Well Mateo (Norma really) was not satisfied with his last set of photos. Back to the drawing board and with a new set of xmas clothes - I think he may be happy with this result :) As he's gaining more weight, he's finally fitting into his wee-little man clothes and looks cuter than ever. I personally was going to put on my xmas reindeer outfit to take a photo with Mateo, but Norma wasn't keen on the idea for some crazy reason. But few camera snaps later - we had our instant xmas card!

The rest of the photo session can be seen here in our gallery. 

It Christmas time!! Mateo got into his holiday best and posed for some pictures for mom and dad. Well he didn't actually pose - we waited till he was taking his after-dinner nap and we selfishly put him into camera position. Mom bought him his cute xmas jumper and hat and after putting up the xmas tree yesterday, the holiday mood lasted all weekend.  Stockings were put up on the fireplace and even Josie, our little lab, got to wear a snazzt reindeer antler hat but she wouldn't keep it on long enough for me to take a picture of it. Maybe next time.

Not exactly part of the christmas celebration, but it was too funny to not take a picture of, was mom's purchase of the aforementioned PeePeeTeePee product. I think that she had one too many times of Mateo's tinkle-sprinkle surprise when changing diapers that she bought these to combat getting his pee all over her face :) I think he actually does it on purpose and waits for her guard to go down when he's in his birthday suit and pops a little tinkle on mom.. I should really try to videotape it one of these days!

There is so much to be thankful for this year that it would be hard to put into words. Thank you to all of our family and friends for your support and affection - as we celebrate our first holiday meal with our expanded family - you are all in our thoughts and prayers.

Love,

Joe, Norma & Mateo

(Jetta,Josie, and Sadie say hi too!!) 

Well everyone says that Mateo looks like a spittin' image of his father. I think he looks more like his mom more than me, most especially when you look at our own baby pictures as a reference. But since I was losing that argument with Norma - I figured that if he's to look a little like me, may as well have him go all the way :)

What really happened was that I was picking him up to get him ready to feed and he ripped my glasses off my face and we couldn't resist grabbing the camera to take a picture since it was too funny not to. I know he will probably hate us for doing so when he gets older - but he can pay us back when he has to take care of us in the retirement home and he'll make his father wear a dress all day..lol

Now that he's been staying awake longer after his meals, Mateo's been hanging out on his Baby Einstein playmat more often (thanks Adam & Petra). He's already learned how to flip over from his belly to his back, but I missed the video camera when he's done it the last several times. Here's a little video of his playtime.

So this was Mateo's first Halloween and he asked to be dressed up as his favorite Star Wars hero - Yoda. Finding a Yoda outfit that fit a premie was tough but he was pretty adamant about it wearing it

We got him all dressed up but he was a wee bit too tired and hungry to go walking around the neighborhood for trick or treating - so we just waited at the house and handed out candy as the older kids came by.

Nothing is more frightening than running out of candy on Halloween night, so this time we stacked up on the goodies and even had a little left over this year. Overall it was fun but maybe next year Mateo will be able to carry a little Yoda light-saber!

We went to our first pediatrician appointment on Friday with Dr. Ege. Mateo came in weighing at 5lbs 15ounces which was great since he left the at 5.11. He gained about 1/2 inch as well so everything looks great with his progress. Dr Ege said to keep on feeding him as often as he wants to eat for now, which has been about every couple of hours.

Today Mateo got to finally graduate from the NICU and headed home with mom and dad. He made great progress the last few days and was eating with increased vigor and aggresiveness. They removed his nasal feeding tube on Sunday and tried to see how he would do with just breast/bottle feeding. Even though he previously pulled out the tube by himself three times before - this time he was really on his own. He did great and ate all his minimum requirements to pass the NICU guidelines.

Mateo hit the 2 week mark today and it was his best day yet. He has been more alert and is gaining energy every day we visit so the progress so far has been steady and we're hoping he'll be home soon. 

Yesterday Mom, with the help from Nurse Vicki, gave Mateo his first bath. It was hard to tell whether he enjoyed it or hated it but he did let out a few cries and then settled in to knowing he wasn't going to win the wiggle battle.