Some Quick Pictures...

For those who are having Natalee picture withdrawls while we are living it up in Houston for the week...

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We are not Irish and do not really "celebrate" this "holiday," but today marks the start to our mini vacation to Gigi's house. Nico, Natalee and I got a VERY early start this morning and drove the long trip to Houston. We will be here for a little over a week and there are lots of plans that are ready to unfold. Nico has a list of things he wants to do while at Gigi's house to include the zoo so he can take pictures of animals, Chuck E Cheese, see the Lorax movie, see dinosaur bones and butterflies at the Science Museum, and the Children's Museum. Boy, we are going to be busy bees, and I am sure there will be pictures to follow!

Spring is Here and So is Colic

Spring is here and I just couldn't resist getting outside and snapping a few pictures of my cuties. I am sure anyone would agree after taking a look at these pictures that Natalee is going to be just as photogenic as her brother. I am amazed at how beautiful she is! Sadly, right now Nico does like to have his picture taken and has to be bribed to cooperate with me and my camera!

Early this week Natalee did have a few bad nights. She cried for most of the night and it was m ore of a painful cry than when she had RSV. I felt terrible for her and frustrated for myself and Ed. There seemed to be nothing we could do to help her feel better. So of course after exhausting every technique I could think of or find on Dr. Google, I decided to take another trip to the pedi...it's a good thing we don't have to pay for any of these medical bills! The pedi said that she could not dx Natalee with colic until she exhibited the signs for three consecutive weeks! WHAT!? No way am I letting her (or Ed and I) go through this for three weeks. After mixture of gas drops, swaddling and colic gripe water, all three of us have now been able to get some rest at night! I am going to keep doing what is working for her and hope that I do not have to start from square one at some point in the future. At least for now we are all getting our rest (which is between 4 and 6 hours straight) which makes for a happy baby and mommy.

Batter Up!

For the last couple of weeks Natalee has been on the edge of beginning to bat at the toys on her play mat and this past Sunday she took her first swing at them. It is so cute how to gears herself to bat at the colorful toys by wriggling her body back and forth and then trying to take a whack at them! I am sure her aim and strength will increase as she practices; after all, practice makes perfect! I remember just as clear as day when Nico took his swing at the toys on the bouncer chair. I was just as crazy then as I am now, and of course caught it on video. To me each moment of either of my children's lives is so precious and fleeting. I want to remember them at each of these wonderful moments and someday hope to be able to share these pictures and videos with them.

So here is the video and some pictures to follow of Natalee starting to bat at the toys swinging around in front of her.

Nana Visit

The last couple of weeks we had another visitor. Nico and Natalee's Nana came to spend some time with us and meet our precious new addition. She arrived just in the nick of time for Natalee getting sick with RSV! Nana actually came with us to the ER when Natalee was admitted overnight. I was thankful to have the company while there since this Mamma has a hard time watching her baby receive an IV. Unfortunately, since Natalee did come down with the ugly virus, we were not able to venture out and do anything fun. Natalee had to stay indoor so she did not get worse or infect any other infants. Despite being stuck in the house we spent some good quality time together and Nana was able to meet her newest granddaughter!

Nico and Daddy: Lawn Mowing and Kite Flying

Nico has always been very much a Daddy's boy. He loves helping his Daddy whenever given the chance and really looks to him as a role model. Nico frequently will tell me, while showing off his biceps, "I'm strong like Daddy!" In fact this phrase can apparently be related to almost anything. For example, Nico told me one day on the way to school that the plants and trees needed water so they could be strong like Daddy. If there is something that needs "a fixin'" then Nico is right there next to Ed, screwdriver in hand. It's a good thing Nico has his own tool bench and so many tools! With spring already showing itself the lawn was in dire need to being cut. So this past weekend, Ed set out to mow the lawn, but this time with a little helper. Nico was able to help his Daddy push the mower. I could see from the huge grin on his face that was such a proud little boy and I think he must have felt like he was just that much closer to being just like his Daddy. Nico is definitely his Daddy's little buckaroo!


On another note....when Nico was just about 1 year old, his Gigi gave him a very large Winnie the Pooh bouncy ball. This ball has given Nico a couple of years of fun, but sadly this dearly loved ball has now departed. As they usually do, Nico and Daddy were outside in the backyard playing with the large ball. Daddy would kick or throw it up on the roof and Nico would try to catch it when it came a rolling down. Well, on this particular afternoon, Daddy kicked the ball up on the roof, and it rolled down, but not into out yard. Instead it rolled into the neighbor's yard. One would normally think, "No biggie. Just go next door and ask for it back." Well Nico and Daddy did just that, but it was too late. Their large and very loud dogs had already gotten a hold of the precious Pooh ball. Nico cried and cried as if the world was ending. He was truly sad about this tragic event. We searched and searched in stores and online to locate another large, green, Winnie the Pooh ball, but this ball was apparently on the endangered list when Gigi bought it 2 years ago. Much to our surprise, our sweet neighbors felt badly about Nico's ball and bought him another large green ball and since they could not find a Pooh ball, they also gave Nico a Winnie the Pooh kite. Immediately Nico and Daddy went out back to give the kite a try. Nico was so nervous about the kite flying over into the neighbor's yard, but had fun nevertheless.

Cuteness Caught on Camera

Here are some cute recent videos of Natalee.

No longer a newborn

It has been a long week since I have been keeping Natalee indoors, but it has been worth it because she is doing so much better. The coughing has died down and our precious girl is acting a lot more like herself. In addition, her sleeping patterns are improving as she is getting over this virus which is always good for a tired Momma. Right now Natalee sleeps between three and four hours at night before needing to eat and does a great job going back to sleep. Although Nico is only three years old, I had already forgotten how quickly babies change. It is hard to believe that she is already almost 7 weeks old! Natalee no longer looks like a newborn anymore, and has almost outgrown her newborn clothes. She gets more beautiful everyday.

Just as her appearance changes almost on a daily basis, so does her personality. Here are a few characteristics about our angel:
1. Natalee has taken to her paci more

2. Natalee prefers sleeping on her boppy, especially since being sick so she can breathe a bit better

3. She really enjoys laying on her changing table and prefers to not have any clothes on.

4. Natalee seems to be ticklish on her tummy and sides; cute smiles come out.

5. She loves people talking to her. Natalee will stare at you and smile when talking directly to her in an upbeat voice.

6. Little Miss still does not care for her car seat, but does like being in the car.

7. She is the happiest when in her nursery.

8. Recently Natalee has decided she enjoys being snuggled up next to her Mommy in the Baby K'Tan. This has been a good way to calm her down when she's fussy.

9. Natalee enjoys taking baths and lots of smiles come out when in her bath seat.

10. Is beginning to grasp items with some purpose. She has tried batting at the hanging toys on her bouncer seat, but was not able to use enough force.

Here are some recent pictures of our super star!

Recovering and Still Beautiful!

Natalee has been home from her short hospital stay for three days now. As the doctor and nurses told me, she has been getting a little better each day. She still has a nasty cough, but it is a lot less frequent than when we were admitted to Cooks. The coughing still leads to vomiting, but only about once a day, which I was told should still be expected. Natalee has her color back, is happy and content most of the time again and has the sparkle back in her beautiful blue eyes. Since it was recommended that I keep the little angel away from public places for at least another week, we entertained ourselves by taking a few pictures today! I was having picture taking withdrawals and just had to get my camera out!

Going Home Today!

Look at that smile! Natalee is happy she gets to go home today!

Natalee and I had a decent night last night here at the hospital. She got lots of rest and had her scheduled treatments throughout the night. I on the other hand did not get too much sleep since there was someone constantly coming into the room to check vitals, do treatments or a million other things. Since waking up this morning, Natalee has started keeping not only pedialyte down, but also her formula. In addition, she has had consistent and frequent wet diapers, which means she is not dehydrated anymore! The pedi recently came in to check on Natalee and it looks like we are going home today! Now I just have to wait around for an hour or two for the discharge paperwork. The doctor told me that Natalee is on the tail end of this virus since she has already been sick for a week. She will continue to have a cough, but it should subside quite a bit over the next few days. She empahsized we were very lucky that Natalee did not have to have oxygen, as most infants do, and that she has bounced back as well as she has in just the last 24 hours. My precious little girl is such a strong one and a great fighter!