Natalie at 6 Months

Natalie is 6 months old! I am just really in love with her. Some things about her at this age: she is still working on sitting up on her own. I can't leave her alone to sit because she will surely topple over. She likes to go to bed early (like between 6-7) and I really think this is interesting because I have always needed to go to sleep early. Just ask anyone that ever had a sleepover with me or tried to get me to stay out late. Not thanks, not interestesd, I just want to go to bed! The bottom picture is what she looked like tonight before bed. She was so tired (it was like 6) and she was basically falling asleep in the bathtub. She's also not feeling well though and that adds to the pitifulness of the picture. Compared to a lot of babies, she is really snuggly and it is my absolute favorite thing. There is a picture below of our favorite way to spend time together. She still just adores Jansen and lights up whenever he enters the room.

Laughter, the Best Medicine

I can't get enough of hearing my kids laugh. More specifically, I love to see Jansen make Natalie laugh. Here and here are a some happy moments from this past week. Sorry if they take a minute to upload or whatever. Maybe you could grab a snack or throw the clothes in the dryer!

Don't You Hate Trying On Swimsuits?

Natalie didn't mind...I had to bribe Jansen to keep his on. Aunt Lexi brought these cute swimsuits, so we opened up the blinds, let in some sunshine, and dreamed of warm days to come!

Sunbather

Can you move? You're blocking my sun.

Little Snow Man

Yesterday Nate ran outside to QUICKLY shovel the driveway. I knew he would be finished in minutes, but wanted to jump at the opportunity of letting Jansen play outside for a second in the snow. I have not been good at that this winter. Blame it on Natalie? Or just the fact that it sends shivers down my spine just to look out there? So I threw Jansen's snow clothes on him and sent him outside to help shovel the driveway.

Good Use of the Laptop

I snapped this picture the other day of Jansen hanging out with Nate. Nate was studying at home, and of course Jansen wants to be with him. I really appreciate how hard Nate tries to tolerate the kids bugging him when he is trying to study. (Even if he does choose the living room couch for his study spot. Not exactly a good hiding place from the kids.) Jansen is watching/listening to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom or something like that while Nate reads...don't you just love Jansen's little arm tucked around Nate's?

Lexi, Are You Reading This? There's Only One Way I'll Know...

I hope I don't lose the love of a sibling over this blog. You see, my wonderful/fun/amazing sister came to visit for a few days, so I'm posting some pictures I took while she was here. And you'd think she would comment on them or something right? Well, I'm not so sure. It's kind of a joke and I always tease her because she has never commented on my blog. And I have yet to hear a valid excuse from her. So I am hoping that by doing a post that includes 4 pictures of her, she will feel obligated to comment. I love you Lexi, whether you comment or not. But you better.

Bad Eagle. Bad, Bad Eagle.

The eagle has landed. Some of you may recall this eagle. This eagle was first a part of my life when I worked at Emergency Essentials. It hovered over us as we answered calls in the sales department and I even made a headset for the eagle out of paper clips and duct tape. Well, one day my cousins decided to dump it on the doorstep of my apartment. This was a joke of course, but Nate wanted to keep it so I let him. We dragged it to Ohio where it has never really had a place to call home...we just tucked it away in closets, etc. Well, last night Nate CLEANED out the garage. (It looks great!) He rearranged, organized, etc. and found a great place for the eagle to live. On top of a bunch of boxes. We heard a loud crash last night and Nate thought some baskets had fallen over in the garage, but it was the eagle. It had attacked the Escort. It smashed into the windshield. We will now be more aggressive about selling this thing on Craigslist. :) Go ahead and give me a call if you would like this carwrecker to grace your home or garage.

VDay, Etc.

Well, I know my day sure started out right. Nate let me sleep in and he took care of the kids this morning, got started on the dishes, made breakfast, etc! He knows how obsessed I am with my bed. (Our bed.) So this was the perfect Valentine's Day surprise! And we (the bed and I) just don't spend enough time together. It beckons to me often, but alas I am usually unable to heed its call. All is right in my world when I am curled up in those covers. Mom, Kami, and Angie...I know that at least you three know EXACTLY what I am talking about.

Here are 2 people I just love so much.

Nate's dad was here last weekend. He brought me these flowers...that meant a lot to me and I love seeing them everyday. Sorry about the crummy picture.

Here are a few more pictures I took while he was here.

I absolutely LOVE visitors. And my little sister will be landing in Columbus in a little under 2 hours. Yippee!!! Should be a fun weekend!

Is It Spring Yet?

The other day I decided to put a hat on Natalie, even though we were inside. She's always drooling all over herself and it looks so cold...they say you lose tons of heat out your head so I thought I would help her out a little bit. Not that she drools on her head. I just mean she looks cold in general and a hat might help her whole body be warmer. Right. Can anyone make any sense of what I just wrote? Way too lazy to find a better way to say it...

Tag

Wow, there is some serious tagging going on in the blog world. I think I have been tagged 4 times in the last week...pretty amazing for someone who only has I think 6 friends total! :) I've kind of combined all the tags and here's what I came up with:

What is your spouse's name? Nathaniel Stephen Nye, affectionately known as Nate

How long have you been together? I'm assuming this means married: May 7, 2004! We met January of 2003.

Who eats more? He eats more when we sit down and have a meal, but I snack WAY more than him. I always tease him about the time I wanted some ice cream and I asked him if he wanted some. He said, "No thanks. I think I'll just have an apple." PLEASE. If you piled up all the food we have eaten in a lifetime I think mine would be bigger.

Who said 'I Love You' first? He did. I think I said it right back, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't completely heartfelt. It just kind of came out. I sure mean it now though!

Who is taller? Nate

Who is smarter? Nate. Hello, med student.

Who does the laundry? Me. Pretty much ALL the time. But he's very busy with other important things! He helped me fold some tonight.

Who does the dishes? Mostly me. He's a pro at pots and pans though. And when he does clean, he does an AMAZING job. No shortcuts with him.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I used to and then we switched so I could be closer to the Pack n Play where Natalie was sleeping. Hmmm....maybe we should switch back.

Who pays the bills? I do everything except the American Express. I got booted from that job because I forgot to pay it off the month after Natalie was born. But really, it's great. One less thing for me to remember!

Who mows the lawn? Nate and one time my mom did half of it when she was here visiting. They both claim they like doing it.

Who cooks dinner? That would be me. He bakes desserts with Jansen a lot though.

Who drives when you are together? Nate

Who is more stubborn? Totally me.

Who kissed who first? Nate kissed me first. Who asked who out first? We first met on a blind date, but then Nate called me for the next date.

Who proposed? Nate.

Who has more siblings? Nate does. I am the oldest of 3. Including step brothers and sisters, Nate has 3 brothers and 4 sisters.

Who wears the pants? Hmmm. I guess we share this role.

Changing the subject...
10 years ago: I was a sophomore in high school...mostly just running around with my friends and doing crazy things.

5 Things on My To Do List Today: work on our 72 hour kits, get some laundry done, go through the mail that is piling up like the laundry, take a time out for ice cream, and blog.

I Enjoy: time to myself, soccer, basketball, all things sweet, my husband and kids, talking with girlfriends, eating out, blogging, making things, laughing, decorating, etc.

What I Would Do If I Was Suddenly a Billionaire: I don't even know where to start, but I think it would seriously be so fun to just buy people things. Drop off gift cards to anyone and everyone, buy them ice cream, fix their car, get them some perfume they want, fill up their car with gas, get them a membership somewhere, a subscription to something, etc.

5 Jobs I've Had: Emergency Essentials (basically every department), Kids Foot Locker, 2nd Grade Teacher, and I think that's it!

5. Things People Don't Know About Me: Probably nothing after my post that listed 100 things about me!

I tag Kami, Amy Tressler, Angie, Carrie, and Julie! Just choose whatever questions you want to do!

Pals

I've had some really great days with Jansen and Natalie lately. You know how you hear all those crazy people who say it's easier with two? Well, I'm not ready to make a broad statement like that, but there have definitely been many moments when it has been easier having both of them around. I've even kind of wished one of them would wake up in the morning or from a nap so that the 3 of us can be together. 2 is kind of boring now! (Cringe. Did I just say I wanted one of them to wake up?) Natalie just loves Jansen. He really keeps her entertained. He doesn't say Natalie very well and it comes out sounding pretty much like "laddie." So I just have to laugh every time I hear him say, "Hi laddie!" or "Come on laddie!" These are pictures of him playing with and teasing her while she is in her Tigger jumper. Don't these pictures just tell you exactly how she feels about him? Pure adoration!

Poor Natalie. Somehow this game was invented. It's called "Throw All Natalie's Clean Laundry That Mom Never Folds, Just Keeps in The Basket Indefinitely, Onto Natalie's Head." He just laughs his little guts out when he does this to her. The last picture of Natalie totally reminds me of the garbage lady at the end of the movie Labyrinth. Remember her?

And one last story. A few mornings ago, Jansen and I were just hanging out while Natalie was still sleeping. Somehow he slipped away from my watchful eye and a few minutes later I heard through the monitor Natalie's mobile going. And then a happy little voice calls out,"I'm here!" I bounded up the stairs and found a wide eyed Natalie adjusting to the bright light Jansen had flipped on and Jansen clinging to the side of her crib. The little stinker had woken her up, but it was so cute.

My Chauvinistic Son

This morning I babysat my friend's little girl for a couple of hours. She and Jansen were playing in the living room when I heard him say to her (and I quote), "Stay by the kitchen and make dinner!" He's heard his dad say that to me so many times he must have just picked it up. (I'm totally kidding.)

We have a play kitchen and he "makes dinner" every once in awhile. I guess he's already tired of coming up with dinner ideas that use pizza, a tomato, a hamburger patty, and something that vaguely resembles a chicken nugget.


(That's all the toy food we have.) I sure understand his pain. Anyone want to tell me what this is? It appears to have sesame seeds.

Tag

Wow, there is some serious tagging going on in the blog world. I think I have been tagged 4 times in the last week...pretty amazing for someone who only has I think 6 friends total! :) I've kind of combined all the tags and here's what I came up with:

What is your spouse's name? Nathaniel Stephen Nye, affectionately known as Nate

How long have you been together? I'm assuming this means married: May 7, 2004! We met January of 2003.

Who eats more? He eats more when we sit down and have a meal, but I snack WAY more than him. I always tease him about the time I wanted some ice cream and I asked him if he wanted some. He said, "No thanks. I think I'll just have an apple." PLEASE. If you piled up all the food we have eaten in a lifetime I think mine would be bigger.

Who said 'I Love You' first? He did. I think I said it right back, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't completely heartfelt. It just kind of came out. I sure mean it now though!

Who is taller? Nate

Who is smarter? Nate. Hello, med student.

Who does the laundry? Me. Pretty much ALL the time. But he's very busy with other important things! He helped me fold some tonight.

Who does the dishes? Mostly me. He's a pro at pots and pans though. And when he does clean, he does an AMAZING job. No shortcuts with him.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I used to and then we switched so I could be closer to the Pack n Play where Natalie was sleeping. Hmmm....maybe we should switch back.

Who pays the bills? I do everything except the American Express. I got booted from that job because I forgot to pay it off the month after Natalie was born. But really, it's great. One less thing for me to remember!

Who mows the lawn? Nate and one time my mom did half of it when she was here visiting. They both claim they like doing it.

Who cooks dinner? That would be me. He bakes desserts with Jansen a lot though.

Who drives when you are together? Nate

Who is more stubborn? Totally me.

Who kissed who first? Nate kissed me first.

Who asked who out first? We first met on a blind date, but then Nate called me for the next date.

Who proposed? Nate.

Who has more siblings? Nate does. I am the oldest of 3. Including step brothers and sisters, Nate has 3 brothers and 4 sisters.

Who wears the pants? Hmmm. I guess we share this role.

Changing the subject...

10 years ago: I was a sophomore in high school...mostly just running around with my friends and doing crazy things.

5 Things on My To Do List Today: work on our 72 hour kits, get some laundry done, go through the mail that is piling up like the laundry, take a time out for ice cream, and blog.

I Enjoy: time to myself, soccer, basketball, all things sweet, my husband and kids, talking with girlfriends, eating out, blogging, making things, laughing, decorating, etc.

What I Would Do If I Was Suddenly a Billionaire: I don't even know where to start, but I think it would seriously be so fun to just buy people things. Drop off gift cards to anyone and everyone, buy them ice cream, fix their car, fill up their car with gas, get them a membership somewhere, a subscription to something, etc.

5 Jobs I've Had: Emergency Essentials (basically every department), Kids Foot Locker, 2nd Grade Teacher, and I think that's it!

5. Things People Don't Know About Me: Probably nothing after my post that listed 100 things about me!

Two Thumbs Up For Thumb Sucking!

Thumb sucking has not been a part of my life to this point. I didn't do it, Jansen certainly didn't do it, Nate still doesn't do it, etc. Then along came Natalie. She has started sucking her thumb! I have NEVER thought thumb sucking was cute...until now. I think she is just adorable when she does it and it has made my life SOOOO much easier because she soothes herself with it. When I lay her down for her naps she finds her thumb and starts sucking and drifts off to sleep. (For the most part.) Anyone had experience with this? Is this going to become a problem?

So far, toe sucking has not had the same soothing effect. But a cool trick nonetheless!

Jansen's Girls

I've posted pictures before of Jansen's playgroup...and here are some more. I took these a few days ago, and I just have to say I love these kids. And they really enjoy being together as well. I love watching them scream and run after each other.

A big smile from each of them!

I think I told them to be silly in this one.

Just look at the love on Jansen's face in this one. And he's got his arms around both of them! He loves his playgroup girls. (Sounds just a tad inappropriate doesn't it?)

Making Chocolate Cake