Swimming

Natalie's little swimming pool was an even bigger hit than I imagined! I knew she would love it because she loves baths and being outside, but I thought the fun would probably only last five minutes. Not so! This little fish played in her pool for a good twenty minutes before she started trying to crawl out. It looks like the Minnie Mouse pool will get lots of use this summer.

The Face

Natalie's new scrunched face has been getting lots of attention lately. We saw my Grandpa and Grandma yesterday, and Grandpa hoped that he'd get to see the famous face in person since he had only seen a picture of it. I was taking some pictures of Natalie sitting on Grandpa's lap, and all of a sudden Grandpa got what he wanted. The face! This series of pictures is pretty priceless.

Seven Months

Seven months old is my favorite age so far. But then so was six months, and five months before that, and four months before that. Natalie just keeps getting sweeter and more fun every day. I can remember crying when she was a newborn because I didn't want her to grow up. My mom told me that she thinks God makes it so that a mom's favorite stage is the one that her kid is in at the time. So far, I'd have to agree.

At seven months old Natalie:

• weighs around twenty pounds.
• sometimes gets really giggly when she is tired at the end of the day. A couple evenings ago, about thirty minutes before her bed time, she was speed-crawling down the hallway giggling at herself.
• is a girl on the go. She doesn't sit still. Ever.
• lays her head down mid-crawl for a couple seconds when she is tired. She never stays down very long though because she doesn't want anyone to catch on that she's getting tired.
• pulls herself up to stand with no trouble at all anymore.
• kisses the baby in the mirror. Or tries to eat her. Calling it a kiss makes it sound sweeter.
• prefers to ride around the house perched on my hip. She is the best little side-kick.
• is Little Miss Personality with all of her faces.
• says "mamamama" and "papapapa". She doesn't know what she is saying, and she doesn't say it on command, but Chris and I are convinced that she is saying our names. 

Saturday Afternoon

No theme this time - just cute pictures of play time with my girl :)

Natalie absolutely loves this play table. No other toy holds her attention for as long as this does. Also, how cute are these ruffly shorts?!

I love those teeth. So sweet.

This is her new face. She breathes really quickly through her nose every time she makes this face. Maybe it's a face only a mother could love? 

This is another version of the new face.

She would spend all day outside if she could.

Natalie's New Car

We got a new Chevy Equinox today! Natalie's car seat and Chris' legs no longer have to cram into a little car.

All of the wheeling and dealing wore little Natalie out. She fell asleep in her car seat on the way home which is something she never does anymore. (Look at all of that room between her car seat and the front seats!)

My Laundry Maid

For some reason my laundry maid makes doing the laundry harder rather than easier. It also seems to take longer when we have to stop mid-folding for a photo shoot.

Reflections on Motherhood

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in our lives!

This is technically my second Mother's Day as I was pregnant with Natalie on Mother's Day last year. I absolutely thought of our little girl as a real, live baby and myself as a real, live mother from day one of my pregnancy, so I didn't feel weird opening the few cards and gifts that I received last year. I knew I was a mother then, but this year I have a much better grasp on what it means to hold the title "mother".

I'm not even going to try to pretend like I've got this motherhood thing figured out. Ha! Not even close. I'm brand new at this, and it probably shows. But I can say that I've learned more, changed more, and grown up more over the last six months as Natalie's mama than ever before in my life, so here it goes - reflections on motherhood from a new, inexperienced, but trying her darnedest mom.

1. A mother's love - it's fierce, it's big, it's powerful, it's all-consuming. Natalie has taught me how to truly, selflessly love. Natalie has taught me that love has nothing to do with receiving and everything to do with giving. I was so overwhelmed with the strength of my love for her when she was first born that I cried happy tears every day - sometimes more than once.
2. Motherhood is hard. Speaking of tears, I also cried not-so-happy tears quite often when Natalie was born. Being Natalie's mama is without a doubt the hardest thing I've ever done.
3. It's also the most wonderful. Motherhood comes with built-in automatic day-brighteners. There is something so special about hearing your own baby coo or giggle or seeing her smile or hurriedly crawl in to your arms. It's magic.    
4. Natalie introduced me to my mom. I have always had a close relationship with my mom and have called her my best friend for the last number of years, but I feel like I know her a million times better now that I'm a mom myself. I finally get it. I understand how much she loves me now because that's how much I love Natalie. I understand how well she knows me now because that's how well I know Natalie. She has known me to my core for the last 25 years, and I am just beginning to truly know her. I've got a lot of catching up to do, Mom.
5. Natalie introduced me to myself. Motherhood has changed me. My priorities, my interests, my focus - they're all different now. This is who I was always meant to be. Just as marrying Chris made me a better version of myself, becoming Natalie's mama made me a still better version.

Ocho de Mayo

The Hesston O'Hallorans along with Aunt Maria and Great-Grandma Genrose celebrated Cinco de Mayo a few days late with a taco salad supper at Steve and Lacy's tonight. Supper was delicious and was complete with multiple types of margaritas and Mexican Coke. The only non-Mexican part of the meal were the chocolate chip cookies that I brought for dessert.... flan isn't part of my repertoire. Natalie had Mexican bananas and blueberries for her supper. Steve and Lacy even had a pinata for the after-dinner entertainment.

Six Month Pictures

Instead of going to a photographer, I decided to try my hand at taking Natalie's six month pictures. I wasn't sure how she would cooperate, but she did really well, and I think we got some really good pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

Standing

When Natalie started sleeping in her crib, one of the things that I was most excited about (other than being able to sleep for more than an hour at a time) was that someday I would walk in to a smiling girl standing at the rail of her crib waiting for me to get her up. That day came last week, but I didn't get a picture because I was too afraid she was going to fall since we hadn't lowered her mattress yet.

Since then she has been pulling up on everything. She has just recently become a little more steady on her feet, so I've been able to take some pictures instead of constantly hovering over her.