the big news!

"hungry? why wait?" just grab your hand.

yeah, she loves her hand.

this is what happens when I moved her hand. is she confused or what?


the elephant shirt. i was messing around one day...
it's dangerous giving me a blank onesie. but, this turned out to be a good crime.


feelin' good in the neighborhood. This is where she just performed the trick
of LaUgHinG for the very first time! Too cute!
p.s. the darling quilt is made by my wonderful mom. of course!

For the BIG announcement that I eluded to in the last post (thanks, Margaret, for reminding me!)---Matilda rolled over! On her 3 month birthday, no less!!

So, no, we're not pregnant and we're not moving or something crazy like that... we're just nuts over this little girl and every tiny thing she does! :) hA!

So, sorry to disappoint if you were thinking it was something even more glorious than that! Don't worry, team, I totally caught it on film. Be impressed. We always have our camera at a moment's notice. And, only if you promise to turn the volume down completely on the video, then you can watch it. Seriously, I remind myself of a chipmunk and don't want you to have to subject your ears to it. But, what can I say, I guess I am a dweeb. Luckily, Tillie doesn't know any better. So, it's all good.

Here she is on her 3 month old birthday! We decided to celebrate by reading a book for the very first time. We thought this one would be the most appropriate. Sweet Laura, one of Em's BFF, sent this book to us!! And, it is out of print, so she had to look extra hard for it! We LOVE it! Matilda was enthralled the entire time. And, being that last night was the first time she laughed when Aaron was tickling her, we thought it was eXtRA special. Thanks, Laura!

she's biting her nails in anticipation! "Who tickled Tilly??"

Warming up before the big roll.

video was supposed to go here, but i can't work the internet.

p.s. Aaron was wondering if I had made it harder for her by making her roll on the bed. Is seems like it is easier to me. What do you think? Would the floor be easier? Well, she's a champ, either way.

Now, before you view this last picture--- No, it isn't how our bathroom looks everyday. Let me explain. Remember Hurricane Dolly? yeah, we do too. Only because the newscasters told us that because of it, we'd be getting tornadoes. Yes, I said tornadoes. First we were on "tornado watch" --- which has happened many times since we've lived here. But, then they said that we were having a "tornado warning"--which is a much bigger deal. Then the map on the tv said it was heading right in our area. Next thing I know, the weatherman is telling us to go into the innermost part of our homes, and we'll know if it is there if we hear a "train like" sound outside. He suggested the bathtub with a blanket on top is one of the safest spots to go. Yeah, the warning was up/on for a few hours. Can we say "scared"? yes. thanks.

Well, being Matilda's 3 month birthday, I wanted to make sure she lived to see her 300 YEAR birthday, so I didn't take any chances. Here's the bathroom. Kajsa and I kept texting back and forth during the storm. I eluded to the fact that I had a few "emergency essentials" in the bathroom with us, but I don't think I told her that I had our 72 hour kits in the hall too (it was a big box and didn't fit comfortably in the bathroom with us).

Team, I was afraid. I am not a dork. Take special note in the picture below a few "essentials" like our extra hard drive, cell phone charger, file of important papers, cds with more photos, scriptures for some light reading, :) , diapers, toothbrush & paste for fresh breath and some comfy blankets and pillows. You can never be TOO comfortable in a tornado, right?

Well, the storm passed and I didn't have to duck into the tub with my baby. But, it made me think twice about what I would do in an emergency. I need to assemble a 72 hr. kit for Matilda! I don't think she'd eat the granola bars in mine at this point. :)


wow. big post. hope you enjoyed the craziness.

calling all parents of kiddos!

Hey team,
just saw this neat thing that Regal Theaters are doing.
Free Family Film Festival.
FREE movie for kiddos and parents on these days during the summer. All's you do is select the state and it lists all the theaters doing the free movie showings.
Check it out.

and for all of you without kiddos, or super mini kiddos like us... I bet you could go too.
p.s. read the top paragraph on the link. details are listed there.

p.p.s. big news in the wood home. we'll post hopefully later today about it! I gotta get downloading pix and fiLm! oh, and remember how we're under tornado watch today... this whole Dolly business is not cool. It's nutso outside.

my, how she's GrOwN!

ok, so here is Matilda in numerous photo shoots throughout the month of July (her second month of life!). You see, since it has taken me FOREVER to post all the pictures from Utah, we now are making up for lost time. So, even though I, as her mother, feel like each of these shoots should be their own post (because of the cute-ness factor), I will buckle down and post them all together for one POWerFuL-RoUnD-hOuSe-KiCk to your face and heart.
team, enjoy the goodness.

playin' around. discovering her tongue.

yaaawn. "it's tough work being so darling."

"yeah, i'm workin' it."

"tip your hat! the camera LoVes me."

"how 'bout this pose for glam?"

"daAAaad, quit messing with my hair. are you finished yet??"
p.s. aren't you all so impressed that aaron takes part in these shoots? yeah, talk about involved father!
do we suspect a future Pagaent father?? hA! not likely.

"i have a question... are we done yet?"

that's my little firecracker! LoVe this smile! One of the first REAL ones we caught.

Sick family picture on the 4th. All three of us were sick with a cold. This was taken at the end of the day just for "recording" sake. Our day was spent indoors sneezing, blowing noses (or sucking noses, in Matilda's case), and watching movies. Please don't take special notice of my lacking make-up and sportin' the scrounge look. I swear, at one point in the day I was ready. Oh well. In that shot above, Tillie is looking toward her bright future. Go America.

a little blurry, but I think she still looks so sweet with her sad sick eyes.
And, yes, I tried to make a firecracker bow... it was a little crazy and pieces kept flopping in her eyes.
Darn, still trying to harness that skill.
(oh, and yes, since i live in Texas now, I can use "rodeo/farm talk"
like "harness" in my everyday jargon. yee haw for that.)

Aaron thought it would be "rad" to create the Super Baby look.
I think I was supposed to crop him out of the shot, though. Sorry.
(but secretly not sorry, i think it looks funny).

And, take notice to Aaron's lack of facial hair.
He decided to take his Independence (yes, good pun) to a new level and shave his face without telling me. He does this all the time, walks out of the bathroom after being in there for a while, and comes out with a whole new look.
I am totally great with him making his "grooming" decisions, but I need a little warning.
It takes me a few days to recognize him after the transformation. But, in our many years together, I've noticed a trend, he shaves his head or face right after a big test. I think it is his way to decompress.
And, now, thinking back, he took his Boards exam the day before... so I should have anticipated the change!
Well, that's that. He looks great no matter what he does. And, I have to say, once our Mom's found out about it, they were cheering! I think we heard them all the way from Alpine. :) Now, back to the little cutie.

In the car on our way to a San Antonio Mission's Baseball game. She was SO happy in the car.
Too bad she doesn't like to prove that when I have the camera out.

It was GrEat weather for the baseball game. Here is one of their mascots.
Erin and I weren't sure if the other mascot was a green pepper, a green chili, an amphibian of sorts, or just a pickle.
Too bad I don't have a picture so you can help us decide.

We went to the game with Jake, Erin and little Luke Smith. It was pretty cool. We paid for the "grassy berm" section (whatever that means?) but saw empty seats in the Air-force section. Since Jake is almost full-blown Air-force, we thought "why not?" (Okay, really that much thought didn't go into it. They were open and instead of hoofin' it to the other side of the field, we sat down here!)


the big reason we went was for the FiReWoRks! We were sad that we didn't get to do them on the 4th, so here we are, making up for it! And, man, it was a GREAT show! We were all worried that after the game the 3 they shot up with the final hit was it... but, thankfully they had a big show with LOTS of great ones! Good work, Team Baseball People!


End of the night. Fireworks over, I'm super happy (and apparently sweaty for that matter)
and the headband has come off of Miss Tillie.
Wow. Nice shot. Oh, well. We were there and had fun. Thanks, Smith family!

looking confused in yellow.

she was whispering, "is it time for me to smile yet?"

ok, I am in love with this dress. we took MANY photos with it on. It matches her eyes PeRfeCtly.
love love love it. And, pretty dainty that she is crossing her legs on her own!?
I've already taught her the proper way to wear a dress. Man, I'm a good mom, right?

i'm such a sucker for her!

She wanted to make sure I recorded her doing her "Stayin' Alive" routine.
Remember, she may be little, but she still knows how to get her groove on.

and here she transitioned into the infamous "Sprinkler" move. wow. Go Tillie Go!

Too bad my fingers are in this one! (and they look a little sausage-like too. sick.)
---regardless, i am in LooooOVE with this picture. You can bet it will be framed.

***A special shout out to all the generous people in our life that provided this darling girl with such darling threads to wear. We are in love with all these outfits you've given us!! You know who you are, and we are SoOooOo grateful for your kindness!!!

So, there you have it. A few photo shoots of her second month of life. Pretty rad. Oh, and for "record's sake", she weighed in at 11 pounds and measured 22.5" inches. Apparently she is in the 50-75th percentile which means pretty "normal"--- but we all know that she is much more wonderful than "NoRmAL" right? Right. Glad we all agree.

Oh, and let's talk about her sleep schedule. This is a fun thing to report. We put her down to sleep around 10-10:30ish at night, and then don't hear from her until about 7:00 a.m. (just as the Today Show is starting. Matilda is in love with Matt Lauer and the gang). So, I feed her while we watch the morning's headlines and then I wrap her up and lay her back down and she drifts off to sleep on her own! Then she wakes up around 11:00ish. Now, if that isn't AmAzIng, then I don't know what is!?

Luckily, I, myself, have great sleeping talents and apparently it was passed down to her! Of all my skills that she inherited, this is a great one, don't you agree? Now, I know, many people say that their babies were great sleepers at one point and then totally switched gears (like when they started to get teeth)---so I am just BASKING in the goodness each day! Trying my hardest not to take it for granted. But, let's give THREE CHEERS to the Wonder Child.
Way to be, Tillie!! Hip, Hip HoORaY!

snyder family pics...the last utah pictures.

Ok, we're rounding up the Utah pictures. Here's the last of them. Since all of us happened to be in Utah at the same time, we decided to follow the Wood's example and take family photos of us too. Alas, here we are. Same color scheme, except we added jeans to the mix. How exciting. Here we are.

Loved these pictures with Uncle Jesse.

my favorite is this pose. he asked us what he should do in the pose, we had no reply.
so he pulled his "proud uncle" face! hA!

just the girls. (my dad, jesse and aaron thought it would be weird if they did "just the boys" in a shot. so, we didn't).

little wood family. because of the speed that I was swinging matilda, she looks a little blury. sorry, babe.

"our last supper"--per special request. becca and dad are a dynamic duo. they are in love with that bbq. Here's some of the delights. Yes, a little salmon, a little steak AND shrimp too? Yes.
Was it heaven? I think you know my answer on that one.

i think i captured this dish really well. the lighting was great, huh?

gathered around the mulberry bush. or table. whatev.
everyone loved that I was taking their picture.

Now for a few random shots of the wee one. Of course we had to add a few randoms, right?

this was our experiment to see how much hair she really had. The nice spikey look. Not a lot on top.

just out of the bath. sucking on her beloved hand. always.

ok, wow. so there you have it! ALL of the Utah pictures! Now, onto more exciting pictures of the dolly! I am compiling them right now, so you can see this BIG smiley doll-face! I know you are all REeLinG!

matilda mae's blessing day!

ok, ok... I know you have all been waiting to see the pictures from her blessing day. And here they are! So cute. I found this little dress at Broadbent's in Lehi, Utah. Love it. And, it was pretty inexpensive too (love that even more!). The detailing on it was pretty sweet and the bonnet looked DARLING on the little darling herself. So, enjoy the pictures.
Oh, and the sweet little bracelet is one of Kajsa's originals. Thanks, Kajsa! (and sorry, I undressed her to feed her that afternoon and forgot to put it on her! so in lots of the pictures with the family, it is missing!) And, the quilt she is on is the one my mom made for her. And, it was hand quilted too. Good work, Mom!

Enjoy!

love that toothless grin!

we had forgotten to bust out the camera earlier,
so we caught a bunch of the wood clan before they left!

tillie and aunt lizbert.

tillie mae with nana snyder.

tillie mae with her mom. yours truly.

matilda with the snyder clan, minus jesse. we were sad he couldn't come that day.

matilda with aunty becky face.

and matilda with aunty em. (just like in wizard of oz).

I used some of Aaron and my dad with Matilda in the last post (so, I didn't exclude, ok?). We're slowly almost caught up in life!! Be proud! We're getting there!