First Teeth

So you know how the song goes....'All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth'. Well, our little Natalie didn't ask for them but she got them! This picture shows the two bottom teeth a little bit. As much as we would like to have a smiling picture to show them off, no such luck. A little cold plus the sore gums have made that a tall order. Its tough to be the baby!!!!

Merry Christmas 2008

We had a fun time this Christmas. The kids are pictured here in their Christmas PJs from Nana & Papa. There were cookies left for Santa, reindeer food sprinkled in the yard, and even a thank you note from Santa the next morning. We enjoyed being with family and are now trying to get back to normal around the house....normal with more toys!

More Sitting

She sits up a little more steady everyday. We keep the pillow around her most of the time, but she falls on it less and less. She loves to sit there and play with this baby hairbrush (chew on it mostly). Its so much fun to just watch her do simple things like drop something and reach to get it back without falling over. We have to make sure and not stare too much - brother gets jealous!

Ian As Joseph

Ian's preschool held a Santa House day at school and I (Mom plus Natalie in carrier) attended. We met Santa, made ornaments and other crafts, and finally got to see his class perform a play. Ian was Joseph of Nazareth and his friend Lucy was Mary. Here they are about to ride the donkey to Bethlehem. There were angels, kings and inn keepers and the kids all did a great job. I was particularly proud of the my smiley Joseph!

Loving Her New Tricks

Natalie just loves to sit up with a few toys and some padding around her. She will make all kinds of noise, shake her head and arms around and reach for the toys near her. Its pretty cool to watch her figure out how to catch herself and balance. When she does fall back on the pillow, she giggles like she just rode a roller coaster!

Family Collage

Here are a few recent pictures of the family, all taken on Thanksgiving. So much to be thankful for!

Talking with Santa

So we talked with Santa for the first time this season. There is a historical home nearby staffed with about 20 grandmothers that puts on a puppet show and hands out cookies. At first, Ian said he wanted me to do the talking with Santa and that he was feeling shy. I shook Santa's hand and Ian went back to his same ol' talkative self (in action below). He asked for a rocket and various Star Wars equipment - shocking!

Scooting Back

Natalie is very entertaining to watch as she finds new ways to wiggle around on the floor. She's been doing the multiple roll thing to get to something she wants for a while. The latest move is scooting backwards. In this picture she scooted almost all the way into her closet until she spotted storage baskets. She had to check them out. She is also mastering sitting up on her own too. It is wild how quickly she is changing these days!