All Tuckered Out

Natalie was playing with her new Christmas toys on the floor and fell asleep with one of the rings from her Rock-a-Stack on her arm. I think she's been taking lessons from Diesel.

Natalie's First Taste of Mexican Food

OK, so we didn't really give her Mexican food, but she loved the mashed avacado and it sure did look like guacamole. She was a green mess by the time we were done!

Christmas with the Aamoths

We had our fourth and final Christmas celebration on Sunday the 27th at my mom and dad's house in Watkinsville. After brunch, gifts, and dinner, a few people attempted to figure out the rules to The Game of Life. For those of us who played the game as kids, the rules seemed much more complicated than we remembered. I can hear myself now..."Back when I was a kid, Life was so simple!"

Natalie napping in Mommy's new Ergo.

Diesel protecting his Christmas present.

Mom opening her new sewing machine. I can't wait for my sewing lessons, Mom!!

Natalie opening gifts with Peepah.

Post-meal relaxation time.

Christmas Day with the Rigdons

On Christmas Day, the three of us drove to Aunt Amy and Uncle Kyle's house in Powder Springs to celebrate with the Rigdon side of the family. It was nice to see everyone and we especially enjoyed meeting cousin Lisa for the first time. Here are some pics from Christmas Day:

Unfortunately, this was the best family photo. Natalie was beginning her melt-down sequence at this point.

4/5ths of the Williams boys.

Everyone "helping" Uncle Scott pick up wrapping paper.

The newest additions to the Rigdon clan: Lisa and Natalie

Sweet Lisa taking a night-night.

Christmas Eve With the Brays

Allen and I hosted Christmas Eve with the Bray side of our family this year. It was the first time we have been able to have Allen's entire family over all at once. After dinner, Porter and Gracie serenaded us with a few Christmas carols and then we opened gifts by the fire. Here are a few pictures from the evening:

Uncle Eric was especially fond of Natalie's giraffe.

Baxter got into the Christmas spirit by enjoying some of Allen's eggnog.

Meega and Pop Pop with their grands.

The kids with their new cashmere scarves.

Going Bananas

Who doesn't like bananas? They're cheap, healthy, sweet, and filling! Well, apparently Natalie doesn't like bananas. At least not on the first go-round. She wasn't digging the plain bananas, so I mixed them with the rice cereal. She wasn't easily fooled. That's our girl!

Christmas with the Gastons

On Sunday we spent the evening at GABY's (Great Aunt Betty's ) with the Aamoth/Few/Gaston/Johnson clan. We spiced up the annual white elephant exchange this year by exchanging bar essentials instead of Christmas ornaments. It was a lovely evening filled with food, family, and festivity. We're looking forward to the other family get-togethers this week!

Sally and Natalie with Katie, Ryan, and Raleigh from Texas


Natalie having fun with Peepah.


Granddaddy, Mema, Mom, and Dad.

lNatalie hanging out with sweet Raleigh.

Mom, cousin Jo, and Dad.

Ryan, Katie, and Kelsey.

Allen and our hostess with the mostess - Great Aunt Betty Jo Bob.

Visit With Santa

Santa made a special stop this morning at our neighborhood's swim and tennis center. Natalie wasn't scared of him at all and got a nice, big handful of his beard at one point. I'll be curious to see what happens next year. Something tells me that it may not go as smoothly.

Let's Get Cereal

Natalie had her first experience with baby food this morning. I made some rice cereal by grinding organic brown rice into a powder, cooking it on the stove top with water, and then thinning in with milk. As much as I love to cook, you didn't think I'd just buy a box of instant baby rice cereal, did you?

It's hard to say whether or not she liked it. She didn't make too many funny faces and she would open her mouth for more, so I guess we will give it another shot tomorrow morning. If all goes well, over the next few weeks we'll add banana, avacado, and sweet potato to the menu. Yum!

First bite, here we go!

Hmmm...that's different.

All gone!

That wasn't so bad!

6-Month Stats

Natalie's appointment with the pediatrician went well yesterday. She's continuing to grow and hit all the milestones. He was especially impressed by her ability to sit up on her own. Here are her latest stats:

Height - 26.5 inches
Weight - 18.0 lbs
Head Circumference - 16.5 inches

We'll go back again in 3 months. I can't wait to see how big she is then!

Six Months Old

Natalie is 6 months old today! Where has the time gone?! She is really into everything these days, grabbing at whatever she can reach. Allen and I learned just how far her reach extends the other day when we sat her in the Bumbo so we could eat our breakfast. A moment later, I turned around and thought, "How did she get into coffee grounds?" Allen was as confused as I was, thinking, "How did she get pepper all over herself?" As it turns out, she was a wee bit too close to a potted plant and had grabbed a handful of potting soil. Luckily only a little bit made it into her mouth. But I'll tell ya, it brought a whole new meaning to the term "dirty" diaper.

In addition to perfecting the art of grabbing everything in sight, Natalie is now rolling in both directions, passing objects from one hand to another, and sitting up by herself for short periods of time. She doesn't seem too interested in learning to crawl quite yet, but I'm sure she'll surprise me one day by just deciding that she's ready and going for it.

Tomorrow we have her 6-month checkup with the pediatrician and I'll report back with her latest stats. I'm pretty sure the pediatrican is going to tell us that she's ginormous - - but in a good way. Also, stay tuned for Natalie's first experience with cereal on Saturday!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

A friend of mine gave Natalie this adorable bunting. It is super-soft and, best of all, it has ears. I'm not sure what it is about putting little animal ears on a baby's head, but it just makes them even cuter. Natalie will surely stay warm and cozy on our winter walks and errands.

My, what adorable ears you have!

All the better to hear you with, Mommy. Until I turn two and stop listening.

Our First Real Christmas Tree

Let's just say that in the past, I have not been really big on decorating for Christmas. Between Allen traveling, neither one of us taking vacation days around the holidays, and never hosting any of the family get-togethers, for the past several years I was only motivated enough to hang a wreath on the front door and call it a day. And that was just to avoid having people think that we were a couple of Scrooges. This year, however, we'll be spending a lot more time at home and we have much more of a reason to celebrate! So, after years of putting it off, we finally got our first real Christmas tree! I think it looks beautiful and I love coming downstairs and catching a whiff of that Christmas smell. Most of all I think Allen and I are looking forward to setting it on fire after New Years :) Outside, of course!

You know it's time to put the bouncy seat away when...

It quickly goes from sitting peacefully in the bouncy seat with a toy:

To accidentally dropping the toy on the floor:

To performing acrobatics to retrieve the toy that would make Cirque du Soleil proud:

Natalie's First Swing at the Park

Natalie and I stopped by Brook Run park yesterday. Since she has been sitting up so well, I figured that she is probably ready to try out the bucket swings. I got a pretty lukewarm reaction from her...she didn't seem to love it, but she didn't seem to hate it either. Hey, that's a success in my book! We'll try again soon when the weather is nice, but next time I won't wait so close to nap time and maybe I'll get a better reaction out of her.

Too high, mom! I don't know about this!!

OK, that's better. I can see how this might be fun.

Fine, I'll give you ONE smile for the camera.

Sitting Pretty

Natalie is now starting to sit up on her own for short stretches. It's amazing how quickly her balance has improved. Just a week ago she would topple right over! I shot this video this morning; feel free to mute my commentary - I don't realize how annoying I sound until I play the video back ;)

Thanksgiving Half Marathon

Allen ran in the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving morning, finishing in an impressive 1:31:31. Natalie and I drove down to the finish line at Turner Field to pick him up so we could head home and get ready to drive to Watkinsville for Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe next year I'll be able to start running this race again too!

Too Cool for School

Natalie and I went for a walk today, during the cool, drizzly afternoon. It was the perfect opportunity for her to sport the totally fashionable hat that my friend Catherine sent her from Portland. It's actually a really neat hat - it's "recycled" cashmere. I think Natalie knows how cute she looks wearing it too.

Vogue.

What? Baxter told me that the cool kids wear it like this.

5 Months Old

It's hard to believe that our little Natalie is already 5 months old. She continues to amaze me with the new skills that she is developing. She's now really good at grabbing things (including her feet) and can play independently with her toys. She is also enjoying tummy time a lot more these days. (Yay!) Here are some of her favorites things:

Favorite toys: Sophie the Giraffe, Love Bug, Color Alligator
Favorite song: Rocky Theme Song (Gonna Fly Now)
Favorite thing to watch: Baxter

Now I lay me down to sleep

Natalie was definitely fighting her nap yesterday afternoon. She finally drifted off to sleep in her bouncy seat holding onto her elephant chime. When she let go of the chime, she folded her hands and looked like a little angel.

You're mine elephaaaazzzzzzzzz.

Sweet dreams, baby girl.

2009 Heart Walk

Allen, Natalie, and I drove down to Turner Field on Saturday morning to walk in the Atlanta Heart Walk with the Emory Team. Bruce and Wendy have done an excellent job again this year, helping Emory raise over $250,000 for the American Heart Association. Heart disease and stroke hit close to home for a lot of us, and I think it's great that they have put their time and energy into such a worthy cause.

Natalie with Meega and Pop Pop.

Team Bray.

Who turned out the lights? Natalie is pooped from all that walking.