Bring Back the Crib!

Last Sunday, Matt took down Matilda's crib. The first thing she did when she saw her new "bed" was bounce on it. For her first nap, it only took about 2 hours to finally get her to fall asleep! At bedtime she does does stay in her bed, however she has learned how to take off her sleeper and diaper, so we usually find her lying on the mattress naked (which could have made for some nice blackmail pictures in the future if Matt & I were really evil). I just miss being able to put her in her crib and going to take a shower, now I have to wait approximately an hour to make sure she has fallen asleep. I'm hoping that the novelty of bed will wear off soon and she'll start falling asleep quicker.

C is for Cookies

Matilda seemed to enjoy herself as she "helped" me make Christmas cookies this past weekend. If I do say so myself, they were pretty ugly, but quite yummy. We're not even going to mention all of the health code violations that were broken during this culinary experience, but I will point out that Matilda is licking the frosting beater, NOT the raw cookie dough. I also slipped in a picture of Mattie decorating the Christmas tree from Thanksgiving weekend. Amazingly, she hasn't bothered it too much since we put it up (unless one of the kitties is beneath it).

Over and Out

This is the new theme of Matilda's naps (and bedtime once) as she has officially mastered the art of climbing out of her crib! Usually she is very stealth and Matt & I don't even know she's out of her crib until we hear her playing with a toy. We were going to wait until Matt's classes were over to move her out of the crib onto a classy college mattress (ie. one that's on the floor), but given that for 2 of the past 4 naps she spent the entire time climbing out of the crib, it looks like she'll be without a crib much sooner. Honestly, I really wasn't ready for this happen so soon & so quickly!

Thanksgiving Fun

Here's some footage of Matilda "rolling" out the pie crust for the Thanksgiving pumpkin pies (which she really enjoyed eating the next day!).

Finger Painting Fun

Last week Matilda thoroughly enjoyed herself while finger painting for the first time. I think the part she liked the most was being able to eat the "paint" since it was vanilla pudding with some food dye in it.

Halloween Tricks

Poor Matilda had a nasty Halloween trick played on her...she wasn't feeling very good that night. Fortunately, once we wrestled her into her costume (which she loved wearing last weekend mind you) she seemed to enjoy herself. Daddy took her to few houses on the block to get some treats, but she seemed to enjoy handing the treats out to the kids much more.

And speaking of tricks...Matt & I would like to know who played the trick on us by replacing our sweet, happy-go-lucky daughter with one that suddenly seems to be in her "terrible twos." I guess I always knew this day would come (especially considering the stories from the grandmothers on how well behaved Matilda's parents were), but a part of me was really hoping that we wouldn't be the parents with the child crying in the fetal position on the mall floor (thankfully it wasn't in a very crowded area).

Tinkerbell at the Zoo

Although this post does ruin the surprise of what Matilda will be for Halloween, how could I not post these pictures from Boo at the Zoo?! Matt, Matilda and I had a lot of fun when we attended Boo at the Zoo on Friday Night. Once again Matilda seemed to be more interested in the other kids and babies than the animals. We also found out that Matilda is NOT a fan of the Bob Evan's mascots, Biscuit and Gravy (sorry uncles!)

Fall Harvest Fun

This past weekend Matt, Matilda and I went to the Fall Harvest at a local "living" museum (which means people dress up like back in the day and explain how they survived without electricity, etc.). Matilda enjoyed walking with her parents and saying "go" so they would swing her, but her favorite part was eating the extra large sucker her daddy bought for her when mommy wasn't looking.

One, Two

Matilda has now mastered counting...to two! She's gotten so good at it that she likes to teach her baby how to count when we're reading our bedtime stories. Actually, Matilda is now quite the little mother. She loves taking care of her baby doll. She feeds the baby, talks to her, plays ring around the rosey with her, and tries to dress her (she hasn't mastered the dressing of the baby, but she's VERY good at undressing her!).

Talking Toddler

It seems like Matilda's vocabulary has exploded over the past few weeks! Every day it seems like she's saying a new word or phrase. Her favorite phrase lately has been "I broke it." Thankfully, she really hasn't broken anything, unless you count when she tears up her napkin.

Go Blue!

Matilda's all set to cheer on Michigan this season. Mommy and Daddy have even taught her how to say "go blue!"

Nineteen Months Stats and More

Last week Matilda had her 18th (actually 19th) month check up. Here are the stats: weight- 21 lbs 3 oz (7th %ile) and length- 32.5 inches (63rd %ile). She also got 2 shots, but thankfully did not seem to have too bad of a reaction to them.

The last 2 weekends have been pretty busy, but lots of fun. Over Labor Day weekend, I had to work inspecting some community events, so Matt and Matilda (and the grandparents) joined me. Matt made the mistake of taking Matilda into a bouncing inflatable at the first event. While it was fine for her and Daddy to bounce when no one else was around, it's quite a different matter when Daddy needs to leave and the big kids join in. Matilda doesn't seem to mind the danger of getting jumped on, as she screams "bounce" now whenever she sees an inflatable.

Then this past weekend Matilda joined her grandma, Zia Mindy and her family, and mommy in the Race for the Cure. Well, more like the 1 mile walk for the cure because there was no way I was running!

"Melmo": Savior or Satan?

The reason I ask this question is that I spent the vast majority of this past week watching Elmo videos with Matilda. Normally we do not let her watch too much TV, but since she had a fever of over 103 for 3 days and Elmo was the only thing that made her happy, we made an exception. Thankfully, the fever turned out to be due to a viral throat infection and she's made a full recovery. Unfortunately, she still wants to watch Elmo all the time on Daddy's big TV downstairs. But who could blame her? Elmo's basically life-sized on that TV!

More Fun at the Zoo

Last weekend Matt and I took Matilda to the zoo. The day started out fabulously with Mattie dumping her plate, which was filled with ketchup, all over herself (she's definitely like her Mommy when it comes to the use of ketchup on just about every food). After cleaning her up, we were able to enjoy the rest of the day and the animals. Matilda was especially interested in the seals, but for most exhibits I think she was more excited about trying to climb the fences than seeing the animals.

Walking the Dog

Here's a video and some pictures of Matilda walking Sammy (or Mammy as Matilda would say). I'm not sure who really walked who though!

Eighteen Months Old

It was definitely a lot harder trying to get these pictures, as Matilda doesn't want to sit still for more than 1 second! She is constantly on the move these days, mostly searching for things climb on. If she can get her foot or leg on/over it, she's going to try and climb it. We won't have her 18 months stats until next month (for some reason our well checks are a month behind). Maybe we'll try and get some unofficial ones this week, that is if we can get her to stand still on the scale!

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Thankfully, there wasn't any screaming when we gave Matilda her first ice cream (technically frozen custard) cone, only lots of laughing and smiling. Matt & I were surprised at how little of a mess Matilda made when eating her ice cream. We thought for sure we were going home and heading straight for the bathtub. It seems that Matilda shares her parents love of ice cream and didn't want any to go to waste!

Patty Pat

Here's Matilda dancing along with one of her favorite songs. (Sorry the video is sideways, you would think I would know not turn the camera by now!)

Miss Independent

That's what Mattie's 4th of July dress said, and boy is it spot on! Matilda seems to be doing something new all by herself everyday (or at least trying to). She eats with a fork, likes to try and get her own water from the refrigerator water dispenser (thank goodness for the lock on it!), files her toenails, and kisses her own boo-boos! She has also gotten very good at getting stuck on various pieces of furniture as she continues to work on her climbing ability.