Beautiful Last Day in January!

Today was an absolute gorgeous last day in January with highs in the low 60's. Couldn't ask for anything much better than that with the sun out and all for most of the day.

At first, I was a bit disappointed that we wouldn't be able to enjoy the nice weather since it was a working day for me. However, my last patient cancelled, so I was able to pick Natalie up from daycare around 2:30p. We headed home, changed into play clothes, fed her a bottle and a snack, and off to Deming Park we went. There were lots of kids/parents out and about.

We did the swings and people watched. Natalie didn't seem as enthusiastic about the swings today, but did enjoy the people watching and standing. Then, we took a couple walks around the park with Rebekah and Daddy joined us after work. All in all, we were out in the nice weather for 2 hours. It was nice to get some fresh air!

The fresh air wore this almost 1 year old out!

And Rusty too :)

Mother Goose and Super Bowl

We had a pretty fun weekend that wasn't really planned until the last minute. It was nice to have a good weekend since this last week, Natalie has been quite the stinker when it comes to eating. At first I thought it was that she wanted to feed herself, but lately it has been that she spits EVERYTHING at you. It is really annoying and trying as a parent getting her to understand that spitting is bad and that she needs to eat. Luckily, on Sunday she was SO GOOD!

On Saturday, I had found out about a free program at the library for young children called Mother Goose on the Loose. It is an early literacy program for children from 0-4 I believe. There was one other baby younger at 5 months, then Natalie was the 2nd yougest. It was a 30 minute program with singing, dancing, story-time, and puppets. Natalie pretty much sat still the entire time and enjoyed it. Daddy went to!  There were about 20 other kids along with the adults, so the room was pretty full. They hold it once a month, so definitely something I want to try and get Natalie to each month.

We headed out to lunch after the program, and Natalie was horrible at the restaurant. I don't recall ever having a difficult time with her at a restaurant, but she was tired, wouldn't eat, and had 2 frustrated parents. After leaving lunch, she took a 3-3.5 hour nap and Mommy took an 1.5 nap. Much needed for both of us! Daddy had to work though since he was on-call.

On Sunday, we made last minute plans with Amanda and Matt and headed to Indy to experience the Super Bowl festivities downtown. It was fun to experience the atmosphere since this could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience because hard telling if the Super Bowl will ever by in Indianapolis again. There were quite a bit people out and about and it was FREEZING because of the wind. Natalie was all bundled up and I don't think she quite knew what was going on with all the people and being outside in the cold all bundled up, but she did awesome the entire afternoon/evening! Natalie actually ate some dinner, macaroni and cheese which isn't the most healthy thing in the world, but she ate!

None of us wanted to pay for the NFL Experience which was $25 a person since most of the reviews we had heard said it was mostly for kids. However, as we were all about ready to leave, one of the security guards was announcing that the last hour of the experience was free. So, naturally, we went. Bobby was a bit disappointed because even though it was free, they closed all the lines to do stuff such as kick field goals, throw the football, etc at 6:30 and we got in at 7p. However, it was still nice to see what it was all about and it was definitely geared more toward kids, and Bobby...haha:)

Natalie's Newest Thing

So, back around Christmastime, when we went to get pictures with Santa, Santa gave Natalie a small rubber penguin. Since she got it, when she finds it, she likes to chew on it, but the chewing typically lasts a minute or so and she loses interest.

However, now, she has been basically using it as a pacifier whenever she finds it, which I find pretty silly because she would never take a pacifier in her early days. She must have learned this newest little trend from daycare while seeing some other kids with their pacifiers. It is pretty funny because she will crawl around/walk around (furniture) with it! Silly girl!

Mealtimes = Messy Time

So, lately, Natalie has been wanting to be extra independent lately at mealtimes. She is refusing to be fed, unless of course it is off our plate of food. She seems to eat very well if she can pick up her food and feed herself. Sometimes, I can feed her but only if she is holding a spoon in her hand, as if she was feeding herself. She also basically refuses anything pureed like baby food, such as applesauce and yogurt. Her favorite finger foods are really most vegetables, mandarin oranges, peaches, raviolis, and of course, let's not forget...cheerios!

She may take a couple bites, but then spits it back out to you. The spitting usually means she is done or does not like whatever it is you are trying to feed her. The spitting thing is really annoying and she does not respond to saying "no" or to lightly smacking her mouth. I really don't know what else to do.

I'm all about her feeding herself, but the mess is crazy and LOTS of extra work for me!  I can't wait until she uses silverware to feed herself (much longer down the line, I know)!  She still will not take a sippy cup other than meals, the rest of the time she takes a bottle. I have not yet had the patience/courage to refuse to give her a bottle and only let her use a sippy cup, but the time is coming soon!  She still won't take a sippy cup that has a hard spout...only the soft spout like her bottles, but it's a step in the right direction I guess.

Bath time after dinner tonight! Then, straight to bed because she was really fussy and didn't even want her bottle. Daycare must have worn her out today!

In the mornings lately, she has been very clingy. As soon as she drinks her bottle and is dressed, she does not want to be let down. If you set her down to do something or have her play, she just cries. I'm all about snuggling/cuddling her, but on my work days, I have to make sure I don't get her up (hope she stays asleep until I'm ready) until I am ready to go because otherwise I won't be able to get ready the rest of the way without a lot of increased time and with only one hand!

Our Weekend

Saturday, Natalie, Rusty, and I headed up to Indy to see my family since my parents were in town. The night before we had gotten a freezing rain/sleet storm so the roads were pretty icy. We waited to head out instead of the morning, we left around noon. The main roads were perfectly fine and we had no troubles.

We basically just went up to hang out, nothing really specific other than it happened to be Petunia's 2nd birthday and my sister went all out and made dog-friendly cupcakes that she decorated elaborately (she is very talented), Rusty got a "doggy treat bag" like kids would get at a kid's birthday party, and we all had special cupcakes from a local cupcake shop for all the humans.

Sorry Rusty, but you will be 5 this year and we have never had a "doggy birthday party" for you (I don't think many people do).

Petunia's birthday cupcakes Amanda made

Petunia getting the first lick

Rusty got the alligator

Petunia got the elephant

We headed back that night and Sunday was a pretty typical day for us: headed to church in the morning, grabbed some lunch, then Bobby watched football the rest of the afternoon/evening with James.

At church daycare this morning, when I went to go pick Natalie up, the ladies in the nursery said Natalie was hilarious and they wanted to keep her. I can only imagine that she was probably doing her typical dancing/bouncing moves and laughing/smiling. I told Bobby in the car that I hope Baby #2 is as happy as Natalie! We can only hope!

Update on Baby #2: We had another ultrasound on Friday to make sure the placenta had moved, which it had. Her heart rate was 148 and it is still a GIRL. My regular OB just had her baby, so I had to see another doctor, which I will see in another 4 weeks as well, then back to my regular doctor. She is still in the breech position and was in a "diving" position with her knee touching her nose (doesn't seem like the most comfortable). We still haven't decided on a name. I really like Aubrey Maryn Andreae, but Bobby really does not like the name Maryn at all, even though I said it would be like his favorite baseball team: the Mariners. I really like the name Maryn and even gave Bobby the option of being able to name her first name his favorite name, but still no budging from him. He really doesn't give much input on names, so until later on that!

Only 3 more weeks and Natalie turns 1!

Sleeping Better!

So, for over a week, Natalie has been sleeping great at night!  The past 2 nights, she has even gotten rid of her "midnight snack" and has gone to bed at 7:30p and slept for 11 or 12 hours!  On Wednesday night, Bobby had to wake her up to get her ready for daycare at 7:30a.  She even took a morning nap at daycare, which lately has been quite unusual! Then, last night, she slept from 7:30p until we heard her turn on her musical aquarium at 6:30a, but she was not crying, she was happy. Then, must have fallen asleep again to the sound of her aquarium because she didn't wake up until 8:30a. What a good little sleeper!

Here is a video of how Natalie dances almost everytime you turn on her Hokey Pokey Elmo:

Here are some videos of her riding the snowmobile and sledding last weekend:

Happy 11 Months!

Oh my!  1 more month until our baby girl is a year old!  It's so unreal how fast time really does go!

Natalie is more active than ever before. She is a super fast crawler and really has no interest in walking right now, even though Bobby and I try to get her to take a few steps. She usually just gets mad and buckles her knees. Instead, she just walks on her knees. I'm not quite sure why we want her to walk so bad because then she really will be into EVERYTHING!

What 11 months has brought on:

1. She has her 7th tooth now.
2. She is tolerating whole milk really well.
3. She has been sleeping through the night...yay! We still haven't broken the 'midnight' feeding, but at least by the time she eats one last time between 10:30p and 11:30p, she sleeps usually until 8:30a.
4. She is really only taking 1 nap a day.
5. She loves eating whatever is on our plates even if she has already eaten.
6. She can open her toy box all by herself.
7. She is still in size 3 diapers...and will be for awhile.
8. She is still wearing 9 month clothing, but has started being able to fit into some 12 month clothes as well.
9. She is a very smily, happy baby the majority of the time.
10. Her words (the words we think she can say): Dada, dog (her version), Hi, Mama, What's that? (her version)

During today's pictures, it's one of the first times I've had to do them on a day I worked and Natalie was at daycare, so I wasn't sure what we were in for (especially since her nap was only 30 minutes today). She started off mad, but got happy quickly! I think most of her happiness came from chasing Rusty around her room!  He loved it...haha!

I thought we were in for another "mad" photo session, but it quickly turned around!

Almost didn't have a sticker...

Will the drooling ever stop?!

Love these jeans!

I think she looks so old in this picture

Love her!

Super excited to get Rusty! 

She points all the time!

Big girl

We love you every minute, Natalie!  We couldn't imagine our lives without you!

One Last Goodbye!

So, this weekend we made an impromptu trip up to South Bend to see my parents' dog, Simba, one last time. We had gotten Simba when I was a senior in high school, so he is just 10 years old. He has gradually gone down hill over the years since he is a bigger dog. When Rusty was a puppy, they got along great, but as Rusty got older, they still got along but definitely weren't as playful anymore. However, once my sister's dog came into the picture, Petunia, Simba got the nickname of "The Protector." Every time Simba felt Petunia was getting a little too rough, he would step in to "protect" Rusty, and when Natalie came in the picture, he pretty much did the same thing with her. If he thought the dogs were rough-housing a little too much or getting too close, he would just stand up and just have to basically look at Rusty and Petunia, and they knew what that meant. He has been a good dog over the years and I will definitely miss him greeting us every time we came to my parents' house!  I'm so glad that we had the opportunity to make one last trip up there to see him!

My sister, Matt, and Petunia arrived prior to us and Simba greeted them at the door, which according to my parents had not done for a couple days prior and would basically just lay down or get up to go outside only. When we arrived, he did the same thing! He also hadn't been eating hardly anything, so when Rusty and Petunia were getting treats that night, Simba actually got up to eat some treats as well!  He definitely wasn't his old self, but it was nice to see one last spurt of energy/motivation from him. The rest of the weekend, he basically just laid down, but did seem to enjoy going outside and laying in the snow. Sometimes it would take 3 or 4 attempts to get him to even come back inside. By today (Sunday), he wasn't eating anything at all and you could tell he was just miserable...poor guy!  We will all definitely miss you, Simba!

Bacon-time for the dogs

Natalie and Grandpa with Simba

Simba

Petunia

Rusty

Everyone (Aunt Krista with Lacie and Simba, Natalie and I with Rusty, Amanda and Petunia)

Group shot

His favorite spot all weekend...in the snow!

Playing in the snow

Since we haven't got a ton of snow in Terre Haute, it was nice to have a little more up in South Bend. We had enough snow for everyone (but me since it was extra bumpy) to go snowmobiling. The guys (Matt, Bobby, and my dad) were only supposed to go see if there was enough snow to go on any trails, and 4-5 hours later they came back: 80 miles later. They had a good time while us girls were inside staying warm. Once they got back, we took Natalie out in the snow for the first time!  She was all bundled up (reminded me of the kid in 'A Christmas Story' that can't move because of his snowsuit). Her snowsuit was a little large, 18 months, but fit her good enough to keep her warm. Her firsts this weekend in the snow: 1) she got to ride the snowmobile; 2) she got to play in the snow; 3) she got to go sledding. The snow didn't seem to phase her a bit, and she seemed to enjoy the time outside, but it was definitely very cold!  After we played, everyone but Bobby, Natalie, and I went back out to snowmobile, so we headed to Bobby's parents' house.

Ready to hit the trails! 

Playing with Aunt Krista

Kissing Elmo

All bundled up and ready to go!

She couldn't move, so she just laid there!

Yay! Snow!

With Dada

Getting ready to ride with Daddy and Aunt Amanda

And...they're off!

Sledding!

Sledding with Daddy!

Sledding with Grandma

Rusty got to play too...

haha!

Natalie now also has a 7th tooth we discovered once we got back home to Terre Haute!