Movin' About

Seven months has come and passed and once again I find myself being late with the updates! Our crazy summer schedule has begun already and with the busyness of life, I seem to keep forgetting to update our blog. So here is a quick update about us. Dylan spends most of his days at work, and time that he is home, I usually find him something to do! Evening is his time with Natalie so then I end up doing the mowing in those few hours! My days are filled with many things. Of course taking care of Natalie is the top priority but lately I have been filling any spare time I have with VBS trying to get it ready for.... oh wow, NEXT WEEK!! I have kind of let the house duties slip so that I could get everything done with VBS but now it is very clear I need to dedicate a day to actually get my house clean! As for Natalie, she is still our bundle of joy. She fills our hearts with adorable smiles and giggles! Just recently we have started putting her in her walker. Don't worry, we have taken the necessary safety precautions. It didn't take her long to figure out how to move!! Now she has started getting into everything that opens! I guess this is just a glimpse into what is to come. She has not learned how to crawl yet but she is happy and content to just sit in one spot and play with her toys. Occasionally she will reach for something that is to far out of her grasp and will topple forward but she will lay on her belly until she is either bored or uncomfortable. She has an incredible eye for detail. Every piece of string and every tag on a toy gets investigated first by hand, and then by mouth!

We love our daughter so much and can not wait to see what she will learn next.

Yard Work

Dylan and I are not really known for keeping very good care of our yard. We do the mowing and weed whipping but the trimming of the branches and the weeding of the flower beds and the garden usually do not happen! So this year we (mostly me) decided to get it up to par! We started by trimming down the dead branches and the ones that were touching the ground. This made a huge difference! It was incredible to see how much that helped. We are still not finished but I promise to add pictures once things are done! Here are some pictures from cutting down the trees in the back!

Voles seem to be very popular around our area this year and both the cat and the dog have been enjoying them! I was working outside raking up some dead grass and one ran right in front of me. They are not very fast so I grabbed it and gave it to the cat. He played with it for a bit before it ended up to be his lunch!

This is one of the many nests that Spencer found! These ones were in an old Woodpecker hole that was about waist high. There were four little ones in total. Over the next few weeks I watched them grow. I was amazed at how fast they grew.

6 months

Wow! It is incredibly hard to believe that a little over six months ago, we were still waiting for our baby to arrive. Now the time seems to have flown by and we need to remember to take in every day. Each day she seems to be learning something new or we notice a slight change in her personality. This however is just part of the growing up process and it is something that we need to be able to recognize and realize that our baby girl isn't going to be much of a baby for that much longer. She can completely roll over now so we really need to be careful of where she is placed! Usually, she just screams as soon as she gets onto her belly but I think she is starting to realize that it isn't such a bad thing. The other morning I went into get her and my heart stopped. She was laying on her belly fast asleep but because screaming is the norm, my mind immediately went to the worst. There have been a few mornings since then that she has woken up like that but I can handle it now! It will not be long before she is taking off. Even in the last two days we have noticed how she is trying to crawl. Her attempts however end up as a nose dive because she hasn't figured out that she has to be on her knees and hands at the same time. It is usually one or the other!

We just love her so much and would not change a thing! I couldn't imagine not having her!

Mother's Day

I officially got to celebrate Mother's Day this year. I did in a way last year because I was pregnant but this year I actually had a child to prove it! My day was pretty relaxed. I was woken up with breakfast in bed which I must say was a first. For lunch we had my parents over and then for supper we got to celebrate the other mother's in our lives at a family gathering. It was so good to spend the day together. I must say though, the meal I made for mom definitely beat the meal Kelly and I made one year. This was before either of us were married and we could not cook to save our lives. Thankfully Kellogg's came through and saved the day. When we got home from church, the table was decorated with a nice table cloth, candles and was completely set. At the end of the table was a row of cereal boxes and a jug of milk! It was nothing gourmet but it was creative!

Visitors

We recently had the opportunity to spend a few days with our good friends Jaymi and Jared. They were passing through and stopped by to spend some time together with us. One evening Jaymi, Natalie and I went for a walk while Dylan, Jared and Darren spent time taking aim at a few pop cans and water filled paint cans. After our walk we wandered to where they guys were. We had a really good time with them and hope to see them again soon!

Jaymi keeping her distance

Ready, Aim, Fire

Darren

Jared

Jaymi and Natalie

Development

Natalie's fifth month birthday has come and gone and alone with that came many changes. A big step for her and us as well was starting her on cereals. The first time I tried it, she ate it all. It was like she had been eating from a spoon since she was born. We had no problems with the transition at all. Currently her eating schedule consists of 4 meals. Breakfast which is just milk, lunch which is a feeding of milk then a bowl of cereal and a few carrots. Supper is the same as lunch and then night lunch which is just a feeding of milk. She goes to bed at 10:00 and then usually sleeps until 10 or 10:30 the next morning. Her favourite cereal is rice followed by barley in a close second. Oatmeal is not so much but mix it with some rice and everything is good!

Another thing that she has learned and has loved from the start is her Jolly Jumper. She LOVES it. We also have nicknamed it the Jolly Pooper. I think that is for obvious reasons! She is always giggling and smiling as she is bouncing! I have tried to get video but she seems a little camera shy and stops every time I start. Not only is she camera shy but she is shy when she is around other people than her mom and dad. It seems to be getting a little better but we still need to work on it. She can go to others now without crying so that is a good step up!

Now that the weather is warmer, we are starting to get out a little more which is a relief so I don't feel so house bound! She loves going for walks and looking around. Everything is still so new to her. I can not wait until the summer when we can sit and play on the deck and have meals out there.

A new milestone that she has reached is the first tooth! She now has both her front teeth on the bottom. Her grin is so cute! Below you can see her two teeth!

Family Memories

This post comes with mixed emotions. Since most of those that follow this blog are relatives, you will understand where I am coming from. My Grandpa, Peter Plett, suffered a stroke and passed away a short time later due to complications. The weeks in between were incredibly tough. To see the struggles that Grandpa had to face and to watch the family see these things happening, brought so much heartache. But Grandpa needed to make sure that the family had said their good-byes, and that Grandma would be taken care of. His passing was a relief. Don't get me wrong, he will be missed but we know that he has eternal happiness. All of his needs are met. I just wish that Natalie would have got the opportunity

to get to know her Great Grandpa.

For the memorial service I was asked to put together a slideshow of pictures from Grandpa's life. Because some of the pictures were older and in old albums, I could not get them to stick back in the albums that Grandma had given us to look through so I have been putting the pictures into scrapbooks. As I put them in, I have been checking the backs of them for comments. There are a few things that I have noticed. Grandpa had an incredible love for his family. As I look through the pictures they are always together either holding hands, sitting right beside each other (you would not be able to get a Bible between them) , or else Grandpa would have his arm around Grandma. One comment that stands out to me is written on the back of a picture of his children. It says "Six precious souls that God has entrusted to us. It is a privilege but also a great responsibility." That statement in itself shows how much that Grandpa cared about his family. When I look at the pictures of our Huge family, I can see how proud both Grandpa and Grandma are of everyone. Grandpa was an incredible man who not only loved his family but mostly loved God. His heart was set in the right place. He knew where he wanted to spend eternity and he was not afraid to tell everyone about it. To see Grandpa's life in pictures brings everything into reality and gives me hope that this family Grandpa and Grandma created will continue on the legacy and to pass on the faith, love and word of God down the branches of the family tree. Grandpa, we love you very much and can have peace knowing that you are in Heaven.