High Fives and Fist Bumps

Ever since Matilda began to high five, we tried to take it to the next level.  Now she can finally give some dap with a fist bump.  Of course, "blowing it up" always comes with a "Boom!"  And just like high fives, if she gives one, she has to give one to everybody.  Check out the video of Tilly high-fiving and fist bumping!

Climbing Ladder

Like every other baby her age, Matilda has started climbing everything.  Here's a couple videos of her climbing the ladder and step-stool.  Go Tilly Go!

Puzzle Pro

Matilda is starting to get pretty good at her puzzles.  Here are some pictures and a video of puzzle time.  The video is a couple minutes long and not super exciting, but you can see the wheels in her head turning as she figures out where they go.  At 16 months, she's really figuring out her colors and shapes.  She even throws in a high five at the end!

California State Fair

This was Matilda's second time at the California state fair.  She started out by helping mommy at the Bohart entomology exhibit.  Then we walked through all the exhibits and spent alot of time looking at animals.  Matilda also spent a really long time at the petting zoo with the goats and pigs!  See the full post for more pictures.

Rocking Dog

Awhile back, our awesome neighbors (Chris and Sarah) gave Matilda a rocking dog to use.  It's basically a rocking horse, but in the form of a fluffy dog.   As soon as she could climb up she started riding and yelling "puppy dog, puppy dog!"  Now that she's more coordinated, she's started standing on his back.  Check out this recent video of daredevil Tilly enjoying the rocking dog!

Bathtime

Matilda loves to take baths and showers.  And of course, she usually doesn't want to get out.  One thing that helps is her hooded Sharky and Kitty towels.  I think she looks forward to wrapping up and running around the house wearing only the hoods.  "Read more" for a video and some photos of bath time.

Tickle Tickle

Matilda is a big tickler.  It might be because we tickle her all the time, but now she loves to tickle back.  She  will tickle all her stuffed friends and will grab you and say "tickle tickle tickle!"  Check out the quick video of her tickling everybody.

Climber

Matilda has been climbing onto the couch for awhile now, but now that she mastered getting up and down on the couch, she want's to climb everything.  She's now started climbing on the step-stool.  The first time she made it up and down with no problems.  Only later did she sometimes get a little scared and ask for "help" coming down.  But now she's definitely got the climbing thing figured out.

Pool Time

Matilda got her very own little kiddy pool.  It took her a little bit to warm up to it, and now her favorite thing to do is climb in and out constantly.  She also enjoys playing with her whistling dolphins and tries to get them to whistle by blowing through them. She loves her pool time and even shared with Olivia, but Tilly may have regretted it as she spent the whole time trying to avoid being splashed by Olivia.  Read on for more pictures of pool time!

Sorting Coins

We thought it was funny that at a recent doctor visit, they told us to be sure not to leave small things like coins lying around because babies will eat them.  This was funny, because Matilda's loves to sort coins into her little banks.  We just leave her with a pile of coins and she keeps herself entertained.  She'll even pop open the bank and dump them out so she can start over.  We lucked out, because she hardly ever puts anything in her mouth that isn't meant to be eaten.  Good job baby.

Tilly Picks Fruit

During a visit from Grandma, Matilda got to go pick fresh fruit at the local you-pick farm.  She had a great time eating all the fruit faster than we could pick it.  She ate a ton of cherries and pretty much all the raspberries we could pick.  Read on for a video and pictures of Tilly picking fruit!

Couch Dismount

One of the first things we tried to teach Matilda, was how to turnaround and slide off the couch and beds. She picked it up quickly, and it's been really nice not having to worry too much about her as she begins to climb up onto things. We finally got a video of her demonstrating a smooth dismount from the couch. Enjoy!

Wagon!

Today Matilda got to test out her brand new wagon.  We've been wanting to get one for awhile, and this was just too good of a deal to pass up.  It's a pretty sweet ride with six cupholders, large trunk space, and two bucket seats.  Tilly had no problems climbing in and out, and although she didn't need it, she initially wanted help climbing out.  On walks now, she loves to sit down in the middle where it's deep.  Read more for a video and pictures of her checking out her wagon for the first time.

Yo Gabba Gabba! Dance

Matilda loves Yo Gabba Gabba.  She's not a big fan of tv in general, but YGG is her favorite show.  She will easily sit through multiple episodes if we would let her.  She loves the nonstop singing and dancing, and we actually enjoy it too (compared to some other awful kid shows out there).  Here's a few videos showing her excitement and dancing skills!

 

Kids Museum

Today we went to check out the Sacramento Children's Museum.  Matilda met up with Vivienne and had a great time playing with all the different activities.  She loved watching the golf balls roll, ping pong balls float, and tissues fly through tubes.  Tilly then showed us how to splash it up in the water area and got soaked despite wearing her splash jacket.  Read on for some videos and pictures of our fun day at the museum!

Flash Cards

Matilda loves her flash cards.  She knows a bunch of them by name and will find them in the pile if you ask for them.  If you line them up, she will pick out any of the ones you ask for.  Her favorites so far are of course the kitty cards (lion, tiger, and house cats) as well as the penguins, panda, and butterfly.  Read on for more pictures and a video!

Bucket Head

Apparently normal walking has become much too easy for little Matilda. She decided to take up extreme walking which requires not seeing where you're going and wearing a makeshift helmet for potential crashes. If you've got a bucket, then you've got both requirements covered. Here's a video of Tilly being really funny.

Cornhole Pro

Today Matilda played her first game of cornhole.  She didn't play for very long, because she mastered it so quickly.  She saw me throwing the corn bags at the boards and walked across the park to show me how it's done.  Luckily I saw her coming and got her first cornhole attempts on video.  Watch this 12 month old pro show you how to play the game.

Bookworm

Matilda loves books and her new walking skills make getting them easier than ever.  When she wants to read, she will bring you a book and sit in your lap.  And if you ask her to bring you a specific book by name, she totally knows which one to bring you.  She really loves her 'Gruffalo' book that her best friend Vivienne brought back from Ireland.  Check out the videos of Tilly getting books to read!

Fork this, not that...

Earlier this month Matilda began using a spork as long as we would stab the food for her.  Well today she decided she wanted to have a fork at dinner, and rather than bang and wave it around, she proceeded to eat with it.  She ate for quite awhile with surprising skill.  Here's a short video of her doing big girl stuff!