Double Digits

Natasha is 10 months old!

Admiring her shoes

Swinging at the park

Watching football with daddy

Natasha turned 10 months old yesterday and to celebrate we went to the park to swing! Two more months and we will be celebrating her 1st Birthday. It will be a Spring theme with bright colors and flowers. I'm excited to plan a party again! Now back to our growing blossom... Natasha is doing a pretty good job pulling herself up, but hasn't quite figured out a graceful way to get back down onto her bottom. She hasn't been walking along any furniture yet, but likes it when Zac or I hold her hands and walk with her. Natasha has been a great eater and is done with pureed foods except for the occasional applesauce. She is most interested in what mommy or daddy is eating and would prefer to eat off of our spoon or fork. Natasha has gotten much better at picking up foods and putting them in her mouth, although she is still pretty messy (we have found a couple of cheerios or crackers down her shirt). As for sleep, she is still waking up twice a night to be either fed or comforted. I have tried to let her cry it out for a bit, but now that she is pulling herself up, she will just stand in her crib and cry. So that plan just doesn't work. Other than that she is a happy little girl who likes to still play peek-a-boo, babble, wave hi/bye, give high fives (still working on it), tip over the towers Zac and I build, shake bells and tap two objects together to make a sound (I think her BFF, Kyra taught her this one). But most of all she loves to cuddle with mommy and daddy!

Have a good week!

Sunny Days and a Playdate

Lounging

Wears them just like mama

Pulling herself up

What should I play with now?

Playdate with my BFF, Kyra:

Thank you Kyra for sharing your toys with me

(or taking the toy away from me).

One for each

Kyra: I don't know about this girl playing with my stuff.

So cute!

Lunchtime!

Best Friends

Oh no, Natasha is attacking mommy

My sweetie pie

Sitting in the big rocking chair

Two little monkeys

Well, leave it to Southern California to be sunny and warm in January while the rest of the country is experiencing cold winter weather. It has been beautiful out the past couple of days, but I don't think it will last much longer. On Tuesday, I captured a few cute pictures of Natasha in shorts and a t-shirt lounging in the sun in our backyard. We have been taking full advantage of the park across the street from our house. After Natasha's afternoon nap, Natasha hops into her little red car and we head over to play on the swings. Luckily it hasn't been too crowded and we don't have to wait for the only baby swing. But I am looking forward to summer when it is crowded and Natasha will be walking (or running) all over the park with all the other neighbor kids!

Earlier this month Natasha had another playdate with her BFF, Kyra. It was so much fun seeing the girls interact, especially since Natasha is now crawling around. I think the girls had a great time and they were both wiped out afterwards. We are looking forward to Kyra's 1st birthday next month... Where has the time gone? Before we know it, we will be celebrating our little girl's 1st birthday... yikes! I know the next year will be just as new and exciting as the last, but why does she have to grow so fast! I just packed away a bunch of baby clothes that she has outgrown and can't believe the 12 to 18 month clothes are filling up her drawers and closet. I just hope she always wants me to hold her and won't wiggle out of my arms to go play... I can only wish, right?

Next up, double digits... Natasha turns 10 months on Monday!

Stay tuned.

On the Move

Here is a video of our baby girl, Natasha showing off her crawling skills (and some babbling too)! Enjoy!

Beep! Beep!

Happy New Year! Check out my new ride from Santa...

my new car was waiting for me by the tree when I woke up.
And I'm now 9 months old!

I'm going to sing about it!

Christmas Eve with my Mimi

Desi and Kiana

Nikki and me

Kiana and Maxx

Tia and me

Nothing says Christmas like Star Wars - The Clone Wars

Tia and Kiana trying on their Christmas presents

Cam Cam

Christmas Day at Grandma Lou's

(Cooper loves giving me kisses... maybe a little too much)

OH BOY, PRESENTS!!

Auntie Lizzy and me

"You have your present and I have mine"

BEEP! BEEP! On my way to the park to meet up

with my BFF, Kyra (and her parents too)

Our little monkey!

Kyra and me!

"Don't let go, daddy or I will take a chunk of hair with me"

Other photos from this month:

I love books!

Out to lunch... what should I have?

Meeting Santa again...still not too sure about him.

I feel better with Maxx close by.

When my car is in the shop, I take my scooter!

Thanks Uncle Matt and Auntie Lizzy

It was a wonderful Christmas for our family this year and a great 1st Christmas for our baby girl, Natasha! Pretty soon, I won't be able to call her our little baby because she turned 9 months last week. I can't believe in less than 3 months she will be 1 years old... time can slow down now. We had her 9 month check-up on Thursday and here are her stats:

Weight: 21 lbs. 1 oz. - still 85th percentile

Height: 28 3/4" - 75th percentile

Head Circumference: 44 1/2 cm - 50th percentile

Overall, she is in great health and right on track with all the developmental milestones.

Now back to Christmas. This year we hosted Christmas Eve at our house with my mom's side of the family. We did a potluck dinner, which worked out great and as usual, no one went home hungry. Natasha didn't seem too interested in all her presents... but it was a bit chaotic with 4 older kids ripping into their gifts left and right. But I think she still had a great time. And as you can see, Santa gave her her first car! I don't know if she asked for it when she met Santa, but there it was on Christmas morning by our tree.

Christmas Day was a full day of family fun. We had brunch at Grandma Lou's house in the morning, then opened more gifts! Natasha got some pretty cool gifts, especially her scooter from Uncle Matt and Auntie Lizzy! She has so much fun riding it or just putting things and taking things out of the front basket. After Natasha's (short) nap we took a ride to the park to meet up with the Tipper's and Natasha's BFF, Kyra. It was great seeing the girls together and we are so excited that this summer, they will be moving back to Orange County! After the park, we then headed over to Zac's aunt's house for dinner. By 8:30, Natasha had about enough of all the celebrating and dragged Zac and I home.

Our New Year's Eve was very low key this year. Zac and I had lobster and wine for dinner (yum) and after putting Natasha to bed, we watched The Town... fantastic movie, if you haven't seen it. Natasha decided to wake up at 12:20 to tell us Happy New Year. She also decided not to go back to sleep in her crib and since mommy was so tired, Natasha got to sleep in our bed all night. I hope she doesn't think she gets to do this every night. She has a bit of a running nose today and seemed congested last night, so I think that is why she didn't want to sleep in her crib by herself. Also, she is extra wiggly in her crib because she finally learned to crawl forward this week! It's so cute to see and hopefully I will get good video of it (she still prefers to scoot backwards and roll to get to things).

We were so blessed with a wonderful 2010 that we hope our family and friends are blessed with a wonderful 2011!

Happy New Year!