Sleeping...or not sleeping?

Natalie slept well ONE night...that's it! I'm really not liking this growing business because she used to sleep SO WELL every night. I thought for sure she finally got back into her routine Wednesday night, but no...come Thursday night :

...she fell asleep at 7:45p, woke up at 10p...ate and went back to sleep,
...woke up at 12a(midnight)...ate and went back to sleep,
...woke up at 2:30a...ate and went back to sleep,
...woke up at 5a....ate and went back to sleep,
...woke up at 8:30a...ate and stayed up to play

Then, she proceeded to take almost a 3 hour nap from about 9:45a to 11:30a.  What the heck?!

Last night, we had company over who also have a little girl (10.5 months old) so Natalie and her stayed up and played while us adults played a game and talked. Abbey (the mother of the baby) couldn't get over how "active" Natalie is and kept calling her the "Energizer Bunny," which I would have to agree with that nickname.  Well hey, maybe she'll get her Daddy's metabolism instead of her Mommy's...then she'll be in good shape. 

So, last night Natalie went to bed around 10:30/11p, then got up at 12/12:30a to eat. She went back to sleep easily, but then woke up AGAIN at 2:30 to eat. Bobby had to get up early Saturday morning, so it was Mommy duty, as Bobby mumbled in his sleep..."Can you go get her?" So, of course I did, but didn't realize that Bobby had also shut off the baby monitor in our room. Sooooo....come a little before 8a when Bobby had left and I awoke, I noticed the baby monitor was off...OOPS!  I guess that is one way to get her to sleep through the night...just don't have the baby monitor on :)  I got some good sleep too between 3am and 8am!

Currently, she is still sleeping peacefully and of course not anywhere near the position she fell asleep. She's not going to be able to sleep in this position much longer unless she's completely curled up.

Sleeping Pills for Babies?!

Just kidding!

Although, anything to help Natalie to sleep would be great!  She has been "Miss Cranky Pants" for the past few days. Ever since we were home this weekend and she was getting her 2nd tooth, she has not wanted to go to sleep for a good while. Last night was a little better since she went to bed for good around 10:30p and slept until 8:30a. However, I have been trying to lay her down around 8p and most times she will sleep, but only a short little nap and then she wakes up. She has really been trying Mommy and Daddy's patience!  She is either cutting more teeth or going through a growing spurt because she is also eating a lot more at nighttime too...not all at once, but more often.

Whatever the reason for her recent crankiness, I hope it passes soon!

Being crafty...I made this for Natalie...a Dallas Cowboys tutu with a onesie I sewed on the star.  Now I just need leggings and maybe a bow and she's all set for football season!

I LOVE my exersaucer!

Such a big girl

"What, Mommy?"

Haha...Rusty's face is priceless!

Daddy gave me a keyboard so I can be just like him!

Starting her out early!

It never fails....if Natalie falls asleep when Bobby has her, he of course falls asleep too!  He came home from work tonight and said "We should get a babysitter for tonight." I was kind of like eh...okay...I don't know...who are you going to get?!  Then, he said when I was done with my work (which I have been for awhile) that we would go get a movie.  Well, needless to say, none of the above happened and this is how Bobby and Natalie lay now:

Let's hope she sleeps tonight!

Bye-Bye Mumaw's!

This weekend we headed up to South Bend (as Bobby would say "AGAIN!!!!") because Bobby's oldest sister and family are officially moving to Maryland! We wish them the best of luck and happiness since this is a big move from them, since they have basically lived in the South Bend area their whole life. We will definitely miss them, but we know what a great opportunity it will be for them and although they will miss friends/family, this is a great move for them! With us living far away from family (4 hours), we know how it will be for them; however, they are a bit farther away (10 hours).

The Mumaw's (Jeff, Kristen, Evan, and Alexis)

We wanted to see them all before they left and we needed to get a family portrait taken...with all 14 of us! Bobby and Kristen (oldest sister) had given their mom a giftcard from Sears for her birthday/mother's day. The last family picture they had taken was 5 years ago...with at that time only 9 members of the family then. Sears was pretty expensive I thought, which wants me to take on a personal photography business on my own, plus I very much hate such "posey" pictures! I guess I like more "lifestyle" photography because it looks much more natural. Also, Bobby said that if I start my own business he would consider buying me the 27" iMac...haha...we'll see if that ever happens, but it sure would be sweet!

All 14 of us!

The grandkids (Evan, Brielle, Alexis, Preston, Natalie, and Jaxon)

The girls (funny thing is we all bought the girls these dresses without any of us knowing each other had bought them)

Baby girl (she was SO good for the entire session)

Also, this weekend Natalie got an exersaucer from her Grandma Andreae since she had volunteered at the Wakarusa Resale (very popular sale), she got to shop the sale before the public on Saturday morning. We have cleaned it up and Natalie LOVES it. We also got out the jumper (thing that hangs from the doorway that she can bounce) out that was at my parents out and she LOVES that too!  The first time I tried putting her in it, she just cried. At least now I have 2 things to confine her when I need her not to be mobile :)

Although Natalie was good for family photos, she was AWFUL at night! She cut a 2nd TOOTH! So, we were dealing with a very fussy baby at nighttime who was so sleepy (from lack of naps this weekend) and hurting because of her poor tooth. She finally went to bed around 12:30a on Friday night (Saturday morning) and woke up at 8am. Then, on Saturday it was even worse...she didn't go to bed until 2am and was very fussy! Bobby and I were both at our wits end, but we all survived!

Natalie can now full out crawl. When we got home today from our drive (which she took at least a 3 hour nap...thank goodness), she demonstrated her ability to pull herself up to standing all by herself on the ottoman. I think she will now learn the word 'NO' before "dada" or "mama" since she very much likes to crawl up to the entertainment center to open the doors.

It seems like she is learning things so quickly!  She even mimicked my mom today when she was waving to Natalie. She is going to be too smart for her own good, but is such a happy baby (most of the time)! I love her so much...even with her cantankerous moments!

Crib Lowered!

Last night when we got home from the airport, we didn't feel like putting Natalie's crib down to the next notch since she can pull herself up sometimes, so she slept in her Pack 'n Play.

Tonight, we lowered her crib!  She is growing up way too fast!

Anniversary Trip: Day 5

Day 5: Tuesday, September 6

Happy 3rd Anniversary to us!

I think this 3rd year has been the hardest but at the same time the greatest!  We welcomed our baby girl 6 months ago and she is absolutely perfect!  Parenthood and marriage are definitely harder on us than I imagined, but we are just having to work a little harder (or a lot harder...depends on the day)!

We spent the day walking around downtown Denver until we had to leave and head back to the airport. It was a long day of traveling with a layover in Dallas, and I was so happy to be home and finally see our baby girl after being away from her for 4 days! I didn't cry once, but I definitely missed her. We got to Skype with her the day before while we were driving from Grand Lake, and she looked like she had grown SO much! 

Goodbye, Denver!

Natalie went to the Indianapolis Zoo with my mom and sister and according to them, she loved everything that moved!  I guess her favorites were the aquarium, tiger, and walrus. It will be neat to see what her favorite animals are when she gets older.

3 Years Ago:

Our Wedding 9/6/2008

Honeymoon 2008 Negril, Jamaica

2 Years Ago: 1 Year Anniversary

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

1 Year Ago: 2 Year Anniversary

Playa Mujeres, Mexico (Pregnant with Natalie)

3 Year Anniversary

Denver, CO

And...we have now become this :)

Anniversary Trip: Day 4

Day 4: Monday, September 5

We got up early to head up to Estes Park, CO which is about 90 minutes from Denver. It is a really cute town right up against Rocky Mountain National Park. There was an Art Fair going on in town which had some cute stuff. The town itself had lots of "souvenir shops" and "fudge shops." We got some of our Christmas shopping done in this town. I got an amazing caramel/pecan/dark chocolate apple and Bobby got a box of chocolates. Bobby was tired of shopping, so we headed into the park.

Bobby's lunch

Looking to the Rocky's from Estes Park

Our tour guide

Off of Old Falls River Road...the original road into the park...gravel/dirt...great road to take!

A moose?!  running down the street...it was so cool to be so close to it!

We then headed to Grand Lake. I'm not sure the total length of our road trip, but it definitely took all day! We ended the night at some crappy townie bar with overpriced pub food. Then, we went to the town of Black Hawk that seriously has about 9 casinos in less than 2 miles. Of course we lost the money we spent, but got "free" drinks and had fun. This was the earliest day and latest night of the trip!

Grand Lake from the Lodge

Anniversary Trip: Day 3

Day 3: Sunday, September 4

Today, we spent the first part of the day in Downtown Denver. The 16th Street Pedestrian Mall is a great idea (have the same thing in Boulder...which was even better than Denver). There are free MallRide buses that you can take or you can walk...these are the only vehicles allowed on this "street."

This is just one of MANY pianos in the pedestrian mall that anyone can sit down and play...big homeless population hangout though!

The Taste of Colorado was going on Labor Day weekend as well. Luckily we got there early because it sure got packed!  Lots of food and many arts/crafts booths in a huge area. We tried several different foods such as alligator, these absolutely amazing jalapeno stuffed with shrimp and cheese and breaded, beignet...all was a little expensive but overall we enjoyed the food. The kids area had tons of stuff to do, but some of the "rides" were crazy expensive...$10 per ride!

HUGE cereal treats...didn't try but they looked awesome!

Lego Land at the Taste

There are many interesting people in Downtown Denver!

the wizard

the fairy

the robot

After the Taste, we headed to Boulder (LOVE this city!). We hiked in Chautauqua park. Unlike parks like Turkey Run that tell you how treacherous the trails are, this had no warnings. Very hard, but fun trails!  Boulder is home to University of Colorado. The pedestrian mall in this city is 100x better than Denver. I could definitely live here!

Just getting started up a trail and were already "dying"

Rocky, uphill trail

Looking out over Boulder

Perspective from our trail hike

I really like this picture of a photographer taking pictures of a bride and groom

Bobby hates these sunspot/overexposed pictures, but I really like them

We finished the night at Jax Fish House (really great seafood, highly recommended) and people watched!