The Schoonover Family

Long time, no post

2011-02-15T21:28:00.003-06:00

Yes, I know I was pretty much non-existent in blogger land for 2010. I am hoping (yeah right) that a new baby will inspire me to post more soon. Oh, that's right....I never did mention being pregnant on this blog until now. LOL. I am 33 weeks pregnant with a baby boy due April 5th. The only "real" reasons I am even blogging right now is b/c I felt it was appropriate to document the "poop" follow-up (previous posts)....since it was a full 6 months that it took for Natalie to decide she would actually poop on the potty again. I kinda believe that all the changes in her life with starting pre-school might have affected her "progress" with it. Ok, I digress. The other reason I'm blogging is to procrastinate doing the ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND things that still need to be done to get ready for this baby! OMG!

"Going Potty" Follow-Up

2011-02-09T20:56:00.003-06:00

Well, it just kinda happened! After months and months of trying anything you can image including encouragement, brides, rewards/prizes, etc....Natalie just decided to do it on her own one day and there has been no turning back. "It" being going poop on the potty instead of her asking for a diaper to do it. "It" actually started duirng her second major illness of her life- RSV and double ear infections. She was so sick that she stayed home from preschool all week. Ryan was here with her and after lunch she went into the bathroom and pooped on her training potty. Just like that, no big production at all, completely 100% her own idea. She has continued to do it everyday since. Now a week has passed and we've encouraged her to go on the "big" potty and she is doing very well with that too! We were so surprised that this just came after months and months of her flat out refusing to even try and getting so mad and upset whenever we pushed the issue. We're very pround of her!

A Big "First"

2010-08-10T20:54:00.002-05:00

Natalie had a big "milestone" today (for some reason, I think it is funny to use the word "milestone" now that she is no longer really a baby. I never think of toddlers reaching milestones, although they do).
Natalie has been using the potty for quite a few months now and wears panties most of the time that she is awake. Just in the past couple of weeks, she has started to go to the potty completely by herself. She may be playing in her kitchen and wander off and the next thing you know she is flushing the toilet. She runs back to the bathroom and pulls down her panties and takes care of business when it comes to "tee-tee".
But "poo-poo" on the potty is a completely different story. I would say she has gone "poo-poo" on the potty less than ten times in the past six months. We had a period of weeks when we really pushed the issue and it seemed to back fire. She became constipated and would hold her poop until she was in a diaper (a swim diaper or at nap or bedtime) and even had a few accidents in her panties. She would scream and cry and fight us whenever we tried coaxing her to poop on the potty (when it was very obvious that she did need to go!). We tried all sorts of rewards and prizes but that didn't seem to faze her. I recently taught her to ask for a diaper when she knew she needed to poop and that has been working well for us.
So, imagine the surprise when she went poo-poo on the potty ALL BY HERSELF today. I was at work and Ryan was home with Natalie. She was watching a cartoon and Ryan noticed that she took her panties off and was holding herself (what all kids do when they need to go, lol) so he asked her and she said "no" due to her fascination with the TV. He told her he would pause the cartoon and she went running off towards the bathroom. Ryan followed her but when she got there she said, "No Dada, I shut door" and closed him out. He decided to give her some space and the next thing he knew she was hollering at him that she went poo-poo.
I know this may not be nearly as exciting for anyone as it is for us today but we're very thrilled and proud of her (especially considering how adamantly she refused to even attmept this as recently as last week). Our little girl is growing up so fast and right before our eyes!

Natural Beauty

2010-07-31T20:51:00.005-05:00

I never write a blog post with my own personal opinions mainly b/c this is a "family" blog with the purpose being to give a glimpse into our world (which mostly involves raising Natalie, of course). We have some family and friends far away who don't get to see Natalie very often (if ever) so this is a way to keep them connected. (I believe I've probably mentioned this once before on here.)

But, today, for whatever bizarre reasons, I feel compelled to write an "editorial" if you will. Please don't judge my grammar or punctuation, it is horrible, I know. Maybe I'm inspired by those people who do use their blogs to express thoughts and feelings and by sharing those things, it helps others to learn & grow. Who knows....but here goes.

I really struggle with how I will teach Natalie to value natural beauty (both in herself and others and also in the world). As I was uploading pictures from our recent trip to Mexico, I found myself SOOO tempted to edit all the photos (and I don't just mean cropping out the random strangers in the background). I mean, I wanted to adjust the tint, color saturation, etc. until the photos looked perfect! I wanted the water to be just oh-so blue and then it hit me! Why? Why do I want to change it? I should value the beauty of that water and that sky and that scenery just the way it is (and the way the image was burned in my mind). Sure, it was fairly overcast and cloudy most of the days we were there, but so what? The water and coast and tropical vegetation is beautiful with or without clouds! I want the photos to represent my memories of our trip and if I edit them then it just becomes some illusion.

I feel this same "illusion" is taken to an extreme these days in our culture. Everywhere I turn, the photos I see are edited. From magazines to family blogs and everything in between. Why can't we all be happy with natural beauty? Why can't we accept things for how they are....why do we so desperately want to create a false sense of "beauty" in our society? What does this mean? What does this say about us?Our future? The hardest part for me is the pressures women have on them to be an illusion of beauty....from make-up, to dyed hair, to breast enhancements, botox, lipo, tummy tucks, and perfect skin...the list goes on & on. When is it enough?

I hope and pray that we can find a way to teach Natalie to appreciate natural beauty in all its forms and that she can also realize that most of what is revered in today's culture is truly just an illusion.

p.s.- Unedited pics of the Mexico trip coming soon! :)

Our Little Fish and Swimming Lessons

2010-06-27T21:32:00.001-05:00

Natalie absolutely loves the water and seems to be a natural born fish. Of course, Ryan worked with her a good bit last summer at the pool so that may have something to do with it. I can still remember when she first squealed with glee about being dunked under the water. Naturally, we decided to enroll her in her first official swim class this summer. Natalie wants TOTAL independence in the water, this is not an exaggeration. She squirms when you hold her and tries her hardest to kick and move and swim on her own. One of the other Moms that we met in swim lessons told me on the last day that she had nicknamed Natalie "the jellyfish". I am totally serious!

Natalie has been in the "Tiny Tots" swimming class for the past two weeks at Auburn University. I have been taking her some and so has Ryan. It is a parent & toddler type class so we're in the water with her. The skills she learned are "airplane arms" (arms straight out to the sides) and "torpedo arms" (arms out in front with hands clasped together) and floating on her back with assistance. The other skills (that she could already do) are blowing bubbles and kicking. These are the two things she is VERY good at! During the last few classes, her teacher Megan encouraged her to put her head under the water on her own. On the last day, Natalie suddenly started doing it with a little coaxing from me! She would hold onto the edge of the pool and then lower her head under the water and blow bubbles at the same time. I was SO impressed and proud!

Sadly, I have no pictures from our swim lessons since I was always in the water with her but I have something better! Here is video of Natalie's newest skill! She put her head under the water and blew bubbles at least 20 times or more today while at the pool.

Meet the "friends"

2010-06-22T21:16:00.002-05:00

Meet Natalie's newest friends....Thomas (Mickey), Percy (Minnie), Gordon (green M&M), and James (Abby Cadabby).

Natalie has recently become very interested in Thomas the Tank Engine & his Friends. It is a tv series as well as books and movies that features many different trains. I knew very little about it until Natalie became so interested in Thomas (which started out with playing with the trains at Books-a-Million). It is actually a very old series of books written from the 1940s to the 1970s that was then made into a tv program in Great Britian that first aired over 25 years ago. (That is your daily dose of Thomas trivia.)

Natalie's fascination with the trains has now extended into her imaginative play (which continues to amaze us) and she has renamed all of her stuffed toys and dolls to be characters from the Thomas series. We are not allowed to call the toys & dolls by their "real" names. These are her new best buds and she becomes very creative with cooking for them and taking them to the train station and all sorts of things!

Reading with her friends.

"How Bout A Diffent One"

2010-06-13T22:39:00.006-05:00

(*Second ever attempt at pig tails*)

For at least the past month or longer, Natalie has been requesting very specific songs at nap time and bed time. Apparently she has tired of the classic lullaby tunes we usually sing for her and now she tells us what she wants us to sing...."the mickey song", "the daddy song", "the skippyjon jones song", etc, etc.
Seriously, if there is any imaginable topic then Natalie wants us to make up a song about it and sing it to her. It is really quite cute but can be difficult at times to make up a song on the spot about a character from a book. Usually as I start to sing "Rock a bye baby" she lays her head on my shoulder and then pops back up saying "How 'bout a diffent one?" in the sweetest voice and then she makes her request.

Some other cute things that I want to remember from this time:

She has recently (this week 6/14) taken to pretending that some of her stuffed toys (mickey, minnie, and a green M&M) are actually characters from Thomas the train. She calls them by name (thomas, gordon, percy, james) and pretends that they are doing things with her like helping to clean or build block towers and then feeds them and puts them down for nap or in timeout. I wrote another post about it with a picture here.

She calls both the Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie, "Bernie" (which is also what Ryan said as a child).

She says "No" and "I can't" all the time and is constantly trying to assert her independence and test limits like a typical two year old. She tells us "I don't want eat my bekfest" and "I can't poopoo on potty".

She pretends that Goldilocks and Figaro and other characters are in our lives...."Goldilocks is in my playhouse! Oh no! Goldilocks is eating my porridge!".....and...."Figaro came in my house. Bad kitty. I spank figaro."

"Is everything alright?"

2010-05-25T21:01:00.004-05:00

I just have to share this cute story and write it down here so that I can have it as a memory in future years. Ryan's parents, Bebe and Papa as Natalie calls them, were babysitting her this afternoon. Natalie was busily preparing food for them in her play kitchen area and bringing them over cups of coffee and tea, plates with pizza, and utensils and such. After awhile of "preparing" food and "serving" them, she held a play food tray in her hands and stood back, looking at them both, and announced very loudly and dramatically, "Is everything alright?".........oh my, too cute! I can just see and hear my little girl doing exactly that...she seems to have a slight flair for theatrics. LOL. :) Bebe and Papa said they were so amazed and shocked all at the same time. They also thought it was so cute it was funny if you know what I mean. They laughed really hard and then Papa decided Natalie was such a good waitress for checking on her customers that he gave her a dollar bill for a tip. Natalie proudly showed me her "tip" as she calls it when I got home. I don't think she even knows it is money (as she mostly thinks that coins are money) or a dollar bill, she just thinks it is a "tip"...haha. Where does she get this stuff from though? She is taking IT ALL in and hears any waitress/waiter at a restuarant ask us that and she also has seen a few Sesame Street segments that involve Grover working as a waiter.

p.s.- she can open the fridge on her own now, I thought she could awhile back but it was a fluke, now she for sure can open it and will do so if she is wanting something from out of there. Oh no!

(This pic is from one month ago)

It only takes a second....

2010-04-27T21:38:00.001-05:00

to lose a toenail! Our sweet Natalie had a small accident that didn't seem too bad but resulted in bleeding that lasted for over two hours and eventually (less than a day later) the loss of a toenail! **don't look if you're bothered by blood**

Up, Up, and Away

2010-04-19T23:39:00.003-05:00

Feeding the Ducks

2010-04-17T23:43:00.000-05:00

We went out to the local duck pond today and the weather was so nice! The sun was shining but it wasn't too hot in the day yet. Natalie was able to throw some bread for the ducks since they came up onto the bank today. She had a great time chasing them about and feeding them! :) There were SOOOO many fish (bream and bass) and turtles swimming about and eating the food we brought too. A great day! :)

Drafts

2010-04-12T22:06:00.002-05:00

Guess how many "drafts" of unfinished blogs I have? TWENTY EIGHT! That is right, I have started but not finished twenty-eight blogs and the oldest of those dates back to this time last year! Procrastination at its finest, folks. How can I teach Natalie to NOT be like me in that regard???

These little piggies

2010-04-10T21:57:00.002-05:00

.....got some "paaaa-wish" and someone was very excited and proud about that! Natalie (and Mommy) has recently learned of the wonderful world of Skype and she was so thrilled to show off her "paaaa-wish" to Amanda on the "puter" (sounds like "pewter") while video chatting!

Slowly & Surely

2010-03-29T00:01:00.005-05:00

Natalie's hair is growing.....slowly AND surely! I think her body has been so busy growing taller that all of her cells' energy has gone to that and none was left to grow her hair too. She is just shy of 3 ft. tall these days which puts her in the 90th percentile for height! I wonder when her hair will catch up? Slowly AND surely it will!

p.s.- I hope to get a 2 yr. old update posted on here one of these days. :)

Ready for the Water

2010-03-27T15:25:00.002-05:00

Natalie got the CUTEST bathing suit and a pretty sun hat from Mimi for her birthday! She enjoyed it so much when she tried it on that she insisted on wearing it around the house for quite awhile! :)

Reach the Kite?

2010-03-26T21:02:00.007-05:00

Ryan shared this story with me when I got home from work today. It just amazes me how much Natalie's vocabulary and language skills have exploded since Christmas!

While outside playing today, Natalie and Daddy were in the yard when suddenly Natalie stopped and said, "Oooo, look, I see kite" and then began running towards a kite in the sky. She was on her tip-toes reaching her hands up in the air and began grunting out of frustration and said "Uh oh, too high". Daddy said back to her, "I know, I can't reach it" and she paused and then said, "I can't reach it either" and then ran over to Daddy and said "pick up" because she wanted to get higher up and closer to the kite. She reached her arms up in the air towards it again.
Then she said "Momma reach it?" and Daddy had to tell her "No, Momma can't reach it either, it's too high."

Natalie turns TWO!

2010-03-09T22:35:00.002-06:00

Where, oh where does the time go? I have a feeling that I'll be saying that for many years to come.....our sweet "baby" girl turned TWO years old today (at 10:06pm)! She had a wonderful fun day and got to spend time exploring her new playhouse. She wanted to bring every single toy from inside out to her playhouse but we quickly had to limit that. LOL. We went out to eat pizza (Natalie's favorite food) with Mimi, Bebe, & Papa and then came back home to open presents and have homemade birthday cake (thanks to Ryan, he is such a great Dad!). She enjoyed her new sun hat from Mimi, her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse figures from Bebe & Papa, and her dress up shoes and tea set from Pepaw and Memaw. But, what she really enjoyed the most was the cake! Life is so innocent and simple for toddlers and during the few weeks before her birthday, when we asked her what she wanted, she would say "cake".... so tonight she seemed to savor every bite of it. :)

Super Cape

2010-02-04T21:29:00.003-06:00

We have a new game at our house and it involves a "super cape". A few days ago I decided to get one of Natalie's old hooded baby towels and put it on her head and tell her it was a cape. She then insisted I wear a cape too and then I made a game of it. Before long I was calling them "super capes" and singing a little "da-dun-da-dun" type of song to go along with our game. Now Natalie asks for the super capes each evening after bath time and we run around the house and have a fun adventure. Tonight, she said, "Daddy get super cape too, in bathroom" (YES! that whole sentence!) so Ryan had to comply and quickly went to the bathroom to get a hooded towel (aka..."super cape") too. Who can turn down such a sweet request from such a cutie pie???

Just another day....

2010-01-26T22:40:00.000-06:00

full of fun times at our house. We just play, play, play all day long! Natalie's new favorite thing to do is to say "get on Mama back" which means she wants to climb up on to my back and hold on around my neck. Then we run around the house as long as I can last! LOL. Doesn't it just look fun to you?

Got Bubbles?

2010-01-18T21:37:00.000-06:00

Just a few cute pics of Natalie enjoying a bubble bath in the "big" bath tub in our room. She is pure joy!!!

Bad hair day

2010-01-10T22:44:00.000-06:00

Everybody has a bad hair day every once in awhile.....even a 22 month old toddler without much hair. :)

Natalie woke up from her nap today with this alfafa hair'do. As you can see, some of her hair was sticking STRAIGHT up and no amount of brushing was changing that.

And here is a classic "ryan" face.....she was not too thrilled that I was taking her pic when she didn't want it taken!

Artic Blast

2010-01-10T21:12:00.003-06:00

The news and weatherpeople have been calling it the Artic Blast. Whatever it is called, it is C-O-L-D!!!! Ryan said this is the coldest it has ever been since he has lived in Ala (he moved here 13 years ago) and I agree! Brrr....record lows! Temps in the teens at night and barely about freezing during the day. Poor Natalie has been couped up in the house for days. She absolutely loves the outdoors; playing, running, exploring, you name it! So, we've resorted to indoor play and the house is a wreck! Oh well, not much we can do for now.

Ho Ho Ho

2009-12-17T00:52:00.004-06:00

Santa Claus is coming to town! We took Natalie to visit Santa today and sit on his lap. We were SO impressed and pleased with how well she did. We honestly thought she wasn't going to go for it at all. We've really been talking it (Santa, Christmas, etc) up the last few weeks so maybe that helped. I think so. She also has quite a few Christmas books with Santa in them that we've been reading and a special one from great aunt Laura about Jesus' birthday. Merry Christmas!

Ma-ree Kiss-mus

2009-12-09T10:15:00.004-06:00

Natalie can say Merry Christmas and it the sweetest, cutest thing that I've ever heard besides "I love you". I bribed her to be still and say it for the camera by telling her she could watch Elmo's World if she did. So, you'll see that she quickly does the task at hand and moves on to the more important thing; getting in position to watch TV. It sounds as clear as day to me but to you it might sound more like "Ma-ree Kiss-mus"!

Welcome, Welcome (Christmas)

2009-11-22T21:37:00.004-06:00

Natalie watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas for the first time today with her Daddy's encouragement. At first she was reluctant and kept requesting one of her favorites shows (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) but a few minutes into the Grinch and she was glued! Not too long after watching it she started singing "Welcome, Welcome, Welcome" and hasn't stopped since! It is her version of the main song "Welcome Christmas" in the Dr. Suess story & movie. Having a young child at home can sure put new life into the Chirstmas spirit. :)

Blogging

2009-11-10T19:36:00.003-06:00

Some of my blogging friends are participating in National Blogging Month this month which means that they will post a blog a day in November. I had to laugh at myself when I even considered doing this myself b/c I currently have TEN started (but not quite finished just yet) blogs dating back to our beach trip in September that I still need to post. And, really, who are we kidding? ...by the time I finally get around to posting it no one will care what we did in September. But, this blog is also to provide memories for me to look back on in years to come. So, be on the look out b/c one day real soon I'm going to get caught up on here again! Right?!?! I mean, I'm not a procrastinator, not at all!

Marengo Creek Farms

2009-10-16T22:08:00.002-05:00

Natalie and I went with our Moms & Toddlers group to Marengo Creek Farms today. It has been raining A LOT the past few days so I was worried that the farm would be a muddy mess and went with Plan B for Natalie's outfit (she had the cutest smocked pumpkin dress to wear!). Natalie didn't seem to mind wearing blue jeans and a fleece jacket though. LOL. :)

The toddlers had a great time playing in the big tub of corn, running through the hay maze, and going on the hay ride. Natalie loved all the animals there but her favorite part of the whole trip was hand-feeding acorns to the sheep.

Lee County Fair

2009-10-11T22:14:00.002-05:00

We took a family outing to the Lee County Fair yesterday afternoon. Our main motivation for going was my hope that there would be an animal exhibition for Natalie's entertainment...too bad there wasn't! So we walked around to see the sights and such. Natalie did get to ride a pony and really enjoyed it!

We also thought she might like to ride one of the kiddie rides....she loves to play in her friend's toy cars so I decided the big-rig train was the best bet. At first, she was SOOO excited but then it started to go and we weren't right by her side anymore and she got really, really, really upset. For those few minutes, I felt like the WORST Mom on the planet. We won't be making that mistake again anytime soon!

(this was before the ride started; still happy!.....I won't post the pic of her crying that Ryan snapped)

Party in Pink

2009-10-07T19:31:00.006-05:00

While getting lost in Blog Land; I stumbled across Fringe Girl's blog and discovered that she had come up with the idea for a Party in Pink to celebrate that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. When I read about it; I knew it was something I needed to do. I know three breast cancer survivors in my immediate family and this post is in honor of them (my step-mom Ronnie & her mom Ann and also my grandmother Mavis). I also found a lump in my breast at a very young age and it turned out to be benign but I learned at a young age to "feel your boobies". So, post of pic of yourself wearing pink (or maybe a loved one like I did...I cheated and am using a pic of my baby Natalie at 12 months old b/c she is too cute to resist) on your blog and join the Party in Pink; you'll be glad you did something in honor of others!

Natalie's "Blue Shoes"

2009-10-06T20:55:00.003-05:00

I told Natalie this afternoon that we were going to get some new shoes as she needs a few pair for fall/winter. I mentioned it a few more times as I was trying to get things in gear for us to leave the house and before I knew it she was saying "blue shoes". She continued to talk about her "blue" shoes at the store while trying them on and also when we got back home to show them to Daddy. It is too cute to watch her walk in them as they are hard-soled Keds which she isn't used to wearing so it is kinda funny to see her lift her feet up with each step!

Ha-bee

2009-10-04T23:23:00.000-05:00

If you're ha-bee and you know it clap your hands. Natalie and Claire went to toddler story time last Thursday at the Auburn Library and at the end of the class the librarian sang "If you're happy and you know it" and everyone sang along. That was the FIRST time Natalie has ever heard that song. A few short hours later while eating lunch she kept saying "ha-bee" to me and smiling; then it finally clicked! She was trying to sing the song and wanted me to sing it for her. So all day yesterday and today we've been singing the "ha-bee" song. I told her today it was "happy" and she actually pronounced it correctly which made me proud. Here is a video of Natalie singing the "ha-bee" song at dinner time tonight.

We love you so much

2009-09-28T20:39:00.006-05:00

Natalie,

We love you so very much! You have blessed our lives more than we could have ever realized. Each day with you is such a joy and so much fun. Seeing the world through your eyes makes life more meaningful.

Love, Momma & Dadda

"I hold you box"

2009-09-28T20:37:00.003-05:00

I just couldn't resist sharing this....Natalie is so stinking cute these days with the things she says. She has just started putting four words together sometimes and all day today when I changed her diaper she would reach for the wipes box and say, "I hold you box"! TOOOOO CUTE!

Happy Blogiversary

2009-09-18T16:01:00.003-05:00

I've been blogging for a year now! I remembering thinking when I started that I would be proud of myself if I averaged one blog a week.....which would be 52 total blogs.....well, I managed to do even better than that. Yay for me! We'll see if I can keep it going.

18 months old

2009-09-10T11:55:00.005-05:00

Natalie Claire is halfway to being a two year old!!!! Please slow down time, please!

She had her 18 month check up and is doing great. Our pediatrician asked me how many words she knows and I stopped to think; then he said, "Is it at least 20?" and I smiled and said, "It is at least 200." I'm such a proud Momma of my baby's verbal skills! She now weighs right at 25 lbs. (more on our home scales) and is 33 inches tall. She got a few shots and never even cried one tear!!!! The nurse was in awe (so were Ryan and I!).

We are trying to transition from two naps to one. It has not been the easiest thing to do and results in a grumpy, fussy toddler some days. So on most of those days we aim for an earlier bedtime. We've had to switch back and forth b/w two naps and one depending on how much sleep she has had. We're hoping Natalie will adjust to the new routine soon enough. I'm now beginning to think I know why so many babies & toddlers are whiny all the time though....it is because they are over-tired!

Natalie has learned Ring-Around-the-Rosy from her friend Claire. It is too cute, she sings it as best she can and twirls around and then falls down when she gets to the "all fall down" part at the end.

She is putting three words together now and says things like "see daddy shoes","go bye bye park","shhh dadda sleep", "where it go?" and "see big truck" (which doesn't sound quite like truck if you follow me so Ryan thinks it is pretty funny). She has learned the pronouns "me" and "I" which really baffles me as to how she even picked that up! She is super smart!

Natalie has such nice manners and has learned to say "please" and "thank you" and "bless you" when someone sneezes! She has also learned "yes" and "no" which helps when asking her questions but sometimes I wish she didn't know the word "no" quite yet. :)

She continues to impress us with the signs she learns from watching the Signing Time DVDs. The new ones she has learned this month are: please, bicycle, sleep, coat, hurt, boat, and book.

Future's So Bright....

2009-08-31T21:48:00.003-05:00

I gotta wear shades!

Momma's Little Helper

2009-08-24T21:31:00.007-05:00

Natalie had so much fun with this toy vacuum at her friend's house. She had just watched Ryan vacuum earlier the same day at home and kept pointing at the vacuum saying "keen, keen" meaning "clean" which is what she calls the vacuum cleaner. I hope we've got a Momma's little helper in training.

Sips N Strokes

2009-08-19T15:58:00.006-05:00

I went to a new place in town, Sips N Strokes, with a group of my friends for Mom's Night Out. We had a GREAT time and really enjoyed ourselves. It was A LOT of fun! Here are some pics of us with our finished project (one of the whole group and one with my good friend Meredith).

Braves Game

2009-08-17T21:58:00.000-05:00

We went to visit our good friends Zach and Kasey in GA this weekend and went to a Braves game too. We had great seats thanks to Kasey! The Braves pulled out a win in the bottom of the 9th inning so it was a pretty exciting game. (sorry the pic is blurry; it seems whenever we ask someone else to try and use our camera that is what always happens).

Green Girl

2009-08-11T19:58:00.000-05:00

Natalie seems to be a little green............

oh wait, that is just green crayon on her face! :)

17 months old

2009-08-09T21:40:00.007-05:00

Our little firecracker is 17 months old now! The toddler stage is in full swing. Natalie is constantly into anything and everything. It is quite a challenge to try and keep up with her these days. It is becoming almost impossible to get a picture of her these days (you have no idea how many of the ones I try to take end up being of the back of her head or the side of her or her on the ground since she is CONSTANTLY in motion) She loves to run in the yard & down the halls. She can kick and roll a ball. She can climb up onto the ottoman and can get herself down from the couch and our bed (which is pretty high up so we watch her closely).

Natalie absolutely loves the pool and we have been working on some basic baby level swimming skills with her from the book Learn to Swim. Ryan really enjoys working with her and she is learning to jump in from a seated position and also to hold her breath while being submerged.

She enjoys coloring and playing with play-doh (which isn't allowed very often but when; it is under direct supervision). She has learned to blow kisses and holds her hand up to her mouth and blows kisses to most anyone or anything (haha) without prompting. She recognizes the sound of a plane and stops what she is doing to yell out "plane, plane" if she hears one (even while indoors and busy playing or eating). Natalie now recognizes hot (hot food, hot water, etc) and will tell us when something is hot. She blows on her food if it is too hot. So cute!

She is also putting two words together and says things like "read book" and "see car" and "hey mo-mo" (elmo). She has learned some new signs in the past month from the Signing Time DVDs: hat, sleep, fish, wash hands, and ball. She cut five new teeth in the past month (three of which were molars).

****Also, I finally got around to snagging my Mom's pics from her Picasa album to finish this post that I started back in June so please check it out b/c it has the CUTEST pics of Natalie getting dunked in the pool.

Vroom Vroom

2009-08-06T10:46:00.002-05:00

Natalie is very interested in cars (not toy cars, real cars) and loves it when we let her play inside the car pushing all the buttons and turning the steering wheel. Look at the giant smile on her face; she is so excited about it!

Hiding Spot

2009-08-04T22:58:00.003-05:00

Natalie has discovered how to climb up into the bathroom cabinet and it is her new favorite game. She was so proud of herself a few days ago when she first did it. She climbed all the way in and then reached out to close the door behind her. I would say, "where is Natalie?" and she would slowly open the door back up with a big grin on her face. SOOOO cute!!!!

Belize

2009-07-27T22:02:00.001-05:00

(photo courtesy of our friend Sallie Martin)

Ryan and I went on a scuba diving trip to Ambergris Caye, Belize with our friends through Adventure Sports. It was a week long trip and we had a wonderful time. The weather was wonderful, the diving was awesome, the water was beautiful, the food was great, the hotel was nice, and a good time was had with all of our great friends! We went out diving each morning and saw lots of cool things like nurse sharks, turtles, mooray eels, & goliath groupers. We would relax by the pool in the afternoon and have a few cocktails with all of our group and then go out to dinner in the evenings. One of the days we went back inland and did a jungle tour that included ziplining and cave tubing. I took over 400 pics and this is a link to some of them on Facebook. Here are just a few of us enjoying our trip!

Back Blogging

2009-07-12T15:38:00.002-05:00

I am going to appoint myself Queen of Back-Blogging. I start so many blogs and then never get around to uploading the pics to go along with them........then finally one day I get it all done (while procratinating housework most likely). So, as you might have guessed.......I just posted quite a few "old" entries to the blog. Enjoy!

16 Month update

2009-07-09T11:49:00.007-05:00

Little Miss Natalie is busier than ever these days. She is learning to run and enjoys practicing that everyday. Her vocabulary continues to grow each day and is constantly amazing Ryan and I both. She picked up some more signs from her favorite DVD- horse, cracker, cereal, Mom, & Dad. She can sing some of the words to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and also Row Row Row Your Boat. It is too cute!

She has a new found love of dirt and likes to play in it any chance she gets. This is a huge thrill for her but not so much for me b/c I'm not really a dirt kinda girl. She is beginning to want to climb things...like up on to the top of her picnic table, up onto the fireplace hearth, and she also tries to climb on to the top of the coffee table too! She can reach almost anything on the counters now by standing on her tippy toes and really stretching. We think we've put things out of her reach and suddenly she comes around the corner with it in her hand. All you can do is smile and laugh!

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-05T20:16:00.005-05:00

We traveled down to Glenwood, AL (by way of my sister's house in Ramer) to celebrate July 4th with my Step-Mom's family. On Friday afternoon my Dad, Step-Mom, and Grandmother came over to my sister's house in Ramer to visit with us & see Natalie. Then on Saturday, we headed to Glenwood for the cook-out. They had lots of good food (and delicious dessert!). Natalie had a blast following around the big girls and trying to do whatever they were doing. She got dirtier than she has ever been playing in the sand and going back & forth over to the big drink tubs to get handfuls of ice & water. We ended the day with a swim in the pool. Hope everyone had a Happy 4th!

Foo Foo

2009-07-01T10:31:00.005-05:00

We have a new creature who comes to visit us outside our kitchen window..........little bunny Foo Foo. Ryan set up a bird feeder (that I gave him for our anniversary) right outside the window and we have birds, squirrels, and chipmunks who visit it daily. Now, just in the past few weeks, we've noticed a rabbit in our yard. All of the sudden, last night & this morning, the bunny has come over to eat the grass that is springing up from the seeds on the ground. Natalie goes crazy and says, "foo foo, foo foo" over & over. Too cute! I sing Little Bunny Foo Foo to her and do the hand motions so when I told her that was a bunny outside the window she immediately called him Foo Foo. When he hopped away she said, "Bye Bye Foo Foo".

Little Begger

2009-06-30T19:27:00.004-05:00

Natalie could have just eaten her own weight in food but if she sees someone else eating then the begging begins. LOL. "More, more, more" over & over. We went to a playdate the other day and I think she ate just as much as me! She also wants to become quite the little snacker. She goes to the pantry door all day long and says "cook, cook" (for cookie) or "kix, kix". I really think she would snack constantly between meals but we're trying not to let that get out of hand. We want to encourage three wholesome meals with a few healthy snacks instead of eating cookies (animal crackers or graham crackers) every thirty minutes all day long. Easier said than done with a persistent toddler! :)

Trying to look sweet & innocent before she begs for more "cook"

Dunk me, Daddy!

2009-06-27T15:40:00.004-05:00

We went to the pool in my Mom's neighborhood yesterday while in town to celebrate my sister's birthday and see my step-niece who was visiting from Ohio. My Mom and Ryan both mentioned how much Natalie loves the water and wondered how she would respond to being dunked. I was hesitant at first but, boy, she REALLY LOVED IT! I think the pictures say it all.

Imitation.....

2009-06-22T19:23:00.001-05:00

....is the highest form of flattery (or so they say). Natalie has become quite the little queen of imitation lately. Each day she does something cuter than the day before. Her newest forms of imitation are trying to plug in my old curling iron that she found in the guest bathroom drawers and holding cups up to the ice dispenser on the fridge door (this one is impressive to me b/c we don't have a fridge w/ that feature....sad, I know....so she has picked that up at her grandparents houses). Other things that she likes to imitate us doing are putting chapstick on her lips, trying to rub on diaper cream herself (she gets the tube from me while changing her diaper and sticks her finger in and then rubs it on her belly), wiping off her mouth when she is done eating, using a tissue to try & blow her nose, trying to put q-tips in her ear, brushing her hair & teeth, putting her hat & shoes on, using the remote control, talking on the phone, drinking from the straw of Ryan's giant water jug, & flushing the toilet.

Meredith's Wedding

2009-06-21T20:09:00.002-05:00

My very best friend since elementary school, Meredith, got married this weekend. I got to see my group of high school girlfriends all together again which was wonderful. One of my friends, Tina, and her husband and baby boy stayed at my Mom's house with us. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with them. My brother and his girlfriend babysat for us so we could all "let loose" at the wedding. A fun time was had by all, I do believe! :)

It was REALLY hot at the wedding so we had to cool down! :)

Go Heels!

2009-06-13T15:56:00.000-05:00

UNC won the national championship for basketball this year! Woo hoo! GO HEELS! As you can imagine, Ryan was beyond thrilled with their season and their big win during the championship game. I have a friend from my Mom's group who is from North Carolina (like Ryan is for those who don't know) and she also went to UNC. She was home visiting her family and brought back this t-shirt for Natalie. How sweet of her!

15 months old

2009-06-10T21:03:00.008-05:00

Natalie is now 15 months old. Can you believe it is already June? Where does the time go? She had her 15 month check-up and was fighting us to bust out of the exam room and walk up and down the halls to say "hey" to everyone (she won & I let her do it for a few minutes). I've never seen a baby who likes to say "hey" to every single person as much as she does! She continues to gain weight more so than she did as an infant. She weighs 23 lbs. 1 oz. which is a 3 lb. gain since her 12 month visit. That puts her in the 70th percentile (according to WHO). She is 31 inches tall which is 50th percentile. Her head remains over 85th percentile which the doctor says means she has a "big brain"....we shall soon see, huh?!?!

I am beginning to think maybe she is super smart b/c her vocabulary continues to amaze me each and every day. Being a speech pathologist, I like to keep track of all her new words (so bear with me). These are the new words she has learned this month: spoon, knee, boo-boo, tee-tee, cracker, up, teeth, more, clock, eat, fruit, trash, car, food, see, bib, purse, bag, bye-bye, suit (for swimsuit), shirt, book, bed, TV, cup, cat, back, and pact (for a makeup compact; her Grandma taught her this).

This will probably be the last month I try to keep track of the new words since at some point the list will be just way too long (hopefully). LOL. She actually even understands many more words than this.

Natalie also shakes her head "no" now in response to us (like, "do you want more milk?"). She follow some basic directions like "bring me your cup" and is proud of herself when she does it. It is really cute! She has also figured out how to flush the bathroom toilets and now one of them runs constantly. She has learned the signs "baby", "banana", and "fish". She suddenly just started doing these signs one night while in her highchair after dinner. She had the biggest smile on her face and was SO proud! She seems to be becoming obsessed (not really!) with the Baby Signing Time DVD and does the sign for "baby" and points to the TV and then gets her remote (yes, she really does that!) and sits in her little chair. So cute & sweet!

She really enjoys playing on our bed. She goes to it and points and says "bed" and then likes for us to get up there with her and hide under the sheets, roll around in the pillows, and bounce up & down. We also think she likes trying to walk on the memory foam top.

Her favorite thing to do is explore any & all new things. She also likes to "hoard" stuff (as I call it) and see how much she can carry around in her hands while walking all over the house. She likes to put things in & out of containers and take lids on & off.

Natalie still also really loves "side" and requests to go (out)"side" many times a day. She walks everywhere and tries to run all through the yard and enjoys picking up leaves & sticks & rocks. She keeps us on our toes that is for sure! We're loving every minute of it. :)

Now that she is trying to run everywhere she likes to escape after bath time and run all over the house naked as a jay bird. Too cute!

Fun times at the Beach

2009-05-27T20:56:00.003-05:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Perdido Key, FL with a group of our friends and had an awesome time! We were SOOO glad we decided to go...(the 4 hr. car ride is tiring with a toddler who doesn't like to sleep or nap in a car though). But, the ride down was totally worth it just to see Natalie's reaction to the ocean! She LOVED it and I mean LOVED it! She would kick her feet and squirm and squeal with glee when Ryan carried her out into the water and dipped her down into the waves. She also ate her fair share of sand and really surprised us both by sitting still for more than five minutes in a kid's beach chair on multiple occasions.

She took good naps and slept well at night which we had been concerned about before leaving Auburn. We made a last minute decision to stay an extra night and leave early Tuesday morning to get back home for work. The four nights went by way TOO fast and we're hoping to make it back to the beach with Natalie again sometime before the summer is over. Of course, I took way too many pics (over 100 I think) so check some of them out here on Facebook. I'll try to add more pics here later!

Natalie is walking!

2009-05-21T20:51:00.008-05:00

Natalie took her first steps over a month ago and then spent every waking minute for a good part of April and May having me walk around with her while holding my hand....boy did my back hurt! We went to a playdate for her friend's first birthday party a few days ago and she finally decided to let go and really walk on her own....and there has been no stopping her since! She is well on her way to being a little "run-yun" (not sure how to spell that made up name but it is what Ryan's parents called him b/c he walked at 10 months of age for a few days and then just ran everywhere after that! LOL).

Momma Made It

2009-05-14T10:36:00.003-05:00

When I was a little girl, my Mom and Granny would sew cute outfits for us to wear. There was a contest at the state fair one year called "Momma Made It" and they sewed an outfit for me, my sister, and my brother to each wear in the contest. I know at least one of the outfits won a ribbon but can't remember whose it was.....

So, this Mother's Day weekend, Natalie and I were staying at my Mom's house and I had my first ever sewing lesson from my Mom. I was going to make an A-line dress but switched to a pillowcase dress style because it seemed easier (no lining or buttons). My Mom was a good teacher and was very patient with me. I had quite a few mistakes but am very proud of the end result! Look at this cute little summer-time dress that Natalie now has.... and I can honestly say, "Momma Made It" (with a little help of course)! :)

14 months

2009-05-09T20:14:00.003-05:00

(She was so proud of herself for being silly & cute and tilting her head to the side during breakfast the other morning)

I am trying to keep track of all the new words that Natalie says but it seems to be one or more new words each day so at some point I won't be able to keep up! New words she has said in the past month: ball, keys, nana (for banana), shovel, up, dog, pool, bird, broom, slide, snack, squirrel, bowl, Kix (the cereal), grandpa, grandma, Mimi, and Phe (Mimi's dog). She also has learned the sign for "bird".

She has started putting two words together (mostly in imitation of us) and has said: all gone, sit down, bald baby (this is what her Daddy affectionately calls her), Hey Daddy, not nice (that is what I tell her when she does something wrong like throw her cup down), night night, and out side (she thinks this is two separate words).

She shakes her head for no when she does something she shouldn't and before I even have a chance to say no.

She also knows quite a few body parts (nose, ear, feet, toes, eyes, & belly button) and can point to them when you ask her. She has learned to give eskimo kisses too and it is super cute.

Other exciting news is that she has taken her first steps since the 13 month update! The first time she did it was right before Easter and she has continued to do it more & more since then. She seems to take a few steps every couple of days and it is totally on her own terms. We practice walking with her each day which she loves but she still will not let go of our hand very often. We do think she is on the verge of just letting go & walking everywhere soon!

Ahead of Myself

2009-04-29T22:02:00.003-05:00

I seem to keep getting ahead of myself with my blog posts....I have 7 posts that have been started but not finished. I can easily write down whatever the post is about...my problem is attaching the pictures to go along with it since that requires me to upload the pics off the camera....I'm hoping to get at least a few of those 7 mostly finished posts on my blog soon. :)

Water Baby

2009-04-28T20:20:00.003-05:00

It sure has warmed up quickly around here! It went from mid-60s temps to high-80s in less than two weeks it seems. We put Natalie in her baby pool for the first time this afternoon. She enjoyed it but was more interested in climbing out. Her Daddy even got in with her and helped her slide down her slide into the pool. (Her sun hat is suddenly too little probably due to her 90th percentile sized head. LOL)

A Night Out

2009-04-19T14:53:00.000-05:00

Ryan and I went to my friend Paula's engagement party last night. It was nice to get out alone and have some fun. The night ended too quickly though...we didn't want to come home. I thought we looked nice and wanted to share this pic.

Hop, Hop, Hop...the Easter Bunny came

2009-04-13T14:56:00.002-05:00

Here are some cute pics of Natalie exploring the fun things that the Easter Bunny left in her basket. I "staged" this a couple of times to try to get some good pics. She got some Crayola scribblers, a sippy cup, spoons, socks, and animal crackers. Ryan and I also got her a little chair (that you can see in the pics) as a late birthday present. Her Grandma and Grandpa brought her an Easter basket filled with goodies too.

13 months

2009-04-09T20:48:00.001-05:00

Natalie has an ever-expanding vocabulary. These are words she has now said: Hey, Hi, Dada, Daddy, Mama, Mommy, socks, shoes, hat, hot, cheese, baby, oh, see, side (for outside), hello (when holding the phone),balloon, bubbles, light, & fish. The first half of the list are words she says constantly.......the other half of the list are words she has said a few times but not daily. Of course some of the words are her best approximation.
She tries to put her arms through her sleeves and her legs through her pants when getting dressed. She tries to put sunglasses on her face and she can put hats on her head. She knows what her toy phone and real phone are for and she holds her hand up to her ear and tilts her head to the side when you show her a phone. She has also learned the sign for "dog" (she has picked up quite a few signs from her Baby Signing Time DVD that we weren't even trying to teach her). She signs "dog" to me ALL DAY LONG as if she is hoping one will suddenly appear for her amusement!

She really enjoys pulling all her books off the shelves. She is a very busy baby these days.

Miss Cutie Patootie

2009-04-03T14:45:00.000-05:00

Just a few pics of Natalie sporting a super cute outfit that Mimi got her for Christmas. At that time, it seemed HUGE so I put it away and intended to have it in the wardrobe rotation by her birthday since it has the cupcake on it.....well, of course, I just forgot all about it and re-discovered it this morning.

Slideshow

2009-03-28T12:06:00.001-05:00

Sroll down to check out the slideshow I made with pics from Natalie's First Birthday!

12 Month update

2009-03-18T15:40:00.001-05:00

Natalie had her 12 month check-up on Monday. She weighed in at 20 lbs. even which is 50th percentile (she actually weighed a little more than that a week ago on the hospital scale) and is 29 1/2 inches tall which is 65th percentile. Her head is not quite 18 1/2 inches which is 85th percentile! She's always had a good sized noggin'! I like to go by the World Health Organization's growth charts since they are based on breastfed babies.
She is signing "all done" now in addition to the other signs she knows. She signs "more" constantly throughout the day. She has a really good appetite and seems to be addicted to bread (waffles, bagels, cheese toast, etc) and all types of fruit.
She tries to sing the "e,i,e,i,o" part of Old MacDonald when you are singing it to her. She started saying "socks" and she says "Hey Dada" all the time. Her current favorite song is The Wheels on the Bus; I started singing it a few weeks ago and it will distract her when she gets mad/upset or during a diaper change.
She has let go while standing a few times...mainly to clap her hands or if she wants to hold two things at once (one in each hand) so she has to let go of what she has been using to balance herself. I think it might be awhile still before she is walking.

Kiss Me....I'm Irish!

2009-03-17T21:51:00.003-05:00

HAHA! Not really. But, SO many people like to point out to me that my baby girl's hair looks like it is red that I figured she could pass for Irish....at least on St. Patrick's Day.

Natalie's First Birthday Pics

2009-03-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

I created a slideshow of pics from all the fun for Natalie's first birthday. Thank you to all our wonderful family and friends for helping us celebrate and making it such a memorable day for us all....I have plently of pics to show Natalie when she is older. :)

(not sure why Photobucket cut off the right edge of some of the pics)

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

2009-03-09T21:53:00.004-05:00

Natalie Claire turns ONE year old at 10:06 pm today. This past year has gone by so quickly and our little newborn isn't so little anymore! I can remember the first few weeks at home with her like it was yesterday. These last twelve months have been so memorable and Natalie has brought more joy to our lives than we could've imagined. We had a HUGE party over the weekend and I will post pics soon. She loved her cake and got lots of really nice gifts; lots of cute clothes & plenty of toys to keep her busy.

Updated

2009-02-27T22:04:00.003-06:00

OK, I am proud to say that I stayed up late last night and tonight to finally finish some posts that I had started OVER A MONTH AGO! Be sure to read back to the last week of January to see all my new posts. :)

Slacker

2009-02-26T22:11:00.002-06:00

Well, like most things in my life, I've become a slacker with my blog and I procrastinate doing it for some reason! Who knows why.... laziness I suppose. I feel like I started this whole blogging business to update on Natalie and what all she is doing....I haven't done that in quite awhile now and feel bad. I'm gonna try to do that really soon!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

2009-02-24T20:37:00.007-06:00

"Let the good times roll" in French... for those that don't know. Happy Mardi Gras! Today is Fat Tuesday and one of our friends hosted a Mardi Gras playgroup party. We had lots of fun! There were plenty of beads for the babies and lots of good food. One of our friends made some really good gumbo and Kristi (who hosted the party) even ordered a King's cake from a bakery in New Orleans.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T22:27:00.001-06:00

We've had a fun week. Natalie made a Valentine's craft at BabyGym (her two hands in paint put together to form the outlined shape of a heart). Then we went to a Valentine's party with our playgroup at Meredith's house. I made little goody bags to pass out to Natalie's baby friends at BabyGym and the party. Natalie also got some of her own Valentine's goodies from her friends including bubbles which she loves. This morning we had our first real scare. Natalie fell while playing in the pantry and busted open her eye area. It was bleeding and instantly swollen. She cried for awhile but then calmed down. I was torn all day about taking her to the doctor thinking she might need a stitch or two. Ryan called & talked to the nurse and we decided to try to make a homemade "steri-strip" for it. That didn't work so well so Ryan went and bought some liquid skin. It worked great! We tried a few times to put ice on the spot to help the swelling but Natalie wasn't having that! :)
We went to the Auburn basketball game this afternoon and then to eat Mexican food. Natalie loves the tortilla chips. (You can click the pics to make bigger. You can see her cut but it doesn't look so bad in these pics.)

11 months old

2009-02-10T22:17:00.003-06:00

Where does the time go? Natalie has become quite good at pulling up on anything and everything. She is often like a little leech (a cute leech, of course).....you will suddenly feel her attached to your leg. For about a week or two she would fuss if she got "stuck" (like holding onto the edge of the fireplace or bathtub) and want you to come help her get down. Now she has figured out how to do that for herself! It is so neat to watch her figure things out.

She says "Hey" all the time now to people at the store or when we go for walks. She also has somehow associated a "f" sound with dogs (well, almost any animal it seems) and will make that sound when she sees or hears a dog in real life or in a book. We think it is b/c of my Mom's dog's name.

She can sign "food" and "milk" and "more". She is so proud of herself when she does it too! She has a really good appetite and will eat just about anything we give her and will continue to want more. She especially loves fruit. She has been gaining weight really consistently and is over 18 1/2 lbs. now.

We've been staying busy with going to lots of birthday party playgroups each week and also BabyGym. She also loves to go out for wagon rides around our neighborhood. She is definitely a people watcher and is quite observant!

Who's 30? Not me!

2009-02-08T18:48:00.008-06:00

OK, that isn't true. They say age is just a number though, right? I turned the big 3-0 on Saturday and had a wonderful day celebrating with my family and friends. (I have more to say about my fun-filled day and some pics with captions to add to the blog but in the meantime check out these pics from my Mom's Picasa album. She got a nice new camera that takes great photos.)

**Updated- my b'day was a great day. Ryan got 30 balloons and decorated the house with them. He also grilled a REALLY good beef tenderloin for lunch (his first time to cook a big whole beef tenderloin). He ordered a cookie cake (YUM!) for me and had something extra nice written on there (see the pics below). I got lots of nice gifts from my family and friends. My Dad and Step-Mom sent me some beautiful flowers. We even got to go out to dinner two nights in a row! (Thanks Mom). Friday night we went to Mellow Mushroom and Saturday we went to Amsterdam's with friends. I had two martinis on Sat. night and was feeling kinda sluggish the next day. Check out more pics (click the word) from my camera that I uploaded to Facebook from that day (as well as a few others of Natalie).

Fun day at the park (in January!)

2009-01-28T22:15:00.001-06:00

We had a playdate at the park this week with some of our friends. Who knew it could be so nice and warm and pleasant outside in January? I'm starting to think that the whole global warming thing is happening faster than I realized! Natalie had a great time and loves swinging.

Band-aid Baby

2009-01-25T19:46:00.004-06:00

Two boo-boos in one day. There was a slight accident that involved a full plastic pill box (the giant ones that have 4 slots per day for each day of the week... it is Ryan's, not mine! LOL) falling onto poor Natalie's head. She cried for a second but was fine very quickly. Her skin did get torn and bled a little so I put a band-aid on it for awhile.

**I wrote this post the day this happened but am just now getting around to adding a pic & actually publishing it to my blog today (2/26/09)....this accident pales in comparision to when she fell on Valentine's Day.**

Pulling Up

2009-01-25T19:44:00.004-06:00

Natalie has started pulling up on certain things....mostly our knees, legs, arms, shoulders, etc. She also has pulled up on some of her toys and some boxes and has come awfully close to pulling up on the fireplace and the lower ledge of some cabinets that she explores. Today I caught her pulling up on one of the shelves in the pantry.

Cruising Along

2009-01-24T20:56:00.003-06:00

Little Miss NC (I am saying that for you, Amy) has started cruising along the furniture. She doesn't pull up onto it by herself just yet but she will if we are right beside her and she pulls up onto our leg first & then reaches out to the coffee table. Then she just busies herself with slowly making her way all the way around the table to explore each object that she can find. (Don't mind her mismatched outfit in these pics, LOL).

She has also started pulling up some in the bathtub and this pretty much scares me (if you know my history- slipping & falling in a bathtub in Mexico and shattering my top front teeth then you understand why). So, I keep my hands on her the whole time. Ryan says I need to let go of her but I'm not so sure about that just yet....

BabyGym

2009-01-21T21:43:00.000-06:00

Natalie and I have started going to a BabyGym class once a week. It lasts an hour and is quite fun! Her favorite part of the class seems to be when the teacher blows bubbles for them to pop and sings a song about popping the bubbles.

10 months old and more "firsts"

2009-01-09T10:24:00.000-06:00

Natalie is 10 months old today. She must have just had a big growth spurt b/c she now weighs 17 lbs. 8 oz. which is a 10 oz. gain in the last 3 weeks (which is a good bit for this age). She is really starting to enjoy standing up & holding onto the coffee table or her little activity table or pulling up on the arm of the couch from a seated position. She is also a very proficient butt scooter! Apparently she has no desire to crawl as her way of getting around. We've been working with her to teach her new things; she can identify the light and the door. She turns the pages in her books when we read to her. She also discovered the birds eating at the feeder outside our kitchen window and likes to watch them from her high chair. She likes to play a game where she grabs our nose and we make funny noises. We also taught her to share her cheerios with us...... it is too precious! She is cutting her first tooth and I'll be sure to post a pic when it comes all the way through.

Catching up......

2009-01-07T23:16:00.001-06:00

Once again, I'm behind on my posts. I only started this blog a few months ago and I was determined to post weekly about new things in our (well, mostly Natalie's) life. I just got behind with the holiday craziness and now can't seem to catch up. I have finally completed some of the posts I had started including one of Natalie's new accomplishments (at that time!), playing peek-a-boo, one LONG post about our first Christmas as a family, one about Natalie's quilt, and one about our trip to my Dad's in Jacksonville FL.

Mom's Night Out

2009-01-07T10:41:00.001-06:00

There is a great group of Moms who I get together with for Mom's Night Out at least once a month. We also have play dates for the babies and get together to walk or go to the park. Sadly, one of our friends (Robin) is moving so we got together for dinner recently to tell her goodbye.

New Year's in Jacksonville

2009-01-04T20:48:00.005-06:00

On New Year's Eve we headed down to Jacksonville, FL to visit my Dad and Step-Mom. My sister and her family also came down. This is the fifth year in a row that we've gone to Jax over the New Year holiday. This was also the longest car ride (over 6 hrs) that Natalie has been on. She did pretty good with it too. We were saved by the Baby Einstein and Signing Time DVDs for sure (we call it "baby crack"). We had a great time visiting with my family. Natalie finally warmed up to her Pepaw after a little uncertainty the first night there. By the end of the trip she was letting him hold her and play with her. She was scooting all over their kitchen floor and also trying to eat every little thing she could find to put in her mouth. We opened Christmas gifts the first full day there and hung around the house. We went over to the park by the St. Johns River that afternoon. The next day we went to St. Augustine and rode the carousel and walked around the old Spanish fort (fort Matanzas).

Natalie and her Pepaw

Pepaw napping with Ava

Braden was Santa's elf and helped organize all the gifts

Natalie with Mommy and Pepaw at the St. Johns River

The Schoonover Family 01/01/09 at the St. Johns River

First time on a carousel

She loved the ride

Strolling around the fort with Daddy

Too busy snacking on cheerios to look at the camera

Ryan and Carla at the fort

Mimi's masterpiece

2008-12-27T20:46:00.001-06:00

Look at this BEAUTIFUL quilt that my Mom made for Natalie! I LOVE it! It is the prettiest baby quilt I have ever seen..... it is such a special gift and will be treasured for many years to come. (You can click on the pic to make it larger and see all the wonderful details).

Natalie's First Christmas

2008-12-26T10:42:00.010-06:00

Well, Christmas came & went so fast this year! We have felt so busy these past two weeks trying to get the house decorated, presents bought & wrapped, etc. that it is hard to find time to just stop and enjoy it all. We've had a fun filled week of spending time with our families; opening lots of gifts and eating way TOO much food! Natalie had a wonderful time and was very good considering that we had her out & about much more than we usually do & she was off of her normal daily routine with nap times and such.

We started off the holiday festivities by going to my Aunt's house to celebrate with my Mom's side of the family. We had a fun time and got some good laughs at the gifts people brought for our "gag gift" dirty Santa game. (I was lucky enough to get a "burnt" pecan pie from Amy that turned out to still taste really good!)

Mommy and Natalie about to open presents

Natalie and her Mimi (Mimi made Natalie's dress)

Brady and Ava (notice the gag dirty santa gift that Brady stole from Van after Ryan M. stole his grinch tie)

Amy with her gag dirty santa gift- a devil veil

A quick pic by our tree at home (you can see Natalie's dress better)

Christmas Eve we went to my Mom's house and had lots of YUMMY appetizers! We had a HUGE smorgasboard of finger foods that we snacked on all evening. Then we had a present opening frenzy and there were toys everywhere b/w all the thing that Mimi bought for Braden, Natalie, and Ava! Natalie gots lots of cute clothes, TONS of books, and some cute baby dolls.

Natalie with her Uncle Brady

Aunt Carla and baby Ava on Christmas Eve

Ryan capturing Natalie on video (with my NEW high-def camera that he got me for our anniversary)

She LOVES to eat paper; even wrapping paper!

Christmas morning was so different for us with a baby; you realize how much more full you life really is when you have a beautiful daughter to share new experiences with.....of course, I took TONS of pics.... here are some of the good ones (it was hard to get her to look at the camera!)

Checking out the loot that Santa brought her

Wow, look at all those toys!

Playing with her new toys

Taking a ride in her new wagon

Christmas afternoon we headed over to Ryan's parents house and Natalie had a fun time there too. Her Grandma got her some Puffs as one of her stocking gifts so she just sat on the floor eating them and watching us open gifts. Natalie got a pretty silver bell ornament that was personalized and more clothes and books.

Eating puffs & somehow lost one sock (typical)

Opening her gifts with Mommy

Natalie with her Daddy and Grandma

Sorry this post is so long, I should've broken it up but oh well....

Peek-a-boo

2008-12-14T10:22:00.000-06:00

Sometime in the past week or so Natalie has starting playing peek-a-boo on her own..... it is SOOO cute..... she covers her eyes (as best she can) and then waits a little while and pops out from behind her hands and when you say "Peek-a-boo" she gets the biggest grin on her face and looks so proud of herself. I can only catch the tail end of her doing it on camera though.... my timing is off!

New posts

2008-12-13T11:36:00.002-06:00

Well, instead of wrapping the forty five (at least, it seems) Christmas presents like I should be doing... I finally finished some posts I had started.... so check them out. I back dated them so they would be in sequential order of when the events actually took place.

Neglecting the Blog

2008-12-13T10:07:00.002-06:00

When I started this blog back in September, I was so excited about it and was constantly thinking of things to post about. Well, I am still thinking of lots of good things to post about..... I'm just not finding the time to do it! I've started at least 4 or more posts since Thanksgiving but haven't finished any of them. The holidays just keep you so busy (everyone knows that!). I'm hoping to get "caught up" soon so that our family members who don't live nearby can see what all sweet Natalie has been doing.

Good friends, Good times......

2008-12-06T22:21:00.000-06:00

..........at "the" Cracker Barrel. Why do some people say "the" Cracker Barrel? I find that funny. Anyways, we went to Montgomery this morning to meet up with my high school friends for breakfast. Tina was in town from Nevada and just had her new baby boy, Logan, in October. So, I was very excited to get to meet him. Meredith was also there with her fiance Jamie. They just got engaged last week and I am so happy for them. Natalie was quite happy to smile at all the people and say Hey! She also was more than thrilled to grab my syrup bottle and dump it all over herself.

Proud Mom Tina and her son Logan

Natalie checking out baby Logan

I can't believe we have babies.... it was just yesterday that we were in high school!

Auburn Christmas Parade

2008-12-05T11:41:00.006-06:00

Natalie, Ryan, and I got to participate in the Auburn Christmas parade tonight. A friend of mine who has a family business (Beacon Insulation) invited us to ride on their "float" since the theme was "Beacon's Babies" (she also has a baby girl). Our friends, Meredith & Claire, were able to join us too. Natalie was so content in her Daddy's arms but she had the strangest look on her face for almost 10 mins. after he put a Santa hat on his head (I took a pic of it). We had a nice time riding along College Street and waving at all the people. Of course, Natalie seemed to enjoy it since she is so nosy! :)

Almost ready to leave for the parade!

Uh, who is that man and what happened to my Daddy?

Oh, ok.... it's still you Daddy.

Meredith & Claire

Carla, Natalie, Meredith and Claire

Lots of "firsts"

2008-12-04T12:52:00.002-06:00

Natalie has been a busy little baby lately and has started doing so many new things! In the past few weeks she has started talking- she says "Hey" and "Dada", she waves all the time and even says "Hey" while waving to people out in a store, she started army crawling, and she just started clapping her hands and doing patty-cake yesterday. It is SO cute! I have a video of her army crawling (from about 2 weeks ago) and also one of her playing patty-cake (this morning). She is almost 9 months old.

Go Tar Heels

2008-12-03T21:05:00.001-06:00

College basketball season has started and that means lots of excitement around our house. Ryan lives for UNC basketball and they are ranked preseason #1 this year so you can only imagine what kind of cheering & yelling during the games has been taking place. I think it was the first time Natalie heard her Daddy yell and she was a little surprised by it! Ryan's parents got her these UNC overalls so that she can be a true Tar heel fan. They say size 3-6 months but they were HUGE on her up until now.

Cheering on the Heels with Daddy.

Iron Bowl Family Fun

2008-11-30T10:47:00.001-06:00

We went to Ramer to my sister Amy's house to visit with my Dad and Step-mom who came up from Jacksonville, FL. My grandmother also came over for the day. We had a fun time hanging out and watching the game. Of course, it was a complete disaster as Auburn didn't even show up. My Dad was happy though! I guess we have to let 'em win some time, huh?

Natalie and Daddy playing together

My nephew Braden was such a big boy- he climbed up on the step ladder to help his Mom make pecan pies.

Baby Ava is growing so fast! Her she is with her Mee-maw.

Turkey Time

2008-11-28T22:13:00.000-06:00

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year for the first time ever. We alternate each year between eating with my family and Ryan's family and this year was with Ryan's family. Now that we've got Natalie we thought it might be nice to have everyone over to our house. Ryan decided to follow Alton Brown's advice and put the turkey in a brine bath to make it really moist & tender. Here is the before and after:

Alton Brown's advice for brining the turkey to make it super moist was dead-on; it was the most moist Thanksgiving turkey we've ever had.... but, some of the different spices & ingredients in the brine recipe weren't flavors that we really cared for... oh well, it was still good!

Here are some cute pics from Thanksgiving day:

Exploring the magazine basket with Daddy

Natalie and her Grandma Sharon

Our first Thanksgiving as a family

Look at that big cheesy smile; she is so proud of herself for reading that book

Waving at the camera with her second cousin Angie

Reading books with Great Aunt Linda Kay

Scooting Part 2

2008-11-24T21:20:00.002-06:00

She is doing it MUCH more often now so I was able to catch it on tape! :)

Daddy's desk

2008-11-23T11:10:00.000-06:00

Natalie thought she was such a "big girl" when I put her in Daddy's office chair and let her explore his desk drawer.

Look at that concentration on her face!

She thought the paper clips were her special "prize"! She was in heaven!

Brrrr...... It's cold out

2008-11-21T21:09:00.002-06:00

The high temp for the day wasn't even 50 and the lows for tonight are in the 20s! That is C-O-L-D by Alabama standards. I've been seraching in every store for a winter hat for my sweet little baby's bald head.
I haven't had much luck because either I didn't like the style or I couldn't find her size. (She has a large noggin- over 95th percentile at her 6 month appt.) I finally got this hat at the consignment store (it is size 12-24 months).

So, don't you think the pompom on top is just a little too big??? We're gonna get Natalie's Mimi to fix it.

Scooting along

2008-11-18T19:15:00.003-06:00

Natalie has been putting her hands out and pulling/pushing herself along the floor some. She isn't good enough yet for it to be really effective in getting anywhere but she can scoot a few feet if there is something she really wants (like anything that is an "adult" object). Sometimes she manages to go forward; other times it is backward. It sure is cute. Here she is practicing her scooting moves.

AU vs. GA Weekend

2008-11-15T22:32:00.000-06:00

Well, the 2008 tailgating season has come to an end (we have one more away game against Bama). It was a rough one for us Auburn fans! Another heart breaker of a game yesterday. We had some friends in town who stayed with us this weekend. The weekend started out with Ryan and Zach preparing 6 slabs of ribs on Friday night. (The guys were picking on me about my blog so this post is dedicated to them.)

Watch out - Men preparing meat!

Saturday morning everyone was up and ready to get out to the tailgate (except me, I stayed home with Natalie until after the game). Ryan decided to pick on Josh by dressing EXACTLY like him (even down to the same pair of Asics) . He didn't have the same Under Armour shirt but Zach did so they switched out. You probably had to be there but at the time it was quite humorous.

"You know how I know you're gay?"- You're both
dressed just alike.

My Mom came and kept Natalie while I headed out to our tailgate after the game. It was COLD and WINDY but that didn't stop our fun. The afternoon involved Ryan and a bottle of "Old Grandad" (he did some google research looking for a "good" cheap bourbon- what an oxymoron!), a few shots of Drambuie, and of course, enjoying the ribs. We called it quits and headed home not too long after it got dark. Let's hope for a better home football season next year!

Ryan and I at our tailgate spot

Acting silly- Sucking the meat off the bone

Some of our tailgate crew

Getting dark out- time to head home!