Natalie at 22 Months

I realized I had not done any updates on the kids as of recent so thought I would take an opportunity as she turns 22 months old today!  (actually on the 15th when I wrote it, I just forgot to post it!)

Natalie's communication continues to improve.  Just this past week she started saying "boo!" when we play peek-a-boo and also said "thank you" yesterday as we were passing toys back and forth to each other.  I was impressed with how distinct the words were.  I was very pleased with her.  She meows when she sees a cat (and any other animal) but at least she is making a sound now!  We are working to expand those sounds to incorporate other animals.  Also this past week she touched her nose upon request.  This is something we have been working on for over a year, so I was ecstatic.  Natalie points a lot now which is very helpful in determining what she wants and needs.  She also has become very good at grabbing my hand and dragging me along the house.  Between the two kids, I am always being dragged somewhere.

Natalie has now said all of the following words at least once (usually as imitation rather than spontaneous, but we are still counting it!):
- Daa - Dad (this is consistent)
- Buhh - Bye (this is consistent)
- Ooh - Shoe
- Cat - Cat
- Meeww - Meow
- Uck - Duck
- Dunk Oooh - Thank You
- Boo - Boo
- Mom - Mom
- Hep - Help
- Asha Asha - Ashes, Ashes (as we are singing "Ring around the Rosies")

Natalie is a very determined little girl.  She knows what she wants and she is determined to get her way.  She will not let anyone or anything get in her way.  This leads to many meltdowns though on an hourly basis.  She gets very upset if a toy doesn't do what she wants or she can't get something to work correctly.  She doesn't want my help either.  That just gets her more upset.  We are trying to work on helping her to cope with "failure" a little better and hopefully she will learn a little patience.  Due to her determined attitude, she can usually figure things out if she gives herself enough time but sometimes the meltdowns hinder that progress.  Her problem solving skills are amazing.  She blows me away. 

Natalie thinks she is a dog.  She hands things to you with her mouth.

She is also very cunning.  She has mastered the distract and attack.  If Weston has something she wants or is playing with Mom or Dad and she wants our attention, she will purposely walk over to his cars (or whatever else he is treasuring at that moment) and knock them off the couch or pick them up just to get him upset.  She then drops it and runs away.  Weston is now preoccupied with saving his precious toys and Natalie now has the full-undivided attention of her parents or the thing that he was playing with at the time.  What a little sneak!  I must hand it to her though - she is one smart cookie!

Her favorite thing to do is climb.  She will climb on anything she can.  At the playground, she spends more time climbing on things than actually sliding.  In a previous post I talked about how fast and skilled she was on the spiral ladder at our apartment complex.  She has now taken it one step further.  She now climbs all the way up, stands on the flat top, and reaches for the top bar that attaches it to the playground equipment.  She will grab hold and hang on it until I take her down.  Or, she will let go herself and then slide herself down the center of the ladder.  Her dexterity and precision is incredible.  She certainly knows what she is doing and knows exactly where to put her body - but it still makes me nervous!

Natalie still puts everything in her mouth.  When I say everything - I mean everything.  Throughout the day, she always has a toy she is chewing on.  It is not uncommon for me to find her with a piece of paper that she has ripped up and is eating.  That's right - eating.  She will just rip it into pieces, put it in her mouth, chew, and swallow.  This also goes for leaves, sticks, mud, sand, dirt, play-doh, crayons, chalk, you name it.  The doctor tested her blood levels for lead (she was fine) but that is all that we have done.  She says it is just a stage.  Hopefully she snaps out of it soon.  It's gross.

Leaves - her favorite!

I noticed after I took the picture that she had crayons in her mouth.

Her other eating habits are fine.  She eats all the time.  I think she is on a massive growing spurt right now.  She has outgrown all of her 18month shirts and some of her 2T shirts are even too short.  I think she was blessed with a long torso and squatty legs.  I got her a bunch of 24 month pants which I now know are all way too big.  They are at least two inches too long and are incredibly baggy in the legs.  So, looks like I still need to do some shopping.  But, I digress.  Like I was saying, she loves to eat.  She muches all day long.

Her favorites include:
- oatmeal
- potatoes
- green beans
- Nature Valley granola bars
- plums (she will only eat them whole -she will even spit the pit into my hand)
- bread
- spaghetti
- pizza
- peas
- chicken nuggets
- hot dogs
- strawberries
- blueberries
- oranges
- chocolate milk (that's right - chocolate milk - she watched Roland put chocolate sauce into his milk once and wanted to try it - her eyes bugged out and she drank it without coming up for air - she now refuses to drink plain milk)

A plum - yum!

Messy as always

Natalie loves to play by herself.  She is very independent.  She gets overstimulated very easily and many times I will find her off in a corner of her room by herself playing quietly.  She will often shut the door behind her just to get that extra quiet and seclusion.  She loves blocks, books, and puzzles.  Anything that requires her to think or manipulate objects (especially small objects) she flocks to.  She always snuggles with her doll or other stuffed animals and loves to give hugs.  She is so cuddly - I just love it!

So pretty!

Yay!

She is so girly.  Other than the fact that I can't get her to keep anything in her hair, she loves to get dressed up and be pretty.  When I get ready in the morning, she will stand on the step stool, grab a make up brush, and pretend to put make up on.  She brushes her hair and coos at herself in the mirror.  She loves when I coo over her too.  "You're so pretty" is her favorite phrase.  She adores shoes.  I think she often gets frustrated when she realizes that she only really has one pair that she wears on a regular basis.  If a new pair comes out, she can't get enough of it.  As part of a large craigslist purchase, I obtained a pair of pink rain boots.  She found them and would not take them off.  They were on all day for two days.  Conveniently they disappeared in the middle of the night!

My pink boots

I love having a little girl.  Everything is soft and gentle and pretty.  She loves to give hugs, kisses, and sits on my lap every opportunity she gets.  She has the softest, most beautiful voice.  It sounds like an angel (unless of course she is screaming - she has amazing lung capacity)  I think she is going to be an amazing singer.   

I love popcorn!  (And Weston!)

We love our little Natalie.  She keeps us on our toes and brings happiness and joy to all of us!