3 months

The 3 month marker meant mommy and Natalee lounging time was up :( I will say it was definitely harder to go back to work this time around, not that I didn't love the time with Ben but I had no choice and returned at 6 weeks. Natalee had to go to daycare the 1st week I went back to work (Noni was still vacationing) and I started a brand new job. Yep, no more being locked up downtown and getting my ass up at the butt crack of dawn. I can leisurely feed Nat in the mornings, take Ben to dayare, run errands at lunch... the pros go on and on. It's crazy how it all worked out, what I mentioned to a friend months ago, allowed me to find a new job with such ease and perfect timing. Thank you Mrs. Rodriguez!! Ok back on track about Nat... she had a rough rough day at Rose's, which was my 1st day on the job. I had to go tell my boss I had to leave to feed my child who refused the bottle. Aaahh-ya-ya it was stressful!!! But after the 1st day, she was back to her happy self. Brother loved having her there with him, he is quite the proud big brother (more on this later). What has little Miss been up too the past month...
~sucking on her hands
~the drooling has picked up - phew I think she is teething (Ben got his 1st 2 at 4 mos) and I sure hope she takes them easier than brother did or else we need to buy stock in infant tylenol
~ after sleep "training" she is sleeping thru the night (took her about 2 weeks to realize we ain't coming to her rescue) it was hard but we stuck with it
~ loves her 1 specific paci that she got in the hospital
~ chatter bug! man she loves to talk.
~ smiles back at you and even let out a laugh/giggle
~ eating every 3 hours, 3oz
~ get camera shy and just stares at the black hole, always gotta have someone else holding her so i can capture her sweet smile
~ the fireworks did not bother her one bit, but being in Twin Peaks (yes we took our children for their Uncle's birthday dinner) with the music blaring did...
~ prefers to be sitting up at ALL times. Or even standing, she has been wanting to stand since she was born, no lie.
~ snuggles with her bunny blankie
So the other night while we were eating, I put Nat in her rocker sleeper. Ben decides he needs to babysit her. So he scoots the sleeper in the playroom and they are off to "play". As we are eating, I realize I don't hear a peep - I go to find Ben had scooted the sleeper in our room, turned on Word World and I see both sets of my children's eyes glued to the tv. It was the cutest. He tells everyone her name is "Nat-a-LEE", strong emphasis on the lee. He always wants to know what she is doing, puts her paci back in,  and covers her up (I don't want to tell him she hates that, bc he is just trying to help and it's the sweetest)

yyummm love my fist

woo-hoo bumbo seat is just what this girl needed!

sweet sibling love...

work it. work it

baby girl needs her own seat! and her poor eye still has the leaky tear duct :(

someone was watching over seester again and I busted him! haha He hates when I see
him being sweet with her

Brotherly love

Natalee is one lucky gal, she has a big brother who has the kindest, sweetest, most pure heart.  I look over and see Ben holding her hand while she was watching some baby tunes, I whip out the camera as fast as I can and below is what I got :)

Ben would do anything for anyone to make them happy.  It breaks my heart to know my baby has so much going on in that head of his, that he stutters.  We took the initiative a few months ago, got him tested and he has blocking - where the first word of his sentences stutters out and sometimes he can't even get it out.  Thru the Edmond schools, he is receiving speech therapy this summer and will continue on thru the school year at his future elementary school (he won't be in pre-k until next August).  The speech blocking has somewhat to do with his personality - being such a perfectionist, he has to get it right or else he stresses out and stuttering is the result - and also the fact my child is a freaking genius. Going to be that bragging mom, but Ben truely is a genius. He is fully reading books.  Sounds out any new word, any word, it's amazing. Spells to us if we can't  understand what he is trying to tell us.  And the strange part is, he doesn't stutter when reading to us. I hope and hope that he can overcome this and the therapy will continue to improve his speech.  Yesterday one of his daycare buddies imitated his stuttering, thank god Ben didn't hear it, but made me so so sad to think of kids at the elementary level doing that to him.  I know Ben will power thru this but as a parent it's so hard to see your child struggle. 1st of many struggles I know we'll deal with over the years, this parenting ain't easy on your heart!!



Inaugural Phillips 4th

This year was the 1st of many more to come for the Phillips (my parents) 4th of July party.  John and I felt like we didn't slow down the entire day - Natalee had a totally "off" day and was not her usual chill self :( She wasn't completely fussy, just couldn't nap and get settled down. Too much action for her to nap.  Ben showed off his swimming skills with his uncles and aunt ryan in the pool most of the day.  His day was forever changed when his crush, Mena (who is in 6th grade) arrived... poor Mena couldn't get him off her back.  She was so sweet and of course didn't care at all. By the end of the night, it went like this..."Mena, you're my best friend, right?" We ended the day of fun with games of BINGO, dinner and the most spectacular firework show produced by John and my brothers... only to get upshown by the neighbors....  next year boys, next year you can be the best in the 'hood.

Adding to his sugar high

B-I-N-G-O time!

little scratch for the number caller.... right before he dropped his drawers and showed
off his pee'ing skills with the strongest stream known to man

sleeping and listening to all the BINGO action

love this kid to pieces!

the ladies man... Mena on the left, Madison on the right... obviously likes the older ladies

typical picture pose for Beano

Seester liked the fireworks... papa wasn't sure why

Men and their sparklers... they, along with my other brother, put on quite the
 firework show and were deaf for a few hours after

Miss Baby America

most important the dessert spread....

like brother, like sister

Ben 5 weeks

Natalee 8 weeks

2 month marker

She is a growin and growin.  Natalee had her 2 month check up - 11 lbs 12 oz, 23 inches - right on track! Her shots completely wiped her out for nearly 2 days.... oh darn, mom got alot done while she slept the days away....important stuff like laying out. Natalee continues to love her baths, guess it's that magical product from Europe- Puj tub. Her sleeping has been from 10pm - 4am.  She likes to get pissed off from 6pm  - 9pm; involves mom and dad trying everything to make her happy and she just wants to whine.  Usually she'll snap out of it when we lay her on her changing table and crank up the music maker from Ben's old mobile. It's mommy's lil trick I discovered to shush her up :)  She is normally chugging every 3 hours (or 2 hours), 3 ozs and started to deny the bottle. She loves her some booby. Swaddle what? This child HATES, and I use that word strongly, hates to be covered up. She will kick off the blanket if she's in her swing or scream if she can't do that and in bed fusses until you take the blanket off. Around 5 weeks she started really smiling and talking to us.  She is quite the talker! 6 weeks she started grabbing her paci....Still loves to follow Ben when he's in the room... still resisting the headbands, but in public I slip one on since she was called a boy. Natalee really is such a happy happy girl!

pretty sure she'd hang out in this all day if we let her

my favorite sleeping picture of my sweet girl... those lips!!

please no pics mom.... brother was feeding the ducks

fathers day

oh mom, why must you put this on me... fine i'll give ya a smirk!

tummy time on the biddy belly

we bought a zoo

These animals are obviously confused - our last name is Forrest but that doesn't mean they can take up residence in our backyard!! Last year we had a armadillo roaming thru the yard, this year so far we've had possums (who are idiots and just stared at me when I tried to shoo him out), trantula and a family of foxes. Yes foxes. And yes it's more like an extended family - I've seen 2 moms. And I'm obsessed. Couldn't have picked a better time to go on maternity leave :) I find myself losing track of time watching these creatures. So it all started the 1st week of May, I saw the momma out our bedroom back doors. For the next 2 weeks, we watched the sweet lil pups. Then they left :( I lost my entertainment. But wait, they returned this week!! Much bigger and so active. They play off and on throughout the day, it is truly fascninating to watch. Ben is usually our fox spotter while he is playing the Wii in the living room - their "den" under our deck is viewable out our living room windows. We don't mind them, they eat the mice, which I saw a pup eating, it was so graphic and really not necessary for me to watch but I couldn't turn away. However, they better start pooping elsewhere! And no we don't live in the country. So watch out, your backyard could be overtaken next!

 

First time sitting of momma back in May

Hello cute pups! There are actually 5 of them

The momma on the look out