Unhappy Little Girl

Natalie has not been too happy the past few days. I can't blame her, if I had 6 teeth breaking through the gums and had gotten 3 shots, I would not be too happy either.

We had a little friend over yesterday, Parker. Parker is about 4 months younger than Natalie. Natalie and Parker had so much fun playing together. They spent a good deal of time, stealing each others pacifiers. It is so fun to watch Natalie interact with other babies and kids her age.

I guess Natalie's peace and quiet are about to be gone; big brother is coming home this weekend. Carter has had a blast in Texarkana. He had a little playdate with some good friends of Larry and I's little boy yesterday morning. They rode bicycles for about 2 hours and today is going swimming with them...thanks Danielle and Jill.

Larry's dad got a convertible car several months ago. They drove Carter around in the driveway. Larry's mom said Carter's face was priceless when they put the top down and it folded into the trunk of the car. He was not too sure about the whole thing. Glad he has had a great time.

A Blessed Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend, filled with love and celebration. Larry's parents came in town on Thursday. We did not tell Carter they were coming, so when he woke up from nap and came down the stairs, they were knocking on the door...it was perfect timing. He was so excited to see Gran and Papa.

Larry's sisters, our nieces and one brother-in-law came in town on Friday. Our nephews and other brother-in-law had to stay in Austin for karate and Cub Scouts.

Friday night, we celebrated Natalie's 1st Birthday! We all went over to my mom's house and went swimming. The kids had a blast in the pool. Natalie loved the icing on the cupcake! She was not sure what to do at first, but then Larry stuck some in her mouth and she waited a second and then started licking her lips. At one point she had icing in one hand and cheerios in the other and was looking at favorite food and her new favorite food, trying to decide what to put in her mouth...we decided to mix them together and then shove them in at once.

Saturday we all went to the pool and just hung out and celebrate Larry's mom's birthday. We had a great time just catching up and letting the kids play.

Sunday, we had Natalie baptised. What a special day, to promise to bring her up in God's word. To me, she is already a child of God, a blessing from Him. She was so cute and just took it all in.

Everyone left Sunday afternoon. Larry's parents took Carter home for the week with them. He got a little sick on the way there, but is doing great now. I miss him, but I am enjoying the quiet and the time with just Natalie.

She was playing on the floor yesterday and I went into the kitchen for a minute, when I came back, she had crawled up to the third step on our stairs. I guess it is time for us to go buy a baby gate. She is a crawling machine now. She has also started cruising a bit once she pulls up. I am thinking it will not be long before she is walking and then, there is no stopping her.

We went to her first year well check today. She is 18lbs! Natalie has hit a huge milestone in my book, she is now in the 10th percentile on weight, height and head. She went from 3rd to 10th in a matter of 4 months; way to go girlfriend!

I have posted a few small pictures from her birthday, but I promise to have much more next week.

Natalie Turns One Tomorrow

Natalie turns one tomorrow! I never thought I would see this day. I can't believe all she has been through in the past year....3 open heart surgeries, transplant candidate for a period, heart cath, multiple xrays, EKG, ECHO, ivs, blood draws (multiple is a way too nice for all she has been through), MRIs...literally, "Bless Her Little Heart."

We definitely feel Natalie is our Miracle Baby and we have to thank all of you for your prayers and support during everything this past year. She still has a lot to go through in the future, but one day at a time for now. The staff at Children's Medical Center and Texas Scottish Rite have been a blessing to us more then they will ever know...thank you. And to everyone everyone out there who prayed none stop for Natalie, thank you...I do not think I will ever be able to say thank you enough. I truly believe we are where we are because of prayer.

Natalie did have an appointment this week with the Amarillo Pediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Luckstead. He said everything look great. She is 17lbs 4oz! He did want to make sure we were monitoring her scoliosis somewhere, which we are. In fact, she has an appointment at Scottish Rite the first of August for a follow up on her scoliosis.

Cruising and Crawling

It has been a wild week at the Bunn House this week. Natalie is officially crawling, like a champ. She is slowly exploring this house and loves it. Carter however, is not so found it, because now she crawls over to his train tracks and starts destroying them. He gets so upset, it is not funny, but it is. Carter was doing that to his cousins a few years ago and now Natalie is doing it to him.

Natalie has also started really pulling up on things. In fact, last night she walked around the coffee table holding on to it. Wow, she has come so far in such a little time.

One more week and she is will be one years old! We have appointment at Texas Tech in Amarillo this week with the pediatric cardiologist here as a follow up. This way we see a pediatric cardiologist every 2 months, but only have to go to Dallas every 4.

Carter is doing great! He has done so well with his "Big Boy" undies. We had a physical for school this past week at the doctors office. He is now only in the 75th percentile for weight. He has not been this low in 3 years. He started off a little guy when he was born, but quickly shot up in the weight and now he is finally starting to get taller and slimming down.

On the Move

Natalie pulling up to her knees to play

Natalie is officially army crawling forward. She is on the move, slowly but surely. I walked into her room the other morning to get her out of bed and to my surprise she was sitting up in her bed just playing. She finally has figured out how to get from her tummy to a sitting position.

We went to the pool last weekend and she loved it! They have a really shallow area where water shoots out and she just set there and played for about an hour, while Carter went wild in the little bit bigger pool.

Carter is finally starting to jump off the side of the pool to us and is doing great sticking his face in the water. He also is doing awesome on potty training!