The Seven Month Old Almost-Crawler!

It's been WAY too long since I did a post all about Natalie! My little sunshine baby is now 7 months old, and so full of laughter and smiles! I can't imagine life without her, and can't believe she was a tiny newborn only 7 months ago! The time seriously FLIES!

Here's the updates on:

*Crawling-
She's SO close! So close she can taste it! And it frustrates her to no end that she can't quite do it yet. She's been getting into the plank position for a couple months now (as you can see in this picture, taken before Halloween), and now she gets all the way onto her hands and knees and can rock back and forth and scoot backwards! She can actually navigate her way around a room pretty well, using a combination of scooting backward and rolling. I'm amazed at the places she ends up! I keep cheering for her, "Crawl, Natalie, crawl!" I think crawling babies are just the cutest, and it will be nice when she stops keeping herself awake by trying to crawl in her crib!

*Sleeping-
Since exactly 6 months old, Natalie has been falling asleep on her own in the crib!!! No more rocking this baby to sleep! Kirsten was the exact same way. I don't know what it is, but both my babies have just been ready to fall asleep by themselves right at 6 months. And we love it! Now she takes great naps, and usually falls asleep pretty quickly at night. Depending on the night, she does wake up trying to crawl and squishing herself into the corners of the crib, but it's really great for the most part! My little night owl who ALWAYS had to be held and rocked for months has turned into a really good sleeper! Who'd have thought???

*Sitting Up-
She can kind of sit up by herself without support, but it never lasts very long. I keep trying to get her interested in it, but she always falls back pretty quickly and tries to roll and crawl again. I think she really CAN sit up by herself, she would just rather crawl or have us help her stand up. The most she's ever sat up without support is probably 30 seconds or so.

*Eating-
She eats baby food really good! She likes just about everything so far, except for peas and squash. I think her favorite is carrots! These pictures feature my mom feeding her some sweet potatoes. . . her first EVER solid food! She loved it! You can always tell when Natalie really likes the food we're giving her, because she'll open her mouth for more before you even have the spoon ready!

*Fun New Tricks-

-Splashing in the bathtub! She goes NUTS!!! She focuses really hard on the water and then kicks her legs at a really high speed! We get SOAKED, and it's like a monsoon in our bathroom when she's taking a bath. It's really funny, and Kirsten especially thinks it's hilarious. Kirsten can't even splash that much, and she's two and a half years old!

-Her brand new trick, as of yesterday, is to shake her head back and forth, like she's shaking her head no. We'll shake our heads, and then she'll imitate us. It's adorable!

-Babbling "Da da da da." I hear her doing it all the time now, it's her newest consonant.

-She can roll/scoot backwards around a room to get over to a toy she wants to hold, and then she can pick it up and play with it while she's lying on the floor.

-Feeding the chickens with Grandpa. (Okay, not a new trick. But still a cute picture!)

Natalie still has never had stranger anxiety! She's incredibly social, and will smile for anybody and let anyone hold her. Those of you who know me well know that this is the opposite of Kirsten. I'm so glad Natalie is such a social and friendly baby! Even though I have a sneaking suspicion she'll be a trouble-maker, and she'll talk Kirsten into doing stuff Kirsten wouldn't normally do. We'll see!

She loves to go for car rides, and is incredibly happy and good when she's in her car seat! She also loves to laugh. She has such a GREAT baby laugh! It makes me happy every time I hear it!

Sweet little Natalie, I love you! Or, as I like to call her, "the Natapillar!" The name fits her really well. . . she's always squirming and scooting around the floor, and she has a head of light, fuzzy hair! I love my Natapillar!