Montage at Laguna Beach

On a really clear day I can stand outside on my porch and see the ocean. The fact that I live so close to the beach is one of the many reasons why I love living in Southern California.
Yesterday, I took my parents and the girls to the Montage at Laguna Beach, a fancy hotel right on the beach, where we strolled and played while enjoying the perfect weather. Nothing like a relaxing afternoon.

San Diego Zoo

My parents flew in all the way from their little old town in GA to visit me and the girls during hubby's busy season for the next week. Wahoo! Yesterday, we started out our fun by visiting the San Diego Zoo. It was everyone's first time. And of course, Marisa loved it. She was absolutely fascinated by the animals and how close she was able to see them.





Marisa is so funny. During lunch, she wanted to look at the map to see where we were going next. As if she could read one. At the end of the day when I asked Marisa what her favorite part of the zoo was she replied, "The giraffes." (We never saw giraffes.)






Of the animals we did get to see, I think the elephants were Marisa's favorite. Her least favorite were definetly the lions and other big cats. She was scared of their loud growls and the dark caves we had to walk through to see them.










All in all, it was a good day.

6 month check-up

Weight: 13 lbs 6 ounces 8 percentile
Height: 25 inches 25 percentile
Head: 16 1/4 inches 20 percentile

My baby is disappearing! She's so tiny! No worries though, nothing is wrong with Natalie. The doctor said that she is just taking after her mommy. She's very petite.
I'm always worried about her weight though because compared to Marisa, she is so different. Marisa ate like a horse and Natalie eats like a mouse. Marisa was chunky and Natalie is light as a feather. The doctor compared their charts and they seem to be doing the same thing on their growth chart just at different numbers. Anyways, Natalie is happy and healthy and that is all I hope for!
Natalie is developing just fine, hitting all her milestones, and FINALLY only waking up once to eat. A week of sleeping training (not as bad as I expected it to be) did the trick. Tim and I are excited about the stages she is entering because this is when it starts to really get fun. We sure love our tiny Natalie!


Loves:
-Baby food. She's only had yellow vegetables so far but loves them all.
-Laughing with Marisa. Those girls can crack each other up.
-Her mommy. She's a total Momma's girl. I can't leave her sight.
-Being held and LOVES to cuddle. I LOVE that about her.
-Walks and riding in the double stroller next to Marisa.
-Putting anything and everything in her mouth.
-Sticking her tongue out.
-Squealing.
-Being a wiggle worm. This girl doesn't ever stop!

Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy

I swear it was yesterday I wrote this exact post about Marisa. Remember this? Flash forward two years and it's Natalie's turn!







Of course, Marisa wanted to show us that she can still bounce!

girls ALWAYS want to have fun

Marisa loves playdates.

And there is nothing better than having a cute little girlfriend to play with. Lucky her, as she grows up, even at my age, the playing still doesn't stop. =o)

Starting Solids

I didn't want to start Natalie on any kind of solids until she was at least 6 months old, so I can breastfeed as long as possible, but I was curious and I thought it would at least maybe (fingers-crossed) help her sleep better at night. So I gave it a try.

She reacted just as expected. Natalie was not to sure what to do or really think of it. She tried sucking on the spoon and every once and awhile she would make a face. Unsure about the taste and texture of rice cereal. Of course, it was really cute to watch!





It got kinda hard to feed her near the end because she would just turn her body and start sucking on the side of her bumbo. Maybe I'll have to start feeding her in her carseat...

Happy 2010!

For New Year's we went to St. George and Las Vegas to spend time with more family. We rang in the New Year with me nursing Natalie to sleep, and Tim putting Marisa to bed. Woo-hoo! So it was rather a quiet way to enter 2010. (Or a stressful way to enter?) Hopefully, the quiet entrance will be a foreshadowing for the year.
It was also Tim's birthday on January 2nd! Happy Birthday, love! The big 28. We celebrated in Vegas on the strip at PF Changs. We were treated as VIP there because we had our own fancy room, that was kinda hidden in the restaurant, with big glass doors to enter in and a large wooden table with beautiful ambiance surrounding us. haha That's how we roll, you know.
Before we ate, we stopped to look at the new CityCenter. It is the largest privately funded construction project in the history of the United States. It will be really neat once it is completely finished.


(I love this picture of Marisa and cousin Tanner. Besties holding hands around CityCenter. And if you look closely, Marisa has her whole hand wrapped around one of Tanner's fingers.)

Anyways, I'm excited for a new year. A fresh start, new goals, and new adventures with my family. Happy 2010!