18 and three-quarters Update

I've gotta tell you these six months - from her first birthday to now - have blown me away! I mean the changes from "warm lump" to precarious walker was an amazing process, but this "something-new-everyday" stage that we're in now is so much FUN!

WARNING: This is a ridiculously long post ... sorry about that ...

First of all, she's brilliant ... as any proud momma is entitled to boast, right?

1. Natalie is extremely verbal, and I am happy to be her translator. It's the strangest thing, I know just about everything she's saying, but those who don't spend 90% of their time with her ... not so much. I guess it's our native language but foreign to others.
2. She knows letters A, B, E, M, N, O, T, and sometimes D, R, and Y :) About two weeks ago - on a rare sunny day, we were walking along the sidewalk outside a shopping center and Natalie pointed to and said letters in the storefront windows. I couldn't believe it! We've been playing with a set of foam bath letters (from Auntie Laurie) for a few months now, and so I am not surprised when she can name one of those letters. But her "real world" application left me beaming :)
3. Most of the time she correctly identifies the colors Red, Blue, & Yellow. She also knows Orange & Purple but with less accuracy.
4. If I start counting, she'll count along to three ... 1, doo, freee!
5. Natalie has also found her "voice" and sings the first few "bars" of Patty-Cake, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, and Happy Birthday. And she joins in at the "E-I-E-I-O" chorus of Old McDonald, too.
6. Natalie got in the "head-shaking-no" habit for a solid two weeks; it was adorable but a little frustrating to have her canned response to any-and-all questions be an adamant NO. Now she has this exaggerated nod of her head and says, "yesh," more often than no :) I especially love when the nod goes to the side ... precious!

Eat, sleep, potty, ...

1. Natalie still has a great appetite and will eat most of what we eat for meals. For breakfast she loves oatmeal, especially if I let her eat it with her hands. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is a lunchtime favorite. And for dinner, she eats anything from pizza to spinach frittata. When it's time for snack, Natalie usually asks for "googert" (yogurt) or raisins or cookies.
2. Natalie has given up most vegetables ... unless Veggie Booty counts, but I am pretty sure it doesn't. However, the way she says "veggie-veggie-eetable" with more syllables than is really necessary ... is absolutely adorable! Thankfully, she still eats fruit "like it's going out of style."
3. She sleeps a pretty consistent and solid 12 hours at night ... unless she can't find her binky, in which case I get to make a blurry-eyed, stumbling trip into her room, where I drop to the floor and, with my hand/arm outstretched, run a grid-search pattern under and around the crib to find one of those darn things. Admission time: I just stick that binky-that's-been-on-the-floor right back in her mouth. I know it's gross but a trip to the sink at 2 am to rinse it just isn't happening!
4. Most afternoons I also get to enjoy a 2 to 3 hour nap ... I mean, Natalie takes the nap and I enjoy it :) Oh, and by "enjoy" I mean do housework, grade papers, catch up on moms' group stuff, ... and, if I'm being honest, watch TV online ... all of my favorite shows for free!
5. Natalie is also making progress in the potty department. She has made pee-pees in the potty two times ... and on the floor at least that many times. Sometimes she'll even tell me when she's making pee-pees in her diaper - that's a good sign, right?!
6. Making poopies is a very private and daily occurrence. It started out with her going into the corner while she did her business. Now she prefers to be in a room by herself, and if I get too close during the act, she'll hold out her hand and tell me "no," which basically means. "Go away." A request I am more than happy to follow ... 'cause that girl is stinky!

Girl's got skills ... sort of ...

1. Climbing: Natalie has recently become a proficient climber, it started with the couch and a few harmless boxes and the ottoman and now her repertoire includes the stools in our kitchen ... from which she has fallen and face-planted two times. Haven't figured out how to keep her off high surfaces. You would think a fat-lip would be enough of a deterrent but apparently not.
2. Catching: Apparently, I've passed along my sub-par athletic abilities to my sweet baby girl. In response to "catch the ball" ... she throws her hands/arms behind her and just smiles. Now, I'll have to work on adding a booty shake to that move; what I lack in ability I make up for with distraction!
3. Stacking, nesting, and knocking over boxes: A favorite activity with daddy. Natalie is getting pretty darn good at set things on top of each other. And she usually impresses me with her patient when nesting her cups. To add to the clutter of our household, I can't seem to throw away good stacking boxes: cartons from Costco, tissue boxes, gift boxes, ... Natalie loves to wedge herself into a corner while Chad builds a tower in front of her, hollers, "Where's Natalie?" and then she karate chops her way out. Good times!
4. Mothering: For Christmas, Natalie received three baby dolls, and she has jumped right into the mommy role. She rocks her babies and shushes them when they cry and takes them for walks in the stroller and tells me when they are hungry (like it's my problem) and even shares her binky every now and then.
5. Coloring: I've had toddler crayons and paper on hand for months now, but just in the past few weeks Natalie has actually started to enjoy this part of our daily routine.
6. Naming: Natalie loves to look at photographs - especially ones featuring her most favorite person in the whole wide world ... herself it would seem. Anytime at I working on the laptop, she asks to look at "Na-ta-leee." And so I stop whatever it is that I am doing, open up Picasa, and we have a delightful time looking at photos and naming all the people. She can identify just about all of our family members and most of our friends.

Whoa! That is one ridiculously long post! But it's been awhile ... and if you managed to make it to the end, then you're all caught up ... and perhaps slightly amused with my sweet baby girl!