My Little Family

More pictures to come....

2008-01-02T23:43:00.000-08:00

I have a gazillion pictures to post here. I'm way behind with the holidays that were crazy. And the only time I get to do this is after the girls go to bed. I'd post more now but it is 10:44 and tomorrow is a dreaded work day. :-) Coming soon are Kaia's Girl Scout Xmas Party, a good family friend's Bday party, Christmas (which will take me a while to wade through the 200 pictures I took), cute Natalie and Kaia bath pics, and Natalie and Kaia sledding! Check back soon.....

Natalie is starting to eat solids!

2008-01-02T23:37:00.000-08:00

Pictures taken 12/16/07. We began introducing Natalie to solid foods. And wow oh wow, does this kid love food!!! It is actually entertaining to feed her. Below we gave her Baby Mum-Mums, rice cookies that turn to mush really quickly and can be given to babies as young as 4 months. Natalie loves them. Her high chair is one of the very few things I saved from when Kaia was a baby. It is WAY too big for her but it does all kinds of cool things that make it easy for younger babies to sit in. Natalie really likes sitting in it. As you can see....she is just kicked back. Check out how she positions her feet! That cracks me up!

Supposed to be our Christmas Card

2008-01-02T23:28:00.000-08:00

Do you have any idea how hard it was to get everyone in the house at the same time and at a decent hour when kids aren't cranky? Well, next year...I'll have to carefully plan it. I didn't get everyone in the picture but I settled for just the girls. I had wanted to make this our Christmas card, but well...time just got away from me. Pictures taken 12/16/07 (Natalie turned seven months that day!)

I think either the one above or the one below would have been our picture of choice.

And of course...as every parent who takes pictures of kids knows, ya gotta take at least 30 pictures to get a few good ones. Thank goodness for digital. The ones above are the good ones and I have a whole lot of not-so-good ones too. But I just had to show some of those too as they are entertaining:

Notice Kaia trying to covertly tickle Natalie above? Well, Natalie is really ticklish....and she wasn't able to hide it very well. :-)

Eating is too much work....

2008-01-02T23:25:00.001-08:00

Pictures taken 12/15/07. So, everyone has these pictures of babies asleep in their high chairs. And we've all seen them but you just gotta see these ones. They are soooo cute! LOL

A visit from Grandma & Grandpa Travis!

2008-01-02T23:18:00.000-08:00

Pics taken 12/9/07. Grandma and Grandpa Travis came to visit us in December and it was a ton of fun. We took pictures, went out to eat, went for a drive "out the road," spent a whole day driving around Juneau, and just sat around visiting (my favorite part!). I really had a good time while they were here. Here are a few of the pics we took! Don't forget that you can click on the images to see them bigger.

Want to see some new layouts? :-)

2007-12-08T18:42:00.000-08:00

Guess what?

2007-11-18T00:57:00.000-08:00

Natalie turned six months yesterday (November 16, 2007). I can't believe it has been six months.... She has started to turn over. ALL THE WAY OVER. She can roll from one end of a blanket to another. She also sits up now. Not very good and she still falls over, but she sits up! She is soo different from Kaia when she was this age, it is hard to believe all of the differences. Natalie grabs for everything! You can't put anything near her....NOTHING. She knows what to do with a cup and if you have yours too close, watch out. You can see from pictures below that she get antsy when she can't get to something. She had one knee bent like she was going to push herself towards a toy. I'm really hoping she isn't going to crawl soon. I'm not ready for that!

Kaia is still doing Girl Scouts and Ballet. The ballet class is a basic one and I think she is starting to get bored. But the next class will be more fun. At six years old, one just doesn't understand the importance of having the basics down. On top of all this, you gotta hear her read! Wow - she amazes me in how quickly she has picked it up since starting first grade. She was a good reader last year but she is just soaring to new heights. She gets impatient and kind of lazy sometimes with it. She looks at the first letter and just throws out a word. When I tell her to stop and look at it, she does. And then she gets it right away. Not quite sure where the hurry came from. I love reading with her everynight. I thought the homework part with kids wouldn't be any fun. But she reads every night and every night I enjoy sitting and listening. Kaia reads books to Natalie who of course tries to grab the book and eat it. Kaia never did that either.....I'm starting to wonder what the differences will be between the two of them as they get older. Hmmm.....I won't think of that right now, or any time soon. Natalie is growing soo fast, I feel like she already isn't a baby.....and she is only six months old!!

My Favorite New Pictures!!!

2007-11-18T00:40:00.000-08:00

When I post pictures here, I usually pick a few of the best from the whole photo shoot I do. But she was in such a smiley mood while I took these that I just couldn't pick which ones to post here. So, I posted them all! These are my new favs! Pictures taken 11/10/2007.

Something Beautiful About Sleeping Babies....

2007-11-18T00:19:00.001-08:00

Isn't there just something beautiful about a sleeping baby? C'mon...you gotta admit there is. I'm embarrased to admit how many pictures I have of this particular baby sleeping. :-)

Hmmm....maybe we should buckle her in.

2007-10-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

Pictures taken 09/27/07 - Ok, so maybe we should buckle this kid in, huh? We do now....ever since this time she comfortable moved herself to the edge. She is such a wiggler, as most of you know. You put her down anywhere and in minutes (and sometimes seconds) she is completely turned over, backwards and upside down, or in this case.....

Play Date with Gabriel :-)

2007-10-16T22:35:00.001-07:00

Pictures taken 10/9/07 - Gabriel came over for a play date. They frequently ask for a play date together and they play soo well together and keep each completly occupied, it is hard to say no. :-) Besides...I can still hope that maybe one day he becomes my son-in-law. Ok, I know....silly, right. But I can hope....... Each time he comes over, they want to use the white board. Kaia said she'd show him how good she is at drawing "fashion clothes" and I think Gabriel did really well at pretending he was interested. LOL They even babysat Natalie for me while I got them a snack.

Tummy Time

2007-10-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

I gotta point out something in this recent layout. Look at the pictures in the bottom left hand corner....see that cute little butt in the air and see how she moves? ACK! She absolutely can not start being mobile yet. I'm sooooooooooooooooo not ready for that. :-( Where is my newborn? Did you note the date today? She is now five months old!

It was a reading kind of night.....

2007-10-15T22:35:00.000-07:00

Kaia had to bring pictures to school last week of her and family members to read. So I took advantage of the photo op and took these pictures! Natalie will be 5 months tomorrow!!! Makes me sad....I don't want her to grow up. It seems just like yesterday that she was born.

Later at bed time, she read to Ron also! And yes, you know me....had to take more pictures! This one cracks me up. They were being sooo goofy. You have no idea how many pictures I had to take just to get a good one of both of them looking at me......but then I chose to put this one here instead. LOL

Some of my new favorites! :-)

2007-09-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

Pictures taken 9.16.07 - Natalie turned four months on the day we took these pictures up at my dad (Papa) and Bren's house in Wasilla. It was beautiful out that day as you'll see in more picture that I post after these.

(don't forget that you can click on the pictures to view them bigger)

Natalie's First Plane Ride

2007-09-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

On 9.11 of this year, Natalie had her first plane ride. Weird....6 years ago the day before the real 9.11, Kaia had her first plane ride.....what a coinkidink. :-) We put her in the seat in between us because Kaia moved up to sit next to Nana. Natalie slept some of the way, got a little fussy once but not too bad. You can see Kaia peeking through the seats in front of us checking up on her little sister. LOL

Do we have a thumb sucker???

2007-09-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

Picture taken 9.5.07 - I thought this was sooo cute! And much to Ron's dislike, I really do hope she is a little thumb sucker. :-) I sucked my thumb until I was old enough to remember it! I'm not sure what age though...six? Seven? I'd have to ask my parents....

Kaia Tries Her Hand (um...foot) at Soccer

2007-08-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

Kaia's dad grew up playing soccer and wanted Kaia to try it. I know he'd be really excited if she followed in his footsteps with it and I too hope she does. Well, ok..being a mom I hope she excels in everything she does. But soccer is actually a team sport that I understand. LOL She was really hesitant at the beginning of the season but she really likes it now and gets better with every practice and every game! I've added black arrows to help you distinguish Kaia from her teammates.

Gabriel & Kaia

2007-08-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

Gabriel and Kaia have been begging to have a playdate forever now....and they finally did. Gabe walked into Kaia's new playroom and said, "How SWEET is this!!!" It was soo cute. Kaia let him come up in her very special loft that is all hers. It was built so she could get away from the baby as soon as Natalie is crawling and walking and following her around. LOL Kaia also took Gabe to show him her box of "special things" that she has in her room. They went through the whole box and she told him about each one.

And yes...I have every intention of saving these pictures and bribing the two of them later on in life.....*giggle* Ya never know what the future holds for these two that have referred to each other as husband and wife since they were three years old. Of course now that they get teased relentlessly, they both deny it. We'll see.....

Four new layouts...

2007-08-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

What a Ham she is....

2007-08-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

When Natalie doesn't have a blankey pulled up to her face (see next post below), she sleeps with her arms above her head. I took these pictures on Monday morning just seconds after she opened her eyes. I've showed the top one to everyone I come in contact with and it cracks everyone up. It is just a classic. One that I'll keep forever...

Natalie's Blankey

2007-08-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

Natalie sleeps with this blankey everynight. Surprise, surprise...we actually don't have an over abundance of baby blankets like usually occurs when a baby arrives. And she is still in her bassinet, so she sleeps with this one. And I take it with her when we go places too. See that soft silky? It is sooo soft. She grabs fabric now and brings it to her face....if she doesn't have a blankey, she does it with her clothes. LOL I love this top picture.......

Cooking Biscuits with Mommy

2007-08-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Pictures taken August 19. Have you ever heard of a Bumbo seat? Well, they didn't have these when I had Kaia. But I love it! We use it all the time! We can set Natalie ANYWHERE in this thing and have her be involved in whatever we are doing. In these pictures, I was making biscuits cause Ron had a craving for biscuits and gravy. Natalie wasn't having any part of her bouncy seat at that time so I stuck her in the bumbo chair and set her on the counter. The chair has a wide base and no chance of it ever tipping over. It isn't hard plastic but instead a soft, squishy, but sturdy foam. I gave her a wooden spoon. She's too young to know what to do with it but it did keep her occupied and she woke herself up a few times when she wacked herself with it. LOL But when we set her on the counter, she loves it. She just looks around and watches everything we do while we scurry around the kitchen cooking, cleaning, etc.

No Natalie, you can't eat the spoon!

I'm a terrible mommy.......

2007-08-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know I'm not a terrible mom but this day I sure felt like it. Picture taken on August 18. I have to tell you, I hate....absolutely can't stand cutting baby finger nails. I cut Kaia's finger ONCE when she was a baby and from then on her Nana cut her nails. LOL So I was nervous when Natalie was born. But....knew I had overcome my fears. YEAH RIGHT!!!! They are back full force now. Last week after a bath, I had to cut Natalie's nails. I made the mistake of trying to do it during one of her happier moments when she was wiggling about and not laying still. And of course, guess what happened? I cut her finger. She screamed and cried...not forever but long enough for me to feel horrified. But then it got worse!!! Her finger wouldn't stop bleeding. Check out that bloody tissue!! :-( And that was one of three by the time this ordeal was over. I started to get nervous and started to freak out and went outside to get Ron. He stays much calmer than me in instances like this. I also called my mom! LOL - Ron rolled his eyes at that. But seriously...it would not stop bleeding. I started to get all kinds of visions of Natalie having a problem with her blood clotting and my imagination started to get carried away. Give me a break...she is only three months old and that is a lot of blood! LOL Ok, to make a long story short I was embarrased to call the emergency room and so Ron just bundled up her hand as you can see below. I did talk him out of using duct tape though.....sigh! Can you imagine. Anyway, I nursed her after this while I was nursing, Ron called the ER to ask them about it. I think either he was nervous about the blood too or he decided to call to make me feel better. They said this is a common occurrence and that he did exactly right in wrapping it up like he did. Other than that, there wasn't a whole lot we could do. Except in my case I continued to feel bad. I haven't cut her nails since and they really need to be cut......sigh. Maybe I can talk my mom into doing it again. *giggle*

Kickstarting her Harley! LOL

2007-08-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

This kid cracks me up. She is soo mobile for only three months. I wish we had a video camera cause I'd like to document what she does when she gets all excited. I can lay her on her changing table to change her diaper and she is a baby that you have to move fast with - she wiggles! Always has...even in the womb. She'll push off with her feet and move herself upwards and usually ends up with her head jammed up against the head of her changing table. She also lifts her legs up toward her stomach and just kicks like crazy all smiles and all excited. And now that she is talkin' - oh, yeah..she can talk! LOL In fact, she is talking away right now as her and Ron watch some kind of "beat 'em up" challenge on TV. Anyway, she kicks soo much that Ron jokes that it looks like she is trying to kickstart her Harley. And he is right! That's what it looks like! The pics below show her smiles when she gets excited.

What a Smiley Baby!

2007-08-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

Natalie has the cutest smiles!!!! I'm sure you agree..... This is my new and current favorite picture. She was sitting on my lap and just happy go lucky. I told Ron to grab my camera and he took this great pic!

Natalie was 3 months old on August 16!!!

2007-08-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

Pictures taken August 16. I can't believe she is three months old already. I've started back to work 1/2 time and will start full-time again next week. Makes me sad. Thing is...I love my job. I really enjoy it so I feel guilty when I'm not there. But then I feel guilty when I'm there and not with Natalie.....sigh. Everyday while I've been home with Kaia, I said a little prayer of thanks for a healthy and HAPPY baby! I know I'm bias but she hardly ever has a bad day and when she does have a bad day, it isn't even that bad. Taking three months off of work was hard on the wallet, especially with our trip to Anchorage coming up, but it was worth every box of macaroni and cheese we ate. LOL - just kidding. We eat like kings and we aren't really that hard up. Bills will be hard this month but they aren't on a normal month so we are more than willing to pay the price because it meant I got to stay home soo long with her. She is doing great with her daycare provider. I couldn't have her with a better person than our friend Susan. Natalie smiles at her all the time and when I come to pick her up, she is smiling and happy so I know she is happy there. Ok, enough chatter and on with the pictures, huh? :-)

The outfits the girls have on in these picture were given to me at my work baby shower. I love them and have been waiting to take pictures of the girls in them. They are the perfect girly colors of course with that cutie lavender and pink. Kaia loves her shirt and wore it the day Natalie was born. She of course hates getting her picture taken but I got her to cooperate long enough to get these shots! Too bad I couldn't get Natalie to smile during this time...but that's ok, cause you'll see those shots in the next post.

New Family Additions

2007-08-12T23:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok...I know! For those of you who live in the same town as us, we all know you were dumbfounded when we got a third dog. Well, Ron is a sucker for a rescue. And these two bearded dragons needed a new home. Sigh.....and yep, somehow they ended up with us! LOL As if we don't already have enough in this house......2 adults, a six-year old, a new baby, three dogs, 2 cats, a gerbil and now these two. But check 'em out! Even I have to admit how cool they are.
There is a boy and girl but we don't know yet which one is which. They came with the names of Yin and Yang but we'll be changing those too. So, here they are! :-)

And look at this cage!!! It is beautifully handmade...but as you can see, it is really too big. We haven't decided yet if we are going to keep it or size down. It would be a shame to get rid of it because it is soo nice. But our house is just too small. Like I said, we haven't decided yet. If we keep it, we'll be making a shelf or some kind of way for them to get up in all that empty space. They need to be closer to that lamp/heat source.

New Layouts! :-)

2007-08-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Kaia's Back from Mexico! :-)

2007-07-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

Pictures taken on July 24. Kaia had a great time in Mexico. Everyone she went with got sun burnt except for her. :-) When she first got there, the four girls went and got all their hair put in braids.....yes, her whole head was little braids. It looked really cute. I'll post vacation pictures when I get them from her dad. Kaia swam with dolphins, played on the beach, found shells, and spent 60% of her time in the swimming pool. She says the swimming pools at her hotel were better than the ones in Disneyworld. LOL
Upon her return, her braids were fuzzy and falling out, so we wanted to get them out of her hair. Three and a half hours later, we got them out.....yep, Ron helped. We had to cut some spots so that's why you'll see some short hairs in the pictures. :-) But check out her tan and how cute her hair looks after the braids. LOL I have pictures of her in the braids but I'll post those when I post pics of the girls' new playroom that is FINISHED!!!! :-)

Natalie's Look

2007-07-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

Picture taken July 23. Natalie always has her hands on her face (when tired) or her head resting on her arm (like below). I'm always trying to get pictures of it but she is usually in my arms when in this position and I'm unable to take the picture. This time I had Ron get the camera and snap a few. It cracks me up. When we set her in the chair just to look around, she gets into this position. Or when we are carrying her around, she does also. I'll try and get more pics of this because it is really too cute.

Konked out.......

2007-07-29T15:48:00.001-07:00

Pics taken July 22. LOL! This kid falls asleep in the most amazing positions. I ran and got my camera when I came home from the store to find her konked in Ron's lap like this! :-)

Cutie Patootie!

2007-07-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

Pics taken on July 19. Isn't she just too cute??? I took a whole series of photos of her laying on the quilt made by her ma'ma Brendy. These are two of my favorites. :-)

SUN in Juneau!

2007-07-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

Pics taken on July 15. We haven't had a really sunny summer. It has been ok....(kind of) with sun every now and then but not enough for me. Kaia insisted on getting these cute little sunglasses for Natalie at a garage sale. LOL And we had to try them out to say she at least wore them once! Isn't she cute???

This picture below cracks me up! We took pictures with the sun and then also standing in her sun so she could open her eyes. LOL

Just Entertainment?

2007-07-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know NONE of you parents have EVER done this....yeah, right! But Natalie sure is entertainment for us sometimes. People tell us we have three dogs just for the sole purpose of entertainment...but they haven't seen us laugh at Natalie yet. Ok, I'm joking (kind of...). We really are good parents....REALLY! But every night we wake Natalie up (she insists on being in bed at 9:00 or she lets us know her disapproval) for a feeding right before we go to sleep so that she sleeps for a while with a full tummy and we get a long length of sleep. And yes, this works. But....sometimes she just refuses to wake up. Many nights we've "played" with her trying to wake her up. We undress her, make her body move...you know the routine. Well, this night she absolutely refused to wake up. And she was doing such funny and cute things (or rather Ron was doing funny things with her - she makes a great puppet!) that I ran and got my camera. It is never very far away if you haven't been able to tell. I hope the pictures entertain you because it sure worked for us. LOL

We finally gave up and put the poor baby back in her bassinet. But this particular night she continued to sleep for another three hours before waking up. Yeah!! :-)

Look at Kaia! She's Had a BIG Week! :-)

2007-07-12T12:18:00.001-07:00

Kaia's been learning how to ride a bike for about three years now. She gave up for quite a long while because she got frustrated. Then she simply had no interest. Until this summer.... I guess six is the age where kids start watching other kids and wanting to do everything they are doing. So this summer when all the neighborhood kids left to go on bike rides, Kaia got left behind. :-( She came in crying more than once. So Ron and I got her bike back out and it didn't take long (just a day or two) before she was cruising on training wheels (yeah.....we kind of had to start over). Then Ron loosened the training wheels to the point where she wasn't even really using them....but we kept them on because they made her feel secure about riding. Then this day below, Kaia was riding her bike and she stopped momentarily to talk to me. While I kept her talking, Ron snuck behind her and took her training wheels off. She didn't even notice! LOL
Then five minutes later after she continued to ride around, she stopped, looked down at one side of her back tire with this confused look. Looked at the other one, and looked back and forth. Then she looked at us standing there innocently in the driveway. LOL She yelled "Mama!!! Ronnie!!!" ROFL! It was sooo funny. We started clapping and cheering and she was ecstatic!!!

Until about five minutes later when someone ran into her with their big wheel......
She cried and cried and I thought she'd bring neighbors out of their houses wondering what was going on. She said "I'm never riding my bike again when other people are around!!!" Have I mentioned she is a very dramatic six year old? :-)
So we had a talk again about what happens in life when you fall down. Five minutes later when we reviewed our talk and I asked her, "What happens when you fall down?" And she said..."You get right back up!" That's my good girl! :-) And that's exactly what she did......look at her go!

Kaia's SECOND Success This Week!

2007-07-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Kaia lost her first tooth two days ago! She is sooo proud! But first...let me tell you the story. :-) Ron and I looked in her mouth to check the tooth and see how it was doing. It has been loose for over a month and we thought she would have lost it long ago. But she has been avoiding using the tooth at all to eat, so it has just hung in there. But this day when we checked it, it was just hanging there. We didn't want her to lose it that night while sleeping and swallow it. She has a special little alligator shaped box that her Nana bought her that says "My first tooth" on it and so losing it would have been a big disapointment to her. So, we convinced her it was time to pull it out. :-) At first she was excited! So above you see this semi-nervous smile on her face. She is wiggling it and the thought of losing it and getting a dollar from the tooth fairy makes her giggle.
Then she starts to get nervous. She was scared of it hurting and she didn't want it to bleed. She doesnt like the smell of blood. LOL
Then sigh....the trauma starts. She gets really upset because by now 20 minutes has passed and she's had time to think about it.
Ron talks to her and tries to show her how to do it. She wants to do it herself and we were fine with that. Besides....by this time she wouldn't let us touch her mouth. LOL Saliva started making everything slippery so we gave her a tissue and told her to use that to grab her tooth. That didn't work either. By this time we were all getting frustrated but Ron and I were trying not to show Kaia we were laughing and rolling our eyes.

So then we tried string..... We told her that we'd put the string around her tooth but then let her do the pulling. Well, her little tongue couldn't stay out of the way and kept pushing the string right back off the tooth when we got it on.

We had to quit our efforts because Nana was flying in for a couple of days from being on vacation (she wanted to see Kaia before Kaia left for a trip to Mexico with her dad). Kaia decided she wanted her Nana to pull her tooth because "Nana was gentle and we weren't". ROFL! But by this time we were fine with that. Whatever got that stubborn tooth out. We couldn't figure out what was holding it in. It was just hanging there!SUCCESS!!! Nana was able to pull Kaia's tooth and guess what? Just like we told Kaia, she didn't even feel it! Kaia put her tooth in her little alligator box and put it near her pillow with a note saying:

New Layouts :-)

2007-07-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

Zebra Natalie

2007-07-05T16:09:00.001-07:00

Old Navy sure has changed its style of clothing for kids and babies. They have really gone hip and trendy. For adults and girls, that's good. But for babies? I guess I'll have to get used to it. It took me a whole hour to get used to this zebra one piece. LOL But only because Natalie looks soo cute in it! What do you think? ;-)

Pictures of Natalie Smiling

2007-07-05T16:07:00.001-07:00

I've taken some more pictures of Natalie.......ok, more than some. A gazillion......really! LOL You'd laugh if you saw how many pictures I take of the girls. But when taking pictures of kids, you get one good one for every 10 pics that you snap. Anyway, I now have more pictures of Natalie smiling.....but the one below is still my FAVORITE! :-)

My Favorite Picture! :-)

2007-06-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

Natalie has been smiling real smiles (not gassy ones) for just over a week now. I've shot a gazillion pictures trying to capture a smile and I finally got this one. I can't wait to scrap this pic cause it is sooo cute. Makes me just want to "eat her up" (as Kaia would say).

Scroll down a lot because I've uploaded a ton of pictures today! And don't forget to click on "older posts" if you want to see all the way back to when Natalie was born.

CURLY hair......but only at bath time.

2007-06-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

All of you know how Ron has curly hair. Well, maybe you don't. It is RINGLETS! Yep, no joke! Some of you may not know cause he recently cut his hair and before that, he always brushed out those ringlets cause he says the guys at work will make fun of him. Poor Ron.... But I love those perfect little ringlets. He hates them. So, anyway....I've been hoping Natalie was going to have curly hair. And she did right when she was born, but then to Ron's dismay, the hospital staff combed it straight during her first bath. It has been straight ever since. We were kind of bummed (so I guess the relationship Ron has with his curly hair is a love/hate relationship). But it has grown some now and it is going to be curly!!! Nobody believes me and that's because it is only curly when her hair is wet and that's only for about 4 1/2 minutes after she gets out of the bath. So, I grabbed my camera last week and took these pictures. Because proof is in the pictures, right? CHECK IT OUT!!! If that isn't curly hair, I don't know what is. :-) Now the question is....will it be curly as it continues to grow?

The Magic Chair

2007-06-27T15:03:00.001-07:00

Natalie has three "seats" in the house - a swing, an infant papasan that vibrates and plays music, and this bouncy seat that vibrates. We move her around to different ones depending on which one she prefers and if she isn't in one of her "I just want to be held" moods. This bouncy seat, well...we refer to it as the "magic chair." I'll bet any parents out there can guess why we call it that. All three of these seats put her to sleep, but this one.....it KEEPS her asleep. LOL In fact, we often have to wake her up because it REALLY keeps her asleep. :-) Thank you thank you to those at my work (you know who you are!) who got this for us! It is worth every penny that you spent on it!

Natalie on her Baby Einstein Playmat

2007-06-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

Natalie likes this playmat. She is old enough now that she just stares wide eyed at toys. She waves her arms towards them but isn't coordinated enough to unclench her little hands and grab at them. But the interest she has shown is releasing this toy buying urge inside me. I've resisted soo far, but I'm surfing the net and trying my best to restrain myself. :-) When these pictures were taken this last Sunday, she stared and stared until she tuckered herself out and fell asleep. And for all you baby shoppers out there, I haven't decided yet if this mat is worth the $ yet. I'll let you know. It retails for $60 but I got it at a garage sale for $30....which Ron still tried talking me out of spending. LOL

ohmigosh....she is sooo CUTE!

2007-06-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

Ok....isn't she the cutest??? You can tell how small she still is in the picture that has Ron's hand in it. Doesn't look like she was born at 9 lb. 2 oz., huh? :-) These were taken on Sunday, June 24, 2007. She is my tiny little female repilica of Ron. LOL Oh...except for the nose. I guess she has my nose.....hmmm. And I really am hoping she keeps my blue eyes but a few friends of mine have kids that were born with blue eyes but before they turned one year, they turned hazel. Not that there is anything wrong with hazel, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for my blue! :-)

She's almost there...........almost

2007-06-27T13:45:00.001-07:00

Kaia got her first bike when she was three for her birthday. She did well for a while and then lost all interest. The last few summers she's been perfectly fine walking or running while other kids rode their bikes. She'd rather "ride" a trail-a-bike - one attached to the back of another bike. But this summer, she has really cared what all the other kids in the neighborhood are doing and she's watched them take off on their bikes and leave her behind. She didn't like that so we got her bike back out and she's been learning to balance. The pics below were taken the first time she got back on her bike. We practiced for over an hour and by the end, she was doing really good. It won't be long now....

Natalie - One month old on June 16th

2007-06-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

When Kaia was born, I took a bunch of pictures every 5th of the month for the first year. I'll do that with Natalie too. Look at how cute she is on the her 1 month birthday. I'm soo late in posting these (a week and a half later.....geez!) that she already looks soo different. I'm going to be putting a lot of pictures up today so check back later too! :-)

Random Things About Natalie :-)

2007-06-25T00:43:00.000-07:00

1. She is one noisy baby! She sighs, moans, grunts, squeaks, and makes the most cutest noises when she stretches. :-)
2. She's mastered the use of her lower lip. We warn her if she sticks it out any further a bird will poop on it.
3. She has both her mom's and her dad's temper.
4. She has her mom's impatience.
5. At night her mom and dad use her for entertainment while playing with her feet, her fingers, her chubby legs....
6. Her hair is CURLY when wet!!! But 5 minutes later it is straight again.
7. She smiled real smiles for the first time just last week when she turned one month.
8. Just like the day she was born, she still hates her feet confined.
9. She passes gas soo loudly that it makes her dad proud.
10. She has already rolled over...although we think it is on accident cause she squirms soo much and shoves off with those powerful legs of hers.
11. She'll sleep for hours in her car seat.
12. She no longer cries during bath time.
13. She sleeps with her arms above her head.
14. She doesn't look like a newborn anymore. :-( She looks like a baby now. And she is getting cuter everyday!

New Layouts

2007-06-25T00:35:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Ok, I know....I was supposed to have Natalie's one month pictures up already but guess what? We've been taking sooo many picture of the girls lately that I'm WAY behind. But I will get them up. Ron is bugging me about it.....(hmmm...maybe I should bribe him and tell him I'll post pictures when he gets the playroom done! LOL). Ok, so that might not be fair. Anyway, I'll get them up in the next few days...along with pictures of Kaia learning how to ride a bike, cute pics of Kaia posing in the woods, Natalie zonked out, and guess what else??? Pictures of Natalie smiling! :-) All coming soon! Until then...enjoy these layouts:

Kaia and Nana trying on all kinds of hats in Disneyworld, January 2007

Grandpa Steve and Kaia sporting fashionable handmade flower necklaces!

Kaia telling Natalie "sister secrets" :-)

Natalie's first bad day...

Natalie is ONE month old! :-)

2007-06-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

Ron and I had fun yesterday doing a little photo shoot of Natalie on her one month birthday. Stay tuned for those pictures. I should be able to get them up either tonight or tomorrow...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

2007-06-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

To all the fathers in my daughters' lives! :-) Thank you for all that you do!

Papa and Kaia at Natalie's birth.

Daddy and Natalie on their first day home from the hospital.

Kaia and her daddy at their first Father Daughter dance!

Kaia helping Grandpa Steve!

Kaia has a Grandpa Marcelo also who we'd like to wish a Happy Father's Day. I hope soon to have pictures of Kaia and grandpa Marcelo to do some layouts with. Natalie also has a Grandpa Milton that we hope to meet soon!

Ron.....the Photographer???

2007-06-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

I just had to share this story. At Ron's current job site, they noticed an eagle sitting nearby. It just sat there and Ron was able to walk up within three feet of it. Taku Graphics gave Ron their camera to take pictures.....(they must not know of Ron's photography skills - LOL!). Anyway, I just had to show off this picture cause check it out - it came out great and Taku Graphics shared it with us! Back to the story on the eagle. The Raptor Center was called because everyone could tell the eagle was sick. It didn't move at all. Center volunteers rushed to the scene and took this big girl away.....but unfortunately the eagle didn't make it. It had eaten something poisonous. What a bummer..... because she was a beautiful bird. :-) And yes....kudos to Ron cause he took a great picture! Eagles are everywhere up here in SE Alaska, but nonetheless, they are still appreciated because of their beauty. It is rare to get this close and get a shot like this without a telephoto lens.

Natalie is almost 4 weeks old already...

2007-06-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe time is flying by soo fast. Natalie will be 4 weeks old in 2 days....
Here are some pics taken this last weekend during some beautiful weather! :-)

More baby feet......

2007-06-05T14:49:00.001-07:00

Another cute sisters shot!

2007-06-01T16:39:00.001-07:00

What can I say? These two are just soo photogenic when I put them together....I'm sure you'll see A LOT more sisters shots in the future!

Baby Feet

2007-06-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about baby feet but I just can't get enough of them! Natalie's feet were tiny, bony, and purple when she was born. 14 days later they have gotten some color and plumped up a little bit. :-)

Kingergarten Graduation

2007-06-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

Kaia graduated from Kindergarten last week! Her class did a performance with singing, signing, and ended with a presentation of a diploma and a personalized bible for each child. I can't believe next year she is going to be in first grade....sigh.

and of course little sister Natalie slept through the whole thing.....

12 days old :-)

2007-05-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

Sisters Forever

2007-05-23T15:20:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite pictures taken over the last week. I can't get enough of looking at it. And I'm sure all of you will see it in next year's calendar. :-)

Just some random shots.....

2007-05-21T20:36:00.001-07:00

Kaia gave this little bear to her new sister and Natalie just likes to stare at it. :-)

Sleepy baby....(don't you just want to snuggle her?)

Sisters for Life :-)

2007-05-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

Kaia just loves being a big sister.......she loves Natalie soooo much! She has been such a great help since we've brought Natalie home. She talks to her, brings me things when I'm holding Natalie. I knew she would be a great big sister but she's exceeded all my expectations.

Natalie's First Bath

2007-05-20T23:29:00.000-07:00

Natalie's first bath experience cracked me up. It was just like Kaia's first bath - she wasn't a happy camper and yeah...she basically screamed the whole time....sigh. But it was still fun and check out the unhappy face I captured. :-)

In the picture above Ron turned Natalie over so Kaia could wash her butt. :-) Kaia got the biggest kick out of that.

I'll be taking more pictures of Natalie's toes. You can't tell from this picture but they are the longest toes I've ever seen. And she has the skinniest little feet.......Kaia had what my mom and I called sausage feet. I wonder if Natalie will have those too.....later on.

Going Home

2007-05-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Daddy puts Natalie into "real clothes" for the first time. She didn't think the ideas was too great and really let her daddy know....

Leaving the OB where Natalie, Mommy, and Daddy have spent the last three days. Doesn't she look tiny in that big ole' car seat?

Like many babies, the car ride home put Natalie right to sleep....

Emotion....

2007-05-19T23:02:00.000-07:00

All of you know the emotion wrapped up in having a new baby being born. This layout tells it all....

Arrival Day

2007-05-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

Look! Proof that I weigh 9 lbs 2 oz. Nobody believes me cause I'm soo small.

Stop that! What are you doing to me???

Hi Daddy! Nice to finally meet you....you've been poking at me in mommy's tummy for months...

My big sister Kaia thought I smelled like blood....

Do I still smell like blood now that I'm clean? :-)

Hi Big Sister Kaia! Hi Papa!

Hi Ma'Ma Brenda!

Hi Nana!

Hi Grandpa Steve!

Welcome Natalie!

2007-05-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Most of you are familiar with my digiscrapping blog but this one is new! The birth of my new daughter (this last Wednesday) inspired it but you'll see lots of my first daughter and Ron and I too. :-) Check back in just a bit....you'll see pictures of the big event and lots of pics of our new arrival.......