Before and After

You likely saw this title and thought you would get to see some amazing pictures. Well, that isn't quite what this blog is about. I'd like to show you some, but I would be losing my dignity and you might start judging me on my dirty house, make-up-less face and more. Ha! I know you all won't do such a thing.

-Here are some tid bits of reality-

Before Baby Natalie: I had a less "stuff" in my car.

After Baby Natalie: I throw dirty diapers around like it's a giant wet bag. I leave old coffee cups to mold in the cup holder because my hands are too full to actually get them out of the car. Really?! Yes, I do. 

Before: I wore make-up EVERY day and typically dried my hair, most often curling it to perfection.

After: I typically shower at some point, but make-up may only be mascara and bangs are all I can dry before she tells me I am done "primping"

Before: I enjoyed massages

After: the knots in my back from carrying prego weight and now Natalie is very painful when Whit tries to kill me on her massage table. I don't know how people pay someone like Whit for that kind of pain. :)

Before: Savored the flavor of my meals

After: Hoover down most anything in front of me because I may not get another chance to eat. 

Before: Going to "run in and grab X at the grocery store" was fast, in and out!

After: It's an event. We plan for it. We take our time. We talk to most everyone in the market. Natalie bats her eyes, they all come running. It takes easily 4x more time for the same item after we buckle in, unbuckle to get out...ahhh! So many more steps.

I know it sounds like I am full of complaints, but I must say the AFTER's are far more pleasant.

Before: I had to go to work. Hear nothing but bitching and wining. This is broken, that is broken. Kate fix it. Drama drama drama.

After: I wake up to see Natalie's cute face. She helps me make coffee. I snuggle her, feed her, chat with her and she never  asks for anything other than my undivided attention and sooner than later, POOF! It's 5pm and Ryan is due home soon.

Before: I had to rush after work to drag myself into a grocery store to figure out what to throw on the table.

After: I plan out what's for dinner as Natalie eats and we head to the market during nap time. We save money even by being prepared with a list. Nothing is rushed. We stop and smell the roses and don't mind how long check-out takes us.

Before: Rushed to halfway manage the yard, clean the house and throw in some laundry.

After: It may take us all week, but we make it all happen with high standards.

Before: Stressed over little things. 

After: I didn't realize I stressed over silly things, but now it is much clearer. Life is what we make of it and we are making it calm, fun, simple and healthy. 

Thank you for reading and have a great day! 

Two teeth and big girl pj's

Two sharp teeth have emerged from the depths of her gums. These teeth can be seen often and felt as soon as she "nom's " on your face. Asking yourself what a nom is? It's a full, juicy, open mouth baby kiss. Gotta love them...until teeth pop out and make you shriek in pain. :) 

In addition, this kiddo is growing rapidly so we set out for some new duds. We got a little carried away. She should be set till next February! We can typically count on the occasional new outfit from grandma's and Auntie's.

I did learn something today. Shocker...I know. Babies go from size 9 months wearing feety pj's to no more zippers and  snaps to a two piece or gown. I actually like it. She is a toasty sleeper anyways. She looks so grown up in these. 

Yesterday was Ryan's birthday and his last Hood To Coast run. Yay! It was a great team and they set a new team record. He was wiped out today. Slept a few hours when he got home, woke for a couple more and is sawing logs again. He ran the 2nd hardest leg. Yikes.

Nat, Whit and I hit Beaverton's farmers market today. It was great. Nat slept for 3/4 of the time. Usual. 

All in a Day

I can't type as I once could with trigger thumb, but I must share a few huge developmental things that Natalie did today.

1. Reaches up with both arms for me to pick her up. Big stuff.

2. Sucked water out of a straw. I was sure she couldn't do that yet. She proved me wrong...again.

3. Does some mega fast spinning in her exersaucer. 

4. Scooted backwards. I left her on the rug, ran to bathroom and found her under a chair. 

5. Ate sock monkey yarn hair. She was smacking away on it. :-(

6. Two teeth are now visible. She isn't fussy. She isn't drooling uncontrollable. Apparently teething isn't so tough. Does this mean her teenage years are going to be tough?!?

Cousins

These cuties are going to be good buds! We thought we'd capture some momma and baby and cousin shots. 

Pink Pink Pink

If you have tried to go shopping for a little girl and were planning to avoid pink, you may know it is nearly impossible. Who wants to avoid pink? Especially when you see this...

While Grandma Carolyn and Mom did the painting, Aunt Whit snapped some pics. 

Photo Opportunity

This kiddo is photogenic. Who are we kidding! I thought I'd throw together a photo op since she had to be stripped down after an accident on the changing table. TOTALLY Mom's fault for letting her sit there without a diaper, but this is what we threw together when I grabbed the camera. A couple are duplicates because I like both sepia and black and white. :) Enjoy

Two Texas Girls and Family

I had to title it for Awbrey and Claire! These cuties were a hoot. We were invited to meet them downtown  PDX for dinner and we had a blast.  Natalie was a little overwhelmed by their welcome, but she warmed up and enjoyed their visit. 

6 Month Check Up

These  days, I have to have a list to work off of. Actually, my memory has always required a list. Today I had a lot of questions for Natalie's doctor. Much of the questions were regarding feeding her solid foods and sleeping patterns. vewdcx  (Natalie just randomly stopped nursing and turned around and typed that for me. Now she is back to eating.)

The big bummer answer from the doctor was about car seats. I explained Natalie's car seat screaming. Her answer in an ever soft voice was, "Yeah, that is normal. She may not grow out of it till you turn her around. Up to 2 years." Uhg. Not what I wanted to hear. She did say that Natalie may be big enough sooner than 2 to turn around. By no means do I want to jinx us, but she did have many quite rides in the last few days. Even after her shots she enjoyed the ride, asleep.

Other than that, Natalie is on a roll...or two or three. Do you see those chubby arms in this picture below? Wow.

Her stats:

16lbs 7oz. 

26 in tall

44cm head circumference

She is in the 59th Percentile 

Don't you wish you were this happy stepping onto a scale...naked no less. :)

I was feeling a little left out of not having my own doc appointment, so I too went to receive treatment. Ha! Not really. I have been having mega pain in my thumb. Sure enough, its trigger thumb and I needed a brace. Dang iPhones. i used to be a super fast thumb typer. Now I am slow and have even MORE typos!

Should be fun changing diapers now. :)

A fun fact I learned about babies today will be ever so helpful going forward. They have a 90 minute sleep pattern. As an example, Natalie wakes at 8am most days. She then gets a little sleepy by 9:30 or 10am. If she misses that nap, she will be awake for another 90 minutes and you can't force the nap. This 90 minute pattern continues all day. Luckily she isn't the kid that gets so overly tired that she loses it and cannot go to sleep. That would be tough. Wish I knew this sooner. 

Sure enough, that doctor was right. Natalie does that all the time. I now think I can plan a little more carefully for her naps. Because she is such a good night sleeper, her doctor said it is okay that she doesn't nap much during the day. You either get good nights or good days. Can't have both. ;)

Super Dad with Super Baby

Need I say more?! Cute.

Vacations is almost over

Natalie has had a super busy week, but unfortunately our family vacation has come to an end. 

Here are some highlights.

Go Grams Go! Push push push!

We found out that the Thursday night farmers market in Hood River is Amazing! Do-over.

This small garden is beautiful. Below are her goats. 

Fresca is the brown goat and we can't recall her kids names.

Nat has been enjoying her tongue. A lot.  

A little late for the 4th

Although we are a little later than the 4th of July, Natalie is still in the patriotic mood!