Childproof Drawers....No Problem!

It has only been a year, yet we are infinitely aware of Natalie's personality. She is hands-on, curious, exploratory, and brave. Not long after we installed child-safety latches on pertinent drawers and cupboards, she opened them with the skill of a master thief. Yep, that's our girl. Here's the proof.

Million Dollar Smiles

They're Grape!!!!

We have found another food that Natalie loves....at least for this week. She was having so much fun eating grapes the other night that we decided to capture a little of it on video. Have a great weekend.

Oh Sweet Sleep....Night #2

Yep, you got it! She did it again! Our fair Natalie slept THROUGH the night again last night, for the second time in her 379-day life. And it was good.

Of course, my eyes popped open at 3:07 AM, her traditional whiny time, and heard magnificent silence. And at 5:00 AM she started a little fussy moaning, but quit after a mere 20 seconds. Ah, sweet sleep.

Dare we take bets on tonight's happenings?

Quote of the Day...

Happy Tuesday to our faithful readers. On the way to work today, David said something inspiring that I just had to share. It's the best quote I've heard all year.

Speaking of his job, David said, "When they give you crap, you can try to make lemonade, but in the end, it still tastes a little like crap."

Okay, so maybe "inspiring" wasn't the right adjective. But it still makes me giggle.

Birthday Photos

Here is a slideshow of the pictures we took on Natalie's Birthday #1.

Natalie's First Birthday Cake

Here is the link to the video: http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/dd356/davidandkristen/?action=view¤t=NatalieBirthdayCake.flv

Red Hot Anyone

As many of you know, I (David) am a big fan of hot sauce on just about everything. Unfortunately, I am the only member of my growing family who shares this love. I need a "hot sauce buddy".

At just about every dinner for the last two years, I have asked Allyson if she would like to try some hot sauce, and she has turned me down every time. I have even offered to pay her to try it.

So, on Natalie's first birthday I decided I needed to start working on her. She is a much more adventurous child, so I think there may be hope that she will someday share her father's love of hot peppers and hot sauces.

These pictures were taken on her first birthday. No, I did not give her any to eat. But, she was definitely curious about the bottle! I thought these pictures were quite cute. I am tempted to send them to the "Frank's Red Hot" manufacturer and see if they would want to make Natalie the "face of Red Hot!"

More birthday posts are on the way, so stay tuned in the next few days.

Crash and Burn........

Well, we had such victorious news (if you didn't read yesterday's post, you probably want to read it first. You can find it here). Natalie must not be happy about her achievement of two nights ago. Sleeping through the night for the first time in her life didn't seem to excite her as much as it excited Mom and Dad.

Therefore, Natalie determined to make up for the night before by fighting sleep and fussing most of last night!

The taste of defeat is definitely not as good as the taste of victory and joy we felt yesterday morning.

So, we continue to pray and hope that Natalie will someday learn to sleep through the night. Until then....we savor that "one" night that she slept all night when she was 1-year-and-5-days old!

A BIG announcement...

Today is a monumental day. It is the day that we, as parents, have been waiting for for 12 months and 5 days. It is a day we have prayed for, hoped for, looked forward to, yearned for, and nearly gave up on. (Yes, that sentence ended with a preposition. Deal with it.)

Today, David and I are functioning just like many adults in the working world. Are you ready to hear why? Are you sure?

For the first time in her 370-day life, our Natalie slept THROUGH the night! My body jerked awake at 5:00 AM, analyzing the events of the past 6 hours, racking my fuzzy brain, "Did I get up with Natalie?" I thought of racing to the monitor and turning it up really loud in order to hear her breathe. Instead, I said a quick prayer of thanks for the extra sleep and promptly heard (from the monitor) a sweet little sleepy hum. Then, I went back to a blissful sleep. Seriously folks, this is BIG news for the Fox family. This is a major hurdle for our little high-maintenance princess...and it could signal huge progress for the sleep of our family (at least until June).

Or...it could have just been one sweet night. Because tonight, my friends, there is no guarantee.

Anyone care to wager if it will ever happen again?

Christmas Photos

I know that we are quite a bit late in posting these. Here they are. We have a bunch more ideas for posts and will try to get more photos and videos up in the next week. Enjoy these Christmas photos.

The length of a year...

One year ago this moment, I was laying in a hospital bed, relieved to be holding my healthy newborn.

Woa. One year ago today.

Somedays I think, "I can't believe it's already been a year!" And other days (probably most days) I think, "That was, quite possibly, the longest year of my life."

In just a few hours, our three-toothed one-year-old will enjoy her first piece of cake and her big sister will help her blow out candles. Check back in a day or two to see the momentous pictures!

Wordless Wednesday!

Happy New Year!

Hello all...I hope this finds you basking in the glory of 2009. :)

Just wanted to draw attention to our new little doohickey on the sidebar. This little box will keep you updated on the development of Fox Cub #3. Now you can feel like you are a part of our little world. It is truly amazing to read the facts about the development of a baby within his/her mother.

We will keep you posted with any further updates about Baby Fox, but until then I just wanted to pop in and wish you all a Happy New Year.

Our project for the weekend...remove all vestiges of Christmas from our home. Uff da. Not a project I'm looking forward to.