Natalie's First Flight!!!

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

Emma, Katie, Natalie
Nathan

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

Some highlights:

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

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

5 months and rolling

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

Twenty-One weeks, Back to Work

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

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

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

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

2007 Gift

Here's a picture of Natalie a year ago.

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

Happy New Year, Everyone!

A Christmas Tale

"Where are those humans? I want to open my presents!!!"

Oh. They are feeding the littlest human. I guess I will try to be patient.

She's done! Time to open stockings.
Playing with the Gymini, a gift from Aunt Pam and co.

After opening Santa's gifts, we went to Pillar Point to go surfing. The waves were killer!

Ok, we have no idea what killer waves look like, but we did see lots of surfers while we were hiking. :-)

Then we had a Christmas picnic.
It was a fun day!
Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Geoff drove down from Seattle and arrived at about 6 p.m. on Christmas Day, in time for beef tenderloin and twice-baked potatoes.

Grandma Kathy feeding Natalie the day after Christmas

Nautical Baby, wearing a bodysuit which she received for Christmas. If you go to Gap/Banana Republic, you'll see that nautical is very in for spring - true story. Little Miss Natalie is right on trend.

In Healdsburg with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Geoff.

Grandfather John (a.k.a. Bubba) and Gramma Nance arrived 12/27. Here is Natalie enjoying lap time with Bubba!

And lap time with Gramma Nance.

Worn out after all the fun with the Carroll and Gibbs grandparents...

We're Rollin' (sometimes)!

Natalie has rolled over from her tummy to her back several times, though not in the last few days... she seems to have forgotten the skill quickly... but we have a (very dark) video to prove that she did do it!

Then, yesterday morning she was playing on the floor in her room... we walked out for thirty seconds, and when we walked back in, she'd rolled over onto her tummy! Since she hates "tummy time", Tyler and I share the feeling that this achievement won't be repeated anytime soon.

She is also mildly obsessed with blowing raspberries right now. It's highly entertaining, as you can see. Ignore the spit flying wildly from her mouth; as she's only four months old, she hasn't learned her manners yet.

Holiday Parties

Today Natalie and I went to a little holiday get-together with our mom and baby friends. We had such a great time! All the babies dressed up in their holiday best.

Mom ate lots of chocolate, and Natalie enjoyed playing with the Gymini.

And here's the moment you've been waiting for! Baby Lineup!
Olen, Sadie, Sophie, Charlotte, Maya, Natalie and Henry.