Nataleigh's newest accessory!

This afternoon, Nataleigh & I went for a walk around the apartment complex. I was cleaning the other day in our bedroom and found a pair of sunglasses my mom got for Nataleigh for this summer. So before I took her outside, I tried them on her and they fit! She looked so cute! It was a nice afternoon to go for a walk...probably around 55-60 degrees...bright and sunny....we both loved it! Nataleigh was just talking away as we strolled along. I even jogged for a few minutes (man am I out of shape!) I wanted to jog the whole thing but I decided or at least my lungs decided it was better for me to walk briskly! I had a great time being in God's creation and soaking up the sun instead of being inside all day! I am happy that spring is here...more walks as a family outside! I am hoping to take Nataleigh to a playground sometime soon so that she can go for a swing...I am curious to see how she will like it...if my guess is right she will love it like everything else in her life! She is such a content baby and just happy with whatever she is doing/playing with. One of her favorite toys now is the mirror...I haven't let her play in front of it very much so I decided today I would try it out...boy does she just start a jabbering away!! I got such a kick out of and then she would look away and then look back into the mirror and get excited all over again! I love this little girl so much! God has blessed our family! Here a few pictures! Till next time!

Routine

Over the last week I've been working on getting Nataleigh back on a schedule and it is going pretty good! She has been waking up around the same time every morning 6:30-7:00. She eats and then plays for a couple of hours. The thing that is confusing for me is that she usually gets really sleepy and so I lay her down for a nap but she will only take about a 30 minute to an hour long nap! She went from being up 2 hours then nap 2 hours and then we would start the whole cycle over...but I think she is either (1) getting hungry after so long (2) has a drenched diaper (even though I have just changed her before I laid her down for her nap) or (3) she just doesn't want to take a very long nap or doesn't want one at all...so I've been trying to figure it out the last couple of days. After she gets back up she eats then plays for 2-3 hours then takes a 2-3 hour nap...which I absolutely love! (I can get a lot of housework done and cook lunch for Nate & myself and then we spend some quality time with each other.) Nataleigh wakes up between 3-4 and will eat again and then play for another couple of hours...this is the tricky part here again...depending on what time she wakes up from her previous nap determines whether she will get another nap before bedtime....if she takes a nap too soon before bedtime I'm afraid it will keep her up a little longer past her bedtime...which I am trying to keep consistent at 8:15pm I want to gradually move it towards 730 but have to do it little by little. I am happy though that she does go to bed at the same time each night and doesn't put up a fight....that makes it sooo much easier on me or whoever is watching her if I am at work!

Parenting is an interesting thing....you think you have a schedule down but as they get a little older it keeps on changing....and I don't want to be a bad mother and I want what is best for my daughter so I am trying to do my best....I guess the only thing I can really do is trust God will lead me and show me through Nataleigh's cues what she needs and trust that I do the best thing for her with each aspect of raising her! I have read a couple books from the On Becoming Baby Wise series which has help to encourage me that I am doing the right things for Nataleigh but I have to keep in mind that I am Nataleigh's mother and not all babies are a "book" baby....there is not manual out there on how to raise a child only tools like these books to help "guide and direct".

So that is what I've been doing the last couple of days instead of focusing on exercising but again I am using it as an excuse and I just need a swift kick in the hind end to get motivated...anyone want to volunteer?