Who's that lady?

Watching Natalie watch herself in the mirror is a riot. At first her eyes get giant and she moves her head and gives the stranger in the mirror the stink eye as they stare right back at her. Before too long it becomes a game and she's smiling and laughing at the little cutie in the looking glass.

Who you lookin' at?
"I can't wait to look in the mirror, I get better looking each day!"
What you can't see or smell is the giant dirty diaper which means this pictures is appropriately titled Shits & Giggles

Oh snap!

Me: Ashley do you want to go and see Nana and Papa today?
Ashley: No Mama.
Me: What? You don't want to go and see Nana and Papa?
Ashley: No. Tater! Where's Tater?

-----later on driving up the hill to Mom and Dad's house-----

Me: Ashley are we almost to Nana and Papa's house?
Ashley: No it's TATER! TATER! TATER!

Pajama Party

Sometimes the best part of any day is when we all put on pajamas and have a party!

Mommy needs to work on her fort-making skills
Mommy's boots double as chaps
PJ Party People!
Check it out - I'm getting better at tummy-time

Betty Crocker Beauties

One of the many things I love about Ashley is her willingness to help, no matter the task. When I needed to make dough for calzone I asked her if she wanted to help. Instead of a simple "Yes, Mommy", she ran into the kitchen and shouted "Help me!". So I got out our matching aprons and the rest is messy, floury, doughy history.

Nothing like a little cooking oil on your hands
Mix, mix, mix
Mommy's trying to save my shirt from getting too floury, but where's the fun in staying clean?
Cooking was fun, but when's it gonna be time to eat?!

House of cards

Ashley has a bag of 500+ playing cards at her Nana and Papa's house. You can imagine how fun playing Cowboys & Indians is (as long as I'm the cowboy!). But her favorite thing to do with them is spread them all over the floor, pick up a bowl full, then walk to another room and dump them out. I'm not sure where the enjoyment in that comes from, but it keeps her busy for a long time. And anything that can keep Ashely occupied is my favorite!

Step 1 - spread them all over the floor
Step 2 - load up a bowl full of cards
Step 3 - dump the bowl of cards in another room
Step 4 - repeat steps 1 through 3
While Big Sister plays cards, I'll just hang out and look cute
What can make me even cuter? A big gummy grin!

Ouch!

Natalie had her 8 week Well Baby Visit on Tuesday. We were anxious to hear how much she has grown and to make sure that heart murmur had truly healed. Ashley went to work with Jake and hung out with Aunt Katie so that I didn't have to try and corral her and pay attention to the pediatrician at the same time. Thanks Katie for Ashley-sitting!
Natalie is growing right on target and there was no trace of a murmur. Fantastic! I asked the pedi about her clammy hands and feet and he explained that it's perfectly normal for a newborn while their bodies still figure out proper circulation and how to regulate their body temperature. He said her neck strength and tracking are really great for her age, and even though she's the one doing all of the work, I couldn't help but mentally give myself a gold star. I just feel like Super Woman when I'm told how well my children are doing developmentally. Gosh, conceded much Riane?
In addition to all of the physical checks, Natalie also started her first round of immunizations. I feel confident in saying she *hated* the shots. Where Ashley only cried for about 15 seconds and then whimpered for another 30 or 45, Natalie cried HARD for a solid minute and then whimpered for a while longer. I'm not sure if the fact that she was hungry was feeding into her protest, but she was not happy. And to add insult to injury she got a little cranky that evening (not at all normal for her) and ran a little fever (99.9). But a dose of baby acetaminophen quickly kicked it in the butt and she was right back to her happy-go-lucky self. She even slept from 9:30 pm until 4:50 am (normal for her), so hopefully that little fever was the worst of it.
Natalie's stats:
Weight: 12 lbs 10.5 ounces - a gain of 2 pounds since her appointment 4 weeks ago which is perfect growth
Length: 23.5 inches (although her little neck was bent, so she's actually 24)
Head circumference: 15.3 inches
This puts Natalie in the 92nd percentile for weight and 90th for height. As our pediatrician put it "She's going to be tall. You've already proven with Ashley that you make tall babies!" So that made me wonder where Ashley was at when she was 8 weeks old, which meant I had to dig out her baby book (like I can remember that stuff!):
Weight: 12 lbs 12 ounces
Length: 24 inches
Wow! Can you say identical? But not just in growth, also in looks. Just try and guess who's who at 8 weeks:
Figure it out yet? Tough, huh?
After a long day of playing hard for Ashley and getting poked for Natty Kat, the both enjoyed getting silly with Daddy before it was time to go to bed (and I got to enjoy them enjoying each other!). No matter what kind of day it is, Daddy always makes it better!

Putting down the excavator toys long enough to read a story
Raspberries on the belly make me giggle
Ashley-loves-Daddy-loves-Ashley
Snugly sisters
I've got him wrapped around my finger
(that picture is my all-time favorite of Jake and Natalie)
....oh and in case you couldn't figure out the who's-who, the first picture is the Midget, the second is Natty Kat

Sticky stickers

Remember when I told you before that Ashley loves disdters (AKA stickers)? Well just in case you didn't believe me...

Just a few more and I'd have a new shirt
At ease, soldier
Gimme more cause I missed a spot