The girls and stuff

I think these two are the most gorgeous, precious, amazing creatures I have ever laid eyes on. Nope. I know they are.
There's some dress-up fun sprinkled throughout this post.
I don't know what it is exactly, but I love it.

Those are Daddy's socks.

My sweet butterfly, Natalie!

Trying on our RenFest costumes at home.

Had to get a shot of the back as well.

And of course, Joanna had to admire herself in the mirror!

Before the festival, I was debating on whether to take the sit-n-stand or the wagon. I just couldn't decide! We decided to try out Natalie in the wagon on the "rough terrain" of our backyard. Technically, they don't recommend the wagons (even though there are seat belts) until 18mos, but Natalie was very stable.

I think Joanna actually managed to pull her a couple of feet!

Awwwwwww...

Random nature shot:

I am constantly amazed by that rose plant. I neglect it terribly, and yet it still blooms. Imagine what it could do if I paid it any attention at all...

Another fashion experiment:

Natalie's size 12mos jeans and shirt and Mommy's shoes. (She's finishing up a banana, if you're curious about her expression.)

Tonight I made stir-fry. Ingredients (in the order I added them, not in the order of amount or anything): olive oil, garlic, chicken thighs, carrots, broccoli, yellow squash, cabbage, brown rice, soy sauce.Before I added the soy sauce, I took a portion out:Then, with the help of my strong husband (I could've done it; it was just easier for him :)), I ground it up in the food mill.

Cool, huh?!

I added a little apple sauce to it for moisture; it was pretty dry for Miss Natalie. She's to the point where I could have pretty much just cut up everything into bites for finger food, but she got more of it this way, and it was fun! She liked it a lot. The applesauce was just handy, but I could've added a bunch of things to give it more of a "stage 3" baby food texture: another puree, yogurt, milk, maybe even just water. Yum! I love that she's eating more and more of what we're eating. I'm trying to keep as much salt and such as I can out of her food; she likes it plain, and it's healthiest that way!

Ren Fest '09!

I had to take a picture of the sky today. Not a cloud in sight. It was so clear, so crisp, so beautiful outside. Now, I love me some clouds, but this was pretty good, I have to say. There were no mosquitoes, no frizzy hair -- good for Jessica! We arrived close to 10:00 this morning. I was hoping for 9, but the girls actually slept in this morning! I cannot believe it -- I have been desperately wanting to sleep in (just to 7!) and they pick today -- funny little girls. :)

None of us have particularly cute faces in this picture, but I like it:

Joanna's chariot:
Trying to dress Miss Joanna one handed:
Ha!

Our little butterfly-fairy got to go (outside the womb) this year:

Poor kid got attacked by mosquitoes this week on her face! (It was during the whole vomit incident on Tuesday, which is why I didn't realize she was being eaten alive in our driveway!)

So that's what the spots on her face are, FYI. Still so stinkin' cute, though!

I couldn't help but including a few pictures from last year throughout this post:

Our family pic. Sadly, we did not get one of these this year.

Look how short my hair is and how swollen I am!

I never realize just how brown my hair is until I see pictures -- man, it's dark!

So instead of a family shot, we got a picture of me and the girls and a picture of Matt and the girls.

You'll notice there are three of Matt and the girls here. I've got a question for my photo shop friends: Do you think I could merge these pictures somehow? Or replace one girl with a better shot from another picture?

Like in this one, I LOVE Matt and Natalie's expressions, but Joanna's is terrible!

Here, Matt and Joanna look super-cute, but Natalie doesn't exactly look her best.

So anyway, I had to include all three so you could see the potential. :)

A shot of Joanna and Me from last October (well, technically Natalie's there, too :)).

And this year:

I cannot believe how much more grown-up she looks! She was still such a baby last year.

Joanna discovered running down the hill was very fun.

Daddy thought so, too. :)

Joanna also discovered that falling on the hill is not so fun.

Lunchtime!

Mostly Natalie had baby food, but I let her have a few tiny bites of turkey leg, too! What's Ren Fest without turkey legs?!

Mmmmm....

Because I had the camera...

Nobody got a picture of me eating the giant turkey leg. :)

Another flashback:

After a little while, my butterfly needed a nap.

So I tucked her in the Moby wrap.

And she fell fast asleep.

Until I sat down.

They're not the same ages here, but I think my little sleeping girls look alike:

A side note -- I want one of these:

Don't you think my girls would be so stylin' walking around Kingwood in a carriage?!!

Momma and her girls!

Joanna ended up on Daddy's shoulders for the walk out of the park.

Seemed familiar... and it was.

This year, we got horsey stamps as we left (you know, just in case we decided a few miles down the road to turn around a come back :)). Joanna was very excited, because she got one too.

When you come inside and just dump your stuff, it is very interesting.

On the potty training front: it's a little harder to do this kind of thing with a little girl who's new to panties, but she DID SO WELL! The public bathrooms today freaked her out a little. She held a few things back until we got home to our safe toilet, if you know what I mean. We had to stop twice on the way out there, because Joanna loves to pee at "Old MacDonald's Farm," which is what she calls McDonald's. That is hilarious. She only had one accident all day and it was on the way home. She peed right before we left the fair (in her potty in the car), and suddenly, immediately needed to go in Conroe. She peed a gallon (only a tiny bit in her panties!), so I'm impressed she was able to hold what she did -- she really had to go! I must say that having the little potty in the car is a good idea, especially for days like this. If we're just out running errands, she can go in the grocery store or Target or wherever, but we just didn't know exactly where the next bathroom would be, driving through the "country" today.

I know you all were just ecstatic to hear about the potty escapes. Thank you for tuning in!

If you want to read the post from Ren Fest last year, click here.

Conversation

Joanna: Is Natalie your girl?
Me: Yes, and you're my girl.
Joanna: Daddy's not your girl.
Me: No, Daddy's a boy. He can't be my girl.
Joanna: Yeah, he's a man, too.

Oh, the vomit.

Poor Joanna got sick on the way home from school today. At first, I thought she'd gagged on her lollipop, but when she proceed to throw up many many more times through the afternoon, I figured that wasn't it. She actually feels pretty good in between all the vomiting, and really wanted to eat and drink. I wouldn't let her eat, but I let her have a little to drink. It didn't stay down. This is what she looks like right now: She's on her mattress in the living room. I was just letting her watch tv and rest next to her "vomit box" not thinking she'd fall asleep. Sadly, she's in her panties, so I'm not sure how long she'll stay asleep! We may have to remake the bed when she does wake up. :(
When we got home from MDO (where Joanna seemed absolutely totally heathly but clearly was actually not), I tried putting Natalie down for a late (and much needed) nap while Joanna and I hung out in the playroom.
My sweet daughter has never ever in her entire life just layed down and fallen asleep. This is how I really knew she was sick. She only stayed asleep for a few minutes at a time because she was still throwing up pretty often. She's such a trooper!
Well, she just woke up, kind of whining and moaning. She really doesn't feel well. :( I put a diaper on her and left her where she was. If she stays asleep, I'll stay out in the living room with her on the couch. Hmmm... maybe Matt and I could carry her on her mattress into her bedroom... I guess that's not the best idea. I don't want her to disturb Natalie (or the other way around) as she's not sleeping well either, being all snargley. Matt will just have to be stealthy in the morning. :) I really hope she'll sleep this off and be able to eat and drink in the morning. I'm thinking she's a little dehydrated. I'm sad to miss Bible Study, but kind of looking forward to a laid-back morning at home. (We'll see!)

Natalie's stats

We decided to go ahead and go to Natalie's "well visit" even though she wasn't. So she has an officially diagnosed cold and can actually go to school tomorrow if she's not worse! Anyway, my wonderful friend Lisa offered to watch Joanna while I took Natalie (Whoo Hoo!!!!!!) so it was a pretty pleasant visit! Sweet Thing was cranky, though.
She is 17lbs 2oz; 26 1/2in long with a head circum. of 17.5in. She's proportunal, but her growth has slowed down. Doctor Harper says it's normal for babies to "adjust" as they really start moving. And boy does this girl move! She doing great developmentally (but we all knew that!) and had to have one shot. I wasn't anticipating that; I'm pretty sure Joanna did not have any shots at 9 months. Oh well.
It made her mad, to put it politely.
She also had to have blood drawn for an iron check. With Joanna, they pricked her finger and squeeeeeeezed the blood out. These days, they take it from the arm, like a grown-up! Seriously I wish I could have taken a picture! I held Natalie in a regular lab chair; she got a little tourniquet on her arm; and the phlebotomist used a tiny needle to grab a couple viles of blood. She was screaming hard, but the good news is that she didn't scream any harder when she was pricked. She was just already mad for oh so many reasons.
For your information: Natalie has good veins, just like me.

We came home and she napped, then we had a little lunch before fetching Joanna. Our friend Kim was in town from Austin with her kiddos so it there was quite a playday at Lisa's. I put Natalie in the Moby wrap so she wouldn't snot on anybody and we got to visit with everyone for a little while. There were kids everywhere! It was nice. I know Joanna had a great time. She came home wearing Vandenberge jeans so there was one accident, but who can blame a girl when there's so much going on?! Thank you so much, Lisa for giving me a 1-kid morning! You can drop yours off anytime!

Natalie is feeling better this afternoon, I'm very glad to say. Sadly she did not have much of an afternoon nap. That may be due in part to her sister spreading Vaseline all over her bedroom instead of napping and her mother hollering at aforementioned sister.

The very good news is that Matt is on his way home!!!

I am 9 months old!

Hi everybody! I turned 9 months old this morning. Today was Sunday, and I was born on a Sunday. Mommy thinks that's cool. I wasn't feeling too good today, but Mommy wanted this to post on the 11th... here goes! I will visit the doctor tomorrow; Mommy will post an update after that. For now, here's what I'm up to.
-I love pulling up and standing on everything I can, even things that are not steady. Sometimes I let go, but usually only with one hand. I'll take a few steps with help, but they're not steady.
-I recently started crawling "for real." I roam around the house on my hands and knees very well!
-I'm wearing some 6-9 month clothes and some 12 month clothes. I am so lucky to have a lot of clothes from some friends of mine who are bigger now. My big sister was so tiny I won't get to wear a lot of her old clothes this winter.
-I really like to eat, especially finger food. So far, I've had toast, crackers, puffs, cheerios, green beans, potato, broccoli, chicken, sweet potato, pasta, and bananas. I love feeding myself, but I will still eat baby food, too.
-I sleep very well in my crib at night. I usually head to bed around 7-7:30 and I sleep until early morning. I like to have some milk and a snuggle with Mommy around 5 or 6. Mommy usually puts me in the pack n play in her room and heads to the couch after that. She's put me back in my crib before, but sometimes I wake up my sister... or she wakes me up! Mommy does not like that... AT ALL.
-I take two naps everyday. They vary in lenth from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Mommy likes the 2 hour ones; they're good for me! Joanna and I usually sleep at the same time in the afternoon, but we sleep in different rooms. I love napping in Mommy's room; it's so dark in there!
-I go to school one day every week. I really like my friends and my teachers. Sadly, I don't take a morning nap when I'm there, so they don't always get to see the best side of me.
-I just love playing in the recycle bin. I also love Joanna's dress-up stuff, and I'll chew on any shoes I come across. I really like listening to and playing music. I have a few toys that help me dance! I'm really very good at entertaining myself... when I feel good, anyway.
-I suck my thumb when I'm going to sleep and sometimes while I'm sleeping.
-My mom swears I cut a third tooth, but it seems to have gone back in or something. I really only have my bottom two. (That doesn't stop me from being an eatin' fool!)
-I can wave and say "hi."
-I really love my family and they love me, too!