Day 24- Restaurant Lunch

Today, our whole family got to go to church together. For the past couple of months, Tilly has been napping at the same time church was happening, but today, the stars and nap time aligned, and all 4 of us got to go.

Sometimes on Sunday, we have lunch with Dede and Grandpa, but today was an off-week, so we decided to grab lunch at Buddy's. Tilly was a perfect patron. She did some people-watching, clapping, smiling, giggling, and munching. No tears, no tantrums-- only good manners and a winning smile.

Now that I've bragged about it, it will come back to bite me.

Day 23- The White Stuff

While we've been getting some snow, we haven't taken Tilly out to play in it yet. Part of the reason is because she's had a hard time getting over a cold. Also, we don't really have any good winter gear for her this year.

She's been checking it out, though, and maybe if we get another good snow before this winter is over, we'll bundle her up and let her see what it's all about.

Day 22- Dance Party

I think this is snow day #3. I've kind of lost count. On this day, Tilly spent some time bopping along to the music while Nora had an all-out dance party.

Day 21- Sisters

It's my goal to make this blog mainly about Matilda. Obviously, pictures of friends and family will work their way in, too, but this is Tilly's 365 blog. 

I couldn't resist doing today's entry about these 2 sweet sisters, though.  You see, almost as soon as Nora was old enough to understand the concept of siblings, she started asking begging for a baby sister. Once we found out that we were expecting a baby, and once we shared the news with Nora, she was confident that her sibling would be a girl, and she never wavered from that position. So, here we are 9 months plus a whole year later, and these 2 sisters are a match made in heaven. They have their differences. There are times when Tilly gets crying for so long that Nora covers her ears and starts yelling for Tilly to stop. There are times when Tilly gets into toys that Nora doesn't want her playing with. Sometimes Nora gets jealous when the baby is getting lots of snuggles. I'm sure as the years go on, the list of differences will grow, but I hope the list of ways they love each other also grows. 

Look at Nora being a sweet big sister. And look at Tilly loving every minute of it.

There is a song in one of the My Little Pony episodes about a big brother and little sister, but Nora has changed the lyrics for her and Tilly to say, "Big sister, best friend forever..." I can only hope!

Day 20- First Birthday

You came into the world, so squishy and so beautiful, on this day last year at 1:19 P.M. Here you are clinging to your Daddy's finger. You still cling to your Daddy, and he clings to you. 

Here you are today at 1:19 P.M., making mischief all over our living room.

I can't believe that a whole year has passed already, and you have grown from my sweetest little bundle of joy...

Into such a precious, beautiful, busy, naughty, sweet, loving, snuggly, curious 1 year old little person.

You are getting so big. You're almost ready to let go and walk. You crawl and cruise all over the place, getting into everything you shouldn't. You love your dogs, your sister, and Elmo. You're both a mommy's girl and a daddy's girl. You clap your hands, point to your belly, and give sweet kisses. You say Mama, Dada, Nona (Nora), and maybe dog, but I'm not sure. You understand the word "no" because mommy has to say it to you quite often. When you hear that word, you look up at me with the biggest smile and offer up whatever it is in your hands that you're not supposed to be touching. It melts my heart. You kind of have all of us wrapped around your little finger, just as the baby of the family should.

I wish I could find a way to slow time so I could enjoy each moment just a little big longer.

Tilly, you are so precious to our family. You are the one who completed our family in the most perfect way. You are our last baby. It's hard to put into words why that's so special, but it is. Each new stage and milestone is just as exciting as it was with your big sister, and I want to hang on to each one just a little harder and a little longer, knowing that it's the last time I will watch one of my babies do each new thing.

I can't get enough of your big blue eyes, your sweet dimple, your mischievous smile, your happy squeals, or your sleepy snuggles. I want to breathe it all in 1000 times a day so when you're much bigger and much less inclined to lay your head on my shoulder while you sleep, I can recall every detail exactly as it is right now.

Here you are right now, on your 1st birthday, in all of your 1 year old perfection.

Those eyes. That dimple.

Naughty baby!

Silly sisters

My 2 beautiful babies. Yes, BABIES!

Joy personified

Matilda Ann, there are no words to express how much, how big, how deep, or how far I love you.

On the day you were born, today, every day since then until now, and every day from now until forever, you are loved.

Happy 1st Birthday, sweet Tilly. xo

Day 19- Tantrums

Tilly threw some of her first tantrums today.  They weren't full-fledged toddler tantrums, but she threw down a couple of times for when she didn't get her way.

I'm thinking her crankiness might have had something to do with the cold she's almost-but-not-quite over.

Day 18- Being Big

Today is a holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Brad and I are home from work, as is Tilly, but Nora is at pre-school because she needed to get some energy out after a cold weekend cooped up in the house. 

Since we're still working on getting over the cold, I thought Tilly might like to take a nice warm mid-morning bath. We decided to let her give it a try without her bath seat. Just Tilly being big in the big bathtub all by herself! She had fun getting into lots of things that she can't usually reach. 

After her bath, it was nap time. I tried to give her a bottle, but her sniffles kept getting in the way, and eventually, she just kind of passed out in my arms. She didn't want to be put down in her crib, though, so she and Daddy ended up taking a nap together.

One of these 2 adorable snoozers was snoring very loudly, like an angry bear. Hint: It wasn't Daddy.

Day 17- In Tilly's Room

Since Miss Tilly hasn't been feeling her best, we haven't left the house. She's mostly wanted to be held and snuggled, but for a few minutes here and there, she has been satisfied to play. She got a little bit of play time in her bedroom today.

She people-watched from her window, but took a second to pose for the camera. How sweet is she?

She perused her bookshelf and eventually settled on 2 books. A Little Golden Book about Easter eggs and a touch and feel book about animals.

She stopped for a minute to gaze at me with her big blue eyes. Hi baby!

I thought she might like to play in her crib with some of her "friends", but as you can see, I was mistaken.

Hopefully this cold is on its way out the door soon because someone's has a big birthday coming up this week!

Day 16- IPad

Tilly is still fighting a cold, and today she had a low-grade fever. She spent much of the day like this. Attached to me, and asleep.

Later in the day, she did perk up a bit, and Brad attempted to keep her entertained in her bouncy seat by letting her watch herself on the IPad. I would estimate this fun lasted a maximum of 5 minutes, but on days like this, we'll take what we can get.

Day 15- Teeth brushing

After her bath, we started to get Tilly layered for bedtime because it gets cool at night. Here she is, looking delicious, in her first layer: long-sleeve onesie and socks.

Before I got her dressed in on her top layer, her fleece PJs, I brushed her cute little teeth. I think she has 8 of them. A mouthful, for sure!

After the first few strokes, Tilly wanted to take over. She was pretty sure she could do it by herself.

She had to think hard about what she was doing, but she got in a couple of good swipes before I took over again. We have to take good care of those pearly whites!

Day 14- Precious Moments

I know I just posted bedtime bottle pictures a few days ago, but today, this was pretty much the only time I got to spend with  my sweet baby.

Mornings are always rushed, and today was one of those rare days that I didn't get home until close to bed time. On days like this, our time together may not last long, but at least we have these few, precious, quality moments.

Day 13- Noodles

Tilly is a bit of a picky eater, and I never know when I place food in front of her if she's going to clean her tray by eating the food or by throwing it on the floor.

Tonight I made an Asian chicken noodle soup. From the soup, Tilly had a little bit of chicken and carrots, but the noodles were clearly her favorite.

It makes me happy when she eats something and loves it. She obviously loves noodles, and these pictures make me want to feed them to her every single day.