September 2009 - Recap

Dear Natalie,
I was just about to ask how September came and went so quickly, but I think I have the answer to that - you, my darling girl. You are the busiest baby I have ever seen. There are books to read, balls to roll, couches to pull up on, Mommy and Daddy to climb on, drawers to open, toys to toss around, playpens to blow raspberries on ... and that's just your 'to do' list for the first five minutes after you wake up.

You started blubbering your lips together and you sound exactly like the Jetson's car. And you started breathing heavily out of your nose when you scrunch it up and you sound exactly like a bull ready to charge. Put some finger cymbals on you and you can be your own one-baby band.

You love holding on to the couch and bouncing up and down. And you always look around to make sure that Daddy and I are watching you. You're unable to bounce without an audience - and luckily for you, Daddy and I love being your audience.

I've been terrible and haven't introduced any new foods this month. You still love sweet potatoes and bananas. And you're getting better about tolerating green beans. Which is good, because I reeeeeeeeally didn't want to have to bust out the peas again. You'll learn this soon enough, but Mommy and Daddy haaaaaaate peas. They're vile little vegetables and should be eliminated from any and all meals. But I want you to eat green veggies - so thanks for warming up to green beans. I owe you.

Although I didn't give you any new foods, I did give you a teething biscuit. I had never heard of them before, but I saw them in the store, and because they were on sale, and because I am a self-proclaimed Super Shopper, I bought them. I didn't know what to expect from them. I took them out of the package and they looked like little cookies. Totally harmless, right? Ha. You gnawed on it for a few seconds and I didn't notice anything strange. I turn my back for a few minutes to unload the dishwasher, and when I look at you, you were covered in teething biscuit schelack. It was in your hair, your ears, your nose, your neck, your legs. I don't know how they did it, but the crafty cooks at Earth's Best somehow managed to make a seemingly benign looking cookie turn into a soggy, pasty, disgusting pile of ick when it comes into contact with baby spit. I plan on covering you in a tarp the next time I give you one.

You've decided that eating Puffs and Cheerios is much more fun if you do it hands-free. Now 'hands-free' could mean that I feed you, which I still do occasionally. But 'hands-free' also means that you rather bonk your head on your highchair tray (or on the floor) and pick up a Puff or Cheerio with your tongue than try to get the hang of your pincer grasp. And it means that you look like a puppy eating off the floor. (Should I be putting Cheerios on the carpet in the first place? Probably not. Do I? Yes.)

Speaking of looking like a puppy, you also act like a puppy. I'm not able to leave the room in peace anymore. You whine and crawl after me (and I have to hand it to you, you're really good at finding me). And like a puppy, you get really, really excited when Daddy comes home from work. You start bouncing up and down and smiling your beautiful smile. And as soon as he sits down on the sofa, you immediately crawl over to him for some Daddy-Nattie time. This usually consists of Daddy bringing you up over his head and proclaiming "What a big girl you are!" Then he blubbers your wonderfully plump belly. And if you're in the mood, you'll sit still for him to do his version of Pat-a-Cake. His version is much more fun than mine. When you're older, ask him to show you.

You got your first two teeth this month! Your two bottom teeth finally popped through. Your left one came through on 9/11/09 and your right one came through just a couple of days later. You had the cutest, most expressive toothless smile in the world - and now you have the cutest, most expressive toothy smile too. Besides 'cute' and 'most expressive', another word I'd like to use to describe your smile is 'OW'. Because oh my GOSH you bite hard. You don't mean to (right?), but you still like chewing on our fingers - and those little razor blades that you have in your mouth hurt like crazy.

We weren't able to make it through church this month without being called out to the nursery. Separation anxiety is still going on, but God bless the nursery volunteers. They try their hardest to keep from paging us, but you're a determined little kid. It doesn't seem like you want to take a bottle from anyone other than me or Daddy. And you get mad - no, make that MAAAAAAAAAAAD. You don't want to play with toys, you don't want to sit in the bouncy seat, you don't want to rock in the rocking chair, you don't want to go outside. But as soon as one of us comes into the nursery, you get a big smile on your face. Have I mentioned that you're a little stinker?

You've slept like a champ this month. Well, let me say that you've slept like a champ at NIGHT this month. You started sleeping a lot better once you became mobile. I put you to bed sometime between 7 and 7:30 and you sleep straight through the night until 6:30. It's w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l. And I know I shouldn't even think of putting the word "but" in this paragraph ... but .... I love that you sleep straight through the night. But by doing that, you've cut down your morning and afternoon naps. Where you once took a 2.5 hours nap in the morning, I'm now lucky if I can get 40 minutes out of you. And where you once took an 1.5 hour nap in the afternoon, I'm now lucky if I can get 30 minutes out of you. I miss my "me time" that I got while you took your naps, but in exchange, I'm sleeping better at night. So really, I should just shut up.

I really cherish the moments right after I feed you at night. You're (usually) sleepy and you bury your head in my neck while I burp you. Your body is completely relaxed except for your hands, which hold tightly to my shirt. Those three or four minutes of cuddling do wonders for my soul. You do wonders for my soul.

Look at your pinky, Nataroo ... there you'll find me and Daddy wrapped firmly around it. And we love every minute of it.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy and Daddy