9 Months!

Hard to believe that Matilda will be 1 year old in just 3 months. I have not updated in a while. Everyday I remind myself to do it, but somehow the days are moving at the speed of light.

I thought for sure Matilda would be crawling by this age, but she is able to get around very easily by rolling and scooting. She loves trapping herself under the couch and chair in the living room. The remote control, the phone and the laptop charger wire are her favorite items at the moment. And she loves all iPhones. I keep mine safely in my pocket, but she has gotten a few into her mouth. I think she likes chomping on the rubber cases.

Speaking of chomping, a top tooth is bulging right below the surface. She has been a little cranky, but nothing too bad yet. She is sleeping through the night from 7-7. I know she will throw a wrench in things at some point and we'll be up in the middle of the night again, but I am so enjoying it while it lasts.

We have a few trips planned....off to Davis in a few weekends to visit our good friends McKenna and Eliot. Matilda is so excited to see her new boyfriend Jackson. He is just a few months younger than she is. She loves children in any shape or size so I know she is going to have great fun with him. Matilda and I are then headed to LA for a long weekend to visit our family and then we are off to Iowa to see Uncle Ryan. We are so excited to visit the town he has been living in for the last few years. Fingers crossed that Matilda is as good on the planes as she has been in the past. She is a wriggler for sure, and will most likely be crawling by then. I am flying to LA by myself, but luckily Uncle David will be with us on the Iowa trip. Sadly, Bart is staying home.

My wonderful year at home is coming to an end. I feel so fortunate that one of us has been able to spend this time with our daughter. I have had such a fantastic time with her! I wish I could do it forever, but I must begin the job hunt. Who knows what is out there with Nevada at a 9% unemployment rate, but I have a few hopeful leads. We are really hoping that I only have to work part-time. Mema has graciously offered to watch Matilda while I go to work. So nice that we don't have to put her in daycare just yet.

Lots of Visitors

It's been a while....Omi visited for 10 days and we had so much fun with her. The time always goes by so fast, but she will be here for Matilda's first, hopefully with Opa in tow. Scott, Emily, Elise and Adelle are visiting from Memphis this week. Adelle is now four months old and is such a beautiful baby. She smiles and giggles all the time. Elise is in full on imaginary world mode. I love listening to her, talking about where she is and what she is doing....Target, bathing her babies, music class.

Matilda is very close to crawling. She pushes up on her arms and lifts her chest off the ground. As I was typing the first paragraph, she was trying to reach for a toy and almost got up onto her knees. She instead decided to roll over a few times and has now put the phone into her mouth, the place where all things go. We are reading a lot of books and she loves looking at pictures, but mostly just wants to put the book in her mouth. I hold it far enough away so she can't grab it, but I eventually give in to the teeth and drool.

She will be 8 months in just over a week! We celebrate again with a shot...only one this time.

7 Months Old!

Matilda turned 7 months yesterday and she is closer to a year old than when she was born. I can't believe how fast it is all going. I love this time with her as a baby as she is learning new things everyday, but I am so excited for what is to come.

She is a rolling machine now. She has finally figured out that rolling is a mode of transportation. If she sees something across the room she wants, she can be over to it in minutes. She continues to rock back and forth when she is on her tummy and is now able to deal with 5 minutes in that position before she starts to melt down.

The replacement mattress for her crib came today (long story), so she will be moving into her room. Haven't decided if we should wait for the weekend so we can have a few more nights with her, or just bite the bullet and put her in there tonight. She has been waking up a lot the last few nights and I dread getting up and down to soothe her. She can't seem to get back to sleep on her own quite yet. I think the swaddling is coming to end as she fights it more than ever now. But she is lying in her crib as I type this in a sleep sack not quite knowing how to fall asleep. She still flails her arms around and can't quite settle. I am hoping this won't be a long process as we all need our sleep.

Omi arrives in a few days and can't wait for her visit! The Memphis crew will also be here in a few weeks.

I typed too soon....I can see her getting drowsy in her crib. Maybe this won't be too bad. Fingers crossed!

Happy New Year!

A new year is upon us and we can't wait for the new adventures that await us.

Matilda had a wonderful Christmas. She loved opening up all of her lovely gifts and is enjoying playing with all of them.

Yesterday she officially rolled over from back to tummy. She has finally figured out how to unpin her arm. I thought she would be rolling nonstop, but she still prefers lying on her back. I am sure she will soon figure out that it is a great mode of transportation.

She had a round of shots today and it seems to be getting easier each time. The tears don't last as long. It is still heart wrenching for both Bart and I. The doctor said we could give her Cheerios so we tried that this afternoon. Most of them ended up on the floor for Bob and when I finally popped one into her mouth for her, she didn't seem to like it too much. I think it is just the texture that she needs to get used to.

Not much more to report....Omi arrives in less than two weeks and then The Evans family will be here at the end of January for the Super Bowl and Uncle Norm's 60th!

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.