The Pebbles 'do

Some pictures from today...Big Smiles and Natalie's first Ponytail! I finally got around to getting some rubber bands for her hair - crazy that she probably could have had a ponytail two months ago. Is it normal for 4 month olds to have this much hair??!





She was also enjoying "eating" her fish and sitting in the swing. Although you wouldn't know it from the pictures she was a little on the grumpy side today. I'm guessing another growth spurt is hitting. She's been sleeping a lot and eating like crazy. We upped her bottles this week to just under 6 ounces because she just seemed unsatisfied and was waking up to eat at night.




We took a little walk around the neighborhood - without the car seat! A few weeks ago, we adjusted the shoulder straps on her stroller to be the smallest they would go, but we haven't had a chance to try it out. She was leaning a little, but I think she liked being able to see forward.





She's also babbling a LOT more. She talks to herself in her crib in the mornings before I go in to get her. We've started calling her changing table the "Magic Table" because she goes on and on and on when you lay her up there. We've got some videos, but I need to crop and upload them and I just haven't had a chance! We'll save those for next time!

Baby pictures

Most people comment that Natalie looks "just like her mamma". Here's a side-by-side comparison from when I was little. I was around 2 months and Natalie is 3 months here. She has more hair (although a little hard to tell here) and her face is a little more round, but I definitely see her face when I look at my baby picture.


Funny that my mom and I both chose little pink outfits for formal pictures! (she gave me this picture when we last visited).

Ok, off to spend time with my baby. I'm very excited to be home with her today. I worked a few extra hours this week since David had Monday off, and boy did I miss Natalie!

Sweet Talking

Natalie was being very cute this afternoon talking to Michelle and I. We were able to get it on video. Enjoy!

Happy V-Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

We celebrated by hanging out as a family. Yummy pancake breakfast and then a walk from Grover Beach to the pier! We stopped by to see the butterflies too. Natalie slept in her carseat/stroller (shock!) on the way to the pier, but then she decided she needed to do some sight-seeing. Daddy carried her back to the car.




I'm a little behind on my picture posting. Last weekend we took a quick trip to see Grammy & Papa. Patty, Jake, Ryan & Great-Grandma came by too. Ryan was very sweet with Natalie. He asked to give her kisses and even asked permission to lay down by her.



Sporting Ryan's hat (this pic is for you, Jake):


Sitting with Auntie:


Sitting with G-G (Great-Gramma):


Last weekend also marked one year since we found out Natalie would be arriving. Amazing the things that have changed in one year!

4 month stats

Natalie had her Well Baby Check-up this afternoon. Here's her stats.

Weight: 13lbs 11oz (48%)
Height: 23.5 (21%)
Head: 15.25 (4%)

Either our tape measure is different, or the lady read the numbers wrong. We think she's a little over 24 inches (40%) and her head is around 16 (40%). The Dr. wasn't too concerned about her height. He thinks she'll probably jump up quite a bit in the next 2 months.

He discussed solid foods with us. He said don't rush it, since she's sleeping all night. Apparently we are supposed to expect routine night-wakings (yuck!) and that is our clue to start experimenting with solids (rice cereal, oatmeal, veggies & fruits).

She got 2 shots today. The first she didn't even feel, but she definitely felt the second. She cried for about 2 seconds, I picked her up, and she was totally fine. Seems like her normal self tonight!

Next appointment in 2 months.

4 months old!

Natalie is 4 months old today! We're guessing she is about 13.5lbs and 24+inches, we'll find out the "official" numbers at her appointment on Friday. She's still wearing 0-3mo clothes. We washed up the 6mo stuff, but she's not quite ready for them yet.

She has started reaching for her toys and holds on to her fish-ies that hang from her play mat. One fish has music, but it only lasts about 5 seconds. This is good because we don't have to listen to it forever, but it's also bad because you have to sit there and continue pressing Play. She'll look at you, then the toy, then back at you and then the toy. I'm sure she is saying "c'mon mom, turn it back on!"

Here's some pictures from today. She's wearing her Valentine's outfit, it's still a little big, but pretty darn cute (thanks Diane!)









The transition to work has been pretty smooth. The first few days were tough to leave her, but definitely easier knowing she is not with strangers! She seems pretty content when I return home, so I think it's working out for her too.

We've battled the first cold this week. She started with a little bit of a cough, then the congestion set in. We've been making friends with the Big Green Sucker, keeping her nose clear. I think the worst is past, and the good news is she didn't seem too effected by it. A few fussier days, but nothing major!

Lucky Dad!

Today I starting my new schedule as Mr. Dad. I am very fortunate to be able to spend some quality time with Natalie at an age where she changing every day. SO far so good as Natalie is behaving herself and taking naps and eating on a regular basis. Maybe I should knock on wood because as soon as I finish writing this, my luck may end. I will keep everyone posted on how this routine goes. (In the middle of writing this post, Natalie decided that her 10 minute nap was over.)

Her is a picture of her napping.

Natalie also rolled over today, but onto her left side. She would do it with me sitting there so I had to trick her a little bit a pretend that I left the room but came back to take a video.

End of my leave

I'm so sad. Maternity leave is officially over and I have started my new workweek. We arranged our time so that I will have Mondays & Thursdays at home with Natalie. David is taking some paternity leave and will be home Tuesdays and Fridays (and probably a little babysitting on Saturdays too). Grandma is the lucky winner of Wednesdays with Natalie. We're going to try this for a while and see how things work.

I'm also in the process of finding a good daycare provider that we'll switch to, but we're not planning on that until at least after April 15th. Natalie is still so young and I feel like I'll have enough stress with the tax deadline that daycare is just one thing too many to deal with right now.

I can't believe Natalie is 16 weeks old already! I'm sure going to miss this face during the day:

Thank you for the picture Diane!

Natalie is starting to be a lot more social! Last night she was lighting up when I was playing Patty-Cakes with her. And this morning she has been laying under her toy gym and kicking the ball. It's so fun to watch her smile and squeal. She's on the verge of giggles..I've heard it a few times, and she keeps trying to laugh but ends up coughing a little.

And with the good, comes the bad...she's been a horrible napper for the past week or so. She used to nap for 2 hrs a few times a day. Now I'm lucky if I can get her to go 45 minutes at a time. She gets overtired, which means she is cranky, fights her sleep, and then wakes up every 15-20 minutes during her nap. Ugh. I hope this is just a phase and she will either nap longer or be happier to stay awake longer.