Piano Lessons

It's never too early to get your kids playing musical instruments, so we decided it was time for Tilly to get started.  So we set her up with a self-taught piano course.  Throughout November, Tilly has been practicing really hard.  She loves her piano lessons so much she started her own self-taught singing lessons.

Stand Up and Cruise!

The morning after Thanksgiving, Tilly greeted us by standing up in her crib.  I think all the time in her johnny jumpup got her ready to go.  It didn't take her very much longer to start cruising (walking) along whatever she could pull herself up on.  "Read more" for some pictures.

Thanksgiving

Today we noticed Matilda sitting up in her play yard.  She's been able to sit on her own for awhile, but today she pushed up to sitting all by herself!  This came in handy as we were busy getting dinner ready.

Matilda then slept through her first thanksgiving meal, which gave us plenty of time to relax and enjoy it.  When she woke, she got to eat carrots, sweet potatoes, and of course turkey.  "Read more" below for more pictures of Tilly and her drumstick.

Clap Clap Clap

Matilda is learning tons of new things. Today, she started clapping! What's next, standing up?

MaMa vs DaDa

We were told most babies say "Dada" first, because it's easier to say. Well Matilda had no trouble with the "Mama," but soon refused to acknowledge anyone except for Dada. Well except for that Baba person. Who is that?

Mama

Dada

Look Who's Crawling 2

So it didn't take long for Matilda to figure out the crawling thing.  She's still not the best crawler, but she's moving much faster after just a few days practice and is even starting to get her belly off the floor.  Click the picture or link below to check out the 4 short videos showing the progression of her crawling skills.

Halloween!

We were really excited for Halloween this year, because we found an awesome costume on sale.  Matilda went as the Very Hungry Caterpillar.  We were excited, because that was the theme of her baby shower (the caterpillar was made out of cupcakes and cookies!) and she loves her caterpillar toy.  Plus it was super cute.  She actually got to use her costume multiple times, going to various events.  For Halloween we just went trick-or-treating to the few neighbors we know (not for candy, just pictures).  Can't wait for next year!  Check out a few more pictures on the post page.

First Tooth!

Matilda was unusually cranky for a few days and actually had trouble getting to sleep for the first time.  Since we had remembered to feed her, we figured that it must have been teething pains. Chewing on things sometimes made it worse, but sucking on ice cubes seemed to help.  It didn't last long though, as her first tooth broke through by the next morning.  Now she's back to being her normal happy self, at least until the next one starts up.  Yay teefies!

Baby's First Pumpkin

When we were previously at the pumpkin patch, we had decided to get a really big pumpkin.  Why?  We thought it would be fun to put Matilda in a pumpkin.  Why?  Because it's the cutest thing ever.  Matilda is a good sport and had no problems hanging out in a pumpkin while we shot some photos.  Click the link to check out all the photos. Spoiler alert: it's just a bunch of pictures of a baby in a pumpkin.  A little repetitive, but seriously, how many poses can you really do in a pumpkin?  Feel free to comment.  Which one's your favorite?

Look Who's Crawling?!

Up until today, Matilda moved around by rolling over and over.  As far as crawling goes, she's only been good at pushing herself backwards.  But last night she scootched forward across the bed a little bit.  Today, she really started moving.  She doesn't quite get her tummy off the ground yet and she's slow, but she's definitely on the move!

Pumpkin Patch

The weekend before Halloween, Matilda went to her first pumpkin patch with her best friend Vivienne.  Not only did we get some good pumpkins, we got some good pictures as well.  They had a petting zoo, but we decided it cost too much and the girls had to just look at the animals from outside.  Such horrible parents.  We figured it would be boring anyway after having pet a giraffe in San Diego.  Click the link to see all the pictures of our little pumpkins in the patch.

San Diego Zoo

While in San Diego, we took Matilda to the amazing San Diego Zoo.  This zoo was so cool we decided it needed a separate posting on the blog.  Matilda had as much fun as a 6 month old can have at a zoo.  She enjoyed staring at all the animals (including the meerkat sitting on his butt, the cougar with a box of rats stuck on his head, and the flamingos).  She even got to pet the giraffes.  Yep, you read that right.  The San Diego Zoo totally rocks.  "Read more" to see the pictures.

Tilly Goes to San Diego

Matilda got to ride in an airplane again, and she had an awesome time. We sat right in front of another baby about her age, and they had a fun time staring at each other. In San Diego, Tilly got to meet extended family, go on her first aircraft carrier, and went for her first real swim in a pool.  It was a great trip.  Check out the rest of the photos!

Official 6 Month Photos

Mandy and Lindsay came back for Matilda's 6 month photo shoot.  Despite several different outfits and an appearance by Harold, it was tough to get Tilly smiling.  Next time, we won't schedule photos too close to nap time!  Despite her being more laid back than normal, we were able to get her super excited when we let her go after the dog.  Click "Read more" to check out the photos.

6 Month Photos

Matilda was being really cute one evening, so I decided to take some photos to commemorate her turning 6 months.  Our photographer friends Mandy and Lindsay were going to be back soon for Matilda's official 6 month photo shoot, but you can never have too many pictures right?  "Read more" to see these 6 month photos and check out the next post for her official professional 6 month photos!