Teddy...

Natalie recieved one of her first Christmas gifts on Wednesday from good friend Skye. The gift, a teddy bear. We are not quite sure why Natalie is semi-naked while playing with Teddy. Anyway, Natalie seems to have made a new friend...

Santa Claus came to Ashburn...

he then left for an hour and came back. Luckily we found a way to the front of the line upon his return. All in all, we waited 2.5hrs in line at Dulles Town Center to see the jolly ole fellow...and, believe it or not, we were one of the lucky ones to only wait 2.5hrs. Despite the long lines Natalie shined in her three minutes with Saint Nick. She sat on his lap and gave a few smiles. We are not exactly sure what she wished for but we're hoping it involves a couple of teddy bears, books, clothes and a few select toys.

Whats new...well, Natalie is now scooting herself in circles while on her stomach. She has completed several 360 degree turns. We are assuming that crawling is just around the corner.

Both of our families are coming to town to celebrate Christmas in Ashburn. We are really looking forward to their company and ready to down some good eats and spirits.

Isn't it amazing how much can happen in a week...

Natalie has had a couple of first this week:

First, Natalie is sitting up on her own. Someone still has to sit near her as she will eventually slump over but she is able to sit up for a couple of minutes on her own. It must be from all of the sit ups we have been doing. We can now put a Boppy behind her and give her a couple of toys to play with while tend to other stuff around the house.

Secondly, she has started rolling over from her back to her stomach. Our daycare first noticed this on Friday and sure enough, she has rolled over several times this weekend. It is amazing how things can change from one day to the next.

Natalie is starting to really enjoy her rice cereal. Often times requesting more. She is also very content at watching people and seeing their interactions. We noticed last weekend that she would watch a group of people carry on a conversation turning her head to watch whomever was speaking. Unfortunately the conversation involved installing drywall...if she only knew. Josh feels that this is the best age so far as she is figuring out new things everyday.

I promised myself I wasn't going to cry...

For the first time in Josh and Kaija's relationship Josh shed a tear. Although, these tears were tears of joy. Natalie picked up the remote control and began hitting buttons. After seeing this, Josh jumped up and grabbed the camera to capture the joyous moment.

Natalie started her rice cereal on Sunday. She also say in her high chair for the first time. The first two attempts to feed the rice cereal did not go over well with several yuck faces. Today, however, she decided to eat the cereal without a fuss and remained, for the most part, clean. We will see how this continues but we are hoping she continues to enjoy this feeding. We are really looking forward to starting her on fruits in a couple of weeks. In our anticipation we have already begun stocking the cabinet.

We went to Snickersville Tree Farm this weekend and started our family tradition of cutting down our Christmas Tree and dressing it up as a family. The place was very nice plus they offered free apple cider. Natalie looked so cute bundled up in her snow suit although her nose was very red by the end of finished.

Grandpa and Grandma D are coming into town this weekend with Aunt and Uncle D. Not too much on the agenda but they volunteered to babysit on Monday instead of sending Natalie to daycare.