Natalie had her 9 month appointment and things went really well! She is in the 24th percentile for weight, 82nd percentile for height and 95th percentile for her head! Again, she is a long and lean little lady with a big head like her brother. The weeks following were full of playdates, my gym days, dinners with friends, zoo dates, Cammie's 1st guy camping trip and special girl weekend with my mom and Nattie. We had such a great month! July is also going to be a busy one - Bachelorette party in Vegas, Bachelor parties for Ry, a wedding, a wedding rehearsal and our usual schedule!
Lets get to the good part of the blog - THE KIDLETS! Cameron is growing leaps and bounds! He is currently cutting his final tooth (last 2nd year molar) THANK GOODNESS!! This poor little guy had the worst time teething. He has literally cut a tooth every month since he got his 1st when he was 10 months old. One at a time... I felt horrible. Well, now we get to look forward to the tooth fairy in the future! I can't believe it but his vocabulary is getting more extensive daily.
Cam is putting together longer sentences and adding more expressions too. My favorites right now are, "Oh my gosh!" "What is going on here??" "I miss you so much!" With this new found freedom of speech, he is starting to push the boundaries a lot. He wants to be able to walk behind us or ahead of us, he is starting to talk back a bit more (Using NO A LOT!) and shows his dominance towards Nattie. He wants her to know that he is the big brother and constantly is saying "I'm not a baby, I'm a big kid!" The key now for us is how we deal with this new attitude. Don't get me wrong, he is still extremely sweet and a great kid, but he is definitely acting like a 2.5 year old. We shall see how this month goes!
Cammie is still very much enjoying going to My Gym and actually has moved up a class. He is now officially in the "Terrific Tot" class. This class focuses more on sharing, taking turns, active skills and more independence with the teachers. He is loving it and seems to be trying new things quicker and without fear. I'm very proud of him and I look forward to going to class to watch him play. Nattie is so patient there and usually hangs out in her carseat or plays with the teachers.
Cam was invited to attend the annual guy's camping trip this year! He was very excited to go and couldn't wait to go camping with Daddy, Papa, Uncle, Cousin Brandon and Doug. He talked about it for weeks! According to the guys, Cammie had a great time throwing rocks, playing by the water, helping with the fire, being with all of his favorite guys and of course the marshmallows! While he was gone with the guys, I had a chance to have one on one time with Sneak. It was great spending 48 hours with all of the attention on her. I think she enjoyed it a lot. Saturday night, my mom came down and we went shopping and out to dinner. She stayed the night for a sleep over. We had such a wonderful time! I missed Cammie a lot but now I can look forward to having a little girls weekend every year.
Today Cam is 2.5 years old. I really can't believe that he is this old! It feels like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital, excited and afraid. He has made us incredibly proud and happy to be his parents. Here is Cam's top 10 favorite things this month (Straight from him):
1. Fast cars and his motorcycle
2. Raspberries, Cucumbers and cream cheese
3. The man in the yellow hat and Curious George
4. Mighty Machines (TV show from the 1990's!)
5. His backhoe jammies
6. His firetruck rainboots
7. Swings and the ball pit at My Gym
8. Playing in the sprinkler
9. The book, "Goodnight, goodnight construction site"
10. Mommy
All I can say everyone is that I'm in LOVE! I am 100% smitten with Natalie. She is incredibly sweet, funny and snuggly. Nat has the cutest smile - and squishes her whole face up and snorts! She is very attached to both Ryan and I and is very clingy if someone tries to hold her. She is getting better about warming up quicker, but she is still very shy.
Nattie had a big teething month as well. She now is sporting 4 teeth! She is thankfully not like her brother in the teething department and gets them 2 at a time. Nat is a crawling and climbing machine now and is moving so fast, that it is hard to keep up with her! I feel like Cam is running one way wanting something and Nat is going the opposite way getting into something else. She is wanting to walk so badly and loves holding onto people's hands and walk. I think by her first birthday she will be walking. It's busy enough, she can take her time!
Natalie has a funny little personality and it has been so much fun to watch her grow into the little girl she is today. She snorts when she laughs, makes the same ridiculous noise I do (sucking air in) to make others laugh and is constantly smiling. She is absolutely in love with Cammie and watches every move he makes. It is so much fun to watch them play in the loft together. You see Cammie run to one side of the room to get a toy, then 20 seconds later you see Nattie crawling after him. It's adorable.
Nattie is eating like crazy! This little girl can put away food at an amazing speed! She is eating yogurt, cheese, veggies, fruits, pasta with mariana sauce, crackers, yogurt bites and more! Nat loves to eat and nurse - it is probably her favorite thing to do! Speaking of nursing, we are still going strong and loving it. I can't believe we have been on this adventure for 10 months. If nursing is still going well by her first birthday, I have made the decision to do extended breastfeeding until she decides to wean herself. I feel like we have a special bond and I love the mandatory snuggle time I get 6 times a day with her. It feels so good that she loves on me : )
Natalie's sleeping routine is so much better now. I decided that she was overly tired by the time she went to bed at night, and I believe that it was causing her to get up all night. I moved up her bedtime to 6:30 and BAM...only nursing once a night (Before it was 5-6 times a night...HORRIBLE!) Everyone seems a lot happier and healthier now that sleep is actually happening! Things are improving all over the place : )
I have to include something about my sweet Basie. She is an amazing mommy to our kids. Every night, Basie comes with Nattie and me into Nattie's room for her bedtime routine. I sit with Natalie in the glider and snuggle up to nurse her to sleep. Right next to the glider is a little bean bag chair with a blanket. This is Basie's spot. She stays with Nattie from getting into her jammies and nursing all the way until she is asleep. After her baby girl is asleep, Basie trots down the hall into Cammie's room for story time and snuggles. After the last book is read and Cammie is tucked in, Basie joins Loey on our bed and can finally relax for the night. She is so sweet and a staple in our lives. The kids just love both girls and Cammie is constantly asking for them. They are the best girls and we are so blessed to have them. I consider myself especially lucky because not only do I get the opportunity to stay at home with the kids, I get to spend almost every second with the girls. I love them so much and would be lost without my sidekicks.
We are absolutely smitten with our little lovies and couldn't ask for better kids. They bring so much joy and happiness to our lives and others. We are so excited to watch the kids interact more and begin playing games together.
I hope everyone has a great month! Here are our monthly pictures of the kids
Smooches!
So happy that you guys have the sleep situation under control now. It is so cool that Cam lives the Mighty Machines. That does is definitely legit. Miss you guys being up north! It would be great to see you guys and get the kiddos together sometime soon.
ReplyDelete