Sick Baby

There should be a minimum age for babies to get sick...Poor Natalee seems to have caught Nico's cold he had last week. First the stuffy nose invaded, which we attacked with saline and a nasal aspirator. Then Sunday evening, the cough set in. Oh my...watching your 1 month old cough and and hoarsely cry afterwards is just saddening. The worst part about Natalee catching a cold this early is that there is very little I can do to help her feel better. I have been getting our money's worth with the Vick's Vaporizer. Under supervision we put Natalee in her play-yard on the boppy with the vaporizer in the crib with her and a sheet partially over the entire bed. The boppy gives her an incline so she can breath more easily and tent type structure keeps the vapors in Natalee's immediate area to help loosen up the mucus in her chest. The good news is that Little Miss has not had a fever and while her food intake has decreased, she is eating, peeing and pooping. However, if this cough has not ceased and desist by Friday, then we may be taking a trip to the pediatrician's office before the weekend sets in.

Props For My Family

As a family we seem to have adjusted pretty well into our new routines since Natalee has joined us. Once again I have to give Nico some serious props. He has such a loving and caring heart and without any hesitation just loved on his sister from the start. It is so precious to see his sweetness towards her and I pray it is the start of a wonderful sibling relationship. Our morning routine is getting faster and more efficient and I have managed to squeeze in exercise time for myself amidst the typical morning chaos. The bedtime routine has also improved. Nico's stage of crying throughout the night due to not wanting to be left alone was thankfully short lived. Nico has been getting some special attention from Daddy once he comes home from work, which I think helped tremendously. Natalee is still doing a wonderful job at sleeping and eating on a consistent basis, which, for a month old baby, is huge. Poor thing has caught a cold from Nico recently and even through her stuffy nose and little cough she still displays such a sweet and even temperament. Finally, I have say that I am also proud of my sweet husband. He has had a lot on his plate lately, especially at work with a huge inspection coming up. Dearest Daddy has really stepped up and been a good helper when it comes to taking care of the kids and the daily routine. I am sure we still have many transitions and bumps in the road ahead of us, but as a whole I am very proud of my family during this new stage of our lives.

Here are a couple of pictures of my precious children. I am so blessed!

1 Month Old!!!

Today marks Natalee's 1 month mark at entering the world! This month has gone by so quickly. I knew they would fly by, but I certainly wish they would slow down. Everyday is a one more day that Natalee is a day older and a day changed. I love watching her grow and change, but still want to relish in these first few months. I feel very blessed because Nico was a great baby, but Natalee has been even more even tempered than he was as an infant. She is on a decent and consistent schedule with her eating and sleeping, and she seems like an overall happy baby. Natalee likes to snuggle and falls asleep on my shoulder or on Daddy's chest frequently. I am starting to see small smiles when Natalee is sleeping...signs of a gorgeous smile to come! This little angel truly has completed our family and I thank God everyday for His blessing on us.

Since Natalee turned 1 month old today I decided to do a couple of photo shoots with her...enjoy!

Thanks Ninny!

This blog post is for you Ninny! Nico and Natalee sportin' the new outifits from their great-grandmother, aka Ninny. My kids are so blessed to have grandparents who love and adore them!

Weekend Pops and Mops Visit

This past weekend Natalee got some more visitors...Pops and Mops came up to spend some time with their new granddaughter, and of course, Nico. We were not able to do too much since the weather did not cooperate for the most part. A newborn baby and what seemed like a monsoon do not mix well together. However, we made best out of the situation, and spent some quality time together at the house. Nico had a great time while they were here and just loved spending time and playing with Pops. Poor little guy was very upset when we had to take Pops and Mops back to the airport.

4 Weeks Old

Taking pictures of Natalee on a daily basis is something I have been trying to do...she changes so quickly and I don't want to forget a certain expression or look she has which can quickly disappear forever. I want to savor and relish in her babiness and to do what I can to remember her at this moment. So taking hundreds of pictures is how I manage to ensure that someday I will be able to look back at Natalee's beautiful baby face and smile remembering my little baby girl.

Natalee is 4 weeks old today! Amazing! Here are some pictures from the many photo sessions I took of my precious daughter last week.

Can't forget my little guy! Here is Nico on his way to pajama day at school. Surprise, surprise, he chose Cars pajamas to wear! I think he has four pairs now!!!

Brotherly Love

The other day I found Nico singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Natalee and my heart immediately melted. It was the sweetest, most precious sound and sight I have ever seen or heard. I just love how Nico has taken to his little sister. He said to Ed and I the other day that Natalee was now his best friend....I sure hope in twenty years he can still say that and mean it.

Nico's Valentines Day Dance!

Preschool class parties! Valentines Day is one of those holidays in which a class party is called for. There is the card exchange and of course good food to eat, and at this particular party there was the class dance! The student's in each class at Nico's school practices for weeks on their own class dance. In Nico's class, the dance theme was country western, so Nico came dressed with his cowboy hat and all.of course, being the Mommy I am, I had to video this class dance, especially so I could share it here on the blog. Although Nico is a dancing fiend at home, I thought there was a good chance I would be videoing Nico doing a lot of standing, as he did at last year's class dance. However, the little superstar did his part and had fun doing it! Here is my little cowboy dancer and my valentine!

First Video

Here is a quick cute first video of Natalee at 2 weeks and 3 days old. I want to capture her on film every day if possible because she is changing so quickly and I hate to forget these first weeks of my precious Natalee's life.

Please excuse the loudness of "Glee" in the background.

On My Own

This week will be the start of Mommy and Natalee time. The first two weeks after Natalee was born, Gigi was here helping with this, that and everything, and this past week Daddy stayed home from work to lend a helping a hand. The big challenge for the week will be getting Nico, Natalee and myself all dressed, fed and out the door in a timely manner in order to take Nico to school before circle time begins...this is something that should be an Olympic event! I do want to take this moment to thank my wonderful mother, AKA Gigi, and my amazing husband for all their help during these first three weeks of me being a mother of two. I couldn't ask for a more helpful and supportive family.

Natalee's Nursery

Just I posted pictures of Nico's room renovations, I am going to blog here about Natalee's beautiful nursery. We decided to go with lavender, white and chocolate brown instead of the typical pink for a girl's nursery. I love the lavender in the room. It is a soft color and looks so refreshing. Natalee did get all new furniture since Nico's crib was a drop side model which was recalled this past June, and his nursery dresser had seen its last day. So in order to continue with the girly, soft feel for the room, we chose white furniture and it looks fabulous! The rocking chair in the room is very special to me because it was passed down to me from my Grandpa who past away a year and a half ago. Sadly, Natalee will not get to meet him, but the chair he was rocked in as a baby now sits in her room. After a little reupholstering, the chair now fits right in with the rest of the room. I am sure this room, just like Nico's will be ever-changing as she gets older, but this is a perfect start for my little princess.

More About Natalee Lynn

Natalee Lynn is such a wonderful baby and such a blessing! She is overall, such an easy baby and puts such big smiles on our faces. Here are a few more factoids about our Natalee Lynn!

Natalee is calm most hours of the day; however, when she is hungry, watch out, she let's will let you know!

At night, Natalee sleeps for two consecutive hours before waking up to eat. She then goes right back to sleep after filling up her tummy.

Natalee tends to sleep quite a bit in the mornings until about 10:00 am. At this point she wakes up to eat and then will sleep again until around noon. Once the afternoon comes around, Natalee wants to eat constantly, but this could be because she is always falling asleep while breastfeeding!

Sometimes when sleeping, Natalee makes these sad, but very cute little noises which sound just like a puppy crying. She also makes these adorable cooing noises when eating.

Natalee seems to enjoy looking at light and is attracted to staring at windows, lamps and of course the TV.

Our little precious girl absolutely does not like her car seat and makes it very known when put in and secured. Thankfully she does fall asleep in the car once it starts moving.