Happiness is...

...pretty much any occassion! We are so thankful that Nattie is such a happy gal!

Sweet Potatoes are...sweet!!!

Nattie LOVES solid foods...she makes this "yumnum" sound and is so precious when she's eating. This photo is from her first time eating sweet potatoes. As you can imagine, we have plenty more photos of her eating. She's also tried green beans (her favorite so far) and is now eating squash.

It's so funny to see her facial expression when she tries a new food for the first time. The first bite is an expression of "what the heck is this?!?", but by the third bite, she is "yumnum"ing all over the place, and is all smiles and giggles.

Thank you, Uncle Jason!

Natalie loves her giraffe- thank you, Uncle Jason!

Exersaucer!

Or is it Exo-saucer? I dunno, but whichever it is, she loves it! We actually call it her office, because as soon as she gets in it, she looks very serious while studying and playing with the various toys attached to it.

Early Father's Day meal

Today we enjoyed a late lunch at Texas Roadhouse with Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate Father's Day slightly early. Natalie loves her grandma and grandpa as you can see in this video!

Sweeeeet Potato!

So we have had our first "real" (well, baby food) food experience! We went with sweet potatoes! She had the same reaction as she did when she first had cereal..was kind of unsure at first, but by the end she was really enjoying them! Our video camera battery was dead (I know, shame on us) but Joel took some video with his phone, which I think he may be able to put on here. He also got one really cute messy face shot, which he will upload soon. Our milestones continue!

Talking up a storm!

Natalie is talking more and more and has grown to love high pitched squealing as you can see in this first video!

In the second video, mommy has captured the infamous "second roll" as mentioned in a previous blog. But now Natalie can complete this move in mere seconds. All the training has paid off!

Breaking News!!!

Natalie just rolled over for the first time!!! I could tell that she was extremely determined today and there were several times this morning we thought she was going to do it. But it finally happened this evening! I am sad that Joel didn't see it because he was at work, but I got to see it and I quickly got the video camera and Natalie cooperated and did it again so we have the second roll over on film. I am sure that Joel will post the video soon!
Oh my, our little girl is that much closer to becoming mobile!!!

Update

Wow, it has been way too long since I put up a general update! I apologize for really slacking off, since I use to do a weekly update.
I think it is harder for me to do updates now because Natalie is so interactive and fun that I constantly just want to be with her!

We love our new doctor. Dr. Murray completely disagreed with everything that Dr. Lee had said. Dr. Murray said that Natalie is doing great and is completely healthy. I am so thankful that we were able to find a better doctor and fast!

Natalie has been growing and changing so fast. As previously mentioned, Natalie now can turn herself in her exosaucer. She is very methodical in how she plays with all of the toys. She now knows how to interact with all of them. We still get a kick out of hearing the music suddenly start because she has pushed the button again. She always looks very pleased with herself as well.

In the past few weeks, Natalie has deepened her love of sucking her thumb. I know that in the future this could be problematic, but right now it is so adorable. She doesn't do it constantly. She only does it when she is trying to fall asleep. She also seems to like to hold some fabric (one of her security blankets, a bib, her shirt, etc.) in the same hand has she sucks her thumb. Totally makes me think of Linus from the Peanuts. When she is wide awake, she doesn't suck her thumb, but loves chewing on her hands or anything else she can get to her mouth.

Natalie is at a very interesting stage as far as clothing sizes. She can wear some 3-6 month pants, but as far as shirts go- it can be anything from a 3-6 month onesie to a 12 month shirt! Just a few days ago, I cleared out her drawers again of all of the things that don't fit her anymore. It is so crazy how fast it is going!

Natalie still has not rolled over. She gets as close as one could get...but she just can't seem to get her arm out from under her to complete the task. I hope that maybe with me being home more we can do more floor time and work on this more.

She continues to love cereal. I am still only feeding it to her once a day, but she absolutely loves it. She just beams the moment we put her in the highchair. I think feeding her cereal is one of my new favorite things to do as a mommy.

Natalie also loves her pets. Whenever Sophie or Pumba walk by she visibly gets excited by throwing her arms and legs out and smiling really big. Sometimes she will even laugh just at the sight of them. Sophie tends to keep her distance most of the time, but Pumba is so good with her. He loves to sniff her and now he lets her pet/grab his neck fat without even batting an eye. I can't wait to watch them play together as Natalie grows up.

Well now that it is summer, I hope to do a better job of updating. I have one more masters class through June, but then I get to be a stay-at-home mommy for one month- wahoo!

Growing: 5 months!

One day late, but worth the wait! Here is the 5 month old progression photo!
Click to enlarge

Five Month Birthday and Sad Milestone

Today is Natalie's five month birthday. Unfortunately, there will probably not be a growth picture update today. We have had another milestone today, but it isn't a pleasant one. Natalie ran her first fever today. I took her to school with me because I only had a 90 minute last day. While we were at school she began acting off, and was going through way too many diapers. When we got home I took her temp and she had 100 degree temp. She has been quite the trooper through it though. She has even tried to still share some smiles through it. I called the doctor and they said as long as tylenol controlled the fever and she wasn't dehydrated, then it was probably just some virus that she would have to get through. I hope it is a 24 hr thing and that she will feel better tomorrow.
However, I do commend my little girl on having great timing since I am out of school now and can fully take care of my herl.
Stay tuned for a growth picture hopefully in the near future.