Friday Funny

Dada

Matilda said her first word this morning--"dada." What a happy surprise!

What?

Just because it's a cute picture.

Rockin'

Matilda is getting old enough to enjoy "adventure" now. She likes to be (gently) tossed in the air, she likes to dance, be held upside down, and now she likes to ride her rocking horse.

Balancing Act

Matilda is able to stand and play with toys now--her balance has improved enough that she'll stay up as long as she is holding on with one hand.

Out to Lunch

We took Matilda out to lunch yesterday and she got to sit in a big-girl high chair at the restaurant for the first time.

This is what she did:








Yes, I cleaned it first.

Cute, soft, and cost-effective!

I know this probably seems crazy to a lot of you, but after doing considerable research, I've decided that cloth diapering is the best thing for our family right now. Matilda's sensitive skin seems to be bothered by all diapers except Pamper's Swaddlers, and they only go up to size 2, which she is already in. Cloth diapers are softer and aren't full of all kinds of chemicals that are in the other diapers that are bothering her skin. Also, turns out they are much more economical! With a coupon it costs about $22 to diaper Matilda in disposables for 7-9 days. So for the cost of less than 3 months of disposable diapering I've purchased all the supplies to make her cloth diaper stash--and even better, they're one size fits all and durable enough to last through 2 children! I'm happy with the savings... and they're SO cute!
Here's the first diaper I made, and Matilda modeling it:

The diaper and matching wipe (this is a fitted pocket diaper I made from a free Rita's Rump Pocket pattern)


Matilda showing off her fluffy butt:




Good to go with her Thirsties cover (a hand-me-down gift from a friend)

About those teeth

So Matilda's first tooth broke through on Christmas Eve. But it's been really difficult to catch a picture of the little thing.
Now she has two teeth, and it's still been hard to capture them because she's usually like this:



Or this:



But, here they are! For the first time appearing on the blog, Matilda's two teeth!

pfffft!

Matilda has begun to mimic, and is really getting a kick out of sticking out her tongue.

See how Daddy does it?


Matilda can do it too!*


Look at these goofs!


*I don't know why that text links to the picture... just does.

Precious

She just fell asleep playing. awwwww.

MMMMMMMonday!

This one is special and decadent, and would be great to have whenever, or consdier for Valentine's Day! Because I love you all, I'm sharing this with you. You're welcome.

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Brownies
Brownies:
1 stick butter
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Heavy pinch of salt
1/2 c. flour

Cheesecake filling:
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp flour
1/2 c. preserves

Preheat oven to 350
Melt butter, stir in cocoa powder.
Add sugar.
Beat in eggs and vanilla
Stir in flour until combined.
Batter will be thick
Spread into a greased 8x8 pan

Meanwhile, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla and flour in another bowl.

Pour the "cheesecake" batter over the brownie batter in the pan.
Spoon on the preserves (I like cherry, raspberry and strawberry would probably be really good too).
I like to spoon it on in rows.
Draw a knife slowly back and forth through all the layers to "marble" the brownies.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
I would share a picture but we already ate them all.

Enjoy!

Sporty

Matilda is rocking the Adidas track suit Uncle Eric and Aunt Kim gave her for Christmas--too cute!

Time to Wake Up!

So cute asleep! but it's time to wake up...


What are you doing?!


Just give me a second to stretch. I'm not happy about you waking me up!


Alright, good to go!

Play date

On New Year's Day Matilda and I drove up to Milwaukee to visit my friend, Jess, and her daughter, Hailey. Hailey was born 2 days before Matilda and Jess and I met while we were both expecting and became friends bonding over our pregnancy experiences.
It was so cute to see the girls together. Jess and I got them matching tops to wear for pictures--but it's really hard to get a picture of 2 six-month-old babies smiling at the same time!
Hailey was really interested in Matilda and wanted to be touching her whenever they were close. Matilda was really interested in Hailey's toys! They both were interested in the football bowl game that was on tv when we tried to take this picture:

Pals

Matilda totally owns Romper now. He doesn't move when she gets close. He's soooo submissive and she's so curious. I never would have guessed that Laddie would be the one who was more interested in Matilda than Romper! Matilda, of course, is crazy about both of them!

sip

We're just starting to introduce a cup to Matilda. The sippy cup is too hard to drink out of, so I thought we'd try a regular cup just to get the idea that she can get food from a cup. Grandpa got her a tiny little coffee mug that says "baby's first finnish cup" and that's the cup we tried this morning.
I'm sure it's not the cup's fault, but Matilda didn't really seem into it yet.

Matilda's 6 month check up

Matilda had her 6 month check up today.
She is 14 pounds, 7 ounces and 27 inches long.
She is still in the 20th percentile for weight and the 90th for height and has been steady on that curve.
She is very very healthy and the doctor remarked on how strong she is (again) and said that she is an advanced sitter for her age and that most of her peers would not be able to sit nearly as long as she can and a good number of 6 month olds are not sitting on their own yet at all, so she really is strong!
He said her social development is going well too--she smiles and laughs and is making consonant sounds and is interested in and engaged with her toys and surroundings.
She was very good. She had to get three shots again, and daddy sat with her this time, she cried, which was hard for daddy, but they both made it through.
She has two teeth and she should have a third in a few weeks. The doctor said she would probably have 6-8 teeth before her next visit!
We'll be starting foods at 8 months.
She goes back in April for a 9-month check up.

Hero Daddy

While we were doing Matilda's 6 month photo shoot she was having a little trouble standing up in her crib (it's still a new thing for her). When she tipped over, Daddy rushed to catch her before she could fall. Click on the picture to see a bigger image--it's quite an action shot with her pacifier suspended in mid-air and all.

In other news, Matilda's second tooth broke through last night and she made sure we all knew about it. Long night, but she seems much happier now. And she's got her two bottom front teeth! One is about 1/2 way in now (the Christmas Eve tooth) and the other is just poking through the gums. In a couple weeks I bet I'll be able to post a toothy smile, but for now she's constantly touching it or covering it with her tongue--it must be fascinating to her!

No more consignment toys?

There are only 3 new toys and one new clothing item in that picture, and they were all gifts. Everything else she is wearing (except the diaper) and playing with are second hand or consignment finds.
We have a wonderful consignment store in our town and we do most of our shopping for Matilda there. But we might not be able to much longer.



The Consumer Products Safety Commission has decided to pass rigorous new safety testing standards for lead and phaylates on ALL childrens' products (including clothing) SOLD after Feb 10. This law is so broad that most consignment stores and specialty business probably can't afford the testing. Kiddie consignment stores are probably going to be forced out of business by this new law, as well as a lot of small businesses that make hand-made clothing and toys.

Now, I'm all for protecting children from lead poisoning, of course... but couldn't something less broad, or at least not retro-active have been written?

I do most of Matilda's shopping for toys and clothes at a consignment store for kid's stuff. I feel sad that this store will likely be pushed out of business by this law, and while I'm greatful that I'm able to afford to do her shopping (albeit for fewer things) at other stores, I worry for the families that can't.

I also find it sad that so many more people probably know about the stupid digital TV conversion happening on Feb 17 than know about this law which will have a much greater economic impact--not only on the families who depend on thrift shopping, but on the businesses that will have to close their doors.
And to think of all the wasted goods that are going to go straight to the landfills now--you know these business can't get caught giving away possibly tainted goods! Oh the thought just hurts!
The whole thing makes me sad and angry.

What can we do? We're running out of time, but you can contact your congress person and demand that they amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act in a satisfactory manner to protect consignment businesses, prevent needless waste, allow families who still depend on donations and thrift shopping to be able to continue to clothe their children, and allow crafters and purveyors of handmade childrens products to stay in business. At the very least the law could apply to only products MADE after February 10 and second hand products that have been subject to recalls--it doesn't have to be retro-active.
This particular act is consumer protectivisim gone WAY too far, and at a time when we can ill afford it.

Here's a link from the CPSC about the Act (CPSIA)

Here's one more great link with more (digestible) information about the act and more things you can do to help (if you're so inclined)!

6 Months!!!

Matilda is 6 months old today. Here's the photo shoot!





She has changed our lives so much. I couldn't possibly put into words the way she has affected us, but I can tell you about all that she has learned in this time!
When we brought her home all she did was sleep, cry, poop and eat (and even that wasn't easy!). She has learned to roll over, she can sit on her own, she can even start to stand for a bit while she's holding on to something. She laugh and giggles a lot--she's very ticklish and thinks that Daddy is hilarious! She choses her favorite toys and grabs them and plays with them, she bangs on things and delights in the fact that she can make noises, she's growing and growing and growing, and she's getting very chatty. She knows who mom and dad are, but she's friendly and likes to play with everyone. She has favorite toys (like her whisk and remote control) but those are changing now that Christmas and it's bounty came! She interacts with the dogs and she sleeps in her own room. She likes to listen to us read her stories. She snuggles and tries to give mommy kisses and she reaches out for me whenever I am near. Just yesterday she was playing in the hallway practicing her sounds and I could hear her saying over and over "Ma... mamm... mah" I know it doesn't mean anything yet, but it makes me so excited for the time that it does. She's also experimenting with D, G, B and P. And she likes to make kissy noises.
I love being her mom and every sleepless night and crazy worry has been totally worth it.