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!

Bottoms Up

Since Natalie has started really rolling over a lot, she developed a preference for sleeping on her belly. Every sleepy time, we lay her down on her back and she promptly rolls over and tucks her arms under. This time was a little funny since she is sticking her bottom up in the air. We never know where we are going to find her in the crib after a nap or in the morning. She moves around all over the place!

Lunch With Ryan

This is one of Ian's friends, Ryan. They were in the same preschool class last year and again this year. We had a special treat for the boys today. We brought happy meals to them at school and they got have some extra time in a school playroom. The other kids were dismissed and we stayed after to have parent-teacher conferences. Good news - no trouble makers here! They enjoyed the special treatment and we all had fun!

Carrot Success

We tried and tried again. The result - Natalie figured out that carrots weren't so bad after all. We were mixing them in cereal a few times. I had to do it out of sight or she would not eat! Today after her sneaky carrot cereal was all gone I tried them straight up. This picture was taken just after. Kids - they're crazy!

Natalie And Her Papa

Nana and Papa came to visit us this past weekend. In the world of a 6 month old, it had been ages since she hung out with them. She had to stare at them a lot and check them out. Papa was especially up for the challenge. Between taking big brother Ian swimming at the hotel and watching football, they both won her over and were getting big smiles by their last day. Its all prep work for a happy Thanksgiving!

Carrots For Natalie

After she mastered the art of eating rice cereal, we decided to start Natalie with some new flavors. We went for carrots, which was Ian's first as well. She opens up automatically for the spoon still so getting it in the mouth was easy. After a few seconds she would shudder and make a yuk face. There will be more to this story. Stay tuned.....

Flashback - Ian and his first carrots.

Chief Ian

Chief Ian, or as we like to call him, Chief Running Mouth. For those of you who know Ian, you know exactly why! He made some Indian clothes with his Dad after having a discussion about Thanksgiving and pilgrims. With some crayons, markers and stickers....you too can have this look!

Talking It Up

Becky took some video of Natalie in the kitchen this week and I thought it was cute and shows her personality. Enjoy!

Ian In The Leaves

We had a beautiful fall day yesterday. Brad got home early from work and we went for a 'nature walk' as Ian likes to call them. There were SO many pretty leaves to look at and some great piles too! Doesn't everyone remember jumping around in a leaf pile as a kid??? It not the cleanest thing in the world but oh so much fun. Yes - Ian is wearing his I Voted sticker. He helped Mom do her civic duty. Natalie was cat napping in the carrier during all this. Maybe next year she can join him!

Halloween - Take 2

Ian had his Halloween parade at preschool today. He dressed up as a police officer instead of his Star Wars character (masks weren't allowed). Here he is with two Power Rangers from his class. They walked around the gym to show off their costumes and then lined up for songs for the crowd of adoring family members after. Towards the end of their show, Ian said 'Excuse me, I am going to just sit down. I'm tired.' to the preschool director who was running the show. He is the total opposite of shy. In a room full of people, Ian managed to stand out and show his personality.

First Friend

So this pretty little girl is Jocelyn Jim. She is one of our friend's 10 month old twins. Her and Natalie were gabbing back and forth over the toy. It was fun to watch them check each other out!

Funny Face

So this face just cracks me up. I am pretty sure it was the run up to a cry but who cares! She loves the little taggie book in the picture. She can play with it on the blanket for a long time. She is rolling over all over the place too. Its the opposite of Ian....she likes her belly time! I promise we still try to take pictures of Ian too....he won't stay still long enough. We need professional help with that one!

Halloween Party

We went to a Halloween party today with some friends. The first of 3 Halloween events this week, fun times. Natalie isn't really wearing a costume, just a cute little hoot owl hat and pumpkin socks. Ian is, of course, the bounty hunter Jango Fett from Star Wars. Below he is in character with his friend and fellow enthusiast Ali Oak (aka Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn). He also posed next to our good friends Justin & Jocelyn Jim - the chicken and ladybug - so cute! They had the best even balloon artist there and fun games like a cookie decorating contest. We are starting to sugar the kids up early this year!!!

Our Friday

So the kids and I (Becky) had a very good day today. It was fully of normal stuff like going to preschool, eating, cleaning and sleeping. But in between the chores we all had a lot of smiles and sweet interaction. I called Brad to tell him that I was 'sorry that he had a day job'. I am so grateful that I have a full time Mommy job title. The Lord has blessed us in big ways!

Cereal For Natalie

We started trying cereal with Natalie a few days ago. At first, she just cried when we tried to put the spoon in her mouth. After a few days she figured out we weren't trying to torture her and now opens up for the spoon. Ian wants to feed her so much. I'm sure the novelty of feeding his baby sister will last about 2 seconds. Maybe we'll give it a try today. Wish us luck!

Sweet Cheeks

Isn't that a great smile?! She was hamming it up today and we got so many great shots we had to make a collage and share with everyone. Ian is good at getting smiles out of her, of course!