Family of Four

We're Moving (Digitally)!

2010-08-12T10:05:00.001-07:00

We've moved to http://nataliegcorner.tumblr.com/

Tyler and I have relegated the computer to the guest bedroom, and don't spend much time on it anymore. We need a way to blog which involves our iPhones, and hence the new tumblr address. Join us there! It'll be fun!

Not Standing Still

2010-08-04T16:51:00.001-07:00

By the lack of posts you would think that time is standing still around the Gibbs household... you know, the usual... nothing happening. But that is definitely not the case. Reasons for lack of posts include:
1) Tyler's intense work schedule
2) Far too much work to do on the house and garden
3) My training for the 3 Day (now 1.5 weeks away - I am READY - just wish our team could raise that last $2k so we can say we reached $100k in 2010!)
4) Noah's all-over-the-map nap schedule
5) Noah's freak outs whenever we are on the computer
6) Natalie's lack of desire for pictures to be taken
7) Facebook, which gets more immediate pictures and updates

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Natalie is veering rapidly toward three - her birthday is in precisely two weeks. We are both extremely excited for her party, and discuss it all the time! She feels that the hostas out front have thrown up their purple frondy flowers specifically for her party, to welcome our guests to our house... Also, her most recent declaration is that she wants a Taylor Swift birthday party. I love her total confidence that her mom can make it happen! On another note, I also love that she LOVES Noah so much. Tyler and I decided when Natalie was one that she was not an only child - that she needed a sibling to take up her time and attention. And boy were we right. Just today, she strong-armed Noah into attending a tea party and a sleepover party, and read him about 50 books (i.e. she read them and he tried to take them from her). She is unfailingly sweet and considerate of him, though she of course has her moments when doesn't want to share like any almost-three-year-old. At the end of the day, though, the two of them honestly seem to enjoy each others' company. It's truly a delight to spend time with such happy kids.

She still has an amazing vocabulary for her age, and is very very adept at expressing her feelings. Her declaration "Mom, I'm bored" never fails to garner chuckles when we are out and about (particularly waiting in line to pay at stores). She is eco-conscious, at least as far as plastic bags are concerned... she gathers her (miniscule) three-year-old courage to say "can I please not have a bag????" if I forget to tell a checker at a store that I have brought my own. It's so cute to see her 3 ft tall, shy little self gather up all of her courage like that, just to save a bag. Natalie declares that she loves Ariel the most of all the princesses, though she also loves Belle because "she reads a lot" and Jasmine because "she likes tigers". Speaking of the aforementioned, our girl also loves to copy whatever I say or do - hence the appreciation for Belle's reading and Jasmine's tiger Rajah. :-)

She starts school in just over a month - attending a little preschool near our house two days a week, 3 hours a session. Needless to say, I am not entirely looking forward to having my sidekick away from me, though I am VERY much looking forward to her making new friends. As much as she adores our family and all of our neighbors and our little group of friends with whom we've reconnected here in MI, she really needs to hang out more with kids her age. I think it will help her with sharing and possibly her confidence as well. Her weekly swimming lessons with Tyler have certainly helped, and they are the highlight of her week, but more time away from the nest will be good for her (if not for me). She is out of diapers and very good about it, except nighttime/naptime is still a work in progress, and will be for some time I imagine. Her very favorite things to do right now are acting out scenes from her favorite books (Franklin the turtle is tops right now), playing with Polly Pockets and princess dolls, setting up endless tea parties with all of her pretend food, reading-reading-reading, and helping me do whatever I might need to do (watering flowers, cleaning out the car, vacuuming, baking - you name it, she'll do it gladly, as long as I am doing it too). We remain a tv-less household during the days. Tyler and I agreed long ago that we would try to keep tv from the kids until they turned two because of that whole brain development thing... when Natalie turned two we were ok with her watching it if she wanted to - but she refuses to be separated from Noah and I, so she doesn't want to watch it. Unless it's World Cup soccer with Tyler. :-)

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And Noah. Now where do we start with Noah. Well, at least I know that wherever I start, it will change tomorrow!

He's 15 months old and very sure that walking is entirely inappropriate for someone of his dignity. I think his body is lately trying to trick him into doing it though, as he nonchalantly has started using his walking toys correctly (vs. before, when he would sit on the floor to play with them), and has taken to standing by himself unsupported for several seconds at a time just this week. Strangely, he seems to think that he is totally capable of walking by himself in the swimming pool... now, granted, if he falls while in the pool it won't *hurt*, but there is that whole faceful of water thing (not that he really minds). Seeing him try to walk by himself in the pool really makes me realize that he just feels unwieldy walking by himself and is very nervous, but when he decides to take the plunge and do it, I think he will be fine.

He can say the following words, when the fancy strikes him: mama, dada, ah-tee (natalie), paci, shoe, car, tree, kitty, Reese, dog, "eh eh" which means woof, cheese, yes, all done. He should have been pointing over 3 months ago, but has only pointed *twice* in his life - he really just doesn't get the big deal (Now that I think about it, Natalie was never a big pointer either)... He understands "wave bye-bye to daddy", "give me your paci please", "do you want some (insert food item here)", "do you want to take your nap now". **It should be noted that both children take after their mother in that they request naps on a regular basis.** He giggles often, hugs and kisses his mother quite a lot, enjoys playtime most when Natalie is playing beside him, and adores terrorizing our poor beleaguered cat. Noah screams nonstop (shrieks and shrieks and shrieks) when he is learning a new skill or getting new teeth but is pretty quiet otherwise. He very very very much favors PINK sidewalk chalk - no other color - and will carry a stick of chalk around as long as he is allowed to do so, marking everything in his path. He seems to prefer red crayons - all this to say that he has started to very much enjoy scribbling with Natalie. He adores music still and dances and shakes and claps his hand delightedly! We have many options for him outdoors (baby pool thanks go grandma, grandpa, and great-grandma, and sandbox due to aunts/uncles/step-grandma, two slides, and not one but FOUR ride-ons thanks to neighbors and aunt/uncle) - his favorite seems to be the baby pool when it's set up, followed by climbing UP the slide, followed by being driven around in his little kiddy car. It's really super-cool that he can now ask for what he wants to play with - he gets it into his head that he wants to ride in his car, so he will crab-walk all the way around the house and into the garage and gesture/babble until i get out his car and drive him around in it! Awesome.

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As we head toward tomorrow, and the sad 1st anniversary of my father's passing, it gives me comfort and happiness to think of what will be passed on to my babies from my side of the family and from myself. My mom used to jokingly call me jabber jaws, and even once apparently said "Julie, you are talking so much you are driving me to DRINK!" (Young Julie responded "beep beep! I am driving you to drink! beep beep!" complete with crazy wheel-turning driving motions). Natalie's nonstop conversations ALL DAY LONG with me, with herself (particularly at the lovely hour of 6 a.m.), and with Noah/Tyler/anyone else who may be around really earmark her as the jabber jaws of this generation of the Gibbs clan.

Also, my mom always was always surprised at how much I sweat on my nose (earning me another flattering moniker, Sweat Nose - I know, nice). And today I realized that Noah sweats there just as much as I do - a trait that neither Natalie nor Tyler nor really anyone else in my family shares. My little guy has my father's eyes and broad forehead, too. And though he has a bit longer for his brain to settle on "handedness", if things were to continue as they are, he would definitely be left-handed - just as I am, and just as my father was. He holds most chalk and crayon in his left hand (though lately has gone for a stick of pink chalk in both hands) and grabs for almost everything from me with his left.

All in all, things are proceeding here. Not standing still by any means. If I were to sum up, I would say that all of a sudden we have TWO active children who must be watched at all moments, instead of one active child and one calm, watchful baby. As we are adjusting to our new normal we are also just enjoying the time with these two happy kids.

Questions

2010-06-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

Our lovely daughter is quite observant, curious and conversational these days. Today's example from dinnertime, completely out of the blue:

"Daddy, why do you have gray hair?"

Umm...

Thanks for noticing sweetie...didn't have a good answer for that one. :)

Noah's Favorite Song

2010-06-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Our little guy is most definitely expressing his preferences these days.

When we play with Little People, he very much prefers the leopard. He seeks the two leopards out and carries them all around the house with him. And every morning, when we get downstairs, he heads straight for the "Busy Little People" book. He summarily refuses all sippy cups but a very specific type of Playtex cup which earned his approval early on. Duplo is fabulous yet Mega Bloks not so much in his world. But Tyler and I feel that his most interesting and obvious preference is in the realm of music.

Very shortly after Noah was born, I decided that the song "Lucky One" by Vertical Horizon was to be "his" song. We listened to the song frequently while I was adjusting to being a stay at home mom and gearing up for our move, driving all over the Bay Area and beyond to see our wonderful friends. It doesn't even need to be mentioned what a difficult, trying time that was in our lives, so the song was especially meaningful for me as I was trying to cope with a newborn, a toddler, and the need to be near my father in his last days. On a lesser note, I had also been dealing with guilty pangs for months since I hadn't chosen a song for him when he was in the belly, as we had with Natalie, but it turns out that I was glad I waited.

After a year of total indifference to our now-sporadic playing of his song, all of a sudden during the last few weeks, he has absolutely shown that he loves it. LOVES it! When he is screaming and crying and having a tantrum, all we have to do is turn on the song and he perks up, stops crying, then smiles and starts clapping his hands. It works like a charm and is so cute to see. I am so glad I chose a song that really thrills him, and can't help but wonder why he likes it so much. Does some part of his brain remember that I played the song a million times in a row when he was a tiny baby? Or is it the fact that, when we turn it on, everyone (*particularly* Daddy, Noah's preferred person) stops whatever they are doing to smile and talk to him? Or is it just a good song? I'd like to think it is the first reason, but my common sense assures me that it is the second... :)

We carried all the colors
from the portrait of our summer
We never felt the answers
weighing down our shoulders

Time goes fast when you wander
and nothing lasts forever
but I still feel the power
of you and me together
and light surrounds you.

I know I'm the lucky one
though I'm always the last to believe
I know I'm the lucky one
'cause I'm here, and you're with me

So tell me are you willing
to try this thing called living
'cause there's so many edges hidden
and it's so hard to be forgiving

But I'll try once if you'll ask me
and once again everlasting
for all my days I love you
and all the stars you run through

See the light surround you

I know I'm the lucky one
though I'm always the last to believe
I know I'm the lucky one
'cause I'm here, and you're with me

When the wrongs and the rights all have been pushed aside
you're my favorite color
You're the black to the white and the warmth inside
You're the sun I'm under

I volunteer to watch you
through the dreams that haunt you
I promise to wake you
before the fear takes you

May the light surround you

Vacation!

2010-06-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

We just returned home from a wonderful week in Cape Cod - our first vacation as a family of four! The drives to and from were long but manageable since the kids are such pros at car rides. There were lots of different places to explore, fun times catching up with old friends and their little ones, and a whole lot of time on the beach!

Let's go Mommy and Daddy! We've got places to go!

This is SO FUN! (Many thanks to J. for the beautiful picture)

I like the beach!

Let's see if they notice if I sneak off...

Zzzzzz....

The Thrills of a Backyard

2010-05-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

So, so happy these days.

Loves chewing on the "helicopters" (possibly just for the never-ending, hugely amusing thrill of hearing Mom say "No!") and crawling through the jungle of our backyard.

So Big!

Giggling in the pool (thanks, Great-Grandma Freda, Grandma Kathy, and Grandpa Geoff!)

Bathing beauty wearing Ariel (predictably)

Post-one

2010-05-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

This image demonstrates how Noah felt about his birthday gifts this year. -- Edited to note, he is HAPPY in the below! HAPPY, I tell you.
:-)

This child has an incredible knack for discovering exactly which cabinet has been left unsecured. His sister had no curiosity for learning the mechanics of the cabinets. It was enough for her that one cabinet was left open for her private usage (with plastic containers, bibs, and the like)... she attempted the other cabinets, they did not open, and that was all she wrote. Not so for Noah. He hoots with excitement when our childproofing devices are left awry, army-crawls with a vengeance toward said cupboard, and then opens/closes/opens/closes until he bonks his head or his hand or until mom removes him from the premises with copious tears. Whichever happens first. Either way, no good can come of our laxity.

Natalie has taken to screaming "Noah's getting me!" whenever he comes near. It doesn't help that five times out of six, he is in fact headed toward "getting her"... grabbing at her pants, trying to take her toys, trying to stand by holding onto whatever chair she is currently sitting on. Poor guys. It's just a phase but what a phase.

And now, Noah has awoken from his nap in a mood. He is crying. Natalie is highly disturbed that Noah needs us and I am writing, so off we go.

One year!

2010-05-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

Today is Noah's special day and despite being a little under the weather, he had a great day!

Thanks so much to all our family who came over to celebrate today with our special boy and everyone who wished him well from afar!

The Noah update: he is just itching to get the standing/walking thing down and we can tell how much he wants to be up following his sister around. He has his two bottom front teeth and his top four front teeth...just like his sister at this age! Words include: mama, dada, yes, kitty, and Reese, and it seems like many more are just around the corner. He is enjoying cow's milk and had his first taste of birthday cake today and thought it wasn't too bad, though if we had let him crawl through his new sandbox, he would have been even more pleased!

P.S. Natalie was a very good big sister and was very excited to celebrate with Noah today and even helped him open his presents!

Shirt

2010-04-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

Gap came out with its Product (RED) line back while I was pregnant with Natalie. I purchased a shirt for myself and Tyler as soon as I could in order to support the awesome new business venture. Naturally I also purchased one in size 6-12 mo for our then unnamed and unborn baby.

My INSPI(RED) t-shirt languished in the drawer for quite a while. Two pregnancies, two nursing stints, quite a bit of chilly San Francisco weather, and then a Michigan winter meant that it went unworn. Natalie wore her onesie quite frequently, and Noah wore it afterwards - in fact, I still squeeze him into it every now and then. And Tyler wears his at least once a week if not more. Today I finally dug mine out of the drawer and wore it for the first time in forever.

Tyler got Natalie up this morning... and as I walked into her room to say good morning, my sleepy runny-nosed tousle-haired tired toddler's first words to me were "Mommy, why are you wearing Daddy's shirt?"

March - out like a lamb

2010-04-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

Enjoying a late afternoon trip to the Luckens' house to play on the swingset

Noah loves crawling on the grass, wood chips at the playground, or sand. He's not picky. As long as he can eat whatever he's crawling on, he's happy as a clam. Tell him "No", and he will scream louder than you can imagine.

Gratuitous Dagny Lucken shot in the background! We just love our D (and, let's be honest, she loves us too)!

Back at the Gibbs abode, someone was enjoying the sunny day... she keeps her eye on me whenever I am outside! It's funny how Reese finds a way to peek at me no matter where I am outside.

Quick one

2010-03-28T19:47:00.001-07:00

For those unaware, Piggy and Mrs. Boots (monkey) got married! And they had cake!

Just trying to keep everyone in the loop...

Catharsis

2010-03-18T10:10:00.001-07:00

Managing two kids' sleep is SO hard... if you are obsessive about it like I am...

Today we had to get to Target, Old Navy, Home Depot, and the post office. There is one shopping center about 10 minutes from home with every one of these stores, with the P.O. about 2 minutes away. Everybody was up late this morning so I figured we could do it all before nap. Not so much. We RACED around each place and still poor Noah had to skip his morning nap to make it all work out. I absolutely feel like an awful mother when he is worn out like he is right now. Daylight savings time really wrecked his schedule and I am not helping matters by trying to cram all of our errands into a few hours out of the house.

Natalie is at an age where every trip out of the house, disrupting her imaginative play, is a giant battle. And Noah hates getting in and out of the car seat. I keep wondering why I get so tired every night by about 8:30 p.m. - but then I remember that both Tyler and I are basically working six day weeks. I am the lucky one because I get to spend time with the two most adorable and wonderful kids ever, and I get outside, and eat balanced meals, and if I don't get a shower first thing in the morning I can sneak one in later that day... but still, being the only one six days a week means I kiss away a lot of tears, pick up and put down babies constantly, prepare and feed 54 different meals a week (plus snacks) (for one infant who eats a few finger foods but mostly purees, one toddler who has never been made to learn to use utensils but who basically wants cheese in all its forms at every meal, and one mom who is doing her level best to finally lose the baby weight), make endless trips up and down the stairs with two kids in tow, and clean LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of food off the floor. Sundays (and a 2nd tear-dryer, baby-holder, and cleaner - who also happens to be my best friend) feel like heaven... also, woefully, so short.

But having been on the other side - cramming all of my mom time into Saturday and Sunday - I know that Tyler and I would not have it any other way. Nothing is more precious to me than the chance to spend this time with my two babies.

Sometimes I might complain and sometimes I might kick myself over a sleep schedule which is all messed up... but they are healthy and happy and we are all so very very lucky.

Someone's first birthday is approaching (5/1). Someone else starts preschool in September. It's a reminder that they are both growing so fast. Things really aren't so bad after all.

**I know that two kids really isn't so much - but this week has been a long one so I needed a little catharsis**

??

2010-03-13T12:17:00.001-08:00

So for a few weeks now, we have been getting a movie every Thursday and watching it on Friday afternoons after Natalie wakes up from her nap. We've seen Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Little Mermaid, and a Winnie the Pooh movie. But last week, and again this week? Natalie completely refused to watch the movie. What's that about???

First haircut

2010-03-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

Since the weather has turned a bit warmer (50 degrees today! woo!) and our guy's hair was into his eyebrows, we decided it was for Noah to get his first haircut. He was an absolute trooper and while it was not quite a 100% tear-free experience, he was a very big boy and sat in the chair by himself! (With Daddy very close by, of course.)

Noah with his cheering section - cousin Nathan came for a haircut too!

Before...

during...

...and alas, our camera ran out of batteries, so for the after shot, we have to show a video. We will get another after picture of our handsome boy soon!

Sitting up

2010-03-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

After many weeks of army crawling, Noah decided it was time to sit up. He thinks it makes play time even more fun!

Pics - finally

2010-03-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve 2009... Pizza for Natalie, veggies for Noah, crab cakes for mom & dad!

Natalie's second haircut... at Carnival Cuts in January. So fun!

Playing in the tunnel in our playroom (family room).

He makes this funny face when he's eating a food that's too liquidy. He sort of eats it out of the side of his mouth. Cute :-)

In our living room. We don't have anywhere close to enough furniture so our deck chairs are currently pressed into service. This pic is Noah showing his love of balls - all shapes and sizes.

Natalie puts Baby to bed on my mom's old sewing bin! She is so proud of herself when she snuggles baby all into this "cribby".

Valentine's Day, opening presents from Grandma Sybil. Again in the playroom.

Living room and view to dining room, a.k.a. bird-watching central.

In Evanston visiting Aunt Amy, Uncle Chris, and Matthew. I didn't take anywhere near enough pictures, which I very much regret! I will be stealing liberally from others' cameras.

Every morning the kids woke up *before* the crack of dawn (5-6 a.m.). Once I was able to function, we would drive to Starbucks and pick up quintuple-shot lattes - only kidding, i swear!- and then take advantage of the free breakfast. Smorgasbord worthy of a toddler/preschooler. Donuts, yogurt, toast, bagels, and salty preserved meats to Natalie's delight. Noah ate lots of buttered toast and bananas. The business people around us in the hotel surely thought I was crazy with my huge BOB revolution stroller, booster seat, diaper bag, two kids in tow... but with a face this cute, it can't be all bad, right?

Noah is

2010-02-01T07:51:00.000-08:00

**9 months! Out in the world a week longer than he was in the belly.

**Quiet until he is loud. He loves to sit back and observe (particularly his sister) but at mealtimes his shrieking can overwhelm even the most patient observer.

**A huge fan of his dad. It's true love for both of them! So cute to see.

**Squirmy while in the stroller. He leans over and tries to take his sister's snacks... Or pulls her hair, or grabs her jacket... you get the picture.

**A passable sleeper... one wakeup at 5 a.m. (for a bottle, *sigh*) is the norm again now that he has his own room.

**Scooting all over the house!

**Left-leg dominant when he scoots. His sister was right-leg dominant when she crawled/scooted (and now seems to be right-handed) --- I kind of hope he will become a lefty like me :-)

**Saying mama! I am so excited about that.

**Inventive. He spends a wonderful amount of time amusing himself. One of his current favorite activities is throwing a jingly Roll-A-Round ball and chasing after it, grabbing it, then tossing it again. He laughs and laughs!

**An animal lover. If one ever wants to make him giggle, all one has to do is call Reese over! As soon as he sees her, he squeals and laughs and tries to make his way over to her. He also loves my sister's dogs SO much. He doesn't get *too* excited about the zoo yet, but that could be because he is normally all bundled up in the stroller (combination of cold, plus his sister yells louder, so I tend to let her out of the stroller and tend to her while he sits calmly and quietly). We shall see how he likes the zoo when it's warmer out and when someone can carry him!

**Just a little darling, and such a good snuggler. We feel so lucky to have him (and his sister).

Natalie is

2010-01-28T16:53:00.000-08:00

**A book-lover like her mother. Our new favorite activity is to snuggle up together under blankets while Noah is napping, reading book after book until I tire of hearing the sound of my own voice. And after every book Natalie says "The End" or "What are they doing?" - the latter in an effort to keep the story going. We now get books out of the library, which is so fun for us.

**The talkingest child I have ever seen. Ever. My mother (who used to call me jabberjaws) is laughing at me from heaven now.

**Loath to get her picture taken.

**Always underfoot. We have moved into a large (by our standards) home in Michigan, and she is unable to be more than 3 feet from me at any time. I have to ask her politely to move away sometimes so I can get things done.

**Sensitive. See above where I mentioned I have to ask her politely. If I seem like I am chastising her, she absolutely loses her mind in tears. It's heartbreaking!

**Funny. She likes to say things just to make me laugh - for instance, asking me every single night (with a mischievous grin on her face) where her Cookie Monster toothbrush is. She knows fully well that I had to throw it out, but asks for it every night, simply to make me laugh. She and her brother were given bath wraps for Christmas, and absolutely crack up at themselves and each other when they are wearing them.

**Conflicted. "No. Yes. NO!" is one of her favorites... sometimes she says it seriously, but sometimes she says it just to make me laugh.

**IN LOVE. With her father, with her brother, with her cat, with her new house. And with her mother. Today she said "Thank you, mom." And I said "for what?" "For you. Thank you for you." When I tuck her in at night and tell her I love her, she always says "I love you too!" and sometimes when she sees her father, she mumbles quietly, "That's my daddy. I love him so much."

**Choosy. About clothes and food and just about everything.

**Very upset when she hears barking dogs!

**So very 2 1/2. So, so very 2 1/2.

**Beyond beautiful. She has her father's eyes.

Food

2010-01-04T10:31:00.001-08:00

Today marks one of those funny milestones. Noah (8 mo) actually ate more than Natalie (27 months) for breakfast! He ate an entire banana amongst other things.

Sitting and smiling

2009-12-29T17:47:00.000-08:00

Our guy is sitting here to let everyone know that he has not one, but two teeth! All of the Gibbs family members are pleased that they have finally poked through, although there are likely more on the way soon!

(Apologies for picture quality, the phone was closer than the camera.)

After All That

2009-12-15T18:09:00.000-08:00

After months of misery, Noah finally got his first tooth today! Wahoo! Except - boo. Because he feels totally miserable still as only the tip has broken through... We have been enduring 3-4 wakeups a night since we got to Michigan from our little sore guy. And mom has been enduring her share of bites as well.

As most of you know, we are safely in Michigan at my (ever patient) sister's home. We are doing grown-up things like figuring out how to buy a house and another car. Sorry we haven't posted in so long - we will try to be more prompt, though pictures may be tough to come by until we actually get a house (since we don't have anything to which we can download our camera's pictures). But we will do our best with Tyler's iPhone.

The Fairies Stole My Child (and left a new one in his place)

2009-11-18T13:46:00.000-08:00

So, Noah has NEVER been a paci baby. He wanted nothing to do with it - Mom was good enough, thank you very much. For the last week, though, ALL he wants in the entire world, at all times, is the paci. And nothing to do with Mom.

Noah has been sleeping through the night (roughly) since he was about six weeks old. For the last week? WAKEUPS. Many of them.

He used to light up when I walked in the room. Now, when Tyler comes home from work, he wants nothing whatsoever to do with me. Once he knows Tyler's home, he cries and cries until Tyler pays individual attention to him.

I just want to know where the fairies took the Noah who loved ME best, who didn't need a pacifier at all hours of the day and night, who was perfectly content to lie around and hang out with me. I really liked that Noah.

This Noah can roll over both ways, though, so I suppose there's that...

Six Months!

2009-11-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

Our beloved guy is six months (and got 4 shots and one oral vaccine today to prove it)!

Noah's Stats:

Weight: 17 lb, 10 oz (58%)

Height: 27.75 inches (91%)

Head Circumference: 17.52" (75%)

At six months his sister was:

Weight: 16 lbs, 6 oz (60%)

Height: 27 inches (90%)

Head Circumference: 17.32" (78%)

I think it's funny that Noah is so much heavier than Natalie was but is still in the same approximate percentile for weight.

His diet consists of mostly milk from mom, with a spot of formula here and there. He's also eating three meals of solid food a day. He absolutely adores mom's homemade sweet potatoes and likes avocado too. This is in contrast to his sister who couldn't stand either! Also, she really liked bananas and pears, and he seems to dislike banana and to only tolerate pear. We feed him mostly oatmeal otherwise, because rice cereal seemed to clog up the pipes a little bit if you get my drift. We tried winter squash the other day but he's just not that into jarred food. Perhaps when I make him some homemade butternut squash he will like it better. We will see.

He sleeps quite well at night - generally 7:30 p.m. - 5 a.m. or so, a quick wakeup (a snack puts him back to sleep) and then back to bed until either 7:30 a.m. rolls around, or Natalie wakes him up ;) I want to sleep-train him soon because he doesn't *need* that 5 a.m. wakeup, but I am hesitant to do so with Natalie sleeping not that far away. We shall see how things progress.

In terms of temperament, he is still very easygoing though he certainly gets his desires known more and more as the days progress. He loves to squeal and shriek - especially in his crib when he wakes up - see sleep training above - and loves it when Natalie shakes jingly toys at him or Tyler plays guitar for him. Maybe he will be musical like his dad? He rolls from his back onto his tummy but has made no overtures whatsoever to turn the other way. It's not that he tries and can't do it - he has absolutely no desire to go back that way. Even if I turn him over when he's tired and protesting, he will roll right back over onto his tummy again. Oy vey, kid! So funny that before he had no desire to be on his tummy and now he has no desire to be on his back. He lays there on his tummy and spins his arms and legs wildly. This move seems intended to propel him forward, but as he is not Superman (to our knowledge), it just results in fatigue and frustration. He also isn't very into sitting up on his own. If we hold him that way for a few minutes, he kicks out with his legs until he gets onto his back and then flips over - you guessed it - onto his tummy. He quite likes the swings at the park, which is challenging because Natalie will only tolerate the swings for about 30 seconds before she is begging to go back on the "phwides". She's not quite old enough, in my opinion, to go running off on her own at our San Francisco parks so I try to keep her close. It's much easier if someone else is with us to help out - otherwise Noah just keeps getting the short end of the stick!

No teeth yet. Just the normal miserable hours while the teeth move around, but fail to appear on the surface. Thankfully, Natalie only has to deliver two more teeth and then she's done for a few years... Phew...

Both kids seem to like each other still. Natalie tries very hard to be helpful with Noah, which has its upsides and downsides. I can always count on her to give him a toy if he's fussy, but I can't always count on it being the *right* toy for his age. She really tries though. I try to walk the line between Noah's personal space and ensuring that the two of them enjoy each other and can become friends when the time comes.

And now he's been protesting in his crib for the whole time I've been writing this, so I should probably rescue him! A 45 minute nap won't cut it for much longer, buster! :-)

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T23:30:00.000-07:00

We had very nice Halloween and hope everyone else did too!

Our little mermaid...

our little astronaut...

and Natty's specially decorated pumpkin!

Socks

2009-10-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

First you see them...

...and now you don't!

Grocery shopping

2009-10-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

Our little shopper at Trader Joe's! Pretzels, check.
Feta, check. Off to find the the ABC pasta...

Hmm, I wonder if I left my wallet in the car?

Guest Appearance

2009-10-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

Our friends are more caught up on their blog posts than we are. Check out a few scenes from our trip to the pumpkin patch over the weekend!

Brain Change

2009-10-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

This week has been a big huge week of emotional and mental changes for our guys. Things were the same-same-same and then all of a sudden both kids made huge leaps.

Noah learned this week how to link two mental concepts together... He all of a sudden has put together that when he wants something, he can reach out and grab it (and then taste it). Ergo, if he wants something that's further away, he has to roll over to get to it. It's been great but challenging, as he has been enormously frustrated when the toy won't fit in his mouth, or when he's been on his tummy too long, or when he gets tired. His squeals of rage are quite something. He's been learning this for a while but this week it was very obvious that he is moving along in his mental development. Very cool. Very challenging for Mom and Natalie, though, as now we need to make sure her teeny tiny toys are a safe distance away from our guy... and for Mom and Dad, as he is absolutely EXHAUSTED by bedtime every night and thus is quite a fuss budget. He has also been waking more overnight as he's working through these new concepts.

Natalie's changes are absolutely beyond huge this week (to me, the person who's always loved psychology). She has all of a sudden become afraid of things - the peach-faced lovebirds at the zoo, the vacuum cleaner again (even though 2 weeks ago the vacuum was a super-fun game), and... ?Reese? She still loves Reese but has begun to kind of whine and whimper when Reese gets too close to her. I have no idea what brought that little fear on, but she'd better work through it, 'cause Reese isn't goin' anywhere!! :-) She also has learned the concept of shame which is hard for me to watch. Whenever we think something she's said or done is especially genius, we have always laughed with delight and pride. But now she's started to be ashamed when we laugh, thinking we are laughing *at* her, even though nothing could be further from the truth. So we'll have to learn a new way of showing our pride, I guess. Lastly, she's good at pleasing Mom and Dad by picking up toys, being nice, playing well with others - when we can supervise her - but now she's also starting to learn how to meaningfully do the opposite - upset us. This is different from testing or tantrums which are so common starting around 18 months (or earlier)... now she absolutely knows what will hurt my feelings and can say it if she's feeling cranky. Like, she loves Daddy more... or doesn't love me at all... etc. etc. It's been interesting and poorly timed given my ongoing mourning for my own father, but a reminder that life goes on.

We absolutely love our kids so much. But I have to say that I am really eager for the weekend to arrive so I can take some much-needed moments to decompress from all the crying around here! :-)

Whoops

2009-10-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

Somehow a lot of time went by and we haven't posted. It's been hard to motivate since we lost one of our most faithful readers on August 5th, but we will try to get back into the swing of things. We've had a busy month and a half!

Here is Natalie at Jack's birthday party. She absolutely LOVED Jack's slide and talks about it often. She was also excited that she got to choose her very own cupcake (and, naturally, selected pink).
Our little ones conversing.
Natalie and Tyler at the zoo in late September. The kids and I have been going to the zoo once or twice a week lately - it's really close to our house and we all love it.
In late September we did the Pancan '09 walk in Detroit with our extended family. We missed my dad so much but it was nice to be around each other again. We are really lucky to have such great family members. We celebrated Nathan's birthday while we were in Michigan too - super-fun.
Natalie and I at the cider mill in Franklin MI. We fed the ducks, got WAY too many donuts, and - oh yah - bought apples too.

Noah is officially five months now. He has only rolled over once so far (on Friday 10/2, in fact) though he's moving around the floor on his back a little bit in his attempts to get over onto his tummy. Lately he's been quite a fuss budget - which I think means he's getting frustrated over his immobile status. We shall see what the coming months hold.

He tried rice cereal on Saturday 10/3 - yesterday - and thought it was just fine. He ate a little bowl of it but wasn't hungry for much more than that. Same thing today. I think he prefers plain milk still, but we will continue giving him a little bit every day. It's fun to see him strapped into his sister's high chair! A month from now he will move on to more sophisticated cuisine, such as sweet potato. Pictures to follow. We will try to be better about posting since I am officially now a stay-at-home-mom for the time being!

Boo Hoo

2009-09-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

They could be twins if they weren't 20.5 months apart in age.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just had my first (and possibly my only) "kids grow up too fast and I can't believe we only want to have two of them" moment.

I will NEVER buy another box of Pampers Swaddlers for a Gibbs baby. Unless something crazy happens, but two is the plan (and my doctor vehemently agrees that I should stick with two).

Oh, Pampers Swaddlers, how I am addicted to your odd cloying scent! I was so excited to need Swaddlers again, but alas, Noah has packed on the pounds in a way his sister did not, and he's outgrown them. *sigh*

Another Walk

2009-09-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

The Gibbs family is also preparing to walk in the PurpleStride walk in Detroit on September 27th! We are all walking in my Dad's memory.

In this recession I know EVERYONE has extra pennies to spare (lame attempt at a joke) but if you are looking for a good cause, please donate to our little team. Tyler's page is here if you want to help him make his fundraising goal. Thank you SO SO SO SO SO much to everyone who helped me meet my fundraising goal too.

Trip to Michigan

2009-09-02T12:38:00.001-07:00

Finally getting up pictures from our trip to Michigan. The trip was wonderful and horrific (yes, wonderful and horrific). There is never, ever, ever a good time to lose a wonderful father and grandfather. It goes without saying that I am trying my best to move forward in the grieving process for the sake of my kids and husband, but I hate that I can't see or do anything without being reminded of my Dad. I can't even walk down the street here in San Francisco without seeing restaurants we ate in together, places we visited during my ten years here, hotels at which he stayed (though he only ever liked the Laurel Inn, and in fact judged my various domiciles in San Francisco by their relative proximity to that hotel). So the trip was really awful because losing him is a total nightmare.

But. But. But we had such a wonderful time in Michigan, aside from that fact. How could that be? I know! I am posting some pictures which should hopefully explain why we had a wonderful time and what we loved so much.

Natalie had a birthday party on August 2nd. How lucky that we decided to have the party that day. My dad was able to join us, along with all of our aunts and uncles and many of our cousins (and, naturally, my sisters and their families).

Aunt Pam got Natalie this ridiculously awesome cake from Costco. What is it about Costco cakes that make them so utterly delicious? All I can say is that this cake is about all I ate between August 2nd and August 10th. Yum. Natalie had a great time at her party - her cousins showed her how to open presents (a skill she put to good use during the other parties we had for her this year).

Playing with Matthew and "Mister Head". Natalie loves Mister Head and she also loves her cousin Matthew, one of the smiliest and most wonderful children I know.
Our two peanuts. Could they be any sweeter?

At a Nature Preserve in West Bloomfield. The beloved double Bob stroller - oh, how I miss you, double Bob. Oh, and Luckens too (haha!).

Feeding deer at the Nature Preserve with Aunt Pam. Everybody got really into feeding these deer! It's fascinating how one deer loved to eat green peapods and the other, not so much. One loved clover and the other hated it. They are like toddlers! Lots of preferences! Natalie and I sing "Old McDonald had a farm" a lot in the car, and now often Old McDonald has a "doe", and the doe eats "green beans".

Noah supporting Aunt Pam at her 3 day walk!!! It was so hot on Friday, the first day of the walk. Actually, who am I kidding - it was steamy every day. But the kids loved driving around to see their Aunt. Natalie especially got into clapping and cheering for the walkers.
After we went to Livonia to see the walk on Friday, Natalie and Noah and I went to the Splash Pad at Grandma Nancy's park in Grosse Pointe Farms. Natalie absolutely LOVED the splash pad. I have to say that Gramma Nance loved it too. She wasn't wearing her swimsuit but ended up allowing herself to get soaked anyway. Gramma Nance and I agreed that toddlers and infants are good distractions when you hurt too much to think about anything else.

Saturday, the kids and I went to Plymouth to see the walk. Noah in his bunny ears.

The BELOVED Luckens

And Sunday, August 16th, we went to Ann Arbor to see the walkers! Mom LOVES Ann Arbor - naturally - so this was great fun. We even went to Zingerman's with Aunt Pam's 3 day team so they could cool down a little bit in all that heat. Natalie and Aunt Pam shared (not kidding) a few TABLESPOONS of vanilla gelato - and I don't want to say how much those few tablespoons of gelato cost :-) They were worth it though. Delish. I also picked up a giant coffee cake to enjoy back in California and boy was it worthwhile to lug 3 lbs of butter, sugar, flour, and nuts back home! It was beyond tasty.

We were so proud of Aunt Pam and her team. Several of her teammates walked on feet covered in blisters. Other teammates almost passed out from the heat and dehydration. But they kept going - after getting proper medical attention, of course. I was so inspired that I decided to sign up for the 2010 walk. Hence the new link on the sidebar to my 3 day training blog. I can't promise earth-shattering prose there, but Tyler and I try to keep this blog focused on the kids and the fun things we do - whereas that blog will probably get more introspective as I tend to sort out thoughts and feelings (and come up with new ideas) during walks. One thing I really would love to hear (in comments or personal emails) is suggestions on fundraising. I have to raise $2300 for the walk within the year, and would like to get creative. My sister is the captain of the team and has raised quadrillions of dollars herself for the walk over the last three years... so I know Pam is creative and will help with ideas too, but I'd also love to hear if anyone else has out of the box ideas for me.

By Popular Demand

2009-08-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

Natalie at party #4 :-) This girl LOVES birthdays.

24 months = 2 years!

2009-08-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, our little girl turned the magical age of two! It is amazing to think how much she has changed in two years - from little peanut to confident toddler. It is wonderful to watch her grow up and we look forward to all of the fun times ahead in year 3!

This idea was borrowed from several different friends and despite not having Photoshop or a Mac, it turned out okay...and we look forward to adding more pictures to the collection!
Many thanks to our family and friends for celebrating with us over the last couple weeks. We have made up for her two canceled 1st birthday parties! More pics from these fun events to come soon!

Pancreatic Cancer Sucks

2009-08-19T10:34:00.001-07:00

The Gibbs family is walking in PurpleStride '09 - a walk to raise funds for pancan.org - on September 27th in Detroit. Help "Team Carroll" demolish its fundraising goal!

Believe me when I say that pancreatic cancer REALLY DOES SUCK. I couldn't do enough to help my dad in his fight against it. My kids still lost their only remaining Carroll biological grandparent.
But at least we can help fund an organization that provided tons of information and support for my stepmother and my father while he was alive.

Thanks for considering raising funds with us! If you are in Detroit - JOIN OUR TEAM!!!

Peace

2009-08-05T19:59:00.001-07:00

A note to our friends - my beloved father, John Carroll, is now at peace after an unbelievable battle with pancreatic cancer.

My dad in 2007 - after Natalie was born.

We are truly thanking God for helping him rest.

Noah Laughing

2009-07-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

Our guy has been giggling lately. It's pretty darned awesome. Just about as awesome as the fact that he's been sleeping through the night for an entire month.

My (Julie's) apologies for the finger over the lens in this video.

Sunny Days, Keeping the Clouds Away

2009-07-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

This week we had a rare beautiful, sunny day at our house in San Francisco (what's that quote - falsely attributed to Mark Twain - about the coldest winter being a summer in San Francisco?). We spent a few sunny hours of it with some of the Gibbs family's favorite people - Cheryl and baby Madison.
Baby Madison snoozing... Noah was upstairs sleeping while this pic was taken.
Natalie talks about Cheryl ALL THE TIME, and always wants to see her, so you can imagine her glee when she saw her?
We filled a big tupperware bin with water and let Natalie splash around. A big mess, particularly when she sat in the sandbox afterwards, but super-fun regardless. Sadly, the weather is now back to ugh... 55 degrees and cloudy/foggy. Ah well. It was nice while it lasted!

A temperament update: Natalie is almost two, and thus we spend all of our time together 1) chattering, 2) laughing, and 3) negotiating. She is excellent company for me during the days since she talks even more than I do - she is very silly and cute. Alas, she also has a quick temper when being forced to do something she judges less than desirable. She has been known to scream, flail, throw herself out of her stroller, cry, etc. - all that normal age two stuff. But as I often say, the benefits of the age (talking, laughing, playing, general silliness) are greater than the trials... She is now in daycare only two days a week since I am home during the days with Noah, at least until my leave is up in mid-September. She loves her friends at school so much but seems to be pretty happy to stay home with Noah and me too. I can see how much she learns from Tyler and I though - when Noah coughs or rustles, she rushes over and says "Are you ok, Noah-No?" - just like I do. Really funny. She very much dislikes his crying though. Speaking of Noah, he is now 2 1/2 months, which is the famed age when infants become even more social and smiley. We are certainly noticing that he wants to interact with us and watch us constantly. He protests vociferously and LOUDLY when he has to nap. This is brand new behavior as of this week, and I am not enjoying the protestations one bit! He roars and screams and cries and just works himself into a lather. I am hoping this is just a short phase because man alive, I miss my calm and patient and sleepy baby boy. The worst part is that Natalie also works herself into a lather at the same time - she gets nervous/upset when he cries, because it is so unusual for him, and then she says "STOP CRYING, BABY NOAH!!!" - if that doesn't work, which *obviously* it doesn't, she ends up crying and wailing herself until he stops. So that's fun for Mom.

All in all, things are going very well. Noah has turned into a dynamite sleeper - 9 p.m. - 4 a.m. most days. That makes us cope with everything during the days much better. I know that his sleep will shift a lot - I remember that from Natalie... so I am just trying to enjoy this while it lasts!

Good big sister!

2009-07-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

Natalie is a great big sister to Noah. Here she is entertaining him this afternoon with some impromptu activities.

Another month and Noah will be grabbing that monkey from her!

Birthday Wishes

2009-07-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

For someone special!!!

Two months!

2009-07-01T22:47:00.000-07:00

Our boy is two whole months old today - where does the time go? Here is our big guy (13+ lbs) giving us one of his many smiles!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day from all of us! One of our activities for the day was to go to Natalie and Noah's first outdoor concert in Golden Gate Park.

Natalie and her balloon all ready to go...

Noah is up from his nap...

Natalie up from her nap with baby, milk and food ready to go...

At the park! Lemonade is tasty!

We hope everyone had as great a Father's Day as we did!

*Julie's notes regarding Tyler's post above:
-The Natalie/balloon picture was actually taken yesterday... we sort of celebrated Father's Day all weekend around here :-)

-Here is Natalie debuting one of several new hairstyles she sported this weekend. She has finally gotten comfortable with our styling her hair, and it's been a lot of fun!

-Her shirt says "I love my Daddy"... Noah's outfit says "Handsome Like Daddy". Unfortunately, both shirts are likely totally ruined after today. Natalie's shirt had an unfortunate luncheon encounter involving some Elmo Tomato Soup... and Noah is 7 weeks + 2 Days... longtime blog readers will remember that when Natalie was 7 weeks + 2 Days, she ruined a couple of her outfits as well as my own with some very forceful pooping incidents. Noah is following in her footsteps TO THE DAY. Does anyone else think that is pretty cool?

Clever

2009-06-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

Natalie has been saying the funniest things lately. My illustrious husband posted on Saturday that she was saying the "occasional sentence", but I am not so modest about her achievements (and he claims I understand her words better) so I feel like she is speaking in almost all sentences.

Some gems:

-"MOMMY! I found the 'mingos!" - on our walk home from school, she likes to point out some pink plastic flamingos that someone has planted in a pot by their house

-"Eat the water!" - she wanted me to drink water out of *my* water bottle whilst she was drinking out of *hers*... when I didn't comply quickly enough, she followed up with "OPEN MOUTH!!!"

-"my pony tail cute like mommy's" - our friend Cheryl put a ponytail in Natalie's hair on Saturday, and thus it immediately became the de rigeur hairstyle for the rest of the weekend.

-Yesterday I was sort of half-singing a song - "her" song - a particularly crazy hip hop song which we all love), and she started singing right along. Some people sing ABCs... my sweet, angelic, blonde curly-haired toddler likes to sing hip hop... luckily the words she sang were "notice you, noticing me" and not something more questionable.

-I remarked that Noah was cute, and she corrected me - apparently "Noah HANDSOME"... not cute. Who knew?

More pictures

2009-06-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

Since we just can't get enough of our wonderful duo, we had to post a few shots from this weekend. Noah continues to grow at a healthy clip, leaving the 12 lb mark in the dust this week. He continues to be a pretty laid-back guy and seems to enjoy watching his big sister run around the house.

Natalie continues to add words to her vocabulary and occasional complete sentences are starting to come out! We are so proud of her and amazed how big she is - is she almost 22 months in this picture or 4 years old? We'll let you decide!

Then and Now

2009-06-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend we met up with one of Natalie's oldest friends, Kai. Kai used to share Natalie's nanny before she went to daycare in Sept 2008.

Natalie and Kai, February 2008 - 6 months

Natalie and Kai, June 2009- 22 months

They are a little bit bigger and more mature now, as you can see!

Fairly Typical Interaction

2009-06-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

This is a video of fairly typical interaction between Natalie & Noah. She loves to bounce him in the bouncy chair (sometimes almost too much, as this video shows, so we can't leave them alone even for a second). She also loves to get right up in his face to say hi. It's cute! She likes him a lot, even though she wishes that she had more time alone with Mom & Dad...

Smile!

2009-06-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

Also, Noah is now 11 lbs 14 oz. Some of his 0-3 month Gap onesies are too small for him already! Natalie didn't weigh this much until she was between 3-4 months old (when we started supplementing her diet with formula because she wasn't eating enough via the traditional method).

the more things change, the more they stay the same

2009-06-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

Natalie at 1 month old (plus a couple days - 9/24/2007)

Noah at one month old (6/1/2009)
Different baby, different house, different year, different life.

I swear I did not stage this picture... I just happened to be lying with Noah on the bed, and Reese (as usual) had to get into the mix, so the photo opportunity presented itself.

Family

2009-05-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

Out of order, a few pictures from recent visitors.
In Mill Valley with Bubba & Gramma Nance

Is it just me or does Natalie look *a lot* like her Aunt Pam?

Prodigious Growth

2009-05-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

Noah had his two week appointment today (he is 17 days old). He has already gained a full pound as well as grown 1/2 inch since birth. We would be thrilled about this development but for the sheer amount of eating it has required to achieve these statistics (97% for weight and 95% for height). We might consider giving up an ounce in exchange for a few less nighttime wakeups around here!

For posterity he now weighs 10 lbs 8 oz, and is 22 1/2 inches long. I was too tired to remember his head circumference but I will update that later when I find it in the masses of papers the doctor gave us about how to deal with colic. All this for a baby who so far has only cried during diaper changes which take "too long" in his opinion, or during baths. We know his temperament will change about a hundred times in the upcoming few months but, for the record, 17 days after his birth he remained a very placid baby.

Natalie is doing quite well. She definitely has been much more moody and sensitive in the last week or so but we have survived with lots of extra TLC from Aunt Pam, who came for a visit to help us. Today marks the beginning of "life as usual", where I will need to learn to balance the needs of two little ones on my own (as Tyler is fully back to work and our next visitors don't arrive til Memorial Day weekend). Wish us luck!

Noah's First Playdate

2009-05-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

Today Noah had his first playdate, with Madison Isabella Keenan (born May 5th at 1:29 p.m.)... the 7 day old and the 12 day old baby got along well.

Noah "woke up" a little today (vs. the last few days where he has been asleep most of the day), so it was a very good day to meet his friend!

Madison was hungry... and she wanted to let her mom know.

We are so excited for our friends Cheryl and Adam, and feel lucky to have seen Madison only seven short days after her birth. She is a delight.

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-11T09:52:00.001-07:00

My two little dreams-come-true!

Natalie loves to stand on a chair near Noah's crib, looking down at him... she gives him little pats and hugs. But her favorite thing to do is to turn on his mobile, then squeal with delight "I DID IT!!!"

She is so proud of all of her newfound abilities.

Quite a change from the time in August 2007 when she interacted with that very same mobile in this way:

Noah Johnston Gibbs - May Day Baby

2009-05-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

Born May 1st at 12:47 a.m.
9 lbs 8 oz, 22 inches long

Noah came home from the hospital yesterday... we are so excited to start getting to know him.

Gratuitous Video Posting

2009-04-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

Family members may be very interested to see the videos of Natalie in the bath! As you can see, she is doing very well on her alphabet letters - though often she knows who "goes with" the letter more than she knows the letter itself :-)

Monterey Trip

2009-04-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we went to Monterey for our "babymoon" - one of our last weekends together as a family of three (well, four, but the fourth no doubt spent the weekend curled up in Baby Boy Gibbs's crib - meowing happily when her cat-sitter arrived to feed and play with her).

Here's a picture of Natalie in the "Splash Zone" at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Friday. She loved the giant blocks more than the tiny little fish they had in this section... at first I was worried that this meant she wouldn't be that into the rest of the fish at the Aquarium. No need to worry about *that* though.

Looking out at Monterey Bay from the Aquarium.
On the Otter slide!
Her favorite exhibit was actually Outer Bay. Check out the link for a cool picture - but the exhibit was a little dark for us to try to take pictures, plus it was always crowded with people. It was super-cool though! After our trip to the Aquarium, she now gets really excited to point out "fishies" anywhere she sees them.

Here are Natalie and Tyler at the Dennis the Menace park - designed by the creator of Dennis the Menace. This park was right across the street from our hotel. It would have been even better for a child a little older than Natalie, though we did spend a really fun hour here on Saturday morning.

After the park, Natalie had a spirited lunch in our hotel room. Tyler and I love it when she makes this face! She worked up an appetite for "shawbees" and "beebees" - strawberries and blueberries.

Then Saturday afternoon we tried to go in the hotel's pool, but the pool was absolutely freezing... and the hot tub was too hot... so we walked across the street to the Monterey State Beach. Natalie loved finding rocks and bringing them to me for our collection. We also built sand castles and ran around a fair bit.
Let's be honest - I was 37 weeks pregnant at the time - Tyler did the running around with Natalie :-)
Below, one of the only pictures we'll have of me being pregnant. I prefer to keep the camera trained on my photogenic subject Natalie.

That whole thing Natalie's left leg is resting on? That's her baby brother. He's huge. As am I.

Sunday, our non-sleeper woke up at 4 am and didn't really fall back asleep... so we left Monterey very early (8 am) in order to make it home for a proper nap here at home. On the way back to San Francisco, we drove up Highway 1 for some sightseeing.

We couldn't resist stopping at Pillar Point, our favorite Northern California beach. This is the beach where Tyler asked me to marry him almost four years ago! Natalie has been here a few times.
It was a gorgeous day with a nice low tide. Tyler and Natalie did a tiny bit of tide-pooling while I relaxed. Then it was back home for a nice long nap for Natalie and I! A very fun weekend was had by all (even Reese, who apparently took several nice naps with the cat-sitter - who also happens to be one of the workers at Natalie's daycare)!

April Showers

2009-04-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

Actually, April doesn't normally shower us with rain here in San Francisco - instead the wind picks up (we've had wind of up to 35 mph this week)... But the lack of rain makes for some nice days to venture out and about, if you can stand the wind!

Two weeks ago Natalie and I took advantage of a nice morning to go to the Farmer's Market in San Francisco. We bought a few treats (really delicious brie, kettle corn, etc. - you know, anything BUT produce!) and then we went for a walk along the Embarcadero. We had such fun!

Eating "shawbees" - ie strawberries - outside the Ferry Building.

This past weekend, we had a few friends over for an Easter brunch. Natalie sprouted not one but TWO teeth Saturday night/Sunday morning, and was finally recovered from yet another ear infection - so we were totally sleep-deprived, and having friends over helped distract us!

Maya in the background enjoying Natalie's toy selection...

Todd and Anna Youngs
We had a super-fun Easter egg hunt on our back patio. The girls (Charlotte, Anna, Maya, and Natalie) all lots and lots of fun finding the eggs and opening them to see what was inside.

I am now officially on maternity leave from work, getting ready for Baby Boy Gibbs to appear. Three more weeks until his due date! We have a few little errands to take care of (de-furring his crib, as Reese decided that it was her own personal little haven; adjusting the straps on the infant car seat to fit a little newborn, etc.) but nothing that worries us. In fact, we are so calm about Baby Boy's arrival that we are taking off tomorrow for Monterey for the weekend to celebrate the end of Tyler's tax season. We can't wait!

At 36.5 weeks, Baby Boy Gibbs is estimated to be somewhere around 7+ lbs. already. Medical professionals seem to agree that he is shaping up to be as big as his sister was (she was 8lb 14 oz, and 21.5 inches long). He is very healthy, moving around vigorously - though not too vigorously for Mom, thankfully - and during my ultrasounds he's been sucking on his thumb, practicing his breathing, and just generally being cute. We hope that everything continues so well for the next few weeks.

19 Months, Trip to Michigan

2009-03-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

Finally a few pictures of our trip to Michigan - after we've been back a week already! Shame on me!
At the Carroll family slideshow. We all gathered around and looked at slides of pictures my Dad has amassed over the years. A lot of fun - can't wait for more installments!

Natalie and Katie playing "night night" - Natalie's cousins were SO unbelievably amenable to playing all of her favorite games! They took great care of her. I have almost never seen her as happy as she was when she got to play with all of her cousins.

Matthew being adorable as ever.

"Bubba", ie my dad, showing Natalie how to use the blender.
Natalie, Aunt Pam, and Emma at the Polar Bear exhibit at the Detroit Zoo - what a great exhibit! And what a fun time we had.

Mom and Natalie at the polar bear exhibit. This was one of the few times Natalie let me hold her that day - she pretty much *only* wanted Aunt Pam to hold her by this point of our trip.

Emma in front of the camels.
More camels - also, evidence of my statement that she only wanted Aunt Pam to hold her!

Now that we're back she keeps asking for everyone in Michigan. "Where Bubba go?" is an oft-repeated phrase. Also, every little blonde boy in her books MUST be my nephew Nathan, i.e. Cubby. Apparently there are no other toddlers in the world (except Matthew of course, but he has dark hair of course). It's hard to imagine that I have entered a state in this pregnancy where it's not really advisable for me to fly anymore, so it will be a while before she sees everyone again.

Also, Natalie had her 19 month checkup today. I was glad to see our pediatrician so she could realize once again that she is about to get her second Gibbs child as a patient. Natalie is doing so well that the pediatrician asked me lots more questions about my pregnancy and this next child than about Natalie!

Stats at 19 months:
25 lb, 7 oz (61%) - it should be noted that this is almost a two pound gain in the last six weeks.
33 1/2 inches (87%)
Head 49 cm (96%)

She is supposed to be weaned from the bottle (check, for 6 months now), saying 7-10 words (check check check check check), climbing all over things (check), brushing her teeth every day (check - she LOVES to brush her teeth as long as Mom or Dad is doing so at the same time), and interested in books (CHECK). I was pleased to hear that her doctor thinks she is doing well! And, she didn't have to get any shots which was fabulous for mom :-)

New Camera!

2009-03-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

We have a new camera, finally - which means we caught just a few snaps of Anna Youngs's birthday party on Saturday. The downside? I still don't have a good enough memory card which means that I got Natalie in the jumpy house and that's about it!

She was pretty shy with so many people around but we had a great time - and the birthday girl Anna was beautiful and looked like she was having a great time.

Natalie LOVES the Youngs family's sand table.

At home in her fancy dress for the occasion.
A picture of Natalie running!

Playing with blocks on a different day.

Tomorrow Natalie and I are off to Michigan. Can't wait!

New Word

2009-03-05T19:59:00.001-08:00

Natalie's latest:

Pterodactyl.

I have a witness! My sister heard it too (over the phone)!

I should explain that she has bunches of Little People figurines (what can I say? I love them!), and one happens to be a pterodactyl. Still, pretty cool word for an 18 month old!

A Surefire Way to Keep Natalie Quiet

2009-03-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

Today we took Natalie to get her first haircut. She did extremely well, though she was struck with an intense attack of shyness upon walking through the door to the salon. It was a salon just for kids, and there were other toddlers getting their hair cut, so we figure that she knew she was in for something new as soon as we walked in.

We opted to have her sit on my lap for her haircut, because otherwise we probably wouldn't be able to get through the experience without intense tears. She was certainly mistrustful of the experience, but we are proud to say that she received a lovely haircut in the end (with the help of several toy phones which the salon provided for the occasion).

Here's a video of the big event. We will try to take some pictures of her gorgeous new haircut within the next day or so.

Natalie's Words, 18 Months

2009-02-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

Because this is our blog, I can write a post which is totally boring to everyone but Tyler and I. And the beauty is that you all can ignore it! Yay! This is one of those posts...

I wanted to do something special to mark Natalie's 18 month birthday. Our friends Todd and Kearsley created the most gorgeous composite of their daughter Maya for her 18 month birthday, but we just don't have Photoshop skills to do anything quite so beautiful *sigh*. However, I am a fast typist and a relatively thorough person, so I decided to create a list of Natalie's vocabulary at 18 months. These are the words she can be reliably expected to say many, many times a day. There are other things she's trying out (thank you, etc.) but she doesn't say these things reliably enough for them to have made the 18 month list.

Names
Mommy
Daddy
See-see (for Reese + all cats)
Nanny (Natalie)
Mafew (Cousin Matthew)
Toys:
Noma (Noah, as in Noah's Ark toy set)
Elmo
Zazie (Zoe)
Maisy
Percy
From Daycare:
Becky
Susie
Def (Stephanie)
Cati (Caroline)
Jassie (Jackson)

Foods/Eating-related
Nummy Nummy (Milk)
Baba (bottle)
Apple
Shaw-bee (Strawberry)
Nana (Banana)
Peas
Juice
All Gone
All Done
Soon (Spoon)
Cupcake
Cookie
Pee-ya (Pizza)
Wawa (Water)
Cawshee (Coffee)

Animals
Dog-dog (dog)
Puppy
Zeebee (zebra)
Dushy (duck)
Birshie (Bird)
Bison
Beah (Bear)
Moo (Cow)
Baw-baw-baw (Chicken)
Piggy
Ah-ah-ah (Monkey)
Fishy

Clothing
Bib
Shoe-shoes (socks)
Sashies (socks)
Haaaa (hat)

Nouns of all shapes and sizes
Paci
Bubble
Seat
Show
Nene (baby, plus could also mean yogurt because the yogurt has a picture of a baby on it)
Baby
Gogo (car)
Tain (train)
Crib
Ball-ball (Ball)
Keys
Bus
Loshy (Lotion)
Teeth
Outside

Various Demands and Phrases
Down
Up, Uppy
More
Again
Night night
Bye-bye
Hi
Hewo (hello)
No
Yes/Yah
Sure
Bless You
Bouncy Bouncy
Splash Splash

:-)

Fun with Food

2009-02-17T09:21:00.001-08:00

A few enjoyable pictures of dinnertime around the Gibbs household. We start off relatively normal:
and quickly progress to kissy-face:
Mom and Natalie cracking up at each other:
A few days later: have I ever told you how absolutely DELICIOUS applesauce is?

Fun on a rainy Saturday:
Have I mentioned that tomorrow is my eighteen-month-birthday?
---------
A few eighteen month updates:
-Natalie is talking so, so much. She picks up a few new words every day. She gets her point across very well sometimes (who can mistake the very pointed "PACI!!!" while also pointing at the spot on her dresser where the pacis are kept). Other times, she resorts to a sort of frenzied babble which nobody understands but her. Often tantrums follow this frenzied babble, because she gets so mad that I can't figure out what she's saying.
-During the last few weeks, she has really started to get excited about going to play school. Maybe it's because the holidays and the month of January have wound down (trips in November/December, and then January where she was sick so frequently that she couldn't attend play school very much). Or maybe it's because they have started to do some really fun crafts. Whatever it is, now when she sees her friends and the people who work at play school, she screams their names excitedly. She also talks about them at home with me.
-Singing songs continues to be a favorite. We run through the ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Ring Around the Rosy, etc. - and after I finish a song she yells "AGAIN!" She loves to twirl around in a circle when we sing Ring Around the Rosy.
-The hardest thing about 18 months so far has been her decisiveness regarding when she should and shouldn't be strapped into various apparati (car seat, high chair, stroller). We have had some very stern disagreements about these various issues. Luckily, the high chair argument can frequently be avoided because we have three different seats she can choose between (booster, bumbo, and high chair) - which still gives her a sense of control. The stroller debate has also been ok so far, because walks are optional and otherwise I've been able to carry her. I'm a little worried as my third trimester progresses about being caught somewhere with a stroller tantrum brewing, but she only weighs 23 lbs so really her size is quite manageable for me at this point.
The car seat debate? Don't ask. Just don't ask. It's not good. *sigh*

:-)

New Hat!

2009-02-02T20:11:00.001-08:00

Natalie got a new hat this weekend, and our camera actually obliged us by taking a few pictures of the occasion!

Mom and Dad are far too proud of this beautiful little (almost) 18-month old.

She had so much fun watching the Super Bowl yesterday. At the start of the game, she settled in on Mom's lap with a cup of milk and a bowl of crackers to watch for five or so minutes. It was like she knew that people all over America were doing the same thing - albeit many with a libation stronger than milk, and a fattier food than crackers! Then her friend Anna arrived, and the tv could have disappeared for all Natalie cared after that point - although both girls really seemed to like Bruce Springsteen's halftime show.

In Baby Boy Gibbs news, we are officially in our third trimester (!!). Tomorrow I will re-encounter all sorts of prickly needles (glucose screening, then a CBC, then a Rhogam shot) at my doctor appointment. BBG has been moving around quite a bit - he especially seems to like it when I sing to Natalie. He was moving all over when I sang "twinkle twinkle little star" this evening (while Natalie rocked her baby doll). I'm glad *one* of us likes my awful singing voice...or, maybe he hates it and wants me to stop? :-)

Vocab

2009-01-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

A few videos of Natalie's burgeoning vocabulary... I apologize for the awful video quality and the finger in the first one! I am really not good at taking videos.

Natalie making a few animal noises while enjoying a chilly but sunny winter day.

Bird-watching

Ah! There's the cat!

This weekend she started telling us when she wants "uppy"... Also, the second she wakes up, now she wants to go "outside". She likes to point out mommy's "wawa" bottle. And, I think the cutest thing she does now is to carry around her little plastic measuring cup, telling us that it's "cawshee" - ie coffee! We've been saying for 17 months that Natalie loves Starbucks, and finally we have proof.

Natalie's latest

2009-01-13T21:06:00.000-08:00

Since we don't have many pictures to post due to the aforementioned camera issues, here are a few 2009 videos of our girl in action and chatting away. She gets better at repeating words every day and at telling us the sounds animals make. Multi-word phrases coming up soon!

Here she is during one of her many daily activities:

New Phrases

2009-01-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

This week was a language explosion (as my sister Pam so aptly termed it) around the Gibbs household! Some of the phrases spoken:

"Where's Daddy?"
"Here they are!" (when asked where her toes are)
"See-see good girl, See-see good cat" (as I mentioned earlier in the week, See-see is Reese our cat)

She also has started helping us read and interpret books this week. For example, most animals say "moo" in Natalie's world - except the dog, who says "ffffffffff". And the chicken says "baw baw baw". All cats are "see-see" and say "e-ahhh" in a kind of screechy meow (shockingly similar to Reese's *actual* meow), although See-see herself is identified as a cat... I guess she must have put it all together that Reese is a cat, and all pictures of cats are like Reese.

She has loved "lift the flap" books for a while, but this week has started actually telling us what's under the flap before we lift it. It's been pretty amazing to hear her tell us that, inside Clarabelle's coach, one can find CUPCAKES! And behind the fence, one can find PERCY! And, inside the station house, one can find a PARTY! (For those parents among you, all of these references come from one particular Thomas-the-tank engine book).

It's pretty cool to hear so many new things come out of her mouth - and for both Tyler and I to have been around to experience it! What are the chances that she would learn the concept of the phrase during the one week when we would both be home to hear it? This is all especially meaningful since Tyler will soon be in the throes of busy season, where he will only get about 1/2 hour daily with her every day except Sunday. So we are really excited that he got to be around to hear all of this.

I've been complaining that she has been walking around the house aimlessly yelling "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" for about a week straight... But yet there is no part of me that looks forward to dropping her off at daycare tomorrow.

p.s. no camera yet. So no pictures. Sorry!

Last Post of 2008!

2008-12-31T10:44:00.000-08:00

Our camera is now on the fritz. Here are some of the last shots we caught before everything went pink and fuzzy.

Strollin' around.

Gosh, this Santa guy? We aren't sure we like him. Even though last year we were just fine with him.

Mom got in the picture to try to help Natalie smile. It didn't work.

Things went downhill from there. Please note the look of immense displeasure on her face. Point taken.

Her first "real" taste of snow! It was snowy when she and I traveled to Michigan last January for Aunt Amy's baby shower, but she was too little to really experience it. This year Aunt Pam pulled her around in the sled outside, which Natalie thought was pretty cool (especially since cousins Emma and Nathan were playing alongside the sled)!

We had a wonderful holiday this year. We went to Michigan for the week of Christmas and Natalie was a champion traveler. Mom and Dad were very proud! Natalie had such a nice time with our extended family... it was hard to leave.

A few more notes -

Natalie is quite the talker these days. She likes to have pretend conversations with 'See-see' (i.e. Reese)!

She loves it when we sing the ABCs to her. She bobs her head and shakes it all around, and asks us to sing it again. Considering that her other favorite songs all either hip hop or rock, we think this is just fine!

Natalie is starting to adore Elmo. She picks him out in all of her books and squeaks "Elmo!" with delight. What is it about that fuzzy little red guy?

Here is a little video of Natalie enjoying the chair she got from Grandma and Grandpa Gibbs for Christmas. She totally loves it!

Why haven't we taken pictures lately?

2008-12-14T20:56:00.000-08:00

We've been remiss, that's why. We will do better with the holidays approaching. We *should* have had Santa pictures for you this weekend but Natalie's nap schedule didn't cooperate with Santa's visiting hours at a local shop in San Francisco... so we will take those next week.

About a week and a half ago we found out that Natalie's going to have a baby brother! We are reading a book we got from the pediatrician over and over these days - it's called "Babies" (creative title) and it goes through all the things babies need, like food, and sleep, and play, and love. Natalie loves the book so let's hope she is learning something from it. Probably not though - we think she just likes the baby pictures.

I did notice this morning that she is getting very jealous of Reese, if the cat comes too close to Natalie's favorite toy - whatever that might be during a given five minute interval. Not a good sign. We will work on that characteristic over the coming months :-)

Thanksgiving Recap

2008-12-03T19:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of three of my favorite creatures: My dad, my daughter, and my cat.
Natalie sure had a great time with my parents when they came to visit us in November!

Then last week we flew to Tyler's parents' house, just north of Seattle. It was co-o-o-o-ld! We had to bundle Natalie up during our trip to the park. Another wonderful time was had by all.

Natalie was very much indulged by attention from all sorts of grandparents two weekends in a row! She will be completely bored this upcoming weekend with only mom and dad and Reese to occupy her.

We got back to California on Saturday. Predictably, I was all ready on Sunday to get our Christmas tree! Luckily Tyler knows me by now so he was mentally prepared as well for the task.

Natalie had fun picking a Christmas tree. Remember last year when we picked out a Christmas tree? She's, um, a little bit bigger now :-)

-22 lbs 6 oz (a loss of 2 oz from a couple weeks ago, and the same weight as she was in October - oh well)

-31.5 inches

Helping mom decorate the Christmas tree on Sunday! She did a great job taking ornaments off for us.

Where are the updates???

2008-11-23T12:30:00.001-08:00

Well, we are sorry that it has been a few weeks since we've posted. I have to say that I have had no energy lately! Being pregnant (sixteen weeks) with Natalie's little brother or sister has taken something out of me. Plus, she's gotten six new teeth in the last couple of weeks AND had a wicked fever (roseola) for a couple days in there, so nighttime sleep has been very impacted, meaning that I have been lying around on the couch in my spare few minutes.

But Natalie is doing well!

We will post more after the weekend. My parents are here visiting and we are about to head out to meet them somewhere north of the Golden Gate Bridge. It's been a fun visit so far! Natalie was a little shy the first day, but now all she wants to do is play with her grandparents.

Learning - Updated

2008-11-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the lack of pictures :-) We will post some soon.

Highlights of the week:

Natalie's new words -
-"uh oh!"
-paci
-goat
-go bye bye
-all done
-she now says "mommy" instead of mama, and "daddy" instead of dada.

In another fun development, Natalie was given a Rody for her birthday from our friends in Massachusetts. She really likes it, and now has decided that everything should be a ride-on toy. Including mommy, daddy, her tractor, her walker, and her fisher price farm (she sits between the silo and the actual barn - probably wondering why it won't GO). Mom is going to head to Target tomorrow at lunch to buy her an actual ride-on tomorrow! Dad's out of town this week, so it will be a loooong one for us, and we need some amusement.

Seven Things People Don't Necessarily Know About Natalie

2008-11-04T11:54:00.000-08:00

We got tagged by our friend Olen - now we have to tell everyone seven things that people don't know about me.

Hmm, this is hard!

1. I really hate the vacuum cleaner at home… Mom normally has to take me for a walk while Dad vacuums, or else I will cry and cry! However – I DO NOT MIND the vacuum cleaner at daycare. They vacuum every day and I never cry even a little bit there.

2. I am a very excellent eater. Yesterday I ate twice as much grilled cheese as any other child at daycare, including kids twice my age.

3. I am very ticklish around the neck.

4. My favorite animal at the zoo seems to be the giraffe. The last time we went to the zoo, they were very frisky – one was even running around the exhibit. I was totally enthralled! My favorite non-zoo animal seems to be the ‘dog-dog’, though I get really excited every morning the first time I see my cat Reese.

5. I have been to (or through) six states so far: California, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana.

6. In the morning I generally wake up as soon as I hear mom & dad’s alarm clock go off. I talk and chatter in my room for ½ hour until they are all ready for work, and then they come get me. Every morning, they say “are you awake?” and I laugh and smile at them. Then I spend the next ½ hour drinking my morning bottle, walking around the house inspecting it for any changes since the night before, getting a diaper change, and getting ready to go to daycare.

7. Yesterday mom said “Natalie, are you the best baby in the entire world?” and I said “YES”. Who knows if I know what “yes” means, but I sure said it at the appropriate time!

Now I'm supposed to tag other people so they tell us seven new things about themselves. I for sure want to make sure Connor Foy tells us seven new things about himself, as he's just turned 1 year old and I'm sure he has a host of secrets up his sleeve. If anyone else wants to play along please feel free!

Happy Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T18:23:00.001-07:00

At Natalie's daycare Halloween party.

She definitely didn't get the concept of a party - that I was there to *hang out* with her... from the second I walked through the door, she clung to me to make absolutely certain that I wasn't leaving! I couldn't put her down for a second! Finally once her dad arrived an hour and a half later, she finally understood that we weren't going to leave her there, and she started to enjoy herself a little bit.

Her toy of choice, a fake potato chip.

She did win second prize in the costume contest though - which was highly lucrative for mom and dad - 1/2 day free at daycare! Yah! As Tyler pointed out, this more than paid for her costume, so we feel vindicated that we spent money on it.

Videos edited and posted later.

Belated Weekend Pictures

2008-10-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

On Saturday 10/18, Natalie and I did a 5 mile walk for the American Cancer Society - Making Strides for Breast Cancer. We had an absoutely fabulous time! Here we are before the walk began.
And here we are along the walk route. This is actually quite close to our house (just two blocks north). Initially our plan was for me to walk the first half with Natalie, then have Tyler meet me to take her home at about this spot. But she and I were having too good of a time together to let the walk end, so we trudged on.
And eventually got to the finish! Here is Natalie getting ready to cross her very first finish line.
And afterwards. That whole crowd of supporters yelled and cheered for us, and we had to walk through a "people tunnel", and she wasn't altogether thrilled about that. Hence the disgruntled look on her face.
And here's Natalie on Sunday doing crafts at the dining room table with Mom. It was adorable! She was tugging at her booster seat as though to say "please, mom, let me up!" so I did, and we sat together at the table for at least ten minutes before she got bored and had to go walk around the house with Dad.
Natalie's new achievements for the week: "Hi!" and "Bye Bye!" And her walk has started to turn into a wobbly run. *sigh* We fear that a big spill is not far away.

Pumpkin Patch - Avoiding the Blue Angels (reprise)

2008-10-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Last year, we lived in a different (louder) neighborhood, and avoiding the Blue Angels was a full-time job during the second week of October. We went north to see our friends and had a great time with our then seven-week-old baby!

This year, we live off San Francisco's beaten path. Near the ocean the noise of the Blue Angels isn't nearly so loud - thank goodness for that - but we still went South anyway to avoid the crowds.

Here's Natalie at lunch, at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company - one of our favorite spots. Walking is such an all-consuming passion that she isn't the most, um, refined lunch guest but we made it through.

Afterwards we went to a fabulous pumpkin patch! She had such a grand time climbing over all the pumpkins and riding in the wagon. The only problem with the pumpkin patch was that it was so fun, she didn't want to leave :-)
They even had a tractor and a teepee!

Yesterday I took Natalie to Ocean Beach to play in the sand and sun. I could tell that she had a great time - while it was tough for her to walk in the sand without a helping hand, at least it didn't hurt when she took a tumble. Let's just say she ended up with sand in every possible nook and cranny - ears, eyelids, diaper... the works.

Today I had to take the day off from work because her daycare was closed. Tragic (not really)! We had breakfast with some friends from our Mom/Baby group. We're also considering a trip to the new California Academy of Sciences later! Fun!

Happy Birthday, Gramma Nance!

2008-10-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

I have been getting rid of a cold lately so the picture isn't my finest, but you get the point. :-)

Proof of Natalie's Political Leanings

2008-10-05T20:07:00.001-07:00

Here, Tyler captured proof that Natalie always chooses the Clinton books off of our shelf. Now, you may think that she is choosing the Clinton books because they are closest to the end of the row... but in fact, the reason they are closest is that we have to put *just those two* books back five times a day.

Note how she judiciously skips over The World Is Flat. Mom couldn't get through that one either, Natalie!

Cool Article!

2008-09-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

Here's an article about Aunt Pam's blog in today's Detroit Free Press!

The Dawn of a New Day

2008-09-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

Natalie started day care a week ago! She is now going to a small family day care a couple blocks from our house... we decided that she needed to be around more children, and it was time for something new.

Here is a pic of Natalie on her last day of share care with her wonderful former nanny, Rose... she really, really loves Rose. We miss her.

Trying to capture Natalie's former share care buddy Kai in the picture...but I was unsuccessful. Kai and Rose found a new family to take our place in the share arrangement, so they probably don't miss us as much as we miss them (ha! ha!) -
Last weekend, to get our minds off of the upcoming adjustment, we took Natalie to a place we hadn't seen in over two years - Cornerstone Place! The weather was about 20 degrees cooler than it was last time we were there, which means it was a balmy 90 degrees last Saturday. Ahh, refreshing.

(For our newer friends and blog readers, Tyler's parents held our lovely rehearsal dinner at Cornerstone Gardens two years ago - it was 110 degrees that day, and 115 the next as we said "I Do" in an OUTDOOR wedding at 4 p.m. - it's a miracle all of our friends and family members survived, particularly one of our attendants who was six weeks pregnant at the time)!

As you can see, Natalie had a grand time. They have definitely made some changes to the gardens and shops in the last two years, though some exhibits remained the same. And they still have a blue tree.
And here's Natalie on her first day of "school"! She had her bag full of treats to bring with her (diapers, change of clothes, sippy cup, diaper cream - all the essentials).

(p.s. lest you think we are some freewheeling, unsanitary household - Reese is not normally allowed on the counter - in the mayhem of Natalie's first morning at day care, she must have taken advantage of our laxness...)

I wish I could say that all went swimmingly this week. I will say this though - Natalie is a model daycare attendee! While she's there, she is generally happy - eats well - naps well. When she comes home, though, she's so tired that she fusses until time to go to bed. It will take her some time to snap into the new routine with all of her new friends and in the meantime, we will be patient. She has also already brought back her first souvenir... a head cold! Whee!!!!

And a lovely video of little miss wobbly-walker. She's doing wonderfully with her new skill, though since she is tall and skinny with a large noggin, she wobbles and falls a lot. But she improves every day and keeps trying, and we are quite proud!

Snapshots: Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

Natalie was treated to this gift by her mom and dad a few weeks ago - her very own sand castle kit! She has a propensity for trying to take other kids' buckets and shovels when we go to the park, so we figured she was ready to learn how NOT to fling sand around. She's a quick study.
She still likes the swing, though I think the slide may take first place in her park-loving heart. And more than either, she just likes to crawl around in the sand and watch all the other kids.
On Labor Day, the three of us went to Taylor's at the Ferry Building here in San Francisco for lunch. The Ferry Building is one of my absolute favorite places, so it is always a treat when we get to go. Natalie wore her birthday dress (which she so sadly didn't get to wear to her birthday party) and got to share some of my chicken sandwich. She loves food best when she's stealing mine! This picture I am posting because I find it so humorous and always want to remember it. We have tons of books on our bookshelves, and Natalie loves to pull a few down here and there to look at them - but the two she goes for time and time again, which she *can not resist*, are My Life (Bill Clinton's book) and Living History (Hillary's book). In this 2008 election year, our girl is making her current political preferences known! Who knows what her leanings will be when she grows up, but for right now, she absolutely loves those two books. We often move the location of the books around to see if she will still choose them, and... she does.
Other notables:
On Thursday 9/4, she had her one year doctor's appointment. Stats:

30 inches long (73%) - which we don't believe! Other babies SHORTER than Natalie are measured at 31 inches by their doctor's office, so hmmmmph.
21 lbs 8 oz (53%)
47 cm head size (92%)

We had a long spell of 80 degree+ days here in SF. I filled up an inflatable pool in the back yard for Natalie... she cooled off on Friday in the pool, but that night, we had some unexpected visitors. The little masked visitors tossed all of her rubber duckies to and fro (and halfway across the yard), cleaned all the dirt off themselves, and basically had the time of their lives in her pool! Ah well. At least someone got to cool off and enjoy a dip.

She learned how to stand up by herself on Friday, not even holding on to anything! She still can only take one or two steps without falling. We are so enormously proud of her.

She can say the following: cat, dog, mama, dada, sock, shoe, car, ball, and a whole host of other words she has made up.

She points to her toes, chooses the zebra out of her little Fisher Price Noah's Ark toy, and retrieves a ball when asked. This is a surprisingly late achievement - it seems that many babies do this type of stuff much earlier. The thing is, you have to catch her in the right mood!

All right, that's enough bragging for one night.

Swinging

2008-08-25T21:04:00.001-07:00

April 2008 May 2008
August 2008

(Yes, we have weird weather in San Francisco - sundress in April, winter coat and hat in May, and sweatshirt in August)

One Year Old - Two Birthday Parties... Both Cancelled...

2008-08-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

Here is our girl on her birthday. She was still recovering from the Great Fever of August 16th, but was doing much better! I took the day off from work, and Tyler worked from home, so we could be with her on her special day.

Natalie and I went to a birthday lunch at Park Chalet (a restaurant near our house) with Kearsley and Maya. Natalie's not all that into birthday cake (see former post) so we let her go wild with strawberries instead.
Here is the fabulous, well-behaved girl Maya. Eating daintily out of her bowl, as Natalie threw food all over the entire seating area of the restaurant (don't worry, we were outside on the patio, so it didn't matter).
We are huge fans of Maya and Kearsley!
They gave us this fabulous tractor for Natalie's birthday. I say "us" because Tyler and I love it almost as much as Natalie - it's not uncommon for us to play with the toy even more than she does.
The birthday girl herself.

Tickles from Dad!

We tried to reschedule Natalie's birthday party for August 23rd, after we had to cancel her first one on the 16th. Wouldn't you know it, on Wednesday night before the party she got sick again (a cold this time)... maybe they were related, maybe they weren't, who knows... all we know is that we had to cancel her NEXT birthday party as well, because we didn't want to subject any of our baby friends to the plague.

So, we had to console ourselves with a trip to the zoo! Natalie was doing much, much better by this weekend (if still sniffly).
She LOVES the backpack. Thinks it's the best. She and Tyler had a great time wandering around the entire zoo together! Other firsts: she took a few steps by herself (a very few)... she is so long and skinny that she needs a lot more practice to take more steps, but she's trying! She also went out to breakfast with Mama and Dada on Sunday and was really excited by eating breakfast out and about!

Hopefully she will take to daycare in two weeks as well as she's taken to all the other firsts which have come with being one year old...

Birthday Party: Or Lack Thereof

2008-08-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday was to be Natalie's one year birthday bash. We eschewed the advice of all who said "just let her have a quiet first birthday, with no hoopla - she is too young for the hoopla!" We planned a nice birthday party here at home with all her (and our) friends. Her grandma and grandpa even flew down from Seattle for the party!

And then, five hours before the party was to start - cake made, flowers purchased, balloons in hand, house cleaned, food ready to go - Natalie developed a biiiiiig fever.

So, while I was in mommy mode (lukewarm bath, tylenol, snuggles), Tyler made phone calls cancelling the party. *sigh*

Here is a picture from Friday night (pre-fever) opening presents from Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Grandma.

And below, Natalie's modified birthday party! After she went to bed, Tyler's cousins and our friends Cheryl and Adam came over to eat some of the food we had prepared. Here is Tyler cutting Natalie's birthday cake.
She was served some cake leftovers yesterday. Her appetite is not what one would hope (when is it ever?) but she had one bite and one lick of frosting. She didn't throw much on the floor which is actually a ringing endorsement!
Today is her actual birthday. I took the day off from work and Tyler is working from home so that we can enjoy her special day. Her little viral infection (or whatever it is) is improving!

Here We Go!

2008-08-12T21:29:00.001-07:00

Sorry we haven't posted in so long! We've been up to no good, no good at all. Just kidding, we've been doing *some* good.
Like a couple of weeks ago we babysat for Olen while his parents got to enjoy a date night!
King Olen, laying claim to all the toys and books in Natalie's room.
Here is our girl, who is very focused on learning how to walk. It's an all-consuming passion.

All that learning to walk gets a body tired, though... sometimes she just reaches into her crib for her paci and her doggy snuggle blanket, and practically asks to be put to bed. She's her mama's daughter, as Carroll family lore reports that I often put myself to bed as a child, even before my bedtime.

This picture, more than any other, is indicative of what's been going on around the house though. She is just learning so much about what she wants - and learning to ask for it! Like today for dinner, she refused to eat anything from a spoon. Ultimately I gave her the spoon with squash on it to see what she would do. The result? Squash flung to all four corners of the room, but a fair bit in her mouth as well. We've tried to give her the spoon before and she has refused to take it. Her dad said it's almost like she woke up this morning and thought "I want to learn how to use a spoon today." This week she's also learned to drink from a sippy cup with a straw (thanks, Connor, for giving us one of those)!

She's doing well with learning her words, but sometimes you have to trick it out of her! The other day, I was pointing to Kai's sock and asking him what it was. Finally Natalie turned away from the book she was reading and said "SOCK" and then went back to reading. Will she do that for her own sock, if I ask her? She will not. And today I asked Kai "where's the ball?" and she went and got the ball and brought it to me. But if I ask *her* to get the ball - will she? Again, the answer is, we are learning that she is a willful child who does exactly what she wants to do.

Anna let us borrow her walker... at first (Sunday) Natalie wasn't sure what to do with it, but the video below shows that she gets it now! She laughs uproariously while she's walking behind it!

This Saturday we're having a birthday party for our girl, two days ahead of the big day. I can't believe she's turning a year old. I can't begin to describe all that this year has brought to us.

Zoo-Bound

2008-07-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

First, a random shot of Natalie showing off her standing prowess
On Friday, July 25th, we went to the zoo! It was Natalie's first time... she really loved it!
We went with Sarah and Olen... it was a beautiful day in San Francisco.
Sarah and Olen admiring the giraffe!
Natalie really liked them - maybe because they were so big? She could very clearly see them!

We sure tired those babies out!

Chillin', high chair style.
On Saturday it was about 80 degrees and sunny in San Francisco. We took advantage of the weather to walk around Spreckels Lake, right in Golden Gate Park near our house.

Sunday July 27th was a day to be remembered. We attended the most fun one-year-old birthday party - for all the babies in our mom/baby group! Dads were invited too.

Natalie and I, Todd and Maya, Natasha and Gabriel, and Olen - all getting ready for photo ops! The babies enjoyed delicious cupcakes (made by Sarah) and the parents enjoyed the leftovers.

Eleven Months!

2008-07-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

Selecting the Day's Outfit
I like pink!
Last weekend, visiting our friends Cheryl, Adam, and Winston - we had such fun! Time at the park and then an early dinner.
Starting her culinary career early.
With dada at her friend Lilah's first birthday on Saturday. Longtime blog readers may remember that Lilah and her parents Brett and Renee live in Petaluma... Lilah wasn't so sure about the whole cake thing, but Natalie proved to be her mom's girl and LOVED it.

Our girl hit the eleven-month mark on Friday. We can't believe that next month she will be ONE YEAR OLD. It's incredible.

As a recap, during this eleventh month she has learned to identify the "tah" Reese and the "dah" (Grandma and Grandpa's dog Sierra), call for mama and dada, and pull herself up with more skill than before. She also likes to say the word "sock" - why she likes socks is anyone's guess? She's started to throw things, which is fun until she hits one of us in the face when we're not looking - or when she throws her sticky, messy food on the floor! She learned to wave and clap as well. She loves to go down slides with mama holding tight and even demands to play this game over and over again at home (where she slides down my leg to the floor).

We made it through lots of tummy sickness, her first night away from mama and dada, and the sprouting of four teeth.

All in all a pretty eventful month!

Scratch That

2008-07-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

Scratch that part in the last post about Natalie having *two* new teeth. Turns out she was getting four on top instead of two. Yay!

July 4th

2008-07-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back from a fun trip to Seattle for the fourth of July! Our real purpose for going was to attend the wedding of some close friends, but as a side benefit, Natalie got to spend excellent time with her grandparents.

Here's a picture of someone trying to get packed into our suitcases! Unfortunately, she was not allowed on the plane, but her cat-sitter took excellent care of her.

The night of the wedding, Natalie stayed overnight with her grandparents in Everett, while Tyler and I stayed in Seattle. It was definitely a milestone for us to spend the night away from our girl! She loved the time with her grandparents, and I don't think any of them would have minded if we hadn't returned for several days. Below is a picture of Tyler and I from the wedding. We stayed out until the wee hours, celebrating our friends' nuptials as well as our "freedom" from early-morning baby duty. Unfortunately, I was unable to sleep past 7:15 a.m. and forced Tyler to wake up as well to get back to our girl.

And here is our SOOOO big girl! In the background you can see Uncle Jay (top left corner), and behind Natalie is Great-Grandma Freda.

This trip was the trip of many new things for our girl. She has two new top teeth (and the accompanying parental sleep-deprivation to go along with them). She really liked Tyler's parents "dah" Sierra (a wonderful and well-behaved yellow lab), and ultimately learned to point out other "dahs" when we were out and about. She also called for "mama" and "dada" a lot in the early mornings when she wanted some food. She's finally doing better from her tummy bug and is really packing in the food! It's fun to eat out with her, because increasingly she's able to share food off of our plates. Food = entertainment for our girl!

She also decided to start waving yesterday. Once we returned home today, we were able to catch it on video to share. It's really cute!

Last week she also started clapping, and I will be sure to catch that on video soon!

Of Stomach Flu and Smoky Sunsets

2008-06-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

This week has been the week of Natalie's first true flu bug - and we're not talking the common cold. We started off on Monday with a tiny bit of sickness and thought it was a fluke, but it escalated yesterday into full-blown stomach flu. We will kindly spare you the details.

It was awful to see our little one in such dire straits! She had two full days of TLC with mommy (involving spoon-feeding pedialyte for several hours yesterday - let's just say she was not thrilled to spend so long in her high chair, and mommy's workplace was probably not pleased with her last-minute absence), two mornings & nights of daddy providing good humor and helping hands, and one doctor visit today in which Natalie was pronounced both "on the mend" and "well-nourished". So that's good news, especially considering that she is already 1 oz under her last documented weight from a few weeks ago. We hope her stomach calms down and her appetite revs up soon.

On a different note, it's been an interesting week here in San Francisco in other ways as well. We live in such a damp, foggy area, and earthquakes are so often on our minds (hello, tsunami evacuation route right outside our door) that I forget that fire is one of the biggest dangers here in California. This week has seen fires all around us, even as close as Brisbane, eight miles away. Each morning the air has smelled of smoke, and the sunsets and sunrises have been a deep red because of all the gunk in the air. It's been a really interesting, if frightening, reminder of the dry years we've had lately. Luckily I don't think we're in much danger of a fire here near the ocean. It's more likely that our house will rust away than burn away. But we feel for all of the people around us who have had to evacuate!

Long Lost!

2008-06-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

Finally a picture of Natalie's first time in the pool (as our camera was delivered to us this week by Mr. Hertz - THANK YOU, Mr. Hertz!) - note the utter displeasure on her face. She hated her first time in the water. Since then, Natalie and I went to Sacramento [last weekend, June 13-14] and spent more time in the pool with Jack Damrell - and that time was a bigger hit.
This picture was from June 2 in Michigan.
With Kai, back in SF... note that he is single-minded in his quest to grab Reese's tail!

Here is a little video of Natalie's latest crawling style. She likes to keep one foot out for balance - quite a speedy method! She has also graduated to pulling up on furniture and cruising a fair bit.

Her latest trick is a little unbelievable to me, but probably not very exciting to others. Some background: she has always been captivated by the world, and peoples' movements in it - she likes to be held facing outward to the world around her (as opposed to facing inward looking at whoever is holding her). Starting at about 2-3 weeks old, she was so focused on the world that she pretty much stopped napping for a while there! Whenever we hug or kiss her, she pushes away because *what is making that noise*! Or *who is moving there, out of the corner of my eye?* She is constantly looking for the next new thing to investigate.

So now you can see why it's amazing to me that her latest trick is simply crawling into my lap!

She has a whole house in which to crawl, and plenty of toys to look at... but this week instead of investigating the whole wide world she has been choosing to find mommy, and to climb over my legs and into my lap so she can snuggle against me while we play.

It's one of the most beautiful moments of parenting so far. A whole world out there for her, but at this moment in time she kind of just wants to lean back against mommy (or daddy for that matter, but it's mommy who's writing) so we can look out at the world together.

More highlights:

She loves reading books (generally upside-down)...
She laughs really hard at videos of herself when we play them on the computer!
Natalie has graduated into her big-girl car seat and hated it for a few weeks but is fine with it now (yes, we got the cow print).
She loves Winnie the Pooh (?) - we have a Pooh book which we read before bed, and she laughs every time she sees him!
Last night she stayed with her first (non-family) babysitter ever. My friend Kathy was kind enough to come over to watch her while Tyler and I went to a wedding.

Things are pretty wonderful here!

Updates

2008-06-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a little picture from Olen's first birthday party, sent to us by Sarah. Natalie wore her party outfit and was admired by all.

Today we had our nine month checkup for Natalie (a little late, as you can tell). We were pleased because she got *no shots* at this appointment! Yay! Here is an update on her percentiles:

52% for weight (19 lbs 7 oz)

85% for height (29 inches)

96% for head circumference! Oh my gosh, that girl has a noggin!

Also, we are super happy to report that our camera WAS in fact misplaced - BY US!!! The car rental company located it, safe and sound, in our Mazda 6 from our trip to Michigan. I have mixed feelings because I had already ordered a new, fancier one from amazon.com, but oh well. That money will be put to good use on something else fun - like college tuition for Natalie 18 years from now.

Missing: Camera!

2008-06-08T21:57:00.001-07:00

We very much apologize for the lack of posts lately. Sadly, when we went to Michigan last week, we misplaced or camera - or, possibly, someone so kindly "misplaced it for us", if you know what I mean. I just hope whoever has the camera will put it to good use and will enjoy the glorious pictures on there. It's probably on ebay though (sigh).

Here's the rundown:

Saturday May 31st: Natalie takes her fifth flight and is an angel. We get to see the Carroll grandparents, as well as Aunt Amy and Matthew, in Michigan.
Sunday June 1st: We see Aunt Pam, Uncle Bill, and the cousins! Aunt Pam does very well.
Monday June 2nd: Natalie's first time in the swimming pool with Daddy and cousin Nathan, while cousins Emma and Katie have swim practice. Tears ensue. It was not a hit. But, we got some cute pictures of her in her swimsuit! Sadly, then the camera disappeared. Oh well. Red Wings lose.
Tuesday June 3rd: Aunt Pam continues to do well. We pack up a huge box of clothes and toys for which Emma, Katie, and Nathan are too old to ship to California. There are tons of benefits to having older cousins! One key benefit is that I get to reap the benefits of all the cute Baby Gap clothes I bought for Emma and Katie over the years - now Natalie gets to wear them.
Wednesday June 4th: We fly home to California. Natalie is not pleased. Reese the cat is super-happy to see us. Red Wings Win!

And that was our trip to Michigan!

This weekend we went to Olen's first birthday party. I simply can't believe that the babies from my mom's group are now turning one. We still have two and a half more months to go (Natalie is by far the youngest), but believe me, I am already storing up good ideas for Natalie's 1st.

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-27T20:38:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture of Natalie and the dog from last week.
What's that you say? Reese is a *cat*, not a dog? Well, you could've fooled her. She eats the little bits of chicken that Natalie throws on the floor. It's so handy having someone to clean up around here!
Someone decided that she didn't feel like eating any more spinach & potatoes.
We don't often allow Natalie in the dining room, since she is very clear on the main attraction - Reese's food bowl! As soon as she sees that she can get in the dining room, she heads over to the food bowl like a baby on a mission. Sometimes I can sidetrack her by letting her pull the books off the shelf, but sooner or later she always, always, always heads to Reese's bowl. And yes, Reese defends her food like a dog. As soon as she sees Natalie heading that way, she bolts over to the food bowl to make sure that nobody is eating her food.

We had a ton of fun over the long weekend. On Saturday we saw the Youngs family and met Oceanne Sarrazin (le petit croissant) for the first time! What a little peanut! She's a normal size baby - maybe just a little under 8 lbs - but she seemed tres petite to me. I think my sense of baby sizes is totally off since Natalie arrived at 8 lbs 14 oz.

Then on Sunday we drove to Sacramento to see the Damrells. We had such a good time enjoying the day at their country club. We also got to watch Jack and Natalie play together, and Lauri and I even made time for a quick baby shopping trip! It very much reminded us of last year and one of the first times the babies "met" each other - when they were still just twinkles in our eyes and bumps in our tummies.

You can see how the babies played together. Jack is intrigued by the toys in front of him, so he stays put. Natalie is always on the go looking for trouble, so she heads for the worst possible thing in the room - in this case, the video camera and tripod.
Finally we convinced Natalie to stay still for the camera. She was getting a little fresh with Jack, don't you think?
She loves his new phone.
Yesterday we had a nice walk with our friend JT. Then Natalie got some reading done.
Finally, after a long weekend, it was time for snuggles with my puppy (errr, I mean, kitty)!

Nine Months

2008-05-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Natalie wine-tasting in Napa Valley last weekend. Her palate is extraordinary! She only selects the finest grass to eat.

Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Geoff were here to visit, so we took the opportunity to escape San Francisco in search of warmth. We had such a nice time while they were here last weekend.
And this weekend, Natalie turned nine months old!

Here she is with her friend Connor yesterday (5/17). Isn't he a handsome boy? He's as big as her - but *three months younger*. We think he's awesome. We had the Foys over for a barbecue yesterday.

Natalie still only has two teeth (bottom two) though the top two are close to popping through. She is eating all sorts of food. She likes chicken, O's, mango, kiwi, pears, veggie chips from Trader Joe's, and carrots. She tolerates sweet potato, avocado, egg yolk, watermelon, tofu, and peas- and all sorts of other foods. She has had a little bit of wheat bread and yogurt now and then. In fact, last night for dinner I had a ground chicken burger and salad - and she was able to eat off my plate because she'd tried everything on it before! That was a first for us.

And here is Natalie today (5/18) on her nine-month birthday. You might think that she's truly crawling based on the fact that she's on her hands and knees in the below picture - but you'd be wrong. She pops up onto her hands and knees, then flops onto her tummy and army-crawls all over the house. She makes it from one side of the house to another in a few seconds flat! (Granted our house isn't very big.) She weighs almost 19 lbs and is somewhere around 29" tall. Natalie is also practicing standing! Rose (her fabulous nanny) found her standing in the crib the other day, in fact. As a result, Daddy had to lower her crib again this weekend.
After a serious heat wave last week (95 degrees at our house near the ocean in San Francisco), it has turned seasonably cool. We enjoyed the weather this weekend nonetheless by taking a long walk, doing some gardening, and going to the park. You can tell that she's been building her strength over the last few weeks - all of a sudden she holds herself in the swing differently from before! Doesn't she look bigger? She likes us to push her faster and higher, and laughs and laughs. It's really fun.
Here she is kneeling. This is the new trick she rolled out for her nine-month birthday. Now we just chase her around the house checking what she picks up off the floor, and making sure isn't going to pull things over onto herself.

We are so proud of Natalie, and more in love with her than ever before. It's really fun to see her developing her own likes and dislikes! She stops anything she's doing to watch Reese-the-cat walk by, and one of her favorite pastimes is watching Reese chase toys! We've reached the stage where Natalie thinks Reese's toys are hers, and Reese also thinks Natalie's toys are just excellent. Luckily Reese is an indoor cat so we don't have to worry *too* much about germs (but we do anyway).

All in all, our little family of four is quite happy!

Guest Appearance

2008-05-06T14:28:00.001-07:00

Very, very cute pictures posted on the Dempsey's blog from our Saturday picnic to the Legion of Honor.

I am crazy about the picture of Natalie! That's Natalie's "SO BIG!" pose, with added grass in the hands for effect. She likes to use props when she plays the So Big game.

Let the babbling begin!

2008-05-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

After a very long week for all of us, we had a nice and mellow weekend at home as a family. Natalie has begun stringing a few consonants together so "AAAAA" is now "BABABABABA", "MAMAMAMAMA" and "GAGAGAGAGA". The babbling is usually at its finest at mealtimes but she was caught in the act Saturday afternoon. Our girl sure is growing up fast!

PS from Julie: The very, very beautiful Oceanne Marie Sarrazin (le petit croissant herself) was born this morning! Check out this link from Sarah for some pictures of the gorgeous girl. We can't wait to meet her.

Natalie's Second Trip to Michigan

2008-04-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a trip to Michigan - hence the lack of blog posts! Here are some pictures from our jaunt.

Mohawk baby, getting her hair washed the night before we left so she could impress the family with her cuteness.

Natalie with her cousin (and my godchild) Nathan! Isn't he handsome?

We went to Katie's soccer game while in Michigan. Natalie loved watching all the kids run around.

Katie climbing trees.

Natalie at Bubba/Gramma Nance's house, sitting in her new fancy Michigan high chair! While we were there, she tried some new foods - tofu and wheat (bread). Both successes. She likes tofu because she can eat it herself as finger food.

In the backyard at Aunt Pam's house.
Then on Wednesday we drove to Evanston IL to visit Aunt Amy, Uncle Chris, and Matthew! It was the first time we'd seen Matthew, though he's eight weeks old. What a charmer. They don't make babies any sweeter than him. Once I picked him up, I had such a hard time putting him down again! He is the calmest, most delightful little guy.

Natalie has a hard time leaving other babies alone :-). She tried to grab Matthew - possibly searching for his paci? She loves to steal everyone else's paci, even when she has her own available.

Then we returned to Michigan. Here is a picture of Kates and Natalie. As you can guess by our attire, the weather was purely delightful while we were there - we had lots of nice outside time.
Emma amusing her cousin.
Aunt Pam holding her niece!

The trip was full of wonderful family time. Unfortunately, it also coincided with chemo for Aunt Pam. We're glad that we were able to help out and have planned other trips back for this summer, so Natalie gets to enjoy lots of cross-country flights.

In other Natalie News:

Natalie is very vocal like her mother. She particularly loves to say 'MAMAMAMAMAMAMA', which I find very flattering! She also uses almost all other consonants in random order. We love to hear it.

She still isn't crawling per se, just scooting around on her stomach - though she has started the phase where she gets up onto her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. Believe me... Tyler and I aren't too eager for full-fledged crawling. At the same time, we accept that it isn't that far away! It's nice and exciting to see her moving around while she's still relatively slow. I wish we could continue to be a few steps ahead of her, but alas... I fear those days are rapidly drawing to a close.

Happy Tax Day!

2008-04-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

It's common knowledge that April 15th is a holiday in this household. The end of tax season! Yay!

To celebrate, Tyler went to his firm's annual April 15th party and relaxed with the rest of the accountants from his company. Natalie and I scooted around the house, trying to eat the door stops, playing with the foot pedal from her Diaper Dekor, and trying out mango as a finger food (it was a hit). Here's a quick video I took. You can see how fast she's getting at scooting! Disclaimer - I took it with our regular camera, not the video camera, so the quality isn't great. And then, of course, Natalie decided that she wanted to grab the camera, so the video abruptly ended. As her mother I think it's pretty darn cute though.

Tonight she also decided that she wanted to explore the consonant. She has been trying a few out for size lately - we'd hear maybe one "na" or "fa" a day, almost like it was a mistake she made. Tonight, though, she kept saying "ma! ma! ma! ma! ma! mama!" I know that she was just playing around with the sound, and she didn't know what she was saying, but it felt amazing to me.

Picnic at the Park (a.k.a. Sunny and 75 degrees in San Francisco)

2008-04-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Today we had a picnic at Golden Gate Park with our friends from the Mom's Group.

Our girl swinging!
One thing she really enjoyed about this weekend was the warm weather. She got to enjoy lots of diaper-free time, and lots of barefoot time. She loves to feel the breeze on her toes! She wiggles them all around.
Natalie (back to the camera) seated next to Maya. Sarah and Olen are visible in the top left corner and you can just barely see Kathy and Sadie in the top right corner. We had such fun!
Mom and baby enjoying the sunshine

A few shots from late March/ early April

2008-04-13T19:41:00.001-07:00

At the end of March, Sarah and Anna came over for a trip to the swings at the park. Both girls needed to eat lunch before setting out... good thing Kai's high chair lives right next to Natalie's high chair in our kitchen! Yet another advantage of sharing child care during the day with a wonderful family like Maureen and Kai.
The girls playing
Uh, Anna? I think there's a little something on your nose.
Here's a picture of Natalie hamming it up for the camera. She is really into scooting around on her tummy these days. Can you imagine that there was once a time when this girl would *scream* if she was made to do tummy time? Feels like that was all a dream.
Natalie's new hat. We like the ear flaps! She likes the strings. It's a win-win situation.