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.

Thanksgiving and Great Grandma...

Thanksgiving went well. Grandma and Grandpa J came into town along with Great Grandma Mauser making this Thanksgiving especially nice since Natalie and GG Mauser had yet to meet. GG Mauser, a young 81, enjoyed watching Natalie's theatrics and Natalie enjoyed all of the attention. So much so, she decided not to nap all Thanksgiving day even after repeated efforts.

Josh signed Natalie up for swimming lessons on Tuesday. She is very young but Josh wants to get her acclimated as soon as possible, especially since we will be traveling to Key Largo, FL in Feb. Plus, this provides Josh an opportunity to have an activity for just the two of them.

Natalie continues to enjoy playing in her Exersaucer and playing with her toys when she is in her Bumbo or on her playmat. She has started drinking water during her bath time. She will grab the bowl, pull it towards her mouth and stick her tongue out as water splashes down. Occasionally she gets a mouth full but does not seem to mind.

Keep the cards coming, they're scrumptous...

Usually when we receive cards we will sit down with Natalie and read them to her. The past couple of days when we have received cards we have decided to give them to Natalie to well, um, read. To the side is a picture and video of Natalie enjoying the latest card.

This past weekend we went to a good friends Baptism in Maryland. Young Jack Golub was baptised Catholic at 3 months. He seemed to enjoy the experience and both he and Natalie enjoyed the after-party.

Josh is heading to Aurora again for the week leaving Kaija and Natalie to have a little girl time together.

Not too much going on this weekend. We will probably hit up Wegmans to start our Thanksgiving Holiday shopping spree. We are also getting with friends on Saturday to watch the VT/Miami and possibly getting with more friends on Sunday for a pre-holiday dinner.

tongue wagging...

We noticed something different about Natalie over the weekend. She is starting to stick her tongue out...all of the time. Maybe its because she is in the beginning stages of teething (daycare guess) or maybe she just loves the sound her mouth makes when she blows (Josh's guess). Either way, she loves sticking her tongue out. Luckily she does not have any teeth yet- Here are some more photos of Natalie on her Exersaucer. There are two videos on the right of Natalie demonstrating her new found tongue wagging hobby.

The weekend and the exersaucer...

We had a very uneventful weekend for the most part. One goal we had was to completely file away all of our important documents from the past year that have hibernated on the computer desk in the loft. We were 90% effective in our goal. We did drive into Arlington on Saturday night to hangout with a few friends. Natalie had a great time being passed back and forth. She definitely loves attention. We ended up staying out much too late for both baby and parents. We did have a great time catching up with some good friends though.

What is the exersaucer? Only the single best toy ever!! Josh spent an hour putting together Natalie's newest toy...the exersaucer. We were a little hesitant at first but now we have seen how much joy this new contraption brings to Natalie. There are a few 'high-tech' gadgets on the toy however Natalie seems to prefer the battery-less toys that she can pull towards her mouth.

Halloween...

I think all parents expect their first Halloween to be a joyous and eventful experience. However, for the most part, Natalie's first Halloween was, somewhat, uneventful. We started the day going to daycare in her mermaid costume since the daycare had a parade for all of the kids (actually it was more for the parents). Anyway, upon fitting Natalie into her costume we realized that she has grown so much she could not straighten her legs in the mermaids tail since she has become so tall. She managed to endure the parade without throwing a fit and letting mom and dad snap a few photos. Later that evening we had great expectations that we would sit outside with Natalie in costume and hand out candy to all of the kids. However, Natalie quickly reminded us how uncomfortable that outfit was so we abandoned our plans. Next year should be a little more enjoyable as she will be able to walk around in her outfit.

Can we get a Doctor around here...

Natalie had her 4 month checkup today where she received 2 more shots in her legs. This go around did not go quite as smooth as the 2 month shots. She was very uncomfortable crying and screaming from the moment she received the shots to the time she got home. Not the best way to celebrate the night before Halloween. They did update her measurables (see Height and Weight) and she seems to be thinning out as she continues to grow.

Natalie has a costume parade at school tomorrow so we are going to check out all the kids as they march around the daycare. Should be fun!!

Lordy, lordy, look who's four...

Natalie turned 4 months old on Sunday. Unfortunately she took it all in with a cold. However, to not damper the mood, Kaija took Natalie, in what will probably be a normal occasion, to the mall for a little shopping spree to get some much needed winter clothing. Natalie came home with several outfits and a big smile on her face.

Josh carved a pumpkin last night and we let Natalie play with her little pumpkin. She seemed more interested in swatting it off her Bumbo Chair. We are really looking forward to Natalie's 1st Halloween and her 'scuba' costume.

Kaija was in Chicago for a day trip with work today so Josh had daycare dropoff/pickup duty. In the past week we have noticed Natalie squealing. We hate to call it squealing because of the negative connotation but we are not sure what else to call it. It is really cute though!!! When Josh took her to daycare today he noticed that upon hearing other kids crying or screaming Natalie would take a deep breath and make her squealing noice followed by a smile.

Toe Grabbing Saturday...

We finally caught Natalie in the act of grabbing her toes. She really enjoys the activity and remains unfazed that she very rarely succeeds getting her toes to her mouth. Anyway, checkout the videos on the right to see her in action. Natalie has also mastered the art of taking the Binky out of her mouth and then placing it back in her mouth. Hopefully we will capture that on video soon.

On Sunday we are going to carve a pumpkin in celebration of Natalie's 1st Halloween. Have we mentioned Natalie's costume? She is going to be a Scuba Diver complete with a respirator and tanks. Just kidding of course, like Kaija would ever let Josh dress up Natalie in a Scuba costume. We are not giving out the costume just yet but check in around Wed or Thurs for some photos.

We are also pleased to announce that Natalie is going to have another friend in a couple of months. Good friends Lauren and John Duffy are having a little girl in March - we can't wait!