9 Months Old!

Miss Natalie is 9 months old!

~Natalie prefers table food over puree and enjoys feeding herself.  We often give her sippy cups, but she typically just chews on them rather than attempting to drink from them.
~She is working on cutting her 5th tooth.  She has 3 bottom teeth and 1 (almost 2) top teeth.
~Natalie is a speedy crawler!  She pulls herself to standing and is working on figuring out how to cruise along furniture.
~Natalie experienced her first double ear infection this month.  After a few rough nights and a runny nose, we took her to the pediatrician with a suspicion of an ear infection.  It was determined to be "resolved" when we took her back for a check the following week.  Unfortunately, it was determined that she had another double ear infection at her 9 month well check appointment.  We were beginning to wonder about this possiblity just before her appointment when she came down with another runny nose.  We're hoping the cycle of ear infections ends soon.
~Natalie typically wakes once a night to eat.  After a few nights of her waking shortly after I put her down, we decided to work on her putting her self to sleep.  She is laid down awake consistently at the babysitter's house, so we knew she could do it!  After going into her room once for a snuggle and the addition of a blanket in bed, she went to sleep after only a minute of two of fussing.
~Natalie loves to talk!  She babbles often, including combining various sounds, such as "Ah-ba" and "Du-ka".
~Natalie signs "more", which currently looks a bit like a clap, when asking for more food.  Her brothers and sisters like to model the sign for her.
~When asked to say "goodnight" or "bye", Natalie will wave!  It may be a wave of her hand, a whole arm wave, or a whole arm wave followed by putting her hand to her mouth (as if she's also blowing a kiss).

Official 9 month stats:
Height: 29 1/4" (95th percentile)
Weight: 20lb 1/2oz (79th percentile)
Head circumference: 46cm (94th percentile)

7 Years Old!

Happy 7th Birthday, Brennan!!

Our sweet Brennan is 7 years old!  He's growing up so quickly!

~Brennan LOVES school.  When asked about his day at school, his answer is consistently an enthusiastic "Great!"  He's doing a fantastic job and is making great academic progress.  He is participating in a gifted math program, a weekly enrichment opportunity.  His teacher explains that he is doing wonderfully in the curriculum and within this enrichment.  She anticipates that he'll be involved in additional gifted/enrichment programs as they become available in later grades.

~Brennan also LOVES Legos!  It's impressive to watch him build sets as he's easily able to assemble the steps with ease.  He also enjoys playing with mini-figure characters.

~Brennan has such a sweet and thoughtful heart.  He also has a wonderful silly side and a great smile and laugh.  Brennan is often inquisitive and loves to learn. 

Interview with Brennan:

Favorite school subject: Silent reading

Favorite school special: Gym

Favorite food: Chocolate

Favorite toy: Legos

Favorite movie: Lego Batman Gotham City Breakout

Favorite color: Green and black

Favorite book: Lego Ninjago
Favorite game: Hangman and Candy Land

Official Stats:

Height: 4 ft 2 1/2 in

Weight: 58.8lb

8 Months Old

Miss Natalie is 8 months old!

~Natalie is a speedy crawler!  She quickly navigates a room, including over obstacles.  At times, she gets ahead of herself and takes a quick nose dive to the ground, but she quickly recovers and is on her way!
~She is pulling herself to standing on just about everything!  She's quite proud of herself and enjoys investigating new, now within reach, items. Her crib mattress is now on the lowest setting.
~While not usually on command, Natalie is blowing kisses and clapping her hands.
~Natalie enjoys eating baby food and is eating a lunch and dinner daily.  She really enjoys puffs and rice rusks and does a great job feeding herself.  She also enjoys playing with and chewing on sippy cups.  We may try small bites of soft food soon.
~She loves to babble and is very chatty.  Within her babbles, we often hear "Mama" and "Dada", leading to playful banter about her first word.
~Natalie is doing well with her naps.  She previously had more difficulty on Saturday, possibly adjusting to napping at home rather than at the babysitter's house after a few days.  She doesn't seem to have trouble with this anymore!  She occasionally wakes once over night, but will return to dreamland after a new diaper and nursing.  She almost always sleeps on her belly.
~She loves baths!  She's been known to crawl across the family room to the bathroom door and pull herself up on the door when she knows that her siblings are getting a bath.  If she's in the bathroom while they are being bathed, she tries to crawl out of our arms towards the water.  She enjoys splashing and playing with toys when in the tub.
~Natalie is full of smiles and giggles!  She's a happy, laid back girl!

7 Months Old!

Our sweet Natalie is 7 months old!

~She has officially transitioned from army crawling to actual crawling.  She's getting faster everyday! She is able to crawl on carpet and tile floor.  Natalie can also go from crawling to sitting and vice versa.
~Natalie is pulling herself up onto her knees.  Crib mattress lowered: check!
~Natalie has slept through the night the majority of this month!  She nurses with Mommy immediately after Brennan, Gavin and Abigail are put to bed.  She typically takes a while to fill her belly, especially because she gets drowsy and eventually falls asleep.  Natalie usually has one night per week that she has a harder time falling asleep/staying asleep.  We've noticed that this usually happens on Monday night--perhaps she's getting used to not being at home all day and wants extra snuggles?
~Grandma and Grandpa Mealy stayed with us for a week this month while Daddy was in Las Vegas for business.  They graciously accepted the task of helping Natalie become a better crib napper.  They were successful!  She is able to put herself to sleep during naps and no longer immediately wakes and cries when laid down in her crib.  She does, however, immediately roll onto her belly and curls up in the adorable baby-booty-in-the-air-position.  So cute!
~Every time Natalie wakes up in her crib, she'll turn herself to face the door and gets on all fours, ready to welcome whomever comes to get her out of bed!
~Natalie is making progress with baby food.  She's not a huge fan, but is starting to eat a little more.  She's most likely to eat it when it's not cold.  She doesn't typically raspberry out her food anymore, but will turn her head from the spoon when she's done.  She loves puffs and rice rusks!  She also likes playing with sippy cups.
~She loves to give open mouth kisses!
~Natalie is becoming a Mommy's girl.  If Mommy is around, she wants Mommy!
~She still proudly sports her two bottom teeth.  She's increased some mouthing of objects and drooling, so we wonder if more teeth are coming.
~She loves to watch and play with Brennan, Gavin and Abigail!
~Natalie has the sweetest giggles and laughs!  Her smiles light up her face and warms our hearts!

6 Months Old!

Happy Half Birthday, Natalie!

~Natalie is on the move!  She loves to roll and is very quick at army crawling!  She's starting to use her legs more while army crawling, so we anticipate she'll be moving on all 4's very soon!  She also lifts herself onto her hands and knees and scoots.
~She's very close to sitting independently!  She's still a little wobbly, likely because she's off balance as she's trying to put things in her mouth!
~No new teeth yet, but we anticipate they might be soon based on her mouthing of objects!
~She's a great napper at the sitter's house.  We're still working on consistent naps at home.  She loves snuggling and tends to wake up as soon as she's laid in her bed.  She'll usually zonk out in her swing.
~She's done well with over night sleeping!  She eats and goes to sleep right after her siblings are put to bed. She has woken up one time most nights for a diaper change and to nurse.  Sometimes she'll sleep through the night!
~We started to introduce cereal and a few vegetables.  She'll open her mouth for bites and finds it hilarious to blow raspberries and/or tongue the food out.  Chilled food leads to funny faces.  She's very interested in getting her hands on the food that everyone else is eating!
~Natalie is quite the talker!  She often "tells stories" and is repeating different sounds (e.g. "A-da, A-da, A-da).


Current Stats:
27.5"
17lbs 11oz

5 Months Old!

Miss Natalie is 5 months old!

~Natalie is the proud owner of two bottom teeth!  They make her smile even cuter! 

~Natalie is on the move!  Between rolling and scooting, Natalie is on her way towards mobility!  She will almost immediately roll to her belly when placed on her back.  Natalie will turn herself in circles while on her belly.  She’s also able to move herself around by getting onto all fours and scooting both legs simultaneously or alternating her legs.  She will also lift herself onto all fours, either her forearms or hands, and rock her body back and forth.  She’s quite determined to get items that are out of reach!

~Natalie is getting very proficient at grabbing for toys that are within her reach.  She gets excited when we put a toy in front of her. Her face lights up and she starts to kick her legs!

~With her frequent rolling comes the adorable sleeping position of having her little bum in the air while lying on her belly.  She started with rolling over and lying flat on her stomach, but has slowly progressed to having her bottom higher and higher as she tucks her legs underneath her.

~Natalie has woken up once a night consistently throughout the past month.  She usually wakes up around 3:30am for a diaper change and snack. 

~She’s not siting yet, but we admit we don’t practice that skill much as she tends to spit up whenever she’s in the position for very long.  She does enjoy her exercsaucer and sitting in a Bumbo seat at the babysitter’s house. 

~We sometimes jokingly call her “Nosey Natalie”.  She wants to be in the action and observe what’s going on around her.  She enjoys being in the same room as everyone else.  We recently started having her sit in a highchair at dinner, as she would want to be on someone’s lap.  She’s happy to sit in the chair with a toy and watch everyone!

~Natalie loves her siblings and they love her right back!  They enjoy making her laugh and smile and like to give her snuggles and kisses.

~She’s such a delight!  She’s full of smiles and giggles and we’re having so much fun watching her grow and learn!

4 Months Old!

Miss Natalie is 4 months old!

~Natalie has the sweetest giggles and smiles!  She loves to laugh when being tickled or when we make silly noises.  Natalie also giggles when we help her clap her hands and stomp her feet.  And she'll smile at just about everything and everyone!
~Natalie has so much so say!  She loves to "chat" and have conversations!
~She loves to roll!  We can barely keep her on her back anymore when we lay her down.  She enjoys looking around the room!  She can roll from her belly to her back, but definitely prefers her belly. 
~While on her belly, she's able to turn herself left and right - wherever the action is!  She's also lifting her bottom and kicking her legs in attempt to scoot!  She wants to be on the go!
~She likes to kick her legs when she's excited!  She also likes to kick when she's sitting in a bouncer seat, making it bounce up and down!
~Natalie is doing a great job sleeping! She slept through the night almost every night this month, but started to wake up once to eat near the 4 month mark.  After a quick diaper change and snack, she goes back to sleep.  We're working on more consistent naps and a sleep schedule during the day.  She likes to be in the action and we suspect she fears she may miss something when she's napping!
~She enjoys watching and grabbing at her toys.  She also thinks her hands and feet are interesting--and tasty!

Natalie had her 4 month check up today.  The doctor was impressed with her strength (commenting that she'll be standing soon!) and super happy demeanor.  She wasn't a fan of her vaccines (3 pokes, 1 oral), but settled down with some snuggles.

Current stats:
15 lb 5 oz
25.5 inches