This is Austin . . . .

We've just returned from a little sojourn in Austin. Unlike the last time we were there, this time was just for fun.We stayed in South Austin, in a little rented bungalow. The house had a full kitchen (gas stove, no less!), and enough bedrooms for most of us. That is to say, Mike and I slept in the bed, and we set up Natalie's Pack n' Play in the large walk-in closet (we left the door open and the fan running for proper ventilation).The house was also superbly well-located. We were three blocks from a lovely outdoor coffeehouse (made for a lovely morning stroll) and one block from a lot where the yummy food trucks parked (yes, the one with the cupcakes is still there. And still delicious!). Also, three blocks from an ice cream store, and two blocks from a yarn store. I guess we know where I'd live if we moved to Austin!Our neighborhood was nice, but we did manage to get out and do stuff. On our first full day there, we ventured to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The big spring bloom had come and gone, but there were still plenty of flowers to be found. The Center also had a few short trails that allowed one to go out and walk on the prairie. Since we were there on a weekday, we had the whole place to ourselves. It was lovely!On our second full day there, we went to see the move "Babies". I'd found a theater that baby-and-parent shows - and also really delicious food. The theater was packed with babies and their entourages. It was totally cute, and it made me sad that there's nothing like that here in Fort Worth. I was hoping that Natalie would view the movie as a compelling dramatization of one of her favorite books, but no dice. Perhaps she didn't like the darkness? She didn't cry the whole time, but she definitely wasn't happy. Luckily, Mike was there to take her out so I didn't have to miss a minute of the movie!

On our third day, we made the requisite pilgrimage to Title Nine, REI, and Book People (I think they call that the yuppie trifecta, no?). That evening, we drove out to Lake Travis and had a lovely dinner with and old friend of Mike's (and the friend's lovely family).And, the morning before we left, we stopped for a little walk around the grounds of the statehouse. Did you know Texas has the largest capital building of any state? Of course you did!But I bet you didn't know just how big the bugs in Texas are . . . .

9 month check-up

Natalie had her nine month check-up on Tuesday.

She's 17 pounds, 12 ounces and 28.125 inches long! So big! (But, luckily, still small enough to stay in the infant car seat for a little while longer).

The doctor was impressed with her rolling and kneeling skills, in addition to all the sounds she makes. She even played a little noise-repeating game with the doctor (when not trying to eat the stethoscope).

We love our doctor, and she's great, but she didn't even mention the claws:Here's a close-up. These are fast becoming my favorite pjs.Here are a few shots of Natalie demonstrating her new pulling-to-standing skills, and her standing skills.And here is a picture just to make you smile:

Recent Projects

Natalie pretty much takes all our time - but recently I've managed to squeeze in a few extra projects.

First, there was this cake for a recent dinner party we attended. The crust called for chocolate graham crackers, but I couldn't find any of those at the store. So, in our cake, the secret ingredient was Teddy Grahams! No one seemed to mind . . . .Second, after an early start, a late snow, and then a late-late re-start, the garden chugs along.If the basil above looks like it has perhaps seen better days, it might be the fault of the creature below.
(And because I'm an ex-apartment girl, I had to grab the camera and take pictures, even as I had a sinking feeling that the bunny and all its bunny friends might regard our yard as salad bar central)

The mint is doing well.We'll have some berries in a few weeks.And I'm also nurturing a volunteer peach tree (and, yes, I know it may never fruit. But I'm holding out hope, anyway).The last of the bulbs I planted are just fading.But the Natalie Tree is leafing out nicely - I was worried that the cold winter we'd had had hurt it, but I guess things are fine.And here's the Natalie baby herself.(the picture above was my submission for the New York Times' "A Moment in Time" photo project)
(And this picture was just too sweet not to share!)

Nine months old!

Natalie turned nine months old this week. Now she's been out in the world approximately as long as she was in me. And what an impressive change! Looking back, I feel there have been clear stages - at least, certainly, in how she looks, from newborn (alien-baby) to infant to baby to almost-toddler.As if to underscore this point, we bought her a new car seat this month. Her old one is good to 32 inches and 32 pounds. While we don't think she's anywhere near that on the weight limit, we fear she might be getting close to the height limit. She looks like such a big baby in it, no?In other milestones, Natalie is crawling! She'd put together two moves before we left for San Diego, but that third kept vexing her: she forget to put her first arm down, pick up her second arm, and promptly face-plant. Unfazed, she'd get up and try again. Eventually, in our little enclosed "baby jail" area of the living room, she'd manage to arrive at what she wanted. But the wide-open expanse of my grandmother's living room presented a serious challenge. And Natalie made the best of the opportunity! Now she's a little crawling and climbing machine - and quite destructive, especially with her sharp little kitten-claw nails.(Now, some short movies of her crawling. As will soon become apparent, I lack my brother's cinematographic skill. But I have a good subject! And I'm learning!)



She's also become an expert sitter and kneel-er. Here she is in "baby-jail".I've also seen her push herself to sitting once, but she doesn't do this all that often.

Generally, she's a little wiggle-potomus. The only way to keep her still, so you can change her diaper or get her dressed, is to give her something to hold.
She'll also give you five when you ask. This, along with waving, is a sometimes-skill, but it's totally cute when she decides she wants to play.
Her favorite "game" is taking off her socks. She loves to put them in her mouth.


She also puts, uh, everything else in her mouth, too.
She enjoys reading.
Natalie isn't really talking or making distinguishable, meaningful sounds yet, but she loves it when we talk.


In the food department, she continues to eat her usual purees-plus-oatmeal. She drinks from her sippy cup with mixed success - although this may be a case where her goals aren't our goals - she loves to spill out the water and smear it around on her tray. She's also started to grab and mush the food in her fingers.
She's also - very slowly - started to get a third tooth. This one seems much slower than first two; we've started to tell people that she has "two-and-a-half teeth." (or, "two-and-a-half teef")

She continues to enjoy baths.
Also, here's a picture of all the generations that missed the last blog post.
And two pictures of Natalie and daddy, just for good measure.