Our first blog poll…. Why was Jordan so tired this weekend?
A. He’s been working like crazy, preparing for a big pitch day to investors
B. He spent 4 hours with Natalie (inc. 1.5 hrs just the two of them and another 0.5 hrs in the car)
C. He ate something bad
Hey, why is Daddy sleeping? Its time to play. I even told him I'd share my toys.
Although you might suspect A or B, the answer is actually C. Leftover Tums from my pregnancy helped remedy that!
Happy weekend!
Natalie and I received an invitation to Aunt Becky’s baby shower. By the looks of this invite, I have the feeling that I was only invited because Nat and I are a package deal. 🙂 -Erin < />
On Friday, Natalie celebrated 8 months. The time is definitely flying by – having a kid is so much more busy than just waiting to have a kid (being prego). Its been a great 8 months and Natalie just keeps on keeping us on our toes!
What?!? I'm 8 mo today! YEAH! I'm so big.
Weight/Height: She won’t know these stat until her 9 mo. appt, but she seems to be getting taller and heavier – though less dense. I can actually see her neck.
Developmental Milestones: This girl sits like a champ – and has for quite awhile. And, she is beginning to be mobile… her routine goes: Sit, lean forward to fall on her belly, roll over (still left shoulder only), land on back, wiggle/squirm, and squawk until someone helps her sit upright again. She also loves to walk, with assistance, and can walk from one end of the house to the other. She isn’t crawling yet, but has shown a bit of interest in trying.
Sleeping: Natalie goes to be around 7:30 p.m. and wakes up around 6:30 a.m. Sometimes, she’ll still wake up in the middle of the night, but we’re trying to break her of that. If she wakes up at 5:30, I usually feed her, so that we can squeeze out an extra hour of sleep. She takes two naps a day, ranging from 45 min to 1.5 hours. I personally love this sleep schedule – she’s awake long enough for us to do fun activities and sleeps longer, so that we still get a break!
Food: Barley, rice and oat cereal, level 2 gerber food, smushed bananas and avocados. She likes my homemade yellow squash, but doesn’t like the green beans. BabyCenter says we can start moving into cooked noodles and cheese – so fun!
Favorite Activities: Swinging at the park, watching other kids at the park, walking at the park (sense a theme here?), Dancing, Looking at people who look different than her, playing with her toys (the caterpillar rattle from Gloria has been a lifesaver – she doesn’t like her diaper changing table much), Singing, Talking, Drooling, Silliness (esp. from her Dad and Pop). She is getting better at reading books, but her bouncey gym doesn’t keep her engaged quite as long. She also likes watching people go by from our front porch/stoop area.
Wanna see me blow a rasberry?
Today also marks Nana’s and Pop’s last day with us in Chicago/Evanston. We are so appreciative of them being able to spend most of July & August with us – Natalie knows them so well now, and they were a big help, admist all these changes (new jobs, new home, etc). Over a yummy Nana-made dinner last night, they confirmed that they want to come back next summer. Nice work, Natalie! Your cuteness and charm worked! 🙂
Have you met my Nana? Everyone should have a Nana!
I've gotta get this thing off of me! (Insert grunt here)
Until our nanny – my little cousin Rachel! – starts next week, other family members have been pitching in to watch Natalie. Thankfully, Auntie Becky had wanted to come down for a visit anyways!
What?!? Oh no. RJ, stop sticking yourself out there so much. I'm used to being the star!
As you can tell from the above picture, Auntie Becky’s pregnancy is coming along well – she’s 24 weeks! Our nickname for the baby is RJ – Rob Jr (Becky’s husband’s name is Rob).
Okay, Auntie Becky, you're right. I can share you. As long as you PROMISE that RJ is as fun as you are!
After Auntie Becky & RJ left, Natalie sent some pictures and wrote the following email:
RJ –
Thanks for coming to visit me and sharing your mom with me. You are welcome that I put her through the ringer today, with my difficulty napping this morning. I’m just trying to break her in for you! Keep up the good work kicking, and I cannot wait to meet you officially in Dec!
Love,
Natalie, aka The Big Cousin, aka The Boss of You
P.S. Give your mommy a hug for me!
Natalie is thrilled that the NFL reached an agreement with players… and she’s ready for some football!
Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?
Natalie has been getting in shape for the season by jumping up and down in her bouncy gym. In fact, her increased activity level is actually causing her to slim down a bit… is it possible that we’ve really passed the peak of her chubbiness? Kinda sad.
Go Pack Go! Go Irish!
I know life with a kid is busy, but these have been an especially busy few weeks. On Aug 3, we did the reverse move… after 5 years (nearly to the date!) in Evanston, we bucked the trend of moving further out into the suburbs once you have a kid and instead headed into Chicago. I’m excited to be starting a new job with Chicago Public Schools (www.cps.edu) (on the education side, but not as a teacher), which I was connected to through a leadership development program (The Broad Residency, www.broadresidency.org– you should check it out if you’re interested in doing mission-driven work!). And, CPS requires that you be a resident of the City of Chicago, so off we went!
I have spent the last 10 days unpacking – with the help of Nana and Pop, who have done everything from organizing our kitchen to decorating to putting up curtains to taking care of Natalie. (THANK YOU!!!) And, lucky Jordan, has pitched in on nights and weekends, after very full days of work.
Don’t you worry though – my last week as a stay-at-home mom (for now!) was still super fun. Here are some of the highlights….
A typical morning with Nat
Um, Mom... aren't we supposed to be reading?!? Get back over here!
Hmmm... I like it. No I don't. Yes I do. I'm not sure. Mom, what the heck is this thing? (Answer: a cherry)
Nearly 8 mo sure is a fun age, but Olivia, Max, Ella and Molly - you make 11 mo old look even better! Thanks for letting me crash your play date! I'll see you at Molly's 1st year bday next month!
Oh my gosh. You guys are a blast! I wanna crawl, walk and scoot like you! (Molly, you've gotta teach me that 360-degree bum rotation thing you do)
(Note from mom: Purposefully silent - Natalie definitely likes to examine situations.)
Hop on Pop! (Dr. Seuss reference)
I have had a fabulous 8 weeks at home with Natalie – she is such a sweetie and I feel so blessed to be her mom. However, I feel great about who she will be hanging out with while I’m at work… more on that in a future post!
The Linville household is in a bit of chaos. I’m typing from the floor of Natalie’s room, as she takes her nap and movers pack up our house. I accepted a new job with Chicago Public Schools, which requires us to live within the City of Chicago, even though our condo in Evanston is only 2 miles north of the City. Nevertheless, we are excited for this fun adventure.
Our move is coming on the tail of an extremely busy week, where I had 16+ hr days of training (a HUGE thanks to Nana and Pop for watching Natalie all week – and coming down to my hotel!), and we had a wedding in South Bend (a second thanks to Grandma and Aunt Lisa who came down to watch Natalie for her first night away from both parents). Finally, a thanks to Jordan who played Mr. Mom as much as he could all week too.
Aw, Pop... you're a great walking buddy!
SWIM CLASS!!!!!
Grandma and Aunt Lisa, you're a HOOT!
The highlight of my week was when Pop, Nana, Natalie and Jordan stayed the night at the hotel. Natalie and I had a morning work-out.
I feel so light!
On Sunday, our good friend Derek and his lovely girlfriend Erica (who is from Brazil), (also known as Dereca – think Brangelina) came up to Evanston to visit. They were in from Washington DC. Natalie had so much fun playing and bouncing. It took about 10 tries to get this shot b/c Natalie was a blur of bounce on the Iphone!
Dancing yeah! Erica, can you show me some of your Brazilian dance moves?!?
In short, we are so lucky to have such a wondeful, supportive family. THANK YOU!
Natalie was the star of her Auntie Leah’s “Up Nort'” photo album on facebook – my personal fav:
I'm a beach babe!
To see more photos, visit https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10100672655794277.2991612.8615481&type=1.
Look closely - not only, am I here with two awesome aunties, but my little cousin RJ (in utero) and best bath buds, Spike and Blue, are here too!
Natalie is lucky to have Auntie Becky and Auntie Leah – now, if we could only figure out a way to get Auntie Leah back from Canadia….
We just got home from a wonderful trip to northern Wisconsin!
I needed a vacation!
Growing up, my family always went to Echo Lake in Sugar Camp, WI (near Eagle River), courtesy of my amazing great Uncle Bruce and Aunt Sherrill, who have been so generous in sharing their cabin with us.
Grandpa, the mosquitos are biting me. Can we go inside?
I feel extremely fortunate that my immediate family was able to spend a day up there on our own – especially my sister, Leah, who hasn’t seen Natalie since she was 1.5 weeks old! (She traveled over 24 hours from Canada to spend the week with us – thank you, Auntie Leah!)And, Jordan, Bill, Kathy, Issy (the dog!), Rob (Becky’s hubby), Aunt Lisa and Rachel joined us for the weekend too.
Nana, you own an ice cream shoppe??? Why didn't you ever tell me THIS? Oh wait, Cathy with a C. Darn. You'll just have to make me some homemade yellow squash instead! 🙂
The weekend was filled with good ol’ Wisconsin food (brats, cheese curds, ice cream and beer), swimming, boating (Natalie didn’t like her “boat coat” though) and games (my Scrabble streak is still alive, though my cribbage skills are lacking).
MOM!!!! I told you that I didn't like the cute purple boat coat and I definitely do not like this. Its squeezing me. Can I please just play in the shallow end? WAAA!!!!
I wish I could write more, but after nearly 7 hours in the car and an extremely busy week ahead, this is the best I could do. In short, what a wonderful way to ring in my 30th year!
I love WISCONSIN!!! When can we come back?
