A Big Step with Bruce Springsteen

Jason and I had our first real outing without Natalie. We left Natalie with a good friend of ours last night and headed to Nashville, TN for a Bruce Springsteen concert. Jason and I had a blast, but it was weird not having Natalie with us. We picked up Natalie this morning and she did better than we did being apart. As I'm typing this, Natalie is sitting in my lap with an obvious look of jealousy on her face that she didn't get to go see Bruce. :-) Maybe next time.

The happy parents on a date without their daughter.

Fall

I never use to care much for fall, but now that I live in a place where fall is an actual season, it's beautiful! This picture is from a tree right outside our front door. I love it!

Halloween was also fun with Natalie. We didn't go trick or treating, but we did hang out with friends at their house and helped them hand out candy. Natalie was the hit of the party.

...5 Months!

9 Days Old...

5 Months Old...WOW!

We had fun at Priddy Farms in Bartlet, TN

She's a deep thinker...can't you tell?

I love pumkins!

Family Photo

Natalie is a BIG helper in the kitchen.

Natalie dancing with "Uncle Dan" at Joel and Becky's Wedding...very cute.

4 Months

Weight: 11 lbs, 9 oz

Length: 24 1/2 in

I know I'm a little behind on this post, but I couldn't just skip it. This month will be full of cute pic opportunities, but the past month was not one of those times. Plus, I'm not very good at keeping the camera close by. I need to get better at that. The pics I've included today are taken by others. I'm working on doing a better job, I promise!

Let's see...4 months. She's rolling all over the place. She actually rolls to get places now. Her day care provider, Ms. Joy, says she can't keep her on the play carpet because she just rolls across the room. She's doing well in day school and really likes her teacher. When we drop her off, she always has a big smile for Ms. Joy. I'm so glad Natalie likes her teacher because it makes it easier when dropping her off each morning. She has also started laughing. I just love it!!! She is "talking" all the time now. I thought she was talking a lot before, but I was mistaken. It's really funny during church whenever it gets quiet because that's when she starts talking the most. It makes me laugh. I think she's trying to get people more involved in the worship service. Natalie has also started eating cereal. She absolutely loves it and picked up using a spoon rather quickly. I have a feeling veggies aren't going to be a problem next month.

We have lots of friends who are also having babies. I thought I would include some cute pictures of Natalie and her friends.

Natalie and Kate - BFFs

Natalie and Aubrey - a friend from mommy's work

Natalie and Reed - He's Natalie's smallest friend.

Natalie's newest friend, Miles

Natalie - 3 Months

We had some fun pics taken to commemorate Natalie's 3 month mark. It's hard to believe that she's already 3 months old. She's already rolling over and it looks like she's trying to do crunches while she's on her back...I think she wants to sit up. She's not suppose to be doing this yet. Ahhhh!!!! Everyone's comment when they see Natalie is that she looks so much like her daddy. As much as I love my husband, I'm a bit jealous that she doesn't look more like me. Oh well, I love her anyway. :-)

We are also learning we have a wonderful church family that loves Natalie so much. It's a comforting feeling to know that we have so many wonderful friends when we are so far away from our families. I think it really emphasizes the importance of a true Christian community that you can rely on on a daily basis...it's not just about Sunday morning. Jason and I are truly blessed. We have more to share about our Christian community soon, but that will have to wait for another post.

Here are some of her pics!

Baby Dedication

Natalie resting on my shoulder.
All our hands with a Bible.

Kate, Isabelle, Natalie, and Joy. These are the four girls that were dedicated at church. Notice that Natalie isn't sporting a head decoration...I'm not a big fan of the head bands (aka. head squeezers) or bonnets. I think Natalie looks cute without it!

We dedicated our baby at church this past Sunday. We stood before the the church and made a commitment to raise Natalie in a Christian home and the church also promised to help us in Natalie's up-bringing. She received her first Bible and the elders prayed over us. It was a good reminder of the responsibility Jason and I have to Natalie, and the example we provide for her, when it comes to her walk with God. Hopefully, she can look past our imperfections and grow in her faith in spite of us.

2 Months Old

9 lbs 14 oz

22 1/2 in

Natalie is growing so quickly. I can't believe that it's already been 2 months. She's smiling now, which is always the highlight of our day. It's amazing how just one smile can brighten up my mood almost instantly. She's also holding up her head pretty well, but she's been doing that since day one. As you can tell by the picture, Baxter and Natalie are getting along pretty well. Baxter greets her first when we get home now. He will also go and lie next to her whenever she's crying. It's so cute. We know they are going to be best friends as Natalie gets older.

Yesterday, we had our 2 month visit and experienced her first shots. I have to say that I was not looking forward to it, but it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated it to be. She cried at first, but I was able to calm her down rather quickly by nursing her (a tip from a friend of mine). I'm proud to say that I did not shed a tear. I was too worried about calming her down to worry about myself. All in all, we survived!

I know this time goes by quickly and I'm trying to cherish each moment with her. It's going to be so difficult when she has to start day school on Monday. I've already bought a package of kleenex because I know it's going to be a cry fest Monday morning. The good thing is that the day school is 5 minutes from my work, so I'll be able to go there on my lunch break and feed her. I know this will help me continue to breast feed the first year like I plan to do and it will help me continue to bond with her during the day.