Natalie 15 months old

Natalie is 15 months old today!

We celebrated by going to the doctor and getting shots. Natalie was a trooper and even Weston cried for her. Another ear infection too so more antibiotics. Good news is we were able to get her an appointment for an ENT visit next week, so we are crossing our fingers for some tubes.

Here are her stats:

Weight: 20lbs 6oz (20%)

Height: 29 inches (15%)

Head Circumference: 18.5 inches (75%)

Natalie is now a walker. She loves to walk everywhere! When she gets particularly excited, she just lengthens her stride and tries her best not to fall forward as she propels herself even quicker than normal. Otherwise she just usually waddles everywhere with her arms straight out like a plane. She tries so hard to keep her balance with her fluid filled ears. It is really sad to watch but highly entertaining too!

She started talking more within the last few weeks as well. I had been worried for a while because she didn't really say anything. Then when she failed her hearing test at the ENT I realized why. Shortly after that I think some of the fluid cleared because she began babbling a LOT. She does not stop babbling. She carries on conversations with everyone and everything. I can understand a few of her words now. Her first word was "mom" but I haven't heard that word in a really long time so apparently I have been wiped from her vocabulary. She says "Da" all the time. It is so cute when Roland comes home from work because Natalie stops what she is doing and runs to the door with arms wide open saying "DAAAA!!!!" She then locks him in for a nice big hug and doesn't let go. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen. You know when she watches a little too much "Little Einsteins" when her other vocabulary word is "pa, pa, pa, pa" as she pats her lap along with them to blast off. Other than that, I have heard from time to time words that sound like "dog" and "cup" but it isn't really often enough for me to consider it a word of hers. But, we will get there. I am hoping she will get some tubes soon and we will see some really quick progress.

Natalie is just our little fireball of energy. She may fool you with her sweet smile and un-commanding presence, but she can really let you know how it is. She is our little drama queen already. If you tell her no or take something from her, she looks at you, gives you puppy dog eyes, then loses it. She bawls and puts on quite the show. She also loves to pout. I didn't even know that a year old could even pout. When she is mad, she puts her head between her arms and sulks. She also likes to throw herself to the floor or crawls for a minute and drops flat so that you can hear the slam. She then looks up at you as if you somehow were the cause of her violent land on the floor. My favorite is when she fake whimpers to try to get some sympathy. I see some acting in her future!

She is our little explorer too. She is always into everything. She loves cabinets and pulling stuff out of buckets and putting it back in is one of her favorite things to do. She will spend long lengths of time taking balls out of the toy drawer one by one and then putting them back in. She will do the same thing with blocks and other toys. She will also walk around with a basket in her hand and grab things to put in her basket. She will walk around with her "treasures" then sit down and take them out, look them over, and put them back in. She loves the garbage and I always find random things dropped into the garbage can. I must always be on the lookout to make sure we don't lose anything in the trash. She also has her favorite places that she likes to store her "treasures." One is the entertainment unit cupboard. I have purposely left it empty for this reason. I don't need her getting into all of our stuff. She likes to climb in there and stash away her toys for a future moment in time. She also likes the bottom drawer of the kitchen. I have also left this drawer empty for her too. I always find random little things in there. If I can't find something, I usually look in the drawer and there it is. The final stashing place is under the seat of her "McQueen" ride-along car. It lifts up to expose a little holding area. All of the toys currently being played with get tossed in there prior to her riding the car. She is just so funny and has no fear. I find her climbing on everything and she really doesn't have the coordination yet to be doing so. She doesn't care though and has fallen a few times, but that doesn't stop her!

Natalie is just a little sweetheart. She loves to cuddle, loves to hug, and has the softest, sweetest little voice. It always sounds like she is singing when she talks. Her smile is just infectious and makes me just want to attack her with kisses. Roland loves that Natalie thoroughly enjoys rough housing. Every night after dinner is put away and kids are bathed and dressed, the rough housing begins. It looks like a circus in here as Roland wrestles around on the floor with the kids. Natalie is right in there in the middle of it all with them. She thinks it is hilarious. Roland makes the kids do somersaults, rolls them around, flips them, tackles them, etc. It is quite the fiasco. Every time Natalie gets rolled off, she stands up, tries to gain her balance, and runs full speed back to the brawl laughing the whole way. It is just so cute. Roland is thrilled. He was afraid that our girls would not want to rough house and it made him sad. So, this just makes his day. I usually get pulled into the mess at some point and everyone starts piling on me. It makes for some fun evenings.

Natalie is a good eater. It seems like she eats all of the time. She loves hot dogs, any sort of meat, bread, crackers, you know - anything not that nutritious. Getting her to eat vegetables is pretty much impossible. She will try them, but will usually mush them around in her mouth then eventually spit them out. I don't know how many times we have tried cucumber and they always end up half chewed on the floor. She will eat peas and green beans, but that is about it. So, we are working on it. At least she looks healthy and is gaining some weight.

I love our little girl. She brings happiness and joy into our home. I love watching Weston with her too as he just adores her. He is always her little helper. We are just crossing our fingers that we can get her ear infections to stop so she no longer has to be in pain. Through it all, she is a little smiley trooper!