Ball!

Matilda learned a new word over the weekend--Ball! That was her daddy's first word!

"Relaxing" outside

She looks a little tense without her play blanket. She loves to be outside, but is still getting used to the grass.



She refused to put her legs down until we got her blanket out for her! Silly kid!

Lounging

Matilda has discovered that soft places are ideal for lounging.

She finds something soft, like the dog bed or a pile of blankets and throws herself into them.


Then she just gets comfy



And relaxes.

awwww!

Don't Fence Me In!

Now that Matilda can climb the stairs we've had to corral her with a series of gates. She wants her freedom.

Her Father's Daughter

We're preparing for guests and Matilda found the beer!

Trouble

And I couldn't leave you with only a 1 sentence pictureless post today, could I?

Blind Item

Which young girl learned to climb the stairs yesterday and fearlessly went all the way to the top?

C is for Cookie

Just cute

Here's some cuteness, just because.
Also, got a new tooth yesterday. Total now is 6, but I think there are some more planning to show up soon.

The toast of the town

While we were in Williamsburg, Matilda didn't have any trouble making new friends!
First, there were Mr. and Mrs. Sheilds of Sheilds' tavern. Mrs. Sheilds was particularly fond of Matilda and was thrilled when we came back for a second dinner. Matilda was carried and danced and walked around the restaurant all through dinner giving Ed and I a chance to enjoy ourselves and eat slowly enough to taste our food.




There was also the book binder who wrote out Matilda's name in old-timey script for her with a quill pen.


And, of course, there were various other interpreters along our way from the plays we saw, to waitresses at lunch, and even people in the street declaring that she was the cutest baby *ever*! And who am I to disagree?

One person she didn't like--Mr. Jefferson. I suppose a bronze President isn't the friendliest looking thing in the world, but she got down-right scared!

Big Sister

Here are Matilda and Baby Chili going for a walk in Williamsburg. I can't believe I'm this big already, it's going so much faster this time.


We had another ultra sound yesterday. I am 13 weeks pregnant today, officially in our 4th month and 2nd trimester. Baby Chili looks perfect, maybe a little on the big side (surprise, surprise). Chili is over 3 inches long and weighs a bit more than an ounce. Baby can move about, is developing reflexes and cartlige is turning to bone now. All the major parts are there and Chili is focusing on growing now and getting big and chubby! Chili already has unique finger prints and can respond to pressure by moving around.
Here's the ultrasound image, the head is up towards the top left of the image, the body is oriented diagonally across the picture, looking up. It's fairly easy to make out the shape of the head and the round little belly at this point. There's also a blob by the face--that's Chili's little hand--right up by the face just like Matilda had hers at every ultrasound we ever took of her!


I'm still planning to keep Chili's gender a surprise (if I have the will power) but I think it will be fun to try out a bunch of old wives' tales about predicting gender, so if you want to make your prediction, or suggest a fun little test for us to try, please leave comments, I'll keep track of what we try and let you know what was right and what was wrong when Baby arrives in November!

We're back!

Miss Gustafson goes to Washington






And little brother or sister "Baby Chili" makes an appearance too!

Motoring and Mischief

It's been a while since I've posted a video, so now you get two!

Here's Matilda crawling for real:



And here she is using that new skill to get into trouble already!

Where'd She Go?

For months now Matilda has been getting on her hands and knees from sitting, but not doing anything from there. Then two weeks ago she started army crawling, just a few feet at a time.
On the 12th we found here here, under the couch!



On the 16th she took her first few crawling steps forward.

Now she's wherever she wants to be and I'm going to get worn out trying to keep up! Our girl is on the go!

Matilda vs. Blueberries

I don't know who won.

Here we go again

We're having another--due November 18th!

Florida, the final day

Our last day in Florida involved lots of sitting in the sun looking cute:



And of course more swimming!


We ended with a wonderful dinner at The Grill with the whole family. It was a really nice trip.

Florida, Day 6

On day 6 the guys got up really early to go fishing. Jim caught 2 baby hammerhead sharks (they tossed them back):



They saw dolphins:


The chef at one of the hotel restaurants turned Eric's catch into appetizers for the table:


Matilda approved (that's her MMMM! face)

Florida, Day 5

On day 5 everyone went to the Everglades for the day and Matilda and I hung out at the hotel.



My grandparents came to visit and took Ed and I out for a great dinner at a really charming French restaurant, which was delicious. As always, it was very nice to see them!
They even brought a bath book and swimming fish for Matilda--which she loves!

Florida, Day 4

On Day 4 Jim and Joanne arrived. We got Matilda dressed up to meet them--doesn't she look big!?


We kicked things off with Champagne


And watched another beautiful sunset on the beach