… to all those Dads out there. And, most especially Natalie’s Dad, Grandpa and Pop! We are so lucky to have you in our lives. Unf, its been a busy weekend, so not much time to blog; we’ll post more later.
Yeah, yeah its time to play!
(Sorry this photo is so dark, but her smile is just darling!)
My younger sister (by 362 days) and Natalie’s godmother, Becky, spent the weekend with us! It was so awesome to have her around – she obviously loves Natalie to pieces and kept her entertained, while Jordan and I tried to clear out our condo to get it ready to put on the market. Auntie Becky kindly agreed to be our 3rd guest blogger…..
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to spend 3 days with Natalie. It was tons of fun…even though I didn’t really have a place to sleep. Natalie makes up for small inconveniences ten fold! There were a million things Natalie did that made my heart melt. I decided to narrow my list down to the Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Natalie.
Reason #1: She has a perfect round face. And, its pretty hard to go throughout the day without giving her cheeks a kiss or two. I probably kissed her cheek over 100 times. Dont tell her mom though… I dont think she would like that!!
What is that thing you keep putting in my face??
Reason #2: Her thighs. They are just so cute and chunky.
Reason #3: When she just goes down for a nap. This was the cutest thing during my whole visit. When I put down Natalie for her nap in the crib, she reaches for her nookie and then her little mouse blanket. And then she sucks on her nookie and holds her little mouse blanket up to look at. Its sooooo precious. I really wanted to take a picture of this to capture the full cuteness…. but I didnt want to disturb her. Maybe her mom can take a picture of this for us!!!
Reason #4: Changing her diaper. Okay, its so much fun to change her diaper because her little, chubby legs go straight up in the air. I am always amazed how far up she can bring her legs… especially since they are pretty meaty. (I dont know if thats the best word choice but thats all I have for right now).
Reason #5: Getting stuck in the Bumboo Seat. It never fails. She always gets stuck in the bumboo seat. Its so cute.
Aunt Becky, why are you laughing at me? Getting stuck in this thing is not any fun for me.
Reason #6: Shes always smiling. Natalie is so generous with her smiles! Its really easy to make her smile and when she does, you just feel so happy.
Reason #7: Feeding her. Feeding Natalie is so much fun, BUT it goes quick. She sucks on the bottle so hard that she is able to drink 4 ounces in just a few minutes. Everytime I fed her, she would keep on sucking on the bottle even though there was no more milk in it. She would put up a pretty good fight when I tried to take the bottle out of her mouth too… her sucking capabilities are amazingly strong!
Reason #8: She keeps her mom and I from fighting! Ever since Natalie was born, Erin and I never argue anymore. Its pretty hard to be petty with your sister when the cutest baby on earth is watching us. Natalie is already proving to be a peacemaker!
Reason #9: She makes me so happy. Natalie has this innate ability to make you feel SUPER happy. Just looking at a picture of her will brighten your day immediately. (BTW, Rob also has this ability!! 😉 )
Reason #10: Her facial expressions. I just love to watch her facial expressions. Its like you know what shes thinking just by looking at her face.
I'm back in the bumboo seat. I think Aunt Becky puts me in this thing just so she can take me out again.
I love Natalie!!!!
As you may recall, Natalie and I went to my friend Kate’s shower a couple months ago – we were so excited to meet “Freddie” (the fetus’s nickname) – who turned out to be a girl! We knew it! Taylor Colleen was born 1.5 weeks ago and is an absolute cutie. Even though she’s in the 90th percentile for height and weight, I was shocked to see how tiny a newborn really is!
Within 90 min of us leaving her house, Kate had made this great post on her blog, which I’m stealing for ours, as this is a really busy week of work and housework! So, in a way, she’s our 2nd guest blogger….. (Thanks, Kate!)
Unfortunately we didn’t remember to get a photo until they were headed out the door and by then Taylor was stripped down for her feeding. We have to keep her cool for feedings, otherwise she falls asleep on the job and won’t eat a full meal. There’s a lot of naked baby time at the Santucci house these days considering we’re nursing about 8 hours a day. I hear it gets easier and I’m looking forward to that….It’s exhausting!
Natalie: Whoa - what is going on here? Why are you so upset, my little friend? Taylor: Why does my mom always put me on a blanket mid-feeding? Come on, so what if I was sleeping on the job?!?! I should get to eat whenever and wherever I want!!!!
(From Erin: Natalie proceeded to sympathy cry for 3 seconds – apparently, that’s all the sympathy she had in her. Actually, I’m teasing – I distracted her, a technique we use a lot now-adays!)
Click on the above link to see pictures of some cute babies. Sorry the pics aren’t inserted in, but Bill (“Pop”) sent them over as a pdf, so this is as good as I can do. I’m not sure how Kathy (normal-sized kid and pretty, young, thin Mom) possibly had a baby as big as my husband! Thankfully, Natalie hasn’t quite caught up to J’s girth – but she’s certainly trying!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
UPDATE: Thanks to the work of the beautiful and talented Jennifer Leslie Boling, we have these pictures in our post now! See below
Kathy Stevenson Linville
Mother & BIG son
Natalie is a big cousin! Meet Baby Marx….
First cousins pic!
Aunt Becky is due Dec. 3, which is just 16 days before Natalie’s birthday. So, they will be Irish cousins! (Becky and I are 3 days less than a year apart, so we are Irish twins – she came home on my 1st birthday, and we’ve gotten along beautifully ever since!*)
Natalie is overjoyed to have a cousin – she celebrated the news by packing up some “old” clothes just after Easter:
Welcome Little Marx! Please remember that I'm the boss of you!
“I’m the boss of you!” is a joke in my family. For an assignment in second grade, I had to answer: “What makes you mad?” My answer was “When Becky doesn’t listen to me because I’m the boss of her.” The next year, when Becky had to complete the assignment, she answered “When Erin thinks she is the boss of me.” (*As anyone who grew up with Becky and me knows, that comment was full of sarcasm – thankfully, we get along better now!)
Congratulations, Aunt Becky, Uncle Rob and Baby Marx! Baby Marx, we cannot wait to meet you in person! In the meantime, Natalie will eagerly soak up all the solo-Auntie-Becky time she can!
We are so lucky that Nana spent an entire week with us. We picked her up in Indy and took her home to Chicago with us. Since she was the primary care giver for the week, Nana has agreed to be our first guest blogger (though photo comments are still from Natalie – she told me what to write)…..
Hey folks, it’s Kathy aka Nana. I haven’t been a Nana for long, but it is definitely one of the favorite things I’ve ever done. Perhaps it’s because I have the sweetest little grand-daugher in the world! Loved playing in the park with her fabulous Mom and Dad!
Nana, you've gotta try this - come swing with us!
Natalie gets warm very quickly (I thought that was just us for post-menopausal gals), so I made a terrycloth lining for her stroller. Hope it helps, Nat-bug!
What's this crazy machine? My mommy certainly does not use it.
We went to the zoo this morning with Natalie’s little friend, Evelyn. It was really hot and probably a bit more adventuresome than we had bargained for. As you can see though, she kept her sweet smile.
My Nana is much more interesting than those black and white striped things behind us!
So, I’m sure just like her Grandma, Grandpa, Pop, and assorted aunts, uncles and cousins, I feel blessed beyond words when I get to spend some time with Natalie. You rock, sweet cheeks!
When is my Daddy going to get a shirt that says "I love my daughter?" Okay, I guess his smile is saying it... but, what about when I'm not around? He's in New Orleans for a bachelor party this weekend!
Below are two more pics from last weekend in Indy.
Aunt Jira, I feel a bit embarrassed. You are so pretty in your pink and I just have on a sleeper.
(That’s because Natalie had on a cuter outfit, but had a big poo in the car on the way to lunch – whoops. The sleeper has been our go-to outfit in the diaper bag, but now that its summer – and she’s nearly 20 lbs – the sleeper was too small and too warm. My fault.) I unf. didn’t get a pic of Jira and Natalie at Jira’s wedding shower. However, Pop did get a pic of most of the cousins in the pool….
You're all Linvilles?!? Wait - I'm a Linville too! I wish we lived closer so we could play every weekend!
We had a blast playing with the cousins and appreciate that Derek shared his bedroom for some much-needed naps!
Nana is spending the week with us, since Jordan kicked off a very busy summer* and he’s going to a bachelor party in New Orleans this weekend. We are very glad she is here! Unfortunately, she has been so busy taking pics of Natalie, that we haven’t gotten one of her and Nat Bug yet. Yet, she’s given us some good material….
Don't let go, Dad!
Today, May 29th, is my 30th birthday (as well as the Indy 500’s centennial) and it’s been quite the birthday extravaganza, courtesy of many amazing friends and family – in particular, my wife. Erin decided that this year, she would give me “My Favorite 30 Things” for my 30th birthday. It started about 10 days ago when I received some Spotted Cow beer and beef sticks (why would those NOT be on your list?!) and since then, I’ve also received:
Pretty awesome, huh? I am excited to begin this decade 10 pounds heavier. 🙂
Daddy, since you eat peanut butter every day, here are 5 new kinds to try!
We were in Indianapolis from Thursday through Saturday (yesterday) where we stayed with our amazing friends and hosts, Jenny and Matt Boling. Not only is it the busiest weekend of the year in Indy and they still welcomed us as guests, but Erin and Jenny also threw me a bday party at the house on Friday! It was great to see so many old friends (thanks, everyone, for coming!) Jira’s wedding shower was also in Indy on Saturday, so Pop, Nana, Jira, and Alex were all there, too. In fact, Saturday was spent at my Uncle Doug and Michelle’s house around the pool so I was able to see the entire family (literally, all 30+ of them). My first birthday was on Indy 500 Race Day in Speedway, IN. So it was pretty cool to come full circle. Erin, Natalie, and I drove back late last night with one extra passenger – Nana! She will be staying for the week with us in Evanston. So far, being 30 is pretty great. In my twenties, I graduated Notre Dame, married the world’s greatest woman, saw five continents, and then had the world’s cutest baby. So if my thirties are even half as fun, then I can’t wait! 
Natalie attended her second baby shower – and, I thought it was Jordan’s second, but I’m mistaken – its his 3rd. We’re excited for Maneesh and Prasanthi to have their little baby boy around July 1. (You can see it in Natalie’s smile!)
Luke, the cute son of our friends Tricia and Dan who live in Evanston, was at the shower too. Natalie and Luke have met three times – and apparently, Luke thought it was time to put on the moves….
Aw, Luke, why did you give me a kiss? My daddy says no kisses from boys (other than family members) until I'm 25. He's gonna be mad!
Hm, you have hair? I thought babies weren't supposed to have hair. Why don't I have hair? (Answer - b/c both your parents were bald for quite some time!)
Luke is super squirmy – he must have taught Natalie his tricks, as she has been extremely squirmy the past coupe of days. My guess is its a sign of things to come…..
P.S. A shout-out to Megan B who provided some sleep training advice last night – knock on wood, but night 1 went well!
