Friday Feature

Matilda has been busy as usual this week!

She's really working on those teeth, we're still hoping they'll pop through soon so she can have some relief.

She's learning new sounds every couple days and having a good time exercising her voice.

She's finally noticed Laddie and shown an interest in the dogs--even petting them and letting them kiss her.

She got an exersaucer and loves playing in it and practicing standing.

Her attention span has grown enough to enjoy stories now--Daddy reads her a story from our Little Golden Book collection every morning, and she enjoys them all.

She has learned that if she throws her toys on the ground I will pick them up, and she thinks this is a really fun game.

And tonight she'll go out trick-or-treating for the first time!

Happy Birthday, Laddie!

Laddie is 4 years old today. He's our first "baby" and it's been so neat to watch him grow and change and learn. Here are some of my favorites of his "baby pictures."





This week, Matilda really took notice of him for the first time, and he was such a good sport. Here they are--watch the whole thing, the sweetest part is at the end!:

Happy Halloween

Chilli pepper

Play Time

Am I interrupting?



Matilda can grab her toys now. She likes to pick them up, chew on them, bang them together, drop them on the floor and scream at them. It keeps her very busy.

Rubber Ducky

Grandma Gustafson got Matilda a Halloween rubber duck and Matilda LOVED it!


Delicious!

MMMMMMMonday

This is a favorite at our house--particularly around the holidays, but we'll make it whenever we can. The recipe comes from the Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation in Lake Oconee, GA. Ed and I went there on our honeymoon and they were serving these all the time and they were delicious! When it was time to leave they gave us a jar-full and the recipe. They are delicious and bring back great memories for us.
Also, the lodge is fantastic, so if you're looking for a nice place for a luxurious and relaxing vacation I couldn't recommend the Reynold's Plantation more.

Spiced Pecans
1 Pound Pecan Halves
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp. Ground Cumin
1 Tbsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Kosher Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line sheet pan with parchment or silpat mat
Combine all ingredients and mix well.
Arrange in a single layer on pan
Bake 15 minutes, then stir.
Bake an additional 10 minutes.
Allow pecans to cool 5 minutes, then stir to loosen individual pieces.
Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Edited to add--yes, I am so tired I really did think it was Monday until I saw the post with a big "Tuesday" above it.

Matilda's Baptism

Matilda was baptized on September 28th by Pastor Carl Gray in the Fox Valley Presbyterian Church. Her aunt and uncle, Eric and Kim Gustafson, stood up as her sponsors. I know you've already seen pictures, but for those of you who missed it, here's the ceremony (it's 10 minutes long).

Playing with Eric and Kim

Friday Feature

This was a big week for Matilda!

She is starting to recognize her name. She will turn towards you when you say it, and when I stick it into songs I'm singing to her she'll smile as soon as she hears "Matilda."

She's laughing and cooing a lot more. She's starting to really find her voice and can get pretty loud--especially in the morning!

She's still teething, and she just went through a monster of a growth spurt--she was waking up 3-5 times a night to eat--previously she never got up more than once a night to eat since she was 7 weeks old. It was exhausting. But, she gained 9 ounces in one week! An average growth rate for babies is 1/2 an ounce a day, and Matilda has previously been slower than that, so you can see she's really grown this week!

She is now 11 pounds 7.5 ounces and she's too long for most of her 0-3 month sleepers--we just moved her up to the 3-6 month footed pajamas yesterday.

She's still loving to "stand" with help, but now she can do it just holding my fingers as long as I stand her up. She doesn't know how to get up on her own yet.

She's working on her tummy muscles, getting ready to sit (as you can see in the first video). She does these little "V" crunches where she lifts her head and shoulders up and her legs up at the same time.

And the big one--she rolled over for the first time (on purpose anyway) on Wednesday. She was 15 weeks and 5 days old when she did it. And I'm so proud! She did it while Ed was home for lunch and we were lucky enough to catch it on film. I'm so happy Daddy was home for this milestone.

Here she is rolling over:

What does a baby do on vacation?

Matilda had her first trip up to Door County a couple weeks ago. Here's how she spent her vacation:

There was snuggling and sleeping and foot ball:




There was dining out--Matilda was so good in her sling that we went out to dinner at the English Inn, lunch at Wilson's, breakfast at Al Johnson's and here we are at her first fish boil at the White Gull Inn.



She got a little fussy at dinner so we had to take her out of her sling. I gave her a bottle during dinner and then Daddy took over.




There was also plenty to see. She enjoyed taking baths in the big tub, showering in the giant shower, playing games all over, watching the dogs play in the lake, taking long walks in the woods, sitting outside by the fire, and here are the swans who came by almost every morning.



Of course after all that, there was more sleeping!



We had a really nice trip and I'm looking forward to Christmas when she'll be able to participate more.

Tummy Time

Matilda used to hate tummy time, but today she's doing really well and she rolled over for the FIRST TIME!!! (on purpose, anyway)

I'm so proud!

Super Baby!

Matilda likes to exercise with me--here we are doing "baby presses"

Matilda's First Adventure

At Shanti and Laura's wedding last month Matilda had her first adventure. She was stuck in an elevator! It was a first for Ed and I too. We were there with Connie and with Laura's grandparents. Luckily we had a cell signal so Connie called her husband, Doug, and he got the hotel staff to work on getting us out quickly.
Ed had a beer, one of the grandpas called the police, and Matilda slept through the whole thing.

New Moves

Matilda has learned that it is great fun to pull her feet up from under her tray in her high chair and bang them ON the tray and play with them. I'm sure this won't be nearly as cute when there is food on that tray!

On Wisconsin!

Daddy is at the game today and we're rooting for a win! Go Badgers!

Chewing it over

Here's Matilda on vacation! She's sitting up on the couch in Door County "watching" football (Purdue v. Penn State for those who are interested), and, as usual, chewing on her hands. Doesn't she look cozy?

All Clean

Playing is hard work!

Matilda was playing with her baby gym this afternoon, and her blankie, as always, was close at hand. I guess she got tired because the next thing I knew she had grabbed her blankie, pulled it up over her chin and was fast asleep, still clutching the blankie and still under her baby-gym. She's just too stinkin' cute, right?

Pumpking Picking

We took Matilda out to get her pumpkin this weekend.

First we had to dress her up in her pumpkin hat


Then Daddy carried her while we picked out the pumpkins.


Mommy got a snuggle in while Daddy picked up the pumpkins we chose.


Here is our little pumpkin with the pumpkins we chose.

Just to prove she was once this small

That's the bathroom sink!

MMMMMMMMMonday

It has been suggested that I post some recipies on here occasionally. I made a really tasty one this week and thought I'd share. It was moist and sweet and just a bit tangy. I hope you like it!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
For the cake:
1c. butter
2c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

For the filling:
1 jar preserves (optional)

2 Tbs butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
1 tsp cinnamon

cream 1 c. butter with 2c. sugar, beat until fluffy

beat in 2 eggs one at a time

add 1c. sour cream and 1 tsp vanilla

mix together 2c. flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt and stir into batter.

Pour 1/2 the batter into a greased 9x13 pan (you can use other pans but you will have to adjust your cooking time)

For the filling: Melt 2 Tbsp butter. Stir in 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2c. brown sugar and 1/3 c. flour and mix thoroughly.

Spread 1/2 a jar of your favorite preserves (I used my aunts home made blueberry) on the 1/2 of batter you poured into the pan. Sprinkle 1/2 the cinnamon filling on top of that.
Pour on the rest of the batter and smooth out, top with the other 1/2 of the jar of preserves and sprinkle the reserved 1/2 of the cinnamon filling.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with no wet batter on it (it is a very moist cake, so there will be crumbs on the toothpick unless you over-cook it.

Excuses, excuses

So, I know I haven't been posting recently. We were on vacation and when we got back I couldn't find my USB cable. I'll keep looking for it and if I don't find it this week I'll go get another one so I can get back to business here!

I skipped the Friday Feature this week because the whole no-cable business... but here's what she's been up to:

She's getting onto a good nap schedule and taking her naps in her crib.

She's still working on chewing on her feet.

She's enjoying baths in the big tub and loves her little tug-boat toy and pushes it all around the tub.

She likes to play with her burp cloths now. She grabs them and scrunches them up and shakes them around and covers and uncovers her face and even chews on them. Pretty cute!

She's still teething but with tylenol and hyland's teething tablets it feels like we're giving her the most relief that we can. She likes her teething rings but doesn't seem to understand them--she grabs them in her hand and then chews on her fist while she's holding the ring. She will chew on it some when we hold it for her though. I'm sill looking for the Razbaby teething pacifier. I haven't been able to find it in our local stores yet.

Finally, she's learning to nurse without the sheild. If you're into breastfeeding, you probably know what this is and understand that it took some work. If you're not, it won't really matter to you, but just know that she's doing a great job learning new things.

In other news, I started a stay at home mom's group (the SAHMs Club) at our house this week. There are 8 moms participating right now, and more who plan to join in January when their kids' schedules change. It was really nice to meet some other moms, know who is around during the day and see other babies to get a better idea of what to look forward to next with Matilda. There were three other babies--one is 2 weeks older than Matilda, one is 6 months old and one is 8 1/2 months old. There were also a 2 year old, 3 year old and two 4 year olds. All the kids behaved well and the moms were really friendly. It looks like we're going to be meeting every 2 weeks now, and I'm excited to be meeting new people.
Today Matilda and I are going to the breastfeeding group at the local hospital to meet some more moms and babies and get some tips and support about breastfeeding. If I get a chance to weigh her while we're there I'll let you know how big she's getting!

My dad is back state-side

My dad returned from Ireland tonight. He's been blogging about his trip at the Wandering Greene--check it out and check back for pictures of his trip.

Joy

It's nice being their Niece

Playtime

Tiny Toes

(Post by Edward): WE SOLD THE HOUSE!

Our cursed house in the damned city of Elkhart, Hell was finally sold on Friday. In this market, we are extremely happy that we finally found a buyer. A lot of our readers were at the house, and indeed, it was a really nice 1930's Cape Cod that deserved better than being in Elkhart. However, we are ready to fully put our time in Elkhart behind us forever. (Funny picture of Matilda to come)

Friday Feature

Matilda is 12 weeks old today! She'll be 3 months old tomorrow.

Here are this week's highlights:

She was baptised, she was awake for the whole thing and she didn't cry at all!

She went out to dinner at a nice restaurant and was so good that the diners at the next table complimented us on how good she was and everyone wanted to look at her and see how cute she is.

She has been more interested in rolling over. She's been ABLE to do it for a while, but didn't like to, now she's been more into it.

She managed to get a foot into her mouth for the first time. She seemed surprised and pleased, but I don't think she knows how she did it yet.

She's started playing quitely in her crib for a bit when she wakes up in the morning... let's hope that lasts--it's so much nicer to wake up to than crying!

She's enjoying her first vacation in Door County, so no new pictures until we get home--sorry!

And Matilda wants Grandma to know that we're thinking about her and hope she's feeling much better!

Proud Grandma and Grandpa

Aunt Kim

Uncle Eric