Changes

This week, Natalie has done a bunch of new things.  She very definitely can roll on to her side, and she loves kicking and batting her toys from under her little gym.  She also discovered her cute little feet!



Another new thing this week: Mom and Dad are getting her started on a strict nighttime routine to help her get to sleep and stay asleep.  For the last few weeks, it has been taking her longer and longer to go down at night and she was getting up frequently.  We think it might have something to do with her becoming very aware of everything around her; she is absorbing and reacting to things faster than ever. So sleeping in a dark room isn't her thing anymore.  And she has stepped up her defense against our hours-long efforts to lull her to sleep.  This week her little anti-sleep crusade resulted in her getting about 6 hours of sleep at night vs. the 11 she used to get.  And, counterintuitively, daytime naps have also shortened.  Not good.



So we realized two things: 1) she needs a strong going-to-bed routine; and 2) our constant presence with her motivates her to stay awake long past her bedtime.  So on Friday night we committed to a routine, which included letting her cry in her crib for the first time, with us checking on her every few minutes.  It was sad, but... it worked!  After 20 minutes of fussing, she passed out and slept through the night for the first time in awhile.  Whew.

She got pretty sick on Saturday night, but thankfully she is feeling better.  We're thankful to Melissa's mom, Liz, for making this full-length bib for Natalie.  It was very helpful when she was throwing up so much!  Natalie was pretty brave, despite all of the heaving of that tiny little body: she hardly cried after throwing up; it was later, when she realized how bad she was feeling, that she cried.





She looks so sad in these pictures!  It breaks my heart.



She was able to cry herself to sleep Sunday night for only 5 minutes.  Ultimately, we think this will be much better for her: she needs sleep!

I went back to work this past week.  It went well, despite my sadness about leaving Natalie.  Part of why I wasn't too worried was because I know Natalie is in such good hands.  Here, she's with Linda, who watches her on Mondays.  Taylor has her on Wednesday mornings - his favorite day of the week now, for sure - and then we take her to a friend's house on Fridays.

Gazania is my new favorite flower.  I love their variegated petals.  I don't think they're necessarily supposed to bloom this time of year, but ours are - and I love it!

One of a gazillion pecans that are currently falling from our tree.  If you happen to visit, guess what your job will be?  Cracking pecans!

Radishes from the garden!  The garden is doing so well; we've enjoyed lots of lettuce and herbs from it so far.  

Back to new things: She's having fun reaching for books!









And she's still so talkative:

Please come visit any time!  Our little one is changing so quickly.

Also...if you ever see anything, ANYTHING, on sale at BabyGap that is irresistable, buy it for me!  I'm 90% serious.  I went in to that store the other day for the first time and couldn't believe how sweet everything is.  Okay, so don't succumb...but seriously, cutest baby clothes ever.