Fourteen Weeks + Thanksgiving

A few pictures from Thanskgiving. We were *crazy* and drove to Seattle. Driving North, we broke up the drive over two days - thank goodness we came to our senses and did it all in one day coming home. It was much more manageable for us (meaning manageable for JULIE, who has a hard time sitting still for two days). We were amazed that Natalie was surprisingly genial for most of the time in the car, and didn't develop a hatred for her car seat!

Smiling with Daddy
Great-Grandma Freda
On Thanksgiving, in her dinner outfit.
Going for a walk with Daddy and Mommy the day after Thanksgiving - trying to work off all the delicious food Tyler's parents cooked for us!

Week fourteen brought on quite a bit of noise. Natalie has discovered her voice in a BIIIIG way, and now she loves to make herself heard. It doesn't always work for her though - we know the difference between her real cries and her fake ones! Reese has yet to figure out the difference, though. Today Natalie was practicing holding her head up while lying on her tummy (which she hates). She was screaming so loud that Reese deigned to get off the couch to check that she was ok! Reese kept looking at me, then sniffing Natalie, then looking at me again. I can't decide if she was thinking "why doesn't the tall one make the short one shut up?" or "is the short one ok, tall one??"

Three Months!

Natalie gave us a big gift for her three-month birthday. On Friday night, she only woke up once... and last night she slept through the entire night! We couldn't believe it, and are sure that she will never repeat such an amazing feat. Of course, Tyler and I couldn't stop checking on her to make sure she was still breathing... so we didn't get any more sleep than we normally do. But still! It was incredible!


We decided to post a little video of Natalie which Tyler took last week. Disclaimer: it's a video only her parents could really love, because she still doesn't do much except make noises, chew on her fingers, and grab toys (and then she's not quite sure what to do with them). But we thought people who haven't met her in person might like to see what she looks like in 3D as opposed to just in photographs.

Thirteen Weeks, and Tyler's Birthday!

Here's Natalie at four weeks, for the UM-Notre Dame game.

And here's Natalie at thirteen weeks for the UM-OSU game!

Quite a difference...

It's kind of good that the football season is mostly over for Michigan (aside from a bowl game)... It's been a struggle to fit Natalie into that bodysuit for the last two weeks. If we had any more games in the season, we were going to need to upgrade to a bigger size!

We settled in around here for a long day of watching football in honor of the birthday boy. Our friends Adam and Cheryl came over to spend the day with us, and we ate all sorts of food and sat around on the couch. Pretty much the perfect birthday.

Please note that Natalie's shirt says "My heart belongs to Daddy"!

Look, Mommy, no hands!

Twelve Weeks

Natalie will be twelve weeks tomorrow. The big news is, she let out her first little giggles last weekend! Grandma Kathy elicited them and we could hardly even believe it. A whole week of relative quiet later, and she finally giggled for me today. It gave me such an indescribable feeling - pride and awe and disbelief all mixed up... and, of course, when a baby giggles one can't help but follow suit!

Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Geoff came to visit last weekend, and were incredible helps to us! They were indispensable during our move, they helped clean and improve the house we're renting, and they even babysat Natalie for us so Tyler and I could enjoy our friends' wedding. They were great company too. We miss them already and are looking forward to seeing them over Thanksgiving - and also are hoping they schedule another visit here soon!

We love our new abode, even though it still needs a lot of work. It's certainly quieter than the old apartment, and we really appreciate having a garage and storage space! Reese particularly loves looking out the windows. The crows in our yard are as big as she is, but of course she still wants to hunt them. I don't have the heart to tell her that she wouldn't win in a fight. Luckily she's an indoor cat so we will never find out.

Here's a picture of Natalie from this morning, wearing a top given to us by our friends Jenn and Chris. One thing's for sure - Natalie's mommy and daddy fall more in love with her every day!