Baby Natalie, er I mean Chase!

Chase's Mom sent this adorable picture of baby Chase to me today! I can totally see Natalie in him! I still think she looks more like me, darn it! I now understand why all my mommy friends would cringe when I would look at their babies and say "oh my, you look just like daddy!" Mommies bake the babies, you'd think they'd be courteous enough to be born looking like Mommy. Ha! Anyway, people are amazed at how much Natalie and I look alike when they see me holding her. But no one can deny that Chase is her father, especially after seeing this picture!

The Triple "N"

Chase and I affectionately refer to Natalie as the triple "N", or "Non Napping Natalie". Natalie is still figuring out her nap schedule and some days it doesn't go so well. On a perfect day there's a cat nap in the morning, a pretty long nap midday and another catnap in the afternoon. Most days are not perfect napping days, in fact, they're pretty terrible. Even though she's exhausted she fights taking naps. I think it's because she's flipping, rolling and sitting; life is simply too exciting to sleep! So, Chase named her "Non Napping Natalie".

Natalie's bedtime is (well, we would like it to be) around 7ish. On non napping days, it's a struggle to get her to stay up past 5:30. Which used to be OK, she would sleep from 5:30 to 7.... not now. I don't want to to wake up at 5:30 in the morning, so we try our best to keep her up until at least 6:30. Tonight she simply couldn't make it. I was holding her and talking on the phone, suddenly I realized she wasn't jabbering anymore. She fell asleep on my shoulder, it was too precious! Enjoy the pictures of our bedtime routine! And again, Andi is always around to offer her assistance.

Our Garden

For some reason my garden (which is usually my pride and joy) went downhill this year. Big time. Gee, I wonder why? Of course, the roses and planted flowers were doing alright, but the whole thing looked untidy. There were still dead plants in pots on our front porch that my pregnant/new momma self didn't give two hoots about. Enter Chase Blanton. Thank goodness for his mulching/potting/clearing/weeding capabilities. I am no longer embarrassed when our neighbors walk by! Of course Andi had to assist me by barking through the door as loud as she possibly could. Thanks, Andi!

Spring Fest

Today was such a great day! My day started off on the right note when I FINALLY (after over a year) ran my entire 3.5 mile route WITHOUT STOPPING! Who cares if I was as slow as a tortoise, I was pushing a jogging stroller... yeah, that's it; it was the stroller's fault! So, I'm feeling pretty good these days, I love finally getting back into shape.... and I especially love the prospect of getting back into those size 6's in my closet! But that's a ways off right now, I'm learning to embrace small victories. Funny side note... only Leigh Blanton would go on a run oblivious to the fact that the "Tour De Moore" was taking place and end up running against the grain in a major road bike race. Whatever, I provided entertainment for the photographer.

After my run Chase, Natalie and I went to Southern PInes' Spring Fest. Every year the town of Southern Pines has Spring Fest, Summer Fest and Autumn Fest. There are all sorts of vendors, craft makers, children's rides, good food and live entertainment. I LOVE living here. The entire downtown was closed to traffic, so the streets were full of people, strollers, dogs and fun. The only traffic through downtown was the train, it's so quaint here, I just can't get over it! There were so many worthy purchases, but we ended up with two snow cones and one giant bag of Kettle Corn! Delicious! This year's Spring Fest was so much better than last year's. Oh last year was terrible... not only was it roughly 127 degrees, but I had horrendous morning sickness and ended up sitting on the sidewalk in the middle of Spring Fest certain of my impending death. Remember that, Meredith?

Natalie is almost able to sit up unassisted now, I'm so proud of her. She can sit up pretty well by herself for a few minutes at a time, but topples over after a little while. Wont be long before she's driving!

Teamwork

Chase is really good about helping me out around the house. Last night, Andi decided to help scrub the bathtub.

Waiting to Exhale

Here we are! 6 MONTHS OLD! I can't believe it, I can almost (not quite) breathe a little easier now. When Natalie turned 4 months old, I felt hugely relieved and a little less anxious about her health and safety, particularly at night. I've been a nervous wreck about SIDS, as you all know, from day one. Poor Natalie, I think I'm largely to blame for waking her at night. I check on her much too often, and I'm pretty sure the creaking of the door interrupts her sleep. I drive Chase crazy before we turn out the lights for the night... I'm constantly asking "should I go check on her? I haven't seen her move in like... 30 seconds, at least!". He calmly reassures me that all is well in Natalie's land of nod, and tells me to go to bed. Of course, I immediately march into her room. Good thing she's a glutton for sleep and goes right back to her dreams. I need to work on my priorities. What's more important, a solid night of sleep for my baby, or my peace of mind? Hmmmm. The good news is: 90% of all SIDS cases occur before 6 months of age. Whew.

I'm starting to understand why so many mommies get sad when their little ones grow up. We put the swing, infant car seat, and the bouncy seat in storage yesterday. Natalie hasn't been able to use any of those things for at least a month now, but for some reason I felt comforted by their presence in my home. It made me feel like I still had a squishy and cuddly widdle newborn. Lord knows I don't miss the screaming and the late nights, but I do miss the tiny little quirks she had as a newborn baby. The way she would throw her arms over her head while sleeping (Mom and I would giggle and say "touchdown"), the way she would randomly jut her chin out, her "Pumba" noises... I know she's only 6 months old, but she's growing too quickly. I saw my doctor last week for a follow up and he asked about Natalie. I told him how old she is and how much she's growing, talking and interacting; he said: "Don't blink". Noted.

I do feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment, though. I had several goals when I first became Natalie's Mommy. I wanted her to sleep in her big girl crib (mainly because of the previously mentioned "Pumba" sounds), I wanted her to sleep through the night (although, she did that one on her own.), I wanted her to have a reliable bedtime routine and bedtime (did it! She sleeps 7p-7a), and lastly I wanted her napping in her crib. Check. And I did it all by myself (If Mom tries to tell you that I made her move in with me for the first 3 months of Natalie's life and that I really only had one month alone with her before Chase came home and that I made her stay at my house until late at night every night. Don't believe her. K, thanks. wink wink) Everything just sort of fell into place, and I feel so privileged and proud to have Natalie as my daughter.

So here's what's going on with Natalie now that she's SIX MONTHS OLD:
*Rolls over both ways (She likes to do this one while sleeping, and the screams because she's scared herself awake, which usually sends her Father bolting into her room at the speed of light at 2 a.m.)
*Can sit unsupported for about a minute (hey it's something)
*Eats big girl food (Peas, bananas, sweet potatoes, prunes, pears, carrots, green beans, cereal)
*Can balance standing up by herself for a short time
*Makes all kinds of new noises (she has just started "clucking")
*Can entertain herself for longer periods of time
*She's got two teeth and is working on a third
*Can put cup to her mouth and drink from it (when she feels like it)
*Feeds herself teething biscuits

Hope you enjoy the pictures of Chase and Natalie! Chase says he looks like he's missing a tooth, but that's OK... the pictures of Natalie are great! These pictures were taken just after we got home from taking Natalie to the park, we had to do something for her half birthday!

Taco

Natalie has played with and LOVED her activity gym for a few months now, but I'm afraid we're not going to be able to keep it for much longer. Now that she's rolling over and flipping around like crazy, she keeps pulling it down on top of her. Chase calls it "taco-ing", which I think is pretty hilarious... she does look like a Natalie Taco! Usually, she gets pretty frustrated when it happens and cries immediately; yesterday she just couldn't let go of that toy!