Well, okay, actually that was Saturday. And while I can't say that much was keeping me from getting to this post before now, here it is Tuesday and I'm just sitting down to write. But, we did have a few technical difficulties in taking the above pictures....
After the excitement that was six months (plus the added excitement of the recent snowstorm), milestones have been a little harder to come by this month. First, on the topic of the snowstorm, here's Natalie with some snow:
Natalie is now a little rolling machine; we can barely remember how she used to hate tummy time so much. Now, we put her down on her back, and the first thing she does is flip to her stomach. Her major strength has come in pushing herself up from her stomach. Instead of resting on her forearms, she now sometimes extends her arms all the way and rests on her palms. No crawling yet, but some wiggling and scooting and schooching.
I've actually gone back to my old job, although now I'm working as a contractor, 100% from home with a part-time schedule. It's a good deal! Natalie used to rest on a blanket on the floor beside me while I worked (although mostly I work during her naps and in the evenings). But now she is getting so roll-y that we just bought a second pack n' play off craigslist to put up in the office. Baby jail, here we come!
We've been helping her drink from a cup - she always looks a little shocked when she actually manages to get water into her mouth. Natalie is also still eating (and sometimes resisting) the same things: applesauce, squash, cereal, carrots, green beans, and pears.
Her smile can still light up a room.
She hasn't quite mastered sitting, although her trunk muscles are getting stronger, and she now holds herself upright for a little longer before she topples over.
She loves stories, cuddles, and songs.
And we love her!
I also planted some blackberry bushes last weekend. One of them already has a bud!
In other projects, we've been cooking some, too. We've had this delicious roasted butternut squash soup twice now. Those are home-made pesto croutons and roasted squash seeds on top!
I've also been doing a little baking. I made these chocolate chip bars (omitting the ginger, and adding some spicy hot chocolate). I also made these peanut butter cookies for Mike for Valentine's Day.
And we've been having lots of no-knead bread. It starts out like this:
And ends up like this:
For those concerned about my waistline, I want you to know that I've also started running again. I had been running in early November, but the broken arm forced me to take a little break. Then we needed a little time to figure out our schedule once Mike went back to work (and for me to build up the confidence to take Natalie out on my own). On days that aren't too sunny or windy or hot or cold, Natalie and I head out around the neighborhood. I walk/run, since pushing her in the stroller is quite the workout. (I've also had a few independent gym workouts to confirm that I am making progress!)
The girl remains cute as ever.
Her sitting is getting better, and she's started to be able to balance while standing. Here's a little video of her doing just that (make sure you have the volume up if you want to hear her squeal!):
