9-month check-up

Natalie had her 9-month check-up today. She weigs 17 1/2 lbs. and is 28 1/2 inches long. In other words, she is long and skinny, just like her mommy! Dr. Wingate was very impressed with the fact that Natalie is crawling and cruising and agrees with my assessment that she will probably be walking by 10 months! Guess it's time to start doing some serious baby-proofing...

Natalie also received 2 vaccines and had her finger pricked to check for anemia. Her iron levels are fabulous, which is very unusual for a breastfed baby. I guess all of the supplements I've been taking have been doing their job! We were also given the go-ahead to allow Natalie to start drinking milk from her sippy-cup. I will still continue to breastfeed her until she's 1, but we usually give her a cup of juice or water after she eats her solids. She's doing great with her sippy cup, so I am sure that drinking milk will be no big deal to her.

All in all, she's a very healthy little girl, and it's hard to believe that her next check-up will be when she's a year old! This past year has just flown by so quickly. Sometimes when I look at her, I just can't believe how big she's gotten. She's reaching her milestones so quickly, which makes me so happy and proud, but it's kind of bittersweet to watch her grow from a baby into a little girl.

All right, I'm done being sappy. :)

Everyone else is doing great. Matthew is truly enjoying his summer vacation. The boys and I went swimming yesterday and had a blast. Matthew is turning into quite the little fish--he was swimming all around and going down all of the water slides. Ryan is really looking forward to having a few "stay-home days" this week while Nana and Grandpa are visiting.

Oh, and we finally booked our little vacation to Indianapolis! We are going to be there from 7/31 to 8/2. We are planning to go to the Indianapolis Zoo one day and then the Indianapolis Children's Museum the next. We might hit Conner Prairie on the way home. The boys are excited to spend a couple of days in a hotel! It's the perfect vacation because we still get away, but won't be using a ton of gas to get there!

Thanks for checking in! Drop us a line if you have time!