More from Brad and Rachel's Wedding

More pics - as you can see, everyone had a great time.

Brad & Rachel's Wedding

We've been so busy the past few days we haven't had time to post anything. But we went to a REALLY great wedding reception the other night.

Rachel, great job putting this together. We all had an awesome time .... including Matthew, as evidenced by this 4-minute video of him dominating the dance floor.

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today our lives changed forever. After waiting 3 months and 3 weeks since we first saw his picture, Matthew Conor Joon Seong Murphy was placed in our arms. As quickly as this year has flown by, I still can't remember what life was like before Matthew. There are not enough words to describe how much we love him or how wonderful this past year has been. Let's take a trip down memory lane with a few pictures from Matthew's first 24 hours home with his family and some from this morning at the zoo.

With the escort:
First time Matthew looked at his mommy. He wasn't too happy 10 seconds later.

On the plane on the way home from JFK to Boston

Playing with his toys for the first time

Snuggling with daddy
First night in his crib. Matthew slept 16 hours the first night.
Today- our big boy playing on the jungle gym at the zoo this morning
Today on the merry-go-round


Eating pizza for lunch today like a big boy (dipping the pizza in parmesan cheese)

Just another day at the beach

As I sit here eating some fudge, check out our pictures from today. We went to Rockport where we discovered Front Beach (the best beach in MA!).

Matthew picking snails off a rock and tossing them back into the water:

Some Party Footage

Thanks again to everyone that made it to Matthew's rager this past Saturday. Here is some footage to let you relive some of the craziness.

Matthew Takes a Dip

Today Matthew had his first swimming lesson. He has been in a pool before but this was his first class with some instruction. We weren't allowed to take pictures or even stand near the pool but I got a few unauthorized pics before I was ushered out. I would expect nothing less from a swimming pool located in the town of Brookline (where I was a taxpayer for 5+ years, BTW).

Anyway, Matthew seemed to enjoy it. Each class he'll be accompanied by a parent. I am going to go next week. He'll probably be doing handstands and cannonballs in no time.

Fun Times Today

Hey thanks to everyone who came to the birthday party today. We thought it went very well. It was great to get those kids together and I know Matthew had a great time. Thanks again to everyone who came and thank you very much for all the great presents!

Happy Birthday Jodi!!!

Continuing with the weekend of birthday madness, we celebrated Jodi's birthday today. Happy birthday Jodi you're a fantastic wife and a great mom!

Next birthday: the USA

Happy Birthday Matthew!!!

Well, today was Matthew's 2nd birthday. Of course, it was his first birthday here with us so we made sure it was a good one. Our day:

5:50: Matthew wakes up and refuses to go back to sleep; but does end up watching about 1.5 hours of his Leapfrog DVD's in bed (thank god).

8:30: Breakfast is finished and presents are opened; Matthew's favorite present is probably the mini BBQ grill set we got for him which allows him to emulate the delicious BBQ I make (and to a lesser extent, the BBQ Jodi makes).

11:30: after 2 hours of pretend grilling we head to the park with Belle. Besides being Matthew's birthday, today was some of the nicest weather we've had all year (and we've had some good weather lately). So we took advantage of it to walk to the park and play in the sandbox.

3:00: Arrive at Salem Willows Amusement Park which is this weird little corner of Salem which contains a barn with little rides for kids and a bunch of ice cream places. It's right on the ocean and a pretty nice place to go with little kids. We totally found out about it this afternoon.

4:45: show up in downtown Salem, MA. Salem is basically another one of those nice towns by the ocean that is unusually difficult to get to but generally worthwhile once you get there. We got dinner in the last remaining Victoria's Station in America. Victoria's Stations used to be a chain of restaurants that looked like train cars. Of course this one in Salem just looked like a normal restaurant and what they lacked in train memorabilia they more than made up for in prime rib which Matthew enjoyed for dinner. He also got dessert with a candle and we got to sing happy birthday.

All in all a good day. Happy birthday to Matthew the best little guy in the world!