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.

Four Months

A lot has happened since my last post. Natalie has grown up so much! She smiles all the time and finds humour in the strangest things! Her little hands grab all sorts of things and go immediately for the mouth. She hasn't quite figured out how to roll over onto her stomach but she is a very strong, solid baby and I have no doubt that she could do it, she just doesn't want to! The other day she was standing and as I was supporting her she took some steps. I couldn't believe it so I tried again and sure enough she kept walking. Once she gets the balance thing figured out, look out here comes trouble! When we get her up from either night or nap, the first stop is the hallway mirror. She loves to see herself and always gets so excited and giggles. It really does brighten up my day! Here are a few pictures of her. I couldn't decide which ones to eliminate so there are quite a few here!

On March 18 and 19 Dylan was a delegate for the Alberta Mennonite Brethren Conference in Edmonton. This was also the perfect opportunity to get away from home and have some family time! We left on Thursday the 17 and came home on Sunday the 20. On Friday Natalie and I spent the day at the West Edmonton Mall and met some of my family there. It was an excellent day and we had a lot of fun. On Saturday we got to take Natalie swimming for the first time in our hotel pool. At first she wasn't to sure if she liked it or not but once she got used to it she was ok. We had a king size bed in our room and as I was getting ready one morning I propped her up on the bed. She looks so tiny!

Animals

Rusty seems to be quite the conversation starter in our house. We have alot of people ask about him (or her we really don't know) so I thought I would do a quick post as an update! Rusty has grown considerably. He would be close to 4 1/2 feet as an estimate. Have you ever tried to measure a snake?!! In diameter he would be about the size of a toonie. Once again, really hard to measure! He still only eats once a week although it has been a while since he has actually eaten. He is eating frozen Jumbo Mice or else Small Rats depending on where we get them from. To the day he has not bitten anyone so we still consider him harmless!

Then we also have our dog Spencer. He is a very energetic Chocolate Lab. I had originally bought him to replace mom and dads dog that I accidentally ran over but he soon became known as my dog! For the most part he is well behaved. We have now trained him to move back when you come up the stairs so he doesn't jump on you. However, he tries to sneak in some bad behaviour. We used to feed our cat on our patio table on the deck so that the dog wouldn't get at it. I looked out the patio door one day and there was the dog sitting on the table! That ended quickly!!

We let our house cat out when we found out that I was expecting but this summer we acquired a new cat. Everyone else seemed to keep losing them but we ended up with four new ones. The first one (which we kept) showed up very cold, wet, and hungry. We gave him some special treatment for a few days and then let him back on the deck with the dog. However, they seemed to form a special bond and are never seen apart! I have never seen a cat and dog enjoy each others company so much before!