Next skill - pulling up

This kid is on a roll. Since Sunday, this is how I've found her after naps and in the mornings!



She is pulling up on the couch, TV stand, kitchen cabinets and stove. Pretty much anything upright.

Yesterday I was prepping her bottles for daycare and she pulled up to the stove, then transferred over to my leg!! Problem is she forgets to hold on sometimes.

Lots of bumps and bruises this month, but I'm sure it's just the beginning!

TWO teeth!

Forgot to mention yesterday, Natalie has TWO teeth now! She spent last Wednesday with her Grandma Luce, and she thought the bottom right tooth was coming in. I kept feeling around and thought so too. This morning I got a good peek and sure enough! Both teeth are about the same height.

I stuck my finger in last night to check the top teeth and she bit me! Baby teeth are sharp! I remember when Ryan was about this age, I tried giving him a taste of BBQ sauce, but instead of licking my finger like I anticipated, he bit down -HARD! Guess I didn't learn my lesson.

These pearly whites will probably be hard to get a picture of for a little bit. Hopefully soon!

Crazy, busy week

We've had a crazy, busy week! Playdate, business trip, and a doctor's appointment.

Last weekend we went to visit with Matt, Tania, Anna, Olivier, and Mason! It's been a while since we've had all the kids together. It was fun to see them interact and how much they've all changed!








(Still on my to-do list: Learn to use the camera! Some of these are out of focus in one way or another..but they are the best ones that I was able to get).

Then on Monday, I left for a whirlwind trip to Orange County. I did a crazy 3-day training session at one of my client's offices. Work trips are exciting, but there is never any down time. It was my first time away from Natalie overnight; we both survived. It was hard because even when I work, I usually see Natalie for 30-60 minutes in both the mornings and the evenings. So, no Natalie time for me and David got to fly solo for a few days. Overall, successful trip! Next step, both of us try to escape for an overnight stay.

Apparently Natalie enjoyed her daddy time. Yesterday after work I was holding Natalie. David came over and said, "oh, let's show Mama what you can do". He said, "Say, Da-da" and CLEAR AS DAY she repeated him with a huge smile! No extra syllables and no confusion. I think he might win the first word, although she hasn't done it since.

This morning was Natalie's 9 mo checkup. Official stats:
Weight: 16lbs 13oz
Height: 26.5 inches

15th percentile for both per infantchart.com although the Dr. said she was at 20th and 25th for Weight and Height. No idea why the difference.

She is on the petite side, but the Dr. said this is due to all of her activity. He said there's nothing to be concerned about because she is eating her solids 3 times a day and sleeping without any problem at night. He said we may even see more of a taper at the 12 month mark, but after that we'd probably see some increases.

She had her iron levels checked and everything is in normal range.

We went over the foods and most things are allowed now. Said to introduce spice and flavor and let her eat! Still no milk, unpasteurized honey, peanut butter, egg whites, and acidic foods. Suggested that we should start offering water in a sippy cup but he would hold off on the juices. I've been trying diluted juice, because the instant she gets water in her mouth, she makes a sour face and spits it out. Guess we just keep trying. I got her a cup with a straw because she keeps trying to suck out of the sippy cup, but the straw requires biting and sucking at the same time, and she just hasn't caught onto it yet. She can do the sippy cup, but I have to help her hold it up. A few times, I've just laid her on her back on the floor and she can manage the sippy cup all on her own!

Swim lessons again this afternoon. Last week was a little rough. The actual lessons went great, but we had a different instructor and some new exercises. When we got home, Natalie was pretty sick for a few hours. Must have swallowed some extra pool water. Definitely not a fun evening. So, here's to hoping for a better Friday!

Natalie is 9 months!

Natalie is 9 months today! Already 3/4 of a year old!


It's getting harder and harder to get these monthly pictures as a lone photographer! Might try again later when I have someone to help distract her! She sits still for exactly 4.698 seconds and then she's off! Not much time to get her posed, sit back and snap a picture.

Natalie is crawling, crawling, crawling. She's still at a snail's pace, but that is ok with me. It gives her freedom, but I don't feel like I have to watch her like a hawk. She's slow enough that she doesn't get into trouble too quickly..yet! She likes to go after the fireplace tools, the plants, and the TV cabinet. Actually, I came home one day last week, and David had put a lock on the bottom cabinet doors. I mentioned that it seemed like overkill, and he said, "no, not really she was already over there pulling on them". I didn't really think she'd do much, but the next thing I knew, she was over there pulling and pulling and pulling trying to get them open! Here's some evidence!


Apparently, parents become jungle gyms at this age. She tries to crawl out of our laps when we hold her, she lunges at everything in reach when walking through the kitchen, and when we sit on the floor with her, she attempts to crawl over us, even pull up and hold onto our legs.

She hasn't really mastered pulling up. She'll crawl over to the couch or wall, and put her hands up like she is trying to pull, but she can't maneuver herself close enough to the object yet. She does get up on her knees and then face plant into the floor. I have a feeling more injuries are on the horizon!


A first tooth is on it's way! I hadn't checked for teeth in a while, so after she was done eating the other day, I ran my finger over her gum and sure enough, a little poke! It's her bottom left tooth making an appearance. So far it doesn't seem to be bothering her, and I don't think she even notices that it's there.

This girl can eat! We started introducing breakfast solids a few weeks ago, because she was seeming really hungry at lunchtime. We'd give her the lunch solids and she was just scarfing them down. We started out adding some oatmeal and now she's been having cottage cheese with fruit. So, we're up to the 3 solid meals by 9 months, just as the Dr. wanted to see her doing. She gets about 4oz of solids each time in addition to her usual milk. She's still nursing and then getting bottles while at daycare. Probably around 26-28oz a day.

The babbling continues, but no definite words at this point. I keep pushing for "mama" and David for "daddy", but she just looks at us and laughs.

As crazy as it sounds, she's doing really well at swim. We go for our 3rd session this afternoon, but she did super last week! We were doing our first exercise of gliding. I held her and tipped her ears to the water 3 times and then pushed her across to the instructor. On the way back, she closed her eyes tight and closed her mouth. I guess she wasn't sure if she was going to have to go underwater! When we did the "diving" and jumping in from the side of the pool, she did great at closing her eyes and mouth. This past weekend in my parent's pool, she was kicking her legs, splashing, and then relaxing in a pool float. Loves the water! Far exceeded my expectations for what a 9 month old can do in the water. I expected a lot of screaming and crying, but there hasn't been any of that!

Stats for this month:
Weight: +/- 17 pounds
Height: 27+ inches
Size 3 diapers
Size 9 mo clothes

Good schedule (which I'm sure will change the second I've typed this out!) Typically up at 7:30, nurses, 8:30 get to daycare, eat breakfast, 9-11 nap, 11:30 bottle, 12:00 solids, 1-3 nap, 3:30 bottle, 4:45 daddy picks up at daycare, 5 solids, 6:45 bedtime nursing, 7 story time and 7:30 in bed!

9mo Dr appt next Friday. We'll have her official stats, another shot and some blood work for anemia tests. Fun stuff!

Catch up post!

So much going on lately, so little time for blogging!

The crawling continues to improve. Within 2 days of moving forward, she was already testing the waters. Usually a simple "No, no Natalie" will get her moving to a new direction.


Patty and her family were camping at the beach, so we made a trip to see Liam and get a cousin picture! He was about a week and a half old here. So fun to remember how little they start and how fast they grow!


We took a (long) road trip that next weekend. Natalie did pretty good in the car. We just took our time and stretched the 6 hr trip into a full 9 hour drive. We tried to do most of the driving while she was napping, which mostly worked. Got checked into the hotel and then she thought it was party time! Finally got her to sleep around 11pm. Waaaay past all of our bedtimes. Only to be woken about 1:30am. I think some people had just checked in and were talking in the hallway, must have woken her up. She cried and carried on for quite a while. For the first time, I loaded her up in the middle of the night and we went for a drive. She was quiet in the comfort of her car seat, but woke up when we returned to the hotel. She continued to fuss until about 4:30. Not a whole lot of sleeping that night. And the next day, with the exception of about 1.5 hrs of combined naps, Natalie was awake the entire day! We went to a 50th wedding anniversary party, and she didn't want to miss a single minute! Needless to say, she slept great for night #2 at the hotel!

When we got home, we found that Trisha had left a little surprise for Natalie. She kept the glasses on long enough for a quick photo, and ever since then thinks they are a great toy!



Some quick, fun pictures in the grass, enjoying the summertime. I love this little outfit on her!


And this face! She's been doing this little pouty lip thing that is just too cute!


Then last weekend was the 4th and David's birthday! We hadn't been to the valley for fireworks in a while, so we decided we'd go this year. The whole family got together on the 3rd to celebrate. We spent some time in the pool, BBQd and hung out with everyone. Again, change of scenery, sleeping in the Pack 'n Play, the heat, etc. etc, whatever it was, Natalie decided she wanted to be up at midnight for a good bit. I ended up walking around the house rocking her until she fell asleep. Day / Night #2 were smooth and close to her usual schedule. It's just the first night away that takes some adjusting.


We spent the 4th in the pool, enjoying the heat, and hanging out with Patty, Jake, and Ryan. Natalie was tired at the end of the day. She actually sat / lounged in my lap for quite a while. Very rare, so I just sat and enjoyed it!


We originally intended on going to the huge 4th celebration, but in the end, opted to stay at the house and enjoy some quiet. Natalie was in bed by 8pm, so she missed the fireworks. But, the rest of us sat in the street, enjoyed the warmness, and had some homemade ice cream. Yumm!

I think that gets us mostly up to date on the events around here. All of the driving and travelling has meant lots of packing / unpacking, prepping baby food to take on the road, loads and loads of laundry upon return, catching up on sleep here and there, and, oh yeah..working in between!

Natalie's 9 mo post coming up next..!