And... WE'RE BACK!!!

I know we've fallen off the map for a while! I have promised so many people I would get better about keeping family and friends in the loop on our crazy lives! Here goes my effort...

Natalee is almost 21 months! I can't believe we almost have a 2 year old. Where has the time gone? She is keeping us busy to say the least. She started going to "school" or Mothers Day out 2 times a week in January. Amy, Trey's sister, is one of her teachers. She absolutely loves going to school and interacting with other kids. She has really blossomed since she began. Her vocabulary and the way she interacts progresses on a daily basis. It has been unbelievable to watch the rapid change. We have to be careful in our house now that she repeats everything that comes out of your mouth.

Now that the weather is warming up we have taken her to the lake a few times. She is a different child on the boat. She is totally fascinated by every aspect of the water. Uncle Lee could wakeboard for hours and I don't think she would blink an eye. I have a feeling we will be spending much more time on the water than last year. We have come to the realization that she would sleep outside if we would let her. The child loves to be outside. We have to drag her in at night (literally)!

We've started the potty training process. Some days are better than others. We went through a phase where she was excited about going to her Elmo potty. She even peed a couple times in it. Oddly enough it was always when she had an audience. She is such a crowd pleaser;) Now she doesn't want anything to do with the potty. She's even lost interest in her M&M's (her treat for using the potty). Look like this is going to be a long road! Wish us luck!!

Needless to say the Mack's are doing great! Trey and I have seemed to find some type of work/life balance (on most weeks anyway). I started a new job in September that has me pretty busy. It seems like we've all adjusted well to the schedule change. Luckily we have amazing support at home! Between the babysitter/nanny, mother's day out and grandma's we have all angles covered when work takes me out of town! We live one day at a time in this house!

Happy Girl

Little Monkey

First time to Pump it Up! Never seen her so excited!

Somebody found Mommy's lip gloss

First day of Mother's Day out

7 Month Birthday Update

I know I have been terrible with this blog over the past few months. My goal is to update about once a week. We'll see how well that goes. Things have just been non stop around our house lately!! Our little princess is keeping our hands full to say the least. Speaking of miss priss...

Natalee will be 7 months old tomorrow! I can't believe how fast she is growing. It honestly seems like she was born yesterday. She started crawling around 6 months. She has discovered how to pull herself up to a standing position, reach for people, feed herself cheerios, drink apple juice from a sippy cup and much much more! Unfortunately the little one hasn't learned how to sleep through the night. Trey and I are still up throughout the night. If she sleeps three hours in a row we're doing good. The doctor just thinks she's a squirmer (as if we didn't already know that)! Looks like there's no hope at this point. She's also getting her first tooth so that doesn't help matters. She weighs 15lbs right now. She can still fit into some of her 3 month clothes. She's very petite.

She has been such a blessing in our life! I am at the point where I can't imagine what life would be like without her. What a wonderful gift God gave us. I'll do my best to post pictures, ect from now on. Here are a few from this past weekend. The weather was finally beautiful in Knoxville. We took advantage and took her out to the lake. She loved being out there! She even took about a 30 minute nap in the pack n play. Looks like she'll love the lake as much as the rest of her family.

Loving the lake

Always smiling

Natalee and Daddy

Hi Mom

4 Month Visit to the Doc

Our little princess is officially 12lbs 4oz, 24 inches long. She is only in the 12th percentile but she's doing great! Her and I ventured to the doc on our own after Trey got held up at work. I won't lie... I was a bit nervous about the shot portion. Our last visit didn't go so well... for me that is. The nurse came in with the shots and I stood in the hallway and tried not to cry too. Unfortunately this time I had to put on a brave face and hold her little hands while these crazy nurses stuck her over and over. One of the nurses had a hard time giving her the oral shot. After several failed attempts I grabbed the syringe and gave it to her myself. Natalee's patience was wearing thin and I wanted to get the heck out of there. Needless to say I think I'm more traumatized by these visits than she is.

Everything looked great. She was given the okay to start solids. We've begun giving her cereal two times a day. I'm pretty sure more ends up on her face, bib and hands than in her mouth. She's starting to understand how to swallow. Everyday she gets better and better. She definitely entertains us with her funny faces and messy cereal face.

She is developing a little personality. Earlier today I was talking to her aunt Amy and she got frustrated when I wasnt paying attention to her. I would look away and she would squeal so loud. I looked back at her and she would laugh. This seriously went on for about five minutes before I decided to get off the phone. I think she knew exactly what she was doing. She's also started grunting and squealing when you walk away from her crib. Once you peak your head back in her room she just laughs. I have a feeling we're going to have our hands full with this one. She's already figuring out how to get attention. What a mess, haha!!

Thanksgiving

Natalee's first Thanksgiving was wonderful. Trey and I both had 4 days off work and were able to have tons of family time. This year was very special to us. We are very thankful for our family and the time we have together. We are so blessed to have a healthy and happy baby. Bringing her into the world was very challenging mentally and physically. Everyday I have with her is a joy. I constantly find myself looking at her in amazement. She is truly our little miracle.

We spent Thanksgiving morning with my side of the family and then went over to Trey's sister's house. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day. Friday and Saturday we started decorating the house. I guess Natalee knew we were busy because she took a ton of long naps. We were able to get a lot done. She loves the Christmas lights and we have plenty of them! Today Lee came over and took our family pictures. Getting all of us to look at the camera at the same time was a bit challenging. Natalee was not a huge fan of the pictures today. We had an amazing Thanksgiving vacation. I dread going back to work tomorrow. I have a very busy week. I loved having my mornings with Nat. She is such a happy morning baby. She wakes up with the biggest smile on her face! I love it!!

She goes in for her 4 month well check up this week. I can't wait to see how much she has grown. The nights are also getting a lot better. Last night she went down around 9:00 and didn't wake up to eat until 8:00 this morning. Trey and I were only up a couple times throughout the night when she started to whine. I hope we've turned a corner. Getting sleep again is a dream come true! I forgot how much I love/need it.

Here are a few the pictures taken today...Enjoy!

Always has her fingers in the mouth

She was over it at this point!

Daddy I'm hungry!!

4 Months Came Quick!!!

Natalee just turned 4 months old!! I can't believe how time has flown by. She is doing great!! She is such a happy baby. This month she has started laughing out loud, becoming very vocal with the cooing, recognizing people, holding her head up, putting weight on her legs and growing like a weed. These are a few of her many developments. She also weighs about 12 pounds! She goes in for her 4 month well check up next week. We will probably be starting her on infant cereal at that point.

I'm back at work full time. Thankfully the transition hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. Miranda (her nanny) has been such a blessing. She is so great with Natalee. I feel at ease knowing she's at home and in good hands. Natalee has really taken to her.

We took Natalee on her first road trip last weekend. She went to Nashville to celebrate Thanksgiving with the fam. She did great! I didn't know what to expect. Other than packing half of her possessions it was a stress free trip! She was definitely the center of attention! I think she loved every minute of it.

Natalee's Birthday slide show

Uncle Lee made a photo slide show of Natalee's birthday! I'm just now getting around to posting it. He did such a good job!!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=514277188821&subj=9412640

Halloween Festivities

It's been an eventful couple weeks! Natalee was Tigger for her first Halloween! I must say she was the cutest Tigger ever. She didn't last very long. She was asleep by 9:00. Trey and I had more fun than she did! We carved pumpkins and got to hand out candy to all the neighborhood kids. Natalee slept in her swing for most of the evening.

I went back to work this week :( It was so hard to leave her during the day. I got used to being at home with her during the day. I had her on such a great schedule. We were just getting into a great routine. I'm trying to make the best of the situation. Luckily I have a job that allows me to come home throughout the day most of the time. I like checking in on her. The girl that has been doing my hair for a couple years is actually watching her during the week. We are so lucky to have her taking care of Natalee. She's great with her. I don't worry as much knowing she's taken care of while I'm working. We have taken a couple walks around the neighborhood after work. She likes the baby bjorn but doesn't like to nap in it. I have to get around the neighborhood before she gets too tired. She enjoys being outside!

She's growing like a weed! This week she has discovered lovies. She likes to sleep with them near her face. I'm so paranoid that she will cover her little nose. I think she's going through a growth spurt. She has been cluster feeding this week. Her naps haven't been lasting as long and her sleep is sporadic throughout the night. I hope this doesn't last too long!

Here are a couple pictures from Halloween...

Little blue eyes

The cutest Tigger ever!