Matilda's First Christmas

We are gearing up for Matilda's first Christmas. This year we are celebrating in Reno. We will miss our family and friends in England, but we will be there next year. (Hard to imagine that Matilda will be 18 months, Hattie 2, and Hebe will be turning 4!) There are lots of presents under the tree for the little girl and we can't wait to open them tomorrow morning.

Tonight we are having dinner at Grandpapa's house and tomorrow we will gather at Mema and Iron Mike's house. Aunt Karen, Uncle Mike, Joe and Carmen are here from LA to celebrate with us. Uncle Ryan is also here from Iowa. We are looking forward to the festivities.

Omi has booked her ticket and will be with us for 10 days starting on January 16th. We are so excited for her visit! We wish Opa was coming, but maybe next time. Someone has to look after all the furry friends.

Matilda is sitting up unassisted now. She is a bit wobbly and has had some face plants, but her longest stretch is about 4 minutes before toppling over. She is also getting better at rolling onto her tummy, but still has one arm pinned underneath her. It is only a matter of time and then there will be no stopping her. Crawling is next!

She has begun to drool excessively again so I think think one of the top teeth is ready to bust through. Not too fussy with this one yet, but she has traded that in for 5 am wakings for the last few weeks. Don't know which I would choose. Today, however, she did sleep in until 7:00, but only after waking at 11:00 and 3:00. She is very unpredictable, but we love that about her. (I keep having to remind myself of that at the wee hours when I am a total zombie.)

We send lots of love and wish everyone a very merry Christmas!

Hooray! Matilda is 6 months today!

I can't believe half a year has gone by since Matilda came into our lives. I love her more and more each day and can't wait for the next six months and beyond. She celebrated last night by waking up every hour. Today has been full of naps and cranky episodes. Some exciting things happened this week, which may be causing the sleeplessness. Her second tooth is arriving. I can see it through the gums, and I think I might have felt it just a few minutes ago. This one is much different than the first. No drool or runny nose...however that may be to come. Also this week she has made it onto her side from her back and a few times she has actually rolled onto her tummy, but her arm is still pinned underneath her. Apparently that does not count as a full roll. She should be there in a few days. She hates being on her tummy so I'm sure when she does master it, she won't spend too long looking around. She was on her tummy the other night and I noticed her lifting up her legs and pushing them out, trying to scoot. Won't be long before she is crawling! She has also started using her lovely orange Stokke highchair. She is sitting up in it big and tall and loves to eat her cereal in it.

Tonight is my Papa's fourth annual Christmas party. Sadly Matilda won't be there as it starts at her bedtime. Papa is staying home with her so I can go up and help my mom. He is expecting 35 of his friends! We will all be there for sure next year.

Must figure out how to add pictures...weekend project for Bart.

It's Quiet Around Here!

We are back down to 3 around here and it is very quiet in the house. We miss the Frisbys, but had a wonderful time the 2 weeks they were here. Hebe and Hattie are sweet, beautiful little girls and we can't wait to see how much they have grown when we visit England next Christmas. Matilda will be 18 months then and walking. I am already gearing myself up for busy flights.

She had her 5 month checkup yesterday. Actually it was more like a 5 1/2 month checkup. (With all the traveling we did, our schedule is a bit off.) She only gained 1/2 pound which worried me a bit, but the doctor was not concerned. She said there has been a lot going on with being sick, teething and visitors and now that she is noticing everything, eating is not a top priority. She is meeting all of her milestones so no worries there. She rarely shows signs of hunger, so I have put her on a 4 hour schedule. The doctor wants me to move it back to 3 to see if that helps. Hopefully next appointment we will see some more progress. She will have another round of shots which is never pleasant.

She is a tiny little thing and is still swimming in her 3-6 month pants if she doesn't have a cloth diaper on. Chrissy and I went through her 6-12 month clothes the other day, but it may be a bit before she is wearing them.

No other news to report, except that the tooth is slowly moving up from the gums. She likes to grab our fingers and chomp on them. Just a matter of time before the next one starts to pop out, followed by sleepless nights, runny nose and lots of irritability.