week

Lion Matthew running around the front porch with Monkey Will in the foreground

 Sporting shades....too cool.

Saturday in the Park

Matthew was kind enough to take both of his parents to Harris Shoals Park Saturday. This time he didn't venture into the creek, but was more than happy to play on the playground.

Surveying the equipment

At the top of the slide.....

At the bottom of the slide.

In the above picture he's holding a Sweetgum ball. Matthew also was assisting with park clean-up as he picked up every stick he could find.

The tunnels are popular and he was happy to share with the other kids in the park. He was also happy to share when offered Chex mix by one of the Watkinsville City Council Member's children. Matthew is learning to say "thank you".

Swinging and Smiling

13 Months

Matthew is 13 months old today. For the past month, whenever someone asked "how old is he", his parents could just say "he's one". However, "he's one" is not terribly descriptive. So as of today, Matthew's age goes back to being described in monthly units. It's not clear when a child's age stops being expressed in months, just as it stopped being described in weeks, (14 weeks? 35 months?) but it is clear that 376 months sounds like an age that may appear in the Old Testament.

Speaking of the Old Testament, Matthew's basket of choice would never make it down the Nile.

Watching football and eating his tailgate snack of choice: Goldfish

Oh, boy! Rocks!

Pumpkins

Matthew is highly intrigued with the gourd-like squash that is abundant this time of year. He can't say "pumpkin" though, he calls them "ball". And like any other ball, Matthew wants to try and pick them up, throw them, or roll them.

No matter how big the pumpkin is, it's still a ball.

So Danielle bought Matthew his own pumpkin that is appropriately sized. It will be a miracle if it lasts until the end of the month.

Fantastic Fall Fun

Matthew was able to see both sets of grandparents this weekend, without leaving Georgia. First, Matthew got to spend time with Big Mama and Big Daddy Friday and Saturday. The SEC football fans got to watch little man while Mark and Danielle sat with Crit and watched Georgia get their first conference win. Due to the good results this weekend, the citizens of Dawg Nation are currently taking up a collection to try and get Big Mama and Big Daddy to watch Matthew during Georgia-Florida weekend.

Matthew also took his parents to a Corn Maze, Pumpkin Patch, Fall Festival in Newton County, GA

The wagon came in handy

Aunt Devin took him down a big slide while his Papa stood watch

Matthew enjoyed his time with Aunt D, Grandma, & Papa

After the hay-ride to end the evening, Matthew played the world's shortest game of fetch with Duke the wonderdog. Duke, a German shorthair pointer, was the only canine invited to Matthew's birthday party and is great with kids.

Matthew needed a bath, but Duke was not done playing.

Saddle Up

Matthew has been traveling a lot lately. The weekend of September 25th Matthew was in Alabama spending time with Big Mama, Mommie Dot, and Cowboy. By all accounts, Cowboy had a great weekend with Matthew and they spent a lot of time outside; with Cowboy sharing insights regarding farming and hunting. Although stories of them throwing rocks in the lake would tend to make one believe that his great-grandfather did not get around to discussing the finer points of fishing with little man.

Matthew got to ride home from Alabama facing forward in his car seat

 Jeans, T-shirt, and barefoot.....just like daddy

Last weekend Matthew headed east bound to South Carolina. While there he got to see Grandma, Papa, and Aunt D, as well as Memaw and Great-grandaddy Gardner. Matthew also got to go to a horse show. A lot has changed since his last horse show in May, including the fact that Matthew can now point and say "dog-dog" and he now needed to watch where he stepped. He also got to ride multiple horses.

Riding with his Aunt Devin

And Riding Buck with his Mama

Yeee-Haww