Natalie is ONE!!

*Photo credit to Rachel Brock*

Natalie, I've been holding off on writing this post because I just can't believe you are one year old already! ONE! It's true what they say, time has wings. And the older I get, the faster it flies away from me.

This last year has been quite a whirlwind with you, sweet girl! We've had so much fun! I want to stop and hold you close and drink you in and remember these moments. They are precious, and they don't last long.

You are starting to change from my tiny baby into your own little person, and it's amazing to watch! At your one year checkup you weighed just under 17.5 pounds and measured 28.5 inches tall. You're a skinny little thing. Because you can't drink milk due to an allergy, you aren't gaining as much weight as we would like. So per your doctor we are trying to fatten you up with bread and carbs (which you love) and avocado (which you hate). Mealtime is always interesting with you. You'll eat a few bites from your own plate, and then yell at me until I share what's on mine. You are definitely a stubborn girl, that's for sure!

You love: your mama, sucking your thumb, blocks, stuffed animals, books, spoons, your favorite purple blankie, trying to sneak into the bathroom when we aren't looking, and most of all your big sissy. You follow her everywhere! She's very patient with you and shares her toys (usually) and helps you learn. Watching you two together just melts my mama heart. You especially adore your daddy and clap and squeal when he comes in the door from work. He's already your hero. (Again with the melting heart!)

You don't love: when mama puts you down, shoes on your feet, sleep (you don't sleep through the night, but feel free to change that anytime), anything too loud that startles you, and when mama puts you down. If you had your way I'd be carrying you all day long! Every once in a while you let your daddy have a turn, too. ;)

You aren't walking quite yet but you crawl and cruise all over the place. I think it won't be long before we will have to chase you as you run around the house. You bolt for the stairs every chance you get and can climb them like a pro already, and when you get to the top you want to turn around and do it again! Baby gates are our best friend right now.

You are chatting up a storm these days! You say "DAT!" and point at everything, all the time. You are so curious and want us to name everything you see. Some favorites are lights and light switches, the fridge, and pictures on the wall. There's a figurine that your daddy gave me that plays music when we wind it up, and you insist on having your daddy turn it on and dance with you at least twice a day. It's your favorite thing right now (and I think daddy loves it, too!) and so fun to watch you wiggle and dance to the music. Will you be a music girl like you sissy? I sure hope so.

You are silly, curious, stubborn, a little shy, awfully sweet, very snuggly, and so happy! You have your daddy's heart and your mama's attitude. We love watching you grow and change, and can't wait to see what the future holds for you! With your big sister as your guide (accomplice?) I know there's nothing you can't do. We love you so much, Nattie Roo! Now please, stop growing up already, would you? :)

9 Months Old

Natalie Rae, you are 9 months old! In the words of Quincy, "I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT!!" (Little Einsteins, anyone...? Ha.)

9 Months Old!

We haven't been to your 9 month check-up yet but I think you weigh around 18 lbs. You are just starting to grow out of 6 month clothes and into 9 month sizes, and still in a size 3 diaper. A peanut just like your big sissy!

Bigger than the bear now!

You are into everything. And I do mean EVERYTHING! Especially if we tell you it's off limits. Or if sissy has it. Or if I've just washed it and would like it to stay slobber-free for ten seconds.

I can't get enough of that smile.

You are the happiest kid ever! Which is sometimes a little shocking because you don't sleep through the night yet, at all. I'm lucky if you give me a 5 hour stretch most nights! I'm trying to enjoy all the snuggles though, because it's going by so quickly. And you're such a sweet girl, even at 3 am.

Standing every chance she gets!

I hate to admit it, but you are Officially Mobile! You crawl everywhere and LOVE to pull up and stand. Your favorite though, by far, is to hold your daddy's hands and walk around the house with him. You could do that for hours, giggling with every step!

There she goes!

You are stubborn. If you are interested in something and we take it away from you, watch out! You are shaping up to have a temper like your mama. Ahem.

So big.

You are VERY MUCH mama's girl. You love daddy tons but definitely want mama most times, and completely refuse to go to anyone else. You still haven't had a baby sitter that wasn't one of your parents! (Mama and Daddy would like a date night sometime before you're 12, ok? Thanks. :)  )

New seats!

You moved out of the "baby bucket" and into a Big Girl carseat. You love it! And Emmie loves that she can see you better now. You two chatter and sing together in the car now!

Yum.

You are really starting to enjoy food! Fruit is your favorite, especially pears and peaches, but you like pretty much everything we give you now. And you are a pro mess-maker. Must be in the genes...

You are such fun. You love to play and crawl, push things around, and chase your sissy in your walker. Nothing can stop you! Except for naptime... When you are tired, look out. You even beat Emily in the cranky department when you are sleepy! 

You are such a joy and a blessing to our family. Watching you and your big sissy together just melts my mama heart! I love you more than I could ever say, Nattie-Roo. Happy 9 months!

Natalie Rae

On December 6, 2012, God blessed our little family with another precious baby girl. Natalie Rae Shankland was born in Denver, CO, at the Mountain Midwifery birth center weighing 6 pounds 14 ounces and 20 inches long. But lets back up a bit...

This was me, on her due date. Yikes!

December 1st was the original due date I was given for Natalie, but she just wasn't ready to meet us quite yet and made her poor mama wait another week. For the last month or so of the pregnancy I was having regular, time-able contractions and at least a dozen times I said THIS IS IT! LETS GO! but they would always stop. It got a little frustrating! (Our doula was such a great help to me in that time, I really don't know how I would have made it through without her!)

When Natalie did finally decide it was time though, she wasn't messing around. We left for the birth center right at rush hour (of course) and got stuck in evening traffic. That was NOT a fun car ride, let me tell you. She was born about 20 minutes after we arrived at MMC. It was close! Rob said he really thought she would be born in the car, and I can't say that thought didn't cross my mind a few times too.

It was a wonderful birth and went pretty much according to plan. She was born in the water at 6:32 PM. Because it was so fast we didn't even get a chance to bring the "Go Bag" in from the car. We had music, snacks, relaxation stuff, you name it and it was in that bag, and none of it got put to use. I was ok with that though! 3.5 hours of labor was MUCH preferred to the 19+ that it took for Emily to arrive. I'll take it.

Meeting her sissy for the first time.

Sister love from the very beginning.

We were home about 4 hours after she was born (can I say again how much I loved MMC?) and got to settle in right away and sleep in our own bed rather than at a hospital. Rob waited on me hand and foot for the entire first two weeks of Nattie's life and we pretty much just snuggled on the couch and got to know each other. It was wonderful! I couldn't ask for a better husband. He had to leave for work for two weeks just a few days after Emily was born, so it was really great to have him around this time. These girls sure love their daddy!

My Loves

Nattie 1 month, Emily almost 3

3 months old

Her first 4 month photos

Trying food for the first time, 6 months old. Who needs the avocado when you can eat the bowl?

Happy 4th of July!

Enjoying the sun

8 months old

My girls!

She's getting so big!

At 8 months old Nattie is sitting up all on her own, rolling all over the place, scooting and spinning on her tummy and trying to army-crawl. I'm thinking before the end of the month she'll be crawling! Yikes. She makes lots of different sounds but doesn't babble much yet, and I'm thinking that's because she's a thumb sucker and always has her hand in her mouth. At this point though that's fine with me! Emmie talks more than enough for both of them, haha.

Natalie had a few reactions to food when we first started to introduce it so we are going slow with the table food for now. But she loves pretty much anything we've given her (even if it doesn't love her) and is eager to try more. She eats anything we put in front of her! It's a nice change from Miss Picky Pants Emily. :)

I don't know where the last 8 months have gone, but I have to say that I'm really happy with where we are now. Our days have been full of laughter, tears, frustration, sleepless nights, more sleepless nights, more laughter, and lots of love. Nattie is such a sweet girl. She loves her mama and adores her daddy, but her big sissy is really her favorite. All it takes is for Emily to come into the room and she has Natalie's complete attention. It's so amazing to see them play together and love each other. We really are blessed to have these two beautiful girls in our family! Even if neither one of them would ever take a bottle or sleep through the night. Have I mentioned we've had some sleepless nights? Perhaps if she starts to sleep more I'll be able to post more. Well, one can hope anyway, right? 

Here's to more fun, more laughs, more smiles and giggles, and of course more love. God has blessed us richly and I am so thankful to Him for it! I couldn't imagine our family with out this sweet baby; she brings us so much joy. We love you Nattie Roo! I can't wait to see the girl you become. 

One.

One year old. One year filled with giggles, smiles, kisses, baby drool, sleepless nights, and more poop than I would have ever imagined. Also more love than I could ever have dreamed was possible! She changed our lives in every way. Full of sneaky smiles and mischief, she really makes it clear that we are no longer in charge around here.

One year ago today I became a mom. And as MY mom would say, I was the happiest mom in the world! I wrote the story of her birth in two parts, here and here, and thinking back on that day I wouldn’t change it at all because it brought our precious girl to us. We thank God every day for her!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO OUR EMILY MARIE!!!

At One Year Old, Emily:

…weighs 18 lbs 2 oz and is 29 1/2 inches tall. She’s between 50 and 75% for height, but only 5% for weight. The doc says she’s very healthy and has no concerns, just tall and skinny!

…is almost walking on her own! She took three steps on my birthday (best present ever!) and will walk between the couch and coffee table if it’s not too far, but she hasn’t taken off and started walking all by herself quite yet. She stands up a lot but is very hesitant to walk without help. She gets braver every day though and we think she’ll be walking very soon!

…has started saying more words this month! Her very first “real” word was Dada, but she didn’t associate it with her dad for quite a while. Cracker was the first word she said that had a meaning attached, so we count that as her first word! She can also say Mama (FINALLY! Haha!), puppy, kitty, yucky, and probably a few others that I can’t think of at the moment.

…is a great eater! She loves to drink from her straw sippy cup and eats most everything we put in front of her now. She’s started refusing to eat from a spoon and wants to do it all herself, so we’ve had a few adventurous dinners lately! Her favorite foods are peas, toast, ham, and of course crackers.

…still, STILL doesn’t sleep through the night. She wakes up usually once to eat and sometimes two or three other times also. She’s usually pretty easy to put back to sleep, but it’s really hard on Mama! I’m hoping as her teeth come in she’ll be a better sleeper. The doc also mentioned that her eczema might make it hard to sleep, so hopefully we’ll get that under control soon too.

We’re getting professional family pictures done soon so for now we’ll take a look back at the past year. It went so fast!

One day old

One month

Two months

Three months

 

Four months

Five Months

Six months

Seven months

Eight months

Nine months

Ten months

Eleven months

Twelve months

Our tiny baby is turning into a little girl. She’s beautiful, silly, snuggly, and very smart! We love her very much! Happy first birthday, Punky Boo. You are loved more than you could ever know!!

11 Month Update!

My tiny new baby is turning into a walking (almost), talking (almost), toddler right before my eyes! We’re packing to move to our new home this week and I’ve been coming across all the pictures I took when she was brand new. It’s so much fun to see how much she’s changed and grown! Pretty soon it will be time to hand over the car keys.

HA HA HA HA HA!! Oh boy, was that funny or what?! (If you know me you’ll know that Emily will NEVER be allowed to drive. Ever. She’ll be lucky to get a bicycle when she’s 16.) Car keys… Ha. :) Anyway, eleven months old! She’s different each day and we’re having so much fun with her!

At eleven months, Emily:

…still has just 5 teeth. She does wonderfully when it comes to chewing and eating though! She loves spaghetti, toast, mac n cheese, rice, pretty much anything with substance, and she really prefers to feed herself. She will refuse it all though without some kind of sauce. Plain noodles? Please, mom. Gimme the good stuff!

…is ramping up her skills in the language department. She makes all kinds of different sounds and will string “words” together to make little Emily-sentences. It’s very cute! We have no idea what she’s saying, but she sure does! When we talk to her, she answers, and is very excited when we have a conversation. This is one chatty kid already!

…has decided walking is not such a bad thing after all. She’ll hold our hands and practically run across the room now, but is hesitant to try and stand without our help. Crawling is still her preferred method of transportation though, and she’s become a pro furniture cruiser. She’s a munchkin on the move for sure!

…will point at things that she wants to see or a place she wants to go now. She can’t quite say what she wants yet but she’s learning that if she points, we’ll take her there! I have a feeling there will be a lot more pointing (and demanding!) in our future, ha ha. She’s a stubborn little thing and likes to get her way. I’m sure I don’t know where she gets that from…

…has started giving us kisses! She really doesn’t give much warning though, her method is more attack-and-slobber. She blows kisses too, especially at night time. Melts her daddy’s (and mama’s!) heart.

…LOVES people. She’s very social when we go out and about and will waive and point at people and giggles like crazy when they waive back. She sometimes acts shy but for the most part she’s a people-person. I’m glad to see her personality coming out more and more!

…is our own little vacuum cleaner. She can find the smallest piece of lint or food or dirt on the floor and if we’re not quick enough it goes straight into the mouth. GROSS. This game is not my favorite. But it has made sure I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of my Hoover, that’s for sure.

I can’t believe this is the last post I’ll get to write before my baby turns one. It’s been one heck of a rollercoaster for sure, but I wouldn’t trade a second of it for anything! She keeps us on our toes and makes life interesting, and we love her more than we could ever say. I wonder what the next month will bring! :)