"No pictures, PLEASE!"
"This dress is my own personal hamster wheel."
"Ahhh...this is much better--now we're movin'!"
Gramma Julie had a birthday at the end of August.
She was so glad to receive this book from Grampa Dave. (She'd been coveting Mattaya's for months.) 
And Matt gave her a veggie peeler THAT WORKS.
"Wanna see my uvula?"
It's a bird. It's a plane. It's SUPER MATTAYA!
Learning to make ONE. 
Quick learner.
Watching her discover the flashlight was HILARIOUS.
She was pretty sure it was drinkable.
This girl still loves story time.
"Soon I'll be ONE (whatever that means)."
Gramma Pam and Grampa Gary came all the way from Indiana to help Mattaya celebrate her special day. 
These are the invitations Mommy had so much fun making.
Mattaya started out her special day by telling her latest fish story.
And she followed up with a grizzly bear story.
Walking with Grampa Gary. 
Walking with Gramma Pam.This girl loves to walk...she just won't let go and do it on her own!
During Mattaya's afternoon nap, the birthday fairy (I think her name might be Cindy) came and turned our house into a birthday wonderland.
Party Central
Yellow cupcakes. Pink frosting. White daisies on top. Mmmm.
Actually, she didn't love it like we thought she would. She was okay with the cake part, but the sticky pink stuff was irritating. She tried to shake it off, but it wouldn't let go. So we cleaned her up and gave her Cheerios. And she was happy.
She may be showing you how old she is...or she may be showing you her latest find (she recently discovered nose-picking).
Like most children, Mattaya wasn't overly concerned about her presents. Unlike most other children, Mattaya was not interested in the boxes or bows or tissue paper. No, our little weirdo loved her CARDS. And we're still reading them EVERY day.
Watching the one-year-old open gifts was terribly interesting.
(Mattaya agrees.)
She LOVED her new puppy. She gave him lots and lots of kisses.
She also loved her new books, of course. 
"Is all this for me?" 
"Let me see this card here."
"Yesss! Just what I wanted!"
"Would someone lift me up before I get swallowed up in this heap?" 
"YAY--we're all done with presents!" 
Mattaya means "gift from God", and she's truly been the best present of all.
Yeah, yeah, sappy, I know.
On her for-real birthday, Grampa Gary and Gramma Pam got her all gussied up for church.
Playing with Gramma Pam.
Mattaya loves playing with her new phone...although it doesn't look like any phone she's ever seen. 
First taste of pizza
The look says it all.
Sweet little girl...
"A family that brushes together..."
See? She does put her heels down SOMETIMES!
Deep in conversation with Gramma Pam.
Climbing on Grampa Gary. 
Finally a picture with Tobias! Tobias (whom we affectionately call Mr. T) and his mom (Amy...whom we affectionately call Amy) come out for a play date almost every week.
Birthday Reprise
A week after the birthday bash, the MN aunts came up for a visit...bearing gifts, of course. Mattaya really enjoyed playing with this little piano (whenever Auntie Net wasn't hogging it!).
But, of course, CARDS trump all.
Oooo...a book that makes noises!
Before we put Mattaya to bed, we showed her the cake we were about to eat. 
"You're going to afflict me with another one of these?"
Honestly, I wasn't trying to upset her OR to get her to like sweets. I just wanted to see if she'd like it without the frosting.
"Fine...I'll try it."
"Yum."
Showing off a new outfit. 
Round 3 with the cupcake. She ASKED for it this time. 
She goes in for the kill! But, alas, her two bottom teeth (for that's all she has) make but a negligible dent.
There was some Caramel Chocolate Trifle leftover from small group...
...so, of course, Mattaya got a taste!
At first she thought she must scrape it out of her mouth.
But then she decided she rather liked it, signed for MORE, and mentioned it might be especially nice with a glass of milk.
Mattaya so loves when Daddy does air guitar (and makes the sound effects to go with it), so he just couldn't resist when he saw this Elmo electric guitar.
A true rocker. 
Daddy had gone back to Indiana with Grampa and Gramma, and he came back with this motorcycle. He's really happy... 
...and kinda dorky.
