Natalie just had her 9 month checkup - wow, 9 months... funny thing is that she is sooo easy-going, she is still just barely rolling. She can't quite sit on her own yet, and nowhere near close being able to pull herself up using furniture, or cruising. Thomas could pull himself up to standing using his crib bars by 9 months. she is still pretty big baby - 19.8 lbs (60%) and 28 inches (70%). actually the same weight and height as thomas at 9 months!
And she is so sweet right now, she loves to play and laugh. she is very verbal about letting us know when she is bored too - she will complain and cry out, until we realize she is bored, then we move her to her jumperoo or piano toy, and she is happy. sooo easy! it's awesome how good she is about playing by herself. She did get her first cold though, from thomas of course. so she went from sleeping from 10pm - 7am, to waking up at 2am and 5am. I am dreading having to sleep train her when she is fully recovered from her cold... i really don't want to have her cry it out.
Thomas is much more complex of course - i can't just plop him down with a toy and expect him to play by himself. he wants me to play with him - ALLL the time. very demanding. the only thing easier about having a second kid is you sort of know what you are doing now. otherwise, the lack of sleep, the constant jumping back and forth b/w needs of two kids, juggling active 4 yr old's schedule with 2-3 naps a day, is truly a juggling act. i am exhausted by the end of each day. So these days, i'm only on the computer once every other day or so. too hard to try to get computer time in every night. oh and i'm such a hypocrite! when i had just thomas, i have a couple friends who are very slow to answer emails b/c they don't check every day. I used to think "oh she should just get on the computer once a day and check her email. 15 min, how hard can it be?" and here i am, taking days to get to all my emails... :p
We had Natalie's dedication ceremony last month - william was forced to come up with a prayer for natalie to say in front of everyone. We had 6 babies dedicated that day! it was really nice b/c Thomas got to hang out with the cousins afterwards. for some reason, cousins are just fun!
Thomas took 4 classes this summer: science, intro to acting/drama, legos, and intro to sports. After that, he starts school, Jr kindergarden, on Aug 30th. wow, school again, and he turns 5 in less than 6 months. wow, it seems like he hit 5 yrs old really fast! i read in a child development book that 4 yr olds by nature are crazy, roving balls of energy and questions. really driving parents crazy. they say it is terrible 2's and terrifying 4's. However, the book also PROMISES that most kids settle down after turning 5. so i am holding out for that promise. some days it feels like i have spent the entire day warning, reprimanding, threatening time-outs or yelling at thomas. *sigh* seriously, i feel like ally mcbeal, picturing in my head how i boot his butt out the window, or pound his little head into the ground, then he pops back up like a cartoon. i need to take a breath, count to ten, and then calmly explain to him how i will take away his allowance, give him a time-out and not play with him the rest of the day if he doesn't sit down and finish eating (for the 10th time). But kids are really wonderful, truly. Even when they are making you crazy.
Here he is with grandparents, acting as Goliath... again. even though we've told him Goliath always gets killed in the end, he still likes being Goliath. I guess being 9 feet tall with a spear, sword and shield is much more impressive than being a shepard boy with a sling. check out how he's figured out where to "sheath" his sword. ha ha!
Natalie has really started to figure out that electronics are where the fun is at. That and anything thomas is looking at :)
