The world from Mathilde's view

I've talked about how Mathilde got her first real camera for Christmas for a few months now and I finally uploaded some of her photos so I can share them with you. Here they are, the world through Mathilde's lens:




Everyone's taller.




Toys play together.


Stuff on the table is at eye level.




It's just fun to play with cool backgrounds and accessories.

I think the Blazej side of her, aka generations of photographers, is definitely starting to shine through!!

First Family Snowshoeing Outing

Yesterday was a beautiful crisp blue winter day and I couldn't deny my Maine roots; we just had to get out in the snow! Luckily, you can drive from green Seattle to snow in about 45 minutes so it was a doable day trip. I have been wanting to use our snowshoes for weeks now so we dug them out of storage and borrowed a backpack for Mathilde. We had no idea how we would fare since Mathilde can be, I'll just say it, supremely stubborn about trying new things, but there were two of us against one little one of her so as long as she was bundled, I wasn't too worried. And we won!! She cried about the backpack at first but after we got her comfortably in there and started walking in the snow, she was fine. Yes, parents DO know best sometimes!


We hiked for about 20 minutes and then found a perfect place for lunch.


Then we built a snowman and my pink little snow princess threw a few snowballs. It was so fun watching her fully embrace the snow.




We went a little bit further, enjoyed the gorgeous view (that's the downhill ski resort at Snoqualmie in the background), and then headed home for some hot chocolate and cuddles.

All in all, a perfect family day.

So long, farewell...

BEFORE:


As many of you know, Mathilde has been in love with her pacifier, aka "Gucky", since she was about six weeks old. At that young age, Gucky was a life-saver and we were all happy she accepted this soothing tool. But as she approached 3 years old, JJ and I both decided that she was getting too old to have Gucky, that she looked ridiculous with it, and that it wasn't serving as necessary of a purpose anymore. So for months leading up to her December birthday, we would talk with Mathilde about how she didn't need Gucky anymore and that we would give her a nice present in exchange for giving up Gucky when she turned 3. She was ready...in theory. Third birthday came and went and Mathilde still hung on to Gucky. Granted, it was only during naps, nighttime, and when she got very upset, but it was still a crutch for all of us and took away from my girl's beautiful smile. I just wanted to see her whole face first thing in the morning! We tried more bribery, pleading, and throwing most of them away, but pink Gucky remained. Until one day about two weeks after her birthday, JJ took Mathilde to the dr for a check-up. The dr said it would be good to get rid of Gucky but didn't push. That day, JJ suggested Mathilde nap without it, and PRESTO, she did. Amazing! Then that night I suggested she sleep without Gucky and, to my utter surprise, she basically agreed. She got a little upset but I told her she could start without it and then call me in the middle of the night if she needed it. She slept all night! It's been about a month now and Gucky no longer lives at our house. My daughter never ceases to amaze me.

AFTER:

(On Mathilde's new camera, there are fun backgrounds/accessories you can add to a photo. Here Mathilde poses with the only "Gucky" we have in our house.)

Merry Christmas to all!

A bit belated...Merry Christmas from the Guajardos!! We hope you all had a cozy, relaxing holiday with family and friends. It was our first Christmas in our Seattle home, and while we missed spending the holiday with our extended families, it was nice to stay put and enjoy Seattle at this special time of year. We were also lucky enough to have Sharon and Kurt stay with us for the week. Here we all are for Christmas Eve dinner: Sharon, Kurt, Will, Susi, Baby Will, JJ, Mathilde and I. What you don't see is the incredibly yummy steak dinner JJ made for us. I'm one lucky lady!




To kickoff the holiday season, Mathilde and I went to see the Pacific NW Ballet's Nutcracker. This is one of my favorite holiday traditions and I have such fond memories of seeing this show with my mom, sisters and girlfriends every year in Bangor, Maine when we were growing up. (I always wanted to be Clara but stage fright and lack of real ballet skills got in the way!) I was elated to start this tradition with Mathilde and I am happy to say that she enjoyed the show even at such a young age.


One of these years, we'll stop for very large ice cream sundaes after the Nutcracker (another fond memory from my childhood).

Another highlight from this year's Christmas was the scavenger hunt we put together for Mathilde so she could find her special gift from mama & dada: a real digital camera!


Photography in the Guajardo household just got a bit more interesting!

Happy 3rd Birthday!!

The holiday fun/chaos is over but I haven't yet shared any of it with you. This also means Mathilde's 3rd birthday has come and gone. Eeek, the challenge of having a holiday-birthday! I'll keep posts separate - because it's very important to separate birthdays and Christmas - but short:

Our sweet Mathilde is THREE!! We had a blast at the Children's Museum with Mathilde's friends: Alice, Cora, Paige and Younis. They played, they danced, they ate cupcakes, and they really seemed to enjoy each other's company. It's amazing to watch our "little ones" grow up together.






Happy Birthday sweetheart!

The Laura Ingalls Wilder dress

For those of you that remember waaay back when Cotton Togs North was around, you'll remember this dress:


For those of you that are wondering what I'm talking about: Cotton Togs North was a natural clothing business that my mom and friends ran out of our house when I was about 10ish. My dad was the photographer and my sisters and I and all of our little friends were the models. The catalogs are fantastic and I think one last set exists in my parent's house in Maine. I'll have to digitally upload them someday. Anyway, this dress was one of my favorites and was passed around to all the little girls as our "Laura Ingalls Wilder" dress. Yes, it came with a bonnet. My mom has been saving this dress for years and she brought it for Mathilde this Thanksgiving. Now, Mathilde is in an anti-dress phase these days, (much to my chagrin), but she loves this dress!! It's slightly too long on her but I think she wore it about five days in a row around the holiday and every few days it appears again. Not that she knows who Laura Ingalls is, but it makes me smile every time she puts it on!




(It's almost like she's posing for a catalog here!)

Tickle Treat!

That's what Mathilde thought we were saying as we coached her in Halloween verbiage this weekend. We had three outings this weekend where she was all decked out in her costume, and by the end of the day today she finally whispered out a bashful trick-or-treat. Luckily, her costume was cute enough that she didn't need words to get candy!




We went trick-or-treating in pouring down rain - "Seattle style" - yesterday with dozens of sopping wet kids and parents. Mathilde appreciated the candy (M&Ms are her new fave), but she didn't look thrilled by the end.


Not even when we met up with her super cute friends, Annie & Felix:


Happy Halloween everyone!!

(Note: all effort went into creating Mathilde's elephant costume which is why JJ and I are dressed as our soaked selves!)