Natalie's First Flight!!!

Over the weekend Natalie and I flew to Michigan to join in my sister Amy's baby shower festivities. It was quite an adventure.
Here are a few pictures of Natalie meeting her darling cousins!

Emma, Katie, Natalie
Nathan

I had hoped that Natalie would be a better flier, but alas, she was very frustrated with the experience. We spent a lot of time rocking, shhhhing, and bouncing in the aisles. But, we got through the flights without too much trauma! She made a lot of friends on the trip - everyone thought she was just darling.

Some highlights:

1. Seeing our family which was the BEST
2. All the help I got from family members - Aunt Pam spent tons of time setting up a baby "hotel room" for us at Gramma Nance's, with places to sleep, extra blankets and burp cloths, a baby bouncer, a gymini, toys, and more. And Gramma Nance loaned us her car, picked us up from the airport and dropped us back off, etc. Plus, there was no shortage of arms to hold Natalie over the weekend. All traveling moms should be so lucky! Aunt Pam could make a million dollars writing a book about how to make it easy for people to travel for the first time with their infants.
3. Natalie's first snow!
4. Of course, the baby shower, which was the whole reason we went :-)
5. When we got home from our *very* delayed flight on Sunday, and Tyler was waiting for us at the airport.

Tyler enjoyed sleeping in on Saturday and Sunday mornings... now I'm wondering when I get MY chance to sleep in... :-)

5 months and rolling

Natalie turned 5 months on Friday and has now mastered the art of rolling from her back to her tummy. Take a look! Of course, she can't go back the other way yet...but she's getting more comfortable on her tummy every day which is very exciting!

Twenty-One weeks, Back to Work

Little Miss Natalie is 21 weeks old! That's a lot of weeks - so many that we've taken to saying "five months" when people ask us how old she is. :-)

Tyler had a good fantasy football year. In the past when he won, he would either buy me a gift, or take me out for a special dinner as a reward for putting up with football-watching all fall long... this year I asked for a highchair. It just goes to show how priorities change when a little one arrives! She does like her new chair though.

Yesterday we went to Sacramento for our friend Lauri's 30th birthday. Natalie got to enjoy a houseful of new and different toys - she loved it!

I returned to work on January 3rd. It's really hard to be a full-time mom and a full-time employee at the same time! Natalie's having a great time with Rose (the nanny), and I know she couldn't possibly be in better hands. At the same time, I miss her smiles and giggles... the happiest part of every day is when I return home to her sweet face!

2007 Gift

Here's a picture of Natalie a year ago.

One year (minus 2 days) later...
We are so proud of our little wonder! We can't believe a year ago we were just starting to share the news with our family and friends.

Happy New Year, Everyone!