winter fun

so we decided to decorate a holiday tree filled with fruit, flowers and berries.

give peas a chance

giving thanks on tofurkey day

i had so much to be thankful for over the thanksgiving weekend. seeing the cooke's, olga, sasha and sonya was truly the highpoint of the weekend. i have never met a family so inviting, loving and warm. everyone is so talented and filled with an urge to learn about the world. i hope to follow their example. thank you aunt melissa for taking us to the tofurkey trot and for making a wonderful thanksgiving meal. thank you g and g for helping us get to austin. thank you uncle tyson for taking photographs of me at the festive and fun parade. thank you satchel for secretly being a sweet dog underneath your tough exterior and thank you fremont, shamus and spencer for running around like three crazy bandits searching for treasure.

happiness

positive radiance

such a healthy coif i have

this is what they do after i go to bed. oh my.

keep on clicking

my mother takes so many pictures. here she is experimenting with the camera. she enjoys staring through the camera and i enjoy staring at the camera.

perspective

an update for those who are unaware: the orange picture is george harrison musician extraordinaire. you may be familiar with a band that he performed with called the beatles. the blue picture is your truly, matthew long. resemblance uncanny. photo courtesy of tyson loe photography.

the 'rents

my parents and i have a wonderful time. we have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather by spending entire days outdoors. as a matter of fact, as soon as i wake up from the current nap that i am taking, my mother and i will attempt to walk up the hill to visit my father on campus.
i truly love my first fall. my parents tell me that it is a particularly nice fall. perhaps its because i am here or maybe the autumn colors are more vibrant and pleasing. or perhaps the autumn colors are more vibrant and pleasing because i am here.

family members

over the weekend, i had the pleasure of seeing grandma olga and great grandma valentine. we had a wonderful time discussing life over a nice sushi and spring roll dinner.
i sucked on my thumb all weekend and i even managed to squeeze some feet in there as well.

*they say that you really get to know your family around holiday time*

my first halloween was ultra spooktacular! we had a wonderful time dressing up as tree creatures. myself, a fairy, my mother, a brownie and my father a giant elf. grandma and grandpa were the scarecrow and mr. selleck. maryn and jill, cowgirls. uncle michael was president bush, the spookiest of all that night.
*they say that you really get to know your family around holiday time*

off to the land of the loe longs

olive enjoyed her trip to austin this weekend. as you can see. she drools as a result of her sprouting teeth. she babbles talk of mama and dada, and has a particular fondness for melissa, her aunt. she rolls to her stomach for slumber and she scratches her head like a madwoman. two mama traits that may or may not be good. and how can i forget, olive is beginning to walk with assitance and in a premature effort to produce washboard abs she practices sit ups while reaching for her toes.