Top 5 Best of 2011

It's that time of year when you find lists upon lists of the best books, best movies, most memorable news stories, etc etc etc. So I thought I would hop on the bandwagon, and share what Nate and I think were our best purchases of 2011.

There were more big purchases than I care to remember given all of the baby prep, but surprisingly our #1 purchase was quite inexpensive.

#5:    The BOB


When Nate and I registered for baby stuff, we talked about stroller and decided that the Snap N Go was totally fine for us. We didn't need a big, nice stroller. Nu huh. Not us. Those things were ridiculous for how much they cost.

Fast forward to 4 weeks after Matilda was born, and we have a BOB. You know, one of those big, spendy, "totally unnecessary" strollers.

Oh, I LAUGH at our pre-parent selves and notions.

But the BOB was the advent of runs together around Lake Harriet, and was when Matilda actually started sleeping on walks and not screaming, because the ride was just so darn smooth.


#4:     A New Camera

What can I say? We knew there was a little one on the way, and our little point and shoot just wasn't going to cut it. So we went big--Nikon D90 big. And we are SUPER happy that we did, because it takes awesome pictures. I have no idea how to use it and could really use some pointers, but for now auto is my friend (I know all my friends that actually know how to use a camera will gasp at this sentence), but it takes amazing pictures like these, so for now I am totally happy.

#3:   A Humidifier


It all started when I was still baking Matilda, and got a terrible cold and was unable to take anything for it. The neti-pot just wasn't cutting it, so Nate ran to Wal-Greens in a late-night 'please honey, I"m pregnant' run and picked up a humidifier.

Little did we know that that humidifier would transition to Matilda's room for her first cold, and stay there because the kid is addicted to white noise. And speaking of addicted, this humidifier ALSO made Nate and I in love with white noise so it led to a purchase of a fan in our room so we can have our own white noise.

I know.


#2:   Travel


We adore traveling. And 2011 didn't let us down. We were lucky enough to get to take 3 incredible trips together.

Jamaica in February for our Babymoon (and Nate's Birthday!)

New York City in April as part of an extended work trip (and my birthday!)

**Note: While this trip is remembered fondly, it is indeed when I almost died from some crazy food poison or something like that. It was terrible.

And Hawaii in October for our 4 year anniversary.

This trip made possible thanks to some very generous babysitters :)

We aren't sure what 2012 will hold for travel now that we have a little one, and the little one's daycare expense, but hopefully we will get away a few times to enjoy life outside of MN.

 And...drumroll....

The #1 Best Purchase of 2011:      A Water Filtration System


Oh yes. We are that nerdy. You would think a trip to Hawaii would beat this, but no. It doesn't. We have never drank SO much water in our lives. This one little purchase has been life changing.

No more zillions of plastic bottles of water purchased at Costco. No more zillions of plastic bottles in our recyclables each week.

I think I now drink almost 100 ounces of water a day thanks to this thing (and probably honestly my current state of feeding my child)..

If you don't like your water, and you don't have one of these. Get one. Immediately. We have the GE version from Home Depot and love it.

There it is. I argued that we could have put Matilda on the list since we technically had to pay for her to come out at the hospital but Nate said no. OBVIOUSLY, she would have beat the water system.

What are you must have items from 2011?

Rest Easy, America

Worried about the rising crime rate?

Do you worry about remembering to lock your car and house?

Well you can rest easy, America.

Because there are 3 new superheroes on the scene.

And they are here to protect.

With smiles.

With Snuggles.

With cuteness.

And with a sword that is so soft, it can be used for munchin'.

So when you go to sleep tonight, remember....these 3 are on duty.

Rub a Dub Dub

I am so glad Matilda decided to like sitting up because that meant that we could throw all of the cousins into the tub at the same time and let them splash and play!

Leo took to 'petting' Matilda...perhaps helping her get a good lather and shampoo her "hair"

Look at this little guy. So freaking precious.

There was a grand nudie baby parade after bath-time. Matilda showed off her thunder-thighs.

And Leo showed off his new walking legs--and full belly.

There is something so sweet about freshly bathed kids--and they smell so scrumptious.

As you can see Matilda definitely looks up to her older cousins.

<3

Christmas Fun

There are too many good pictures to post.

Perhaps it was because we had too much fun.

I mean it was Matilda's first Christmas...

AND, the Packers played. Does it get better than that?

Oh yeah...Matilda got her first candy in the form of a cane.

Let's just say she put all the practice of munchin' to good use as those red stripes faded very quickly.

We were very sad to not see Nick, but Becca and the boys made our holiday very merry and bright.

In fact, they brought Matilda her first swimsuit. Which she doesn't look cute at all in....not. at. all.

Nate was the master chef of Christmas dinner and made a stuffed beef tenderloin. I was impressed with his kitchen skills. It was pretty darn tasty.

There was some musical fun sent from the TOF herself in the form of a harmonica.

Nate spent lots of time playing with Finn and his new Christmas toys.....

...and Leo liked playing with all the toys that we brought from home for Matilda. Hey--they were new to him!

We tried to get Matilda interested in her new toys, but like all babies she was more interested in the paper, and her cousins.

We also experienced a first---Matilda fell asleep in Nate's arms in church. It was precious. 

Grandma got lots of good Tillie snuggles...

...and after a weekend filled with so much fun and activity, this little one was pretty tuckered out...

Can you tell she is saying: "Merry Christmas to All and to All a Goodnight?"

Merry Christmas!

6 Months

They say's its your birthday....

Ok, well in this case it's a HALF-birthday.

But still a good reason to celebrate, with a little birthday crown.

We had Matilda's 6 Month appointment yesterday.

16 pounds, 14 ounces

26 inches

Interestingly enough, Matilda was ALSO 26 inches at 4 months. So there are two theories:

1) Someone measured wrong at one of these appointments.

2) All of her energy has been put into her thighs and bootie and not her length.

What do you think?

She is still boycotting rolling over, but since she will sit-up like it's her job the doctor wasn't worried about it all. And really, what use is rolling over anyway? You don't roll over as an adult. You do however need to be able to sit up now and then.

Lots and lots of snuggles now.

She reached for me while sitting in Nate's lap the other day and it damn near melted my heart right on the spot.

We are adding soy and dairy back into the diet, which I am super excited (and a little nervous) about.

She is starting to do some more voice testing--doing a really low gremlin growl and then pushing out a 'b' sound. It's pretty funny.

And LOTS of raspberries. and high pitch squealing.

Can I just say how much I love 6 months?

Food Face

It's time for some blog-interaction, people.

Nate and I are having loads of fun introducting Matilda to new food. Mostly because her face is absolutely ridiculous when she tries something new.

We have been trying to capture the first 'true taste' face for all of her new delicacies.

So, take a chance and guess what food make this cute little "i'm not so sure about this, Mama" face.

She's Crafty....

From the day I learned I was pregnant, I had visions of all of these little arts and crafts projects with the babe. I have all of these fun ideas floating around in my head, and the internet spews more crafty inspiration than I know what to do with.

I was very sad to realize that while I was so excited to do these fun things, essentially your child is not really 'up for the fun' as they are lumps of flesh that poop, cry, attempt to sleep, and occasionally smile--although it is usually gas.

BUT NOW....6 months later....crafty fun is definitely in view. And we did our first official one this weekend with Paddy Jr in town...and we created a great little CHristmas keepsake.

It involved painting the feet...which was not quite as messy as I was anticipating.

We had to wait to let the little foot prints dry before adding the thumb-print 'rudolph nose.'

Let's just say that trying to paint a babies fingers when all they want to do is shove those fingers in their mouth makes for a very interesting task. 

But the finished product was so cute...look at how proud they are:

I love that Matilda has one reindeer with no toes...

                                                     

And Paddy had one with a beehive

And of course, these pictures make good munching toys too...

I'm already brainstorming what we can do for a fun craft in January. I welcome any ideas!!

Best Vendor Gift Ever

I got an email at work the other day that said:

"You have received a Whiskey Sampler that we cannot deliver via interoffice mail. Please pick it up in the mail room."

Ummmm....yes please.

Yes, it is the holiday season, which usually means a plethora of vendor/partner gifts. All of which are fun to receive...but this...this sampler of whiskey from Scotland takes the cake.

And will most likely 'warm up' our Christmas with the family.....

Can anyone say stocking stuffer?

Arranged Marriage

Matilda met her future husband this weekend, and it was love at first sight. Technically she is dating an older man (by over 2 months), but what she lacks in age, she makes up for in size. This child continues to pack on the pounds.

Anyway, Paddy Jr. and Matilda had a lot of shared interests---like hanging out in the Bumbo chair and munching on their fingers....

There was also some good floor time where they exchanged toys, tugs, and head butts.

Paddy was such a good teacher, that by the end of the weekend Tillie was dominating sitting up (although I did learn the hard way--a la lots of tears---that while she is awesome at sitting up, she is not quite ready to be left alone even for a second)....

I mean what Mom wouldn't be completely stoked to see her daughter with a cutie like this?

It was SO much funt to get to spend the weekend with my dear friend Amy, and get to catch up on all things Motherhood, life and the babes. I could have sat and watched these two play together all day long. It was so precious. I can't wait to watch them grow up together.....

....and hopefully when we are getting together and they are 20 we aren't still doing Nudie Baby Parade......