Food!

We tried oatmeal cereal today, just to see if she could swallow yet. I think she enjoyed it. Here's a few pics (pic overload today!) and a video.

Born on the 4th of July..

Not really, but pretty cute. We went to get pictures for Daddy so she can be patriotic. It was so hard to just pick one pose.

Too Many Pics!

Oh Liam, let's hold hands at the park today.









Nevermind, I think I'll just chew on both of our hands instead!

My Cutie Pie

I can't believe it's been 4 months. Then again, I can't believe it's only been 4 months. People say a baby changes your life completely. It did, but not in the ways that I thought. I always thought it would change in 'bad' ways, like no sleep, not doing things I wanted. But all I've seen really is good things.
1. I have more friends now, mostly due to my mom's group.
2. I care less about what people think about me.
3. I am happier with the way I look because I look pretty great for having a baby!
4. I'm more outgoing because I always have stories to tell.
5. I'm happier now that I don't work and I can be a housewife/mom.
6. I cook more meals.
7. I appreciate nights out alone with Ryan a lot more.
I think my list could go on and on. I feel so blessed to have such a helpful and supportive husband, a beautiful healthy daughter, and family and friends who love her as much as I do.

4 Month Bunny Pic

4 Months


3 Months


2 month


1 month

Big Lady

Tomorrow Natalie is 4 months old already! I weighed her in at the gym again and she was 16.4 lbs and when I measured her at home today she is about 25 3/4 inches. Maybe, it's hard to measure someone who doesn't stop kicking their feet! It took 9 pictures to get her in between kicks! After looking at the pic, looks like the tape measure it not really by the top of her head, so she might be longer than that even!

Thinking Tounge

Ryan claims she gets this from him. When he learned how to write he says he would stick his tounge out like this to concentrate. Natalie's being doing this a lot too. Could be the 'tounge thrust' reflex she needs to get rid of before she can start eating. Or it could be part of her thought process...

Getting Ready to Eat

Natalie will be 4 months this week. Between 4 and 6 months, depending on her readiness and the doctor's reccomendation, she'll be ready to eat!

First, we got used to sitting in the high chair. Ryan calls it 'the throne'. She seems to enjoy it!









Then, we tried a spoon to play with. Of course it went in her mouth, but then again so does EVERYTHING!












Finally I gave her a cup (7 months it says). She put it in her mouth and used the nubby spout to teeth on. We could hear her squeaking on it all over the house!

Saturday in the Saucer

We're borrowing an exersaucer from Liam, Natalie's friend. They always like each others toys better, so we're sharing. He has the Bumbo while we have the 'overstimulation station' as Polly called it. Here's some pics of her exploring.

Playgroup Again

In the 'lineup' the littlest one is 6 weeks (in the flower diaper) and the oldest is 5 months. The other two are a little over 4 months.

Big Day!

First, Natalie started to grab at things on her playmat. I hung some new toys on it to interest her.


Then, while being interested in the toys she rolled over! She's been doing it a few random times, but today she's got it fast. Don't blink or you might miss the video!

Pool Party

Here is Natalie getting ready to swim for the first time. By the way, the suit is size 18 months, pretty crazy.


She didn't love it, but didn't hate it either. We'll just keep trying.

Here she is after the swimming - too pooped to play!

Chicken Dance

Here's Natalie again - she's learning how to kick the shapes and the chicken to get the lights and music on.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

On Saturday night a group of mommies from my playgroup went out for the night. The hubbies watched the kids after we all had a bbq together. We went out to a country bar/club called Saddleridge. It was two of the girl's birthday. We had a great time!

Father's Day

Here's Natalie in her 'I Love Daddy' shirt and Daddy in his "Too-Cool Dad" shirt. Ryan liked his gifts. We also let Ryan sleep in and I made pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast. Not too sure what else we will do today, it's up to Ryan.

Father's Day Weekend

Natalie is excited about her first Father's Day weekend. We went to a place in Williamsburg called Paint On Pottery. Natalie got ready with her paintbrush, which promptly went in her eye and then in her mouth.



After painting 3 coats of yellow on the outside and inside of the bowl, 3 coats of a green rim, and red polkadots on the outside and green ones on the inside we were ready to paint Natalie's feet. Of course, at this point it had been about 2 hours and she thought I was picking her up to eat, not to be painted upon.

My friend Kelly helped negotiate the bowl onto Natalie's foot. Of course you only get one shot at this because you can't re-stamp her foot on the exact same place...luckily it turned out pretty cute. I picked it up from being baked yesterday.

I'll post some pictures of Ryan enjoying the bowl and his Too-Cool Dad shirt on Sunday. Happy Father's Day to all the other dad's out there reading this blog!

This chair was TOO big...

I love the wide-open mouth face she is making. It's so cute when she gets that happy. I like her toothless grin...it will be cute with teeth too, but it's so sweet right now.





This one shows off the mohawk!


She's always happiest in the morning. I'm glad she's not grumpy after sleeping. She babbles in her room until I come to get her then she gets her big smile out.

No, she's not working at Hooters...

Even though Daddy loves their wings, I KNOW he does not want Natalie to get a job there! This is her Wee World shirt, it's the name of the preschool program at our church. The bottom is one of her new cloth diapers - so cute! Since it's been so hot (90's) I've been just putting her in a shirt or onesie so she can stay cooler. Poor thing is always sweating in her BLACK carseat (what was I thinking??) On Monday we're going to a pool playdate so Natalie and I are going to try her water sling. She will look so cute as a little pudge in her suit. I, on the other hand, have LOOKED at my suits but not yet actually tried one on. Only 2 days left to find which one will fit!

Learning to read (and hold our head!)

Natalie is learning to do 2 very important skills! I'm so proud of her holding her head up, today is the best she's done. She really loves the new book from Grandma Windle.

It's a sling thing

Our newest purchase - this is a Solarveil sling. It's really lightweight and blocks UVA and UVB rays. Natalie seems to enjoy it so far. As she gets older you can use it in different ways, like on my hip and back. It takes away some of the pain of carrying such a heavy load! It's also good for using at the pool or beach, I can take Natalie wading with me. The extra fabric is good to cover her head or when she needs to eat.

Weight Check

Natalie and I went to the gym over at Langley AFB this morning. I ran 2 miles, yay for me! It feels good to be running again, makes me feel like my old self. Natalie seemed entertained. This is the first time she's been awake at the gym - she used to fall asleep in the car and stay asleep during my workout. She watched my feet and would smile when I peeked over and would say 'boo'.

Then I weighed myself, which I only have 4 pounds to lose to get back to pre-pregnancy weight. I also picked up Natalie and weighed us both. After some quick subtraction I determined Natalie is 15.2 pounds. Geesh. No wonder my back hurts! She was 25 inches according to my tape measure but it's so hard to get an accurate length of something to wiggly...

Natalie and Drake