"Oh boy presents!"

Mitch's gift to Kim was the hit of the party. It is a digital picture frame that he loaded with family pictures. It plays music while it transitions through the pictures.

Terri, Kim, and I played a little gag on Mitch. By wrapping his gift in Victoria's Secret paper, we led him to believe that I had bought a gift for Grandma Wright instead of him (a secret Santa faux pas). Then we made him open the gift...

Mandi & Beau got a visual of Mitch in lace.

To Mitch's relief, the box contained a jogging suit.

As you can see, I was quite proud of myself for this one. CLICK HERE to see the gag unfold.

No one could get over how much Dillon has grown...

But, as his mother, Gabrielle felt obliged to whisper in his ear that she "can still take him".

In an effort to keep track, Kim offered to write everyone's name on their cup. But Frank, fearing a conspiracy was afoot, wasn't buying her motives.

This year I was selected to carve the bird.

No worthy "man-task" should be attempted solo. Therefore, Uncle Keith was my wing-man.

Eeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuu! Mike, no one wants that part!

After all of his running around, Grandma Wright rocked Matthew to sleep in the old, faithful, rocking chair.

Merry Christmas Everyone! We had lots of fun bringing these pictures to you. Here is a very cute "Matthew the dancing Elf" video Terri made to end the collage. CLICK HERE to view it.

With all of Matthew's doctor appointments, this is as far as we got with the inside decorations this year. Terri took this picture of the would-be tree corner so we all could have a laugh.

We are attempting to teach Matthew that it is better to give than receive. So we spent the morning baking cookies for our neighbors. We figured he wouldn't mind since he doesn't eat cookies yet (or anything else for that matter).

That rather smug look on Uncle Keith's face is do to the first of Matthew's Christmas gifts. He couldn't wait for tomorrow so Matthew got his Ram's jersey in time for the game. In order to record my own son's turn to the dark side of the NFL, Keith shot the attached video. CLICK HERE to view it.

Oh no Uncle Keith...Not the "Lambs"!

Matthew is getting much better at walking. He still continues to stumble over every obstruction as evidenced by the bumps & bruises on his face.

Goodnight Mommy! Oh and Santa... We've been extra good this year.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even little Magoo.

Isn't this a cute picture of Mommy & Matthew?

I'm going to have a talk with Grandma Wright about reading Calvin & Hobbes to Matthew. I think it's having a negative effect on his picture posing.

As you can see by the look on his face, Matthew cannot wait any longer to debut his first music video. He would like to give thanks to the "whole famn damily" for their copious cameos along with Mr. Buck Owens for the righteous tones. The name of this song is "Buckaroo" (which is fitting). CLICK HERE to view the video.

"Bravo, Daddy! Bravo!" Matthew enjoyed seeing his antics set to music.

This is Terri...Mike will be updating the blog as soon as he can! He's working on a cute little video of Matthew. But quickly I wanted to let you know that Dr. Mayman called Monday night re: Matthew's catscan... and said it looked good. His pulmonary branches are small... but he didn't seem too concerned about that, at this time. We will just need to keep our eye on his leak. I have been getting lots of emails and calls re: the catscan... so I wanted to give a quick little update so everyone can feel the relief we feel. We are still not ready for Christmas!! ... all of our decorations and the tree is still sitting in boxes in our front entry. Mike did put up Christmas lights and decorated our front gate and mailbox. I have not been able to do one bit of shopping ... we've had so many doctor appointments and tests at the hospital the past three weeks. I was able to stay awake last night to fill out 50 Christmas cards. We are planning to do some Christmas cookie baking sometime before Christmas. Well.. toodle woo and I can't wait to see what Mike has in store for us w/ the video w/ music. Happy shopping to everyone. We love you all and thank you for your continued prayers for our family.

Matthew absolutely loves the little doggy puppet that he got from our friend Denelle and her Mom. We made a quick video of him interacting with it. CLICK HERE to view it.

Though he resembles a drunken sailor (or my co-worker Wes) on a Saturday night, Matthew is walking all over the house. Terri made a video of him with her cel phone and we posted it on YouTube. It is grainy but, if Matthew's fans like it, We'll get a better video camera and post more footage. CLICK HERE to view Matthew walking.

"When Toddlers Attack!"

As Terri tried to record Matthew playing the finger flute, he decided that he wanted her cel phone (is he her son or what?). As his head hurdled towards the lens, you can hear Mommy start to laugh. CLICK HERE to see the video.

Matthew was a real trooper today at the hospital. He is at the age now where he is cognizent of hospitals and doctor's offices and, therefore, cried whenever we put him down or undressed him. even though he is getting bigger, he is still small enough that only the pink outfits will fit (much to my chagrin). After his CT scan, he only had to spend 30 minutes in recovery before his release. We are expecting the results on Monday.

Matthew has recently outgrown the sink. Our big boy has finally graduated to the bath tub. Here are a couple pictures from his first bath in the tub.

I sure am happy that today is over!! We took Matthew to the Sunrise Diagnostic Center today for his kidney reflux test and ultrasound on his kidneys. I've been dreading this day for months.... but I have to say... it was not as horrible as last year. He was a champ... and as uncomfortable as it was.... he was quite brave! He didn't scream his head off for 30 minutes like he did last year... This time he had great caregivers ~ Dr. Montes, Nurse Kim and Tech Bruce... Matthew was wrapped up (sort of like a straight jacket) on a board type thing to keep him still ....
The nurse lubed up his little (eh hum... big) wing wang real good and slid that catheter in there as fast as could be!! The doctor blew tiny little bubbles all over the place to distract him. He talked to him so sweetly! Bruce got us set up and played w/ Matthew. He was helpful from the very beginning. My friend Aracely was right... Sunrise is the best place to take your child for a kidney reflux test! We were in and out ~ right on time! We found that the left side has healed but the right side still refluxes ~ so most likely he'll stay on antibiotics for one more year ~ until the next VCUG. Matthew and I will go see our pediatrician, Dr. Michael Tenby on Friday morning for all the results.

Thursday is the catscan on his ticker ~ they need to put him under for this test. Apparently it is sooo fast... that he needs to be perfectly still, hence the anesthesiologist.
Pray that his pulmonary branches and arteries are not narrowing!!!!!! Stay tuned!
Terri

I have a limited amount of baby experience to draw from but Mommy & Grandma Wright both agree that Matthew is an especially happy baby. He really is a pleasure to be around. Uncle Keith was commenting to a co-worker on Saturday that Matthew is a joy to have over on football Sundays. I often wonder if his rough beginnings have given him perspective.

Matthew likes to lay on his back and look up at the ceiling. I can't wait to lay out with him on a dark Utah night (when it's warmer)and gaze up at the stars.

You know I'm partial to pictures of Matthew and his books!

HELLO!! This is Terri :-) , using Kim's name ~ I can't figure out how to do my own. Just a quick update. We went to the cardiologist for Matthew's ECHO on Tuesday. We always love to see Dr. Mayman. Our Dr. Mayman is watching a little valve leak. It is causing the right side of his heart to be a bit enlarged. Docs rate leaks from 1 to 10 ... 10 meaning he will need a valve replacement. In May, the leak was rated a 2 ~ Tuesday it was a 4.7 ~ Not sure if it will leak slowly or if it can increase. We of course are hoping for NO SURGERIES in the near future ... We'll just have to keep a watch on the leak. Matthew will be going in this Thursday, Dec. 14th for a catscan of his heart. Dr. is checking on his pulmonary branches and arteries ~ we are hoping they aren't narrowing. If so, they can dilate during a heart cath or they can put in a shunt. We'll see........Poor little guy, he will also be going in on Tuesday for a kidney reflux test (which will be quite unpleasant for him) and an ultrasound on his kidney. We are hoping that his kidney reflux as improved. Please pray that all will be okay for our little guy. Also, please pray for some friends of ours that we met at Stanford last year, their baby Little Lincoln Carter www.littlelincolncarter.blogspot.com ~ he had a stroke this week and he's waiting for a heart transplant.

Medically, December will be a very busy month for Matthew. He is scheduled for a CT scan of his heart, an MRI on his brain, and a kidney reflux test. Depending on the results, he could be headed for another surgery. Please continue to keep him in your prayers as they have always worked in the past.

Matthew likes to use my leg to pull himself up from the floor. With the big smile that always follows, I think it is just a ploy to lure me into picking him up.

Now I ask you, could you resist this face?

Mommy is in Reno this weekend so it's just us guys. Matthew wanted to take this opportunity to show you what a difference 10 months makes...

In January, Matthew and I had a "boy's only" weekend. It was much easier then because Matthew was not yet mobile.

Matthew is really getting around. He has been venturing out from the comfort of the couch, coffee table, and other stationary objects. When he walks, he keeps his arms centered in front of his chest for balance.

In addition to exploring his surroundings, Matthew still uses his mouth to explore every object he encounters.