Tons of Pics!

I am just going to do a quick photo update. We take tons of pictures and then we get behind in putting them on the blog. So today is just a huge catch up on some adorable pictures.
Here are some caption highlights-
Natalie loves turning the pages of her books now. She seems so grown up when she does that.
She is getting closer and closer to crawling. She can get up on her knees and she rocks with her body all crunched in. She also has been doing this hilarious thing where she lifts her right leg way up in the air. We have no idea what she is trying to accomplish or why it is always the right leg, but it looks like a great workout routine!
Natalie also has been a bit more messy when she eats. She at times like to blow raspberries while she is eating. The one bib shot shows how messy we can get.
I think our favorite thing right now though is to just laugh together. She is so easily amused and her laugh is just pure perfection!!!
I also included a shot of Natalie in an adorable shirt and skirt from Grandma that Natalie just looked adorable in.
Enjoy the pictures!!!

Bathtime redux...

Bathtime has remained unchanged for the most part, but boy has our little gal grown since the last time I posted bathtime photos. And finally, she is just the right size for the personalized towel that Grandma (Harris) bought her a long time ago.

Pure Joy

As only a comfy spot on daddy's lap, a silly mommy and a stuffed Panda bear sneaking up over the horizon of the chair can bring...

First Trip to the Park

We took our first trip to a park together today! We went to Southern View park, which is a wonderful little area that's very close to us and is very quiet and peaceful compared to some other parks (ie the ever-busy Washington park). Natalie had a GREAT time on the swings, on the slide and just in general. Here are a few photos from our adventure!

Six Month Doctor Visit

Today was Natalie's six month doctor visit. The visit could not have gone any better. Natalie weighs 19 pounds 8 ounces and is 27 inches long. Both of these measurements put her at the 95th percentile. The weight is not surprising because she has been in that high category for quite awhile. However, her length has jumped. At her 2 month and 4 month appt her length was in the 75th percentile. This confirms what we thought about Natalie suddenly having a growth spurt recently (which you can see in her month by month picture) The doctor said that Natalie looks great and is doing great. She was impressed with Natalie's vision and coordination because as soon as the doctor put her tongue depressor down, Natalie immediately saw it and grabbed it. There was a particular test where the doctor was suppose to hold Natalie horizontally (like superman). The doctor actually struggled with this and was barely able to do it. Natalie passed the test and the doctor laughed and said that she got her cardio in. Natalie was also praised with how well she was able to sit up. The doctor said that the amount we are feeding her (as far as baby food is concerned) is fine and we can slowly increase the amount and times per day until she is eating 3 meals like we do regularly by 9 months. I wish there were more guidelines than that, and I even tried to ask for them, but she just kept saying that it was completely up to me. Where is that life instruction booklet??? :P
At the end of the appt, Natalie had three shots and a liquid immunization to take. I of course dread this part of the appointment. The nurse had me dangle her legs over the edge of the bed while I had Natalie lay down and I held her arms. Natalie made a little face like she was uncomfortable, then I found out that the nurse had already done the first one! The second shot cause a small whimper. The third shot did cause a pretty loud cry and pitiful face, but as soon as the nurse began giving the liquid in her mouth for the fourth item, Natalie immediately stopped crying (she was extremely interested in what she was getting to have in her mouth) She even started smiling at the nurse at that point! She has never handled the shots so well. I was very proud of her.
The weather outside is sooo beautiful. I think I may ask Joel if we can take Natalie to the park for the first time today!

Thank you again Uncle Jason

Uncle Jason, you are spoiling me with these gifts! I love the hat! I even turned it around myself in the first photo- you can see my expression of "did I just do that??!!"

True Love

Well, Natalie had a great playdate last week with her friends, Audrey Shelton and Elliott Lanter. There seems to be a spark there with Elliott...but we'll let you be the judge.

It's Been "Awhile"

I think some of our readers were probably getting a bit spoiled with the amount of posts we did in a few couple of days, so I thought that I would write again.
We have just been enjoying Natalie so much. She seems to be more aware of her surroundings and especially how we are talking and making noises. She seems to be trying to imitate us, especially when we do a B sound. She likes to put her lips together and attempt to make a noise.
She has been absolutely loving bath time and has discovered the ultimate joy of splashing as much as possible. She will drench her face and then look up at me with this look of shock/pleasure each time. It is too funny.
She has found a few fruits that she likes. She enjoys applesauce and we tried pears for the first time tonight. She still will make a sour face every once in awhile, but seems to like them a lot more than bananas and peaches. She still does not have the excited reaction to fruit like she does to veggies, especially sweet potatoes.
Tonight was the first night where she held her bottle on her own for the majority of the time (until the end when the angle was too much) Overall she did very well with this as well.
Natalie still will not sleep at day care. It has become very frustrating for us because we hate to see her so exhausted when we pick her up. Today she did not sleep at all at day care (I was at a school training) She actually fell asleep in her car seat before we even left the parking lot. It makes me glad that she is only going twice a week, but makes me really worried about when I have to go back to work in August.
Natalie has her six month doctor appointment on Friday, so stay tuned to an update after that. Then she has her first overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's on Saturday while we have a date night, which includes a wedding of a teacher friend. So I am sure we will have an update about that as well.

Just a note from dad...

Natalie, I just have to tell you that I love you and how proud I am of you already. You light up my world with your smile and your laugh is the best sound I've ever heard. I love you so much more than I ever imagined (and I imagined a lot of love!). Thank you for being so wonderfully you.

Yet Another First!!

Yes, it is another day, and yet, again we have another first! Natalie's first carousel ride! The beauty of me being a stay-at-home mommy for awhile is the fact that I can actually go on play dates with my friends and their babies! My friend Lindsey had free passes for the carousel in the mall because of her two year old Simon's birthday. So she invited a few of us to join them for a play date at the mall. I was disappointed that Joel would miss a first like this, but I was excited to be able to be a part of a fun little get together.
I had no idea how Natalie would react to the ride. I chose a horse that did not move up and down in case she didn't like it too much. Well, I had nothing to fear because as soon as it started she had a big smile on her face and she giggled several times. I am so thankful that my friend Emily was able to capture this shot that I am posting. This is one of those pictures that I will always cherish.
After the ride, we went to the play area that is in the mall. It is actually a really nice area that is free for kids to play and burn off some energy. We put down some blankets so Natalie, Elliot (2.5 weeks younger than Natalie), and Audrey (two months older than Natalie) could play together on the floor. I got some cute shots of them playing, which I will have to post later.
Another semi-milestone today was how long Natalie was able to sit up before falling over. She sat up completely on her own for a good 3-4 minutes today without any support of any kind! She was even able to grab for toys in front of her and wave her arms in excitement without toppling over! I am including a shot from the computer of her sitting on her own today too.
Tomorrow I am watching my friend, Elizabeth's daughter Isla, who just turned a year. It should be an exciting day in the Harris home!

Yes, Another Day, Another Milestone!

Yes, I already have something else to blog about! This evening Natalie tried a sippy cup for the first time! I had read of other moms introducing a sippy cup around 6 months and that they would put a little bit of water in it, then offer it to the baby after they have had baby food to kind of wash out their mouth.
So while I was out shopping today I looked at all of the different sippy cup options (there are a lot!) and I found one that is meant to be a training/first sippy cup and said it was meant for babies 6 months and older. So I went ahead and purchased that.
After Natalie had her sweet potatoes (by the way, we can say without a doubt that sweet potatoes are her favorite! After every single bite, as soon as she had swallowed, she would immediately open her mouth again and make this "aaahhhh" noise begging for more!) I gave her the sippy cup with just a little bit of water. Now, getting her to put the cup in her mouth was easy, because everything goes into her mouth! But I was impressed at how quickly she put the actual mouth of the sippy cup in her mouth. She even was able to get some water out. She really liked it!
I have to admit though, that now I have a bit of remorse for getting it and having her try it. Everything is going too fast! I can't believe that she has grown and changed so much! I am so happy and so proud of her, yet there is a part of me that is sad for the speed of which everything is happening. It just makes you treasure every single second that much more because they are all so precious!

Another Day, Another Milestone

I am so excited that my limited time of being a stay-at-home mommy has started! Natalie started it off right with another milestone. Well, she kind of began this milestone yesterday, but really started it repeatedly today. Natalie can now roll over from tummy to back and then back to her tummy! Watch out, she is going to get across the room before we know it!

She now loves tummy time, which is a huge difference compared to in the past when she would freak out. She loves tummy time and loves reaching and exploring toys around her. She also loves tags. I am going to post a picture of her choosing the tag on her playmat instead of all of the toys around her!

Natalie now eats (and loves) sweet potatoes, green beans, squash, and carrots. We were so excited to have Natalie try her first fruit the other day. We chose peaches (only because that was what babies'r'us had). Well, she actually didn't like them at all!! I tasted them, and I can't blame her! They actually had a bad twang to them that was pretty gross. So we are going to try bananas today and see if that goes better.

Now that I am home with Natalie we are even setting up a routine with her naps. It makes me sad how often she really wants to sleep, because at day care, she only gets about 40 minutes a day. Here is her newly established routine:
6am Wakes up and eats
6:30-7:30 Usually sleeps for another hour
7:30-8:30 Eats cereal and plays
8:30-9:30/10 Morning Nap
10:00 Eats
10:20-11:00 Active Play
11:00-12:30 Midmorning Nap
12:30-1:30 Play
1:30/2:00- Eat
2:00-3/4 Afternoon Nap
3/4:00 Play
4:30 Eat baby food
4:30-5:30 Play
5:30 Eat
5:30-7:30 Active Play
7:30- Bath
8:00 Bed

So she is getting three naps that are each at least an hour long!!! My poor lil girl must have been exhausted at day care. I am hoping that with this new routine in place she might allow it to carry over to day care (since she will still go to day care 2 days per week)

Well, I need to take advantage of this nap time and get some things accomplished!!

Half Birthday!

Not only is today the fourth of July, but it is also Natalie's "half-birthday"! And what better way to ring in the 100th post on All About Natalie! Thanks to all you guys and gals who faithfully read this blog- it's wonderful to know that so many people love Natalie, even if a lot of you haven't even met her yet!!

These 6 months have gone by so fast. It's incredible to think back at how much Natalie has changed and grown in that time. I have treasured every moment of her being in our lives, and I look forward to every hug, every question and every knowing smile to come.

Without further ado, here is the photo you've been waiting for.

New Night Routine

Since Natalie was born, I always held and rocked her to sleep...usually after a feeding. Unfortunately, in the past couple of weeks, Natalie had become extremely crabby when she was tired and would fight sleep really bad when I would start to try and rock her or make any attempts at getting her to sleep. The only way that I could get her down was to feed her, which I knew was not the most ideal way to get her to sleep each night/for a nap. A few times in desperation, Joel or I would even have to pack Natalie up in the car and drive around until she finally gave up and slept.
I asked a few of my friends who are mommies how they got their kids to sleep and almost all of them said that I needed to start simply putting her down and letting her cry it out. Boy, that did not sound like a fun idea. However, I was willing to try. I had also read about the importance of a routine even at this age.
So with these two tidbits in mind on Monday night I decided to try a new routine. I gave Natalie a bath, gave her a little massage with baby lotion, put on her pjs, brought in a stereo into her room to play lullaby classical music, and put her down in her crib wide awake. I was ready to hear all kinds of screaming and crying for 30-45 minutes or more....But that never happened! She fussed a bit, then cried for maybe 5 minutes, then was sound asleep. Joel and I couldn't believe it! It worked!
So Tuesday night, I went through the exact same routine at the exact same time. At 7:45, we immediately stopped our playing and went through the same routine. Natalie fussed for about 4 minutes, cried for 3, then sound fell asleep!
I wondered if I could get a third night in a row. Today Natalie only slept for about 40 minutes at day care all day (she has really been struggling with napping at day care, but I don't have much control over that). So Natalie had begun getting a bit fussy and rubbing her eyes, so I started our routine about 20 minutes early. When I laid her in the crib, she just kind of rolled around for about 3 minutes, cried for 1 minute, and was completely asleep within 6 minutes! I am so happy and proud of my little girl! This change has made such a difference to the whole atmosphere of our evenings! I am so thankful for great advice and a great little girl!