Natalie's 2 Week Appointment

On Friday Natalie and I went to the pediatrician for her two week check-up.  She is a healthy and growing little girl!  

Here are her stats:

Weight: 7lbs, 12 oz (up almost a pound in a week!), 50th percentile

Height: 19", 25th percentile

Head Circumference: 14.5", 90th percentile

As you can see, she's definitely related to her big brother with his big head! :)  If you're curious, here's the post about Nathan's two week appointment: http://fowlefamilyadventures.blogspot.com/2009/01/nathans-2-week-appointment.html

Last week Natalie started to stay awake a little bit longer during the day, and gave us a few longer stretches of sleep at night, which was very welcome! The weather was incredibly beautiful all week, sunny and unseasonably warm, so we spent some time outside every day. Here are some photos from the week:

Noticing, and entranced by, a sweet little butterfly.

On Wednesday my dear friend Maureen and her daughter Gretchen came over to meet Natalie.  

I introduced Natalie to one of my favorite relaxation activities: lounging on a blanket in our beautiful backyard.

Milk coma!

Cruising the neighborhood on an October day warm enough to wear short sleeves and have bare feet!

Walk in the Woods

Tuesday was my first day solo-parenting both kids.  Luckily, all three of us were in a great mood, and it was a picture-perfect fall day.  After we all three took an afternoon nap (yes, the kiddos treated me kindly that day) Nathan declared, "It's a beautiful sunny fall day!"  I agreed and we headed over to the section of the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail that is very close to our house to burn off some energy and enjoy the weather.  The trail was great because it's paved for easy stroller access, and there is no motor vehicle traffic which meant that Nathan could run free.  We all had a grand time.  Natalie snoozed in her stroller while Nay and I checked out the cows, looked for the llamas (they weren't in their usual field), played with sticks, found walnuts and pretended to be race cars. Such fun!

It's so rare that I catch him looking at the camera AND smiling!

Sweet girl

Toddler on the loose!

Nathan was very excited that he got to push baby Natalie's stroller.

Photo op with my sweet boy

Natalie and Mommy

The whole gang!

Big stick!  He was pretending that it was a leaf blower and he was clearing the path.  That's my mechanically-minded boy, turning nature into machinery!

Newborn Photo Session

There are approximately one million reasons that I am happy to have my dear friend Becky in my life.  I've known her since freshman year in college (which was longer ago than I like to think) and we've both done a lot of growing up together.  We share a similar attitude toward life and parenting.  Our families get along well, and no matter how much time passes between conversations, things are easy and natural between us.  As an extremely talented professional photographer, we've been lucky to have Becky document many of the important moments in our family's life.  Natalie's arrival was no exception!  

Last Sunday Becky came over and spent the day snuggling Natalie, catching up with me, and taking an extended photo shoot of newborn and family photos.  Natalie and Nathan were not the most willing subjects--Nathan never holds still longer than .25 seconds, and Natalie was not in the mood to be a sleepy and pliable newborn; she had her own opinions about where her hands and feet should be!  Becky took it all in stride and was completely unfazed by my difficult kiddos (at least she was a master of pretending to stay zen).

It was so nice to have the whole day with Becky, and fascinating to see the behind-the-scenes work that goes into a newborn session.  She's posted some of the beautiful results on her blog:  http://www.beckyandersonphotography.com/blog/2011/10/little-miss-natalie-kalamazoo-newborn-photographer/  I can't wait to see the rest!

And the best news of all is that Becky and her family are moving back to Kalamazoo!!!!  I am so incredibly thrilled!  When they lived here five years ago, Becky and I spent time together on almost a weekly basis, and I'm so thrilled to return to nurturing our friendship and hobbies on a regular basis, and to know that our kids will grow up together.

Aunt Becky meets Natalie (in the background you can see some of Becky's photos from previous sessions framed on our wall).

Getting ready to do some sibling photos on the bed.

Sweet little Natalie

Here comes the big brother!  I can't wait to see the photos of the two of them.

Reclining on her luxurious beanbag.

Florence meets Natalie Florence

On Thursday, Grandma Florence came to Kalamazoo to meet her namesake, Natalie Florence!  Grandma didn't get to meet Nathan until he was 5 months old, so it was really wonderful that she got to meet Natalie so soon after she was born.  I am so thankful that Florence and Basil decided to move back to Michigan full-time!

In addition to snuggling sweet Nataile Florence, Grandma had fun with the rest of us too.  On Thursday evening, Dan and Nancy joined us for dinner.  Friday morning we went out to breakfast at Nina's.  Grandma took Todd and Nathan shopping later that morning, a trip that included Nathan's first visit to Toys R Us!  It blew his mind with its awesomeness--he had to sit in every single power wheel there!  After lunch, Natalie and I went shopping with Grandma.  It was so much fun to have an all-girls outing.  On Saturday evening we picked John up from campus and all went out to dinner at the Union.  John is settling in smoothly to life at K College--finding a good group of friends, getting involved with the play, feeling stressed out by the pace of the academic calendar--a true K kid!

First encounter

Florence and Natalie Florence!

Papa had to steal her away for some snuggles. :)

Cuddling with both of her favorite great-grandkids (yes, I am aware that they are her only ones!)

Natalie's already a bookworm!

Laura's Baby Shower

Saturday, September 24th, was Laura's baby shower.  Laura is one of my good friends from college--we were both in the dance company, and we lived together for part of sophomore year.  She is expecting her first baby, a little girl, in late November.  Even though she and her husband live in Ann Arbor, which is not far away at all, our busy lives mean that we rarely see each other, so I really wanted to go to the shower.  Also, Annalee, Jenn and Patti were going as well, and I try not to miss any opportunities to spend time with such good friends.

Luckily Natalie, even though only four days old, was up for a party.  Her Aunt Erin had given her some cute party clothes, so she was ready to go!  Natalie slept the whole time, with a brief break for nursing, so I was able to snuggle her up while chatting with some of my favorite girls.  I brought my camera but didn't really have hands free to take any photos, but Patti was nice enough to grab the camera and take a few pics.  

I wish we had gotten a photo of all of us girls together (Patti and Jenn aren't in any photos but I promise they were there!) but I am glad that Patti got a few of the mama-to-be and of course my sweet little babe.

Early Days at Home

This post is a big photo dump of Natalie's first week of life settling in at home.  Todd and Nathan have been on vacation from work and school, and it's been really nice to settle in at home with all four of us together.

First day home

Nathan and Natalie both playing with Cadillacs.

"Look, Mommy, we both have some blue chairs!"

My mom brought a doll for Nathan, and my doll crib from when I was little!

Hanging out with Grandpa John.

So sweet!

Nathan and I had fun doing some collaborative art.

This is a classic Nathan concentration face--I love those lips!

One week old--on her due date!

Nathan hanging out with Baby Pepper during tummy time.

SUCH a sweet big brother!!