Crawling Babies Are the Cutest Kind!

I just realized that in all my blog behindedness, I never did the official post to announce that Natalie is crawling! And now it feels like old news. . . but here it is anyway:

Natalie is crawling!!!

She actually started crawling one whole month ago, just a few days before Christmas! I was so thrilled when she finally started moving forward. I have a special place in my heart for crawling babies. I just find them incredibly adorable. I love how cute they look when they follow you around on their hands and knees, and I love seeing the things they want to explore and go after. She was very quick to get herself into the sitting position after she started crawling as well, so now she can get around and sit up whenever she wants! Of course I'd rather she didn't do it in the middle of the night like she likes to do. . . but how can I really blame her for wanting to try out her new skills at all hours?

So for future stats records. . . Natalie crawled right at 8 months old. And Kirsten crawled at 9 months old.

Here she is. . . my crawling cutie!

In more recent news. . . Natalie is 9 months old now!!!
She has officially been out of the womb longer than she was in it!

So of course this post is ALL dedicated to random things about Natalie!

*This is one SOCIAL baby! She has never had stranger anxiety before, and she'll let anyone hold her and play with her. In fact, she loves seeing new faces and being the center of attention. Truly the opposite of Kirsten.

*She has the best laugh ever! She has laughed so hard she's fallen over before! Kirsten is the best at making her laugh, which is really adorable. The last couple of nights, I even heard her start laughing hysterically in her crib. . . in the dark. . . in the middle of the night. What on earth does she have to laugh at when she's all alone in the dark? Wish I could share in her midnight comedy hour!

*She's completely obsessed with the cats! Whenever she sees one of them, she squeals, laughs, and crawls after it really fast, determined to catch it. Of course the cats usually elude her grabby hands, but she sure has a grand time chasing them around.

*She hates to be left alone. If she's happily playing on the floor and I leave the room (even just to go into the kitchen), she very often will start crying and crawling after me. It's just so sad, to see her crawling while she's sobbing and wanting attention. As long as I pick her up, she's usually happy again within a few seconds.

*She's a really great solid food eater and she eats pretty much any jarred baby food. It's getting more difficult to keep her focused on the bottle though, because she's very easily distracted and won't always finish them. She also doesn't know what to do yet with puffs or baby crackers. She won't even put them in her mouth, just plays with them in her hands.

(I love these pictures I got of her by the Christmas tree!)

*She can't pull herself up to a standing position yet, but she constantly wants to try. She loves it when I hold her hands and support her while she stands. I hope she doesn't walk too soon. . . I like the crawling stage to last as long as possible!

*She babbles a lot! Mostly it's "Da da da" and "mum mum mum".

*She's got two teeth on top, and two on the bottom! And she's an awful teether. Crying, drooling, everything. Teething seems to last forever!

*I love her poofy hair! It's finally long enough to put clips in it now, as long as they're pretty small (which is good, since she usually pulls headbands off these days). When Kirsten was 9 months old, her hair was really long, and it was hard to keep food out of it. I adore Natalie's short, fluffy blonde hair that sticks straight up everywhere! She's like a baby chick!

*Kirsten always put everything into her mouth (and sometimes still does), but Natalie is more interested in playing with things with her hands. She rarely puts things in her mouth at all. But she loves to grab everything she can get her hands on! Especially cords. . . if there's a cord anywhere in her vision, Natalie will find it and unplug it.

*She was really excited about pulling all the pretty things off the tree!

*With very few exceptions, Natalie is an angel baby on car trips. She usually sleeps or plays happily in her car seat, and doesn't make any noise at all. It's soooo nice!

*On most days, Kirsten cries more than Natalie does. I love Natalie's facial expression when she watches Kirsten cry. . . it's like she's saying, "What's your problem?"

*She no longer falls asleep at church. Boo. And she's growing SO fast, she's already in the 12-18 month clothes sizes! That infant car seat is getting harder and harder to carry around. . . she'll grow out of it really soon.

Natalie hates:
*Being left alone in a room
*Getting Orajel put on her gums
*Staying awake when she's tired
*Hearing other kids scream
*Missing out on the party (no, this does not remind me of anyone I know. . . )

Natalie loves:
*People! The more the merrier! Bring on the strangers!
*Cats and dogs!
*Her blankies
*Splashing in the bathtub!
*Eating baby food
*Laughing!

I love my sweet little social butterfly baby SO much!!! I can't believe she'll be a year old in only a few months! WOW!