Houston, we have a tooth!

Natalie got her first tooth! It came in on Tuesday 6/23/09. It's HER bottom right tooth. It's soo cute! :) The other one is close behind. I think it'll be in within a week. :) It's JUST barely in, so i'll take a picture of it in a few days when it's easier to see and post it.

I can't believe my baby is getting so big!! Time has really flown!

I bought a new camera!

So, a few weeks ago, I decided to sell my Kodak and buy a new camera. I really wanted a camera with more optical zoom. I love taking close-ups of the kids as well as nature/landscapes, so I thought it would be really nice to have the Nikon p90. I also looked at the Canon and really loved it, but it takes AA batteries. I couldn't get past that. Yes, you can buy rechargable batteries, but AA rechargables don't hold a charge like lithium ions do. If you charge a LI battery, you can just keep it in the camera or in a drawer for a month before using it without worrying whether it's holding a charge. But with rechargable AA, they lose their charge, so i just know that I would have to worry about whether or not I had charged them prior to taking pictures, which totally defeats the purpose of a spontaneous photo! I looked at a few other "ultra-zoom" cameras including the Panasonic, Olympus, and Kodak. They all seemed like good cameras, but again, they also take AA batteries. Is anyone else shocked about this? I mean, even if you use regular AAs and just keep them on hand, it seems to me that if you are using a powerful camera like one with 24X zoom, you are going to burn through them like mad!

SO, I decided on the Nikon. I'm in love with this camera. I'm really happy with it. It has such clarity! I love the zoom! I can't wait to take the kids out to a really pretty area and take their pictures with the scenery behind them. I've been practicing with it because I'm not familiar with all the settings. So the pictures aren't all perfect. But they are really good - and i'm getting better.

Here's what i've got...

Ally outside (it was SO hot today!)

Tommy, Natalie, Ally

I know she's not smiling in this picture, but there's something angelic about it.

Ally, Tommy, and Natalie again

Ally

Tommy (he's the type of kid that doesn't stand still for pictures, so i shot it quickly and didn't center him very well) I was just glad I got one! :)

Same with this one. The focus isn't great, but at least I got it! :)

Natalie doesn't stop chewing/sucking her fingers/thumbs for long. But now that her first tooth came in, maybe she'll stop soon. I wish she took a binky - they are easier to take away when the time comes!

Yes, i know this looks like a silly pose. Natalie is working on sitting up by herself. She was sitting for a good 20 seconds on her own and I was almost ready to take the picture when she started teetering. lol

Ally is wearing the dress my mom made for her. Isn't it beautiful on her?!

Caught in thought. I didn't pose her like this. She was just daydreaming while i was getting the camera settings set and I decided to take a quick shot of her.

Isn't that hat the cutest?

close-up of Natalie

Ally is now a 1st grader!

Ally has completed Kindergarten! I'm SO proud of her! She's such a smart girl and she just loves to learn. She's a great reader, does wonderful with math, she has an incredible interest in knowing about things. I hope that this continues!
Her teacher had nothing but great things to say about her. :) I loved her teacher this year. I hear the teachers in 1st grade are great, but they have some big shoes to fill!!

Tommy gets to start pre-school in the fall, so he is really excited to be a big boy and go to school like ally! He's starting to get more interested in learning. Ally loves to play school with him and pretend she's the teacher and he's the student. He sits pretty well for her, so hopefully he'll sit quietly in school! :)

I posted some pictures from her field day on my coupon blog HERE.

Easter

Natalie eating cereal

Pictures of Natalie in smocked dress and ally's dolls

Here are pictures of Natalie in the dress my mom made for Ally when she was a baby. Doesn't she look beautiful? Below these are pictures of Ally with her dolls. My mom made the gown and bonnet that the brunette doll is wearing. She also knitted the sweater that is on the Baby Alive doll. She did a great job and Ally absolutely loves them!

new pictures of the kids

Some favorite pictures of my 3 angels. :)

Natalie's appointment

Natalie had her repeat ultrasound today. She still has an enlarged kidney. It's not any worse, so that's the good news. We're going to continue watching it and hopefully it will decrease over time. The doctor said it's too hard to see if there's a difference with such short time period inbetween ultrasounds, so he's going to give it a little bit more time to decrease and see her again in May. So hopefully more time will give it a chance to decrease a little. The next time we need a refill on her antibiotic, she'll be put on something different. It's a little stronger, but not as gentle as ammoxicillin, which is why he started her out on that. She will continue on antibiotics until she has surgery (unless the fluid decreases on it's own).
We'll go back in May for another ultrasound and then if it's still enlarged, we'll go back shortly afterwards for another renal scan. Please keep her in your prayers!

Natalie's 2 month visit

Natalie is doing very well. She's 10 lbs 11oz and 22 inches long. She's smiling and starting to coo. She had to get 4 shots today and the rotovirus "drink" vaccine. She's still taking 4 oz of soy every 2-3 hrs, except for at night. She's actually sleeping really well at night! No colic or anything! :) She's down for the night by about 10 and doesn't wake until about 5:30am. She's doing great! We'll go back to the urologist at Children's at the end of the month. I'll update then.

Natalie's baptism and pics of ally with her hat