Happy Birthday Matea!

I can't believe our baby is already a year old. Time seems to be passing quicker than ever now that we have two kids, and I really can't believe she's been here for a year already. She really has completed our family and I can't remember what life was like without her. I'm constantly hearing from people, "she's such a happy baby" and she really is. She has her moments where she just wants to be held by Mommy but for the most part, she just loves to play. Oh, in case you're thinking of asking, "Is she walking yet?", which seems to be a constant question from 9 months on...no, she's not. And I'm fine with that. She will walk when she's ready and until then, I'm happy to watch her crawl around the house like a speed demon.

She lika da pasta

Matea had pasta with marinara sauce for the first time yesterday and I'd say she liked it. She ate three times as much as Bella and rubbed it all over her face and hair. I ended up having to give her a bath in the middle of the day because I just couldn't get her clean.

A fun fourth

The first half of the holiday, Steve spent building and installing the sprinkler system for the new grass coming soon in our front yard. Bella, who normally hates getting dirty, decided to dive right into the dirt and once Matea saw her, she had to get in too. They happily spent about an hour and a half digging in the front yard.
In the evening we went over to our friends, The Mitchell's, for their neighborhood block party. There were lots of kids and both of the girls had a great time. Two of their neighbor boys happen to be Bella's schoolmates and she spent most of the night playing with one of them, Magnus. At one point, Magnus invited Bella to go for a ride in a motorized Barbie Jeep. They totally looked like they were on a date. And he's so polite and such a gentleman, he pulled over, told Bella to slide over so she could have a turn at the wheel, and then hopped in next to her. I got some cute pics but won't post them since it's probably "bad manners" to post pics of other people's kids on the web.
Matea seemed to really like the fireworks and got really excited when she held her own sparkler. Bella went into cheerleader mode and stood at the edge of the drive screaming and jumping with joy.

For the Moms Out There

Thought I'd share this link to "In the Motherhood" webisodes starring Leah Remini from "King of Queens". They're freakin hilarious and I think all moms can relate to them. By the way, if you're still living in 1996 and have dial up (ahem, my mother and Lena), set aside three days for the webisodes to load:) Ok, I know my mom will be offended and get defensive when she reads that so let the record reflect that she lives in the country and has no option other than dial up. Also let the record reflect that my friend Lena has no excuse.

http://inthemotherhood.msn.com/

Matea meets spoon

I've started letting Matea spoon feed herself and forgot how messy it can be. Seriously, how did she manage to get yogurt on her eye brow? I'm guessing it has something to do with her using two spoons (no, I didn't give her two, she must have grabbed Bella's).

A Princess Not Afraid to Work

Steve's working on getting the front yard prepped for sod and Bella loves to help him. This weekend she quickly transitioned from playing princess inside the house to raking rocks and didn't have time for a wardrobe change. Steve said three different cars driving by stopped to comment on her outfit. She absolutely loves to play dress up so if anyone reading this knows of any great deals out there on dress up clothes, let me know.

Sorry, behind on posting

Ok, I know I haven't posted in a month but we've been so busy. We had to go out of town to the valley on two weekends, we've been spending lots of time outside because the weather has been so nice, and I can now officially say I'm at work from home mom. I started my own online scrapbooking business a few months ago and it's been very successful (which means I'm super busy shipping, managing inventory, etc.) so I just don't have the spare few minutes here and there that I used to. Anyhow, the girls have really been enjoying the outdoors and playing in the water. We were at my grandma's a few weeks ago and Bella loved running through the sprinkler. Matea....not so much. We went to the pool this weekend and both girls had a great time. They're both really comfortable in the water and it doesn't hurt that Mesa Dunes heats the pool to 85 degrees (literally) so you just feel like you're in a huge bath tub.