Happy Birthday Matilda!

All week long, Nate and I have been reliving where we were one year ago. We tell Matilda how we, ok I, seriously thought that after 4 days past my due date, she was never coming. I tell her what we were thinking about and what we were hoping for and all of the things that consumed me while in labor. I tried to describe the way she looked when I first saw her, the tiny movements, her sounds, her glow.

And then I went on. And on. And even though she didn't understand me, she still listened.

We have enjoyed this last year so much. From our traveling adventures to the PNW and Florida, to our classes together where she has mastered her downward dog in yoga and kicks in swim class. Also completely content with our daily walk down the boulevard to the park where she could swing for days. Matilda is full of life and loves flashing her smile and signature wave to everyone we meet. Matilda makes our lives brighter and we cherish everyday we share with her.

This past Saturday, we celebrated her 1st Birthday with a small party in our backyard. She had so much fun and we'll always have wonderful memories of this day. Here are some pictures from her 1st Birthday Party!

Climber

Anniversary Weekend in Naples

To celebrate our anniversary, Nate, Matilda and I headed down to beautiful Naples, Florida. As suspected, flying with Matilda has become a little bit more challenging as she has little interest in sitting still. She was a trooper and did great as we read all of her books, the skymall magazine, ate, and watched her world music dvd. We arrived around 8 pm and were greeted by the Nana and 80 degree temperatures!!!

Family pic taken at the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Sanibel Island.

Nate and Matilda looking for birds and gators in the Mangroves.

Matilda waving at the fellow bird watchers. Me scratching my forehead. While there weren't as many birds as we remember seeing when we were here a couple of years ago, we did spot a gator!

The rest of the trip we pretty much stayed close to the pool and beach due to the HOT and humid 90+ temps. It forced us to relax and lounge...it was perfect!!!

Matilda loved sporting her shades. Way too cool!

We took many dips in the pool. Matilda has been going to swim lessons and now can go underwater...she just loves the water!

Just looking adorable...

We walked the beach a couple of times. Matilda loved the sand, water and all of the birds.

This was such a fun way to spend our anniversary! Nothing beats amazing weather, excellent seafood, and wonderful husband and daughter time!!!

11 Months Old

Matilda is now 11 months old. Hard to believe that we almost have a 1 year old on our hands!?! And boy, our hands are sure full right now. Matilda is crawling around everywhere and getting into EVERYTHING!!!

She can now pull herself up and walk around as long as she is holding onto something. As soon as she spots something from across the room that she hasn't touched before, she immediately stops what she's doing and is determined to go check it out.

Not a lot can stop this girl. She is quite curious and loves exploring.

And she is quite funny too. Matilda knows when she is doing something that may not be in her best interest. As soon as she realizes, she looks up at me or Nate and gives us a big grin, says "HIIII!" and waves. Very cleaver, since this gets us every time.

We are having a blast and absolutely adore everything about her!

Tiptoeing Through the Tulips

Belly Laughs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA9he_H3SDM

Matilda's 1st Easter

The day before Easter, we decided to color eggs using only products that we had in our cupboards and fridge. We boiled five eggs, then dyed them using balsamic vinegar, cranberries, black tea, and turmeric. Here are the results...

Not bad?!? Next year we will try things a little differently and perhaps get better results.

On Sunday, Matilda put on her beautiful Easter dress and headed over to Nana and Papa's for a day full of fun, family and food!

The weather was perfect for the easter egg hunt. Matilda found two eggs and seemed very content as she sat there shaking them!

She loved watching her 3 cousins running around collecting the eggs and really got a kick out of them chasing each other. She can't wait to join in next time.

After the egg hunt, we went inside for a fabulous feast and opened our gifts from the Easter bunny. Matilda sat on Papa's lap as he helped her open her treats!

Much fun was had as we helped Matilda celebrate another 1st holiday!