Photo Shoot

Here's some pics from Natalie's first "photo shoot".

Halloween

Trunk - R - Treat

This past Sunday was our Trunk-R-Treat at church and our small group's theme was "Haunted DayScare". We ended up decorating the back of Matt's truck and dressing up as daycare workers with barf explosions. It was really gross and realistic!

Matt's costume was very fun too... he was the Diaper Man. We got to use lots of Natalie's old diapers (unused of course!) that she had outgrown and it got lots of great reviews.

Natalie also got dressed up as the cutest little lady bug ever... unfortunately she was sooooooo sleepy and slept in her stroller most of the time. However she did get some good shots with her friends from church.

Natalie and Allyson - the 2 ladybugs

Natalie and Kate - matching outfits

Cousin Preston

Last weekend we went to my cousin Chris's wedding in Louisiana and saw all of Erica's aunt and uncles and grandparents on Erica's side. Also, we got to see the first great-grandbaby Preston Walton who is a month older then Natalie.

Natalie (2 months) and Preston (3 months) outside the resturant.

Natalie talking with Grandma Cadden

Lately Natalie has started to be alot more interactive with us and is even starting to coo and smile back. Of course Matt and I are having so much fun with this and try and make her smile every chance we get. This week, my mom is here visiting with us and she and Natalie have had alot of fun "talking" together. This video is super cute and of course, we had to include the ending because it just wouldn't be Natalie without saying "I love you" in her special way.

Helping dad in the garage - VIDEO ADDED

Our daughter amazes us every single day with her physical development. Out of curiosty, we pulled out the Bumbo from the top shelf of the closet and wondered (very skeptically) if she would be able to sit and play. Granted she is only 6 1/2 weeks old, but mom was curious...

Check out the below pictures and video (if i can upload correctly) that show just how well she was doing. We had to go show dad (who was in the garage) and of course we never pass up an opportunity to take pics of our little one.

Hope you enjoy!

Getting Ready for Halloween

This past week I went to a Just Between Friends sale with some of the girls from church which is like a huge garage/consignment sale that's held twice a year in cities in DFW. One of my finds was this adorable little Ladybug costume from The Children's Place. I just had to get it! I couldn't wait to try it on our own little "Natty-bug" and see how it fit. As you can see, she is just too cute!! Now we will have to get a black or red outfit for her to wear underneath but we still have a few more weeks to look for something to complete the ensamble. These pictures however couldn't wait.

The Terror of the CEILING FAN !!!!

Our six-week-old daugter is either mesmerized or terrified by the ceiling fan in the living room. You be the judge (and please forgive mom and dad for hamming it up a bit).

Pretty in Pink six-week-old

The title pretty much sums it up.

Lady Liberty

Okay, so Natalie has a new trick. Whenever she gets sleepy (and we don't have her swaddled), she'll perform this sequence of events: 1) big yawn 2)throws both arms over her head like a football ref after a field goal 3) makes silly squeaky noises while she stretches 4) drops only her left arm down while leaving her right arm sticking up in the air indefinitely.

We call this manuver "the Statue of Liberty pose". What a cute little show-off. Is she dreaming of freedom? Freedom from what? She's not even in her crib! Anyway, we've been searching for a tiny torch for her to hold in future photos, but there's the fire problem and the whole CPS thing.

Or maybe she's just showing approval for the music Erica and I have been rockin' out to lately - holding up the ol' invisible lighter? (okay - I know it's cell phones at concerts now a days! But back in the '80's we didn't have cellys with cameras and internet browsers- we had Bics. That's the way it was and we liked it!!!!!)

Alright - maybe it just means she's right-handed.

Later

Little Natalie is one month old!

Well gang, Mom, Dad and lil' Nat-Nat made it through our first month together and everyone is healthy and happy (albeit very sleepy)! It's been a fun and joyful yet challenging and nerveracking time for us as rookie parents, but the deep new love that Natalie brings to our family is worth every dodged spit-up, radioactive diaper change and 3:00 am banshee-worthy freak-out. It's been priceless just getting to know her and to see the first sparks of her personality begin to flicker and emerge. She's becoming so attentive and curious about her surroundings. I get a kick out of watching her react to the things around the house that we take for granted (appliance noises, the light and shadow patterns from the ceiling fans, the dust buster, the picture of squiggly lines above her changing table, etc.). Everything is brand new for her, as it was for all of us at one time. I also enjoy seeing and hearing Nat interact with Erica, she loves her Mommy's sweet, soft voice and comforting cuddles.

Natty-Bug is wasting absolutely no time on getting bigger. She's been eating really well and packin' on some baby-chub. At her one-month checkup, we learned that in two weeks she had grown an inch and gained more than a pound! She's now 8 lbs 14 oz and 21.25 inches long. Mom says she reminds her of a "Hungry Hungry Hippo" at feeding time :)

More later but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy some of these latest shots of the little Spazmonkey! (Please note this pic of Nat praying that we don't dress her up like a gangsta again).

GANGSTA

What up G-funk?!?! It's Natalie kickin it with Dad in her papason.

What can i say.... she was passed out and we can't pass up a moment like that to torture the poor kid. I'm sure we'll have more inspiration as Halloween comes around which just happens to be our favorite holiday - with the exception of Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Auntie Lisa's Visit

Yeah! Aunt Lisa came to visit to day and brought over lassagne, garlic bread and salad AND flowers! It was a nice treat to see Lisa and have lunch made for us. Natalie was very excited to spend some time with her "Aunt" and is looking forward to hanging out with her again.

What a FACE!!!

Ok, here is a collection of some of our favorite faces from this kid. No matter what, she makes us laugh and her many expressions....they're just priceless. I'm sure some day she'll be asking us to delete these.

Bathtime

Now that Natalie is 4 weeks old, we're starting to get the bathtub thing down. At 6pm every night, Natalie eats dinner and then we get ready for her bath. She's got this great little duck tub that our neighorbors gave us and it makes this quack sound when you press it's bill which I can't help but press a million times during her bath (i LOVE ducks!). While one of us undresses Natalie, the other one gets the bath water ready and the towels set up. She loves getting in the water on most days and the duck towel helps her stay warm while she's in the water. Dad loves to give her a bath and play with her in the tub. Afterwards, I dry her off and give her a little baby massage which she seems to enjoy. We play with her toes and do "Little Piggy" and then get her dressed for bed and sing lullabies to quiet her down before she gets her 8pm feeding. She's so cute!

First Walk around the Neighborhood

Now that the weather is nice here in Texas, we decided to go for our first walk around the neighborhood. It is also a great excuse to get out of the house and get some fresh air. These pictures are from our first walk around the neighborhood with mom, dad and little Nat Nat. Since then, Natalie and I have been going on walks after she eats at 4pm.

Pictures with Mom and Dad

Here are some pictures of us with Natalie when she is 3 weeks old. She was just too cute and we had a lot of fun with her this day. She's finally starting to look at us and we're loving it!