Matty's First Beach Trip

The Murphey family has always vacationed at the beach for as long as I can remember, but in recent years it's been hard to keep the annual trips going, between young growing families, busy work schedules and other vacation plans. But last year when Mom got sick, we decided it was high time to reinstate the annual beach trip, and make scheduling quality family time a priority once again. So Matty and I spent Memorial Day week in Isle of Palm, SC with Mom, Dad, Jen, Kevin and Hudson. Ben, sadly, had to stay behind because of work, but besides his absence it was a fun and memorable week! Dad and Kevin got in a little golf and fishing with Hudson, the ladies did a bit of shopping, and, of course, there was lots to eat!

It was so fun to show Matty the ocean for the very first time! I don't think he was super impressed with the grandeur of it all, but hopefully next year will be different! As requested by his Daddy, I made sure Matty put his feet in the water and the sand, and needless to say, he loathed both of those experiences tremendously and protested loudly! Mostly, Matt spent his beach time napping in a little UV resistant tent that Jen's friend, Ashlea, had loaned us. It was perfect for a little 2 month old! Ashlea and her twins, Mary Farris and Rowan joined us for a little fun in the sun most mornings during the week which was fun for everyone, especially Hudson who is great with her toddlers. I am happy to know we have a built in toddler expert when the time comes!

Ben kept himself busy while we were gone as well, projecting a good bit around the house and yard and topping off the week fly fishing the in the Chattahoochee River. It was a great week, but Matt and I are very glad to be home with Ben and look forward to next year's beach trip when we can all be there. And Matty can hopefully take a tad bit more interest in it all!

Matt is growing and changing so much, everyday it seems. He is smiling LOTS these days and is laughing out loud now...it's a beautiful sound! He is such a happy little boy, I can hardly believe how lucky we got with him! He is just such a joy to be around, I swear it's just pure happiness to watch him observe the world!

Right now we are very much looking forward to the end of this week when we head to Austin for Matty's christening and to show him off to Ben's side of the family, his grandparents, and cousins who haven't met him yet. It's going to be a very special occasion and we are very excited! Pray for us that our first flight with him goes smoothly!

Happy Mother's Day

This was another big week for Matt: he survived his first overnight trip. Ben, Matt and I headed to Macon on Saturday so we could introduce him to all of his cousins (Clay, Lynn, Hollis, J.C., Craig, Dawn, Stephen and Ryan). We had a great time! For as close as we live to Macon, sadly we don't get home nearly as much as we should so it was nice to be able to see the family and hang out and make those special first introductions. We also were able to stop by and visit a very special lady to me and my family, Kathleen Maxfield. Practically my surrogate grandmother when I was growing up, my friends and I spent countless hours in her living room hearing stories of her and her husband's worldly travels. As she was such an influential person since I was as young as Matt, it was extremely special to be able to introduce her to our son.

And it must be said that my first Mother's Day started with a bang! (Of thunder, a crash of lightning and a bam as a giant limb hit our roof...) Matt woke me up Mother's Day morning to politely request an early meal around 5AM, and shortly after he fell back to sleep I heard the weather sirens going off. It took this new mom all of about 2 seconds to grab him, his pacy and to head downstairs where my folks were already watching the weather. The storm was crazy and an f2 tornado ripped through Macon and did manage to cause some significant damage around town. Luckily with the exception of the huge limb and water and power loss, Mom and Dad's house escaped unscathed. As Matt and I were cuddled in the central most part of the house with no windows, I thought "I don't think I will be forgetting this Mother's Day anytime soon!"

One month old!

Matt turned one month old on Sunday! And he has learned and grown so much in that short time. A check up at the pediatrician's on Thursday showed that he is now 8 lbs, 6 oz, and is gaining weight perfectly: almost 2 pounds in the last 3 weeks. He seems so big to me now that I find it hard to believe most of his friends were about that big when they were born. This Momma is happy he, however, was not! He's grown an inch and a half since birth and is now 21 inches long. The doctor told us he was in the 20th percentile for weight and the 25th for height, but let's face it, he probably was never destined for the NBA with the genes Ben and I brought to the table! All in all his report from Dr. Ellerine was great and we have a textbook one month old on our hands!

This was a rather big week for Matt. He flashed his first big gummy social grins this week! It truly is the amazing experience you think it will be when his eyes lock with yours and he smiles that "I know you!" smile for the first time (and the second and the third...) He also has gotten good at holding his head up by himself and had a great big prideful smile on his face this morning when holding it up himself for a few seconds.

Patsy and I worked this week to set up his christening which we be in Austin in June, at the same church where Ben was baptised. We are so excited to head to Texas and have Matt meet all of his cousins and his great-grandparents! It can't come fast enough!