natalie's news (or, what we've been up to this week)

Sheesh, how have several days passed without me giving you an update on all the daily excitement of Natalie's existence?! We are still so obsessed with her every movement, noise, discovery, and expression that it's hard to imagine everyone else in the world could possibly survive without a play-by-play of her activities. So, what have we been up to for the past week or so? Why, let me share with (and show) you!

Remember my co-worker Caitlin, who was also expecting a baby girl? Well our two gals got to check each other out while we mommies had grown-up talk (and, let's be honest, a lot of baby talk) and scones. The girls were awfully cute as they stared seriously at each other and did some tentative hand holding and face touching. The Divine Miss M is two months old, and Natalie looks a bit ginormous next to her in this picture... but let's attribute that to the angle of the photo and the fact that the budgie is in the foreground, shall we?

We took Natalie for her 4 month check-up, where she got a clean bill of health and and got to report that she's hit all of her appropriate milestones. She's up to 15 pounds and is now 26 inches long! She's no longer in the super high (like 95th and 96th!) percentiles for size, and is now a much more reasonable 75th percentile baby in all of her measurements (weight, length, and head circumference). She received two vaccinations while we were there, which meant two shots in the thigh--ouch! She didn't bat an eye for the first one, but the second needle was the cause of a pretty major case of the sads. Luckily she didn't appear to suffer from any of the reactions that are sometimes side effects of the vaccine, and was right back to her go-go-go pace pretty much immediately.



Other than that, we've had a pretty low-key week, which is a first for the summer. Natalie's been happy to spend her time doing the following:

A) Blowing raspberries near constantly

B) Standing up with our help or the support of something like the couch or ottoman

C) Reading and/or chewing on her books, like her new copy of But Not the Hippopotamus, from my Aunt Geeta and Uncle Bob

D) Sticking EVERYTHING in her mouth, including toys, blankets, her clothes, her hands & feet, and, yes, the camera strap

and, E) Getting super excited to visit with her Grandma and Grandpa McCormack, who are arriving TOMORROW to spend a week with their grandbabydoll and enjoy Rockland's Lobster Festival with us!

So that's the latest in Natalie's world, there will be more to share soon, you can be sure!